Poker Heaven
Poker Heaven was one of the most reputable online poker rooms in history. The site offered 30% rakeback to any player that asked for it. There was also a $1,000 bonus that was worth an additional 20% rakeback. Poker Heaven offered freerolls and other perks to players that made it by far the best option on Boss Media, later known as the International Poker Network.
Poker Heaven always paid players in a timely manner. The site accepted U.S. players until the network banned Americans in 2006 after the UIGEA passed.
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- Large player traffic
- Above average quality of games
- Social, recreational player focused
- Third largest U.S. facing poker room with growing traffic.
- Excellent and consistent payment processing.
- Relatively juicy games.
History of Poker Heaven
Poker Heaven opened in 2004 on the Boss Media Network. That platform was later renamed to the International Poker Network. Boss Media permitted skins to accept U.S. players. Poker Heaven adopted this policy. The network banned U.S. players in October 2006. This forced Poker Heaven to leave the American online poker market.
Traffic on Boss Media crashed after this and never recovered. The network limped along until May 2014 when it ceased operations. Poker Heaven already had a skin on Ongame when this happened. The site replaced the International Poker Network with Microgaming. Poker Heaven shuttered on November 12, 2015. All players were paid.
Lessons Learned from the Failure of Poker Heaven
Poker Heaven was a legitimate poker site. All players were paid in the end. With that said, skins on networks with little traffic tend to struggle. Some of these sites will open up skins on multiple platforms to give players a wider variety of games. This is often the sign of a site in trouble.
Luckily for Poker Heaven players, management always did the right thing and held player funds separate. The company did not use deposits to fund operations. That may not happen with some other sites.
What Poker Heaven Was Like
Poker Heaven started out as a Boss Media skin. This site offered games in more currencies than any other site. This included US Dollars, Euros, British Pounds and Turkish Liras. The site moved to all Euros after the UIGEA and eliminating several other countries that included Turkey.
Much of the action at Poker Heaven was at cash games. There were some sit and gos and multi table tournaments. Guarantees tended to be on the low side when compared to other networks.
Poker Heaven decided to add Ongame as an option in 2010 as the International Poker Network declined. Players had the ability to move money between the Ongame and IPN skins. IPN closed in May 2014. Poker Heaven created a Microgaming Poker Network skin. This gave players more table selection. Players were still able to move money easily between the sites.
Players could take advantage of bonuses on any skin offered by Poker Heaven. This included reload bonuses and rakeback deals.
Where Are Poker Heaven’s Components Today?
The Boss Media version of Poker Heaven is still used by lotteries in Canada, Austria and Sweden. The Ongame software Poker Heaven once used was retired in 2016. Microgaming is still in the online poker business. It is the 11th online poker network in terms of cash game traffic, according to PokerScout.
Scandals Related to Poker Heaven
Poker Heaven paid all of its players. Regardless, it still has some ties with sites that did not. Tusk Investments was a skin on the Microgaming Network. It failed after giving players and affiliates too high of a cut of the rake. Eurolinx was another Microgaming skin that squandered player deposits. Purple Lounge and DoylesRoom were also on the Microgaming Poker Network and eventually failed without paying players.
Related Failed Sites
Timeline of Events
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2004Poker Heaven launched on Boss Media.
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2006Boss Media forces skins to ban U.S. players after UIGEA passes.
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2010Poker Heaven opens a skin on the Ongame Network.
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2014International Poker Network, the new name for Boss Media, closes.
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2014Poker Heaven opens a Microgaming Poker Network skin.
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2015Poker Heaven closes, pays all players.
Poker Heaven FAQ
When did Poker Heaven open?
Poker Heaven launched in 2004.
What network was Poker Heaven on?
Poker Heaven opened on the Boss Media Network. That was later renamed International Poker Network. Poker Heaven also operated skins on the Microgaming Poker Network and Ongame.
When did Poker Heaven close?
Poker Heaven folded in November 2015.
What happened to player funds at Poker Heaven?
All players were paid by Poker Heaven.
Did Poker Heaven offer rakeback?
Yes. Poker Heaven offered 30% rakeback on Boss Media and Microgaming. Rakeback was 40% at Ongame. This was called valueback to conform to Ongame rules.
- Large player traffic
- Above average quality of games
- Social, recreational player focused
- Third largest U.S. facing poker room with growing traffic.
- Excellent and consistent payment processing.
- Relatively juicy games.