PokerStars or PartyPoker?

JohnnieH

Hey All,

I'm looking to join either Stars or Party, since they seem to be the most popular online sites. But which is "better?"

I mostly play LL MTTs and SNGs but sometimes I'll sit a ring game or two.

Anybody have a preference or are they both basically the same?

Thanks

JohnnieH

beanie42

JohnnieH wrote:

I mostly play LL MTTs and SNGs but sometimes I'll sit a ring game or two.

I've played a little bit at a few sites feeling them out. I mainly play for enjoyment so any "bonus" stuff is just gravy, I just want a fun game. Like you, I concentrate on tournies (mainly SnG's which fund my MTT's), and I'd agree with everything I've read about Stars - best tournament structure around (and loads of them). Personally, I think you'd love them (and find a lot more play since you're coming from Paradise).

I am planning on doing most of my ring stuff at Party though (once I finish reading the book ) since they've got much better bonuses (and lots of :fish: ) and I don't mind having a different site for the different games (ring/tourney).

Metro

Johnnie

I am on party poker now - just because of their benefits. I used a bonus code CPP100 to get 100% cash back from first deposit once you play 1100 raked hands. I have been playing the 25PL tables and cleared my 1100 raked hands in a week and a half.

I find party poker has the easiest competition. Although I have been playing very low limits just to clear my bonus. However, even at these limits you can manage decent takes. I went up $100 in about 2.5 hours online last night. Which is pretty good considering the bb is 25 cents.

However, if you do sign up for Party talk to Brad first - he has some sort of scheme to get free chips plus bonus money. I wish I had asked first - he only needed 250 raked hands. You can clear that in just a few hours at the 25PL tables.


I think it is worth trying all sites just to take advantage of their promos. But that is my party poker update - it was a very easy way to get my deposit refunded.

AcidJoe

I've never played at pokerstars so I can't comment there.  All the games at Party are very beatable.  I played exclusively there through eurobet untill party pulled it's little fit.  I still play at eurobet (poker room skin) mostly because of rake back and the $600 bonus which i'm clearing.  The MTT's are very beatable if you play tight for the first hour and let about half the people go out and hope to double up with a premium hand.  Their sng's I didn't like for 2 reasons:  1-  blinds go up every 10 hands I prefer it timed (especially when it gets to 4 people).  2.  800 chips to start is way to low to play real poker.  I basically sit and watch for the first 3-4 blind levels then play 2 card home em (all in or fold basically).

Metro

Joe is definately right about SNGs.

The starting stack sucks compared to other sites like Poker Room.

I just find that Party Poker has a ton of :fish:.

I can often watch a table for about 15-20 mins and have a read of about 50-75% of the players. I can make enough money off them that I avoid the players who are solid.

Paul3221

I agree with AcidJoe about the format of the SNG's at Party.  You don't start with enough chips, and it just becomes a question of luck rather than skill if you don't make some money early.  I personally prefer the # of hands over timed blinds though.  With timed blinds, a few slow players can completely change the dynamic of the tournament.  It also allows players to cheat a little by playing slow to drive the blinds up on shorter stacks.  With blinds raising by # of hands, you always know when it's going to increase, and I find that helps.  Stars has a better format (as far as starting chips), but I really don't like 9 person tables, so I don't play there anymore.  Another factor for SNG's to consider is the cut the house takes.  Especially at lower limits.  Some sites take $.50/person for a $5, and some take $1/person.  If you're playing 100 tourneys a month, that's $50 out of your pocket!

As far as ring games go, Party is looser, and offers more bonuses.  It's also easier to get Party Points than FPP's, so you can get more swag if that's important to you (I'm wearing a Party sweatshirt right now... ;-)).  Another problem with Starts in my opinion is getting on a table.  There's always a wait, which is lame in my opinion.  They should have more tables running.

westside8

Johnnie, I think definitely PokerStars is the way to go for you there with the LL tournies and the SnGs. I have been primarily playing ring games in party (very juicy), but I never play any tournaments or SnGs due to their structure compared to that of pokerstars (except for that one time I tried to satellite to CPC). The SnGs at party, due to their blind structure, will require you to get some good cards early, or else you'll be blinded off pretty quickly compared to pokerstars where it allows alot of play early.

BlondeFish

Which sites have the best bonuses right now? I have only played limit hold'em online for free at Yahoo. I have been donating my money in live cash games, so maybe getting online bonuses will at least reduce my losses. :fish:

Monteroy

Pokerstars cannot be beat for multi table tournaments at all levels. For sit and gos the Pokerstars ones give a much better starting chip count and blind progression then Party Poker unless you like wild gamble fests. I have had the heads up portion of a Stars sit and go last nearly an hour, that is not possible at Party. Pokerstars has many tournaments at $5 and under for the starting player, most of which now feature payouts to the top 20%.


For limit, Party's games are silly loose passive compared to Pokerstars. To give a comparison of the $2/4 games, on Party about 60% of hands are raked (pot needs to reach $20) while on Pokerstars about 35-40% of hands are raked. The rake is less on Pokerstars then Party.

For bonuses, on Party poker you cannot clear them through tournaments, only through ring games. On Pokerstars the bonuses are cleared fine through tournaments and sit and gos (you basically get your fee back when you complete it). The Party bonuses need to be cleared within a week or month depending on the bonus, the Stars ones can stack and have no expiration.

The best sites for bonuses would be the Cryptologic skins with their monthly bonuses that work out to $9 per hour playing 1/2 limit or greater. The other sites on that network use a raked hand system (1/4 raked hand for any $5-19.99 pot, 1 raked hand for $20+ pots) which can be cleared well at 2/4 limit or Omaha pot limit (even the $25 buy in it's fast). Interpoker would be the best site for this as they also offer other incentives during the month such as $10 per KK hand dealt that can be done concurrently with their monthly bonus.

Party Poker and Paradise poker have decent initial sign up bonuses. There are much better ones available then the code mentioned above.

Hope that answers the questions, good luck.

zero

BlondeFish wrote:

Which sites have the best bonuses right now? I have only played limit hold'em online for free at Yahoo. I have been donating my money in live cash games, so maybe getting online bonuses will at least reduce my losses. :fish:

Check out this website. They let you know about every first deposit and reload bonus and have sie reviews and such.

http://bonuswhores.com/

Flint Bones

Hey Johnnie,

I have been at Party Poker for a while now. The MTTs are okay but they don't seem to have enough at good times. The SNG starting chip count is dead on. They need more but that won't change. If you ever move up to $50+ SNGs the starting chip count is 1000 vs 800.

Party has a lot of bonus enticements but sometimes they are hard to achieve for the players like us. Great for people who play everyday all day but not for a few hours at a time.

I played on Poker Stars for a while and I have been thinking about going back. Party Poker pissed me off with a problem a few days ago and their response sucked ass. But maybe I am just an ass myself.

Why the switch from Paradise? I never had any issues there (except re-deposit bonuses).

In the end I find a lot of weak players at Party Poker but I think you'll find the same weak players at Stars. Go with Party for a while and see how you do, you can always withdrawl your funds and switch.

ScoobyD

I'm looking to join either Stars or Party, since they seem to be the most popular online sites. But which is "better?"

In terms of customer service, reliability of software, and just a better "feel", I give an edge to Stars. I still think their software is the cream of the crop in comparison to some other sites.

I mostly play LL MTTs and SNGs but sometimes I'll sit a ring game or two.

Now this is the real question. Like everyone else, I give Stars the clear thumbs up in terms of SNGs, MTTs, satellites, etc. For tournaments, their structure is better, much more play and better tournament selection.

Now the flip side. Party's ring games are generally the softest online (with possibly the exception of Pacific, but I haven't played there in awhile). Their table selection for ring games is monstrous, and you will have no difficulty in finding a loose table, avg. pot sizes will tend to be higher on Party (just glanced at some 2-4 tables, Stars had one table with an avg pot over 30 bucks, most hovering around 20, whereas Party had numerous tables in the mid 30 to 40 dollar range). If you're playing ring games, you should be playing at Party, period.

In short, rather than an either/or decision, I think you'd be better served signing up on BOTH sites. Granted, I know it gets tedious having multiple accounts, but really I couldn't imagine NOT playing on both sites. I don't view one as better than the other, they both have a lot to offer, just in different areas.

the_main

Play both!

T_Mac

just an aside- one reason partys avg pot size is bigger is because party includes uncalled bets as part of the pot, and pokerstars doesnt