In Which Dids comes to a lousy realization.

[B Dids]

So, I'm currently taking a break from ring games and reading SSHE. But in a week or so I should be back in playing at Party's 1/2 6 Max tables. I'm about 200BB away from moving up to 2/4.

HOWEVER, I just realized that Party doesn't HAVE 2/4 or 3/6 6 max. I also find that I much prefer playing 6 max to full ring. So here's the question.

From what I've heard the Pokerstars tables are tighter than Party by a large margin. If my end goal is playing 5/10 6 max, my debate is if I just cope with full ring for 2/4 and 3/6 at Party or move to Stars for those two levels?

Advice, opinions?

[Matty]

I say go to 2/4 6max at Stars, then skip 3/6 6max and head to 5/10 6max Party.

[Cleveland Guy]

Play 6 Max - it's obviously the game you have more fun at, and your probably better suited to.

If you don't like stars, look into pokerroom, paradise or another fish filled site to find your 2/4 and 3/6 game.

I killed the .5/1 5 max game and am currently beating the 1/2 at pokerroom. I haven't ventured into the 2/4 or 3/6 yet, but I am guessing they are also pretty soft.

[MisterKing]

You mention Paradise -- I don't think they have shorthanded 2/4 or 3/6. It'd be damn nice if they did!

[Cleveland Guy]

I don't play there so I really don't know. I guess my point was don't limit yourself to stars to find another shorthanded game.

[Peter]

Paradise has 3/6 shorthanded.

[imitation]

Stars 2/4 and 3/6 6max is a fish pond.

[NLSoldier]

I ran into the same problem a while ago and ended up getting staked so i could move to 5/10. When you say 200BB away from moving up what does that mean your BR is at? From what ive heard about the party 1/2 6max game lately, it is so soft that it might be worth it to just stay there until you have the roll for 5/10.

[imitation]

The 2/4 Stars game is beatable for as much as the 1/2 in my experience the play is not much better the only thing holding you back will be table selection during the day times, I find playing 2/4 and 3/6 stars during the peak times and 1/2 at party is the quickest way to build a roll for 5/10 + get in some experience against mildly better opposition at 3/6 stars. But I recommend avoiding stars during the quiet times even the 2/4 has much better players usually a bunch of TAGs and tricky LAGs.

[B Dids]

I'm 200BB away from 2/4. But if I know that I'm going to be playing full ring for two whole levels, that changes of some the approaches I'll take in my learning. Hearing good things about Stars tells me that I might not have to.

[Boopotts]

I'd set up at another poker room. Everyone plays at Party, but some competition would go a long way towards ensuring that the online game stays honest and that cashouts keep being processed quickly. If nobody gives Party a real run for their money all of us will have all our eggs in one basket- and that's a bad place to be when your talking about internet gaming.

IMO, everyone who plays-- and wins-- on a regular basis owes it to themselves and the rest of the online poker community to at least throw 5 or 10 hrs worth of action every week into another card room. The more healthy and profitable card rooms there are the better.

[naphand]

I hate the Party software, I hate their customer service, I hate the graphics. They have a lot of tables, but they are not as far ahead as they were. Also, the combined number of other short-handed tables offers quite a few choices for playing away from Party.

Players who better service/graphics etc will tend the play elsewhere, and are probably better players. That said, the fish will play anywhere and the better players will hawk over Party, so it works both ways.

I have accounts at PokerRoom, UB, Stars, Paradise, Party and Intercasino (via BetFair) and never have trouble finding loose games away from Party. Just ran a quick count (1 PM EST) and got the following:

Party 43 tables @ $5/10

Paradise 8 x $5/10 plus 11 x $3/6
Stars 4 x $5/10 plus 4 x $3/6
UB 1 x $5/10 plus 4 x $3/6
PokerRoom 2 x $5/10 plus 4 x $3/6
Intercasino 2 x $5/10 plus 2 x $3/6

Which makes 43 tables at Party versus 19 plus 25 at the other major sites.

I guess this supports the notion that by having no $3/6 at Party, the fish are playing $5/10. However, this sample is middle-of-the-week and middle-off-the-day, so it will change a lot in 5-6 hours. I think the other sites were quite low compared with what I have seen other days, but there is still plenty of choice away from Party.

My own opinion is that Stars players are worse than previously, they are still quite aggro (compared to Party) but certainly looser. They also play faster and the increased aggro makes the games good. UB and PokerRoom have some pretty appalling players, Intercasino players seem absolutely terrible (though I have only observed recently, rather than actual play). Paradise players I'm not so familiar, though they look better than average.

3-4 tables open is usually enough to get at least 1 or 2 good games, you don't need 40.

[turnipmonster]

this might not help, but you should be able to find some short games on party in the range you're looking for. obviously won't be as consistent as 6 max though.

[tripdad]

pokerroom has $2/4 and $3/6 SH games, and they are just as soft as Party. there's also a 40% deposit bonus if you sign up through cardplayer.com

cheers!

[naphand]

I think it is also worth pointing out that the Party games play typically 80 hands/hr (others remarks) and the fast tables at Stars play 100-120/hr and UB tables are usually 100-110/hr. That equates to an increase in hands/hr of 25-50%.

In comparison to Party, BB/hr rates for the other sites at $3/6 (assuming your BB/100 does not change) are the equivalent of $7.50 to $9/hr (all else being equal) compared to $10/hr, per BB won/hr. The "advantage" of playing Party $5/10 is significantly diminished as a consequence of its slow play.