Which online site to go with? Why?

[BarronVangorToth]

Here's a very general question that will definitely be of use to me, and probably to quite a few other players.

I've been playing live for quite some time but I sometimes don't feel like going up to Foxwoods. I've sampled most online sites for poker, but would like to concentrate on one at first.

The problem is ... I can't figure out which I like the best.

So, let's say I'm starting from scratch. I'd like to join Site X.

My questions:

a) which one will net me the most as a new player? Is there some insane new bonus sign-up thing I'll get at Site X. I.e. if I'm going to deposit, I don't know, $100 ... $500 ... $1000 ... whatever into my account, which site would give me the BIGGEST bonus.

b) About me: I probably am not as aggressive as I should be, I play very tight, so I guess I'm a bit weak-tight. Fortunately, I make money at Foxwoods by not playing many hands and then playing out those few I want to play. However, this strategy, while it might work at Foxwoods at their 5/10 and 10/20 games, won't work well at all sites. So ... online, in the, say, 3/6 4/8 5/10 10/20 games (whatever), which would you recommend for someone who plays tight but isn't as aggressive as others. Is there a place that is max +EV for me?

Any and all help will be appreciated, since I can't figure out from the limited sampling I've done at Party, UB, Paradise, etc etc where I would fit in best and make the most, so hopefully those of you with billions of hands of experience could fill in some blanks and get me up to speed.

Thanks!


Barron Vangor Toth
www.BarronVangorToth.com (http://www.BarronVangorToth.com)

[AncientPC]

You assume people read threads, most people who ask where to start playing poker don't bother to read the rest of the forum (not targetting you, just in general).

a) Full Tilt, 100% match to $600. Clearing is another thing though . . .

b) Get Poker Tracker (http://www.pokertracker.com/), play on Party. It'll force you to not play weak-tight, as blinds will just eat you away and you'll see all the crap that the monkeys on Party will showdown with.

Since you do play weak-tight, maybe you should adjust your game to match the opponents rather than find opponents that play your game.

Personally, tight-passive games are hard to find. Most games are generally either TAG, LAG, or LP but that's just my opinion.

[BarronVangorToth]

I'm somewhere between tight-agressive and weak-tight, in actuality, I do have a tendency to overstate my weakness in order to get the point across, but, yes, agreed, I definitely need to play more aggressively in general (I leave money on the table constantly) but I'm looking still for a place that will (a) help me get better but (b) also be the most profitable for me, with that mindset.

Knowing many people on this list are far from the TAG's they want to be, I thought those that do well would let me know likewise.

But, you referenced Full Tilt -- what's the clearing problem? While I don't mind having some bucks in my account, I do plan on syphoning it out as I see no reason (for myself, at least) to be one of those people with thousands in my online account. If I need more, I'll put it in there, but I certainly don't want to float them a bunch of loot.

Barron Vangor Toth
www.BarronVangorToth.com (http://www.BarronVangorToth.com)

[AncientPC]

If you want a place to help you get better (i.e. play more aggressively), than you want to play at a site where they will call you down with less than premium hands. Party is one place that'll do this, as well as Pacific, and Paradise (well it was when I played there a month ago).

Places like Absolute Poker, Full Tilt, and UBet have a lot of players who play weak-tight aka nut peddling. I don't find those sites to be very profitable. Keep in mind I'm mostly referring to NL 25 / 50 / 100 tables, which may or may not apply to you.

On a scale from 1 to 10 of bonus clearing ease (10 being the best), here are my personal ratings:

Full Tilt: 1
UBet: 2
Absolute Poker: 5
Party & Skins: 8
Paradise: 7
Pacific: 2

[carlo]

Go to Bonuswhores.com and they can explain the advantages/disadvantages of each site. It's not all but a good start.

regards,
carlo