I'll pay you $150 to play Pokerstars or Party Poker for free? which 1?

[snowbank]

I would like as much feedback as possible please. Here's the deal... say someone offered to pay you $150 but you had to play Pokerstars for a month and no Party Poker. What would you choose? The reason I am asking this is because I have been given an extention on the Pokerstars bonus but from what I hear Party Poker is by far a lot easier. I am trying to figure whether I will make a lot more than $150 more than I would make on pokerstars on party poker. All comments appreciated. Thanks.

[Warik]

I wouldn't give up Party for a week for $150.

[gibs]

It really would depend on what limits you are playing. If you play very low limits, then it would be wise to take the $150 and play at Stars. But if you play in the mid to higher limits I would leave the $150 in a heartbeat to play at Party. The games are too juicy there to pass up for a measly $150.

[colgin]

[ QUOTE ]
I have been given an extention on the Pokerstars bonus

[/ QUOTE ]

Unless they have changed their policy recently, there is no deadline to clear Poker Stars bonuses. Take as long as you like. I have a pending bonus that has been sitting there for months. I just think the games at Party and UB are too good to spend my time at Stars for ring games. At some point, however, I will probably try to clear it though.

All the best,

Colgin

[Oblivious]

Even at .50/1, party is much softer than Stars. Go to party.

[PokerHund]

Take the bonus. You can even cash out and play the required hands later. Whenever Party is down (happens sometimes i heard) go there and play. If that is not an option; stay with Party. Most of the better players can beat Party for 3 BB 100h but Stars for 2. So , if you usually play 10-20 or higher you should definatly play at Party. In this case; if Party is down....watch a movie ! /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[rayrns]

I cleared the bonus in 3 days playing 1 to 2 tables of $1/2. When I was playing 1 table, I was playing 1 table at Party at $2/4.

Fri., Sat and Sunday games will lead to lots of raked pots. Weekdays can be very tight games.

[Webster]

Party - no question

[Bob T.]

I play both sites, my longterm winrate is higher on pokerstars. But, once you split it into different sites, I really don't have enough hours anywhere to conclude that one is better than another. Ill take 150, and play any online site, they aren't that different.

Good luck,
play well,

Bob T.

[Bob T.]

1 - You guys are all cowards, you need to learn to beat different table textures. Do you really think the pool of players at party isn't going to get more educated? What are you going to do then?

2 - During bonus clearing times, all sites get softer, because there are more players, playing slightly higher than they are used to, right now is a great time to play at stars while other players are still clearing their bonuses.

3 - It should take about 15 table hours to clear 750 raked hands and earn your $150 bonus. That is $10 an hour, I can't believe that a) there is possibly that much of a difference between your earn at one site over another, and b) that there is any other thing besides chasing bonuses that would make that much of a difference in your earn, that you can do to your game in 3 minutes.

Good luck,
play well,

Bob T.

[Warik]

[ QUOTE ]
1 - You guys are all cowards, you need to learn to beat different table textures. Do you really think the pool of players at party isn't going to get more educated? What are you going to do then?

[/ QUOTE ]

They aren't going to educate themselves overnight. Our games will progressively adjust as theirs do.

[gibs]

Cowards? How is it cowardly to go where you can make the most money? That seems like being smart to me (or even comon sense), not being cowardly. And like Warik said, if there comes a time where all the fish learn to play good poker, and thus there are no longer easy games, then we will adjust our play. But since this isn't likely to happen in the near future, I think we'll stay at Party.

[stupidsucker]

Table selection is one of the first important choices you make while playing poker. Why intentionaly sit at a tougher table? If party ever loses its fish, they will be somewhere else...

Here is my suggestion..

Play at party, but keep 100 bucks at stars and play a lowstakes table getting your bonus in.

[snowbank]

You are not allowed to withdraw any money to be eligible for a bonus. I have not put any more in yet for a bonus so I will probably just invest in Party from what I have heard.

[Nightwish]

[ QUOTE ]
3 - It should take about 15 table hours to clear 750 raked hands and earn your $150 bonus. That is $10 an hour, I can't believe that a) there is possibly that much of a difference between your earn at one site over another, and b) that there is any other thing besides chasing bonuses that would make that much of a difference in your earn, that you can do to your game in 3 minutes.


[/ QUOTE ]
Have you considered the fact that not everyone is playing the 1/2 or 2/4 game that you seem to be playing? Pokerstars is a rock garden, and at 15/30, the difference between my hourly rate at Party and Stars is much more than $10.

[Bob T.]

Have you considered the fact that not everyone is playing the 1/2 or 2/4 game that you seem to be playing? Pokerstars is a rock garden, and at 15/30, the difference between my hourly rate at Party and Stars is much more than $10.

For what it is worth, I mostly play 5-10, and some 10-20, and my winrate is higher at pokerstars for some reason than it is at party. But the main point is, the differences are not statistically significant and they are also smaller than $10 per hour per table. I wander between pokerstars, paradise, UB, True, and party on a whim, and find good games, (but not necessarily the same good games) at all of them. When party has a bonus situation, I play there exclusively until I clear the bonus.

Good luck,
play well,

Bob T.

[sumdumguy]

[ QUOTE ]
1 - You guys are all cowards, you need to learn to beat different table textures. Do you really think the pool of players at party isn't going to get more educated? What are you going to do then?

[/ QUOTE ]
Some pros will become better with time and continue to improve as games become tougher - some won't. Until then, a pro is a pro, expert or not, on Party. For some or many (I really don't know), the move to PS will be -EV.

[ QUOTE ]
2 - During bonus clearing times, all sites get softer, because there are more players, playing slightly higher than they are used to, right now is a great time to play at stars while other players are still clearing their bonuses.

[/ QUOTE ]
It may be a good time, relatively speaking for Pokerstars. But it doesn't mean a 'good' time at PS is better than the 'average' time at Party. The oppotunity cost (-1 PP table) could be greater than the gain of (+1 PS bonus clearing table) for some pros that do not have a more developed game.

[ QUOTE ]
3 - It should take about 15 table hours to clear 750 raked hands and earn your $150 bonus. That is $10 an hour, I can't believe that a) there is possibly that much of a difference between your earn at one site over another, and b) that there is any other thing besides chasing bonuses that would make that much of a difference in your earn, that you can do to your game in 3 minutes.

[/ QUOTE ]
It is entirely possible! The affiliate rakeback schemes come to mind immediately! Example:

Pokerstars 5-10 6max
Earn Rate: $6/tablehour
Bonus Rate: $10/tablehour (assumes bonus rate correct)
Total Pokerstars: $16/tablehour

Party 5-10 6max
Earn Rate: $12/tablehour
Rake Rebate: $4/tablehour (assumes a 20% rake back)
Total Party Earn Rate: $16/tablehour

Note: Using an earn rate difference of only $6/hour for 5-10 Holdem 6 max, it is only a break even proposition.

Is it possible to have an earn rate difference of 60% a big bet from one site to another? Of course. The difference exists from one table to another in a B&M room!

The better question is why would a lesser developed Party pro want to make an extra $0, $1 or $2 per hour and go through the hassles of moving money around? Why have to spend the time to figure out who's who on PS, or go scouting and waiting for a seat at a "good" table on a smaller site? This also represents opportunity costs to a Party pro.

[steeser]

Lately the 15/30 games at Stars have been pretty loose/wild. I'm having a hard time going back to Party right now, even though those games are wild as hell too.

For the most part, it seems my swings are lower at Stars. But it is a different game generally.

[unome]

I would think an even bigger problem with playing at Stars over Party is that if you like to play 3 games at once, your table selection at some levels is a bit diminished.

(Personally, it would have to be a lot more than $150 to get me to play exclusively at Stars for a week.)