Why I am playing at Paradise - For Newbies

[richrf]

Hi guys,

I've been surfing the online poker sites, tried out some, looked at things like rakes, bonuses, number of players, software, etc., and decided on playing at Paradise for the time being. Here are my reasons, and of course I would be interested in feedback from others, especially other newbies who are in the same position as I am - that is, we don't want to become "fish", we rather be the sharks. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

1) First and foremost, I felt I had to have some reasonable assurance that the shuffle is a fair shuffle. All of the companies are off-shore and not subject to U.S. law. The only thing I can rely on is some outside, respecting agency that audits the software shuffle. The only major site that I have come across that does is is Paradise, which has an outside Internal Auditing company, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, come in every 3 months to audit the shuffle. The audit seems reasonable on the surface. The auditors come in and match log records with history records (the ones that users use) to confirm the data is real, and then they confirm the probabilites of the shuffle are reasonable. While others (e.g. Poker Stars) claims to have an audit, it is completely different. Poker Stars only has the random number generator confirmed (any program can do anything with a RNG, it means nothing), and the auditor isn't a recognized Internal Auditing firm. The RNG audit may be legit, but note that PriceWaterhouse did something compeletely different - and valid. This means a lot to me.

2) Paradise has strong players. For a newbie, this is important since I want to improve my game and I don't want to learn bad habits. Instead of palying 60%+ hands, on loose boards, I am playing closer to 30% on Paradise. This is what I would expect. It is tough - but I want to be toughened up.

3) Paradise has micro limit games for newbies (.02/.04, .05/10) without any rakes.

4) Paradise has a low initial deposit with 25% bonus.

Let me know what you guys are doing and what you have found out.

Rich

[BruinEric]

Good post, thanks. I have only played Party Poker and Paradise. I signed up for Paradise because of a generous sign-up bonus.

I like both sites, but until the next Party reload bonus, I'm sticking with Paradise. I believe I need to continue to work on appropriate agression and folding appropriately post-flop, and I would much rather do that at .25/.5 than .5/1.

Very important in the equation is that Party's rake on post over $5 is .5. The rake for Paradise for the same pot is .25. That difference alone can be meaningful.

Whoever gets me a bonus that can be cleared at low limits (i.e., not requiring pots over $10 to 'count') gets my business!

That said, I am an overall "winner" at Party so far and an overall "loser" at Paradise...no matter.

One of the things I like best about Party Poker in comparison to Paradise is that Hand Histories from Party Poker reveal the final showdown hole cards for all, even the "mucked" cards. This is VERY helpful when determining which players carry horrible hands to showdown.

Of course, it's hard NOT to like the wide selection of full games at Party Poker. The number of players in ring games at Paradise is considerably less.

I also like the .1/.2 limit at Paradise in case I get on tilt (which makes me weak-tight) and need to REALLY practice post-flop aggression.

I like the speed of cashouts to Neteller from Party Poker. I have not yet cashed out of Paradise.

[richrf]

Thanks much for the feedback BruinEric. Paradise even has lower micros that they have no rake at all on. Once I feel comfortable that I have my game in gear in play money, I'll move into the micros. Frankly, the game is pretty tough even in micros, so I think I can hone plenty of skills there.

I am not sure why the play is so tough in Paradise's play money, but it is much tougher than anywhere else I played. So, it is a really good place for me to bring up my skill level quickly.

I agree with what you are saying about rakes. Rakes can really eat into winnings (or cause full tilts) if they are too high. I'm not saying that rakes in Party are excessive, but it makes a big difference if I'm paying no rakes, .25, or .50 - especially as I am in the process of learning. Why lose a lot when I can lose a little. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Good hearing from you. Let's see what others have to say.

Rich

[kvcobra]

Very good points, guys. Richrf, well done on the advance research. I agree; Paradise is my site of choice for all the reasons you have covered. Stats are better, too; in-game stats are great, and table stats are better than everage.

I admit that I also play at Empire (basically a Party skin), but that's just when I feel like feeding on the fish.

There are a lot of sites I haven't played real money at b/c of cash in/out policies. My Visa declines most sites, and I refuse to pay a "2nd rake" (Firepay, Neteller, etc.). I use Visa at Paradise (it works) and IGMPay (completely free) with Empire.

[richrf]

Great feedback kvcobra. Nice to know that Visa is the way to go. Can I ask how you cash out? How quick are the cashouts? Thanks for the info.

Rich

[Mike_S]

Rich you need to check this out
"building a bank roll for newbies" in the search

[richrf]

Thanks for the heads-up Mike. For those interested in the thread Mike has referenced, here is the link:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...art=2&vc=1

I bookmarked it for future reference.

Rich

[LazyRobot]

[ QUOTE ]
I refuse to pay a "2nd rake" (Firepay, Neteller, etc.)

[/ QUOTE ]

If you use Neteller and the basic EFT (wait 5 business days) you will not pay any fees.

[richrf]

Thanks for the info lazyrobot.

[TomR]

Just a few suggestions/comments:

1) PWC did not audit anything at Paradise. They performed some agreed upon procedures. Huge difference. If Anderson had done the same at Enron instead of an audit they wouldn't have gotten in trouble for what they didn't find. I was an auditor for six years for one of the big firms and currently do risk advisory for another one. What PWC did at Paradise doesn't make me anymore comfortable with Paradise than I am with any of the other major sites that you will see recommended around here. Just to give you some idea of how little PWC does at Paradise, I would guess they spend maybe 40 hours on this review each quarter, if that, while an audit of a major company takes tens of thousands of hours.

2) PokerStars also has relatively strong players at the micro levels.

3) So does Stars.

4) In the Classifieds on this site is a code for a 50% up to $100 bonus for your first deposit at Paradise. This is a great bonus for beginners due to its relatively low deposit to maximize the bonus, it's percentage and ease of clearing. I would suggest maximizing this bonus by depositing the full $200. If your bankroll isn't big enough yet, I would suggest starting on Stars until you have built your bankroll. Another advantage to starting at Stars is that they don't have bonuses for new accounts so you won't be wasting any potential bonus with too small of a bankroll as could happen at Paradise. One disadvantage to Stars is their minimum deposit is $50.

So if your bankroll is $200 Paradise is great with the bonus from the classifieds, otherwise I would suggest starting at Stars.