Party Pooper

[Lost Wages]

I recently decided to take advantage of Party Poker's 50%-$50 max first time deposit bonus. Until now I have played exclusively at Paradise. So I transfer $100 from my Paradise account to Neteller. For some reason Paradise gives me a $20 cashout bonus [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] so I have $120 at Neteller and march over (click over) to Party to make my deposit. Well the cashier will only let me deposit in multiples of $50 so I have $20 left in cyberspace [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] . Strike 1.

The first thing I notice is that the games listing in the lobby is a total jumble. After studying for a few minutes I realize it's sorted by # of players so I re-sort by stakes (I guess there is no way to save this setting). Now it's sorted by stakes but 6-max and private tables are mixed together with the regular games. There is no indication of preflop percentage. I have played several sessions and never gotten the have of the waiting list. One table shows 62 people waiting. Another shows 12 waiting but I go to the table and there is a seat available. Strike 2.

I don't want to risk busting out on my tiny bankroll before I get my deposit bonus so I take a seat at a .5/$1 table. To say the game moved at a snail's pace would be an insult to a snail. At first I thought maybe the players were just slow but many times after I acted it took several seconds to respond. Sometimes after a showdown it would be like 10 seconds before the next deal. Has it always been this bad or has the influx of new players pushed their servers to the max? Strike 3.

I quickly discover how to turn off the player characters and leave them off for good (as well as the "Congratulations!"). The table looks a bit odd to me. All of the player names are centered on their chair except mine (has anyone else noticed this?). The button is halfway between two players so it takes me a while to figure out who has it. I post my big blind and wait about two minutes for the action to get to me. As the action moves around the table I notice that a flea has jumped onto my screen. I put on my reading glasses (OK, so I don't really have reading glasses but if I did I would have put them on). I then realize that my "flea" is in actuality a tiny arrow that points to the player who has the action. Do the programmers really this this is superior to flashing the entire player name as is done on other sites or are the just stubborn. One player fails to act so a clock starts counting down from 20 seconds. It finally gets to zero and then....nothing happens.... a full ten seconds more go by before he is declared all in. Strike umm 4??? (dang I really should plan ahead).

Oh well, I play my 250 raked hands and get my bonus. I try a litte $1/$2 to see if the action is any faster but it's not. The players are truly as terrible as I have heard but at ~30 hands per hour it's just not worth it. I withdraw my money and wait for the next reload bonus [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] .

Lost Wages

P.S.
Please forgave me for the shifting tenses.

[Bartleby]

I think you caught party at the wrong time. They are not usually that slow. One trick though--the number on waiting list is always highly inflated. If you want to speed the wait, go down to where there are 9 people at the table (still might show a lot of people waiting). Go to the table and many times there will be a seat available. Have to be quick about it though--click on that seat. I think it is one of the quirks in the system, that allows you to cut in line (just like you did in fourth grade lunch line). If you want to play a conservative .50/1, play in a $6 or $7 pot. Won't win a lot but won't lose a lot either.