PokerStars NL and tourney players, answer a few Qs please :)

ZimbuTheMonkey · #1 07-17-2005, 04:15 PM

I'm currently on Eurobet and I want to try PokerStars because they seem to have lots of great tourneys all the time. How are their tourneys and NL (shorthanded and full ring) tables compared to the Party Poker skins? I've heard that they're tougher, what do you guys think? I'm a NL100/200 6-max player at the moment, what kind of differences would I see if I played at Stars?

I know that Stars doesn't offer any of "that which must not be mentioned [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]", so I won't be making it my main site. I want to try it out mostly for the tournaments. Any advice or comments are welcome. Thanks in advance.

William · #2 07-17-2005, 04:36 PM

Have lots of medicine for the nerves.
You'll need it when your big pairs get busted 78% of the time!

smoore · #3 07-17-2005, 04:46 PM

I only play tournaments at 'stars unless I'm donking it up at the micro NL tables. I love the tournaments. If you win seats via satellites they will let you cash the seat in for tournament dollars that can be used to register for any other tournament. Competition is soft in the $20 and below MTTs and SnG's. I don't venture higher than that.

ZimbuTheMonkey · #4 07-17-2005, 05:04 PM

Thanks [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] See you at the tourneys then.

What about their NL ring games?

William · #5 07-17-2005, 05:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] See you at the tourneys then.

What about their NL ring games?

[/ QUOTE ]

See my previous answer [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

ZimbuTheMonkey · #6 07-17-2005, 05:33 PM

Ah, so almost exactly like Party [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

William · #7 07-17-2005, 06:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Ah, so almost exactly like Party [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

HEHE [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] have a nice time at Stars [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Nathan183 · #8 07-17-2005, 06:57 PM

Don't forget that if it's the same system as Party he will be put in "beginner mode" for awhile after he signs up. During this time he will hit every draw, and win every coinflip. Once he gets settled in and comfortable with the site, they will of course put him in "payback mode". At this point you will always get drawn out on, to keep the new players happy.

I may have missed some of the details, but that's pretty much how it works. I got an indepth explanation of it from someone at the $50 NL table yesterday.

Big Business · #9 07-18-2005, 12:50 PM

I play at Pokerstars and for the most part I think the play is very bad. I pretty much rack up at the $10 or $20 SNG's just playing tight because I always get action on my big hands.

I only played premium hands one time and nobody caught on at all and would call down with medium pair etc.

The MTT's are good as far as payouts go, but I think it is hard to finish up in the top 10 just trying to doge a bad beat bullett. I saw A's cracked 6 times in a row in the last tourney I played.

Great example of a SNG I played last night:

-I am short stacked blinds are 200/400
-I have about 1,600 and two others have around 4,000 and three handed.
-Buttom raises all in preflop...I fold, other person calls so the two huge stacks going at it preflop.
-One had AKo and the other has A9d and the guy hits the 9 on the flop and I end up second.

Easy money!

ZimbuTheMonkey · #10 07-18-2005, 01:52 PM

That's good to hear.

I was always under the impression that PokerStars should be avoided cause of all of the tighties. Must have been the review at www.pokerlistings.com. They still rate the competition as "1" because of how tough it is, apparently.

Soft competition (1)
The ring games are very tough at Poker Stars, due to its very poker savvy players. The view flop percentages are markedly lower than the online average. For example, at the 9 player no-limit Holdem tables ($1/$2 and up) the view flop percentage is often in the mid 20-ies and low 30-ies. In Omaha there are some loose games with view flop percentages up in the 40-ies and 50-ies, sometimes in the 60-ies (at $1/$2 and up). The tournament player quality is of more varying level. Of course there are mostly strong players in high stakes sit-and-go and the main fixed schedule events. However, a lot of non-experts take part as Poker Stars attracts many tournament players as the tournaments leader. In short, the competition is quite tough, but less tough in the tournaments.

I just checked out the NL100 and NL200 flop view percentage, and it seems pretty high. Party doesn't list these stats, but it seems similar to me as a player there.