Stars or Party?

[toast01]

Yo, Canadian beginner player here.

I currently don't play online and I'm trying to choose between starting up on Stars or Party.

I prefer the look of Stars, but I've read that Party is especially fishy right now, having recently denied American players.

I'm looking to play a mix of Sngs and cashgames, hoping to study hard and eventually make decent money out of poker.

I'm not interested in bonus whoring, but rakeback is good I guess.

Can anyone help me out?

Thanks.

[PokerGolfFiend]

"but rakeback is good I guess."

Full Tilt is good for rakeback - stars is good for tounreys

[Jeff Oneye]

I never once deposited a penny at Party Poker but walked away with a nice bankroll before the recent prohibition. As mentioned before, check out your options through Pokersourceonline to see if you can either get a juicy deposit bonus or even a free instant bankroll (if they still have these). Historically, Party was always 'softer' but their customer service was seriously lacking.

That being said, Party has fast payouts and a very large player base that is almost sure to surpass Pokerstars soon. Also, Party has a 'beginner section,' or at least they did, that allowed new players the ability to compete against only new sign-ups for 45 days (if I remember correctly). This made for some VERY soft tables. Furthermore, they had lower stakes tables for newer players, which was a safer way to build a bankroll. Of course, what was true a half year ago might not be true now.

Pokerstars has a very large variety of microlimit games and lower juice on the sit and goes (5 + .50) instead of (5 + 1) is one example. Also, Pokerstars has limits like .1/.2 and .5/.10 NL and .2/.4, .4/.8, .10/.20, .25/.50 limit. At these limits-at basically any site-you'll find pretty soft competition. And, Pokerstars has responsive and intelligible customer support. Furthermore, I think the software at Pokerstars is fabulous, with great graphics, few disconnects and continual improvements. However, the competition at more meaningful limits is generally more difficult (again, I'm referring to the 'old' days).

I would check out the Internet Bonuses section and visit Pokersourceonline. Maybe you can download both site's packages and examine the limits, software and competition. A little preliminary investigation now will probably pay handsome dividends later. Also, instead of an either/or perspective perhaps you might want to consider splitting your funds up between the two sites to find where you feel most comfortable.

JeffreyREBT

[Miyogi]

You will want to figure out a way to get a consistent bonus for your play. Rakeback is a huge part of your winrate when you are a low limits player for most people.

[toast01]

Are there significant differences in the skill level of the players on the various sites, or is it really not apparent?

[Miyogi]

What limits are you planning on playing? I can't comment on the sit n' go's but in cash games around 100NL I think you will start to notice a more significant difference. At least comparing Full Tilt and Party.

[toast01]

As I have never played online before I can't gauge my skill level. To be safe I'll start at micro NL stakes with a BR of about $200.

I'm more interested in seriously learning the game and working my way up through the stakes.


I guess my main question is: Is it better to start on a site with weaker players so I can play at higher stakes, or play on a site with tough players, but get benefits from rakeback and bonuses at lower stakes?

Also, I haven't mentioned this, but ease of depositing and withdrawing matters to me. Which site is better for Canadians in that sense?

[Bobo Fett]

[ QUOTE ]
As I have never played online before I can't gauge my skill level. To be safe I'll start at micro NL stakes with a BR of about $200.

I'm more interested in seriously learning the game and working my way up through the stakes.


I guess my main question is: Is it better to start on a site with weaker players so I can play at higher stakes, or play on a site with tough players, but get benefits from rakeback and bonuses at lower stakes?

Also, I haven't mentioned this, but ease of depositing and withdrawing matters to me. Which site is better for Canadians in that sense?

[/ QUOTE ]

It should, and this alone makes Party the slam dunk choice. Many will say that Party is softer, which I think it is, but the banking options make it a no-brainer. Even when Neteller was available, I used Party to withdraw money to my bank account.

Party has a sign-up bonus that is very easy to clear; make sure you sign up through somewhere like PSO to get some additional swag.

[Innocentius]

Another thing to consider is what time of day you plan to play. Since banning the US players, party peaks during european evenings (18-24 CET).

[mbpoker]

One consideration for Party is that they may pull out of Canada at any moment. During recent months they pulled out from US, France, Israel, and recently Turkey.

Many posts recommend Party because they compare Party as it was 6 months ago with Stars as it is now. But Stars has far more games now than Party for your time zone because of American players.