Which Site to Play

[BKKPLAYER]

I'm about to make a large deposit into either AB, UB, or FT. I 'd like advice about which site to make a deposit into. I already have $100 in PS. I play SnG's, tourneys and limit cash games sometimes. I'd like the best combination of bonus, fishes and the least amount of sharks/pros as possible. Even though I live in Thailand I want to use my US address because if I ever won a large tourney prize on a site with my Bangkok address it could possibly be forfeited because gambling is illegal here. (but widespread anyway)

[mrhappy333]

I always thought Poker Stars was the fishiest with the most traffic.

[wesrman]

It depends on what stakes and games you want to play. Why do you want money on more than one site? That will make it harder to clear bonuses and what not.

[Jack Sawyer]

I'm about to make a large deposit into either AB, UB, or FT. I 'd like advice about which site to make a deposit into. I already have $100 in PS. I play SnG's, tourneys and limit cash games sometimes. I'd like the best combination of bonus, fishes and the least amount of sharks/pros as possible. Even though I live in Thailand I want to use my US address because if I ever won a large tourney prize on a site with my Bangkok address it could possibly be forfeited because gambling is illegal here. (but widespread anyway)

trainwreck waiting to happen

[Stacks]

I don't really have experience on any site other than UB playing for real money. However, my take on UB is that the SNGs have a nice structure and I find that up to the 5.50 level they are fairly easy, if you stick to playing tight then loosening up as blinds increase (50/100). However, if you are looking to play cash games and build a bankroll that way, UB jumps from 2NL to 10NL, leaving out 5NL, which with my current bankroll and skill level would be ideal for cash games.

I really like UB's software compared to both Fulltilt and Pokerstars (where I have dabbled). It seems to flow more smoothly, and I just think it's better taste-wise.

One thing though is that the traffic on UB isn't close to the amount of players you will normally find on PS or FT. So that might change your opinion.

I'm most likely going to withdraw from UB, since my bankroll has began growing and deposit on Pokerstars. My main reason behind this is so I can take part in larger SNGs and play 5NL cash games. I've seen 180 man SNGs (I think) on Pokerstars and on UB at the level I play (5.50 and 11) nothing but the Single table (10 man) SNGs ever fill up.

[Unibomber14]

FullTilt is too cluttered for my taste. I like PStars, but I wish I would have known about rakeback before I created my account on FT. If I had I would probably be playing there now.

[d0zer]

I started on stars, went to FT for bonus + RB, and have now moved to UB for bonus + RB.

Stars: Love their software the best, most players, tons of tables. With proper table selection you can find decently fishy games. Shame about the no RB or bonus though.

FT: Software is OK, a little worse than stars. Less players, but still easy to fill 9 tables at micro-low stakes. Maybe a touch fishier than stars but not by much IMO. The bonus clears at a reasonable rate. I completed a $500 bonus after 30k hands at 50NL & got the friend bonus.

UB: software is ass. So many irritating things about it. Doesn't save window size, throws a dozen annoying popups at you when joining tables and you have to keep the HH window open for your HUD/PT to work. Bonus is slow as molasses to clear. Maybe 1/3rd the rate of FT's bonus. However, they have a huge bonus ($1k if you can grind it out). Less players, but holy piss are the tables fishier. Very Easy to find 30% flop / 20BB avg pot size at 50NL. Such tables are far harder to find at FT/Stars in my experience.

[wesrman]

Stars: Love their software the best, most players, tons of tables. With proper table selection you can find decently fishy games. Shame about the no RB or bonus though.

Also the support is terrific. Best in the business imo.

[trump]

FullTilt is too cluttered for my taste. I like PStars, but I wish I would have known about rakeback before I created my account on FT. If I had I would probably be playing there now.

Where can I find out more about rakeback options? The link the forum puts on the word "rakeback" doesn't mention anything about FullTilt so I'm assuming it doesn't cover a lot of options.

[Unibomber14]

I tried to use raketracker, but I can't create a new account at FT, so I can't get it. You can only add it on initial sign up.

[Sheetah]

Stars: ... Shame about the no RB or bonus though.

Their VPP/FPP program is similar to RB. Not much for low stakes/low volume players - maybe in the range of like 10% equivalent, but high volume players (supernovas) are getting more than 30% RB (buying FPP bonuses + milestone ones).

[XBOXXBOXXBOX]

Stars: Love their software the best, most players, tons of tables. With proper table selection you can find decently fishy games. Shame about the no RB or bonus though.

Also the support is terrific. Best in the business imo.

Agreed!

[d0zer]

Their VPP/FPP program is similar to RB. Not much for low stakes/low volume players - maybe in the range of like 10% equivalent, but high volume players (supernovas) are getting more than 30% RB (buying FPP bonuses + milestone ones).

True. From the numbers I've seen, the FPPs only become better than the 27%-30% RB you get from most other sites when you're doing some serious volume at 100NL or moderate volume at 200NL+.

I'm still a lowly 50NL player so the RB at FT/UB is better for me at the moment. I wanna move back to stars for the software/player base alone, but the RB is hard to turn down...

[trump]

Someone else posted a link in another thread http://www.tightpoker.com/ ... the site reviews there seem pretty thorough.

I've been playing on Absolute, and I'm noticing they have by far the crappiest competition rating. That definitely strengthens my resolve to go elsewhere.

I'll either go with PokerStars of FullTilt most likely..... I hate that FullTilt is so freaking ugly though.

[d0zer]

I've been playing on Absolute, and I'm noticing they have by far the crappiest competition rating. That definitely strengthens my resolve to go elsewhere.

Why do you want tougher competition?

[trump]

I don't want tougher competition, that's the point. I think you're reading something wrong.

A high rating means a lot of bad players, a low rating means lots of good players. Absolute has a rating of 3 where the next lowest is 6 or something.

[d0zer]

I don't want tougher competition, that's the point. I think you're reading something wrong.

I read those competition numbers as 'higher number = more competition'.

In my experience at stars & FT, both are tougher than UB. On tightpoker UB has a lower competition rating than both, so that leads me to read the numbers as such.

Then again, it shows partypoker having the highest competition rating, and it's widely knows as the fishiest site around (from what I've read). ...so I dunno what (if anything) to make of the competition ratings on tightpoker.

[Erpel]

Going to pad this thread with a question of my own. I created my accounts on a few sites 2.5 years ago then didn't play a lot, so some bonuses cleared, some didn't and.. I'm looking to get some decent benefit out of bonuses and rakeback going forward.

I happen to have my bankroll on Empire, and right now I'm just playing to learn and not to build bankroll - that can come later. I'm not moving off Empire now because it seems lots of bonus and rakeback deals are tied to signups on sites. I want to make that move when I can benefit from it.

I keep reading some pretty generalisations such as... PokerStars bonus scheme becomes equivalent to good rakeback at 200nl or so? Or is was it 100nl on many many hands and tables and 200nl on a moderate amount of hands and tables. Full Tilt Poker signup bonus and rakeback is good when you're not rolled for PokerStars bonus to come into its own.

I'm sort of coming at it from the lower end. Sitting on a $300 bankroll at this time and playing 10nl - at what stakes can I reasonably clear a bonus at FT for instance? I am grateful for the mention of 30k hands at 50nl to clear the FT bonus - this gives me a good first indication of where I need to be before I should consider moving my bankroll to FT.

I read this to say that when I am a winning player at 25nl with a $700-1000 or so bankroll it would be a good time to move my bankroll over to FT and profit from the signup bonus and rakeback both.

Does this conclusion overlook anything big?

[d0zer]

I'm sort of coming at it from the lower end. Sitting on a $300 bankroll at this time and playing 10nl - at what stakes can I reasonably clear a bonus at FT for instance? I am grateful for the mention of 30k hands at 50nl to clear the FT bonus - this gives me a good first indication of where I need to be before I should consider moving my bankroll to FT.

I read this to say that when I am a winning player at 25nl with a $700-1000 or so bankroll it would be a good time to move my bankroll over to FT and profit from the signup bonus and rakeback both.

Does this conclusion overlook anything big?

The partypoker signup bonus, is apparently the easiest to clear. That may be your best option for you at 10NL, help you build a roll for 25NL, then move to FT. It's not unreasonable to clear the $600 bonus at 25NL IMO

This of course assumes you're not American though ...

[Erpel]

The partypoker signup bonus, is apparently the easiest to clear. That may be your best option for you at 10NL, help you build a roll for 25NL, then move to FT. It's not unreasonable to clear the $600 bonus at 25NL IMO

This of course assumes you're not American though ...

I've done the American thing. Was fun, but it didn't stick. Thanks - I'd thought about moving my bankroll over to Stars for my learning so I could take part in the Gauntlet also. Would probably throw some non-bankroll money at it as an educational experience rather than use bankroll on it though. But PartyPoker sounds useful. Thanks.

Edited to fix ma quote and add this:
Did a bit of looking around - about that PartyPoker bonus... I've found the FTR bonus (30% up to $150 for 500 raked hands (or 600 party points on another site which becomes 500 raked hands at 10nl) to clear). Need to deposit $500 and I don't have the $500 yet. If the bonus is the same there's no question I sign up through FTR, but I happened on a third site also which is offering $150 free on a $100 deposit with 125 party points to clear. Does this sound like a scam?

I wasn't really planning to throw my bankroll around from site to site to bonus whore like a madman, but I guess there's no real reason not to.

[langaan]

The partypoker signup bonus, is apparently the easiest to clear. That may be your best option for you at 10NL, help you build a roll for 25NL, then move to FT. It's not unreasonable to clear the $600 bonus at 25NL IMO

This of course assumes you're not American though ...

I've done the American thing. Was fun, but it didn't stick. Thanks - I'd thought about moving my bankroll over to Stars for my learning so I could take part in the Gauntlet also. Would probably throw some non-bankroll money at it as an educational experience rather than use bankroll on it though. But PartyPoker sounds useful. Thanks.

Edited to fix ma quote and add this:
Did a bit of looking around - about that PartyPoker bonus... I've found the FTR bonus (30% up to $150 for 500 raked hands (or 600 party points on another site which becomes 500 raked hands at 10nl) to clear). Need to deposit $500 and I don't have the $500 yet. If the bonus is the same there's no question I sign up through FTR, but I happened on a third site also which is offering $150 free on a $100 deposit with 125 party points to clear. Does this sound like a scam?

I wasn't really planning to throw my bankroll around from site to site to bonus whore like a madman, but I guess there's no real reason not to.

actually there is.

don't mean to make it difficult, but there is mouch more to it. IE: sites such as absolute/UB have large bonuses, hard to clear, and the rake you pay at those sites is ridiculous. even if the bonus cleared as fast as Full tilts, youd get raped in rake (BBJ). FT's rake is even lower than party's..

without going into a bunch of details, if you only have $100 to deposit, i would suggest you go to party poker. i beleive they have a basic $25 sign up option as well. so you could deposit 100, get the 25 bonus, and play at a site where there are plenty of fishy games.

if you go anywhere like full tilt, absoute etc.. you will kick yerself in the arse later on when you do have the bankroll to utilize the full bonus they offer...

with that said,
as a beginner, my winrate at party is more than my winrate + bonus combined at full tilt...

[d0zer]

Man...I really gotta gets me over to party after I'm done whoring the UB bonus. Yeah that f'n BBJ is a killer, but at least they've got 30% RB + bonus + lots of fish.

I think the BBJ only starts at 50NL, so that wouldn't really be an issue for Erpel...

[spoonitnow]

Go to Stars el dee oh

[trump]

I'm sort of coming at it from the lower end. Sitting on a $300 bankroll at this time and playing 10nl - at what stakes can I reasonably clear a bonus at FT for instance? I am grateful for the mention of 30k hands at 50nl to clear the FT bonus - this gives me a good first indication of where I need to be before I should consider moving my bankroll to FT.

I read this to say that when I am a winning player at 25nl with a $700-1000 or so bankroll it would be a good time to move my bankroll over to FT and profit from the signup bonus and rakeback both.

Does this conclusion overlook anything big?

The partypoker signup bonus, is apparently the easiest to clear. That may be your best option for you at 10NL, help you build a roll for 25NL, then move to FT. It's not unreasonable to clear the $600 bonus at 25NL IMO

This of course assumes you're not American though ...

I'm pretty sure the way I was reading it was right. If you scroll down on each page he gives explanations for the ratings. Bodog, which has a 9 in his competition rating, the highest number he gives, he comments "The players at Bodog are pretty much absolutely terrible."

[BKKPLAYER]

I've been playing $1-2 MTT's and STT's on Stars with around 30% ITM success. I especially like the $2.20 sat. to the Sunday $100K event- I've placed ITM a few times and convert the TD's into cash. (Sunday evening EST is early Monday AM in Thailand :<) I like Stars so I'll stick with them to clear my $50 bonus. I'm also playing on Absolute and VC because they gave me $10 each. BTW VC told me that even though I live in Thailand I'm eligible for all prizes, so I may send them a Western Union deposit. Also they are the same network as Titan.

[youngsterrr]

avoid avoid avoid UB..bonus takes FOREVER..plz avoid UB..the suckouts are tremendous..FTP should be the best in your case

[Hawk]

actually there is.

don't mean to make it difficult, but there is mouch more to it. IE: sites such as absolute/UB have large bonuses, hard to clear, and the rake you pay at those sites is ridiculous. even if the bonus cleared as fast as Full tilts, youd get raped in rake (BBJ). FT's rake is even lower than party's..

without going into a bunch of details, if you only have $100 to deposit, i would suggest you go to party poker. i beleive they have a basic $25 sign up option as well. so you could deposit 100, get the 25 bonus, and play at a site where there are plenty of fishy games.

if you go anywhere like full tilt, absoute etc.. you will kick yerself in the arse later on when you do have the bankroll to utilize the full bonus they offer...

with that said,
as a beginner, my winrate at party is more than my winrate + bonus combined at full tilt...

AARRGGH!! Avatar thief confused me into thinking I had wrote this and forgot about it.

avoid avoid avoid UB..bonus takes FOREVER..plz avoid UB..the suckouts are tremendous..FTP should be the best in your case

I wanted to agree with this. With their new bonus structure, it is impossible to clear any sort of bonus, at the micros at least.

[daven]

erpel - recommendation.
Deposit at stars and clear the $50 bonus. Once you have the roll high enough to max out the party deposit, go to party and clear that. Then Pacific, and hopefully cash in one of their welcome freerolls as well.
Make sure you investigate rakeback (ask here) before starting up any new accounts.
Gimme a yell if you have any more questions - I started out with $200 late last year, and I've cleared some bonus in that time....

[BKKPLAYER]

I've decided to stick with Stars and reloaded $200. I now mostly play $5.5 STT's and an occaisional $2.2 MTT.

[d0zer]

avoid avoid avoid UB..bonus takes FOREVER..plz avoid UB..the suckouts are tremendous..FTP should be the best in your case

The UB bonus does take forever. I played maybe 15k hands at 50NL there and 5k hands at 100NL, and am realizing that it's slow as molasses and barely faster at 100NL.

After those 20k hands I've cleared $120 of it. $860 to go.

But don't give me that crap about the suckouts. As if some sites just deal more suckouts than others. My FTP experience was that of a billion suckouts, but I was just on a cooler, and at UB I'm on a heater, seeing about as many suckouts as I expect to.

[ndpg]

try to get some rakeback on some site and deposite there

[zxqv8]

What's a good site to go to if I want to get rakeback from the US (and I can't get FTP RB because I have an existing account...fuckers)? I've considered AP but if it's not very fishy I'm not very interested.

[sarbox68]

What's a good site to go to if I want to get rakeback from the US (and I can't get FTP RB because I have an existing account...fuckers)? I've considered AP but if it's not very fishy I'm not very interested.

Easy...

1) Get married
2) Have wife open FTP account in her name
3) ????
4) Make rake back $

[d0zer]

What's a good site to go to if I want to get rakeback from the US (and I can't get FTP RB because I have an existing account...fuckers)? I've considered AP but if it's not very fishy I'm not very interested.

http://www.raketherake.com/

http://pokerscout.com

[zxqv8]

Marriage is -ev.

I've been to raketherake but I'm wondering what people here think of some of the sites. I've considered Cake but hear the software is shit and that PT can't handle their HHs and I really don't like what I've heard about UB. That basically leaves AP but I'm really curious what people think of them overall in terms of fishiness and stuff like that.

[d0zer]

Marriage is -ev.

I've been to raketherake but I'm wondering what people here think of some of the sites. I've considered Cake but hear the software is shit and that PT can't handle their HHs and I really don't like what I've heard about UB. That basically leaves AP but I'm really curious what people think of them overall in terms of fishiness and stuff like that.

Read the FTR reviews. Then if you want, download the software, & check out what the tables look like. players/flop + avg pot size. Start looking at these figures a lot and you start to get an idea of what fishy is. Plus you can play some play money tables to get a feel for the interface...