Why Does Anyone Here Play On Party/stars/etc?

[Abbaddabba 0]

Im reading through hand histories in the micro section and in the limit section for smaller stake games, and i still see like half of the people playing at these sites. It boggles the mind. We spend so much time meticulously going through the smallest details to push such tiny edges. Just by taking a bit of initiative, you can bump your winrate by more than 2BB/100.It's almost insulting when party sends you an email trying to drag you back with ... 15% up to $75!!1111 OH ****, they might even have another one a month from now! And their player points program is such a huge joke. After a month of solid play, i would accumulate maybe $25 worth of points. Stars is only SLIGHTLY better. I can understand mid to high stakes players needing to play there just because games arent available elsewhere (or if they are, they're tough). That just isnt true for low stakes games.(this wasnt originally intended as a shameless plug for my sig, but it sure is convenient)

[BudBundy 0]

I agree.I have just moved up to 1-2$ and Cryptologic sites' bonus+rakeback are being extremely helpful for my bankroll.Maybe it doesn't make much of a difference for a high roller but knowing that i will get 200$ from bonus and 200$ from rakeback every month gives me confident on my play.I don't have to play scared cus i know i can handle a 200BB downswing without even touching to my Bankroll thanks to bonus and rakeback.Party occasionally gives me 30 or 40 dollars.I just clear the bonus and transfer money to Fulltilt or a Crypto site for some real bonus.

[kdogg 0]

Some people just get used to playing at a particular site. I started off at Stars and it's been the place I've spend the most time at. The SNGs and MTTs are great, the cash games are fishy, and the table availability is great. I personally prefer the rakeback/bonus route, but I can see why someone would want to play at fishier tables. The 2BB/100 sounds kinda high for microlimits. How often is a hand even raked at those stakes? I think rakeback is optimal from 1/2 to 10/20, but anybody above or below those stakes should probably be playing with more fish.

[Actuary 3]

I doubt my 50 SnG's per week matter.vs Players are not good on Party.if I get back into Limit, I will move.though, who wil be left at Party? Maybe the winrate is worth it to stay? Surely serious low limit players will be mostly elsewhere getting rake.and I may look you up Abba

[Briguy 0]

I don't play enough to clear ten zillion bonuses a month. If I devoted more time to poker, it would probably improve my bottom line to jump around and chase some of the larger bonuses that require mucho raked hands. Unless that happens, I'll stick with the ultra-aggressive tilt monkeys and the loose passive call stations at Party. Lord, but they hate money.In fact, when I take my 'vacation' in August, I plan to go on a bonus-whoring bonanza. How sad is that?I play tournies at Stars because I like the interface, and because I imagine the $5 freeze-outs and $2-$3 Rebuys are all pretty much the same skill level at most of the big sites.

[krup24 0]

Not everybody plays limit................

[pokerplayer24 0]

In the end party/stars are known so its most likely that when you first get into online poker it will be on one of these sites. For me I sacraficed not having rakeback and lesser game selection to stay on stars just because I was comfortable with it and I liked the service that PS offered with the VIP program and support in general. Did I sacrafice money, sure. But I just think overall a lot of people are willing to sacrafice money to play somewhere where they are comfortable. Of course the main reason will always be ignorance though as many dont realize the offers that are out there.

[hotbacon 0]

I've stuck with stars because of their interface, game selection, and my 'comfort' with them in general.I can 10 table stars with ease, but for whatever reason I simply can't do that at any other site, and 10 tabling most bonus/rakeback friendly sites would lead to zero game selection, if there are even 10 tables to begin with.

[MasterLJ 0]

I can't give up my 2.5 million hands I have in my PT database on Full Tilt. Although sometime in the near future I'm going to have to create a new account to be eligible for rakeback.

[Abbaddabba 0]

and I liked the service that PS offered with the VIP program and support in general. Did I sacrafice money, sure. But I just think overall a lot of people are willing to sacrafice money to play somewhere where they are comfortable. Of course the main reason will always be ignorance though as many dont realize the offers that are out there.

Ignorance shouldnt be an excuse if they post in the strategy forums. I think everyone here knows. And if not, well - threads like this should help them figure it out. :PI think it's the issue of building a comfort zone. Everyone builds a comfort zone, but if you play at a new site for even a week, you'll become accustomed to it just as you have with the one you're at now. Sure it's nice to see rewards in the form of fun stuff that you actually want (from the VIP store) rather than a big number. But when you calculate the cash value of the player points that you're earning it is extremely small.

I've stuck with stars because of their interface, game selection, and my 'comfort' with them in general.I can 10 table stars with ease, but for whatever reason I simply can't do that at any other site, and 10 tabling most bonus/rakeback friendly sites would lead to zero game selection, if there are even 10 tables to begin with.

If you are 10 tabling, then you're missing out on a ton for every hour you play.You can play on different sites at the same time... if you combine the playerbase at wpex, absolute and some b2b sites, there is more than enough to 10 table during regular hours. For those who are concerned about winrates dropping - i dont know how you'd predict that for yourself. But i can say that my winrate has dropped by from about 2.7BB/100 at party over 60k at 2/4 and 3/6 to about 2.5BB/100 over 50k hands at absolute. Something like that easily fits within a margin for error with samples of only 50-60k hands.

[pokerplayer24 0]

Sure it's nice to see rewards in the form of fun stuff that you actually want (from the VIP store) rather than a big number. But when you calculate the cash value of the player points that you're earning it is extremely small.

I guess, once you become supernova at PS that fun stuff turns into 16k weekly freerolls and WPT entries.

[hotbacon 0]

Sure it's nice to see rewards in the form of fun stuff that you actually want (from the VIP store) rather than a big number. But when you calculate the cash value of the player points that you're earning it is extremely small. If you are 10 tabling, then you're missing out on a ton for every hour you play.You can play on different sites at the same time... if you combine the playerbase at wpex, absolute and some b2b sites, there is more than enough to 10 table during regular hours. For those who are concerned about winrates dropping - i dont know how you'd predict that for yourself. But i can say that my winrate has dropped by from about 2.7BB/100 at party over 60k at 2/4 and 3/6 to about 2.5BB/100 over 50k hands at absolute. Something like that easily fits within a margin for error with samples of only 50-60k hands.

Regardless I'm going to get less hands in at random sites than at stars. Also multi-siting will make it harder to start pulling up tables etc. in the first place.Also, multi-siting means less solid reads because of a smaller DB (my stars DB is pretty big).You're probably right that I'm missing some $ though. But I'm lazy and I doubt it's too much.

[iggymcfly 0]

I always thought I'd open an account at WPEX if I ever got into playing limit seriously, but right now, I'm just not. I'm playing:1. 6 max NL: (This is my primary game right now, where I make the majority of my income, and where I spend 2/3 of my time.) In this arena, game selection is key, and you're not likely to get the fish that you get on Party anywhere else.2. MTT tournaments: Again, you really want a large site to get anywhere with these. I supposed I should at least open a Stars account to increase the selection, but I like Party's interface, I get enough tournies there, and if I had more high-limit tournies to play, it would probably just distract me from cash games.3. PLO cash games: When I looked at the WPEX site, these weren't even offered. Again, game selection is key here. I actually should look into playing on Bodog more for these which I haven't since I emptied my account betting on the NBA Finals, but the good games there don't run that often either. Basically, your best chance with these is to log on to Party on something like a Thursday night, when the juicy NL games aren't drawing everyone in and the NLHE players decide to "try PLO" for the night. Still though, I've found my NLHE rate winrate is dwarfing my PLO winrate lately, so unless the games are really juicy, I haven't been bothering with these much lately.Oh, also I don't have a Neteller account right now, and while I really should open one, I just haven't got around to it. The direct deposits and withdrawals to your bank account are sooooo convenient. Also, my PT database tends to run really slow as it is, and I think if I had to figure out my stats over 5 different sites, it would be a lot less convenient. That's actually the main reason I never deposited back on to Bodog, since PT doesn't support it, and it makes record keeping really difficult. I probably won't bother getting a Neteller account and depositing different places until college football season starts again. That's the only sport that I ever bet seriously and made money at. I watch about 12 hours worth every week during the season, and I think I actually have enough knowledge to pick off the lines that are a few points off. They take a lot of juice on Bodog, so I'm probably going have to open account somewhere else if I really want to make serious money betting sports next season.

[mrdannyg 274]

Regardless I'm going to get less hands in at random sites than at stars. Also multi-siting will make it harder to start pulling up tables etc. in the first place.Also, multi-siting means less solid reads because of a smaller DB (my stars DB is pretty big).You're probably right that I'm missing some $ though. But I'm lazy and I doubt it's too much.

you are correct about all your points, but i bet you'd find your effective profit per hour would be about double for table hours at absolute or WPEX than at another site, even if you were comfortable, or with a good DB there.

[econ_tim 0]

i mainly play at a site that has both rakeback and fishy players, but i will also play at party and stars sometimes

[DonkSlayer 1]

Not everybody plays limit................

I'm clearing my bonuses on AP pretty quickly playing mostly SH NL.

[sdnuol 0]

I play on stars because it's the only place I have money at the moment.

[Abbaddabba 0]

www.neteller.comtakes a few minute

[pocktdeuces 0]

www.neteller.comtakes a few minute

you really think it makes that much of a difference if you play nl abbadabba?Jesse

[Oneeydjaq 0]

I play on stars because it's the only place I have money at the moment.

Well said...

[Mattnxtc 0]

for nl party is just to juicy not to play...averaging 5-10ptbb/100 is just to good to pass up

[Abbaddabba 0]

you really think it makes that much of a difference if you play nl abbadabba?

I dont know how much of a difference there is between the games because i dont play NL at either.It's not as critical for NL as it is limit. But it's still worth quite a bit. Look how much you pay in rake on PT, and you'd probably get almost all of that back in benefits.

[pocktdeuces 0]

I dont know how much of a difference there is between the games because i dont play NL at either.It's not as critical for NL as it is limit. But it's still worth quite a bit. Look how much you pay in rake on PT, and you'd probably get almost all of that back in benefits.

i get rakeback + bonuses on hollywood poker, but it still seems like i make more playing at party. I dunno, the competetion just seems so much more important than the incentives.Jesse

[Mattnxtc 0]

i get rakeback + bonuses on hollywood poker, but it still seems like i make more playing at party. I dunno, the competetion just seems so much more important than the incentives.Jesse

personally i just hate the pokerroom software so even though i could get rakeback on those sites i just dont like the interface

[KDawgCometh 2]

telling people about how other sites are is -ev. js