Monday, March 21, 2005

Clearing a PokerStars Bonus

I deposited $650 in my Poker Stars account so I could take full advantage of the 20% bonus they are offerring. So far I have played 638 hands and I am down $37. I am trying to play a little tighter until I clear the bonus and I am playing two tables of 2-4 Hold'em at a time. My VPIP on Poker Tracker for these sessions is only 17%. Basically I have been getting some good starting cards, but not hitting the flop hard enough to win. Hopefully my luck will change over the next 600 hands.

Here is what I have noticed about Poker Stars:

1. At prime time they have over 30,000 players which is about 1/2 as much as Party Poker.
2. Most of the players must be playing tournaments because there were only 7-8 10 max tables going in the 2-4 section during prime time. I had the first time experience of playing 2 tables and having the same opponent on both of them. That never happens at Party Poker.
3. The ring players are tighter on Poker Stars. The pots are smaller and you can steal the blinds much more often than on PP.
4. The players seem more passive as well. I saw many exposed hands after the river that I would have raised with. The Poker Stars players just called down.

I like the software and I especially like the 4 color deck. The speed tables are nice as well. I think you can get 80-100 hands an hour on those tables.

Unless my opinions change, I think after I clear the bonus I will just play the tournaments on Poker Stars and play my ring games and one table sit-n-gos at Party Poker.

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