Pokerstars vs. Full Tilt Poker

PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are the two largest online poker rooms in the world. They feature the best software, the biggest game selection, the most players, and the most guaranteed tournament prize money. Both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are world-class poker rooms, so which one should you choose? We hope this Full Tilt vs. PokerStars comparison will help you decide.

PokerStars Review

Intro: PokerStars is the largest online poker room in the world. Hundreds of thousands of players log on and play poker at PokerStars every single day. They did not become this large by mistake. They offer every game you can think of (and more), outstanding customer service, the largest tournaments online, and the best VIP Program in the industry.

Traffic: PokerStars, being the largest online poker room in the world, boasts the highest traffic of any other online poker site. There are many good players who make their home at PokerStars, but just because of the sheer number of players, there is always a soft game to be found somewhere.

Their traffic is more than double their nearest competitor, Full Tilt Poker. Whether you are looking to play no limit Hold’em, Omaha, Stud or any mixed game, you can find it at PokerStars and at just about any buy-in level.

Sit & Go tournaments fill up very quickly at every level and multi-table tournaments start constantly. PokerStars features the largest tournaments online, including millions of dollars in weekly tournament guarantees. Some sites do not offer a million per month.

Security and Support: PokerStars security and support are excellent. The randomness of the cards is verified by an independent firm, which is pretty standard. The security team takes reports of cheating and collusion extremely seriously. There are numerous posts on internet forums giving kudos to PokerStars support for refunding and redistributing player money as a result of a cheating investigation. The support is only available by email, but the support staff are always quick and helpful.

Software: PokerStars’ software is second to none. It is fully customizable, and there are all sorts of mods that can be downloaded or self made. All of the registration forms, lobbies, tournament info forms, etc. are very well done. After playing online poker for several years, you will notice that the PokerStars software is constantly tweaked to improve the user experience. Many of the tweaks are implemented as a direct result of player requests.

Promotions: PokerStars is constantly coming out with new promotions to temp players. Their first deposit bonus is 100% up to $600, which puts them on par with any other site out there. What sets their bonus apart is that it may be used over your first 3 deposits. No need to deposit $600 at once, you can spread it out a little and it still counts the same.

The VIP Program at PokerStars is simply the best there is. Some will scoff at the fact that PokerStars does not offer traditional rakeback, but just because there is not PokerStars Rakeback does not mean they pay back their players.

The funny thing is that Full Tilt Poker does offer rakeback, yet many full time grinders choose to play at PokerStars instead because of their VIP Program. They have even updated their VIP Program in October, 2010, so that you do not need to earn bonuses purchased with VIP Points. You can simply buy cash bonuses. This is almost unheard of in online poker and demonstrates PokerStars’ commitment to the players and improving their system.

PokerStars players can expect to see anywhere from about 20% effective rakeback all the way up to over 80% rakeback in some cases once you reach the Supernova Elite status. Becoming a Supernova Elite at PokerStars is truly one of the most rewarding accomplishments in online poker.

The Bottom Line: PokerStars is the biggest poker room for a reason. They do a fantastic job of creating a pleasurable experience for their poker players. Look beyond the traditional rakeback and see the true value in their VIP Program. Do not forget to use our links and bonus codes so that you get all of the benefits to which you are entitled. Do yourself a favor and sign up for PokerStars today!

Full Tilt Poker Review

Intro: Full Tilt Poker is the second largest online poker room in the world. They earned their #2 spot by connecting poker celebrities with the average poker player, and keeping their room open to US players during the UIGEA fiasco.

Traffic : Full Tilt boasts the 2^nd most online poker traffic in the world. There are about half as many players on Full Tilt as there are on PokerStars, but after Full Tilt, the drop-off is massive. PokerStars is tier 1 when it comes to traffic, Full Tilt is tier 2, and pretty much all the rest of the poker rooms are well below that on tier 3.

That is not to say Full Tilt does not have plenty of traffic though. You can find tables at almost any game in which you would want to sit. There is plenty of Omaha action as well as Sit & Gos and multi-table tournaments.

Security and Support : Full Tilt, like PokerStars, has their random number generator verified by an independent firm. Full Tilt’s support, on the other hand, has not gained the same respect that the poker community has for Stars support. They have improved, but there have been several complaints posted about Full Tilt’s support on some online poker forums.

Software: Full Tilt has all the standard features that you would expect from a world-class poker room. They have recently redesigned their entire interface to make it more user friendly. When you first log in you have a few choices on how you would like to have the lobby information displayed. They also make it very easy to customize your lobby with built-in widgets for even more information.

The tables at Full Tilt are famous the world over. Everyone can recognize a Full Tilt Poker table and player avatar once you have seen it just one time. This has helped them to really establish their brand. The software is excellent overall, no real complaints.

Promotions: Full Tilt is very well-known for their incredible promotions. They have great initial deposit bonuses, and feature an “Iron-Man” system that allows players to earn points for money and merchandise. The best part about Full Tilt Poker is that they offer rakeback. Rakeback can be the difference between winning and losing money in the long term, so it is an incredibly valuable to poker players.

They have recently redone their entire promotion system however. They still have Iron Man, but have taken away some of the top rewards and instead have introduced the Black Card Program. The Black Card rewards players who play a large volume over an extended time. Players are rewarded with a literal Black Card, which is nothing more than a trophy, but also with expanded bonuses, Full Tilt Point multipliers, and access to the exclusive Black Card Store.

Another great thing about Full Tilt is that the Full Tilt team has put a lot of effort into connecting average poker players with the poker celebrities that we commonly see on television. Some of the most popular poker players, including Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, and Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson, are very accessible to anyone who plays poker at Full Tilt.

The Bottom Line: Full Tilt matches up very well with PokerStars. What it lacks in software, it makes up for in its promotions. Full Tilt Poker did recently change their rake structure for rakeback from a dealt method to the weighted contribution method, however. This left a bad taste in the mouth of many players who saw their effective rakeback drop dramatically. However, for new players this is pretty insignificant and honestly a more fair approach to rakeback.

Overall, Full Tilt Poker is a great place to play. For the highest volume players PokerStars may be the best choice, but for many, Full Tilt Poker offers more than enough. Take advantage of Full Tilt’s awesome promotions by using signing up for rakeback at Full Tilt through Online Rakeback now!

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