I play occasionally on stars. The chance to win a big amount from a relatively small outlay is appealing. They also have a great choice of games at all stakes. Although like others have said, it's also soooo frustrating to play for 5/6 hours, lose a big flip or whatever & only like double your buy-in. I think they pay too high a % of the field.
Increasing the rake on all games under $20 is a very poor decision in my opinion. I also don't like all the new gimmicks they keep coming up with like power up poker & spin & go max.
I do love the fact that streamers on twitch are allowed to stream their games
I don't play there, mainly because of the distrust of holding funds in the US.
I hear the s/w is lovely though, perhaps it may be possible to experience that on Sky at some point in the future (as long as we don't lose all the things I love about Sky).
The only attraction to me would be liquidity on SNGs which are my favourite format and hard to get going on SkyPoker but overall that is nowhere near enough to change my playing loyalty.
The sheer volume of players on Stars means finding games at any time of any day is always far easier and can often be the only real option when playing outside of UK peak times if you are after more than odd table or two.
Whilst the overall standard of games is clearly much higher than, say, Sky, the sheer volume of players mean that the total number of weaker players online is still substantially greater also. I get that particularly at higher limits it can be tough to join tables vs those weaker players due to third party software, but the opportunities are still there.
Whilst they have taken a more rake is better approach, it is still lower than most competitors.
The software is obviously mint as well.... although as per post on the Sky thread, I personally prefer the look and feel of the tables here (even if they don't run anywhere near as smoothly and crash on a semi-regular basis!) and I also think the note taking is better here (although appreciate most people have 3rd party software for their notes on Stars!)
For all the talk of cashing out / paying in, Stars are still really good compared to most other $ based sites I've used.
Shame their focus has been lost from poker and seems to be all about getting people into casino games and sports book now.
FWIW I think there are plusses to Party that both Stars and Sky could pick some changes from...
Easier to get a rake back, paid in cash Click cards for freebie tournament entries Low rake in first place with low cap on max rake per hand in the micros Software runs smoothly enough for me (recent DDOS issues aside lol) Ability to track hands to PT4/HM2 so you can review your play, but.. Anonymising opponents so that you aren't playing vs HUD aficionados
Comments
Increasing the rake on all games under $20 is a very poor decision in my opinion. I also don't like all the new gimmicks they keep coming up with like power up poker & spin & go max.
I do love the fact that streamers on twitch are allowed to stream their games
Wheres the smiley face with love hearts for eyes?
Other reasons I don't play there as much include the 3rd party software and the finishing times of mtts.
I hear the s/w is lovely though, perhaps it may be possible to experience that on Sky at some point in the future (as long as we don't lose all the things I love about Sky).
The only attraction to me would be liquidity on SNGs which are my favourite format and hard to get going on SkyPoker but overall that is nowhere near enough to change my playing loyalty.
Whilst the overall standard of games is clearly much higher than, say, Sky, the sheer volume of players mean that the total number of weaker players online is still substantially greater also. I get that particularly at higher limits it can be tough to join tables vs those weaker players due to third party software, but the opportunities are still there.
Whilst they have taken a more rake is better approach, it is still lower than most competitors.
The software is obviously mint as well.... although as per post on the Sky thread, I personally prefer the look and feel of the tables here (even if they don't run anywhere near as smoothly and crash on a semi-regular basis!) and I also think the note taking is better here (although appreciate most people have 3rd party software for their notes on Stars!)
For all the talk of cashing out / paying in, Stars are still really good compared to most other $ based sites I've used.
Shame their focus has been lost from poker and seems to be all about getting people into casino games and sports book now.
FWIW I think there are plusses to Party that both Stars and Sky could pick some changes from...
Easier to get a rake back, paid in cash
Click cards for freebie tournament entries
Low rake in first place with low cap on max rake per hand in the micros
Software runs smoothly enough for me (recent DDOS issues aside lol)
Ability to track hands to PT4/HM2 so you can review your play, but..
Anonymising opponents so that you aren't playing vs HUD aficionados