Head to Head: Pokerstars vs Full Tilt - Which Is The Best Online Poker Site?
Pokerstars And Full Tilt Are The Biggest Online Poker Sites – Here We Compare Them, Letting You Know Which Is The Best Bet For Profits, Pleasure And Poker Games!
**Update: Well, Full Tilt have gone - and Stars are no longer accepting US players, you can find out who is still accepting US business in my updated status page on the best options for US players for online poker **
While that elusive quality which might define the very best online poker site is usually a matter of personal taste – there are many objective criteria by which we can judge the biggest two online poker sites. This article compares Pokerstars vs Full Tilt Poker on 5 key criteria… as usual we give you the SNG Planet Verdict based on the results at the bottom of the article.
Criteria assessed will be: Traffic And Opposition, Selection Of Cash Games And Tournaments, Software Client And Support and then Bonuses / Loyalty and Promotions.
Pokerstars vs Full Tilt Poker – Criteria #1 – Traffic And Opposition
Pokerstars is the clear winner when it comes to traffic volumes, often reaching three times the volume of players compared to Full Tilt with 200,000+ (Stars) compared with 90,000+ (Tilt) at peaks. This means that the choice of tables and tournaments is huge – for example SNG tournaments above the small buy-ins rely on good traffic volume (see our article on the Best Site For SNG Tournaments for more on this).
Skill levels of the opponents you will meet at the table is mixed at both sites. Players should be aware that both have their fair share of ‘pro grinders’ at all levels, often playing a very tight game at a large number of tables. This is balanced by recreational players who are prevalent at the lower to middle limits. We suggest there are slightly more recreational type players at Pokerstars than at Full Tilt – though there is not too much in it.
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Pokerstars vs Full Tilt Poker – Criteria #2 – Cash Game And Tournament Selection
Whether you play Satellites, Tournaments, SNGs or Cash Games both Stars And Full Tilt offer you some great options. With fantastic game selection at both sites we are going to have to look very hard at find the winner!
Firstly the larger player base at Pokerstars tends to lead to more niche games being available at all levels. This includes variations such as Badugi and 2-7 Triple draw in addition to mixed games and Omaha / Stud variations. Stars also have larger tournament fields – this could be seen as an advantage or disadvantage over Full Tilt, depending on your personal preferences for bigger or smaller tournaments (I personally find 3000+ players a 'no no' for regular tournaments, joining the big fields only in larger tournament events).
Full Tilt offer Rush Poker in both tournament and cash format, along with knockouts and cash-out tournaments too. Cash game players can enjoy nose-bleed stakes and play cap-limit games or even 'run it twice' at Full Tilt. Pokerstars also offer deep stacked tables, though Full Tilt are getting my vote for innovation.
One key factor to note is that Full Tilt have smaller blind increments than Pokerstars and also pay fewer spots with larger prizes. This contrasts with Pokerstars who pay out more players per tournament. Experienced players often prefer the steeper payout structure of Full Tilt, while recreational players enjoy getting at least some reward for their hours spent fighting through a tournament field.
Here my vote is for Full Tilt, who are way ahead when it comes to thinking up new ideas for their players to enjoy!
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Pokerstars vs Full Tilt Poker – Criteria #3 – Software And Customer Support
PokerStars Lobby
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Full Tilt Lobby
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Software is a major difference between Full Tilt and Pokerstars. Full Tilt has a bright, almost cartoon-like software interface with fun avatars to choose from. Pokerstars software can be thought of as slick, fast and functional – with the ability to upload your own photo or avatar to display at the tables.
The smooth running gives my vote to Pokerstars for software, though you will need to be careful to hide all of all the baby-photos people upload as their personal pics!
Any experienced online poker player should be able to tell you that there is a clear number #1 when it comes to fast and fair customer service – Pokerstars. They even have a dediated ‘Deposit Assistance Department’ in case you have any issues getting up and running.
Pokerstars vs Full Tilt Poker – Criteria #4 – Bonuses, Loyalty And Promotions
Both Pokerstars and Full Tilt offer a 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus for new players, their clearance rates are similar too (Full Tilt just a little faster – you can compare them in our best SNG Bonuses Article ). With Pokerstars your bonus can be taken over 3 separate deposits as required within 90 days, which is great for those players who want to make a small deposit to check things out before committing more.
Loyalty schemes are available at both sites, to be honest the Full Tilt scheme is very average when compared to the Pokerstars VIP loyalty scheme. Even the introduction of a 'black card' high rollers bonus scheme did not make up for this. Both reward players better the more games and higher buy-ins that they play.
One-off promotions are strong at both sites, these include satellites tournaments as well as features aimed at cash game players. Since the promotions vary widely from month to month we recommend that serious players bookmark the websites of the big poker rooms and keep an eye for any potentially profitable promotions for themselves.
I have to give the vote to Pokerstars once again, if you can reach 'Supernova' status the rewards are considerable.
Pokerstars vs Full Tilt Poker – The SNG Planet Verdict
With more games, more choice and a far better loyalty VIP scheme we have to make Pokerstars our number one choice. While Full Tilt are an excellent site there is a good reason why Stars are more than twice as popular – or rather a combination of many good reasons. If we were comparing Full Tilt to just about any other site then the verdict might be different… however in this case PokerStars own on every single criteria we used to compare them.
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Further Reading On Full Tilt And Pokerstars
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