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Getting Started at Microstakes Poker: Full Tilt vs. Pokerstars

Friday, October 31st, 2008 by Phil

Many of us started playing online at the microstakes. It’s a casual way of playing poker without the headaches of losing huge amounts of money. Let’s face it most of us aren’t going to be pros playing poker so we stick to the microstakes and hope to build enough bankroll to compete at the next level. Then there are some of us who just enjoy playing poker and really aren’t concerned about losing $20 here and there as long as we’re having fun. Then there are the grinders, who try and squeeze out profits at the micro tables. This is very attainable but it just takes time. Add up all those little winning sessions and you get a decent pot of gold at the end of the year.

If you are any of these players I just described and you want to start your online career by playing micro stakes and building up your game or bankroll then there are some important things you need to know before making that first deposit.

There are many poker sites out there but I prefer; Full Tilt and PokerStars the best. First they are the two largest sites out there in terms of the amount of players playing at any given time. They both accept American players so that’s a plus if you’re from the U.S. The reason why these sites are the best is simply numbers. More players equal more action and more choice. I’ve played at other sites with low volume players and sometimes it’s hard to find a juicy game. With Full Tilt and PokerStars, there’s never a worry about finding a game that’s right for you.

Secondly, since these are the more popular sites you’re going to get more bad players than good ones, perhaps more so at the micro levels. For example, Site A has 20,000 players and Site B has 5,000 players. By sheer numbers alone Site A should have more bad players than Site B. Site A has 25 micro table cash games running and Site B has only 10. Site A has more choices for you in terms of picking the right table to get your career started. This is why I choose to play at the more popular sites. There’s just more donkeys around to take money from.

Now that we’ve established the reasons why Full Tilt and PokerStars are the places to be for action, let’s breakdown the two sites:

Level of Play:

The level of play is pretty even. There are going to be some grinders playing but for the most part players are just tossing their loose change around into the pot. Some people I’ve talked to say that PokerStars has the better players and others will tell you the opposite. Some people tell me that PokerStars has more donkeys while others still say that FullTilt has cornered the market on donkey play. From my experience you get the same amount of suckouts and donkey play at both sites and if you’re a poker player that’s to be expected anyway. It’s basicallly a coinflip. It’s the old Blondes vs. Brunettes thing, it really depends on your preference. This is where finding the right table is paramount, again the more choices you have to better chance you’ll be able to find a table that fits your style of play.

Edge: Even

Micro Ring Games:

PokerStars has more choices when it comes to micro stakes play. If you’re a cash game player, PokerStars offers stakes as low as .01/.02. The next level up is .02/.05, then .05/.10 and .10/.25. FullTilt on the other hand has their micros stakes starting at .05/.10.  Obviously, PokerStars has the advantage here.  If you’re a player who wants to start off very small and build your way up or build your bankroll then PokerStars is the place for you. I’ve seen a few players start off at the .01/.02 levels and work their way up to higher levels. It’ll take time but nothing worth doing is easy anyway. Or if you’re just happy playing for nickels and dimes and don’t want to blow a wad of cash playing poker, PokerStars is the place to be. Again more choices equals a better opportunity to build bankroll.

If you want to try out a new game such as Omaha, HORSE, Stud Hi-Lo, Stud Hi, Razz and don’t want to break your bankroll while learning how to play then PokerStars also has the edge over Full Tilt. PokerStars offers these games at affordable levels (.04/.08 or .10/.20 for Stud and Razz) for while Full Tilt’s lowest levels for these other games start at .25/.50 and believe me, playing .25/.50 when trying to learn a new game is not fun and can be costly.

Another thing you should be concerned about is that Full Tilt charges 10% rake (the money taken out of the pot that goes to the website – hey that’s how they make money) for their lowest micro ring game (.05/.10) while Pokerstars charges 5%. That’s a lot of change over the long run. That eats into your profits. That extra 5% is huge over time. Let’s say for example you’ve won $200 worth of pots. At Full Tilt $20 of rake was taken while at PokerStars $10 was taken out. If you’ve ever played at the micros then you know how hard it is to make $10 in profits grinding at the .05/.10 levels. It adds up.

Edge: PokerStars

Micro Stakes Sit n Gos and Tournaments:

If you’re not a cash game person and prefer micro Sit n Gos or tournaments ($1-$5 tournaments for example), then it’s pretty much even when you compare sites. Both sites have similar spreads of games. The difference is the buy in amounts. For Sit n Gos, it’s pretty much even. Both offer games as low as $1. PokerStars offers .10 multi-table turbo SNGs (240-360 players) while FullTilt’s lowest offering is $1. Full Tilt also offers $2 Sit n Gos while PokerStars does not.

The difference is the rake. PokerStars takes in a rake of .20 for Sit n Gos while FullTilt takes .25. That makes a huge difference if you’re playing volume. Let’s say that you’ve played 200 $1 Sit n Gos over the course of a month. That’s $10 more in rake you pay to FullTilt. It adds up.

For tournaments PokerStars has a pretty good spread. You can enter .10 cent turbo tournaments in Holdem or Omaha. They also have a .25 and .50 cent multi-table tournaments for Hold em. You have a chance for a decent score while putting up a fee that’s less than a pack of gum. Not too bad considering the economy these days. PokerStars also has tournament entry fees ranging from $1-$4 if super micros isn’t your cup of tea.  FullTilt’s spread is narrower than Stars. Their lowest MTT is $1. The big difference is that FullTilt charges no rake for their $1 tournaments (PS charges .10). FullTilt does offer a .10 cent re-buy tournament for those supermicro fans.

Again the big difference is the rake taken. Full Tilt takes no rake on their $1 MTTs while PS charges .10. For their $2 dollar MTTs, Full Tilt charges .25 while PS charges .20. From $3 up the standard 10% tournament fee applies.

PokerStars generally has the bigger tournaments and also for some tournaments PS offers a 20% award structure. This award structure allows more players to finish in the money. Full Tilt offers Knockout tournaments where you get a prize for knocking out a player. They also have double stack micro tournaments where you start out with a double chip stack.

When it comes down to it though, Pokerstars has the bigger tournaments in terms of entrants. For example a mid day $1 tournament attracted about 1,000 players at Full Tilt while PokerStars had over 2,000 entries.

Edge: Slight edge to PokerStars as they offer a wider range of buy-ins and because of their rake structure.

Verdict:

It really depends on preference. There are plusses and minuses for both sites but overall I’d have to give the advantage to PokerStars, especially if you’re a micro maven. Pokerstars is just a little better for micro players than Full Tilt. I feel that PokerStars gives you a great chance to start off small in terms of bankroll and gives you the ability to build your bankroll at the micro levels.

Pokerstars offers a better spread for their cash games, they make it cheaper to learn new games other than hold em, their rake structure is slightly better as compared to Full Tilt, they have super micro tournaments that start at .25/.50 and they have better customer support when it comes to questions.

All in all, I’d say if you were a player just starting out or a player that wants action without risking a lot of money then PokerStars is a great way to start off your career. PokerStars allows you to deposit a small amount and offers you a wide range of games and buy-in levels so you can practice and build your bankroll without going broke at the same time.