When it comes to a comparison of two online poker rooms there is one match-up in particular which already got its fair share of attention: PokerStars vs Full Tilt Poker.
And this is not surprising considering the fact that PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are the two biggest online poker rooms in the world with on average 27.000 and 17.000 active cash game players respectively. For US-citizens PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are the only options with high traffic throughout the day as the numbers three and four are rooms from the Cereus and Cake Network with on average only 2.600 and 1.800 active cash game players.
So why another 'PokerStars vs Full Tilt Poker' match-up if there are already so many articles floating around the internet covering the same online poker room comparison? Well, most of these comparisons of PokerStars and Full Tilt are inconclusive, outdated, incomplete or a combination of these three and therefore leave the answer to the question: "Which one is better: PokerStars or Full Tilt?" kind of in the middle. Especially when it comes to comparing rake structures and the PokerStars VIP-program to Full Tilt's rakeback and loyalty program most comparisons are outdated and incomplete. And this article is meant to be quite the opposite.
Contents of this PokerStars vs Full Tilt Poker match-up:
Both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars offer a very wide variety of poker games. PokerStars also offers the possibility to play 5-card draw, 2-7 triple and single draw and badugi which Full Tilt does not. Full Tilt Poker on the other hand offers a wider variety of mixed games (although considering the traffic in these games the added value of them is questionable). Shorthanded as well as full ring hold'em players have enough games to choose from at both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
Full Tilt Poker launched a completely new game in the beginning of 2010 called 'Rush Poker'. It's not really a new poker variation, but it certainly is a completely new and innovative cash game format. Unlike standard online cash games in Rush Poker games you don't have to wait for your turn when you fold a hand. The 'quick fold' option directly takes you to another table where a new hand will be dealt instantly. The result is a very fast game play in which you make decisions in a 'vacuum', that is, without any information about your opponents.
At Full Tilt Poker there's a higher ceiling to the stakes offered: $500/$1000 at no-limit and $2000/$4000 at fixed limit games compared to $200/$400 and $1000/$2000 respectively at PokerStars.
At the bottom of the chain PokerStars offers $0.02/$0.04 fixed limit games where those of Full Tilt Poker start at $0.05/$0.10. The blind levels offered at nano and micro stakes no-limit cash games are equal.
Nice feature at Full Tilt Poker is the availability of cash games with antes.
The maximum buy-in at 2nl and 5nl is different however: 200 big blinds at PokerStars vs 100 big blinds at Full Tilt Poker (with the exception of some 'deep' tables where the maximum buy-in also is 200 big blinds). The minimum buy-in at PokerStars is $1 at 2nl and $2 at 5nl vs $0.40 and $1 respectively at Full Tilt Pokers.
As mentioned above does Full Tilt Poker offer deep tables where the minimum buy-in is 50 BB with a maximum buy-in of 200 BB. PokerStars only offers tables with a minimum buy-in of 50 BB and a standard maximum buy-in of 100 BB.
Variations - At PokerStars you can play Double or Nothing tournaments (DON's); sit and go's in which the top 50% win double their buy-in (not taking rake into account). Full Tilt Poker on the other hand offers Matrix tournaments which you won't find at PokerStars.
Field size - The field sizes of the multi-table tournaments at PokerStars are generally larger then those at Full Tilt Poker. This means that the variance at PokerStars can be higher.
Stakes - At stakes below $1 PokerStars offers tournaments for which no rake (entry fee) is charged, while Full Tilt Poker only offers some satellites at these levels. Other than that the range of stakes is very similar at both sites.
Volume - Both PokerStars and FullTilt Poker offer a high volume of tournaments. Traffic at PokerStars is higher which causes multi-table Sit and Go's to fill up more quickly and first prizes in multi-table tournaments to be larger.
The lobbies of both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are equally as functional. Nice features that set Full Tilt Poker apart from PokerStars are the option to customize your lobby with certain widgets, to choose from different views and to see color codes you assigned to your opponents next to their names when selecting a table. Some screenshots (click to download):
Both poker rooms have all the features you could wish for as a multi-tabler or even as a mass multi-tabler. Both rooms are compatible with PokerTracker and HoldemManager; for both PokerStars and Full Tilt there are a ton of AHK-scripts available and auto reloading is no problem at all. The difference between PokerStars and Full Tilt when it comes to multi-tabling is the maximum number of tables: 24 at PokerStars vs 16 at Full Tilt (after asking support to up your limit). Furthermore PokerStars runs more smoothly than Full Tilt Poker when multi-tabling and using a HUD: Full Tilt can sometimes become incredibly laggy when multi-tabling, while at PokerStars these moments are exceptionally rare (even when 24-tabling).
The instant hand history feature of Full Tilt vs PokerStars' is very visually pleasing so to speak: a nice replay option with card pictures vs a plain hand history in text format from PokerStars. Full Tilt Poker has nice avatars, while at PokerStars you're glad sometimes that you can disable the custom pictures people use as an avatar. Furthermore, the poker pros are a little bit more present at Full Tilt because the tables where they play at are highlighted in red. And who doesn't like to watch the fireworks of pots that exceed the value of your own house getting tossed around?
So, while there certainly are some differences in the games offered and the software between PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, these differences are mostly minor and do not heavily favor one room over the other in an objective way. When it comes to rake and rakeback at PokerStars vs Full Tilt, there are some very distinct differences however. PokerStars' rake structure is very standard for the online poker industry, while Full Tilt has been known for taking high rake percentages especially at the lower stakes. It wasn't until recently that PokerStars upped their first deposit bonus from a measly $50 to match the nice $600 one of Full Tilt. But mostly PokerStars has been the room without rakeback while at Fill Tilt Poker new players can get 27% rakeback when signing up through a website that can offer it to them. Let's see how all this adds up.
Both PokerStars' rake structure and Full Tilt Poker's rake structure are already presented in another article about rake on FirstTimePokerPlayer.com. The biggest differences in rake structure at PokerStars vs Full Tilt Poker are the following:
Micro stakes fixed limit games
At micro stakes fixed limit games (up to $0.10/$0.20) PokerStars charges a lower maximum amount of rake. The pot size increments from which rake is taken are equal at both PokerStars and Full Tilt. At Full Tilt the maximum amount of rake will almost never be reached in these games in contrast to PokerStars. It is difficult to say how this affects the average amount of rake taken in these games when comparing PokerStars vs Full Tilt Poker other than that it might be lower over at PokerStars.
Micro stakes no limit games
At micro stakes no limit games the maximum rake at PokerStars is slightly higher (up to 10nl). This will only have an effect when pots become larger than $40, which will practically never be the case. Full Tilt Poker on the other hand takes rake from smaller pot size increments and also a higher amount of rake per dollar at 2nl and 5nl when compared to PokerStars. This is presented in the following graph:
As you can see the difference is quite big. The difference in average rake taken becomes smaller when pot sizes increase:
| Pot size | FTP 2nl-10nl | FTP 25nl | PokerStars |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0-$1 | 4.8% | 3.3% | 0% |
| $1-$5 | 6.5% | 4.8% | 4.1% |
| $5-$10 | 6.6% | 4.9% | 4.7% |
| $10-$20 | 6.6% | 5.0% | 4.8% |
Note: the average rake percentages in the table above assume that the real pot sizes are equally distributed over the range of pot sizes given.
"Why is the average rake taken at PokerStars vs Full Tilt Poker so important?", you might be wondering. Well, you can't get back what you don't pay. And although Full Tilt Poker offers 27% rakeback, they also take more rake in the first place. If we correct the rake percentages for Full Tilt Poker in table 1 for 27% rakeback then the figures would be something like this:
| Pot size | FTP 2nl-10nl | FTP 25nl | PokerStars |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0-$1 | 3.5% | 2.4% | 0% |
| $1-$5 | 4.7% | 3.5% | 4.1% |
| $5-$10 | 4.8% | 3.6% | 4.7% |
| $10-$20 | 4.8% | 3.6% | 4.8% |
As you can see, rakeback at Full Tilt Poker does not even compensate for the higher percentage of rake taken compared to PokerStars at 2nl, 5nl and 10nl. Only at 25nl does Full Tilt seem to be the better deal, that is, without considering the benefits of PokerStars VIP club (discussed later in this article). Read more about rake and rakeback at the micro stakes.
Heads-up and high stakes games
Less rake is taken at heads-up and high stakes games by Full Tilt Poker vs PokerStars. Rake at PokerStars' heads-up games (playing heads-up at a 6-max table) can be 2-4 times higher than at Full Tilt Poker (with the higher end at stakes with $200/$400 blinds and higher).
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker both offer a 100% first deposit bonus up to $600. To clear these bonuses you have to earn 17 VPP's for every dollar at PokerStars vs 16.67 player points per bonus dollar at Full Tilt. Seeing that 5.5 PokerStars VPP's are earned for every $1 in tournament entry fees in 2010 vs 7 FTP's at Full Tilt, these bonuses result in approximately 32% and 42% of your paid rake back respectively. At PokerStars you have more time before the bonus expires and you can make up to 3 qualifying deposits to receive the full bonus. Furthermore, if you take into account that the bonus amount cleared at Full Tilt is deducted from your MGR (your Monthly Gross Rake, and therefore your rakeback) then the actual benefit in terms of rakeback is around 31%. Yet another table:
| PokerStars | Full Tilt Poker | |
|---|---|---|
| Bonus | 100% up to $600 | 100% up to $600 |
| Requirements | 17 VPP's for every $1 | 16.67 FTP's for every $1 |
| Increments | $10 | 10% or $20 (whichever is lower) |
| Valid for | 180 days | 120 days |
| Rakeback % | Around 32% | Around 31% (incl. MGR deduction) |
| Bonus code | STARS600 | None needed |
| Other | 3 qualifying deposits possible | Deducted from MGR |
Both the loyalty programs of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are very (overly?) complex and are therefore hard to compare. Because of that this article will not provide an exact value in terms of rakeback for both these programs, which might be disappointing for some of you. Follow the links for the exact details of the PokerStars VIP club and the Full Tilt Poker iron man challenge. Note that PokerStars changed their VIP-program going into effect on January 1st 2010. This is thought to benefit lower stakes and shorthanded players in particular compared to the former VIP-program.
Why are PokerStars' and Full Tilt's rakeback program so hard to compare?
Well, the eventual benefit you get from both these programs in terms of rakeback depends on a lot of variables. In general the more you play and therefore the more rake you generate, the better your return will be. Part of the value of these programs is given to you in the form of freeroll entries. Obviously you have to be able/willing to play those to get any value out of them and even then it's impossible to say what the exact value will be for you in particular. The value of these rakeback programs will be different for full ring, shorthanded and tournament players. And both VIP-programs require another 'commitment' to really benefit from them. While the iron man challenge requires you to play as consistently as possible (200 FTP's for 25 days per month for iron man status), the PokerStars VIP-program allows you to take some days off and compensate them at another moment that month. Furthermore, at PokerStars it will take quite some time before you have accumulated enough VPP's and FPP's before you can start 'harvesting' your rakeback, while at Full Tilt there will be a steady weekly rakeback stream with some longer term iron man benefits. And it is very hard to say what exactly the added value will be of having those funds at your disposal more quickly.
It is generally thought that if you can make it to SuperNova status at PokerStars that your return will eventually be better than with the 27% rakeback, the iron man challenge and the Full Tilt Points combined at Full Tilt Poker. With the changed PokerStars VIP-club achieving Platinum status might result in approximately the same benefit as 27% rakeback at Full Tilt Poker. If you are not a multi-tabling grinder at 25nl and 50nl, then you won't achieve that status and Full Tilt will probably result in a better deal overall.
Note: everybody signing up at PokerStars will automatically benefit from their VIP-program, whereas you need to sign-up at Full Tilt Poker using a rakeback link to benefit from the 27% rakeback.
Support of Full Tilt vs PokerStars is bad. Full Tilt's support team can only be contacted by e-mail and it isn't uncommon for them to take a couple of days to respond. This is in contrast to PokerStars' support team.
PokerStars will be the better choice:
On the other hand, Full Tilt Poker will be the better choice:
Good luck with choosing the best room for you and don't forget that you can always try both PokerStars and Full Tilt poker out yourself to see which room suits you the most. Don't play at one room if it happens to give you more of your paid rake back but when you actually dislike playing there for whatever reason.