Full Tilt Initial Deposit Bonus vs PokerStars Initial Deposit Bonus
Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars are the two online poker rooms that constantly draw comparisons because they are the biggest and best poker rooms online. PokerStars has the most traffic in online poker and Full Tilt Poker is a not so distant second. The third most traffic belongs to the iPoker network, but this network has all kinds of rooms so you can’t really point your finger at one and compare it to Full Tilt or PokerStars. So since, these two poker rooms are running away with the online poker industry we are going to do an in depth bonus comparison.
Size of Initial Deposit Bonus
PokerStars initial deposit bonus is only a 100% matching up to $50 which is one of the smallest initial deposit bonuses in online poker. Some say that PokerStars keeps the bonus this small because they don’t need a big bonus to attract players, while others say that it is part of PokerStars strategy to attract new players who aren’t planning on depositing any more than $50 anyways. Then once these players play at PokerStars they enjoy it so much that they decide to stay.
Full Tilt’s initial deposit bonus is a 100% up to $600 matching bonus which is much larger than the $50 max at PokerStars. This bonus amount is pretty much the industry standard that all other poker rooms try to match or exceed. The amount is solid because players will rarely deposit over $600 anyways.
Point Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt definitely has the better size of initial deposit bonus.
Player Friendly Clearing Conditions
PokerStars initial deposit bonus is very easy to clear. To clear your bonus you must earn PokerStars frequent player points by playing in Stars cash games or tournaments. Each frequent player point you earn is worth $0.10 of your bonus. In cash games you earn 1 point when $0.40 or more rake is taken from a $1/$2 or below cash game and in bigger games 1 point is awarded for rakes of $1 or more. A second point is awarded when 6-max tables reach $2 in rake or when full tables reach $3 in rake. Then a third point is awarded when the rake reaches $5. In tournaments you earn 5 points for every $1 you spend in tournament fees. So this means that you clear $0.50 for every $1 that you spend in tournament fees. Partial points are not awarded.
Full Tilt Poker’s initial deposit bonus is also very easy to clear. You must earn Full Tilt Points by playing in cash games or tournaments to clear your bonus. Every FTP you earn clears $0.06 of your bonus. In cash games you 1 point for every $1 that is raked from a cash game hand. For example if the rake is $0.50 you earn 0.5 FTP’s. This means that if you are playing a 9-max table and $1 is raked then you earn 1 point which clears $0.06 of your bonus. On average you would have contributed $0.11 to the rake for each point you earn at a 9-max table which means that you clear about $0.55 for every $1 that you pay in rake in Full Tilt cash games. In Full Tilt Poker tournaments you earn 7 FTP’s for each $1 that you pay in fees, which equals out to you clearing $0.42 of your bonus for each $1 that you pay to the house.
Therefore, it is safe to assume that if you are cash game player it is easier to clear Full Tilt Poker’s bonus because you receive points regardless of how much rake was taken each hand and it is much easier to earn multiple points in the same hand. If you are a tournament player then PokerStars bonus is slightly easier to clear because you clear at a rate of $0.50 per $1 paid, which is better than Full Tilt’s $0.42 per $1 paid. Therefore this category is a tie.
Pay Increments
At PokerStars you don’t receive any increments; instead you receive your full bonus after you have cleared the entire amount. At Full Tilt Poker you receive increments of either $20 or 10% of your bonus whichever you reach first.
The Full Tilt Poker pay increments are better because you will receive at least a portion of your bonus if you don’t clear the entire amount by the deadline.
Point Full Tilt Poker
Expiry
PokerStars gives you 6 months to clear your bonus whereas Full Tilt Poker gives you 120 days. Both of these time frames are very long and are much longer than the majority of online poker rooms. However, since PokerStars is long they receive the win.
Point PokerStars.
Final Tally. Full Tilt Poker 2 – PokerStars 1
We have proven that Full Tilt Poker’s initial deposit bonus is better than PokerStars’.
Make sure you sign up at Full Tilt Poker using Full Tilt referral code “THEFULLTILT” in order to receive your initial deposit bonus.
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