PartyPoker vs. PokerStars

Sign up Bonus

PartyPoker: When you use our Party Poker Bonus Code, you'll get 30% back up to $150

PokerStars: Poker Stars gives $50 back (100% of your deposit)

Verdict: Since the Poker Stars initial deposit bonus is probably the lowest deposit return you'll find, PartyPoker's $150 possible deposit return looks good; however, if you are only planning on depositing $50, then your money will go further at PokerStars.

Promotions

PartyPoker: Reload bonuses available every month, Bad Beat Jackpot, lots of freerolls, Sit & Go Step Challenge, Tables of the Week, the Free Ride (earn commission-free table time for playing)

PokerStars: Offers a wide variety of promotions, the newest being the PokerStars 2x promo that doubles the usual promos for new players. The World Series of Online Poker (WCOOP) and other leaderboard tournaments are also available. There are also lots of big money tournaments like the Sunday Million.

Verdict: PokerStars has the hype-type promotions that change often, while PartyPoker offers the traditional and constant types of promotions that stay around. Are you a player who changes poker rooms often, or do you prefer to hang around? Perhaps the answer to this question will help you make a choice.

Tournaments

PartyPoker: Sit & Go Single-Table, Multi-Table, Free rolls, Shootouts, and Time-Based

PokerStars: Single-Table, Multi-Table, Heads Up, Sit & Gos, Turbo tournaments, Freerolls, Private tournaments, Satellites, Re-buys

Verdict: Both have a good variety of tournament options.

Games

Party Poker: Texas Hold 'em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo, Seven-Card Stud and Hi/Lo

PokerStars: Texas Hold 'em, Omaha and Hi/Lo, Stud and Hi/Lo, Five-Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, Razz, and HORSE

Verdict: Party Poker offers a nice spread, but PokerStars has more options.

Traffic

PartyPoker: There are a lot of players here, but all traffic on PartyPoker is non-US players.

PokerStars: One of the most trafficked poker sites; PokerStars is internationally advertised and has a huge celebrity team backing them.

Verdict: PokerStars has about 4x the traffic that Party Poker has, with up to 150K+ players online during busy times.

Deposit Options

PartyPoker: Paysafecard, MoneyBookers, eps, NETeller, WebMoney, Bancontact/Mister Cash, Click & Buy, Click2Pay, iDeal, VISA/MasterCard/Visa Electron, Laser, my Citadel Wallet, Electronic Transfer, UseMyBank, Switch/Solo/Maestro, EntroPay, Bank Transfer, and Bank Wire Transfer, and many others

PokerStars: Online Bank Transfer, Visa/MasterCard, Visa Electron, paysafe card, Neteller, moneybookers, Solo, Delta, Maestro, WebMoney, Local Bank Transfer, Instant e-checks, Click and Buy, Diners Club International

Verdict: Both offer a lot of depositing options for their high volumes of traffic.