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Should You Play on PokerStars or FullTilt? – Average Pot Sizes

Posted on Sep 22, 2009 by Gugel in Data Analysis

PokerStars vs. FullTilt

I’m really excited about this post.  This data has never been released and it’s practical, objective advice that can increase your winrate.

Here’s how I got my hands on this juicy data:
Dameon of PokerTableRatings saw my last post on trying to objectively measure how hard it is to move up in stakes and asked me if I wanted any additional data.  I asked him to ship me the average pot size by day of week/time of day and he was kind enough to oblige.  (Dameon, you’re the man).  With Dameon’s data, I basically knew the juiciest times to play on every site and every stake.  I’m going to share it with you.

So, in this post, I’ll start off by addressing whether it’s better to play on PokerStars or FullTilt.

You guessed it, it depends
If you play $25NL, $50NL, $100NL, $400NL, $600NL or $2000NL, Stars is better.  If you play $200NL, $1000NL or $5000NL, FullTilt is better.  The chart below shows the average pot size for both sites.

Why is this the case?  I think FullTilt’s rakeback program attracts better players for lower stakes (those low-limit grinders) and pots are smaller as a result.  As for the higher levels ($200NL and up), I have no idea what’s happening.  There are definitely some significant discrepancies (especially at $2000NL).  Anyone have any theories?  Post a comment.