Party Poker Vs Poker Stars – The Welcome Bonus

September 16, 2011

Party Poker and Poker Stars have been competitors for many years. Party Poker was once the dominating force in the online poker industry but over the past 10 years these two independent poker rooms have switched positions. These two rooms share many things in common so the Party Poker versus Poker Stars debate is somewhat complex. Over the past few years Party Poker has modernized their software and added a lot of value to their promotions and VIP program. Nowadays these two mega-rooms are comparable in almost every aspect with the exception of traffic.

This post will be comparing the bonus offers available at each room. I’ll look at several factors including:

  • Bonus size
  • Match amount
  • Clearance requirements
  • How the bonus is released
  • Time limit to clear the bonus

I will start with Party Poker since they practically pioneered the online poker industry.

Party Poker Sign-up Bonus

The Party Poker sign-up bonus is pretty standard in regards to the size. Before I get started explaining how this bonus works I should point out that this particular deal is an exclusive offer. To claim this bonus you will need to enter the Party Poker bonus code THEGAME. This code will need to be entered when you sign-up for a new account at Party Poker.

The size of the welcome bonus this code provides is a 100% match bonus up to $/£/€500. Party Poker does not change the size of the bonus depending on which currency you choose to fund your account with so this bonus is actually higher than it appears to be unless you deposit in U.S. dollars:

  • 500 British Pounds equal ~$789 USD.
  • 500 Euros equal ~$689 USD.

As you can see this bonus is almost $800 due to the discrepancy in currency values. The clearance requirements for this special bonus vary depending on the currency you used:

  • USD/CAD ($) – Earn 6 Party Points per bonus dollar
  • Euros (€) – Earn 8 Party Points per bonus dollar
  • Pounds (£) – Earn 9 Party Points per bonus dollar

The bonus is released at 10 installments so a $200 bonus would be issued in $20 increments and each increment would require 120 Party Points. These points are earned very quickly, even at the small stakes table so Party Poker scores high marks in this category. They give you 4 entire months to clear your bonus, which is 25% longer than the bonus at Pokerstars.

Overall, Party Poker’s first deposit bonus offers a lot of value and doesn’t come with the ridiculous fine print many other poker rooms use.

Poker Stars Sign-up Bonus

Poker Stars designed an extremely unique bonus for new players. Once again, this deal is an exclusive offer and can only be claimed by those who enter the Pokerstars marketing code PSP3653 and the bonus code STARS600. The first code needs to be entered when you create your account and the other will be entered when you deposit.

This bonus actually consists of three separate bonuses:

  1. 1st deposit – 100% match
  2. 2nd deposit – 100% match
  3. 3rd deposit – 100% match

Each deposit bonus combines with the previous bonus(es) and the max is $600. Micro and small stakes poker players benefit the most from this unique format because they can make three small-medium deposits and still claim a decent overall bonus.

Pokerstars does lower the maximum bonus amount depending on the currency. This fact essentially makes this bonus lower than Party Poker’s in some cases. Here are the details:

  • USD – $600 – Req. – 17 VPP/$1
  • CAD – $625- Req. – 16 VPP/$1
  • Euro – €465 – Req. – 22VPP/€1
  • British Pound – £390 – 26 VPP/£1

So if you deposit in USD or CAD you will receive a larger bonus at Poker Stars but if you deposit in Euros or Pounds it will be lower. The clearance req’s are also dependent on the currency, as shown above.  These requirement can be hard on micro stakes players but everyone else is usually cool. The bonus is issued in $/€/£ 10 increments and you will have 90 days to clear this it.

Who Has The Better Bonus?

In my opinion Party Poker has the better welcome bonus. It is easier to clear, significantly larger if you deposit in Euros or Pounds and you will have more time to clear it. The bonus at Pokerstars is really good because they match your first three deposits but that isn’t enough to compensate for everything else.

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