Moving sites: Books/FPP Store suggestions?

Edit: See post at bottom of thread on Party vs Stars point system. I'm really interested in how "RB" would be calculated through points. Party does pure cash (unless you're an SnG player) back, and stars has "stuff" (because the bonuses at goldstar and under are shitty). At the higher levels, I'd imagine Stars is much better, esp with the milestone bonuses.

If nobody has an answer, how should I go about testing this? I was thinking:

Play a 1 hour session on one site at a given stake with certain number of tables (higher = more accurate I suppose), count points, use PT for rake paid, repeat. Take raw numbers for points earned, compare with corresponding vip levels on the sites, calculate perceived $/hour?




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For whatever reason, I'm tired of having a split roll, so I'm off to Party till' at least 200nl+. Party is just better for the "rakeback", and I don't even have rakeback. Their 2nd best VIP level just trading for cash beats goldstar by fair bit (no calculations, but it's pretty obvious with the 3x multiplier and freerolls.

I'll have 6-7k FPP points on stars before I go though, hoping to pick up like 3 books from the FPP store. Ace on the River and Psychology of Poker were recommended on an earlier thread. Are there any books on the fpp store a few of you have bought / read and found worthwhile? I'm up for anything, mostly playing cash but don't mind a book on tourney play in the house, obv. A lot of the stuff on there is supposedly trash: reviews are pretty touch-and-go at best (someone gave Ace on the River 7/10 because it didn't help beginners. Sigh) so I really don't want to be pulling randoms off the shelf. Any other suggestions in the 5-10k range for points would be appreciated.

Thanks.

um, I was under the impression that party is the worse of the three (stars/FTP/party) in terms of RB/$bonus reward system. What am I missing here, did they do a complete update or something?

party's point system is absolutely horrible

something like 12-14% if you're a deuce (highest/hidden VIP lvl)

Chris Moneymaker Medallion

OH WAIT

you cant get them anymore....

too exclusive now - mine has quadrupled in value.

I suggest buying loads of pokerstars t-shirts and sweatshirts so all your friends know youre a serious shark when you go to play in the weekly homegame.

When i play live i always give mad respect to the guy whos earnt 400 fpp and bought himself a PS cap to wear.

ace on the river is great

books that will help u to play live tourneys from the PS store?

save your ffp and download all the book for free.

ace on the river super system harrington,...

from glancing at the list here is what i would consider worthwhile:

the theory of poker
no limit hold em theory and practice
the psychology of poker (heard it was good, seems interesting)
ace on the river
pizza, pasta, and poker (obv)
mathematics of poker
krantz's short-handed no limit hold'em dvd (haven't seen or heard anything about it but krantz is a great player)

fwiw, the only books i think are GOOD poker books are theory of poker, mathematics of poker, and ace on the river and that playing hands is way more important but especially for beginning players i think reading anything you can can only help.

The Poker Mindset > The Psychology of Poker

Psychology of Poker isn't that great.

I advise against downloading Ace on the River. Buy it instead. The book has a lot of nice photos, is on good paper and is in general very well graphically done, so by reading it on the computer, you're missing a lot. It was a pleasure to turn each page for me.

Also, Joe (he's my housemate) got The Poker Mindset recently, so I read a few chapters when he wasn't reading himself and it looks like a very good book too.

I've been waiting for both Ace and Mindset for almost three weeks now. B&N is full of shit. 6-11 business days shipped on the 6th. Still no word. T_T

Thanks a ton for the link, frenchylucky. I've been looking for something like this for quite some time, the run-of-the-mill torrent sites are pretty empty.

On March 27 2008 06:05 byrnesam wrote: Chris Moneymaker Medallion OH WAIT you cant get them anymore.... too exclusive now - mine has quadrupled in value. I suggest buying loads of pokerstars t-shirts and sweatshirts so all your friends know youre a serious shark when you go to play in the weekly homegame. When i play live i always give mad respect to the guy whos earnt 400 fpp and bought himself a PS cap to wear.

Can you imagine how pimpin-baller it'd be if you show up at your homegame with a Chris Moneymaker Medallion hung around your neck like a necklace? and a pokerstars cap tipped sideways and a X-small stars t-shirt and a stars polo underneath with popped collar

look for me at the casino niggas

look everyone... i'm wearing poker t-shirts, caps and a hoodie!!! i'm a poker player!! i'm the coooolesht! heh...

On March 27 2008 15:03 Pulda wrote: I advise against bying Ace on the River. Don't download it either. The book only has photos, including some good shots of well know wall painter, is on v. good and heavy as shit paper, and is in general very well graphically done, so by reading it on the computer, you're going to have easy time getting to some text finally. It was a horror to turn each page for me.

FYP

On March 27 2008 05:04 gawdawaful wrote: um, I was under the impression that party is the worse of the three (stars/FTP/party) in terms of RB/$bonus reward system. What am I missing here, did they do a complete update or something?

I actually wanted to checkup on that and will probably do a PT experiment later. Can anyone verify / refute with their own experience? I'm sure a ton of people here have played on both sites.

This is what I remember:
Long ago, 4-tabling 10nl on party, I was making like 12 points/hr (conservative estimate, closer to 15). Now, 9 tabling, I'm at 27 points/hr.
King VIP Level = 3x points multiplier = something like 80 an hour. In a "one night" session of 2.5-4 hours, I'm up around 300 points. That = 3$/night of "Rakeback" using their shitty point conversion.

On Stars, with Silverstar, I was definitely making less than "3$ in points" in that time.
This is some shitty math, but:
Avg book = 20$ = 2000 points
3$ = 300 (wow direct conversion)

Therefore, Partypoints are faster than Stars = More $.
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If I were to play 25nl with goldstar at Stars, I might be able to match the current rate at Party, but it remains to be seen exactly how fast I'm getting points at 25nl on Party. With the current "logic" (rofl), I would think the Party point system in these conditions is at least somewhat better than stars. Past 100nl / Goldstar, I think I should just to believe the rumors that Stars is best, right?

It might also be useful to note that on Party, it is possible to reach the highest VIP level, Ace, simply by playing for a long time without going inactive for 2 weeks. Playing for about a month part-time, I don't think I'd reach the better or equivalent level (Platinumstar? Gold is still kinda meh.) on Stars.

Added with the bonus that a microstakes player (probably worth a shot even playing midstakes) gets bi-monthly freerolls worth sereral k?

Seriously, I've heard for awhile "Stars is the best", but really have only played seriously at Stars and Party, and Party, at least for me (situation being microstakes + part time + med-high table volume w/ diminished winrate), seems to be the better system. Honestly, I would prefer not to move if only for the software if someone could prove Stars at the micros still > party. xP