What does this mean? Shared liquidity in Europe is a new chance for online poker players from Spain, Portugal, Italy and France to have more and better poker tables; but, before this PokerStars announcement, this agreement was in benefit only to those countries. Now, if you want, you can play from your country (if legally possible) in PokerStars.es.
In this post, we are going to study two very important factors for professional poker players: a rake comparison between PokerStars.COM and PokerStars.es, and also a traffic overview.
Rake in PokerStars.COM
| Stakes | % Rake | 2 Player Cap | 3-4 Player Cap | 5+ Player Cap |
| €0.01/€0.02 | 3.50% | €0.25 | €0.25 | €0.25 |
| €0.02/€0.05 | 4.15% | €0.50 | €0.50 | €0.75 |
| €0.05/€0.10 | 4.50% | €0.50 | €0.75 | €1.25 |
| €0.10/€0.25 | 4.50% | €0.50 | €0.75 | €1.50 |
| €0.25/€0.50 | 5.0% | €0.70 | €0.70 | €1.80 |
| €0.50/€1 | 5.0% | €0.90 | €0.90 | €2.25 |
| €1/€2 | 5.0% | €1.15 | €1.15 | €2.50 |
| €2/€4 | 5.0% | €1.35 | €1.35 | €2.75 |
| €3/€6 | 5.0% | €1.35 | €1.35 | €3.20 |
| €5/€10 | 4.5% | €1.35 | €1.35 | €2.75 |
Rake in PokerStars.ES
| Stakes | % Rake | 2-4 Player Cap | 5 Player Cap | 6+ Player Cap |
| €0.01/€0.02 | 6% | € 0.10 | €0.15 | €0.25 |
| €0.02/€0.05 | 6% | € 0.40 | €0.50 | €0.70 |
| €0.05/€0.10 | 6% | € 0.75 | €0.95 | €1.25 |
| €0.10/€0.25 | 5.75% | € 1.60 | €2.05 | €2.85 |
| €0.25/€0.50 | 5.75% | €1.85 | €2.35 | €3.00 |
| €0.50/€1 | 5.75% | € 2.50 | €2.85 | €3.00 |
| €1/€2 | 5.75% | € 3.00 | €3.00 | €3.00 |
| €2.50/€5 | 5.75% | € 3.00 | €3.00 | €3.00 |
| €5/€10 | 5.75% | € 3.00 | €3.00 | €3.00 |
Rake comparison between PokerStars.COM and PokerStars.ES
| Stakes | Rake .ES - .COM | CAP 2 Players | CAP 5+ Players |
| €0,01/€0,02 | + 2,50% | - € 0,15 | Same |
| €0,02/€0,05 | + 1,85% | - € 0,10 | - € 0,05 |
| €0,05/€0,10 | + 1,50% | + € 0,25 | Same |
| €0,10/€0,25 | + 1,25% | + € 1,10 | + € 1,35 |
| €0,25/€0,50 | + 0,75% | + € 1,15 | + € 1,20 |
| €0,50/€1 | + 0,75% | + € 1,60 | + € 0,75 |
| €1/€2 | + 0,75% | + € 1,85 | + € 0,50 |
| €3/€6 | + 0,75% | + € 1,65 | + € 0,25 |
| €5/€10 | + 1,25% | + € 1,65 | + € 0,25 |
The main conclusion you can see is: playing online poker in PokerStars.es is slightly expensive than playing in PokerStars.COM. The rake % is among 0,75%-1,5% higher (except in the microlimits which is +2,5%).
Traffic review in PokerStars.COM and PokerStars.ES
There is no much to say here. PokerStars has the best traffic (with or without rakeback, with or without fish, this is a reality).
Right now, PokerStars.COM connections can be up to 100k with more than 15,000 players in cash games (you can find tables at any stake).
For PokerStars.es (this is, PokerStars.EU, Spain and France), connections can be up to 45,000, and players in cash games up to 3,500.
The main conclusion here is: you can find a good number of tables in any stakes at PokerStars.
Why should I play in PokerStars.ES instead PokerStars.COM
Spain market is a closed market. Spanish players are well known for being very studious. But France not. France has not a lot of online poker schools, and this are the two best reasons to play in PokerStars.es. A closes market means a whole new world of players, good or bad, you need to try.
Regards,
Juan, WorldPokerDeals team
