Why you should think twice about playing at smaller sites...

[verstehen]

There's a bit of a debate about whether it's better to play at the "mainstream" sites like Full Tilt Poker, Stars, and Party or the smaller sites.  The general argument for the smaller sites is usually:

- better bonuses
- weaker regulars
- more fish

I've toyed with joining a lot of these smaller sites BUT ultimately stayed away.  There have been some scandals where smaller sites have gone broke and not paid out fully to their players. 

Now here's one more reason, a $1M guarantee tournament only payed out half because they didn't get the entries.  I'm pretty sure that on the big sites they just give the overlay.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/28/internet-poker/hollywood-poker-1m-guaranteed-pays-only-553k-399474/

[Tony]

Stories like this are the reason I stay away from the smaller sites these days.  At one time I'd clear bonuses at all of them but there were often problems getting them to pay out, no response from support etc.

In this particular case I'd assume that the site has something in the small print pertaining to altering payout structures at any time, so they're probably covered legally.  You'd never find one of the bigger sites doing this since they don't want to lose their good reputation.  I can't believe they offered him $15 in compensation, that's just laughable.

[huge_yakman]

Well, it did have a nice ending (from the original poster):

Hi Folks

Just wanted to let everyone know that Chris was good to his word and Hollywood Poker came through on the $1M prize pool. It's when things go wrong that you get a real measure of your service providers, and I have to say I'm completely satisfied with Hollywood's response.

I received a call from Chris personally today, notifying me that the balance of the prize money corresponding to a $1M pool would be deposited to my account shortly.

Given the heated nature of the discussions, I just wanted to be fair to Chris and HP and note the following:

1. Chris delivered on his initial promise within a very short time of arriving back in his office. I'm a cynical guy who's dealt with a lot of corporate PR people but Chris's manner was refreshingly genuine. There was no corporate double speak, excuses, or hedging - just a straightforward delivery on his commitment. (I wish my phone company worked this way).

2. After hearing what had caused the mix-up, I'm convinced that there was no ill intent on the part of Hollywood Poker and that their response to the situation was exactly what I would hope for in a poker site.

3. I'm also reasonably convinced that Hollywood Poker would have resolved this issue fairly without prodding from the community. You'll have to form your own opinion on that but, after talking with Chris, I'm pretty confident of my conclusion.

As a courtesy, I'll leave commentary on the reasons for the prize issues to Chris and his team. But, having worked extensively in the internet industry, I can say that his explanation of what happened made perfect sense to me. This includes the timing of events.

So credit where credit's due.

At the end of the day, Hollywood stood up and took the hit on what was a pretty expensive mix up, to the benefit of the players in the tourney. This is exactly what many people said a reliable ethical site would do, and Hollywood came through and did it.

I couldn't really ask for more than that.

Cheers

Easy

[verstehen]

Yes it worked out BUT:

- the players had to push quite hard to get them to stick to it
- they initially tried to pawn him off with $11 in satellite tickets (LOL)
- bigger sites just give the guarantee no matter what - they usually meet it with entry fees but if not they ALWAYS just give the overlay without any squabbling

[Poker Orifice]

I believe Full Tilt FTOPS MainEvent had an extra $200K overlay in it.

I've mostly avoided the smaller sites as well.  Generally, if I don't see it advertised on my TV and see a bunch of PokerStars promoting it, I don't deposit any funds.
There's a couple of smaller ones I have made deposits on, mostly to get some sort of sign-up bonus. 

[Calmplay]

Yeah, avoiding small sites is strongly recommended except if you have a very good reason to play there... I had a bad experience on one of those small sites.

[coop]

I stick strictly to Stars and Full tilt. Too many horror stories from other sites when the only horror stories I see from stars or tilt are bad beats..