Triplejack and Full Tilt

Given that Triplejack Poker is the flavor of the month, I've been surfing for poker related items on the 'net. After following some chains search results and links, I ran into the the name "Phil Ivey", which eventually landed me on "Full Tilt Poker". It claims to be made with a lot of feedback from players, and it does appear to be one of the more popular means to play poker online. Like Triplejack Poker, it features "play money", but it also supports real money.

What confused me was that there was also a "Full Tilt Poker .net", with pretty much the same stuff. I was wondering if one of the sites is a fake, but based on the Wikipedia article about it, it appears that the .net site is "play money only".

Since I have no intention of using real money, I got the play money only version of the software and tried it out. Here are some of the more significant things I noticed in the past few days of playing Full Tilt Poker .net:

• you can "re-buy" play money, and have a 5 minute waiting time like Triplejack Poker (re-buy is 1k though)
• although there are wacky avatars, in general, Full Tilt has a more serious feel
• people there don't talk much
• few people there play roulette style (I don't like roulette style, so its a plus for me)
• the entry level game is 1k buy in and 10/5 blinds, which makes a "re-buy" last longer theoretically (Triplejack Poker is 500 buy-in with with 20/10 blinds)
• you don't feel you bet/gain a lot, even if you actually do (I feel like I'm rewarded or that I lose more in Triplejack Poker)
• I seem to be more aggressive when I play there
• I do feel that the players there are better in general
• when the showdown comes, the winning combination is not highlighted (I get confused 'coz I don't know how a particular player beat me)
• Triplejack Poker is more casual, and feels more "fun" to play
• I haven't run into anyone I could say was a Filipino there

Given these, I think Full Tilt Poker .net is geared to the more serious type of player. The website, the "pro player chat" and other things makes Full Tilt Poker .net a good place to start learning poker. Their objective it to make poker popular, and given that pro poker players play there too and give advice, it seems to be the premiere place to learn and get into the poker bandwagon.

I can't maximize what Full Tilt Poker .net has to offer since I don't intend on playing with real money. However, it's a good place to learn, and you'll be playing against players of a different sort from that found in Triplejack Poker. If I want fun, though, I'm more in inclined to play in Triplejack Poker.

See you in either! ;)