4:21pm: I recently made a post on PocketFives about the lack of the bet pot button on PokerStars, and whether or not it was a good thing for the player. It is as follows:

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How do you feel about Pokerstars NOT having a bet pot button? Do you like it better with or without the bet pot button? Examples of other sites who have the bet pot button are Full Tilt, UB, Cake. Come to think of it, I can only think of two sites (correct me if im wrong) that DONT have a bet pot button:

1. Pokerstars
2. Party Poker

Like I said if there’s another site that doesn’t have one, I haven’t played there. You guys think its just coincidence these two sites that have never implemented a bet pot button have taken turns dominating the online poker market?

I’m just asking. How do you feel about it? Do you like it, or not like it?

Personally, I HATE it, and I hope PokerStars never, ever implements one. My two cents is that you gain more information when people bet amounts that are different. So many people on Full Tilt either bet the pot, or fold. For me, that’s very nondescript and takes away a huge edge of being able to read into bets. On the flip side, you probably get a little bit more action on Full Tilt because people price themselves into a lot of hands by using this button. However, with that, I feel comes an increase in variance because you’re forced to protect your hand in marginal situations - whereas on Pokerstars you can keep the pots relatively small if you’re only moderately sure you have the best hand.

What do you think?

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What I found rather interesting were some of the responses. The first couple of people agreed with me, but then a bunch of guys came in and said that they prefer the bet pot button. After much thought, I think it’s just a matter of what suits your playing style. If you like to go for the kill and play large pots, then you probably prefer the button. On the other hand, if you like to slowly grind your opponent down then you’d probably agree that PokerStars is better off without it.

One thing I’ve come to understand after being a member of PocketFives for a couple of years now is that ANY topic is going to have X number of people agree/disagree on it, and no matter how logical your points are, there’s always going to be someone who tries to rebuke it. So why bother? We’ll we’re all human beings and it’s in our nature to question things and debate them.

Start a Clean Slate at a New Room, a New Sharkscope, and Keep HFL Free in the Process