I don't really think the following is debatable:
- Stars has better choice and more players.
- FT has a better blind structure (well maybe it's debatable but I like the short levels with low increases).
I think that says it perfectly. I've tried them both and I have to admit that the blind structure on FTP with the more frequent but smaller increases allows for more play and makes it less of a crapshoot. At times watching even the SM on stars I'm amazed at how the average stack ends up having a low M (~9) when its down to about 100 players, and we're talking about a tourney with a high buy-in that starts with a 10k stack. There is definitely something wrong with the structure and it surprises me that nobody, at least as far as I know, complains about it. I've noticed this many times on the SM and its not a coincidence, in my mind, that the WCOOP ME which has a $2600 buy-in has a different structure compared to the SM. It's going to have a 20k starting stack and 30 min levels, which intuitively is an excellent structure for a tourney.
IMO PS gets excessively caught up in worrying about how long tourneys will last, but then again they're the experts so one has to think they know what they're doing and if you consider how successful they are in their business it means they must be doing something right. If they read my comments here they might think that I'm the idiot who doesn't understand the on-line poker business and they're probably right. Sometimes you have to think that maybe people do prefer a faster pace, the fact that turbo's are so popular are a clear indication of it. After all, most live sitngos at
casinos have 20 min levels, and if you consider how long it takes to deal the cards that's probably comparable to an on-line turbo. In general, looser players prefer the faster pace, tight players want a slower one.
So between PS and FTP tournies everyone will choose which is better based on how they play and the pace they think fits their stlye and time needs better.
As far as choice and # of garanteed tournies, PS has more players therefore they have the edge on that. I have to say, as far as my experience, that player support at PS is much faster than the one at FTP.
The software is terrific on both sites, I really love both of them and can't say which is better.
Overall, I think both of them provide a great playing ground and its not a case these 2 are the biggest in the world, although
partypoker, which I never tried and have no idea how it is, use to be the biggest as far as I know before the UIGEA.
I have to stop making these long posts that probably nobody even reads.