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Party Poker Gaining Ground on PokerStars?

What once seemed like an unassailable lead in the online poker traffic wars has become a bit less so over the last few months as one-time market king Party Poker is seeking to gain significant ground on current champ PokerStars.

Party’s move is a direct result of the turmoil in the market caused by online poker’s Black Friday.  That day saw indictments issued against principles of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, an action that forced both out of the US market and has shut down FullTilt altogether –  at least for the time being.

While PokerStars has so far avoided that doomsday scenario, the room still saw significant traffic decreases as they lost their US player base.  Their traffic was hit again when Full Tilt shuttered their virtual doors; while Stars had clearly fared better post-Black Friday than Full Tilt, more players began to wonder if Stars might not face a similar fate.  Some of that group moved of to Party, and some are still on the fence.

To woo them off the fence, Party has been offering very attractive promotions for new and existing players, including temporarily rake-free poker tournaments, a bump in the VIP value and a very generous first-time depositor bonus that you can get by using this 2011 Party Poker Bonus Code.  People who have already made a deposit can take advantage of the reload bonus Party is currently offering (100% up to $200).

Will this be enough for Party to return to the top of the heap?  They’ve got a long way to climb and PokerStars has done just about the best job possible handling Black Friday.  With that said, Party Poker stands as a forceful reminder that in the online poker wars, much like in poker itself, very few leads are completely secure.