Both look (I haven't played POTC much yet) to be great games for a home collection. Not exactly apples to apples though since Houdini can be purchased for significantly less than Pirates.

Don't take the Houdini haters' opinions as gospel either as many pinheads love it. Such as these guys:

Played my 2nd and 3rd games ever on a POTC (on route) today and it was very nice.

One thing I LOVE about JJP LE+ games is that they come with a friggin' headphone jack. Plugged my earbuds in and ... WAH LAH! ... I could actually hear the game in an otherwise noisy pinball bar!!! SO NICE! The game looked beautiful and the audio was fantastic. Excellent volume adjustment switch too!

The jury's still out for me on POTC's gameplay, but it appears to be promising indeed. In the meantime, I still love my Houdini.