Tag: poker sites

US Poker Sites for Mac

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Over the years there have been many technological advances that make it possible for all players, no matter their operating system, to enjoy the action and thrill that only online poker can provide. Many Mac users in the USA may feel like they were left out in the cold after losing four US online poker sites that had exceptional Mac friendly software.  There are plenty of more online poker sites that cater to Mac users, which make it easy for them to sit at a table and rake in the cash, with or without a download.

Mac poker sites are available in download or instant play form, and in most cases, players will find the instant play option works best. The graphics are crisp and clear, the table action is smooth and the no download option gives players faster access to the room wherever there is an internet connection available. There are many reputable US accepted Mac compatible poker sites, players just need to find the one that works best for them. Merge is known for having features like the Rabbit Cam, Run it Twice and personal customizable features for players to make the skin their own. Merge Gaming Network poker sites include Carbon Poker, Lock Poker and RPM Poker.

The Everleaf Network which powers such rooms as Luvin Poker is another fantastic way for Mac users to get on the virtual felt action. Their poker room offers awesome promotions, comparable table variety to the poker giants online, and their tournament action runs all day and night. Their traffic numbers are growing daily, and with many players joining their room the games will keep players coming back for more.

Bodog Poker also offers a Mac friendly poker room, and is one of the leading names in online gaming. Mac users can enjoy all the poker action they crave at the tables using their instant play platform. Their game variety keeps Mac users satisfied and the game play and features offered make it easy to play for hours. Bodog offers great VIP rewards, awesome guarantees and large freerolls often.

Click Here for a complete list of Mac Poker Sites

There aren’t as many choices for Mac users as there are for players using a more standard operating system, but more poker rooms are starting to cater to Mac users more than ever before. It’s only a matter of time and all reputable poker rooms will offer the Mac option for their players, which one can only expect will help their traffic. If you are using a Mac operating system and you are ready to get started today, visit one of the Mac friendly poker room listed here and get what you want out of online poker.

Legal US Poker Sites

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Due to the recent happenings in online poker it’s understandable that players, especially those coming from the four sites that were seized by the Department of Justice, may feel a bit uneasy about playing online. Despite popular belief, it’s not illegal to play online poker, even from the United States. The legal issue isn’t regarding the players, it’s totally legal to still enjoy a game of online poker from your home while betting and winning real money.

While players are waiting for the dust to settle regarding Black Friday, there are a lot of questions regarding where they can play safely, and securely. There are quite a few sites online still available to provide US players with quality poker entertainment. The names and brands aren’t as big as the four rooms that were forced to stop serving the USA, however; the quality of game play, bonus offers and loyalty rewards are comparable.

Click Here for a list of Poker Sites Accepting US Players

The traffic may also be a bit smaller in comparison, but that is also expected to change as players discover the alternatives to Full Tilt, PokerStars, Absolute and UB.com. The game variety at these legal US poker sites is just as good as the games players are used to at the previously mentioned sites, just a bit of a difference in layout, game availability and other not so notable changes.

The banking options to fund accounts are still available through these poker rooms still catering to the US player, and withdrawing is still hassle free. There are many sites that are welcoming USA players coming from other rooms, but it’s best that players use caution when choosing online poker rooms.

It may take players a while to get used to the idea of not playing at their favourite poker sites, however; the fact that there are still some quite reputable, popular and legal sites to play online should be reason enough for players to go all in and do what they love to do and continue to play poker online.

Here are a few legal online poker rooms still serving USA players:

  • Best Online Poker Sites for Holdem Poker 2011

Poker Room Bonus
US
Review
1 Bodog Poker
$1100
Bodog Poker
2 Lock Poker
$1200
Lock Poker
3 InterTops
$600
InterTops Poker
4 Carbon Poker
$500
Carbon Poker
USA Poker Sites for April 2011

 

Safe Online Poker Sites for US Players

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With the US closure of the biggest online poker sites we’ve been on the look out for who the next big poker sites will be and the list is not as long as some would think. In this New World Order there a few online poker sites that have begun to stand out from the rest. Given all the changes we’ve also decided to add a few new sites to our list of approved poker sites.

Our decisions have been made with safety first in mind. We know that poker players are looking for a safe poker site to play on. With that in mind the first thing we’ve looked into is financial strength. Another major factor in our decisions has been their processing. A poker site may have good funding and good software but if players can’t deposit and withdraw with relative ease then they are no good to anyone. We’ve used every means at our disposal to gather up this information and feel that the sites listed below are the cream of the crop.

In analyzing online poker traffic reports the Merge Poker Network, which includes such poker sties as, Carbon Poker, Lock Poker and Sportsbook Poker are growing the fastest. But if you look at just the US player base at prime time hours it’s Bodog Poker and sites on the Cake Poker Network which include Cake Poker and InterAction Poker that are doing the best. InterAction is the only site we have listed that is currently processing eChecks.

Like you, we do not know which poker site or sites will become the next Pokerstars or Full Tilt Poker. We’re guessing that all of the sites mentioned above will continue to see tremendous growth and that they will all be making adjustments in the coming months to better serve player needs and wants. Make sure to check Holdem Poker Chat for all the latest news and updates on the safest USA Poker Sites to play on.

Black Friday: A Step Too Far?

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Can a government be charged with war crimes, if the war is only one of intimidation?

The U.S. federal Department of Justice isn’t blowing up buses.  No one has died.  But while Palestinian terrorists can only close down Israeli pizza parlors; the DoJ stopped online poker sites from doing business anywhere in the world – including where poker is 100% legal.

On Friday, April 15, 2011, the DoJ seized the .com names of five of the biggest poker sites.  It is not even clear that online poker is illegal in every state and territory of the U.S.   But players in countries like England, where it is indisputably legal, also found themselves unable to access their favorite sites.

This is a door the U.S. should never have opened.  The next to step through could be an Islamic country, which outlaws alcohol, seizing the worldwide domain names of every retailer and restaurant that advertises beer or wine.

And the DoJ also effectively froze the money deposited by hundreds of thousands of American players, who had done nothing wrong.  There is no federal law against merely playing poker.  Half the states do have mostly ancient laws on the books making it a crime, sometimes, to make a bet.  But in the other half, it is not a crime to even bet with an illegal operation.

This is true of New York, where the DoJ’s legal actions were filed.  The criminal indictments charged the online operators under a statute, 18 U.S.C. §1955, which makes it a federal felony to be a large business in violation of state anti-gambling laws.  The only state laws cited are New York’s Penal Law 225 and 225.05, which clearly do not apply to mere poker players.

Black Friday saw widespread panic among players, and the threat of a worldwide bank run on online gaming operators.  By Wednesday, the DoJ appeared to realize it had way overstepped its power, and that it is losing the public relations war.

On April 20, Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan who had seized the domain names, announced that an agreement had been reached with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.  Technically, the .com names remain seized.  But the DoJ will now permit the companies to operate money games outside of the U.S., which they always had the legal right to do anyway.  American players can also go to the .com sites and get their deposits back.

Bharara issued the following statement:  “No individual player accounts were ever frozen or restrained, and each implicated poker company has at all times been free to reimburse any player’s deposited funds.”

Technically true, but misleading.  Exactly how were players supposed to get their money, when they could not log on to the seized .com sites?   Did Bharara tell the operators they could refund players’ deposits, and how they were suppose to do that?  Even today the DoJ has not worked out all the details on what it will allow.

Notice that the announced agreement is only with PokerStars and Full-Tilt.  Those companies have licenses and approvals by foreign jurisdictions, including France, Italy and Alderney, which they want to protect.  They also would like to someday return to the U.S., once the laws are changed.  Absolute is licensed by the Kahnawake tribe in Canada and has always taken the position that it does not have to be overly concerned with the laws of Canada, the U.S., or any other jurisdiction.  So it is standing tough.  In fact, it is still accepting money players from the U.S.

Winners and losers:

Traffic on the seized sites seems to be down, but not precipitously.  Americans must have quickly discovered that they can sign up to the same operators through .eu and .uk sites.

Hit as hard have been media outlets which depend on poker ads.  No reason to spend money on PokerStars.net commercials if players can’t be converted onto PokerStars.com.  That is probably the real reason for ESPN cancelling so many poker TV shows.

Traffic on rival sites that continue to take bets from the U.S. have increased, but not spectacularly.  Players do have their favorites, and don’t necessarily trust the other sites.  Plus, their money is still tied up.

Purely European companies, like Playtech, and the not-quite Internet poker sites are also doing well.  PurePlay.com, a subscription poker site with free alternative means of entry, based in San Francisco, received $2.8 million in new funding after Black Friday.  And Atlantis Internet Group Corporation, which is setting up legal closed-circuit computer linked poker on Indian land, saw its stock rise 400% in the last few days.

Brick and mortar card clubs and casino cardrooms have seen modest increases in the number of poker players.  The first weekend after the online players’ funds are freed up will show whether the crackdown on Internet competition can help save Atlantic City.

In the long run it will probably be the largest landbased operators, like Caesars, and online sites which had already pulled out of the U.S., led by Bwin-Party and 888, that will be the biggest winners.  The indictments reinforce proponents’ arguments that the states should legalize intra-state poker, so that the operators and their computers and payments processors will be physically here to be taxed and regulated.

The major obstacle is political.  The same political and economic forces that allow us to even talk about legalizing Internet poker also stand in its way.  There is so much legal gambling in the U.S. that allowing one more form is no big deal.  But that also means there are well-established local operators who will fight to prevent outsiders from coming in to create new competition.

Each state will create its own formula for extracting as much money as possible without alienating existing local operators.  Atlantic City casinos companies have enough money that there is no reason to open New Jersey online gambling to foreign bidders.  In California there will be at least three licenses: one for a consortium of the state’s card clubs, the same for its gaming tribes, and at least one for an outside operator who can bring $200 million cash up front to the table.

Nevada casinos may want a federal law to prevent them having to compete against politically powerful local operators in 50 different states; 51 counting the District of Columbia.  But the recent indictments and stalemates in Congress prove that the states are where the action is, and is going to be, until well after the 2012 election.

Republished with permission © Copyright 2011, I. Nelson Rose, Encino, California. All rights reserved worldwide. Gambling and the Law® is a registered trademark of Professor I. Nelson Rose, www.GamblingAndTheLaw.com.

Online Poker Sites for US Players

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The online poker industry may have been turned upside down, but there are still many options for USA players to get on the table action that only a game of online poker can provide. There are many alternatives to the poker rooms which were seized by the US government, and this is only a piece of the online poker action. Players are understandably unsure about placing their trust and money into yet another site, in case something may happen in the future. It seems like Black Friday isn’t going to have an effect on other online poker rooms, not the smaller fish anyway.

The Poker Networks and Poker Sites listed below have been slowly increasing their poker tournament guarantees. Over the last week they have experienced up to 400% growth in traffic. It’s only a matter of time before one or two of them become the preferred online poker sites in the U.S..

Click Here for a List of Online Poker Sites Accepting Players from the USA

Bodog Poker is one of the oldest and most respected names in online gaming. Their sportsbook business insures a steady flow of loose players at the poker tables. Bodog offers some of the highest GTD tournaments available to players from the US. The initial deposit bonus of 110% up to $1,100 is as good as it gets for online poker sites. No bonus code is needed to get this great bonus.

Merge Gaming Network, the network behind poker rooms like Lock Poker, Players Only Poker and Carbon Poker, are still ready and willing to give USA players all the action they crave in an online poker setting. The tournaments, the features and the excitement are comparable to the others that were seized, without the big brand name. There are many reasons players should choose Merge for their new online poker playing needs, and there are many ongoing promotions to welcome new players, so everybody wins. The traffic to these rooms are building up, understandably so, and soon there will be even more players that will add to the entertainment value that only online poker can bring.

Other networks like Cake Poker, Everleaf and other smaller platforms are also bringing players unique and generous promotions, tournaments, ring-games and impressive prize pools. They are currently open to new USA registrations, and players coming from other poker rooms will be treated like VIPs.

Players should remember, just because the government cracked down on these poker rooms and seized domains, does that in anyway mean that it’s illegal to play poker online, even from the United States. The UIGEA isn’t there to punish players for playing a few hands of Holdem; the law is in place and only is enforced against online gaming operators and processors. In fact, not one arrest has ever been made for a player playing online poker. This is just a misconception and players should not let it hinder their game play, until there is an actual law in place.

Hopefully in the near future, we as players will not have to worry about the Department of Justice breathing down our necks every time we want to go all in. That is just the way it is right now, and we all hope that it’s only temporary. While they do have control over domain seizures and indictments, they have no control over our decisions, and if you enjoy the game of online poker and you live in the USA, it’s imperative for players to know they still have options.

Cake and Merge the Next Big Names in Online Poker?

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Black Friday was a day the poker community will not soon forget. The largest names in online poker were indicted and had their domains seized by the US government. Since then players have been asking themselves; what’s next? Which poker sites are safe for those USA players looking to get a piece of the virtual felt action? The answer is simple really, there are several poker networks still serving USA players, and some play host to well respected brands.

Many players are upset about the happenings at Full Tilt, Absolute Poker/UB, and PokerStars; and for good reason. It is time for players to find other avenues to play their online poker sessions for now, as it doesn’t seem likely that these sites which were seized will allow USA players back anytime soon. How long these alternative options will be available nobody knows, but it’s unlikely to see this scandal trickle down into the smaller brands online.

Sure these brands aren’t as big as the four poker rooms currently facing courtroom battles, but the fact remains that they are still viable options for USA players. Merge Gaming Network recently took on Lock Poker, Sportsbook Poker, PlayersOnly Poker and their traffic is comparable to some of the bigger names online. Carbon Poker is another big name under the Merge Network, and the traffic on the network makes them a possible contender to take over the USA market.

The Cake Poker Network has also been aiming to become one of the bigger networks in online poker and while their traffic has taken a hit as of late, they may be the one’s to give other poker networks a run for their money. Cake Poker had a pretty solid reputation in the online poker world, however; they have seen their fair share of both good and bad luck lately. They were once becoming one of the biggest names in online poker but began to lose traffic to their competitors over the last couple of years. They sold their skins to other smaller operators, which in turn caused them to lose earnings and a bit of their reputation.

Cake Poker may soon prove to be once again a big name in online poker, bigger than ever before. If their poker rooms stay facing the USA (Power Poker and Victory Poker will no longer accept US players), the chances of them becoming one of the leading poker networks online are very high. They were recently given a little push towards bettering themselves, and have big names like PokerListings.com backing their product; which brings more sign ups and leads to more traffic.  Our sources at Cake Poker have confirmed that they plan to stay in the US market and have never had as many signups as they’ve had in the last 2 days.

“Black Friday” as many are referring to the indictment on the four poker rooms, is sure to have a positive impact on Cake and Merge networks. Players living in the so called “Land of the Free” will be forced to look elsewhere for their online poker needs, at least for now; which will put players right into the hands of other networks online. This is going to be a fierce competition among these online poker sites, and it will be interesting to see which comes out ahead in the USA player community in the next several months. Many players from the four poker rooms that were indicted have already been seeking an alternative for their game play, and these networks mentioned here have been seeing a big rise in their traffic seemingly overnight.

There are also other poker rooms online, but none as well-known as Cake and Merge. It will be interesting to see if any of the smaller fish grow into bigger names as well. It is sure to be a bumpy ride, but for now USA players can still enjoy the action of their favourite poker game online. Luvin Poker, which is on the Everleaf network, told us they’ve had thousands of new players signing up over the last 48 hours.

Bodog Poker is another site that has already seen a 20% jump in traffic. Bodog will continue to grow but we don’t think that Bodog will come out on top because they do not allow peer to peer transfers. We have similar concerns about Sportsbook Poker and Players Only. No poker sites that also have sports betting allow peer to peer transfers.

Solid poker rooms like Lock Poker and Carbon Poker are still taking registration from USA players. They have many ways to deposit and generous promotions, check out the US poker sites listed here for the best choices American players have today. Keep a look out for the happenings regarding everything about this latest development in online poker.

Poker Sites That Still Accept USA Poker Players

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The news that shook the online poker world yesterday is still blowing minds today. Several well-known and popular USA facing poker sites were forced to stop accepting USA players, and have left many wondering what will happen next? No one knows this answer, but the excitement of playing poker is still here for USA players, giving the smaller USA facing poker rooms a chance to come in and take over. What does this mean for players? It means that there are still ways to play if you are in America, and there are still poker rooms willing to serve USA players.

Online Poker Sites Still Accepting USA Poker Players

Yesterday was big news when the US government went and took down the largest names in online poker that were accepting US players. Full Tilt, PokerStars and Absolute Poker all had their domains seized and the government halted all access to real money poker games during the seizure. After the domains were taken, eleven defendants were arrested and charged with crimes including; Money Laundering, Illegal Gaming Business, and Fraud. This is just a couple of the charges the founders of these sites will be facing, and others that had involvement with the illegal payment processing were also detained and charged.

The major poker rooms that were shut down were one of the biggest names and brands in online poker, and many speculate that this seizure is only temporary. What is next for online poker players living in the land of the free?

Many Americans felt like there was no hope for them going forward and enjoying their daily game of online poker, however; this is not the case. Sure, the poker sites that are left online and doing business don’t have the big name behind their brand, but are still places that Americans can get their poker fix. Here is a list of the top poker rooms left online that are still accepting USA poker players.

Merge Gaming Network is well-known in the industry amongst poker players and it powers some of the strongest names in the online poker community. PlayersOnly Poker, Superbook Poker and Lock Poker are a few of the sites which use this platform, and players are still able to sign up and play.

Bodog, the online gaming powerhouse, is still open to take business from American players and they were once one of the biggest names in online poker. Bodog may soon fill the shoes that Full Tilt and PokerStars left behind and again become a favourite for American poker players.

The Cake Poker Network also has many strong poker rooms available that cater to USA players. Cake Poker, for example is one of the poker rooms which are currently dealing cards and taking bets to and from American based poker lovers.

Proprietary platforms are also still assisting players in their poker playing needs. Sites like Luvin Poker on the Everleaf Poker Network and many others that use their own software are still allowing registration and deposits for USA players.

As you can see, the big news yesterday isn’t enough for poker players to stop doing what they love. If you are based in the USA and are looking for an alternative to get in on the action, there are many choices still available.