USA Poker Rooms Open to Americans
These days one feels pity towards American poker players as finding a decent poker room is becoming more and more of a daunting task, long gone are the days when Americans could safely play at PokerStars or FullTilt Poker both of which are now closed to the USA and sadly FullTilt to the world, at least for the time being.
The choices are very limited for Americans at the moment until legislation eventually gets approved if and when it ever does.
The DOJ is hot on the heels of many of these poker rooms still open to the USA and while many poker-rooms have succeed so far in getting around to paying their players it certainly is risky business.
USA Poker Players can still play at:
Merge – Carbon Poker or Aced Poker
Revolution Gaming – Lock Poker or Cake Poker
Bodog – Under the Bovada Poker label also has a Casino and Sports Betting.
Winning Poker Network – Americas Cardroom
USA Poker Rooms Open to Americans
While there still are several poker sites open to USA players some stand out from the rest in terms of cash out speeds which is a pretty important factor if you want to get paid out your winnings.
The current order of payments for USA players is:
- Americas Cardroom with debit card and cash transfer payments taking about 2 days, $60-$110 fee and Checks by mail 1-2 weeks.
- Carbon Poker / Aced Poker Cash transfers take 1-2 days, $30 fee with checks taking 3-5 weeks
- Bodog – Bovada Cash Transfers made in 2-4 days, fee of $40-$150 and checks 4-6 weeks.
- Lock Poker Cash Transfers 1-2 weeks Checks 4-7 weeks, two free payouts per month.
- Cake Poker – Checks currently take from 4 to 5 months, no fee. Cake Poker is part of Revolution Gaming but have their own cashier.
Traffic should also play an important role in choosing the best poker room open to the USA, the current traffic rank of US facing Poker rooms are:
- Revolution Gaming – Lock Poker or Cake Poker
- Merge – Carbon Poker or Aced Poker
- Bodog – Bovada Poker
- Winning Poker Network – Americas Cardroom
Best USA Poker Room 2012
Based on the above factors in traffic and payment, Americans are probably best off choosing Merge’s Carbon Poker as payments are quick, cheaper and traffic is decent or alternatively, Lock Poker with two free payouts per month even though they may take a bit longer for your payouts to arrive.
Of course there are many other factors involved when choosing the best USA Poker room for 2012 like graphics how skilled the opponents are and many more, but I think being able to get paid out your winnings and traffic are probably the two most important factors when choosing your poker venue, so choose wisely.
Black Friday and its Impact on Poker
The result of what is now known as “Black Friday” has forced many a US poker player to find an alternative poker room that still allows players from the USA to play for real money, while others have simply retired from playing poker online altogether.
The scenario that unfolded was a devastating blow to online poker in its entirety and one wonders if the game of poker could ever regain its popularity again or if it was just another short lived phase that is in its reclining stages.
Luckily the WSOP is still a popular event and the popularity of poker as a game is actually on the rise throughout Europe so let’s hope that is enough to keep online poker alive and kicking throughout the coming years.