Online Poker USA
***Update 28 June 2012 – Black Chip Poker is by far and away the standout room for US poker players. Like Carbon, its on the merge gaming network which is safe, secure and has the highest traffic of all US real money poker networks. There the similarities end as cashouts are processed much more efficiently at Black Chip than any other poker site that accepts US players, you get a higher bonus than at Carbon (150% up to $750 as opposed to 100% up to $600) AND up to 45% cashback.
| Site | Bonus | Rating | US | Play Now | ||
| 1 |  |
Bet Online Poker | $900 | 5 / 5 |  |
Play Now |
Updated to 21 June 2012
June has been an eventful month in the online poker world. First, BetOnline suddenly removed player’s ability to transfer money to the poker room and then on 20 June, Intertops announced that they were no longer accepting US players. Two very decent poker rooms (Intertops was the internet’s very first online sportsbook) are now no longer an option for new players who live in the United States. The only real options remaining for US players are rooms on the merge network and on the revolution gaming network.
Merge Gaming Network
The merge network is regulated by the Kahnawake gaming commission. In June there was an average of 1,500-2,000 real money ring game cash game players online at any time. Cashouts are not so fast – checks (max withdrawal $2,500) are being reported on two plus two as arriving in around a month. On the up side, they have started to offer cash transfers (max $900) and these are processed in a couple of days. Black Chip Poker runs fixed, pot and no limit omaha and holdem, has a good selection of sngs and tournaments and offers new players a 100% signup bonus up to $750 as well as up to 45% daily cashback – click here for a full review of Black Chip Poker and Carbon Poker – the biggest sites on merge.
Revolution Gaming Network
In May Lock Poker bought out the Cake poker network and rebranded it as the Revolution Gaming Network. New players get a much bigger signup bonus than at Carbon of 200% up to $4,000. US players can request a withdrawal by cash transfer (max $350) or check (max $3,000). Unlike most other poker rooms these days you can make one cashout a month without paying any fees (Carbon charges a small fee per check). If you want to withdraw more than once a month, Lock charge a small fee of $25 for a check or 10% of your cash transfer. According to 2+2, cash transfers are being received after around seven days and checks are taking just under a month to arrive. Traffic is roughly the same as at merge with between 1,500 to 2,000 cash ring game players online at any time. As well as a very generous sign up bonus, Lock has a very good VIP scheme where you can also earn up to 45% cashback – click here for a full review of Lock Poker.
Other poker rooms that accept US players
Americas Cardroom is on the winning poker network which is operated by yatahay – this is not a viable option for serious poker players as there are only around 150-200 real money cash players online at any time. On the plus side cashouts are being reported as received faster than at carbon/lock. New players receive a 100% bonus up to $1,000. Bovada (which is on its own network) is the only other site that accepts US players but traffic is also low and cashouts are currently taking too long for this to be considered as an option.
Check this page regularly as we will continue to update it, please add a comment below if you would like to inform us of anything.
| Site | Bonus | Rating | US | Play Now | ||
| 1 | |
Bet Online Poker | $900 | 5 / 5 | |
Play Now |
When you say it has the highest traffic of all sites, you are talking about cash games, right? All of the tournaments within Merge are shared. Thus it really doesn’t matter which skin you play at if you are just a tournament player, right?
According to 2+2 players it appears that Bovada is doing WORSE than last month. Bank wires are not being processed and not only are checks are taking nearly two months to arrive but they also come with a $50 fee. Traffic is decent, there are 1267 players online right now.
I’ve actually been keeping up to date over there. To me it indeed looks like Bovada is getting a lot better. In fact, just when they seem to have finally rounded out April payments, my May 18th request is on the way. And they were very nice the whole way, giving me multiple free tourney tickets while I waited. It’s a good site. The $50 fee is for additional checks within the same calendar month. Your first one is free, something no other site does.
Carbon is the real pain in the butt. You can only have one check pending at a time, with a maximum value of $2500. And they are taking 4-8 weeks to process. So if you make over $2500 in 4-8 weeks, they are not the site for you (unless you can sell to your friends or something).
And how about a piece simply on why online sites are so slow to payout these days, yet still reputable? Obviously the new laws, but what exactly does it now entail?
Are Bovada's cashouts getting ANY better? I've been setting on a cashout since mid May. The claim that the worst of it is behind them. Can you confirm that?
New Bovada check payouts now being reported as arriving within days, by multiple people on twoplustwo. Too bad their tourneys don’t attract much play. Cash games are always slammed though.