Newbie... please help!

hi all. i am new to online gaming and need a little guidance. although i have been registered at pokerstars for many years, just recently was when i deposited any real money into the account. i am in Florida and used their Echeck method to deposit. i made a small deposit of $20 USD and it automatically appeared in my account. a month later, i get an email from pokerstars saying that they were having problems processing the deposit and as a result, i now have a NEGATIVE balance of $20 USD on my acct.

i have read the posts in the forum and emailed dad@ps and am waiting a reply. i see that there are a lot of other people experiencing the same problem. my question is the following though...

which online poker site has the best buy in and cashout methods for US players? and when i say best, i don't mean western union or whatever. i mean the easiest, hassle free buy in and cashout method?

some poker site reviewers are saying that places like playersonly and some others now allow US players to buy in with a credit card... so is this true and when you are ready to cash out, is your money credited back to your credit card?

also, i was thinking of now joining full tilt or some other website, but have also seen many posts which report the same deposit and cash-out problems for US players.

can anyone provide some real guidance as to what the best way to go is for real money tables as a US player? also, my main concern is that these websites will magically resolve their processing issues and withdraw the money out of my bank account when i least expect it, therefore resulting in a possible mess of money being withdrawn from my bank account without me expecting it.

any help or guidance is appreciated. thanks in advance

Poker Stars has the best customer service, so I am sure you will be receiving a reply shortly from their support department. I have heard a few players that lived in states where eChecks was not working have recently tried again and been successful. But I don't know if that's the case with Florida residents. D.A.D should be able to answer that for you.

Sites like PlayersOnly, Sportsbook, and Bodog do take credit cards or debit cards, but I am unsure whether funds would be withdrawn back on those cards (I would ask their support depts.). Bodog did just release a kind of instant debit option similar to eChecks, but I haven't tried it yet.

I live in California, and can still use eChecks, so Poker Stars remains on the top of my list for ease of access. It's unfortunate that it isn't the same for all states.

If you need to download any sites, be sure to check out our bonus page for some great offers.

Yes PokerStars is your best bet!!! They will help you with this issue.They helped me. I'm from Ga. They have the lowest buy-ins and better pay-outs. This is the best site for you to start real money tables. They have penny tables and tournaments low as 2 cents. You want to stick with this site and Fulltilt and BoDog being you next bet. These are the sites most of your Pros play at! PokerStars can put your cash-out winnings back in your bank account. (No Hassle)

hi all. thanks for all of your assistance/replies so far. dad@ps did reply and clarified that the Echeck "processing problems" were on their end, and not due to my state (florida) or my bank. however, dad@ps was rather vague in their reply and did not explain or go into any details as of yet as to why they had the "processing problems" to begin with. they simply said they never deducted the money from my bank (which is true for now).

i guess i'm picky when it comes to customer service and to me, it shouldn't matter whether i deposited $20 or $2000 but i would have preferred a better response. granted, ps seems to be the oldest/largest online poker site at the moment but they are rather vague in their responses and only offer email support. so i wouldn't go bragging to anyone about their customer service...lol...but then again, we have very little standards to compare them to so i guess they are decent.

the only concern i continue to have is all of the countless posts i read from people having problems with pokerstars and some other sites like full tilt with their cashouts. i even saw some website with a couple of people reporting that they had hacked into their accounts, debited their ps money, and that ps had done little in the way of resolving this.

i was also under the impression that not just with ps, but with most poker sites, that the way you get your withdrawn money back, is the same way you deposit it...so now i am confused about juicee's reply now. so if you deposit with a credit card, you may not get the money back on your credit card?

also, does anyone know where i can find more info on how full tilt deals with echeck deposits and if i can withdraw as an echeck as well, and just have the withdrawn money added back into my bank account electronically?

maybe at this point, its about picking the lesser of the evils if indeed i would want to take the chance.

if anyone can offer any further guidance or talk about their favorite buy in and cash out poker sites as a US player, it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks again.

I woiuld not be too quick to judge pokerstars support based on this interaction.. You will not find a faster, friendlier, support team anywhere. Just email Full Tilt and wait the 2-3 days for them to respond to you lol. Best of luck to you1

no, like i said, i have been with pokerstars many years and never really had a real money issue up until now, but then again, i just tried the real money tables now.

i replied to dad's email so i'm hoping i will get a reply soon and some real clarification as to why the problem occurred to begin with and not just a standard reply. i will also make a RE-deposit again to clear that negative balance and give them the benefit of the doubt in terms of when it comes down to using the real money tables.

my main concern is that it wasnt my error to begin with and i think we've all become so complacent with subpar customer service that it just makes me wonder if their customer service is really that great afterall.

my worry is not 20 bux... my worry is what will happen when i am dealing with higher dollar amounts and you want to cash out and there are issues like these. so i wanted to come here and see if i would get some unbiased opinions.

by the way... i also forgot to add if anyone knows of a good odds calculator you can use, that is active or superimposed while you are actually playing online? not anything illegal or anything...just something that gives me odds on my personal hand while i am playing?

I dont think you will have much problem cashing out.. the main focus seems to be on deposits at this point.

As to the withdrawing back onto a credit card, it's really up to the credit card company you are using. It's been awhile, but I believe it was Mastercard that would not allow it. I have had success with depositing and withdrawing with eChecks on Poker Stars. The withdrawal took about two days to hit my checking account. I can't speak of FTP, as I've never withdrawn from there, but generally, when sites offer this service, you can withdraw using the eChecks system.