US players and online poker.

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avogtster

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which sites still accepts US players and allow them to withdraw. lock bovada and americas cardroom i believe accept US players. i was trying out play money on lock last night seems decent. any input is appreciated thanks!
 
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Big_Rudy

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You left out the Merge network. That's probably the biggest/best option left for US players at the moment.
 
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avogtster

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whats the merge network consist of? i guess the biggest question is are they likely to get shut down? whats illegal about online poker? sorry for not knowing much been out of the loop for a very long time.
 
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Big_Rudy

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Merge network is a collection of online sites that share a player pool. They are US friendy, and in terms of players/games probably have the biggest selection of any site that allows US players. As far as getting shut down; who knows. Your money is as safe there as it will be anywhere for a US player right now. To my knowledge there have not been any recent closings of sites that allow US players, but obviously it has happened in the past.

Most importantly, there is NOTHING illegal about online poker, unless you happen to live in one of a select few states that have passed state laws against it, but on the federal level it is not illegal, and never has been. They (Department of Justice) targeted sites and/or banks for using round-about methods to get the money into the players hands.

That's the part that is quasi-illegal; banks handling transactions involving gambling proceeds. But, from a player perspective, there is nothing illegal about online poker, unless you live in the few states I was talking about earlier. I'm not sure which states are on that list, but it should be pretty easy to find out with a google search. I think New York, Oregon, maybe Kentucky, maybe others, but you should check for yourself about your own state. Maybe someone on here will have a complete list, or a link to a complete list. I don't.

By-the-way, some of the biggest and most popular Merge sites consist of Carbon, Hero, Black Chip Poker, but there are many, many others; probably around 30 or so altogether.
 
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wanfuforever

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Online Poker

Online poker became illegal due to a last-minute addendum placed on a port bill. Nothing to do with ports of course, but since people wanted the port bill passed the outlawing of online poker went with it. The government also wanted to outlaw it under the wire act (which originally was a way to combat the Mafia placed bets on the horses over the phone) but the courts ruled against the government on that point. Nonetheless, the government squeezed on the banks to stop online poker and put warrants out for the top people in the online poker biz. There are those trying to legalize it but the Repubs apparently think it's 1955 and gambling is the work of the devil, so they're trying to stop it, even though the marker says 12M Americans want to play.
 
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Big_Rudy

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Online poker became illegal due to a last-minute addendum placed on a port bill. Nothing to do with ports of course, but since people wanted the port bill passed the outlawing of online poker went with it. The government also wanted to outlaw it under the wire act (which originally was a way to combat the Mafia placed bets on the horses over the phone) but the courts ruled against the government on that point. Nonetheless, the government squeezed on the banks to stop online poker and put warrants out for the top people in the online poker biz. There are those trying to legalize it but the Repubs apparently think it's 1955 and gambling is the work of the devil, so they're trying to stop it, even though the marker says 12M Americans want to play.

This is wrong on a few levels. As I mentioned poker is not illegal for any player on a federal level. State by state that may vary depending upon if your state has specifically banned it.

Also the bit about it all being the Republican's fault is the usual mis-informed short-sitedness of those who lean to the left. Check out Oregon's situation. The bill to make online poker illegal there was sponsored and signed into law by....wait for it... Democrats.
 
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sactokid544

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Online poker became illegal due to a last-minute addendum placed on a port bill. Nothing to do with ports of course, but since people wanted the port bill passed the outlawing of online poker went with it. The government also wanted to outlaw it under the wire act (which originally was a way to combat the Mafia placed bets on the horses over the phone) but the courts ruled against the government on that point. Nonetheless, the government squeezed on the banks to stop online poker and put warrants out for the top people in the online poker biz. There are those trying to legalize it but the Repubs apparently think it's 1955 and gambling is the work of the devil, so they're trying to stop it, even though the marker says 12M Americans want to play.

You would be talking about the SAFE Port Act. The UIGEA was added to that bill. It doesn't make online poker illegal from a player perspective. It was never illegal. As far as the banks/companies dealing with transactions related to gambling and the like, the Act addresses that. But it's not illegal for players to play online.
 
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zeeonlyone

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i'm a US player and i'm having trouble with the merge network. i've deposit on there on several occasions but now i can't even go to the cashier. i've contacted support but to no avail.
 
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Corey

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i'm a US player and i'm having trouble with the merge network. i've deposit on there on several occasions but now i can't even go to the cashier. i've contacted support but to no avail.

maybe you need to validate the account first? I had to fill out a form and scan it and email it to merge in the past to do that. Also send in a copy of my drivers licence.
 
BigCountryAA

BigCountryAA

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maybe you need to validate the account first? I had to fill out a form and scan it and email it to merge in the past to do that. Also send in a copy of my drivers licence.

Yeah I had to do the same for Bovada. Also off topic how quick did you get paid out on merge. I play freerolls on PlayAces and was considering maybe dropping a minimum deposit into my bankroll.
 
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Big_Rudy

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Yeah I had to do the same for Bovada. Also off topic how quick did you get paid out on merge. I play freerolls on PlayAces and was considering maybe dropping a minimum deposit into my bankroll.

It's gonna take awhile. Norm is probably over a month.
 
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zeeonlyone

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i have verified my acct. i have written support and they say i'm good to go. but nothing happens when i hit the cashier button. nothing. i have told them this and they want a screen shot. of what? the lobby? cuz nothing happens when i hit the cashier link.
 
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InfamousAmos

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how long until they let you cash out the free rolls ? >.>
 
Timmah120

Timmah120

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Sounds like an odd problem. When I played on lock, I actually had to deposit to their casino first, then transfer the funds over to poker because a poker deposit was being blocked by my bank.

I really do not like the new Lock software....so I left and went to Bovada. Loving it so far. I have never tried ACR. I guess I could have stayed on merge...I didn't mind it at all.
 
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