Is online poker dead? (1 Viewer)

joepro

joepro

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I'm as big a fan of chips as anyone, but I learned how to play on poker stars and full tilt. Nickel and dime limit holdem, Omaha, and stud evolved into horse and badugi. I made no money online, but I gained a lot of confidence going into a casino and reading flops.

I'm really out of the loop now. Work, kids, and the doj have destroyed my poker appetite. Gone are the days of watching Phil Ivey and Matt Hawrilenko playing heads up $2k / 4k holdem late at night on full tilt.

Are there any good options in Pennsylvania any more? Would love to get back in the game if possible.
 
Ignition (used to be Bovada) and Carbon are the two best options for playing online in PA. Ignition is supposed to be weaker in terms of players. The lowest stakes online are always going to be miles ahead of the lowest stakes live though.
 
Best methods for making a deposit? Is this still an issue? I remember I would make a $50 deposit on my credit card and the card company would call me 3 seconds later asking a million questions.
 
About a year ago, I set up Bovada (now Ignition). The CC card did verify transaction, which I appreciated. Software was fine, everything seemed fine at first. Played low stakes, ABC poker, got a little ahead. Played a little blackjack, got a little ahead. Placed a few sports bet, won most of those. First deposit had freebies (bonuses) too. Was doing good, not great. Then after a few weeks, everything changed. Even though I was playing just as conservatively, every time I had a great hand, there was somebody had something phenomenal. Stopped winning at blackjack too. I went through all my winnings and original desposit. I redeposited. This time, no bonus, and get hit with exchange rates fees as well. Lost it all pretty quickly. Amazingly, every time I had a good hand, someone else had a better hand. I said - F all this, and shut it down.

I found it more than a little fishy that I started off so well, then very consistently, lost it all.

Now some will say...that a site such as this doesn't need to do this (manipulation/cheating) because they are getting their fee/rake either way. Maybe so...but it was amazing how good it was going for several weeks, then how bad it went for weeks afterwards. This was not based on a 2-3-4 sessions, but 20-30 sessions going good, then 20+ going bad. It just seemed they thought they had me hooked by the initial wins, and had it programmed to take it all methodically back plus some. They did get all my money (2 minimum deposits), but they didn't get me hooked. Had they not been so greedy, I might probably still be playing.
 
Highly recommend tinfoil for protection.

maxresdefault.jpg
 
Americas Card Room (ACR) is available in 43/50 states, unfortunately for me Maryland is not on the list. However, I know of more than a few pro and semi-pro locals who play regularly on ACR and seem to have no problems. I don't know any of them personally, mostly just follow them on Twitter. Anyone know how they play from within MD? Pretty sure ACR doesn't do geolocating like the NJ/Del/Nev sites. Maybe they just use an out-of-state address when signing up?
 
I looked into ACR once but the fees for withdrawing your money were ridiculous, unless you wanted to get paid in bitcoin. Has this changed?
 
Steverino said:
I looked into ACR once but the fees for withdrawing your money were ridiculous, unless you wanted to get paid in bitcoin. Has this changed?
Click to expand...
Cash out by check is free if you limit it to once/month
 
Not dead, but very, very, tough. It gets tougher every year (and I lose more money). Still love it though.
 
While I am pissed that it was shut down in the US, I can't help but think it has saved me money. Bots (NL bots too apparently) and the skill level of the average guy even at mini-stakes is beyond my skill level.
 
Do not deposit money on Carbon. They have had some serious issues with payouts and bounced checks in recent months. They appear to be crumbling and are consistently warned against on online poker forums.
 
I'm in NJ so I have the beauty of PokerStars. It's okay. I made a $20 deposit and with bonuses it totalled out to $50 I could play with. Just used it as a test run. Won some. Lost some. Never did well on tournaments. Spin n Go's were fun but sometimes are stupid as guys just shove every hand.

I got up to around $80 total bankroll once winning some big pots in 25c/50c and 1/2. But donked it a few times and lost. I eventually just started buying in to tournaments with what I had left aND never really made anything. I now have maybe $4 left. Don't really play anymore.

Overall, I don't know if online is dead. Just needs a positive push from the government and I think it can come back to its pre-Black Friday glory
 
moose said:
Highly recommend tinfoil for protection.

maxresdefault.jpg
Click to expand...

Not saying the OP is "right", but people made similar comments when people first started having questions about Full Tilt, Absolute, etc. Just because the notion of scamming folks makes zero sense for a profitable business model, does not mean that the temptation for "more" will be resisted.
 
I wonder if anybody can answer this. I live not too far from Canada. Would it be possible to open a bank account in Canada and get some type of internet service fairly cheap and then play PS in the US using the Canadian internet service? On the surface it seems possible, but does anyone know if it can be done? And would the internet fees eat up any possible profit I could make?
 
In casino poker, there is not benefit to the casino in cheating a player. They make their money on the rake. the vast majority of players do not have money "on account" with a casino.
 
RiverAce01 said:
I'm in NJ so I have the beauty of PokerStars. It's okay. I made a $20 deposit and with bonuses it totalled out to $50 I could play with. Just used it as a test run. Won some. Lost some. Never did well on tournaments. Spin n Go's were fun but sometimes are stupid as guys just shove every hand.

I got up to around $80 total bankroll once winning some big pots in 25c/50c and 1/2. But donked it a few times and lost. I eventually just started buying in to tournaments with what I had left aND never really made anything. I now have maybe $4 left. Don't really play anymore.

Overall, I don't know if online is dead. Just needs a positive push from the government and I think it can come back to its pre-Black Friday glory
Click to expand...

I grind NJ WSOP almost every night mostly playing cash micros, freerolls, and $1 to $5 multi-table tourneys. Love it! It's the most fun you can have for basically pennies. Good news is that I manged to turn the initial $50 bankroll to $1250. Bad news is that I think playing micros made me a worse live player.

Tried the PS Spin and Go but it plays like slots, so I quickly lost that $50 bankroll.

On-line is not dead, but i don't think it'll go back to pre-BF numbers anytime soon.
 
joepro said:
I'm as big a fan of chips as anyone, but I learned how to play on poker stars and full tilt. Nickel and dime limit holdem, Omaha, and stud evolved into horse and badugi. I made no money online, but I gained a lot of confidence going into a casino and reading flops.

I'm really out of the loop now. Work, kids, and the doj have destroyed my poker appetite. Gone are the days of watching Phil Ivey and Matt Hawrilenko playing heads up $2k / 4k holdem late at night on full tilt.

Are there any good options in Pennsylvania any more? Would love to get back in the game if possible.
Click to expand...


Best waste of time and money possibly...ever.

Cannot tell you how many $2 sit and go heads up I've played in the bathroom. Can tell you I don't finish many before my wife starts looking for me.
 
johnnycnote said:
I grind NJ WSOP almost every night mostly playing cash micros, freerolls, and $1 to $5 multi-table tourneys. Love it! It's the most fun you can have for basically pennies. Good news is that I manged to turn the initial $50 bankroll to $1250. Bad news is that I think playing micros made me a worse live player.

Tried the PS Spin and Go but it plays like slots, so I quickly lost that $50 bankroll.

On-line is not dead, but i don't think it'll go back to pre-BF numbers anytime soon.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about going to wsop NJ since I used to enjoy playing the play money version before they came into NJ. And my PokerStars account doesn't seem to be letting me deposit any amount recently.

I enjoyed the single table tournaments as well as the MTT and the ring games on WSOP. Unfortunately PS doesn't do single table tourneys as everyone is just interested in spin n goes which have lost their luster to me
 
Online poker is not dead..... yet

Good games are getting harder to find, my favorite game is Limit Omaha Hi-Lo, Party ignores the game, Pokerstars stopped the smaller under $20 tournaments, and because of a huge rake cash games almost never run

I like to pay poker, Flips, Spin n Go's, and ultra turbos are not poker at all

The poker sites have become click bait for online Casinos and Sports Books

I am forced to either play online limit stud or HORSE, or not play online at all

More and more I choose not to play online, without the American fish in the mixed games it is hard to beat the rake

I find it strange an America Government outlawed a large taxable revenue stream, that would cost little to police and enforce(think cannabis)

I find it stranger that Australian Government is considering a ban, It is true Australians will gamble on anything

Have Fun
 

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