general online info

[tlvegas]

so in my college days i played online quite a bit. haven't played a hand online since i moved to vegas 3 years back. I've heard a lot about the gov't cracking down on online gambling and was wondering if someone could give me a rundown on what it takes these days to be able to play online. I've heard of problems depositing and cashing out money. I was thinking about opening another account, any info would be great. Thanks!

[SheridanCat]

It's become difficult to deposit, but far from impossible. Check with the site you're interested in, but there are several ways to get money into the online sites - some will cost more than others.

I've not heard much about cashout problems from major sites. A friend of mine has done several cashouts from PokerStars using various means and had no problem. I believe he did experience some slowness from Full Tilt.

And, of course, PartyPoker is no longer operating for US residents.

[Harv72b]

Check the Internet Gambling forum ("Internet" on the left side bar) for numerous lengthy discussions about problems depositing/cashing out from various sites. And take a gander through the Legislation forum for discussions about the law itself, what it means, and what's being done to change/repeal it.

The cliff's notes version is that, unless the state/locality that you live in has a law on the books which explicitly criminalizes internet gambling, it's not illegal for you to play poker online. Most sites remain open to U.S. customers, although a few bailed (Party being the largest which left the U.S. market). Depositing might require a bit more effort than it used to, but is still very much possible.

[lucky_mf]

You can still play at Stars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet, and a few others. Right now Stars has the most traffic followed by Full Tilt, Absolute, and UB. All of the 4 mentioned sites have enough traffic so that finding a NL or limit hold'em table at almost any limit during peak hours is not a problem. Depending on the site finding a Omaha, Stud, or Razz game might be.

Getting money on and off sites is still pretty easy. To get money on people are using Epassporte, pre-paid Visa cards (gift to go), paper checks, and wire transfers. People are getting money off using Epassporte or paper checks.

Lucky

[Poker Clif]

All of the posters offer good advice, but some additonal points.

1. There are prepaid cards that work, and some that don't. PokerStars didn't accept something called a Red Dot prepaid Visa card, where you just buy the number and put money on it, and the actual card comes in the mail.

You can use your number online without using the physical card, but PS won't take it. If you get the prepaid card that contains an actual card, that will work.

2. Consider the time factor. Some methods are quicker than others. You can get a paper check from PokerStars, but they state that it can take up to two weeks.

3. I have used Western Union for deposit, but sometimes I see that option on PokerStars, and sometimes I don't, so I'm not sure what's up with that.

I hope I haven't confused you too much.