Maestro Friendly Sites - Guide for UK players

[Doctor Futtock]

I am a UK player who uses the Maestro deposit method exclusively. It's simple and straightforward. (Neteller simply ask for too many personal details.)

Anyway, 4 months ago I decided to join some sites and consequently got so carried away that I have since joined a total of 9! My strategy is simple - (1) Deposit $200 (2)work up a reasonable profit (with the help of the bonuses) (3) Cashout the initial $200 (4) Play poker with the profits.

However, there are MANY online poker sites out there that are not Maestro-friendly. This brief guide is to help those Maestro users out there who want to play online poker but who cannot decide which site(s) to choose.

DEPOSIT - SITES THAT HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE DEPOSIT:

ABSOLUTE POKER - But after 3-4 failed efforts. (Also, see cashout section below.)
CORAL POKER - (I first tried POKER ROOM who use the same network but I was curiously not able to deposit with them.) If you like the look of POKER ROOM and cannot deposit then I recommend you use CORAL POKER. They are exactly the same except that POKER ROOM is in green and CORAL POKER is blue.
PACIFIC POKER - No probs
PARADISE POKER - No probs
PARTY POKER - No probs
PKR - No probs
POKER STARS - No probs
ULTIMATE BET - No probs
WILLIAM HILL - No probs

DEPOSIT - SITES WHERE DEPOSIT FAILED OR THOSE THAT DO NOT ACCEPT MAESTRO

BODOG - Don't accept Maestro
BUGSY'S - Don't accept Maestro
DOYLE'S ROOM - Don't accept Maestro
FULL TILT - Don't accept Maestro
HOLLYWOOD POKER - Don't accept Maestro
MANSION POKER - Require ID when you cashout.
POKER ROOM - Say they accept but did not accept mine.
TITAN POKER - Don't accept Maestro
VICTOR CHANDLER POKER - Say they accept but do not.
32RED - Say they accept but did not accept mine.

YET TO TRY:
BET365, BETFAIR, CD POKER, INTERPOKER, LADBROKES, LITTLEWOODS, ROYAL VEGAS, SUN POKER, TIGER GAMING.

I have yet to join one of the Prima network sites. I failed to deposit at 32RED and I don't know if any of the others will accept Maestro.

My aim is to try all the reputable sites eventually. If you would like to recommend any please do. Onto CASHOUT section:

CASHOUT - 1 star = Terrible. 5 star = Excellent

ABSOLUTE POKER ** - Be aware that when cashing out with ABSOLUTE POKER, they do NOT give you the option of them adding the amount back to your card. Furthermore, when you ask for a cheque you get a message saying "We do not process checks to players outside Canada or USA". This meant that I had to get in touch with Customer Services. A few emails later, I was told they were upgrading their cashout system but that I could cashout manually by telling them details and that they would send me a cheque. This was done very recently so I am now waiting for my $200 cheque.
CORAL POKER - Only joined them recently. Not yet cashed out.
PACIFIC POKER **** - Pretty good. Credited my account with the funds after about 7 days. They initiate the cashout after 3 days where you are given opportunity to reverse your cashout request.
PARADISE POKER *** - Like ABSOLUTE POKER, this site did not give me the option to add the funds to my Maestro card. However, the option to receive a cheque went without a hitch. The cheque arrived FedEx (no charge) after about 8-10 days.
PARTY POKER ***** Excellent. I saw the funds in my account after about 3-4 days.
PKR - Not yet cashed out. (1 month needed to work off bonus.)
POKER STARS - The only site where I struggled. I was down to $125 after about 3 months. Got impatient and tilted the rest away on the $5/$10 tables - silly me! Still considering whether to try again.
ULTIMATE BET - Put $400 into this one because of generous bonus. Downside: Takes an age to work off the pending bonus. (I have a healthy balance but still have $300 in pending account after 4 months!) Hence, not cashed out yet. I have checked cashout procedure and although they do not add to a Maestro card they WILL (like PARADISE) send a cheque to UK players.
WILLIAM HILL ***** This has to be the best site for cashing out for UK players - but only if you have access to a printer! Simply click on the option to cashout at one of their shops, print off the voucher, collect money from one of their shops! If you live close to a WH shop, you could go online, print voucher, collect winnings and have the cash in your hand within 30 minutes!

MY PERSONAL FAVOURITRES:
Although I have not tried them all, I recommend the following six sites for Maestro uses:
1) CORAL POKER - Although I have yet to experience their cashout feature and have only just joined them recently, my initial impression is that this site has; plenty of traffic; has good software and is easy to use.
2) PACIFIC POKER - Software is awful but the loose players and the simple cashout procedure make it one I would recommend. Speed of the ring games also tend to be super fast.
3) PARTY POKER - Highly popular. VERY Maestro-friendly. Software is pleasant, cashout is pain free.
4) PKR - Fun fun fun. Loose loose loose. Goes well in a comfy armchair, on the laptop, with a fine glass of wine. Lucrative Sit'N'Goes here as well. Good graphics may be demanding on low end computers though.
5) ULTIMATE BET - If you are a safe, tight, patient low limit player then you MUST join this site for the bonus. Bonus is awarded cent by cent so you can check status regarding pending account easily. Spending loose change on the Blackjack tables is also nice here because you can play for as little as 1 cent per turn.
6) WILLIAM HILL - Being able to go into a shop to pick up your online poker winnings in cash is just fantastic. This site will also pay you £25 a month for playing on the $1/$2 tables for 5 hours. Add the fact that the site does have its fair share of casual gamblers and loose players and I have to say that this one comes highly recommended.

I hope this guide has been helpful to UK Maestro card carrying players but I hope others have got something out of it too. It would be great to read if you have had similar experiences or if you HAVE managed to use Maestro on those sites which I have not. Hope the post wasn't TOO long.
Cheers

[Longy]

Some places you may want to add to your list for deposits with maestro who then let you withdraw back to the same card are:

UK betting, Total Bet, Blue Sq and Paddy Power.

Of those you have left to try you should have no probs with

Ladbrokes, Littlewoods, Bet365 and Betfair.

Notice a pattern here if you go with a uk internet bookie with a poker site, you will be fine with maestro. Suprised you had probs with VC poker.