I am looking for a safe online poker site i can play in the US. I know that there is really no SAFE site, but thats ok with me. I do not live is Nevada or NJ so UP wans WSOPcom are not option. I also cant play on Bovada bc I do not have a visa card to deposti money. Another problem i have is i play on the MAC. i know a lot of poker sites dont have mac clients yet. i usually play MTT and Single Table SnGs. if anybody knows of any sites that you can play on in the US on a mac it would be greatly appreciated. thanks!
-
Guest, Forum Rules - Please Read
We keep things simple so everyone can enjoy our community:
- Be respectful - Treat all members with courtesy and respect
- No spam - Quality contributions only, no repetitive or promotional spam
- Betting site owners welcome - You may advertise your site in the Betting Picks or Personal Threads sections (minimum 3 posts required before posting links)
- Stay on topic - Keep discussions relevant to the forum section you're in
Violating these rules may result in warnings or account suspension. Let's keep our community friendly and helpful!
Online Poker in USA
- Thread starter janmarty1
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 1,241
- Reaction score
- 172
- Points
- 63
I know this post is old, but, I'd like to respond to it piece by piece in case anyone else has the same questions or issues.
Bovada has a number of deposit options other than Visa, including cash via "rapid transfer," bank wire, and it appears as if bitcoin may be just around the corner. You could also go to many grocery, convenience, corner stores and purchase certain pre-paid Visa cards that will work for deposits. Make sure the card you purchase is authorized to make International transactions however, or your deposit attempt will be denied and you'll have purchased a pre-paid card for nothing.
Also, there are number of US friendly sites that offer a Mac client. Since MTTs and SNGs are your thing, I'll give you my recommendations in no particular order: America's Cardroom (Mac client in Beta), Full Flush Poker (be sure to get rakeback), Grand Poker Network (smaller site but smooth client), Intertops (web based client).
It is NOT illegal for Americans to play online poker. It never was and it likely never will be (a couple of exceptions exist, like Washington State). The Federal government of the USA has NO LAWS on the books that make playing online poker illegal for citizens and very very few states do. Of the laws that "pertain to online poker," many of them have been overturned or reinterpreted (see The Wire Act and the DOJ).
The common misconception that you have repeated here stems from the fact that the UIGEA made it illegal for US banks and financial institutions to knowingly process transactions for online gambling. This however does NOT make any US citizen liable, it makes the bank / credit card company / money processor liable for checking their transactions.
Bovada has a number of deposit options other than Visa, including cash via "rapid transfer," bank wire, and it appears as if bitcoin may be just around the corner. You could also go to many grocery, convenience, corner stores and purchase certain pre-paid Visa cards that will work for deposits. Make sure the card you purchase is authorized to make International transactions however, or your deposit attempt will be denied and you'll have purchased a pre-paid card for nothing.
Also, there are number of US friendly sites that offer a Mac client. Since MTTs and SNGs are your thing, I'll give you my recommendations in no particular order: America's Cardroom (Mac client in Beta), Full Flush Poker (be sure to get rakeback), Grand Poker Network (smaller site but smooth client), Intertops (web based client).
It is NOT illegal for Americans to play online poker. It never was and it likely never will be (a couple of exceptions exist, like Washington State). The Federal government of the USA has NO LAWS on the books that make playing online poker illegal for citizens and very very few states do. Of the laws that "pertain to online poker," many of them have been overturned or reinterpreted (see The Wire Act and the DOJ).
The common misconception that you have repeated here stems from the fact that the UIGEA made it illegal for US banks and financial institutions to knowingly process transactions for online gambling. This however does NOT make any US citizen liable, it makes the bank / credit card company / money processor liable for checking their transactions.
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 1,241
- Reaction score
- 172
- Points
- 63
It seems americans are afraid even to play poker at home with friends, I have seen questions online if its okay to play poker with friends with stakes for 1$. Not good if they fear their government so much.
The fear of "Big Brother" is rampant in the USA. It's also rather deserved in some respects (not the ones you've mentioned obviously) given the blanket powers the NSA has to spy on US citizens. However, it is silly that it spills over into mass paranoia on the part of the populace who become afraid to play a friendly game for pennies in their own homes
okosh
Market Sharp
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2008
- Messages
- 217
- Reaction score
- 7
- Points
- 18
The fear of "Big Brother" is rampant in the USA. It's also rather deserved in some respects (not the ones you've mentioned obviously) given the blanket powers the NSA has to spy on US citizens. However, it is silly that it spills over into mass paranoia on the part of the populace who become afraid to play a friendly game for pennies in their own homes
The bigger problem is bots....It's why I quit online poker ages ago....Not a fair game when your not playing a human or the opponent can see your cards....
Bots can not see your cards. There is no special "hack" that a robot can do to purloin your hole card data from the poker site.
Do bots exist? Sure. Are 99.9% of them beatable? Yes. Do some of them win money? Yes. Do bot rings get caught and shut down? Of course they do. PokerStars has recently caught a ring of PLO bots. Bovada caught some as well. However, bots are a very small percentage of the online poker population and bots in and of themselves are NOT what is keeping you from being a winning poker player. I've played bots over my 13 year career as an online poker pro. Sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly. It hasn't kept me from being a hefty winner over the last 13 years.