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Playing Under the New U.S. Laws
Before I start on this, let me reiterate what I said in Chapter 20 - Sit N Go matches are the best way I've found (recently) to fairly consistently win. I've been playing with PLAY MONEY recently and have run my 1000-chip stake up to 12 million, but even that amount of success still lacks the enjoyment of REAL MONEY play.
Now, I'm not proposing that anyone break the law by playing online from the USA! Heavens! That would be illegal! Even though I can drive a few miles North and gamble all day on a cruise ship, or drive a few miles South and play Hold'em all day and night at the dog track, or go to any bar in town on a weekend night and play Hold'em for chips that later can be exchanged for real money value, I certainly wouldn't want to BREAK THE LAW by playing in the comfort of my own home! I'd be MUCH better off to drive to one of the places that our astute lawmakers have decided are LEGAL, stay out all night in a smoke-filled, crowded room, then drive home bleary-eyed and worn out after a sleepless night of card playing. I'd probably end up either having an accident or messing up my marriage in the process. HOW STUPID!
At any rate, if you're one of those who thinks they should still be able to play online, I'm going to pass along to you what I've HEARD. First, it appears that playing at Party Poker or Paradise Poker is nearly impossible. I've tried both and you can't even join a real money game if you're registered as living in the USA. Second, if you had money in Neteller, you're probably one of those unlucky players that had your funds FROZEN by the U.S. Government. Moral of that story is to not leave very much money out there - get it back into your bank account asap. When the freeze occurred, I was lucky (?) enough to be on a losing streak and I had no money at all in my Neteller account. Third, I've heard that you can still play at FullTiltPoker.com and use MyWebATM for funding the account.
I'm not really sure how Full Tilt can remain active, when others apparently aren't able to do so. I think they're located off-shore and outside of U.S. laws. I think MyWebATM might actually be something set up by Full Tilt, but am not really sure of that. To get active, however, is fairly easy. Click the MyWebATM link above, put in your information, fund the account, and wait a week or so for verification of your account. After that, you can transfer money back and forth between your bank account and the MyWebATM card, and back and forth between MyWebATM and the Full Tilt cashier - SO I'M TOLD. I've talked to people using the process and they tell me that it appears to be working well. I'd recommend, however, that you not keep very much in either the ATM account or the Full Tilt account, in case congress figures out ways to attack them as they did Neteller. It's probably a good idea to even have a separate checking account with a small amount in it, to avoid the possibility of having that seized also.
All that being said, I wish you luck in your poker pursuits. If you haven't already, you might want to join the Poker Players Alliance at Full Tilt and lending your support to the fight to get online poker an express exemption from the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act (UIGEA). By becoming a PPA member, you have qualified to play in a special Freeroll tournament held between 20:00 ET and 21:00 ET (8PM ET to 9PM ET) on Friday, March 23rd. By contributing a few dollars, you can qualify for a special bonus up to $1000. Click the PPA ad below, then look under NEWS AND PROMOS for more information.
WebBook #21
Much of the content in the WebBook assumes you've already read the Ebook Chapters 1-7. To get your free copy of the Ebook, CLICK HERE.
This is the WebBook portion of the "Secrets for Winning Online Hold'Em Poker" Ebook+WebBook
INTERESTING! I just read the UIGEA Wikipedia entry referenced in the previous paragraph and it says that the law "prohibits banks from processing transactions for online gambling operations. Though the law doesn't outlaw online gambling itself per se, after its passage many online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker rooms left the U.S. market because of the increasingly hostile legal climate." And I've been hearing that it's ILLEGAL to gamble online! Maybe that's not so ... I leave it to you to do your own research on that and make your own decision.
Click Howard to read his
STOP THE PRESSES! I just learned of the fees that MyWebATM attaches to their card and I find them outrageous! I've included them to the right - I'll leave it to you on whether you're willing to give them that much for the privilege of using their stupid card! I'm not!
2009 UPDATE! I wrote the info below in March, 2007, but things have changed. I'm now playing real money again on FullTilt Poker with no special ATM card, etc. I simply opened a separate checking account to put my Poker money into, so I wouldn't give access to my regular checking account (I still don't fully trust online gaming sites). Then, in the FullTilt cashier, you go through the process of setting up your checking account with them. After that, which takes a couple of weeks to complete, you can simply move money from checking to FullTilt and back instantly! Easy - peasy!
ONE MORE ADD-ON: CLICK HERE to download the FREE Poker Odds Calculator. If you want a copy of the email advertisement about it, email me and I'll send it. dear_oldguy@yahoo.com
