In online poker, a poker player has a option between poker rake back or poker bonuses. The catch is that you may only choose one of the bonuses. Most poker players have their own preference on which is best for them. In the following paragraphs we will examine the benefits of each and what’s best for you.

Different kinds of bonuses in poker are:

Initial Deposit Bonuses: Are bonuses offered when players make their initial deposit. Ordinarily rooms match the deposit given, when you deposit $100 they will add $100 into your bonus account that can be released as you attain the right amount of acquired points or raked hands.

Promotions: They’re promotions that online poker sites run at numerous times of the year that do not require a deposit. An illustration of this is monthly promotions running on the network. They make a new promotion just about every month for any event or holiday which takes place in that given month. As an example, in December a site runs a Christmas bonus where prizes and money is given to players for when they reach specific numbers of comp points.

Precisely what is poker rakeback?

To get rakeback, a poker player needs to sign up at a rake back provider or by contacting the poker network. The room will not be able to provide you with rakeback for anyone who is already tracked to an affiliate who does not allow this option. Rakeback is a bonus given to players in which they receive a percentage of the rake they have generated. The money is paid into their account daily, weekly or monthly depending on the room. If you are receiving rake back you will not be able to participate in promotions or be eligible for deposit bonuses. The percentage of rakeback you receive varies on the room once more. Some offer around 25% while others are giving players the entire rake they have generated back to them.

For leisurely players, it is best to choose the bonuses. This is because a recreational player will not generate enough rake to make the payments worthwhile. These players enjoy the fun factor more than the competition. They like to participate in the monthly promotions and bonuses offered on the website which is not available if you take the rakeback route.

Rake back is suggested however to players who play for a living or who play high stakes games. It is obvious you are playing to make a serious income and chasing bonuses is not going to interest you as much as picking up an extra sum each week. Also the amount of rake back you will generate will be worthy of picking up and can even turn a losing month in to a winning month.

There’s web portals that have done the research for you and provide a list of rake back sites. Some have negotiated special rake back deals for players. Shop around on these sites and see which sites offer the best rakeback. Also for US poker players find a site that offers a list of us poker sites that offer rake back.

Overall, unless you play poker for a living or play limits above $2/4, it is advisable to keep clear of rakeback and take the bonus route. If you do play limits over the ones stated previously, take rakeback and pick up a guaranteed amount of cash on a weekly or monthly basis.

Playing online poker is a great method of getting skills and knowledge about the game. A lot of people question moving their play to the web because they worry that they’ll lose something as a result. In all actuality, just about every aspect of live play is the same as what happens online, but the internet comes with a few added bonuses you might think about. Here are some benefits why playing poker on the internet is better than playing live.

Convenience

There’s obviously a degree of convenience present in online poker tournaments because you can play them from your home, rather then driving some place in town. You have access to games any time of the day or night you desire, and you will still play against live people. The only catch is you play behind a screen name or avatar. Just about everything else is identical, however it happens right at home for you to enjoy.

Secrecy

Should you not have a very good poker face, the internet will be the perfect place for you to play. People can’t see your reactions if you play online. Most US poker sites will give you a chance to either use an avatar or at the very least create a username to hide behind. That’s the only information that gives away your identiity in the slightest, and you may work that out so no one knows anything. You can be a very different person on the web and work that to your advantage.

Speed

Everything occurs faster with online poker because it’s automated. Dealing is quick, betting is quick, action is quick, and everything is done for you. You’re left with a game that can take a fraction of the time a normal one would, giving you more time to spend all the money you just won. Assuming there are not any disconnections on your table, you can get through a game with great ease.

Accuracy

Because things are all automated online, the idea of human error is almost eliminated. Pots are always split accurately, and you can be certain that every player puts in the proper amount of chips if they wants to play a hand. The accuracy of the computer cannot be matched by anything else, which is great when you’ve got money on the line. You can be assured that your money is safe in internet poker rooms.

Bonuses

You will get online poker bonuses that you obviously cannot get elsewhere. These are designed to release money to you when you play for a specific amount of time, and they literally offer you free rewards for being around. You’ll find bonus codes that you can get from some websites before you sign up with an actual poker site, and with these you may create an account and get free money as you play. If you can find these bonus codes, your internet poker experience will be better than it would be naturally.

Location

For those who are in the audience from the USA, not all internet poker rooms wii accept you. You have to find one that does. The easiest way to do thisis to find a US poker sites web portal. These portals have done the work for you and are very reliable.

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In a really surprising move, the US Department of Justice has clarified its stance on online gambling. The legal opinion was issued on Friday right before Christmas, however the original decision was made back in September. The ruling came in

response to a request by Senators Harry Reid and Jon Kyl for the DOJ to clarify its position. Two other states, Illinois and New York, also asked for clarification concerning the Wire Act of 1961, among the list of major laws used by the Department of Justice in search of online gambling and poker regulation.

The opinion reverses the Justice Departments previous stance that all forms of gambling online are illegal, but stops short of proclaiming that the Justice Department looks to set regulations for a national online gaming system. The DOJ says the new policy “differs from the department’s previous interpretation of the Wire Act, (but) it reflects the department’s position in Congressional testimony during the time the Wire Act was passed in 1961.” The latest decision by the DOJ states that the Wire Act only targets sports betting and not casino or poker offerings.

Several states might take advantage of this decision to introduce new lottery games in their borders. The new position does bring the potential for individual states or a band of states banding together to permit online poker to make a comeback in the United States.
There is the chance that several states could group together to create an online poker offering more appealing. Very similar to multi-state lotteries like PowerBall and Mega Millions plus some interstate horse racing, a multi-state online poker offering would provide the traffic necessary to drive big revenues.

Which states are situated to take advantage of the new ruling? Nevada recently passed legislation that will allow for companies to supply an intrastate online poker offering for its citizens. Earlier this month, the Nevada Gambling Control Board announced that six companies have applied for licenses, but were holding off until the federal government released a stance. The District of Columbia has long delayed plans to offer online poker to its residents. The latest decision by the DOJ could lead the way for that plan to actually come to fruition. Other states, such as Iowa, New Jersey, California and Florida, have also considered online poker regulation for its citizens, but preceding bills have either been rejected or have been tabled as a result of federal government’s opposition to internet gaming.

Advocates of legalized internet gambling say the business could provide new sources of revenue for states. But others, including big casino interests, prefer a country wide system restricted to online poker, claim that the free-flowing nature of the Internet is ill-suited for state gambling plans, which would attempt to limit online gambling to in just a given state’s borders.

For more information please visit US poker news.

On Dec 14 Bodog Poker was officially renamed as Bovada Poker. The Morris Mohawk Gaming Group (MMGG), who has been the united states licensor of Bodog Poker, will run Bovada Poker. It had been announced in July that Bodog intended to withdraw from the US poker market fully and reported the launch of an special Poker web site only for US players. We’ve since learned this new site is Bovada Poker.

What impact will this have on players?

For US players, Bodog Poker will not be offered. Instead, they’ll need to download the Bovada Poker software from the web site of Bovada Poker. The poker accounts of US poker players at Bodog Poker have been moved to Bovada Poker. US players need not register again, they will use their Bodog Poker usernames and passwords

For non US players, the bad news is that the new online poker brand is intended only for US poker players and does not accept non US players. Players from other regions of the world can still play against US opponents while playing at Bodog Poker since both US players and non US players exist on the very same network. Really the only difference is the access point.

This major change should be seamless and isn’t gonna affect the player traffic on the network. The rebranding of Bodog Poker to Bovada Poker is predicted to offer the network a plus. It should mean an increase in the amount of players on both Networks making the whole network stronger to combat Merge Poker which reported that it’ll start accepting US players again. click here to read a full Bovada Poker Review

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Information from ACROSS (Americas) Cardroom Online Super Series

Yes there’s an online tournament that’s all-in or fold and yet a bounty tournament. It is certainly a unusual tournament but an intriguing one indeed. For those who have no idea what an all-in or fold tournament is a tournament where each round preflop you have to go all-in or fold your hand, It is different from the all-in type tournament which requires you to go all in every time which requires no strategy at all, but just luck. A bounty tournament is when you get a bonus for knocking out a player. In such type of tournament the prize pool is less because half goes to the bounties. This tournament has a lot of elements and new strategies.

Without a doubt such type of tournament will cure you of the nasty habit of limping into pots. It’s impossible to limp in during an all-in or fold tournament. It’s a very good lesson to learn. Limping in most cases is a bad habit along with a bad poker play. Also, you must play with a very good hand. Players are either going all-in with top hands or folding bad ones. This helps you with the discipline of playing top hands ahead of the flop. An excellent skill to possess in your poker game.

You better play with a top starting hands in late position. If you think about the strategies of these kinds of tournaments, players are playing the top hands in early and middle position. They are fully aware a small hand in these positions are going to get beat by a good late hand. So understand that in late position with no one all-in in front of you, a hand slightly lower than the top hand could be played here to steal blinds.

Stack size is so important in these tournaments. Understand that the starting stack size is the same for all at the outset of the tournament. So really hand strength is the only variable in the beginning. Later in the tournament the stack sizes are different and are starting to be a weapon to be reckoned with. A couple of things are going on here. First, the bigger stacks can play more aggressively because if they gamble a bit an lose to a smaller stack they are not out of the tournament. This play puts pressure on short stacks and if the play questionable hand they are gone.

Let’s focus on the cash and prizes. The good thing about this is you can knock players out and get their bounty. If you play top hands you’ll be able to very quickly get your entry fees back and you are playing for free. Remember all players have a bounty and all but the winner loses theirs. So the bounties can get you profitable quickly. For the tournament prize money is usually 50 percent less due to the bounties, but enough there to play for. Follow these strategies we stated previously and you will be getting plenty bounties and finish at the final table.

In this posting we found a unique tournament that’s very fun to play, with some very strict strategies, and it teaches the players some very good discipline and tools for your poker game. We have only played these tournaments at Carbon Poker and Pokerhost Poker both US poker sites. They appear to be hard to find, but are well worth it when you do.
Information from Internet Poker All-In Or Fold Bounty Tourneys Produce Fine Poker Skills

There are several things which happen in the world of poker that changes how we look at the games in addition to the way that we play in the games. This happens every now and then and we can not stop the natural process that happens but there are also some events that causes this to happen. One such event has made us think differently about some gambling websites online includes the Poker Black Friday. This was an huge event that happened that made several people think differently about playing poker online along with making them truly scared to participate in certain events.

Eventhough it was not something that was done improperly or was considered illegal, it’s brought down a few of the site gambling businesses. Poker Black Friday was comprised of Department of Justice’s seizure on several gambling sites along with US poker sites. They investigated these firms because they supposedly were breaking laws when running their web sites. There has been a few seizures and some companies brought up on charges. The Black Friday is generating a revolution in poker web sites and will continue to do so until the running gambling websites meets the justice requirements. They would not stop until they see that all of those gambling websites follow the rules and regulations.

Even though these seizures have happened there is still a way for those players to play poker online. In order for them to play the safe way and not to see their favorite web sites being closed down they would need to make sure that they find a website that follows the Department of Justices regulations. By finding a website that follows these regulations a person would be able to enjoy the experience of playing poker online.

When somebody is trying to find the perfect website online to gamble then they would want to ensure that they do their proper research so that they can find a website that would be legal to play at. A person would not want to deposit money on a site just to have it taken away from them when the website shuts down. When researching a website you want to ensure that under your state and country laws against gambling on the net they should want to make sure that they are following the proper rules. If gambling online is not allowed in that area when money is exchanged on the internet then you would not want to sign up for a website that allows that. People make money online by gambling but in the end they would need to make sure that they are following the proper regulations. There are several web portals that have done this job for you. They have lists of US poker sites and what areas they accept players from. Most of these will even have reviews of the poker sites to show how reliable they are and the deposit and withdraw methods plus much more. Even with these sites, an individual should be sure that they adhere to all the rules and the regulations.

Poker Black Friday might have revolutionized the way of gambling online but it has shown us that there have been some companies in which have not been following all the proper regulations. Poker Black Friday should open their eyes so that they can change their web sites to fit the regulations of the Department of Justice.

More domain names and gambling operations were seized on Monday May 24th 2011, which we aptly call Gray Monday. This time the industry leaders were not the only websites seized but smaller websites also. Even more important is many different sectors in the industry were seized. There were domains seized in online poker, casinos, sports books and even bingo. This may send more of a message through the industry than Black Friday.

The internet poker community was hit hard and drastically when the three biggest players in the industry had their domain names seized. This sent a shockwave through the industry and millions of poker players were left wondering what happens next. What did happen next was that the three biggest poker rooms soon left the US market and their players were left in limbo. They now had to find a new place to play and their funds were in jeopardy. Although the three poker websites worked out a deal with the Department of Justice to return the players money, no one we have talked to has received any money from them at the time this article was written.

After Black Friday, gradually things started to settle down and players found a new poker home and continued to play online. Many thought the Department of Justice had made their point and were going to let things get back to normal as much as could be. But with the action on Gray Monday the hammer came down on the industry as a whole. The shock this time is in the form of all sectors of the internet gambling industry. Homeland Security made the seizures this time and the industry is in disarray. No one seems to be safe whether large or small players in the industry. It is just a matter of time to see the reactions to these seizures. Unfortunately, now we may see internet gambling websites in all sectors start leaving the US market. We have seen some internet websites change their domain names to an international extension as a result of these seizures. They seem to be positioning themselves to be immune from the US government actions by having these domains outside the US.

The sense out there is that no one knows what will happen next and once again the internet players could be sent scrambling again. It a watch and see attitude nowadays, but the impact could be far more reaching than Black Friday. As a result, no matter how big or small of an gambling operation you are or what sector of internet gambling you’re in, everyone can be touched by the government.

The effects so far are that US poker players have not had to move to different websites as of yet, but new sign ups may need to go to a new website address to register. Same is true with US casino players, there is no effect yet from Gray Monday other than having a new domain name to register.

The WSOP had another record breaking year and stays the industry standard, In 2011, there were a record 75,672 entries when compared to last year’s record of 72,966. This year was up 3.7 percent of last year. Also, the prize pool set a record in 2011 with a whooping $191,999,010 dollars compared to last year’s previous high of $187,109,850. This was a boost of 2.6 percent. These numbers make you think everything is good in the poker world.

If you take a look a little deeper you will find most predictions of the turn out for this years tournament were deeply understated. The truth is they broke records as outlined above. So Black Friday did not have the impact some thought it would. Despite thousands of players angry after three of the four sites failed to reimburse them even after the government cleared the way to do so. Many thought players might not be able to afford WSOP buy-ins because of the online poker crackdown. We believe the predictions were a year early. With sponsorship down and fewer fish playing online poker these days the sharks aren’t going to make much cash for buy ins. It could just have not been long enough for the losses to kick in.

The tv part of the tournament has definitely taken a commercial hit. It’s no real shock because the people who own internet sites were huge sponsors specifically Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker. If you have been watching the tournament on television you will see their logos are not on the players either. Even the UFC events don’t have these sponsors anymore. If ratings are down this year they can lose much more sponsors. One good thing is Godaddy has signed on this year becoming a sponsor and maybe that is a good sign.

Tha harsh truth is next year will be the year to worry about. If poker players cant find online poker sites that accept players in the US, then they could lose interest and take up different hobbies. Even if their desire is to play, but there is no place online, they may get frustrated. In either case the lack of US poker Sites is an issue and the fact these players have not had there funds returned to them is yet another. The environment over the next year can really get bad.

So how will we fix it and keep the greatest tournament in the world? That will not be an easy one. Here are a few thoughts. First, if the government is prosecuting the operators of these poker sites criminally, then they should also pursue the funds being returned to the players just as vigorously. The poker players were not breaking any laws and their funds should be returned. Second, there should be a law that legalizes online poker at the minimum if not all of gambling. The law makers should not play politics with this situation. It’s about time to get past the Indian gaming lobby and help the players. Until we get US poker sites again the sport is in trouble and so is the tournament.