As a new poker player with Carbon Poker I was not sure what to expect other than the average poker room with assuming average customer service. I was wrong, usually when I assume I am indeed wrong. After joining I called in to speak with the customer service team from Carbon Poker and was a bit shocked when I heard a polite young lady answer the phone.

Not only was she able to answer my bonus questions she does so in a highly educated way. Obviously they take great pride in the customer service offered at Carbon Poker and us poker players appreciate that.

Along with having great customer service I was stunned by the quality of games Carbon offered. The game play was fast and the software was extremely well. I have been a bit worried to play online after my last experience with an online poker room oh I so wish I joined them much sooner.

Along with the solid poker games they host, they also offer a very informative poker blog which they seem to update on a regular basis. Within these new articles there you will be able to research and get all the important information you need on winning at poker along with some great tips while playing poker.

Let’s face it, poker sites earn money from the rake, they don’t want you losing your money quickly as in return they don’t earn much. They have a very knowledgeable writing staff with highly endorsed poker trainers.

There are even some casino games that you can play such as Blackjack, Roulette and Caribbean Stud. These side games are really fun to play, especially if you are waiting 5 minutes between rounds of a tournament.

In conclusion, if you’re still looking to find a quality and smartly ran poker room them Carbon Poker is for you. I have to offer them the highest Grade to date for an online poker room at A+. I have never had a poker site treat me so well as a client and offer me so many perks they do.

Because of this, you can now find these poker sites at the following URLs: FullTiltPoker.co.uk, PokerStars.eu, AbsolutePoker.eu and UbPoker.eu

The reason that the U.S. government decided to do this was because they were basically handed everything that these companies did to circumvent the online gambling laws imposed by 2006 port security bill. By now, you’ve heard of the mid-20′s Australian that set this system up, only to steal millions of dollars from Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt poker alerted the authorities that he was in the US and he was arrested. He flipped on the poker sites and spilled the beans about how they were committing bank fraud and laundering money. This story reminds me a lot of the movie Boiler Room – one man taking down the giants because he knew all of the right information.

Full Tilt Poker has this message to greet players at there new site:

Full Tilt Poker™ Supports Poker Players And Its Chief Executive

Dublin Ireland (April 15, 2011) – Full Tilt Poker is saddened by today’s charges against its CEO Raymond Bitar and offers its full support to Mr. Bitar and Nelson Burtnick.

Online poker is a game of skill enjoyed by tens of millions of people in the United States and across the world. And, Full Tilt Poker remains as committed as ever to preserving the rights of those players to play the game they love online.

Mr. Bitar and Full Tilt Poker believe online poker is legal – a position also taken by some of the best legal minds in the United States. Full Tilt Poker is, and has always been committed to preserving the integrity of the game and abiding by the law.

“I am surprised and disappointed by the government’s decision to bring these charges. I look forward to Mr. Burtnick’s and my exoneration”, said Mr. Bitar.

Unfortunately, as a result of this action, Full Tilt Poker has decided that it must suspend “real money” play in the United States until this case is resolved. However, Full Tilt Poker will continue to provide peer-to-peer online poker services outside of the United States.

For more information, please call +442032877138

About Full Tilt Poker

Full Tilt Poker™ is the host of a worldwide virtual poker cardroom service. It is not in the business of betting or wagering and does not participate in the games as a player. It merely provides a service to those who wish to test their skills against others for fun, prizes or money. It is duly regulated and licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. With innovative graphics, superior customer service and a safe, secure interface, the software is geared to enhance and personalize the online poker experience. Although virtual poker is legal where the games are hosted and played, it may not be legal where individual players are located.

The same story can be said for the others poker websites affected by this decision. Players at Full Tilt and PokerStars will not be able to play for real money at all anymore. Traditionally when this sort of thing happens, the money in the individual player accounts will be safe. If you are waiting to get your money back, be prepared to wait for 2-3 months while things are as hectic as they are.

However for US poker players at Absolute Poker (absouletpoker.eu) or Ultimate Bet (ubpoker.eu), while you are not allowed to make deposits or cashout, you may still play poker online with your remaining balance.

Can I still play poker online in the US?

The irony of all the hoopla surrounding the events of “Black Friday” is that Washington D.C. recently passed a law to make online poker legal within the districts borders. Obviously this says to all of us that this was a matter of companies committing bank fraud and money laundering and that we should not be worried about playing online poker.

But all the best online poker sites are shut down you say? I don’t think so, there are still several great places that people from the US can play poker online. Take a look at the best couple that I have found for you:

Carbon Poker

Many players at Full Tilt and PokerStars have already moved over to Carbon Poker, part of the Merge Poker Network. You will find many thousands of players on the tables at all times and most of the same feature that you may have been used to.

If that wasn’t enough incentive to get you to try their poker room, Carbon Poker will give you a chance to make up to $600 in bonus money on your initial deposit (100% bonus). You must use the poker bonus code UPTO600 and you will be able to earn $5 of this bonus for every 375 VIP points.

You will be able to earn the same amount in bonus money that you initially deposited into your account. In addition to that, you can also receive 14 days entry into the Daily $500 New Depositor Freeroll.

Regardless of whether you have a Windows PC or a Mac, you can download the software and play poker at Carbon.

Looking for more US poker options?

I have already made reviews for several poker rooms that still offer services to US poker players. You can click on the links to check out my reviews for these poker sites: Doyle’s Room, Bovada Poker, and PlayersOnly Poker.

With that theme in mind, I would like to present a great site for poker players from Australia.

Poker has been increasing in popularity in Australia ever since Joe Hachem won the 2005 World Series of Poker. Unfortunately, a lot of the large conglomerate poker sites don’t really cater to one country or another. 888 was one of the first to create a poker site specifically for Australian poker players.

888 poker has recently signed the cricket superstar Shane Warne as a sponsor. They also fielded a team of world class poker players in the Battle of the Nations tournament in Macau. 888 will continue to serve the local poker industry in the Australian market with reliable, safe and top shelf poker service.

888 Poker Bonuses

Do you need more of a reason to join 888.com? How about a free $8 no deposit bonus for you to play free online poker. That’s right, 888 will give any Australian poker player $8 for free to try playing poker online for real. You can use this free bonus to play poker games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha Hi/Lo.

If you decide that you like 888poker, you can choose to make a deposit and receive up to $400 with a welcome bonus. This is not the typical poker signup bonus that you must earn entirely through playing hands. 888 will actually give you 25% of the match bonus to you upon signup. That means you get free cash right from the start.

You will then have to earn the other 75% through your play. Every time that you accumulate 100 Bonus Points, you will receive $10 of your remaining bonus into your account. You will earn 2 Bonus Points for every $1 rake or tournament fee and 1 Bonus Point for every $16 wagered in the casino.

Your first deposit will also earn you a free chance to win money in the $50K first depositors challenge!

More Features

You can take part of the first-of-its-kind Live Poker Action at 888poker. 888 is the first poker site to offer all-new feature called PokerCam. This is the rare opportunity to play other poker players both online and face-to-face at the same time! All you will need is a webcam and you can log in, sign up and play poker.

Another things that 888poker has created is the Teams Poker series. It is quick and easy to sign up with a poker team. You will represent this poker team at the games that you want to play. Points get shared amongst team members and everyone will get to enjoy a share of the winnings.

DoylesRoom.com has been online since 2004, when the legendary Texas Holdem player Doyle Brunson helped create the online poker site that proudly bears his name. They offer new customers a 100% Doyles poker bonus on all first-time deposits between $25 and $200. In order to receive the bonus, you must earn the money incrementally through playing poker.

The move to Yatahay Poker Network was made so that DoylesRoom could have more control and features that their players were asking for.

This poker network move comes right around the same time that the casino part of Doyles Room changed software as well. They used to use Real Time Gaming or RTG before they switched over to 21Gnet. The one thing that RTG stopped offering was the blackjack tournament tables. 21Gnet still offers the blackjack tournaments for DoylesRoom players to play.

DoylesRoom New Poker Software

New and existing players can download and install the new poker software now and start enjoying the new poker experience. They have upgraded their poker lobby software as you can see by this side by side comparison.

The layout of the tournaments and the filters for games and price ranges is better than before.

The move has been something that players at DoylesRoom had been asking for because of all the new improvements that they are able to bring to the table.

Doyle Brunson said “With our new software, we’re able to do our own thing in terms of promotions, software features and customer service. For our players, that means a tailored poker experience with more rewarding promotions and incentives. I’m personally excited about what’s ahead.”

One Euro poker site that I’ve heard good things about is NoiQ Poker. Here is some information on how to get rakeback from NoiQ Poker:

How to Get Rakeback at NoiQ Poker

If you want to know how you can be a part of one of the largest online poker rooms in the world – NoiQ Poker – and also get back some of the rake that you generate by playing for real money (either in cash games or in tournaments), just read and follow the steps below.

If you’re already a member of NoiQ Poker, skip following the steps, as they do not apply to you. Instead, give us an e-mail and tell us a bit about your situation, and we’ll get back to you with a new offer.

So, to start signing up for a rakeback account at NoiQ Poker, first you have to delete all your browser’s cookies. After you’ve deleted them, download NoiQ poker client on to your computer, go to the signup page and register by completing all the fields.

In the “referral code” field, enter TRACK as the code (also, make sure you don’t use the Refer a Friend program offered by NoiQ Poker, or else you can’t receive any rakeback). After you’ve successfully completed all these steps, just come back here and send me an email if everything worked ok.

Once you’ve created your account, you only have to play in order to receive 30% rakeback from NoiQ Poker. Apart from this, you benefit from a 100% bonus of up to €500 on your first deposit. The bonus clears at a rate of 100 VIP Points per €10.

Please note that the rake is fed to your account each month, and also that players from the United States.

Make sure to take part in NoiQ January poker promotion of €150,000 January Races.

NoIQ Poker accepts the following deposit options: Neteller, WebMoney, Mastercard, Visa, WebMoney, Maestro, MoneyBookers, Visa Electron and PaySafeCard. You can withdraw money from NoIQ Poker through Moneybookers, Neteller, Visa or via bank wire.

WebMoney is one of the fastest and easiest payment methods for online poker players from Europe. Here is a list of the best WebMoney online poker sites.

Are you from the United States? Take a look at this previous post for a great US poker site players only promotion.