U.S. Poker Rooms

I remember when the UIGEA was passed in September 2006, I figured it was only meant to protect the interests of domestic online gambling enterprises, against the onslaught of the offshore sports betting, online casino and poker companies.
I also remember, back then I figured it was probably a law that would benefit us Americans, as we'd invest our hard-earned money into American interests, rather then sending it out of the country for someone else to enjoy.

It's been almost a year now that the UIGEA has been passed and I - a poker player - have not noticed a single positive effect, no matter how hard I try to look. Obviously, This law does not serve the interest of U.S. citizens. What's more, not only does it not do anything good for us, it limits some of the most basic liberties, we, the citizens of a supposedly free nation should take for granted.

Nowadays, the basic understanding most people have of the UIGEA is, that it makes poker and online poker illegal. I never would have considered that viewpoint until I saw and heard about police in different parts of the country make arrests and bust up innocent home poker games. This has gone too far this time. Just what kind of a freedom are we living in, if we're told what type of entertainment we can consume, and what type we can't?

Who am I harming when I'm spending MY money in an online poker room for MY entertainment? How come horse-racing is still legal then? Is it more of a skill-based game than poker?

I bet these same questions linger around the minds of many US poker players. Lately however, the online gambling initiative proposed by congressman Barney Frank and the ever growing support behind it, is giving me new hope. Something so fundamentally wrong as the UIGEA cannot last in the land of the free. History is proof that nothing will drag one of our most fundamental liberties through the mud for long.

Even if most online poker operations were negatively affected by the ban, and most of them closed their poker rooms to US traffic, there have always been poker rooms out there that swam against the tide and allowed Americans in. One such room is Full Tilt Poker whcih now is owned by Pokerstars, which not only accepts US players, it gives us rakeback too.

As you all probably well know, poker rakeback is a huge edge that can potentially turn a slightly losing player into a winner. The internet is loaded with rakebeack deals, one more generous than the other, however, they all seem to have one feature in common: they're all out of the reach of the American poker public.

Well, Full Tilt is one place where we too can enjoy the benefits of a healthy competition based free market, and play with rakeback.
As a matter of fact, while searching for the best rakeback deals for US players, I happened upon something quite exquisite: 120-135% rakeback, in poker rooms which do indeed accept US players, too.

They are prop deals naturally, and if you're a good poker player, you're disciplined and you fancy getting paid to play, I don't see why you shouldn't take a second look.
Mind you, poker propping is not something for just any poker player, be careful to read the conditions thoroughly so you know what you're getting yourself into.