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So you’re eager to play cards for money, much like in the Wild Wild West, but want to remove the threat of guns pointed at you under the table ? Well then you’ve landed on the right website, as we cater to the safest remaining US – Friendly gaming sites. These United States Texas Holdem sites for real money are enjoyable at no risk, and are non-rigged for those seeking to make real money deposits. In fact, much of the best rising poker phenoms have accounts with these brands. Where else could we play, considering the tightening selection offered to USA -Facing players.

Legal Status of Online Poker in the United States

Online gambling in general has been a dominant issue throughout the United States ever since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006. Since then, American online poker players were limited in their selection of safe, secure card gaming sites that would accept their memberships, process their deposits and grant their withdrawals in a timely manner. In 2011, the situation utterly imploded.

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The Black Friday of Online Poker

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April 15, 2011 – known throughout the online poker community as Black Friday – the US Department of Justice officially seized control of the world’s largest, US-facing online poker sites, including titans PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Not only did it leave American poker players with no entirely trustworthy options for playing their favorite card games online, it resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars being frozen in cyber accounts by the US government. From casual players to high-profile poker pros, there were countless individuals who could no longer access their tied-up poker funds. To this day, American ex-members of Full Tilt Poker are still waiting to receive their funds.

Push for Online Poker Legislation on the Rise

After Black Friday, it became more apparent that the need for online poker regulation on a federal level was paramount. Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev), along with Texas Representative Joe Barton, took long strides in congress, but were struck down time and again. Unfortunately, that continues to be the story in regards to federal regulations, but as the timeline progressed, individual states began realizing a lot more opportunities.

Nevada, with the fierce desire to be the online poker mecca of the United States, actually went so far as to legalize online poker in June of 2011, just two months after the Black Friday incident, despite the fact that online gambling was still outlawed across the nation by federal law. Ever ingenious, the law makers in Nevada passed an online poker bill with the stipulation that it wouldn’t go into effect until the very moment the US government made it legal to do so.

US DOJ Reverse Stance against Online Poker

Nevada’s impatience was rewarded and a glimmer of hope was delivered to the card gaming masses when the US government unexpectedly reversed its stance on the legalities of online poker. The federal case against offshore operators revolving around Black Friday was based upon the UIGEA, which interpreted all forms of ‘remote gambling’ as being illegal, per the Wire Act 1961 (which, at the time, related to telephone betting, as the internet was not even a twinkle in the eye of technology developers). On December 23, 2011, the DOJ overturned its former ruling that the Wire Act outlawed online gambling, opening the doors for individual states to enact their own laws in regards to online poker and other gambling formats.

Immediately, the American online poker community was abuzz with speculations as to what states, if any, would enact online poker laws, and it didn’t take legislators long to ink proposals and push them towards the higher rungs of their state capitols. Due to current federal laws, states would only be given the right to decriminalize online gambling activities based on their current territorial laws, games offered and, more interestingly, on an intrastate level. That meant if a state that already allowed certain forms of gambling were to legalize the activity via the internet, they could only offer those gambling amusements to people within the borders of that state. That issue alone raised questions as to whether singular states had enough interested, legal-age population to support an online poker/casino industry.

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States Race to Legalize Online Gambling

As we already know, Nevada jumped the gun, legalizing online poker (but no other forms of online gambling for the time being) 6 months prior to the US concluding that individual states could decide the issue for themselves. On the morning of June 28th, 2012, Delaware became the first state to pass a bill legalizing online gambling in multiple forms, including online poker, casino games and the state lottery.

Law makers made quick work of the internet gaming bill, and Governor Jack Markell gave it his John Hancock the very morning it arrived on his desk, not even 24 hours after it was approved by the state Senate, (albeit by a very thin margin of votes). It took more than a year for the Diamond State to get from point A to point B, finally launching it iGaming market on October 31, 2013.

Next, it was New Jersey’s turn to push for legal online gambling. Gov. Chris Christie refused to sign any bill that was too hastily revised, vetoing two attempts before he finally out his signature on a more thoughtfully detailed version of the New Jersey online gambling bill in February 2013.

First Legal US Online Poker Site goes Live

It was a long road forged by millions of supportive hands that lead to the first real victory for American online poker players when Ultimate Poker dealt its first real-money poker hand on Tuesday, April 30, 2013. Based in Nevada under the operative wing of the Station Casinos group, Ultimate Poker was the only US regulated online poker room for 5 months leading up to the Nevada launch of WSOP.com on September 19, 2013.

In the two years that have passed since, Delaware and New Jersey have launched numerous online poker and casino websites, and Ultimate Poker made history once more by becoming the first US regulate iGaming site to go out of business. New Jersey’s Ultimate Poker and Ultimate Casino websites shut down in September of 2014, followed by the closure of Ultimate Poker Nevada in November.

Other States Waver on Online Poker Regulation

Two states, California and Pennsylvania, are seriously considering the regulation of online poker.

In California, in-fighting between lawmakers, commercial card rooms and tribal gaming operators has prevented any bill from gaining traction. There are currently four bills moving through the legislative process (see below), but until all parties can come to a compromise, the outlook looks bleak.

• AB 9 – Assemblyman Mike Gatto (excludes horse tracks, bad actors)
• AB 167 – Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (includes horse tracks, lenient on bad actors)
• AB 431 – Assemblyman Adam Gray (invokes legalization only, no specific regulatory guidelines)
• SB 238 – Senator Isadore Hall III (mirror text of AB 431)

In Pennsylvania, a dire need to reinvigorate gambling revenue is the key force behind a recently introduced bill to regulate online gambling in the states. It is aimed at giving licensed, land-based casinos the right to operate online poker and casino websites.

• HB 649 – Rep. John Payne (regulates online poker and casino games)

Learn About Full Tilt

Full Tilt is one of the best online poker rooms in 2016 due to the wide variety of great games, its lucrative welcome package and promotions, it’s world-leading software, and great customer support and banking options. Full Tilt is also the home to many great poker tournament series, most notably the infamous Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS).

The company is owned by Amaya Inc., the owners of PokerStars, StarsDraft, and many other reputable brands. In addition to poker games, Full Tilt offers a popular casino with a shared wallet with the poker account.

Enjoy a $600 Welcome Package

Full Tilt boasts one of the best welcome packages available to PokerNews readers with a huge 100% first deposit bonus of up to $600, access to bankroll-building Welcome Freerolls, and automatic access to the Players Club.

Getting your hands on this amazing welcome package couldn’t be any easier. Simply download Full Tilt through our links, create your account, and make a deposit and you will see your bankroll double up to an additional $600. It is really that easy!

In additional, players have plenty of chances to grow their bankrolls even more at no risk thanks to the Welcome Freerolls that run twice-a-day at 10:15 ET and 16:15 ET. The freerolls offers $200 worth of tournament and ring game tickets which can be used in many of the most popular games featured at Full Tilt.

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Earn Big in the Players Club

Becoming part of the Players Club, Full Tilt’s exclusive VIP program is automatic once you create your account through our links and make your first deposit.

The highlight of the Players Club is known as The Deal, a free game you can play with Coins the free virtual currency you earn while playing any real-money casino or poker game where jackpots often exceed six-digits!

The game combines both casino and poker all into one, and is easy for any poker player to play. First you have a choice whether to enter a 1 Coin or 10 Coin game and are instantly dealt seven cards face down. You simply choose which two cards to discard, and use the other five to create a poker-hand.

As long as you hold ace-high or better you win a prize, however, if you nail down a Royal Flush, you will win a chance at the huge Deal Jackpot!

Additionally, being a member of the Players Club has other benefits including access to many exclusive freerolls and the Weekly Winfall where you can win prizes ranging to a $5,000 Freeroll to $1,000 in cold-hard cash!

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Earn Even More with the Edge

Another way to grab free loot at Full Tilt is via the Edge. By earning enough Full Tilt Points, you can grow your bankroll via the many rewards including weekly cash-back payments and monthly leaderboards. Additionally, players that gain the Edge will have exclusive access to the Edge Store, which is stocked with some amazing cash bonuses up to $1,000.

Enjoy Great Software and Games at Full Tilt Poker

What keeps customers happy isn’t just the great welcome package and promotions, but also the amazing software and games.

Many consider Full Tilt to have the best software in the industry. It is not only easy to use, but also very user-friendly with a fun atmosphere with the choice of many cartoon avatars. Preset betting, ability to mass multi-table, and intuitive lobby are just some of the great aspects of the software.

Full Tilt offers a wide variety of poker games at a wide-variety of stakes in an even wider variety of poker variants including Texas hold’em, Omaha, Omaha h/l, Stud, Razz, draw-games, and many popular mixed games. Players also can also run-it-twice in many of the games, and option you may have seen some of the poker pros utilize when playing nosebleed ring games on TV.

Full Tilt also offers a full slate of poker tournaments and sit-and-go’s providing players exciting action around the clock.

Two of the more popular games that are exclusive to Full Tilt are Rush Poker and Jackpot Sit & Go’s.

Rush Poker was the first fast-fold poker game in the online poker marketplace and is offered on Full Tilt in ring-games and tournaments. The game is addictive due to its high-octane pace, since when players fold they are quickly escorted to a new table with new players. This enables players to enjoy more hands per hour per table.

Jackpot Sit & Go’s are great for either grinding or if you just have a few minutes to play. These games are three-max hyper-turbo sit-and-go’s where the prize pool is selected at random from 2-times to 2,000-times the buy-in!

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Full Tilt Customer Support & Banking

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Full Tilt features one of the best customer support teams in the industry providing quick answers to any questions its customers may have via its FAQ section or through email. While there is no live or telephone support, the accuracy and quickness of the responses via email make these methods unnecessary.

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Banking at Full Tilt also receives top-grades offering all the popular deposit and withdrawal options. Withdrawals are processed in a timely manner, usually within just a couple of days – if not faster – depending on the option used.