Just wondering what happened to the majority of U.S players after black Friday did you just stop playing or become a poker "refugee" and now live outside the states.I believe that it seems to be coming back state by state but the rules seem confusing.I have played on some of the U.S sites in the past chasing bonuses but then having to jump through hoops to get the money out and that's me being a U.K player so don't use them anymore,although I believe there are some better ones coming through.It seems that black Friday only happened after the recession hit and the government were looking through the books to claw in some revenue and hit the poker world.I was surprised there was no backlash and players just gave up there cards,it is there right to carry there guns from the wild west days but not there cards and are outlawed from playing the game they invented.just wondered how people see the future of U.S poker-will it matter if republicans get in in 2016 or is it a matter of some company getting in with some senator or another in 1 of the states and growing from within.it just seems ashame that online poker turned into a shady business after black Friday and all the poker sites located to some small island or another with no sign on the door!

I was very active in the Republican Party for many years.

I think that it depends on what kind of Republicans we get. As the influence of the Tea Party and Libertarians grows, things will get better. Social conservatives like Mike Hukabee and Rick Santorum don't like poker, but Libertarians like Ron and Rand Paul don't care nearly as much about social issues for the most part (Dr. Paul is pro-life) and believe that we should be able to make money doing basically anything that is legal.

I'm not sure if there is enough Libertarian sentiment to turn things around, but I think we're close. Republicans are talking more about Big Brother and government overreach, and less about things like drug use and family values. It's not hard to make the case that we don't need the government that brought us the IRS and the NSA telling us how we can make a living.

Keep in mind that this isn't just a fight between those who love poker and those who think it's immoral. There is a big group in-between that doesn't know much about poker and doesn't really care much about the issue one way or the other. If more Republicans start to jump on that poker freedom train, I think that a lot of undecideds might come along for the ride.

I recently responded to an article on pokernewsdaily.com. The article was about tightening regulations in Michigan charity poker rooms. My main point was that first the federal goverment, and now my state government, are trying to keep me from making a living at as a Professional Poker Player, a legitimate occupation recognized by the US Department ofLabor.

Not sure if you do live in the land of the free anymore unless your government benefits from tax from your hobbies.looks like from an outsider looking in everones waiting for Obama to do something like sort the economy out or some of the scandals that keep following him round(if you believe fox news!)I hope the economy does pick up as we still have to play in $ and it seems to be less evertime I cashout use to get £65 for $100 last year and now its £58 its like a whole new rake to overcome!

Unfortunately, the US has an INCOME tax. That is exactly what it says. Once you earn over a certain amount (something like $5,000 for a single person) everything is taxable. The IRS doesn't care if you own a business, 10 businesses, or none. They don't care if you have you have one good job or make money from doing things at home (for example, playing poker or making jewelery.) They don't care whether your are a CEO, a poker player, or a janitor. They don't even care if what you do is legal. If you sell drugs on the corner and the IRS finds out, they want their cut. (Google "al capone" and "tax evasion" for an example of what can happen when you have unreported illegal income.)

So if you make $1,000 in year playing poker as a hobby and $15,000 working at McDonalds, you have a total taxable income of $16,000 before deductions, and that amount goes on your tax return. The IRS doesn't care if you spend the money or put it in the bank. They don't care if the money you won playing poker is in your wallet, in the bank or on a poker site. If you earned it, they get their cut.

For more information on this, check the Poker Legislation Forum and you will find threads that go over income tax issues in considerable detail.

From what ive heard about the IRS it seems like Al Capones been running it allegedly targeting Republicans and sending information off tax returns to political opponents(think they have settled on 1 case but lost all the other emails!)I know the media isn't impartial anymore but the IRS taking political sides surely not!

According to the last news from United States most of former US online poker players have suffered strong withdrawal symptoms and died. Our hearts shall always be with them!

You can still play on Bovada in the US but they did away with usernames so it's impossible to bum hunt, which is a big downer.

i have several friends that have relocated to costa rica, panama, mexico, and canada to be able to play online. they leave the country every 90 days for a day or two and return to grinding.

I really don't care much.

If they aren't in fulltilt or pokerstars.

FTP took a huge hit after black friday despite being one of the only sites still operating. There are only about 15k players daily at peak times.

Great thread. I hadn't started playing poker yet during the "boom" of the good ol' days. I've just started playing in the last year and just started taking it seriously last month. That said, I monitor and analyze a lot of things relating to how the market has changed since Black Friday and where online poker may be headed in the near and distant future.

I keep wondering what it would have been like to be able to play the soft games of the 2000's and although it's frustrating to have missed out on so much money, I like that I'm learning the game now, in a limited access environment (NY State), where the competition is far more experienced than me and getting really strong.

If there ever is a poker boom again, online or off, I plan on taking everything that I'm learning through hard work now and applying it against everyone who either isn't playing right now or is just starting to play at that time because of the boom itself.

Just to let you know, 888poker.com is available to US players, to play poker online, if you are in New Jersey. You don't have to be a resident, but since your so close, you could drive to Jersey and play poker online. You get a FREE $10 just for signing up I believe. This is the best I can do for you missing the glory days hahaha

Wait a second here - I don't have to be a resident of NJ? I have relatives all throughout north Jersey right across the border. If I just set up shop on a wifi network in NJ or use a family member's internet connection I can play on 888 and actually collect payouts?

This would help me out huge to be able to add the NJ networks. I'm probably moving there in a few months anyway but this would give me a little more flexibility.

I live in Tx and tried doing it. When logging on, a message popped up and told me I need to be in the state of NJ before playing "Real Money". Or the authorities could be contacted.

Just make sure your in NJ when playing and you should be fine.

I can give you an idea. I started online in 2006, right at the end of Moneymaker poker boom.

In 2006 I played just a few hands (maybe three) of A $1 STT before we lost power. The next day we had our power back, and I found out I cashed in second place.

The reason I posted about this was because it was just accepted that U.S players can't play and nothing else was done or said on the whole-The only thing I remember is phil ivey boycotted the world series for 1 year.
I just don't understand why the US slogan is "land of the free"-free to do what exactly,
Maybe it should be free to be the governments b*tch!

Land of the Free doesn't mean it's a nation without laws.

Yes but at this point we've become a police state where the citizens are suffocated by simply too many laws. Basically, anything you say or do can be interpreted as a crime due to the way statutes are written.

Anyone who still believes that we live in the land of the free is simply in delusional denial.

I have a full time 40 hour a week office job for a year, and make less than a mcdonalds worker, $14440 is my total wage a year. I really, really want to blow my brains out.

It's 2014, not the late 1700s. I love america regardless since i was born here, but its venality is only overlooked by the ingenuous one. It is not the land of the free, and now with the advent of technology, everything we do can be traced, tracked, and monitored. So no, we do not live in the land of the free. Regardless, i'd rather be here than china or korea or russia, its more "free" than those places

BTW anyone know how to add a signature?

That is pretty cool you can play on 888 without being resident of NJ.
I contacted Pokerstars about being able to play in Canada as a USA resident. The border is only a couple hours away, so I figured I could get my pokerstars fix. Customer service wont even speak about it in the least. Pretty much: too bad, so sad, you are in the USA, go F yerself, HARD.
I thought of trying to obtain citizenship and do some back door stuff to play in Canada, but since I am semi-pro at best it really isn't worth it.

Another poker boom is likely nothing more than a pipe dream. People got good. ROI is very small even for pros. Most of those guys probably live off sponsor dollars more so than poker winnings.

If you can get on 888 in the USA and play for real money, I would say go for it. I think they are the second biggest online poker company in the world right now and seem to have a solid reputation. So did FullTilt back in the day, but its the risk you run.

Bovada is a viable option, but they take 4.9% of your deposit upfront which I feel is very aggressive and they rake the games just as heavy as any other site. I don't really recommend Bovada because of that reason.
I play on carbon poker a fair amount, they seem okay. I hate to tow the "errmergawd its rigged!" line, but I feel carbon juices up their game software to produce more big hands.... not going to elaborate too much on it because it is just an impression I have with no evidence other than a bunch of ****ty bad beat stories and suck out stories, and I don't feel comfortable with that software because of it. That is all.

Wait what? How do you play on 888 if you don't live in NJ? Oh nvm, you say resident. That doesn't really mean anything lol. You have to physically be in the state to play, as i thought.

And if what you say about carbon is true then they're not "okay," card rooms have to be 100% fair free of any kind of leverages or cheating, that's why live is so much better imo

I never said I played on 888. I just mentioned if you have the option I would go for it since it is the second largest online poker company.

This probably isn't the place to debate how legit carbon is. I have taken a lot of long shot bad beats and also sucked out my fair share, it just seems to happen too often...so I dont play there so much because of it.

For sure.

No America is not the power it used to be-especially since the recession with the toxic mortgages starting over there,nobody wants to invest over there and prop up the stock exchange.
A lot of the so called(lesser countries)you mentioned are coming out of the recession or at least turning a corner the US economy just remains stagnant at best and seems to decline every week.
every time I draw money out(because we have to play in US$)I get less when converted back to £GBP.
Don't see why we have to use the $ anymore when they can't play anyway.
Why can't we use a decent currency like the Vietnamese Dong(33,000 to £1 sterling)

i went to mexico got my docs and all that and set up to play on PS, I also went to asia for bit but the majority of the time i spend is in the states and tbh its not too bad. my go-to site is intertops. when theres action is soft and its gave me a chance to work on my 6 max game. Dealt rakeback at 36% is the nuts, you cant really go busto with that and the weekly race bonus. Sure there are things I would like the site to improve on but hey... no sites perfect. Bovada is an option as well and as far as the rest of the US sites you can spread out your action and get some MTT action going... if your a SNG player on the other hand or try to play mixed games then then you should probably take the route that I took after black friday and leave the country haha

Lmfao @ the Viet "dong"

Kinda like shlong

Yeah my brain is fried from all this data entry please someone save me.

In other news Newhouse made the final table two years in a row, which is proof the game can be beaten