Ever since black friday I've been getting a lot of emails asking me my opinion about the state of online poker and for advice on what to do and how to keep playing. At first I was reluctant about giving advice since I wasn't even sure what I was going to do myself. However, after a lot of research and time thinking I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on the situation
Step 1: Make your voice heard
Rather than see this as a setback, we should see it as an opportunity to band together and finally make the government realize how much we care about online poker. Most of all, we have to make them realize that we will hold them accountable for their actions. At the end of the day, all politicians care about is what will cost them votes.
The easiest thing you can do is sign some online petitions. There are plenty of these around. The largest one, not surprisingly, is the one that's organized by the PPA: http://www.pokerpetition.com/ - another one I've seen is http://www.thepokerpetition.com/
Most importantly, if you want to get involved you should contact your local congressman! They were the ones who passed this ridiculous legislation to begin with, and they will be the ones that have to approve the future bill that regulates and legalizes online poker. Let them know that you are personally disappointed in them for infringing on your rights. If you're not sure what your local representatives voted, click here.
Step 2: Move to a smaller site
I know some of you are thinking "what?! that's crazy... The government is just going to shut them down next!". However, I believe that simply isn't true. While it may seem like the government is trying to shut down online poker, the fact is that these sites have been around for almost 5 years since the bill was passed without any trouble. The consensus seems to be that they are being targeted now because they became particularly sneaky with their transactions in an attempt to save/make even more money. It also might have to do with the fact that there are major US lobbying interests who want them out of the way. Nevertheless, you can be sure that any poker site that wants a piece of the huge US market (and they definitely do) won't make the same mistakes after this. Lastly, and most importantly, even if the sites DO get shut down there's no reason to believe you'll lose your money.
My favorite place to play since the shutdown of full tilt has been cake poker. It's small, which is good if you're worried about attention from the government, but big enough that there are always hold'em games and tournies running. I've been playing here for a long time and have always been able to deposit and withdraw easily, even after black friday. I play almost all my ring games here nowadays so drop by and say hi! Click here to download the Cake Poker client
If you want to play at a bigger site, I would recommend carbon poker. I've played here for several years (watch me play in my videos) and deposits/withdrawals have always been easy, although I haven't tested them yet after black friday. The best thing about carbon is their big guaranteed tournaments which almost never fill up, so there's always a bunch of extra money in the prize pool- great for expectancy freaks like me. Click here to download the Carbon Poker client
In conclusion, don't let this whole mess interfere with your life at all. If you want to play poker, play poker. Remember that if you give in then the terrorists... Err I mean government, wins. ;) Make sure to check back here- I'll be updating this page with any new info I get
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