The US government's clamp down on online poker has limited its availability to American players a great deal the last couple of years. Before Black Friday in 2011 a US player a lot more choices and the sites had a lot more liquidity in terms of online players.
However, it's not all bad and in this case the upside has been a lot better poker and rakeback deals available to US players. Continue reading below to learn about players' best choices and options as where to play.
US Poker Sites' Traffic
There are currently three major online poker networks available to Americans as well as a series of smaller sites and networks. The three big networks are the Merge Network, Revolution Gaming and the Bodog Network. Each of these network offers between 1000-2000 players online at all times, with the two former having a bit more, due to having more sites connected and more aggressive reward programs.
The many smaller networks all have their pros and cons, but as player liquidity is one of the most important asset a site or network can have, it is recommended to choose one of the bigger operators.
Rakeback and Bonuses for US players
The two bigger networks open to the US market both offer rakeback to all its new players. The rates for Merge and Revolution Gaming are 35% and 36% respectively and any sign-up or reload bonuses are added on top of these rewards. Combine all the sites' promos (rake chases, freerolls, bounty tournaments etc) and it should not be difficult to reach an average of 50% rakeback as a US player.
US payments - Depositing and withdrawing from poker sites
Due to the climate of online poker, the biggest cause of problems for US players is the process of depositing and withdrawing to and from the poker sites. The rooms all do their best to offer as many and as effective methods as possible, but if you are a player that make many transactions you will inevitably run into a long wait our a bounced transfer from time to time.
Make sure to always contact the poker room's support before making a transfer to see if they can give any recommendations as to how to get you your money as quickly and as smooth as possible. Also note that normally only one free withdrawal is given per month, with subsequent withdrawals costing all the way up to $50.