DoylesRoom releases new software

When DoylesRoom left the Cake Network by the end of January 2011 and joined the small Yatahay Network, most players were quite disappointed with the "new" software because it looked very old fashioned and the overall traffic dropped. Ever since they have been working on releasing a more stable and smooth software and the long awaited update has finally taken place. If you now download the new software, you will get to see the following lobby - if you cannot see the details, simply click on the screenshot and you can see it in original size:

As you can see, it looks by far more professional now and you pretty much find everything you need on first sight. The new rewards program will also be added in the very near future as well and despite some minor bugs, the software is by far faster and the gameplay is quicker than the previous version. The  table layout is more clean and two new features have been implemented for cashgame.

The "Chop" feature will just be available if both players next to each other have activated it and there are at least 6 players at the table. Even though it might not happen that often because someone usually tries to attack the blinds, it still is an interesting feature that I personally haven't seen on another online poker site.

The "Straddle" feature will probably be more commonly known, be it from playing live at the casino or the action in the highstakes cashgame that you can see regularly on TV nowadays. What is a straddle? Basically it is a minraise under the gun and it is announced before you have even seen your cards. This might seem like gambling, but is part of what makes the game more interesting and creates more action in general.

Especially at the highstakes cashgame tables behind closed doors, the straddle is a common part of the game and some even use the double straddle. The pot is already bigger preflop and gives even more incentive to steal the blinds. So far I have not seen it anywhere else, I already tried it just for fun and like it.

Hopefully, the minor bugs will be fixed with the next patch as well, but so far it looks quite promising and DoylesRoom also continues their monthly Cashrace as well as the Bad Beat Jackpot on the Hold'em tables. They also still accept players from the United States and if you don't have an account there yet, you can get 27% Rakeback here.

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The „new“ Merge Gaming network?!

When I first started playing online poker years ago, I found poker.com (now PDC, the domain was sold for one Million USD years ago) and that was basically the very first site of the Merge Gaming network. Back in the days, the emoticons were the biggest attraction and you could enjoy the play money tables with some friends and just chat. The cash game traffic was low and you could get entry to the 50k and a few other tournaments with guaranteed prize pool by earning comp points – at that time dealt and not contributed.

Over the years a lot of things have changed, the emoticons are still funny though and they always seem to come up with new entertaining versions. The rewards system at the tables has changed from dealt to contributed and all the small stack grinders cannot benefit from it anymore, the active players now have an advantage.

A while ago, a bigger software update came out and now you can resize the tables and it is by far easier to play up to 12 tables at the same time, definitely an improvement. You also get 35% daily rakeback as you play, but this will soon change since it won’t be available anymore for new players as of June 1^st 2011. If you don’t have a rakeback account on Merge yet, go for it before time is running out. But keep in mind that you can only have one active rakeback deal as per network policy.

The Merge Gaming network will also have a network rake race as of June 1^st 2011 and there will be changes to the current VIP system. The exact details are not published yet, but the active players will benefit from it. But there is something even more amazing and I thought this would actually never happen: A few years ago the network struggled to get more than 3000 players online at the same time, now we have more than 8000 and the numbers are still going up.

After Black Friday (April 15^th 2011), most players from the United States are looking for a new home and the cashgame traffic went up by a whopping 80% on Merge. New skins pop up every other month and the network, based at “Down Under”, is doing their best to keep up with the new increase in traffic. 

Where you could not find any open tables or opponents, you now cannot get on open tables anymore since they are all full on certain limits! For a short period of time, even Australians were allowed to play for real money but that was unfortunately just a short adventure and one of the consequences of Black Friday. I guess it was fun while it lasted for them, definitely not good for the mindset though.

You can now see more deposit options for players all over the world and even for Americans who usually have a tough time to get money on poker sites (beware of the UIGEA), there are some reliable methods available. Right now though many deposits don’t get processed and the network can barely keep up with the number of transactions.

Even though many might complain about the speed, the advantage is quite obvious: They pay higher fees but can also guarantee that the transactions are safe. It will take a bit of time for them to get used to the increased traffic and number of deposits, I am sure they will get it solved and it is just a matter of time. It might sound bizarre, but I don’t think that the Merge Gaming network expected such an increased activity in such a short time.

For most, Black Friday and the humiliation of the big 3 FullTilt, PokerStars and AP/UB from an American point of view gives smaller networks the opportunity to grow and establish a solid player base. Whether or not the other sites will ever get into the US market again is not really any concern for them right now. But will they be able to use that chance and keep up with the pace that all the players show so far? I guess only time will tell … .

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CarbonPoker Bad Beat Bonus + 75k GP this Sunday!

 

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To celebrate the occasion, Carbon is offering players not only a 100% Bad Beat Bonus up to $1,000, but will be increasing Sunday's $50,000 Guaranteed to $75,000! The buyin is still the same and players still have the choice to enter directly with VIP points or win entry via satellites starting from just $2.20.

In order to make the most out of your next deposit and help you on your way to playing Sunday's $75,000 Guaranteed R/A, simply use this special code: 

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If you don't have an account at CarbonPoker yet, you can create one and receive 35% Rakeback as you play

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