Great Alternatives To The Cereus Poker Network
With The Cereus Network In Limbo, We Look At Some Great Alternative Sites Which Are Still Welcoming US Players
It has been a difficult time for Cereus Poker, with the US crackdown effectively shutting them down. This article will not dwell on the past events, instead taking a proactive and positive view - looking at the sites which are still both open and welcoming US players in the summer and fall of 2011.
While there are several small candidates, such as Doyle's Room and the 1000's of 'skins' with a few players each on the Everleaf Network, my personal view is that neither of these are the best choices for US readers. Instead I will focus this article on the biggest and most reputable of the remaining US poker sites - Cake Poker and Carbon Poker, both of whom have enough history, choice of game and (most important of all) player volumes to get you right back to the tables and enjoying the games again!
Alternatives To Cereus Poker #1 - Cake Poker
Cake Poker are the largest site on a network of the same name, they were actually a pick of mine on several sites prior to Black Friday - with soft games and a great loyalty program making this site a viable alternative to the then incumbent big 2 of Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker.
With the bigger sites shut out, Cake had a big influx of players. They were rightly cautious with the amount they deposited - resulting in a big increase in the smaller to mid-level games, including cash games up to $1 / $2 and tournaments at $20 and below. You will find a great choice of games, especially in 6-max cash game format at this site. We should note that Cake Poker are strict about their ban on poker tools such as 'heads-up-display' software - which helps to keep the number of multi-tabling grinders down.
One thing which keeps players loyal to this site is the awesome loyalty schemes - which are all prefixed with 'gold', these include:
- Gold Chips, which are awarded as you play, much like a points collection system.
- Gold Cards, these are randomly awarded at the tables, you collect hands which you then exchange for cash bonuses - or collect the entire deck to win $52k
- Gold Stacks, this runs intermittently and is a rake-race type promo which gives higher volume players even bigger rewards.
These loyalty schemes are in addition to leaderboards, satellites and many regular one-off and seasonal promotions - new players can grab a 110% match up to $600 on their first deposit with bonus code PBKLUB - Click Here To Check Out Cake Poker For Yourself Now!
US Alternatives To Cereus Poker #2 - Carbon Poker
Carbon Poker are one of my personal favorite sites, for their software mainly - which is fantastic, and even includes animations which players can trigger at the tables by typing in certain keywords. This works to keep the recreational players happy, and when the fish are happy the games are easier and more fun for everyone!
After a brief closure to US players, the Merge Network, of which Carbon are the biggest single member, are now the largest site who still welcome US players. You will find a decent selection of cash games (the bad-beat jackpot tables are popular) and tournaments too, once again the action is focused on the lower to middle limits - after issues withdrawing from Cereus and Full Tilt people are naturally wary of leaving too much cash online.
Carbon Poker offer a great initial bonus, 200% matched up to $600 + a free $11 SNG token - use Carbon Poker Coupon Code PBKLUB when you register to claim this. After this you will benefit from their generous rewards, and ongoing promos - and also from a huge number of individual promotions, which are often centered around holidays and sporting events. While these vary, you will often find yourself completing challenges to get ever larger bonuses.
This site make a top choice - and once you see that the games are very soft you will be glad you checked them out. Click Here Now To Visit Carbon Poker!
Coupon Code = PBKLUB for your 200% match + free $11 SNG Token
|
