Americas Cardroom Review 2024

It's one of the top two options you've got as far as US online poker goes, and it's the top option on a worldwide scale. It's got a similar number of players as Ignition Poker, but I find that the players at Ignition are softer, and their software is more enjoyable to use.

Nonetheless, online poker in the US is a tricky business, so you've got to have some swagger about you to run a US-facing poker site for real money, let alone call it Americas Cardroom.

But the name is warranted, as it remains a reliable option for online poker if you live in the US (or anywhere else in the world for that matter). This room is currently the biggest arena for online poker players across the world.

Visit Americas Cardroom

Which countries do they accept players from?

Accepted Countries

Which states do they accept players from?

Accepted States

Visit Americas Cardroom

Tip: If you live in Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey or Washington try SwC Poker instead (they accept players from all states).

Who runs Americas Cardroom?

The poker room's parent company is an established Sportsbook (also serving US players), so you're not dealing with a fly-by-night poker site here. They bought the old DoylesRoom poker room when good ol' Doyle decided to get out of the business in 2011 (due to Black Friday). It was then rebranded as "Americas Cardroom", and aimed it directly as the US online poker market.

If Americas Cardroom is deficient in anything, it's certainly not balls.

But anyway, the parent Sportsbook has a solid reputation for payouts and honoring bets. It's one of those companies where their website looks like it was built in the 90s, but they're reliable, so people trust them and continue to use them for wagers.

As a result, Americas Cardroom is a reliable a option for US poker players.

I'm not going to publish the name of the company here, but using the information above you should be able to find out more.

Software

A lot better than I expected. The WPN network (used to be called the "Yatahay Network" up until 2012) used to be a joke when it came to their poker room clients. But now their client looks great, although clearly borrowing a few design elements from PokerStars's client.

And by "borrowing a few design elements" I mean "directly copying". But I'm not one to judge.

Nonetheless, the software runs smoothly, so it's a fine room to play poker in. The audio however is horrendous, as it sounds like you're playing on a broken slot machine. But then again I have a dubious taste in music while playing poker; I listened to this song (hauntingly relaxing) on repeat for a steady six months straight while playing online. Good times.

But anyway...

I'm not a big fan of the cartoon avatars either, but with a few clever adjustments in the settings you can construct a clean workbench like so:

The biggest issue I have with the ACR software is that it throws occasional popups for casino games when you're in the lobby. These games are always -EV, and it's disappointing that you have to deal with them. If you're serious about protecting your bankroll, avoid them at all costs.

Traffic

Enough players here to keep the cash games running up to $600NL at peak times. So you're not going to have any trouble playing poker at the stakes you're currently playing at (or are looking to move up to).

It's slim-pickings at the high stakes tables though ($1000NL+), as most open tables are commandeered by sole regs waiting for unknowing fish to turn up.

Overall, traffic is good. It seems most US players who want to play poker online (and don't care for bitcoin poker just yet) are either playing at Ignition or ACR.

What's the competition like?

It's trickier than your average poker room.

The main problem with Americas Cardroom is that it is primarily a poker room. Sites like Ignition and Betsafe also run popular casinos, so they come with a pool of casino gamblers that flow in to the poker room.

The players at Americas Cardroom are there solely to play poker, so they're specialized.

This is not to say that everyone I've sat down with is 3-betting on the button by default, but the overall standard is certainly higher than that of other rooms. Most players seem to be thinking about what they're doing, and not just playing their cards.

You can still win money if you're a good player, but it's not the softest site you're going to find.

Cashier

The main deposit options are:

• Bitcoin

Americas Cardroom was one of the first online poker rooms to adopt bitcoin as a payment option, and now cryptocurrency is the primary method for getting money in to and out of the room.

So basically, if you want to play at ACR, you're going to need to get yourself some bitcoin. It might seem like a hassle at first, but like I always say, once you start using it you'll appreciate the efficiency of it.

See my bitcoin poker guide for more information on getting started.

There are various cryptocurrencies out there, but I'd recommend sticking with Bitcoin only. It's the flagship cryptocurrency, and it's the most established and least volatile.

Other Stuff

• Straddle Feature - This is a fun box to tick whilst seated at the table. Makes me feel like I'm playing on an episode of High Stakes Poker (best poker TV show ever). "If a player in the position after the Big Blind has the straddle button pressed he/she will pay a double blind automatically and will steal the BB player's position."
• Hand Replayer - Intelligent addition. If you're a smart poker player, which you are, you'll be happy to know that you can quickly and easily run through the hands you played in your last session. Works like a charm. Thanks ACR, you clearly know what you're doing here.

Links

• Ex-Official Americas Cardroom Discussion Thread (2+2 Forums) - Best place for getting a current consensus on how the room is doing (from people who are playing here for real money).

Conclusion

Americas Cardroom accepts players from all countries, so it's always going to be on the shortlist of possible destinations for almost all players.

It's not my personal favorite room at the moment, but that's mostly because I prefer the software at sites like Ignition and SwC Poker, and because I find the players at ACR a bit trickier to play against.

However, the poker room has high levels of traffic and is operated by a reliable parent company, so I'm obliged to suggest it as an option. You might like it more than I do.