Hello, I used to post on here a while back under another name that has apparently been deleted for inactivity.

I haven't played online poker for a while. I withdrew my bankroll and paid off some of my student loans after I graduated. It seems like a lot has changed in the past couple years.

I got the itch again recently and put $50 dollars into UB, which was the only site where I still had unclaimed bonus dollars.

I started playing .25/.50 shorthanded limit hold'em. I also play a few SnG's whenever the mood strikes.

I'm doing pretty well. I'm up to a little over $600 in my UB account (been playing in the evenings for about 3 weeks; about $120 of that is bonus dollars that I've unlocked). I'm almost at 'Legend' status under the Rai$e system.

I'm not looking to build up the type of bankroll I had before. I just want to be able to pull out a few hundred dollars each month to augment my personal income.


With that in mind, I have some general questions about the online poker scene for anyone who's willing to take some time provide a little information:

1. What sites would you recommend for someone like me?

I don't have any problem with UB. Their new incentive system seems pretty cool. It doesn't seem like the game selection above the micro-limits is all that great though. Is it like that everywhere since they passed that legislation? (I'm American) I was reading around a little and it seems like people don't really bonus whore anymore, but go for rakeback and loyalty programs.

Are there still really soft mid-limit games out there, or is that a thing of the past?

What do you guys play?

2. How profitable are SnG's? I have always played them just to break up the grind and not kept statistics, but so far I've found it pretty easy to small-ball my way into the money very consistently.

3. Anything I should watch out for/avoid?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply.

In response to number 1, you are slightly limited by being from the US. The two most major sites are Full Tilt, and Pokerstars, much larger selection of games on both sites, and with Full Tilt, you can also sign up for rakeback, assuming you do not yet have an account. Another good one to try out is Cake Poker, fairly soft games, open to the US, and offers 33 % rakeback, as well as a good signup bonus. Only problem is you can't use pokertracker, or pokeracehud, a couple of tools that a lot of people like to use. If you do search around over these sites, you should still find enough soft games at the mid limits, might just take a bit more scouting.

As far as bonus whoring, being american, you are much more limited, and I would say that it isn't really popular except for with non-Americans, as there are several NO-US sites out there offering deals. I would say that you should make sure to get rakeback wherever you sign up. Look around for a reputable affiliate, and find one that offers promotions you like. I personally use raketherake.com, and could recommend it as I've had no problems with it, they are good at answering questions, as they have good promotions. (Won $1250 in their $20k freeroll last month on full tilt, so that was nice), and they offer rake races and freerolls for most of the sites they have. If you do choose them, I would appreciate a referral (RTR16934). I would say look around at your options, find a site that has promos that you find most beneficial. Make sure though to use a referral from a forum member, as they would receive an additional benefit from your play, without hindering your rakeback you receive.

For #2, they can be quite profitable depending on how many you play, and what limits you are looking to play. I am not a SNG person myself but have heard people say there isn't much of a difference in play between the $6.50 SNG's and the $22's. They say 10 % or higher return is doing ok in the SNG's. You can check out your stats of what you have played on a good site people use for SNG stats, which is sharkscope.com.

#3 Make sure to use good game selection, try to find tables with good stats, stay within your bankroll, and as an American, don't cutoff options for rakeback, as depending on your play, it can turn out to be huge over your lifetime.

Hope this helps you.

That's some very useful information. Thanks for the response.

I agree that getting the ultimate return on play is important when you're playing a lot of hands. I will definitely check out the sites you mention and when I finish clearing my UB bonus dollars, I'll give you the referral.