Hi people, this is my first post in this forum and I hope I've put the thread in the right place.

I'm ready to start playing some really low-limit online poker. But I've run into a stumbling block...I can't get money into an account with an online poker room!

My credit cards refuse to do business with gambling sites (I guess this is a common problem?). I have 2 Visa cards, one with MBNA and the other with BankOne. Neither works...transaction is always refused.

So I tried both Neteller and Firepay to try to hook them to my checking account (which, frankly, made me a bit nervous). But neither of them will let me link my account because its an Online Bank account (through Amex).

Argh!! How come Paypal is happy to link to my checking account, but Neteller won't, or can't?

Any advice as to how I can get in the game, so to speak?

Welcome to the forum!

I used a site called Citadel.com for my deposits - it is basically an online check to the site. You have to give them the routing info at the bottom of a check and a check number and they get the money in there right away. The best this is, it's instant.

I was able to use my credit card on Doylesroom and on Paradise Poker and FullTilt (I don't recommend fulltilt), however, you will need Netteller or Citadel for a withdrawl, getting a check is a pain in the ass. Took 14 days from Paradise, and some sites require you to fax them ID to get a check.

I also used credit on Pokerchamps, but that site has no traffic.

Thanks guys, I'll give those a try. There's still some hope with firepay as I got an email asking me to fax them some hard copy info.

And thanks for the welcome. This looks like a great community!

Well everything seems to have worked out. I finally got firepay to accept my info and I deposited some $$ this morning.

So the next step is to find a good site for a newbie to learn at some micro-limit tables. Any suggestions? And should I look for a tournament or just go to a cash table?

Paradise, Pokerstars, Ultimatebet or Doylesroom. Absolute Poker too.

Whether you play a tourney or a ring game depends on your bank roll and what you want to do. If you have a smaller bankroll and want to play NL, sit and go (or single table) tournaments are a good way to see a lot of hands and not put a bunch of cash at risk. If you want to start at limit, or have the bankroll to handle the swings of a NL cash game, then jumping into one isnt' necessarily a bad thing.

Have to agree Gir...^^^ those are my intentions right out of the gate, when my IRL play slows down...

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Hello,

Sit n Go's are good to start because it's easy to monitor and manage where you are in terms of cash and you can play in short (hour or less) bursts.

It's also nice because you'll get to play short-handed which will make you look at the game in different ways.

What kind of bankroll do you have?