You Don’t Get To 20 Million Friends Without Making A Few Enemies

So the Online Poker Black Friday has come and gone. The inappropriately named US Department of Justice did a bad, bad thing, came down on the biggest players in the online poker world just to flex its political and financial muscle. End of the world? Hardly. Just like back in 2006 when the UGIEA was tacked onto the Safe Ports Act there will be a period in which no one is really sure how things will shake out. The easy access of the past few years has been crippled. While FullTilt and PokerStars are out of the US market there are still online poker rooms like Cake and Carbon Poker which have good reps and are still taking US players, so you can get your Texas hold 'em fix. Will players flock to those rooms? Too soon to tell. Will players be able to deposit and withdraw funds as easily as they did with FT and 'Stars? Again, we'll have to wait and see.

Industry insiders are predicting that within two years we'll be able to play online at rooms like Harrahs.com and Wynn.com, and rooms like those will be the big players in the US. For what it's worth, if you live in the US, call and write your Congressional representatives and politely express your outrage. While it's unlikely that any Senator or Representative will want to oppose the DOJ's move with elections coming up it is time to get the ball rolling. Talk to the clowns who represent you and let them know the the unjust behavior of the Justice Dept. is a crime against your individual rights.

Also it wouldn't hurt to add your voice to a large group of outraged citizens.
The Poker Players Alliance

Most importantly: don't panic.

For those of you fortunate enough to live in more civilized countries PokerStars is still offering poker 24/7.