Highlights
- The flagship poker room on Winning Poker Network
- Massive first deposit bonus up to $2,000
- Millions in guaranteed tournaments each month
- The poker home for many US players
Poker room details
- Network: Independent
- License: Costa Rica
- Founded in: 2001
- americascardroom.com
- [email protected]
Payment methods
Games and formats
HOLDEM
PLO
SNG
MTT
BLITZ
7 CARD STUD
JACKPOT POKER
Americas Cardroom Review
As you may have guessed, Americas Cardroom is a USA-themed online poker site that serves parts of the United States, Canada, and some Latin America countries.
Headquartered in San José, Costa Rica, Americas Cardroom was founded in 2001 as part of the Winning Poker Network, which was then known as My Poker Network. Americas Cardroom entered a market that was mostly dominated by the likes of partypoker, Paradise Poker, and PokerStars.
Although My Poker Network ran several other smaller rooms such as DSI Poker, Casual Poker, and Live Action Poker, Americas Cardroom was the network’s flagship skin and still is to this day. The room originally ran on the Dobrosoft platform before moving to the OnGame Network. In 2011, ACR acquired a 7-year old online poker site called Doyle’s room named after the famous poker professional Doyle Brunson.
A later move to the Yatahay Network saw the Americas Cardroom brand shelved with players migrating to the True Poker room. However, on Blue Monday, the Yatahay Network saw 10 of its sites closed down in the United States.
Instead of leaving US soil, the brand decided to rename itself Winning Poker Network and Americas Cardroom once again became the flagship skin. The company then decided to lease software from IGSoft in order to compete with the bigger brands. This lasted until 2019 when the network once again moved to a new platform, SJH.
Although Americas Cardroom has had several instances of botting and alleged cheating, the brand has recently made significant changes to ensure that its players’ safety and the integrity of games and poker tournaments are paramount. In February 2021, they signed Chris Moneymaker as the newest ACR Team Pro which is obviously great for attracting new players to their online poker room.
How to sign up at Americas Cardroom
Signing up for Americas Cardroom is simple enough and much like signing up for any other online poker site. Just follow these steps:
- Clear your cookies or open up an incognito window.
- Head to the Americas Cardroom website here.
- Download and install the ACR poker client
- Open up and click on ‘Create New Account’.
- Enter your nickname and bonus code 'VIPGRINDERS'.
- Enter your verification code sent to your email.
- Choose a password.
- Make a deposit.
- Play some poker!
Welcome bonus
Big welcome bonuses seem to be the thing of late and Americas Cardroom doesn’t disappoint.
The brand offers a first deposit 100% match welcome bonus of up to $2,000.
Getting your welcome bonus is very simple on ACR. All you need to do is make that first deposit of $25 or more and your welcome bonus is automatically added to your account.
Of course, if you want to get the full $2,000, you need to make a $2k first deposit. Not something that the average player will do, but for grinders, it’s a possibility.
Your welcome bonus is released in increments of $1 for every 27.5 Award Points you earn at Americas Cardroom. You earn these Award Points through the platform’s Elite Loyalty program (more on that later) which awards you 5.5 points for every $1 paid in rake or fees.
You have 60 days to make use of your first deposit welcome bonus which is plenty of time to build up the points required.
Why is Americas Cardroom so popular?
The welcome bonus is quite good but aside from that there are a few other reasons that make Americas Cardroom a popular choice particularly in North America.
These include:
- Cryptocurrency support in payment options
- Poker tournaments with huge guarantees
- Very fast withdrawal options
- Rakeback of up to 27%
- Lottery Jackpot poker
Americas Cardroom UI
If there’s one thing you’ll immediately notice about the Americas Cardroom poker software is that there’s a lot of ways you can customize your tables. It’s pretty slick and very stylish but doesn’t really make a whole lot of difference to the overall experience. Still, it’s nice to be able to change the poker site’s scenery as much as you want.
The change to the SJH Studio software platform hasn’t been without its bugs but overall, it seems that the move has been a positive one.
The lobby itself seems to be quite easy to navigate but the stats aren’t always accurate. This means that the waiting list doesn’t always work as it should. However, once you’re in an actual game, there are very few glitches and everything runs pretty smoothly.
The poker client is available on Windows and Mac but until very recently there was no mobile poker app. Thankfully, there are both Android and iOS apps now available BUT the mobile apps don’t have all the same features or access to the same real money games as the desktop clients. Hopefully, this will change as the apps are updated in the future.
Americas Cardroom could do a little better with their poker software features but overall, it’s a solid product compared to alternatives in the poker industry. We imagine that the recent change to SJH Studio is still a work in progress at ACR and that any minor bugs will be ironed out in the future.
Traffic overview and games at ACR
Now traffic is what an online poker platform is all about, right?
With Americas Cardroom not being quite the household name of other online gaming brands, you might think that traffic is quite poor. Incredibly though, the opposite is true.
Cash player traffic at Americas Cardroom floats at around 1,000 players during peak hours which is reflected in the number of tables open at busy times.
The daily $10 tournaments regularly bring in 1,000 players while the occasional million-dollar tournament (yes, they have those) can draw in twice as many players.
If you compare these to some of the numbers more famous online poker rooms have in the US, you’ll see that Americas Cardroom is sitting pretty in terms of traffic.
So what about the cash games?
The most popular real money games by far are No Limit Texas Hold’em at microstakes right up to $5/$10. There are also Pot Limit Omaha and Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo cash tables but not quite as much action as NL Texas Hold’em. You can also play Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, but good luck finding much action at those tables.
One of the standout options available on Americas Cardroom is the lottery-style Jackpot Poker. As you can imagine, Jackpot Poker uses a randomized multiplier that determines the size of the prize pool. It’s a feature that appears on most poker sites in some shape or form so while it’s no innovation, it’s still good to see it there.
The highest multiplier on Jackpot Poker gives a prize pool 2,500 times the buy-in while the lowest is 2 times the buy-in.
Americas Cardroom also has a Maximizer feature that drops you into Jackpot games as soon as a seat becomes available. You can choose to play up to 10 tables at a time, but any more than four is probably too much to handle.
And we’re pleased to see that they have finally added a version of fast-fold poker (Blitz Poker) in Texas Hold’em that was missing for many years.
Can you use tracking software such as HUDs?
Yes, you can use Heads Up Displays at Americas Cardroom poker tables.
While many other online poker rooms prohibit the use of HUDs, Americas Cardroom has no problem with them at all. This is a surprising position given that the brand has faced some pushback from players in the past who claimed that the site was rife with bots and cheating.
Winning Poker Network took strong action dishing out bans and even going so far as to guarantee that Americas Cardroom would reimburse players affected by cheating or bots. While this has little to do with HUDs, many assumed that they’d be banned regardless. Thankfully, for grinders, that never happened.
How much is the rake and rakeback at ACR
Rake at Americas Cardroom is generally set at 5%. Here’s a rake structure used at different stakes:
Stakes | Rake per pot | 2 Player Cap | 3 Player Cap | 4 Player Cap | 5 to 9 Player Cap |
All Stakes Up to and including $1/2 | $0.01 for each $0.20 in Pot | $0.50 | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 |
Stakes $2/4, $3/6 and $4/8 | $0.05 for each $1 in Pot | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.00 | $3.00 |
Stakes $5/$10 and Higher | $0.25 for each $5 in Pot | $1.25 | $1.75 | $2.25 | $3.00 |
The interesting thing about this poker room is that it uses the weighted contributed rake calculation to determine rakeback in poker. This means that you are rewarded according to how much you contribute to the pot, not just the rake paid. Players who contribute more to the pot will earn more rewards which is only fair. This also means that players can earn their bonuses faster by playing in cash games and not folding all the time.
Unlike other online poker rooms, Americas Cardroom gives you the option of taking a flat 27% rakeback deal or joining the Elite Benefits VIP loyalty program that rewards you according to your level in the program. The flat rakeback deal is quite good as it bases your rakeback on the tournaments and cash games played on a daily basis. You can redeem this rakeback at any point by checking your account.
The Elite Benefits Loyalty levels are quite quirky going from Lieutenant all the way up to 5-Star General. We’re not sure why they went with the military theme but it is what it is.
The levels are as follows:
Lieutenant — 0 RP
Captain — 750 RP
Major — 3,000 RP
Colonel — 7,500 RP
General — 100,000 RP
5-Star General — 1,000,000 RP
The top four levels are based on monthly rewards points (RP) totals while General and 5-Star General are awarded based on yearly totals.
You can change from the rakeback deal to the loyalty program or vice versa, but you can only do this once.
Restrictions at ACR
Players on Americas Cardroom must be above the legal age for gambling in their home country or state. They must also be legally allowed to gamble.
As listed on the official website, players from the following areas cannot play on Americas Cardroom:
Sweden, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Mayotte, Réunion, Martinique, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Louisiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada or Washington State.
Americas Cardroom is a global online poker provider, but we imagine that there could be other countries not included on the list where the poker room is unavailable.
Promotions and campaigns at ACR
Americas Cardroom is really going for it with promotions and poker tournaments. Alongside the 100% first deposit match of up to $2,000, there are quite a few $50 freerolls that take place throughout the day so there’s always a way to make some extra bank without using your own cash.
The weekly leaderboard called The Beast ranks poker players according to their progress. There’s cash prizes and tickets to tournaments available. The best part is that all players are automatically entered with no additional fees as a percentage is taken from all rakes and then fed to ‘The Beast’. Incredibly, each week sees as many as 800 players receive rewards and cash prizes.
The biggest draw on the site though has to be The Venom if we’re talking about gargantuan prize pools. The first Venom tournament of 2021 had a guaranteed prize pool of $8 million with the winner walking away with a cool $1 million.
There’s also the Cyclone Blitz satellites, the 7-day no rathole tables, and Sit and Crush leaderboard that rewards players for simply entering Sit & Go tournaments.
Overall, we’d say that Americas Cardroom has it sorted when it comes to promotions and campaigns.
Deposits and withdrawals
Deposits and withdrawals are a breeze at Americas Cardroom.
The usual payment options are there for deposits and these include:
- Bank Transfer
- Visa / Mastercard / Maestro
- CLICK2PAY
- Skrill
- Neteller
- MoneyGram
- Western Union
- Bitcoin / Litecoin / Etherium
Yep, that’s Bitcoin and its friends right at the end there. Americas Cardroom was one of the first cardrooms to accept cryptocurrencies and it has since added a variety of other cryptocurrencies in available deposit methods.
Withdrawals are similar and include:
- Bank Transfer
- Debit Card
- Check by mail
- Skrill
- Neteller
- Bitcoin / Litecoin / Etherium
Again, the most notable addition here is Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum. These withdrawals take 24-48 hours and they’re completely free of charge for ACR players. It’s possibly one of the fastest withdrawal methods we’ve seen on any poker platform. Other crypto withdrawals are also possible but this can change according to the coin’s availability at the time.
Pro’s Comments
“Smooth and simple software. Good games especially on those rathole tables that have buy-in max 10bb – you cant reset your stack without taking 7 days off from that table so people will have a lot of 500bb stacks there mixed with some 10bb stacks = lot of action. Basically bitcoin and a dozen other cryptos are the only good deposit methods for bigger sums in the EU version, but it’s worth the hassle.”
– Eelis Pärssinen, Beasts of Poker Team Pro
Our rating
Pros
- Great for grinders
- Huge guarantees
- Impressive rakeback deal at 27%
- Good action available 24/7
- Best tournaments in the USA
Cons
- Lack of some games on mobile
- HUDs allowed means tougher games
- The software has a few bugs
Games and formats
- Holdem
- PLO
- SNG
- MTT
- 7 Card Stud
- Blitz (Fast-fold poker)
- Jackpot Poker
Platforms
Payment methods
- Bank Transfer
- Visa / Mastercard / Maestro
- CLICK2PAY
- Skrill
- Neteller
- Check by mail
- Bitcoin / Litecoin / Etherium
Restricted countries
$2,000
Use bonus code 'BEAST'
- Rakeback Up to 60% Elite VIP / Fixed 27%
- Extra $500 Exclusive Freeroll
- The flagship Winning Poker Network skin
Americas Cardroom FAQ
Is Americas Cardroom rigged or legit?
This is a good question as there have been instances in the past where poker players have complained about the use of bots and cheating on Americas Cardroom. However, the brand has worked extremely hard to ensure that all poker games are above board and to eliminate the use of bots.
The brand has also banned players for infractions and offered to reimburse any players that are victims of cheating. In recent years, this has gone a long way to improve the poker room’s reputation.
How much is Americas Cardroom rakeback?
Americas Cardroom offers an incredible 27% rakeback deal for all players. This rakeback is calculated on a daily basis and can be redeemed at any time. However, players must choose between the rakeback deal and the Elite Benefits Loyalty program. It’s possible to change from one to the other but you can do this only once.
What bonuses does Americas Cardroom offer?
Americas Cardroom offers an impressive 100% first deposit match welcome bonus up to $2,000. The welcome bonus is automatically added to a player’s account and released in $1 increments for every 27.5 Award Points earned. Players have 60 days to use the bonus.
Is Americas Cardroom legal in the US?
Yes, Americas Cardroom is legal in the United States. There are no Federal laws in place that would make it illegal to play online poker. However, US players in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, State of Maryland, State of New Jersey, State of Delaware, State of Nevada, and Washington State cannot download or use the Americas Cardroom software.
Can you play Americas Cardroom in Canada?
Yes, players in Canada can play poker in Americas Cardroom.
Can you play Americas Cardroom in the UK?
Yes, Americas Cardroom is legal in the United Kingdom.
How many players does Americas Cardroom have?
Americas Cardroom is one of the busiest online poker rooms in the USA. With many US players logging in each day, daily highs see 1,000 cash players while this figure can double to 2,000 players during big money tournaments.
Which network does Americas Cardroom belong to?
Americas Cardroom belongs to the Winning Poker Network group and runs on software created by SJH Studio.
Can I play Americas Cardroom on my mobile phone?
Yes, you can now play Americas Cardroom poker on your mobile device. Both iOS and Android apps are available.
Does Americas Cardroom have tournaments?
You better believe it! Americas Cardroom has an incredible range of poker tournaments that include everything from daily $50 freerolls to the huge Venom tournament with an $8 million guaranteed prize pool.
Does Americas Cardroom allow HUDs?
Yes, Americas Cardroom allows Heads Up Displays, making it extremely popular with poker grinders.
How do I contact Americas Cardroom support?
Americas Cardroom has a decent FAQ page with videos answering the most common questions. If you can’t find an answer, you can contact them through social media on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
You can also use the live chat feature, which has a very quick response time. There’s also a contact form that is usually replied to within a few hours. If you prefer to talk to the customer support team over the phone, Americas Cardroom's phone number is 877-314-4195. Please remember to write down your username, IP number, and Internet Service Provider for verification if you call them..
The support page states that there’s a new virtual assistant, but we’re not sure how that is supposed to work as there is nothing available as of yet.
Author
Beasts Of Poker
Editorial team curates and publishes in-depth reviews and ratings of online poker sites by using their extensive industry experience. Content is created by both in-house team of experts and outside authority contributors.
