Legal Online Poker Site for US Players by FaceUp Gaming
Online poker sites have been around for more than 15 years now. The laws in the United States have flipped and flopped so many times that most poker playing Americans are uncertain as to what’s legal and what’s not.
As an alternative, there are also subscription-based poker sites where Americans are able to pay a monthly fee to play online poker with play-money chips, and are capable of winning real cash and/or prizes. For the most part, these sites have failed miserably because they don’t offer the kind of poker games, interaction or prizes that appeal to traditional players.
Enter stage left, FaceUp Gaming. It’s a relatively new online poker room that is 100% legal in the US, and exploiting today’s new wave technologies. The concept is much more evolved, integrating the latest trends of social gaming. In the same way PKR Poker innovated the industry in 2006 with 3D gaming, FaceUp Gaming takes social poker play to a whole new level by implementing video and audio technologies to give players the most realistic live gaming experience ever devised by an online poker site.
Not only is it legal, it is owned by a legitimate company, Face Up Entertainment Group, Inc., based on American soil and listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange as “FUEG”?.
The assembly of FaceUp Gaming began in the fall of 2011 and came to fruition on April 1, 2012, when it was officially launched on the world wide web. The response was excellent in the beginning. Americans suddenly had a real, legal choice for playing online poker, and the social poker gaming aspect drew players in droves. But it hasn’t been all sugar and roses. We’ll discuss the trials and tribulations the company, and its members, have undergone over the last year in a moment. First, let’s take a look at the concept of FaceUp Gaming.
How Does FaceUp Gaming Work?
FaceUp Gaming is a subscription-based online poker room that is legal for US players. However, it doesn’t follow the same schematics of the subscription-based poker sites of old. The concept is more expansive, and players are able to win both cash and prizes, based on the ring games and tournaments they choose to participate in. Additionally, a paid membership is not required to play, or to win real cash/prizes.
To make it legal in the US, FaceUp Gaming first removed the wagering of real money. The poker chips are all play-chips. Every player, whether holding a paid account or a free membership, is given free chips to play with at the ring game tables, as well as points that can be used to enter tournaments of all types.
A paid membership will of course grant more play chips and points than a free account, as well as special types of points that can only be used to enter certain types of tournaments. FaceUp Gaming offers Player Chips (PC), Tournament Points (TP), Leagues Points (LP) and League Tokens (LT). All players receive PC and TP, but only paid members receive LP and LT. Thus free members are restricted from league tournaments that require LP or LT to enter.
This doesn’t mean that only paid members can win real cash. There are TP tournaments that award everything from additional points or play chips, to cash and merchandise. Obviously paid members will have more access to the best prizes.
What is the Difference Between a Free and Paid Membership?
A Guest Account (free) will get you the following:
- 10,000 Play Chips to start and an additional reload option of 500 PC per day.
- 250 Tournament Points to start, plus 250 additional TP per month.
- Live video/audio chat, email support and hand histories.
- Daily Points Freerolls.
- Daily $10/$20 Freerolls.
- Ring Games.
- Optional Multi-Tabling.
- Eligibility to win up to $1,000 worth of cash and/or prizes per month.
A Gold Membership ($24.95/month) will get you the following:
- 250,000 Play Chips to start and an additional reload option of 2,000 PC per day.
- 250 Tournament Points to start, plus 250 additional TP per day.
- Access to live video/audio chat, email support, hand histories, newsletter, individual performance rating, global league ranking, inclusion for daily leaderboards, custom avatars, and an ad-free poker experience.
- Daily Points Freerolls.
- Daily $10/$20 Freerolls.
- League, ‘Gold Members Only’ and Exclusive ‘Play with the Pros’ tournaments.
- Monthly online ‘Workshops with the Pros’.
- Ring Games.
- Ability to create private tables.
- Optional Multi-Tabling.
- Eligibility to win ‘Poker Cruise’, ‘Trip to Aruba’ and ‘World Series Seat’ prize packages.
- Eligibility to play in $50,000 worth of monthly League tournaments.
- Eligibility to win up to $150,000 worth of cash and/or prizes per month.
Who Can Play at FaceUp Gaming?
FaceUp Gaming does not restrict any Americans from its online poker site. However, there are some states where players are not eligible to subscribe to a paid membership. FaceUp Gaming also permits international players from certain countries to sign up a paid membership. However, all prizes that are not cash must be awarded as the cash-equivalent.
Players from the following countries are accepted (in alphabetical order): Australia, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
FaceUp Gaming’s innovative approach is genuinely exciting! Integrating video and audio technologies into their poker experience while being 100% legal in the US is groundbreaking. It elevates the game, blending social gaming features with strategic play. Can’t wait to see its future impact! 😊