Aced Poker – a skin on the merge Gaming Network – has announced that it is to close from next Tuesday 1st July, with accounts being transferred to Carbon Poker.
Aced Poker was originally launched on the Merge Gaming Network in 2009 with high-profile 2006 WSOP Main Event winner Jamie Gold as its resident pro. The relationship did not work out too well for either Aced or Gold, and he left them three months later.
In 2010, Aced Poker was acquired by Carbon Poker, and the USA friendly poker site got a big player boost in December 2012 when Carbon closed PDC Poker (formerly poker.com) and transferred PDC´s player database onto Aced Poker.
However, Carbon Poker has done little marketing of Aced Poker in the last eighteen months, and although the two sites have been running side-by-side quite well, the decision has been made to pull the plug on Aced Poker and transfer its remaining player database onto Carbon Poker.
Why Not Leave Things the Way They Were?
No official explanation has been given for why Carbon Poker is closing the doors of its sister site, although many industry professionals have wondered why they didn´t do it sooner. The cost of licensing Aced Poker and maintaining the software are probably major considerations, but it may also be the case that Carbon Poker wants to entice Aced players onto their sportsbook and racebook products – something which at present cannot be accessed by players on Aced Poker.
What do Aced Poker Players Have to do Next?
Actually nothing. Due to Aced Poker´s software being virtually identical to Carbon Poker´s, players who log into their Aced Poker accounts after 1st July will go through a quick software upgrade to change their existing Aced branded programs to Carbon´s. Players will be able to log onto the “new” Carbon Poker software with their existing Aced Poker username and password, and all cash and points balances should be transferred automatically.
What do Aced Poker Players Think?
Player reaction to the announcement was pretty muted. A few contributors to the popular 2+2 forum were alarmed that their ability to play multiple tournaments at one time may be limited but as a rule everybody felt it was an appropriate business decision considering the decline in traffic once the Merge Gaming Network withdrew from the US regulated markets.
What Alternatives are there for Aced Poker Players?
Players who are looking for alternatives to Carbon Poker – or who cannot get to play in the games they want because of site restrictions – may benefit from taking a look at our Americas Cardroom review. Americas Cardroom is the flagship site on the Winning Poker Network – the network that Black Chip Poker left the Merge Gaming Network for in December 2012 to speed up cashouts and offer a better range of promotions.
Americas Cardroom typically has a softer standard of play than Carbon Poker and has the excellent “Beast” promotion, in which players can win cash prizes and tournament tickets simply for playing their normal cash games. The site has just announced that it will be hosting a $100,000 guaranteed tournament on Sunday 13th July – probably too soon for Aced Poker players who have to withdraw funds to pay the $215.00 buy-in, but there is a daily super satellite to the event which has a buy-in of just $24.00.
