Hi all, just figured I'd post my experience with big bet poker.
I initially received a small no deposit bonus there and was placed on their bankroll builder promotion. I went broke due to being under bankrolled and decided to make a small deposit to fully take advantage of this promotion. (Basically over-glorified rakeback which you can receive in advance before you've technically earned it)
I made the deposit with no problems whatsoever via moneybookers, and began checking out the site features. I came across a 'feature' called available cash, where big bet poker claimed they were different from every other site because they allowed you to store some money away from the tables. According to the site this helps with bankroll management issues. In reality it would make no difference; the only thing being you couldn't accidentally sit down at a table with these funds. Well, I'll give it a shot I figured....I transferred $10 to available cash to see if it worked. Great. Then, to my annoyance, my bankroll builder bonus disappeared from my cash account as soon as I'd done this.
Concerned, I contacted support where they told me they would put me back on the bonus. 24 hours passed. Nothing. I recontacted support and they once again told me they'd put me back on the bankroll builder. This time it worked, only I was put back at a slightly lower level of the bankroll builder than I had been previously. Support claimed there was nothing that could be done about this because 'the site didn't give them the option', to re-enter me at the same level.
A little time passed, I managed to grind up a little cash playing 25nl, and today decided I would like to make a cashout due to being short on funds irl, and also because I was genuinely unhappy about attempting to use a site 'feature' and having my bonus cancelled with no warning. I went to cashout, chose neteller as my preferred withdrawal method, and my account funds went to 'pending withdrawal' without the site ever prompting me for my neteller details.
Concerned once again, I went to support where they told me I'd need to send in a utility bill and a passport before they allowed the cashout. Supposedly this is in 'terms and conditions', but it is definitely more T&C of the small print type. They don't exactly make this clear when you deposit. It is not even possible to withdraw the funds you deposited in the first place. Basically this site will happily accept a deposit, but then refuse to return ANY of your cash until you have sent in the required documents.
So the problem I have now is, it will take me a while to track down a utility bill to send in, despite needing some of the funds immediately. And a fair proportion of my roll is stuck on a site I don't even want to play at. In some ways I have no choice to play there now, due to much of my roll being there. But I also don't want to make rake for a site I feel has screwed me over in more ways than one.
For some of you, perhaps this is standard. But I've never had these withdrawal problems at any other site where I have made a deposit. So, if you are one of these players that actually likes to /access/ your bankroll from time to time, be warned of this site. They /will/ make life difficult for you if want to withdraw.
w34z3l
I initially received a small no deposit bonus there and was placed on their bankroll builder promotion. I went broke due to being under bankrolled and decided to make a small deposit to fully take advantage of this promotion. (Basically over-glorified rakeback which you can receive in advance before you've technically earned it)
I made the deposit with no problems whatsoever via moneybookers, and began checking out the site features. I came across a 'feature' called available cash, where big bet poker claimed they were different from every other site because they allowed you to store some money away from the tables. According to the site this helps with bankroll management issues. In reality it would make no difference; the only thing being you couldn't accidentally sit down at a table with these funds. Well, I'll give it a shot I figured....I transferred $10 to available cash to see if it worked. Great. Then, to my annoyance, my bankroll builder bonus disappeared from my cash account as soon as I'd done this.
Concerned, I contacted support where they told me they would put me back on the bonus. 24 hours passed. Nothing. I recontacted support and they once again told me they'd put me back on the bankroll builder. This time it worked, only I was put back at a slightly lower level of the bankroll builder than I had been previously. Support claimed there was nothing that could be done about this because 'the site didn't give them the option', to re-enter me at the same level.
A little time passed, I managed to grind up a little cash playing 25nl, and today decided I would like to make a cashout due to being short on funds irl, and also because I was genuinely unhappy about attempting to use a site 'feature' and having my bonus cancelled with no warning. I went to cashout, chose neteller as my preferred withdrawal method, and my account funds went to 'pending withdrawal' without the site ever prompting me for my neteller details.
Concerned once again, I went to support where they told me I'd need to send in a utility bill and a passport before they allowed the cashout. Supposedly this is in 'terms and conditions', but it is definitely more T&C of the small print type. They don't exactly make this clear when you deposit. It is not even possible to withdraw the funds you deposited in the first place. Basically this site will happily accept a deposit, but then refuse to return ANY of your cash until you have sent in the required documents.
So the problem I have now is, it will take me a while to track down a utility bill to send in, despite needing some of the funds immediately. And a fair proportion of my roll is stuck on a site I don't even want to play at. In some ways I have no choice to play there now, due to much of my roll being there. But I also don't want to make rake for a site I feel has screwed me over in more ways than one.
For some of you, perhaps this is standard. But I've never had these withdrawal problems at any other site where I have made a deposit. So, if you are one of these players that actually likes to /access/ your bankroll from time to time, be warned of this site. They /will/ make life difficult for you if want to withdraw.
w34z3l