2013 is starting well for US online poker fans. Carbon (Merge Network) have all but completed their cashier move and deposits are flowing again. The success story of 2012, Lock Poker, continues to benefit all players and have a really cool promo in the form of their ‘Big Chase’.

This post is a rundown of the latest news and promotions at US poker sites in January 2013.

Merge Poker Network 2013 – Carbon Poker

Carbon Poker’s move to a brand new cashier system appears to be completed. I am now seeing lots of deposits coming through from my players, and if you have been waiting then now is the right time to try again with that credit card!

This is welcome news, since the move to a brand-new Antigua based cashier did delay deposits for a while, which in turn lead to a decrease in the players online too. Add to this some skins leaving the Merge Network and the effect on player numbers was noticeable.

I now expect to see player numbers moving upwards once again, and in the short term there are reports of some ‘overlays’ in tournaments (when the guaranteed prize pool is bigger than the sum of entry fees, so some free cash!).

Carbon Poker – Cool Promos For Jan

There is a reload bonus for existing players (you will have received an e-mail) at 50% which is a great start. The other promo which caught my eye is a bunch of opportunities to qualify for the new ‘Poker Maximus’ tournament event for free. The event itself starts in February and features a lot of big buy-in tournaments, so these free seats are valuable.

In addition there is the improved 200% welcome bonus (code = CARBONPK) up to $5,000 max + free downloadable poker calculator and 1 month of free poker training at ‘Drag The Bar’… Check out Carbon Poker and their awesome software now via the Carbon Poker Website!

Lock Poker and The Revolution Poker Network

Lock are still creating waves in the US poker scene after their high profile take-over of the Cake Network (renaming this the Revolution Gaming Poker Network) of last year. They are neck and neck with Merge as the biggest US friendly site and their stable of online poker pros continues to grow.

I like the look of the ‘Big Chase’ promo, which is essentially  a race to accumulate as many bonuses as possible by the end of the month. There are 58 levels to get through, and 52,000 individual cash prizes. The great thing about this promotion is that smaller bankroll players can benefit too (though the higher you play the more prizes you can access).

Bonus code PBKLUB will get you a huge 200% welcome bonus ($4k max). Check out the cool Lock Poker for more info on this promo and their generous range of player rewards.

Bovada / ACR – All Quiet For Now

Nothing too exciting to report at either Bovada or Americas Card Room for the moment – I will bring you news of these sites as soon as something catches my eye.