Rapid Turnaround for Online Withdrawal from Carbon Poker

Here's one of those pleasant surprises that's nice to be able to report: I recently requested a small cashout from Carbon Poker, the flagship site on the Merge Network, and I received it, via paper check, in less than three weeks.

The withdrawal was for just a few hundred dollars.  I made it on July 20th, and had it waiting for me on August 9th, just 20 days later.  It's worth noting because the turnaround is far, far better than recently published cashout times for Carbon and Merge, which are estimated at 8-12 weeks in several online poker forums and reports.  My last cashout from Carbon arrived in eight weeks, which was still better than average, so this one does seem to be exceptional.

Checking on the various withdrawal times for major networks serving US players is always worthwhile, since they have grown significantly in recent years, and have been severely impacted by the highly negative experiences players have received at Lock Poker and selected other sites on the Revolution Network, where receipt of withdrawals generally exceeds six months and where allegations of illiquidity continue to dog the network's operators.

For Carbon and Merge, which is based in Australia, similar illiquidity rumors have floated up from time to time but have never proved out.  Carbon and its predecessors PDC Poker and Poker.com are now the second-oldest site to continuously serve US players, after Bovada (and Bodog, BodogLife, etc.), and though the site's tournament offerings show that some internal streamlining and belt-tightening has taken place, the site's stability still seems to be in force.

Checking around, Merge Network remains steady at a "C" grade on John "PokerAddict" Mehaffey's monthly grading report on US-facing sites' online withdrawal fulfillment, though if Merge continues to improve and other reports echo my personal success, the site's grade will likely inch higher.  Those ratings continue to be led by Bovada and the Winning Poker Network, both of which have implemented speedy solutions that still remain separate from the the US electronic banking system, as required by the UIGEA.

Intertops, a Revolution Network site which maintains its own cashier, also gets high marks, while failing and near-failing grades go to Lock and the US-facing arm of WinCake, Juicy Stakes.