Earlier this week, the online poker room Overbet.com announced that it would be joining the U.S.-facing Merge Gaming Network. Overbet.com has demonstrated remarkable success in its early going. The site, at this moment active with over 4,400 players, has demonstrated a desire to send its players to some of the top tournaments in the world, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT), the Aussie Millions, and the World Poker Tour (WPT). It has also built a formidable stable of pros.
Overbet’s Pro Team features players who have had significant success in both live and online tournaments as well as cash games. One of its top players, Scott “URNOTINDANGR” Palmer, is a regular at the high-stakes cash games on many different sites, but he calls the tables at Overbet.com home. Just last month, Palmer took down fellow pro Prahlad Friedman for over $200,000 playing $50/$100 No Limit Texas Hold’em.
Palmer is joined by another recognizable name on the tournament circuit, Josh Tieman. In his five years as a tournament poker pro, Tieman – who goes by the name “LITLEBASTARD” online – has racked up over $660,000 in earnings and won a WSOP bracelet this year. In fact, almost all of his live success has come during the WSOP, where Tieman has stunningly accumulated 13 career cashes over the past five years.
European poker fans have the chance to take on one of the more successful online players in Martijn Gerrits. A player who built his bankroll from the micro-stakes, Gerrits – known as “MEGAL0D0N” on Overbet.com – can now be found in the upper reaches of the cash game spectrum. He can often be found at levels that range from $25/$50 NL up to $100/$200.
These three pros make up Pro Team Overbet, but the site has been indicating that change is on the way. A “Mystery Pro” is set to be introduced at any time and Overbet is being quite cryptic as to who they might be. Officials at the site note that the player is “one of the biggest online cash game players in the world, with over $2 million in earnings.”
One of the upsides of Overbet.com is its VIP Program. Players who deposit $1,000 on the site are immediately entered into the VIP Program and will have a specially-assigned support host at their beck and call. With the VIP Program, players will have an immediate contact with customer service through many of the different instant messaging systems available today and will enjoy faster service for deposits and cashouts.
The Merge Gaming Network is based in Australia and is one of the top up-and-coming networks available for American players. According to PokerScout.com, the Merge Gaming Network – which includes rooms like Carbon Poker and PokerHost – is the fifth largest network for American customers. The network ranks just behind several longstanding operations such as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, the CEREUS Network, and the Cake Poker Network, which have been in existence in some cases up to a decade.
