Us Online Poker Payment Report

PayPal has developed a reputation as one of the safest and most secure online payments systems in the world. There are literally millions of websites that now accept PayPal as a method of payment, including a number of legal and regulated online casino and poker sites across the US.

  1. Us Online Poker Report
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April 30th, 2018 | Last updated on November 17th, 2018

Online poker is a far simpler undertaking than most new players think. With just a bit of research and patience, you can learn everything you need to know about playing online poker from the United States in well under an hour.

In this US Poker FAQ you’ll uncover detailed answers to over a dozen of the fundamental questions new American poker players have about getting started online. If you have a question and can’t find the answer on this page, please feel free to contact us here. .

General Questions About Online Poker in the United States

If online poker is a completely new pursuit, review this section to find answers to the basic queries beginning players regularly ask when they’re first starting to explore the world of US online poker.

What is Different About Online Poker?

Almost everyone in the US has played some form of poker at some point in their lives. While the transition might seem a little jarring at first, moving from your personal poker experience to playing online is actually a far shorter leap than it seems. The rules are the same, the deck is the same and it feels just as good when you get dealt aces online as it does when you’re dealt them live.

The one big difference that new players tend to be unprepared for is the pure speed of the online version. When you play at an online poker site, you’re playing a game that is something close to four times faster than a live poker deal. On top of that boost, you can play multiple tables at the same time. It’s possible to literally pack years of live poker into just a few weeks of intensive online play. While this sounds great at first, the pace of online poker presents a unique set of challenges, especially to novice players who need a slower pace of play to make good decisions.

Are American Online Poker Rooms Secure?

Any online poker market will inevitably host a handful of rogue sites, but the majority of the legal options for online poker in the US are completely reputable sites with long track records of offering stable and secure products. Secure US poker sites – such as any site we feature or review – will share a few characteristics, including:

  1. History of payouts: We only suggest US poker sites sites with established histories of successful (and complete) player payouts.
  2. Licensed and regulated: All of the United States online poker rooms reviewed on our site are licensed and regulated by a recognized jurisdiction.
  3. Secure channels for play and banking: Any room we list for American players provides players with secure methods for handling financial transactions as well as totally secure environments for game play.

How US Poker Rooms Make Money

Poker rooms that accept American players make money the same way as just about any poker room, online or otherwise. They make money by charging a fee – taken from the pot in cash games and as a separate entry charge for tournaments – called the rake. You can review the rake of any US poker site on their webpage or by reaching out to support.

Reports

Is the Software Safe to Download?

Yes. There is an extremely active online poker community for US players that is constantly monitoring the reputability of poker site downloads. The Windows and Mac poker downloads are safe. We are unaware of any incident whatsoever involving malicious software and an American online poker room, so you can feel safe downloading software packages from our suggested US poker sites. The no download poker sites are also safe to use, however, at the time of this review, non of the US sites offer a no download option.Back to the FAQ

Available Games For US Players

The dominant game at all online poker sites available to American players is Texas Hold’em. Next in terms of popularity is Pot Limit Omaha, with stud games and other minor variants making up the rest of the lobby for a typical US poker site.

The Basics of Deposit Bonuses

You can’t visit the homepage of an American poker site without seeing a deposit bonus advertised in big, bold type. Deposit bonuses are a staple of all online poker rooms, and they work like this: You deposit a certain amount of money and the room gives you a bonus based on that deposit. The bonus money is separate from your regular funds and is restricted – you can’t cash it out or use it for play.

As you play at the room, you will gradually convert this bonus money to regular funds that can be cashed out or used for real-money play at the site. The rate at which this conversion occurs, along with the size of the bonus you can get, differs from one US poker room to the next. Terms of bonuses are analyzed in all of our US poker site reviews.

Are the Games Fixed Online?

Cheating is an unfortunate part of nearly all games. Online poker is no different than live poker when it comes to this issue. Fortunately for players, the major US online poker sites have developed sophisticated methods for identifying and putting a stop to cheaters in poker games online.

If you feel like a game isn’t on the level at a poker site, your best bet is to collect all of the hand records you believe show evidence of fraud or cheating. All online poker sites have dedicated security teams that will take your information, review it, and act accordingly. While not every suspected instance of cheating turns out to involve actual cheating, the best policy for players is to report everything that seems suspicious to the room and let the professionals sort out which is which. Back to the FAQ

How Much Do You Need to Deposit to Play US Online Poker?

The amount you should deposit depends on what games you want to play. The great thing about online poker is that rooms can offer much smaller games than would ever be possible in a live poker room. That means players can get plenty of mileage out of a small poker deposit. In fact, even a deposit of $20 can allow a typical player to get weeks of play across cash games and tournaments at any one of our suggested US online poker rooms.

We generally suggest that players begin with small deposits regardless of what stakes they are interested in playing. Small deposits allow you to take trial runs on sites without committing large amounts of money, and give you increased flexibility should you decide that a given online poker site simply isn’t working out.

Online Poker Banking for Americans

For players who are familiar with the game of poker but aren’t certain of how depositing works at United States-friendly poker sites, the following answers should provide useful clarification. Back to the FAQ

How Difficult is it to Deposit at an Online Poker Site?

A persistent myth has developed in some corners of the online poker community: Depositing at an online poker site from the US is difficult. That’s actually not at all the case, as depositing at most US-facing online poker sites is as easy as purchasing a pair of pants from a major online retailer. There are a variety of choices for US players who want to deposit at an online poker site, and most involve little more than a few minutes of your time. If you play poker online in New Jersey, New York, Washington or one of the commonly banned states, we suggest you check out our BetOnline Poker review as this site has no problems accepting players from any one of the 50 states.

Choices for Making Poker Deposits

Our site offers extensive guides to all of the major choices US players have for making legal poker deposits/ We suggest players review any of our following guides in order to effectively compare and contrast the various choices for depositing at an online poker room open to US players:

Banking Information Safety

While poker sites serving US players do provide secure channels for deposits and withdrawals, it still falls on players to ensure their own security. We strongly suggest that US poker players use a dedicated credit card or bank account for all online poker transactions, and further that these accounts should be monitored actively. The primary cause for concern is that US poker rooms do not handle most payment processing directly; instead, that job is contracted out to other companies, companies that may not be as reputable or established as the poker site itself.

Charges for Depositing or Making Withdrawals

Before the UIGEA and Black Friday, poker players from the United States never had to worry about paying a fee to deposit or cash out. Now, the reality is that players may encounter fees, sometimes substantial ones, while attempting to move funds to and from US poker rooms. Each payment method charges different types of fees, but by reviewing our guides to the different options for making your deposit at the poker site you can easily identify the one that offers the best combination of ease and value for you.

Online Poker in the US: Legality

The legal environment surrounding US online poker is a complicated one, and the nuances of that environment are constantly shifting. Arming yourself with some basic information regarding the legality of online poker in the United States is the best way for a player to make sound decisions regarding the choice to play poker online for real money. Back to the FAQ

Has Anyone Ever Been Arrested for Playing Online Poker in the US?

Based on our extensive research, we feel confident in saying that no one has ever been arrested or charged for simply playing poker online from the US. It is difficult to definitively assess the legality of playing online poker in each and every jurisdiction within the United States, but players can definitely take comfort in the apparent fact that even if the act of playing does technically violate the law, players are not a target of law enforcement in the US.

Legal us poker sites online

Depositing Legally at a Poker Site From the US

While the legality of playing poker for real money in some formats may be an open question, the legality of making a deposit generally is not. Federal law only covers the institutions that process the transaction, not the individual participants making the transactions. You should not encounter any legal issues when making a deposit at a US-facing online poker room.

Paying Taxes on Online Poker Winnings in the United States

Money won playing at an online poker room is the same as money won at a live poker room, and that means that it is subject to all applicable reporting and taxes. Players from the United States should definitely plan to pay taxes on any winnings from online poker sites.

In order to be in full compliance with tax authorities, players should keep a log of all of their online poker activity. A log of each session, including times and overall results, is your best asset if there is ever an audit or similar process involving your online poker play. If you have any questions about how to report poker income, your smartest play is to talk to a tax professional. Depending on how much of your income is derived from poker, you may qualify for special tax treatment that can reduce the amount of tax you’ll have to pay on your winnings from playing online poker.

Understanding the UIGEA

Poker players from the United States are often confused about the UIGEA. We have developed a comprehensive guide to the UIGEA, but the short version goes like this: The law, passed in 2006, directs financial institutions like banks to put procedures in place that block transactions related to illegal online gambling. The law does not outlaw online poker or make players subject to criminal penalty for playing at poker sites open to Americans.

Can Americans Play Online Poker After Black Friday?

Yes. While PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker no longer accept US players for real money online poker, several online poker sites still take American poker players. In fact, thousands and thousands of US players are online at any given time playing poker at the top sites for Americans.

Black Friday introduced no new laws or rules that changed the legal status of online poker in the US. Much like the UIGEA, the charges were focused on financial violations and not at all targeted on individual poker players. Back to the FAQ

Ignition Poker (previously known as Bovada Poker), Chico Network (back to normal), and Grand Poker Network continue to have solid and consistent withdrawal speeds for the most part continuing into August.

The Merge Gaming Network (Carbon Poker, Sportsbook.ag and Players Only) are no longer accepting new US depositing players since May 31, 2016. It’s to be determined if this is temporary or permanent, it’s been about 23 months, but regardless of what happens we do not recommend playing at any of these sites. Cash-out times continue to remain slow although they have gotten a little better the past ten months compared to what they were taking prior to that.

BetCoin closed their poker room on December 25, 2017. Full Flush Poker went offline around October 1, 2016, and they won’t be coming back. The company was running a scam operation for quite some time. Players had requested checks and/or bank wires 13-15+ months prior to them shutting down, and they never received payments.

Welcome to our Monthly Online Poker Payout Report. For deposits please visit the credit card deposit guide or subsidiary options such as Bitcoin, and state specific options such as Skrill (NJ, DE & NV only). This page is updated monthly for offshore poker site online. This report doesn’t just focus on major networks but looks to have an exhaustive list of every offshore site paying US players. The sites listed here are not recommended necessarily, it’s just a list of the more popular sites people are playing at. See here for our safety requirements we go by before recommending a site.

We calculate these numbers in comparison to the quoted withdrawal times from the online rooms themselves and get our feedback from forums, industry experts and from our staff’s personal withdrawal times. Sites will be listed in terms of overall traffic. We will compare actual processing rates to the poker room’s quoted time-frames for each method and will update this report monthly.

Ignition Poker (previously known as Bovada Poker) Payout Report

Ignition Poker is the leader in US online poker markets. They have risen to become the most popular site in the American market and are the third most trafficked site in the world. Overall, their payouts have been outstanding for many years.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Check5-10 Days$50$3,000
Bank Wire5-10 Days$50, Plus Banking Fees$9,500
Rapid Transfer3-7 Days$50$300
BitcoinWithin 72 HoursFree$9,500

Free Payout: Ignition offers one free payout every four months on all methods besides Rapid Transfers (MoneyGram and Western Union).

Us Online Poker Report

August Update: Bovada Poker has turned into Ignition Poker as of September 30, 2016. Ignition/Bovada payout speeds are typically some of the fastest online, and speeds overall are slightly quicker this month than last month. They added Bitcoin as a withdrawal option in early May of 2016.

Checks were taking about 8-15 days last month, and this month they are taking around 10-16 days to reach players. Several players are getting them processed in 2-3 days, and it’s taking roughly an additional 8-13 days to receive them depending on your location.

Bank wire speeds for the most part are about the same this month as last month. They are taking around 4-7 days to reach players in most cases. In addition to the $50 fee (unless you use the free one payout every four months), there are other banking fees that are passed onto players. This option is better than checks for withdrawing large amounts, due to the $9,500 maximum withdrawal amount.

Rapid Transfer (MoneyGram or Western Union) consistently remains a quick method for processing, but players are limited to one withdrawal per month with a $300 max. They are being processed in 3-5 days, with some players receiving funds in less than 72 hours.

Bitcoin was added as a withdrawal option in early May 2016. Most players have reported receiving their funds in 10-38 hours after requesting a payout. Last month’s payout speeds were taking 7-42 hours to reach players.

The Winning Poker Network Cashout Report

The Winning Poker Network has about a dozen skins, but their flagship brands are America’s Cardroom, True Poker and Black Chip Poker. All of these sites share the same cashier and way they pay. They are near the top in terms of traffic in the US market, currently in second behind Ignition (previously known as Bovada), but have a close competitor in the Chico Network mentioned below.

Pay
MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Prepaid Debit Visa WithdrawalUp to 15 Days$25 to Receive Card, $4.95 per Transaction, $4.95 Monthly Fee$2,500
CheckUp to 15 Days$65$2,995
Money TransferUp to 15 Days$60-$110 Depending on Amount$1,500
BitcoinUp to 48 HoursFree$25,000

Free Payout: Players will receive one free check each month. Free withdrawals are not available for any other methods.

August Update: The WPN has become a popular choice for players in terms of cash games and tournaments, and when it comes to payout methods and speeds they are usually on the quicker end. Overall, withdrawal times are a little faster this month compared to last month.

Checks are being received by most players in 7-13 days. These speeds are slightly quicker than last month which were taking 8-14 days to reach players. Overall, their check speeds have been quick and consistent.

Bitcoin withdrawals have gotten a little faster this month then the previous month. They are being received by players in 9-28 hours, last month’s speeds were taking 12-40 hours in most cases.

Debit card withdrawals is usually a quick method available. They are processed and reaching players accounts within 5-6 days in most incidents. However, as of early April in 2018 this method is no longer available for new players. There is a $5.00 maintenance fee each month and on each requested withdrawal.

Money transfers this month are taking 4-8 days to reach players, about the same as last month. This has been a fairly solid and consistent payout option for quite some time.

Chico Network Report

Once a larger network of sites, the Chico Network is now much smaller. BetOnline.ag and their sister site, SporstBetting.ag, garner most of the signups and they have become major players in US-poker markets in the last few years. Both BetOnline and SportsBetting.ag share the same cashiers for processing payments. Their rates and payout speeds have been among the best in the US market, and they are close to WPN in terms of player numbers.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
CheckWithin 15 Days$35$2,500
Money TransferWithin 5 Days$26-$101 Depending on Amount$500
Bank Wire5-15 Days$50, Plus Intermediary Banking Fees$24,900
BitcoinWithin 24 Hours2% of Transaction Amount$10,000

Free Payout: BetOnline offers one free payout per month worth $50 or less. If the payout fee is more than $50, they will deduct $50 from the processing fee and charge users the rest of the fee. Free payouts must be requested on Fridays.

August Update: The Chico Network, and more specifically BetOnline, has continued to be a strong option in recent years for players. In general, their poker player numbers are still growing, and their payout speeds are generally consistently fast. However, the site was DDOS attacked a couple months back which caused issues with logging into the site. Around August 31, 2016 they stopped charging a fee for depositing with bitcoin which was around 6%.

Check speeds are quicker this month than last month, they are reaching players in about 6-14 days, depending on your location.

Money transfer (Western Union or MoneyGram) speeds have remained pretty consistent the past several months. They are reaching most players in 4-6 days.

Bitcoin is going to be the fastest withdrawal option. Withdrawals are received by most players within 15-40 hours this month. The good news is they use to charge a 6% fee for depositing but now it’s free as of around August 31, 2016. However, they continue to charge a fee for withdrawals which is 2% unless you use the one free withdrawal per month up to $50.

Bank wire payouts are reaching player’s account fairly quickly, in about 7-8 days.

Merge Gaming Report

Merge Gaming is currently not accepting new US players as of around May 31, 2016. This could be temporary or permanent, still no word, but either way we don’t recommend any of these sites. They have many skins, but we are focusing on the cashier of Sportsbook.ag, Players Only and Carbon Poker. These sites all share the same cashier. The network has dipped a lot in the past many months in regards to traffic numbers, mainly due to slower payout speeds among other things.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Check2-4 Weeks3% of Check Amount$2,500
Wire Transfer1-3 Weeks3% of Amount, Plus Potential Banking Fees$5,000
Bitcoin1-4 Days3% of Amount$5,000

Free Payout: Merge Gaming offers one free check payout per YEAR; your first request in each calendar year. All other check requests will come with a rather steep 3% fee.

August Update: Merge Gaming is NOT accepting new USA players at this time (as of May 31, 2016). Merge’s payout times are still slow compared to other poker websites, and we do not recommend playing at these sites. Some players are reporting that once you use bitcoin as a payout option, you will no longer be able to use checks or wire transfers as a withdrawal option. In some cases, these sites are taking down checks and wire transfer methods leaving you with bitcoin as the only option to withdrawal whether or not you have ever used that option before, which also comes with a hefty 3% fee each time.

Checks are reaching players around 17-28 days, although they were taking 10-14 weeks many months ago. Only fourteen players have reported receiving a check (that we could find) in the past 25 months.

Wire transfers are taking around 15-21 days to hit players accounts. However, you have to be lucky to receive a bank wire as only 8 players have reported receiving a wire transfer, that we could find, in the past twenty five months. This method appears to becoming obsolete at Merge Gaming.

In regards to bitcoin, it’s taking about 5-7 days to reach players and there is a 3% fee per withdrawal which is high for bitcoin. Some players are reporting that bitcoin is the only option available to withdrawal.

Horizon Network Payouts

The Horizon Network has a long history in online poker markets under several different names. They continue to operate in the US market with much success and speedy payouts for the most part, mainly Intertops. They have dozens of skins, but the most popular sites in the US market are Intertops and Juicy Stakes.

Intertops

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Check5 Days$50$3,000
Bank Wire10-15 Days$50 Plus Banking Fees$2,500
Money Transfer1-2 Days$70-180 Depending on Amount$2,000
Bitcoin48 HoursNo Fees$2,500

Free Payout: Intertops offers no free payouts for players.

August Update: Intertops is as trustworthy as they come for US players. They have the acclaim of taking the first bet in online sportsbook history, all the way back in 1996. They have never slow-paid or no-paid a player in 20+ years of operations.

Things have not changed a whole lot at Intertops for quite awhile in terms of payout speeds.

Checks are taking about 6-14 days to reach players. Bank wires are coming in a few days longer than checks, which is similar to last month.

Money transfers are fairly slow compared to other sites, however. These are being processed in about one week.

Bitcoin is a newer withdrawal option they have added and players are receiving payment within 1-4 days in most cases, which is slightly faster than last month.

Juicy Stakes

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Check9 Days$50$1,000
Money Transfer7 Days$85-110 Depending on Amount$890

Free Payout: Juicy Stakes offers one free check per month if you accumulate at least $40 in rake within the month. If you accumulate $80 or more in rake for the month you receive one free money transfer withdrawal up to a $500 cash-out.

August Update: Juicy Stakes is another popular skin on the Horizon Network that is frequented by US players. Current reporting from players this month has been difficult to find, but the few reports we could find are showing fairly normal payout speeds. Some players were saying many months ago that the site is telling them they can’t withdrawal their funds until they reach a certain rake amount, yet once they do then the site increases the rake again not allowing them to cash-out. This doesn’t appear to be the case with all players, but just wanted to give a heads-up.

There are no current reports that we could find from players stating when they have received checks or money transfers, but a Juicy Stakes representative mentioned withdrawal times are on pace with their quoted time-frames; take it for what it’s worth.

Grand Poker Network Report (5Dimes)

The 5Dimes Group owns the Grand Poker Network. 5Dimes is a sportsbook with a poker room and has been in business for nearly two decades. 5Dimes.eu is their flagship brand, but they have several skins, which consist of IslandCasino.com, SportBet.com, and VietBet.eu. All of these sites share the same cashier.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Check7-10 Days$40-$80 Depending on Amount$7,500
Debit Card3-5 days$15-$40 Depending on Amount$2,400
Bitcoin24-48 HoursNo FeesNo Max (if used as deposit method)
Money Transfer24-48 Hours$10-$110 Depending on Amount$2,500

Free Payout: 5Dimes offers one payout every 30 days for each method.

August Update: Although we aren’t finding tons of current data for this month from players reporting withdrawal speeds, 5Dimes has consistently met their time-frames for quite some time. Below are the most recent reports we could find for each method.

Checks are taking 7-14 days to reach players although some players have received checks in just five days depending on the location.

Both bitcoin and money transfers are being processed in 48 hours or less. Several players are reporting receiving funds in just 14 hours, while others are reporting 2-3 days.

It’s tough to find a better option for withdrawal speed and security than 5Dimes.

SWCPoker.eu Cashout Report

SWCPoker is the new name of the former bitcoin online poker room, Seals with Clubs. Seals was shut down after their owner faced legal trouble, but things are running fairly smoothly since the brand change although traffic has dropped off quite a bit.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Bitcoin12-36 HoursNoneNo Max

August Update: Payout speeds have not been much of an issue at SWCPoker. They almost always meet or beat their quoted time-frame of 12-36 hours. Payouts are extremely quick and play is exclusively in bitcoin. When it’s time to cash-out, most players are reporting receiving their funds in 11-30 hours which is pretty consistent to last month.

NitrogenSports.eu

Nitrogen is another bitcoin-based poker room with a smaller player base. However, compared to BetCoin.ag, they’re a much better option and offer quicker payouts.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Bitcoin1-2 Hours (sometimes instant)NoneNo Max

August Update: Nitrogen’s withdrawal speeds are excellent. Their payouts are very fast in almost all cases, and most take no more than a few hours. Although player reports have been tough to find this month, the most recent showed it taking only 8 hours to receive funds. They may become a premier option for bitcoin-only poker if their player numbers increase.

BetCoin.ag Poker

IMPORTANT UPDATE – BetCoin’s poker room is no longer in operation as of December 25, 2017. They had an online poker room based in the crypto-currency, bitcoin. Like SWCPoker, they only offered bitcoin deposits and withdrawals. Traffic had been low for many months prior to them closing, and their management staff and payout speeds weren’t great.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Bitcoin4 HoursNoneNo Max

BetCoin closed it’s online poker room on December 25, 2017.

Below is the last BetCoin Poker payout report through the month of November 2017:

BetCoin’s support staff is one of the poorest online. The site is riddled with complaints from all corners of the web, and they are certainly not meeting their 4 hour time-frame on a consistent basis when it comes to withdrawals. Players may have to jump through hoops to get their payouts, but they are paying players, eventually.

There’s little reason to go with these guys when there are many poker rooms that accept bitcoin and have larger player bases and faster cash-outs. Currently, a few players reporting are receiving their funds fairly quickly while most others are not; it’s all over the board. They seem to range anywhere from 10 hours to 18 days, lets just say they’re not consistent. The first withdrawal from a player takes the longest, while all withdraws following usually seem to be quicker.

Equity Poker Payout Report

IMPORTANT UPDATE – Well, we hope you were reading this report in the past to know to stay away from the Equity Poker Network, Full Flush Poker in particular, as they are no longer in operation. The site went offline around October 1, 2016, and it will not be coming back. The Equity Poker Network premiered on the scene in 2013. They went after US markets with their flagship site, Full Flush Poker. They had several other skins, including offering online poker at Heritage Sportsbook, but they left the network many months ago and no longer offer poker. The speeds listed below were from the Full Flush cashier.

MethodQuoted Time-FrameFeesMax Amount
Check13-17 Days$50$2,499
Bank Wire20-25 Days$65 Plus Banking Fees$4,000
Money Transfer3-5 Days$36-$39 Depending on Amount$500

Free Payout: Full Flush offered no free monthly payouts to players.

Full Flush Poker, and the network, has been offline since around October 1, 2016 and they are shut down for good. We have been reporting for a long time that they were operating a scam business. Withdrawal speeds had gotten worse and worse over the 16+ months prior to them shutting down.

Below is the last Full Flush payout report through the month of September 2016:

Their actual processing time-frames are nowhere near what they are advertising.

Both checks and bank wires have been requested 13-15 months ago by players and still have not been received. It’s been a long-long time since a player has reported receiving a check or bank wire from Full Flush Poker.

Some players (very few) have reported receiving money transfers in 2-5 months via MoneyGram, but in very small amounts (usually $330). Money transfers via Western Union are in the same situation as checks and bank wires. Players have requested WU payouts 13-15 months ago and still have not received any payments.

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Author:Joseph Falchetti (twitter)
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