Full Flush Poker Closed “Temporarily”: Lock Poker All Over?

Full Flush Poker closed
Full Flush Poker closed on October 1 due to alleged software updates, but it remains inaccessible even two weeks later

One of a few sites still catering to US players, Full Flush Poker, has been out of operation since October 1. What started off as a shutdown to “update their software” has turned into a two-week hiatus, with players wondering if Full Flush Poker closed down for good and if they will ever see a penny of their money.

Full Flush Poker closed due to software glitches?

The news first hit the internet when a forum poster and Full Flush player couldn’t access his account on October 1. After repeated failed attempts to log in, he contacted Full Flush, asking for an explanation.

He received an answer that the latest software updated had a “glitch” and they decided the best way to fix it was to take down the entire site temporarily.

Not too reassuring, but not that unusual, either. Software glitches do happen from time to time.

However, what was supposed to be a brief disruption in services has since turned into two weeks of uncertainty. Players are unable to log in, Full Flush is staying silent for the most part, and concerns are piling up. Are we facing yet another meltdown, Lock Poker style?

Is Full Flush Poker closed because their license was suspended?

Although Full Flush poker support has been responsive and kept insisting that the shutdown was caused simply because of software issues, the investigation by players and the media revealed some disturbing details.

While the support claims that Full Flush Poker is closed down due to software glitch, players have learned that the site's Curacao gaming license has been suspended
While the support claims that Full Flush Poker is closed down due to software glitch, players have learned that the site’s Curacao gaming license has been suspended

Most importantly, the Curacao gaming license for the Equity Network has been suspended.

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This certainly doesn’t sound too reassuring.

In fact, it could be the last straw, when we consider that Full Flush has been very slow to pay their players during the past year and there are allegations they owe in excess of $5,000,000 to their affiliates. Although one must hope to be wrong here, it does seem like the company has simply ran out of resources.

Deadlines being pushed forward

Since the moment Full Flush Poker closed down, the support agents have kept promising the site would be back up soon, giving one date after another, constantly breaking their promises. The latest update on the Full Flush Facebook page stipulates Wednesday (which is tomorrow) as a new re-launch date.

Fingers crossed…

Players are certainly starting to lose faith, as it seems more and more obvious that Full Flush is just buying time, hoping for an unlikely miracle.

Again, this is one of those situations where one must hope to be wrong for the sake of players with balances there, but we’ve seen the same scenario play out far too many times.

Full Flush Poker closed
The Full Flush customer support has promised yet another re-launch date. According to their Facebook page, players should be able to access their accounts on Wednesday (tomorrow)

At this point, there is little left to do but wait and see if the company makes good on their promise and players are able to access their accounts tomorrow. It wouldn’t be a big win as there are many players who have been waiting for their withdrawals for over a year anyways.

It would at least bring back some hope for those who have money on there that not everything is lost.

18 thoughts on “Full Flush Poker Closed “Temporarily”: Lock Poker All Over?”

  1. $ 49,815 they owe me and I’m so disappointed about this as we do not get paid. 7 allocation request from May 8/2015
    ever I see this money!
    Is it possible to report them because they at least do not know what to do please help :sad: :sad:

    Reply
    • Wow, almost $50k? Awful and I’m sorry to hear that. That must have been a nice run. I’m surprised there were even enough players there ever at high enough stakes to add up to that.

      You could report them, but I would have to do some digging on who that would even be to. I’m not sure where they were licensed and the people involved in the scam are probably long gone.

      Reply
      • I’ve never worked for any online poker site and I stopped even linking to these crooks maybe 18 months ago so I can’t really do anything personally. Unfortunately, I sort of saw this coming and tried to warn players on my old review for a while.

        As for why they would do this to players they’re simply greedy thieves as you’ll find in all walks of life, unfortunately. I’m sure they didn’t segregate player balances and there just came a point where they couldn’t pay out everyone thanks to whatever else they were doing with the money.

  2. I’ve got 5k on the site, got lucky and cashed out nearly 1k in months prior to this so called glitch… sucks this isn’t first time I’ll lose money to a site running away.. I’ve lost all respect for online poker..

    Reply
    • Sorry to hear that and it does suck. I think the signs for Full Flush have been there for a while so I wasn’t really surprised when they finally decided to stop pretending to be a legitimate poker site.

      Like you, I tried to get as much money off of there over time, but the bogus restrictions and turnaround time made it impossible to get it all.

      If you don’t play online anymore that’s certainly your choice. Personally, I love it too much and have had too many positive experiences with it over the last 12 years to stop at this point.

      I think at last count I had played on 52 or 53 poker sites since 2004 and I’ve had money stolen 4 times: Pitfull Poker, Lock Poker, UB, and now Full Flush. That’s less than 8% of the time.

      I think the main lesson is for everyone to be a bit more selective in where they choose to play. 3 out of 4 of those that I lost money at hadn’t been in business for very long and probably shouldn’t have been trusted.

      If you do decide to take a chance on a newer site at least leave as little of your bankroll there as possible. Cash it out often during the good times before they run into potential trouble. Otherwise, just stick to the tried-and-true choices.

      These days, I only review sites that have been around for 5+ years.

      Reply
      • What sites do you recommend? I’ve had trouble trying to deposit on betonline and ignition, and did really enjoy blackxhip.. but you’re right, the signs were there, but I was on there for like 6 months prior to closing but it didn’t take me long to get that feeling I’ve gotten before when someone is about to run off with my money.. hell I could care less about the money at this point, it’s just poker sites that run, run with all your info your money and Rob you put of what is most precious TIME SPENT AND TIME WASTED..

      • Absolutely, I hear ya. I’m assuming you’re from the US? If so, I’ve only really trusted 4 sites for the past year or two now that operate for US players: Ignition Poker (which used to be Bovada), BetOnline Poker, Sportsbetting Poker (which is really just a skin of BetOnline), and America’s Cardroom.

        BetOnline/Sportsbetting is definitely having deposit issues, which is incredibly frustrating as that has traditionally been their main strength. It’s gotten so bad that I’ve disabled their links for now since players aren’t going to be able to deposit. I’ve talked with some people there and I don’t think anything bad is up, but they need new processors ASAP.

        Ignition Poker is clearly the best going in the US, but you said you had deposit troubles there. My recommendation would be to get set up with Bitcoin. One of the best time investments you’ll make and you’ll never have trouble depositing or withdrawing again.

        The only one left is America’s Cardroom, which has been a big surprise to me over the past couple of years. I’m surprised at how well they’ve done. I trust them and have gotten plenty of payouts from them, but they’re the only ones left that focus exclusively on poker. That hasn’t gone well for others like Full Flush that we’re talking about here.

        I’ve done a big review of them if you’re curious for more info. One thing I like a lot about them is they had enough financial strength to bail out old Doyle’s Room player balances a few years ago.

        Best of luck!

    • Kangaroo you should join the litigation against Full Flush. We need more people with a large bankroll to make it worth the law firm’s time to pursue the case on a contingency-fee basis. Please search Google for “Full Flush Poker Litigation” and follow the instructions from the Game Protect website. This might be our only chance to recover our stolen funds.

      Reply
      • Interesting, thanks for the suggestion. I’m not a big 2+2 guy so I hadn’t heard about this or any other litigation from Game Protect.

        I would even directly link to them, but after reading their statements full of broken English and asking for an upfront $1,500 fee it doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

        I’ll leave that up to those who are owed money from these crooks to make the determination for themselves if they want to join this. Maybe they’ve got a shot at it.

        If I was owed money I would be rankled to pay out some undefined entity without a grasp of English $1,500 BTC with no guarantees. Then again, it’s maybe their only hope. A frustrating dilemma for sure.

        Let’s hope karma’s got a bulls-eye on these pricks.

      • I am a Vietnam I do not understand English. I used google dictionary and have run out of funds in Skrill. I can not do anything.

  3. Unfortunately I do not get my account in the amount of $ 1,034 that I did not get it!
    I ask you what can be done least a case?
    A lot of players fall. possible that this is a big scam
    ever I see this money!
    Is it possible to report them because they at least do not know what to do please help

    Reply
    • Hi Krisztián,

      I’m really sorry to hear that you’ve got money tied up with these scam artists.

      I’ve been warning players about them for about the last 18 months after it became clear they were having difficulty paying out players.

      I was never able to get all of my funds either. I wish you the best, but I’m all but certain that no one is ever going to see a penny from Full Flush.

      Their entire website is gone with a default template page being the only remnant.

      Reply
  4. Nice write-up, Ivan.

    I’ve been around this industry long enough to not believe a word they say. They’re simply buying themselves some time before they figure out the best way to disappear, pushing the pitchforks from players back a few inches.

    This is the exact pattern of previous scams like Pitbull Poker (yes, I’ll never forget those crooks) and Lock.

    I’m personally owed about $2,000, which I’ve been after them about for a year now. In a sign that they’re collapsing my contact there has gone completely silent whereas he would at least try to make excuses and promises previously.

    My last payment from them was $500 about 2 months ago via Bitcoin even though they owed me 5 times that.

    My thoughts are with players that have even more at risk or had a significant part of their bankroll there.

    To me, the worst part is the black eye it gives the industry, fueling the fires of scum like Sheldon Adelson, and dirtying the name of the few legitimate offshore US sites left.

    Shame on Full Flush. I hope we’ll all learn next time and just not trust anyone without much history. I was sucked in again myself and I really should have known better.

    Reply
    • Hi,
      You know its very sad because the Full Flush Poker format is I think the Best on the internet. I have made a lot of friends and had lots of Fun at Full Flush unlike yourself they don’t owe me any monies so I guess I’m lucky in that regard but if they did owe me money I would gladly give it up if it would help keep this site afloat. We need someone like Kerry Packer to take the reins lets hope that Full Flush is on the up and up and return bigger and better
      William
      Australia.

      Reply
      • Hi Josh,
        thanks for the reply and fingers crossed we have some good news very soon
        not looking to good though we have lost live chat now offline since yesterday
        thanks again William . :smile:

      • I wouldn’t hold out much hope, but there’s nothing wrong with optimism.

        Just keep in mind that in 12 years I haven’t seen a single poker site with player payment issues come back after going offline.

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