GameDuell

In rummy, if any player goes out all in one go, the other players will have the total amount of their hand DOUBLED as a negative point value. And no, the game does NOT automatically remove any cards that are legit melds before penalizing you. Also, the game allows for a k-a-2 run, but there is no specific on how much the Ace is worth in runs like that. That's the reason most, if not every, digital rummy game allows EITHER Q-K-A, OR A-2-3, where the ace is either 11 or 1 depending on it's position, but never K-A-2, because scoring that is impossible. And you would not believe the number of times one player somehow gets dealt 3 or 4 wilds, while you get none and a bunch of copies of the same card.

Now, on top of all of that, my browser is suddenly shutting down anytime I try to play Rummy, they're saying it's my fault, not their glitch, so I spent down what I had on my account, and I'll only play their free game calendar from now on. No more deposits for you gameduell, you lousy cheaters

I'm an avid Hearts player andI love the game of Hearts at GameDuell; however, if you play for money, then the odds are really bad. For example, i had to pay a fee of 80 GD$ for a chance to win 120 GD$. That means if i play 3 games and win 2 times i break even. (80 * 3 = 240 for fees vs. 120 * 2= 240 winnings). That's horrible odds when you're playing against others with equal or better skill. I think they should set it up so that a skilled player has a reasonable chance of making money. If you're playing against someone equal or better, then the odds of you winning can't be better than 50/50. GameDuell's high fee requires you to win 2 out of 3 just to break even. Anyone that can do the math will only play at GameDuell if they enjoy losing their money or simply don't care about their money. For players that do the math and value their money - well, i don't imagine those smarter ones will play GameDuell for money very many times... unless they are compulsive gamblers. And that's sad. What kind of people enjoy making money off of others addictive weaknesses Huh?

Personally, if i only had to win say 4 out of 7 to get ahead, then i'd being playing at GameDuell all the time. Yes. I' m that good!

I have not tried to withdraw money (see other posts), 'cause they took all my money -- and yes, I did win a majority of the games i played.

It is popular, but like i said, if you can do the math, you won't be playing for money on that site.

Complete and total rip off! I deposited money played a bit and when I figured out that not only it was impossible to win, but in fact it was designed to make you lose, I tried withdrawing the remaining amount.

They never responded to my withdraw request, when I tried to close my account and withdraw that way, they sent me an e-mail that there is something suspicious about my requests and that someone will contact me.

Some one definitely contacted me TWO MONTHS LATER. They said that unless I provide a whole bunch of sensitive information, they will not let me withdraw my money. At this point I decided to just let them choke on the $15.

Oh, and did I mention that their method for withdraw is through some half-assed service and thats the ONLY service you can use to withdraw, the minimum you can withdraw is higher than the maximum you can deposit (which means that you'll only be able to withdraw if you win)... and the amounts are set up in a way where if you play a game thats worth let's say $0.40 - if you lose the game then you lose $0.40, but if you win the game you get $0.30.

So even if you keep wining and losing equally you're still gonna lose your money.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS SCAM

I've been playing at Gameduell for 5 years. I have to disagree with some of the other reviewers - Gameduell DOES pay out. I have withdrawn money a few times and the payments have always been processed. The payments do take a while though, and more recently they've added extra verification checks which means you are likely to be contacted (by email) and asked to send copies of identity documents. If you don't respond to those emails your payment won't go through and I think your account can be disabled. So as long as you register with your real details, use an email account you actively check, and are prepared to verify your identity when asked, your payment WILL be processed. One time I was actually asked to take videos of myself playing the games because I had consistently high scores, to prove I was really playing and getting those scores. That was annoying, but I have seen hacked scores on there before, so I understand why they had to do it.

There are lots of fun games on Gameduell, and they're quite varied, so you should find plenty that you enjoy or are good at. Also the bonuses are good. You can win a small bonus every single day from playing a free game - anyone who's ever deposited can do this. There are also promotional periods (e.g. Christmas special, Easter special) where you can earn more bonuses. The great thing about the Gameduell bonuses un my opinion is that they don't have the complicated terms & conditions attached that you often see on gaming websites (like having to play through the bonus amount 50 or 100 times). You can't withdraw the bonus directly but as soon as you've used it to enter a game, any winnings are completely yours.

On the bad side... the game fees are in my opinion a bit high. Of the player's entry fees, about 30% is kept by Gameduell and the rest is the winnings (the exact amount changes depending on entry fee). As a poker player I think of this amount as "rake" - obviously this is how they make their money, but it's a pretty high percentage to rake from the winnings pot. It means that 2-player duels are pretty bad value. More players is better value but obviously harder to win! But you can make money from it - I've withdrawn more than I ever put in.

My other main complaint is that the site is not 100% stable and I sometimes get "aborted" games. They're not that common but it's really frustrating because it usually registers as a zero score. If it happens before the game loads then you get automatically refunded. When there are clearly game errors, I've contacted customer services and they have always refunded my entry fee. Customer services can be a bit slow though, so you often have to wait several days to get that money back.

It's not perfect but I've definitely found it to be fair and they're certainly not scammers. I've made a fair amount of money on this site and I half expected them to find an excuse to not pay me, but I've always done everything within the rules and they've always paid out.

I have never had issues with payouts, but the site is essentially designed to allow you to run up a decent balance then lose it back. If you can master every game and stop while you are ahead, you can do well, if you play one game until you are great you have to keep beating people who are marginally better each time, meaning you have less of a chance of winning unless you are improving at a faster rate than your hundreds of opponents at large. I put in $20 once, lost it all then $20 again. I have now pulled out $250 and $300 after winning in almost every game. Sad thing is, now I'm to the point where I am playing at high levels at every game and not beating many people anymore. I may have maxed out my winning potential. They have been fair at refunding as well. No real issues at all other than the ones mentioned above.