The Chicago Cubs are not participating in the postseason for the second season in a row. It is largely by design as a retool is going on for the northsiders. However, there are plenty of former Cubs to keep an eye on through the 2022 MLB Playoffs.

On Wednesday, the afternoon featured the San Diego Padres and the Philadelphia Phillies. Yu Darvish made the start for the Padres a night earlier but took the loss. Kyle Schwarber, who had a huge day off of Darvish on Tuesday, was in again on Wednesday.

San Diego erased a 4-0 deficit and now the series is tied at 1-1. It is going to be a great finish that will certainly continue to have some Cubs’ influence.

Later in the night, the New York Yankees (following a huge winner-take-all-game-five victory) took on the Houston Astros. Of course, former Chicago Cubs legend Anthony Rizzo hits right in the middle of their order.

There are plenty of great former Chicago Cubs playing in the 2022 postseason.

In this game one of the series, Rizzo hit a big home run which was his second of the playoffs. The Astros had a 4-1 lead at that point so it just brought it up to 4-2 which would hold as the final score. Although it was nice for Rizzo to get that big hit, it wasn’t enough for his team to win.

The Astros are trying to get into the World Series for the second straight year and the fourth time since the Cubs won it all in 2016. It is an impressive run for a team that takes a lot of heat off the field for obvious reasons.

The NLCS and ALCS have been magnificent so far and there is a lot more to come. Rizzo’s Yankees trail the Astros 1-0 in the series and as mentioned before, the NL series is tied at one all.

Game two of the ALCS takes place on Thursday night as the Astros will host the Yankees again. On Friday, the National League Championship Series will transition over to Philadelphia. It is going to be great to see a series this big return back to the City of Brotherly Love.

For Cubs fans, watching Schwarber, Rizzo, and Darvish play is going to be fun in addition to some other greats like Aaron Judge, Jose Altuve, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, and Manny Machado. Playoff baseball, no matter what, is so amazing.

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INSIDE MCALISTER FIELDHOUSE on The Citadel’s campus in Charleston, South Carolina, all eyes are fixed on a conversation between Joel Embiid and P.J. Tucker.

For the second straight day of training camp in late September, the new Philadelphia 76ers teammates engaged in a long — and loud — discussion over basketball tactics. Among today’s topics: How Tucker and the Miami Heat suffocated Embiid in the post during last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals.

Tucker gestures how he fronted Embiid in the paint — doing everything he could to make his life difficult before he even got the ball in his hands — and ways Embiid could counter.

“Every day [we work on] ways to combat everything he does,” Tucker said. “And me guarding him now and trying to help him out, understand the reads of what people want to do, that’s what it’s about.

“It’s knowing that, and being ready for it all.”

Tucker’s not alone. For the past several years, the 76ers have tried to optimize Embiid’s prime with hopes of deep postseason runs. But each time, flawed roster constructions have prevented the kind of breakthrough that normally follows a perennial MVP finalist.

There was Embiid’s ultimately doomed partnership with Ben Simmons, a point guard whose lack of a reliable jump shot forced the 76ers to build offenses in which pick-and-rolls — the lifeblood of the modern NBA — were rare occurrences.

There was the disastrous yearlong pairing with fellow big man Al Horford, the player who gave Embiid fits for years with the Boston Celtics and gave him almost as many as a teammate.

2 Related

And there has been a series of one-way players over the years, from Matisse Thybulle and Seth Curry to Marco Belinelli and T.J. McConnell, who have helped win plenty of regular-season games but are the kinds of targets — at one end of the floor or the other — that Eastern Conference playoff teams routinely exploited.

This summer, the 76ers were determined to change that. They re-signed superstar and elite pick-and-roll partner James Harden at a discount big enough to also land free agents Tucker and Danuel House Jr., two rugged defenders who can knock down open 3-pointers.

Philly traded injured guard Danny Green and a first-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for De’Anthony Melton, adding another high-octane perimeter defender to a roster that lacked them last season.

Philadelphia enters its first full season with one of the best pick-and-roll tandems in the league, quality 3-point shooting to give Embiid ample space to operate and enough versatile defenders to attack opponents.

Put it all together, and the 76ers — despite a rocky first impression Tuesday — are deeper, more balanced and better constructed around their 7-foot anchor than at any point in The Process era.

“There’s no weak links around the horn,” Tucker said. “You want to [pick on] somebody? Go ahead. We got everybody.”

SIMPLY BREAKING THROUGH to the East finals — a feat the 76ers haven’t accomplished in more than 20 years — means nothing to Embiid.

“The whole notion of getting to the first round, second round, conference finals, Finals, that don’t matter,” Embiid said. “If you don’t win it all, it doesn’t matter why you lost. It probably makes it even worse … you feel like you just frickin’ wasted time.

“‘Congrats, you made it to the conference finals. Congrats, you made it to the Finals.’ Did you win anything? Nope.”

P.J. Tucker, left, and the Heat knocked out Joel Embiid and the 76ers in the second round last season. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Some of those failures can be attributed to untimely injuries to Embiid: an orbital bone fracture colliding with a teammate in 2018 and facial fracture and thumb injuries suffered last spring. One playoff defeat can be blamed on the Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard, whose miracle four-bounce buzzer-beater in Game 7 stunned the 76ers in the 2019 East semifinals.

But much of the burden falls on a poor design — namely, various roster constructions surrounding Embiid: the awkward fits with Simmons or Horford, the accumulation of too many limited role players or even the decision to move on from Jimmy Butler after that heartbreaking loss to the Raptors.

No matter what formula Philadelphia tried, the result was the same: an early playoff exit. Changing the fit around Embiid, and in turn changing the 76ers’ playoff fortune, has been president of basketball operations Daryl Morey’s mission since he was hired by the franchise two years ago.

After the collapse against the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, and the subsequent trade request by Simmons, Morey bided his time before moving on the Simmons-Harden swap in the final hours before the February trade deadline.

It didn’t take long for the two stars to begin to find chemistry.

Embiid and Harden ran the second most pick-and-rolls in the league after the All-Star break, with only Hawks duo Trae Young and Clint Capela accounting for more. Philadelphia’s star tandem averaged 1.15 points per direct pick on those plays, per ESPN’s Stats & Information research — the fifth-best mark among the 39 pairings that ran at least 150 such plays.

WednesdayKnicks-Grizzlies, 7:30 p.m.Mavs-Suns, 10 p.m.

FridayCeltics-Heat, 7:30 p.m.Nuggets-Warriors, 10 p.m.

*All times Eastern

Harden’s arrival raised Philadelphia’s ceiling, but it wasn’t enough on its own to change the franchise’s playoff fate. Harden, who has infamously flamed out in numerous playoffs, had his struggles for the 76ers, including a 4-for-9 stinker in Philadelphia’s season-ending Game 6 loss to Miami last season.

Morey identified another issue: 76ers coach Rivers was hamstrung by too many specialists surrounding his stars.

“[What] we saw in the playoffs was our inability to play both ends,” Morey said. “Like when Doc had to go to the bench, it was choosing all offense, no defense or all defense, no offense.

“That gets pretty challenging in the playoffs.”

It turned out, however, that both Morey and Embiid had a similar solution in mind. Enter Tucker, a versatile lockdown 3-and-D wing who had been part of the Houston Rockets with Morey and Harden for several seasons. After that Game 6 loss, Embiid said he’d never played with someone like Tucker before, citing his defensive energy and toughness.

Tucker, Melton and House have supplanted Thybulle, Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz — three players who got significant minutes during the playoffs last year — in Philadelphia’s rotation.

“I do think Joel set the tone very helpfully for my negotiations [with Tucker],” Morey said with a laugh. “Asking for a specific player … I would ask all future 76ers to please don’t do that.”

EMBIID HAS ECHOED a similar retort whenever referencing the hype surrounding the 76ers’ revamped roster in the lead-up to the season.

“We have a long way to go.”

Tuesday, when Philadelphia opened its season with a 126-117 loss inside TD Garden against the defending East champion Celtics, Embiid’s words of caution proved prophetic.

The Celtics, playing without injured starting center Robert Williams III, beat the 76ers with the quickness created by their smaller lineups. Boston outscored Philadelphia by a 24-2 margin in fast-break points — a disparity so staggering that Embiid double-checked it on the box score during his postgame news conference.

“It starts defensively,” Embiid said. “Really, it’s all about defense. We scored, whatever, 117 [points], and we were not good offensively today.

“We didn’t get any stops all night. So, that’s where it starts. I think we’ve got potential. But every possession we’ve got to play hard, and have each other’s backs.”

There were flashes of optimism for Embiid and Philadelphia. Even with the elite defenders Boston can throw at teams — including reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart — Harden and Embiid found success operating in the pick-and-roll.

Late in the second quarter, Harden came around an Embiid pick and dropped a pocket pass that Embiid caught and finished over a fouling Celtics forward Noah Vonleh. On another play midway through the third, Harden came around another screen and expertly faked the defense into giving up a wide-open floater.

“We’ve got to find ways to get into that action more,” Harden said postgame.

Embiid bemoaned the ball sticking too much and the 76ers falling into old habits. He was right to: According to Second Spectrum, Philadelphia had a 3.5-second average touch length against Boston, the team’s third-highest mark in a game since the start of last season.

Still, despite how ugly things looked for Embiid and the 76ers Tuesday night, he and Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown all had the same message: It was the first of 82 games.

But while it was the first of 82 for a battle-tested Celtics core coming off an NBA Finals appearance, it was the first regular-season action for Philadelphia’s revamped roster — an experience gap Embiid said only time can shrink.

“That’s a team that just went to the Finals, and they’ve been together for so many years,” Embiid said postgame. “We still felt new, with a lot of new guys trying to find the right fit and the right way to play.

“We’ll be fine.”

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Ashley Madison has developed a notorious reputation over the years. As the first popular dating site for extra-marital affairs, it has generated its share of press. But regardless of what people say, it’s a popular dating site full of people looking to broaden their horizons. In this review, we’ll let you know whether it’s for you.

Whether you’re single, attached, or looking to experiment, Ashley Madison might have just what you’re looking for. With its wealth of “available” candidates, you’ll have no trouble finding hookups if you approach the site the right way. We’ll cover everything you need to know with our brand new 2022 Ashley Madison review, starting with a comprehensive outline of how the site works, and then jumping into detailed first-hand accounts of Ashley Madison users. 

But if you want a brief synopsis, check out the pros and cons of Ashley Madison:

Pros

–Very active community: Ashley Madison claims to have more female users than male.

–Easy to find a consistent hookup or a fling: Users on Ashley Madison are there for a reason. They aren’t messing around!

–Intuitive interface and design: Easy to navigate the platform even if you don’t use social media often.

–Discreet and anonymous: Users can opt for anonymous profiles (with fake user info), discreet billing, discreet payment methods, and discreet desktop and mobile app access.

Cons

–There are scammers on Ashley Madison, but they are easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for.

–Data breach occurred in 2015. It has since been resolved, but users are understandably wary.

–Quite expensive: See below for details on the credit system.

–Complicated pricing structure: Ashley Madison uses a combination of credits and subscriptions to charge members. It can be difficult to keep track of how much you are actually spending.

The Sign-Up Process

Registration on Ashley Madison is simple and doesn’t cost anything. You only have to provide the basics: age, marital status, height, weight, etc. Then, you’re free to browse profiles to find someone to hook up with.

You do need to provide an e-mail address, but it’s a good idea to use a separate account that does not include your real name or any identifying information.

What Can I Do For Free?

First thing’s first, if you’re not ready to make a (financial) commitment to Ashley Madison just yet, how can you get your feet wet without dropping your credit card info? There are a few ways to try out the site for free, especially for women. If you’re a man, your options are limited, but there are still a couple. Simply put, if you want to get the most out of Ashley Madison, you have to be willing to pay.

Free Sign-Up: Ashley Madison offers free sign-up. In other words, you don’t have to give your credit card info to open an account. Ashley Madison allows you to make an account, fill in your details, and start to use a basic version of the website for free. You can browse profiles and have a look around the site. You can search users depending on your preferences, and you can see which users are ready to interact in your area. Men can send one free message upon registration, but they’ll have to buy credits to continue the conversation after the initial message.

After this, as you might expect, you need to start paying to continue interacting with other users. Men need to purchase “credits” to start messaging and establishing connections with users. Below, we’ll outline the payment system, including the credit process, in detail. 

Free Messaging for Women: Ashley Madison offers free messaging for female users. The entire site is free for female users, which is one of the reasons Ashley Madison can maintain such a strong female user base. So, if you’re a woman, then your free Ashley Madison options are plentiful. You can send chats, open chats, initiate conversations, and more. The interactivity that men have to pay for, women will receive for free.

If you happen to be a male user, there are much more minimal free options, which include:

Your Free Options are Limited: Basically, that’s about it in terms of free options for men who want to use Ashley Madison! It is very much a “paid” service. Male users need to purchase credits to interact with other users (along with a few subscription options). Because of this, Ashley Madison will cost you more depending on how much you want to use the platform and how many users you intend on messaging.

If you’re a man using Ashley Madison, you’re going to need to pay. Next, we’ll explain the convoluted system in more detail.

What’s the Credit System?

Instead of a subscription model, Ashley Madison has opted for a credit system. Men using the platform need to pay for credits to interact with other users. Credits are more affordable the more you buy, and different actions require a different number of credits. It’s a bit complicated because Ashley Madison wants you to spend more money on their platform! Luckily, considering what you can potentially get out of the deal, it can be well worth it.

On one hand, it’s great that you only need to pay for the services you use. On the other hand, it’s still pricey!

Women, though, can do everything on the Ashley Madison platform for free, which is how Ashley Madison maintains such an active user base.

Signing Up: Signing up for Ashley Madison is completely free, and you don’t even have to give your credit card info. You also don’t have to use your real name or address. Some users choose not to use a profile picture, although this might make meeting people difficult!

How Much Do Credits Cost?

On the Ashley Madison home screen, you’ll see a big, brightly colored button that says “BUY CREDITS.” If you can’t tell by now, they want you to take out the credit card!

Credit costs are subject to change and might also depend on your region or be affected by sales and promotions. Here’s a general idea of what you can expect credits to cost:

Credits are sold in bulk, with Basic, Classic, and Elite plans:

–Basic gets you 100 credits for $59, or $0.59/credit.

–Classic (their most popular plan) gets you 500 credits for $169.00, or $0.34/credit.

–Elite gets you 1,000 credits for $289.00, or $0.29 per credit.

oNOTE: AnElite plan also nets you access to an “Ashley Madison Premium,” which gives you 24 hours of free chat, and “Priority Man” status. Priority Man puts your name higher in search results, making it easier for interested seekers to find your account.

After you’ve purchased credits, Ashley Madison will prompt you to automatically “Top Up” your credits each month. In other words, they want you to set up automatic payment when your credits run low. We’d advise against this, but it’s your call.

Member Initiated Contact Fee: Upon purchasing credits, Ashley Madison prompts you to sign up for a Member Initiated Contact Fee (MIC fee), allowing you to view and respond to messages sent to you by other members for free (without using any credits). MIC is free for the first month and $29.99/month after that. It’s optional, and you can choose to use credits to respond to these messages instead. If you’re a very active user, this might save you money in the long run.

What Can I Do With Credits?

As you can see, Ashley Madison’s credit plans are pricey. But it’s even more difficult to know how pricey until you know what you can do with them! Unfortunately, the credit system isn’t so straightforward.

It costs you five credits each time you send a message or open one sent by another user. Then, it will cost you credits depending on the time spent chatting with that user. You get charged 50 credits per hour of live chat with another user, and Ashley Madison will ding you another 30 credits once the hour is up, and another 20 credits once that hour is up.

Ashley Madison also allows you to send “virtual gifts” to catch the attention of other users. These gifts cost, you guessed it, credits. Depending on the gift, it will cost a different number of credits but typically ranges between 20, 30, and 50 credits.

Basically, as a man on the platform, you can expect every interaction you have to cost you credits. You can view your balance at any time, and you’re also free to re-up on credits at any time.

Bottom Line – How Much Does Ashley Madison Cost?

If you can’t tell by now, Ashley Madison is expensive. Well, if you’re a man, that is. Of course, just how expensive depends on how active you are on the platform. If you plan to message several users, carry on conversations, and maintain these connections, you can expect to spend a pretty penny. Many users spend hundreds of dollars per month on the site.

Luckily, you only have to spend as much as you want. Once you find a hookup, you’re free to stop using Ashley Madison’s services. For this reason, in the next section, we examine how easy it is to find a hookup on Ashley Madison.

Using Ashley Madison to Find a Hookup

So far, we’ve examined the platform and taken a detailed look at how much it’s going to cost you. The big question is, how easy is it to use Ashley Madison to find a hookup?

As long as you’re ready to spend some cash on the platform itself, Ashley Madison is an excellent place to find a hookup. Ashley Madison lets you sign up as attached, single, seeking males, females, or anything in between. People on Ashley Madison haven’t taken that decision lightly. They know what they want and are not ashamed to look for it (but they’ll still be discreet). If you want a hookup and want it to be discreet, Ashley Madison is a great place to find it.

People on Ashley Madison are not afraid to tell you what they’re looking for, and they’re not looking to mess around. They’re there for a reason, and they’re not going to waste their time on someone who isn’t looking for the same. Just check out some of the profiles we found:

So, as long as you’re there for the same reason, we think you’ll find success.

That said, as with most dating sites, you need to initiate contact if you want to find what you’re looking for. Ashley Madison makes it very easy to browse user profiles and find like-minded people who share your interests and want the same thing as you.

After that, send them a message, and you can spark something from there.

Of course, as with any dating site, not everyone will be interested in you. For this reason, we can’t say you’re guaranteed to find a hookup on Ashley Madison because that’s a two-way street. If people aren’t interested, then they aren’t interested. But we can say that many users on Ashley Madison are looking for hookups ranging from casual (most) to serious (some) and everything in between. If you take the effort to present yourself well, be up-front about what you’re looking for, and engage users in an approachable manner, we think you can find success too.

Ashley Madison is the world’s largest hookup site for those seeking an extramarital affair (or something else). If that’s what you’re after, you can find it there. But, as with any hookup site, the onus is on you to build your success.

So, Does Ashley Madison Work, Or Is It a Scam?

What do we think about Ashley Madison? Ashley Madison is “as-advertised.” It’s a hookup site that is full of real people looking for extramarital affairs and more. If that’s what you’re after, then it’s extremely tough to beat Ashley Madison. Nowhere else will you find a more active user base, and nowhere else will you find a platform that has been built to maintain such discretion.

That said, it’s not free. It’s very expensive. We might as well tell you that now because any user of Ashley Madison will learn it eventually. For the most part, the credit system allows you to only pay for what you use (although the MIC and Priority Man subscriptions can alter that), but just about every action on Ashley Madison costs credits. In other words, if you’re looking to use the site to its fullest, and to interact with many different users, then expect to spend money.

All that said, if you want a no-nonsense platform to find what you’re looking for, you can’t beat Ashley Madison. Here are some tips to safely get the most out of the experience.

Be Up-Front About Expectations: We’ve said it before, but it’s worth restating. Be up-front about what you’re looking for. Ashley Madison users aren’t there to mess around, and you shouldn’t be either. Be up-front about the exact kind of relationship you are looking for. People appreciate this honesty and it makes it much less likely for everything to blow up in your face if you’re straight-up with other users.

Be Yourself: Yeah, we know, it’s a cliché. Be yourself, don’t lie and pretend to be someone else. You can’t fake it in the long run, so you may as well be honest about who you are and what you’re looking for.

Carefully Craft Your Profile: This is true of any dating site, not just Ashley Madison. Your profile is your “billboard” that you’re putting out there for the world to see. It’s everyone’s first impression, and it’s often the make or break for whether someone even responds to your message. You want your profile to build you up, but be careful that it’s not too misleading! After all, if you’re a letdown in real life, then it won’t have been worth it anyway. Talk yourself up, but don’t lie. Use flattering pictures, but be sure that they’re current. People expect you to brag on a dating profile, but they don’t expect you to bald-faced lie.

Is Ashley Madison Legit? Yes, Ashley Madison is “legit” as long as you keep your expectations in check. Most of the time people asking these questions want to know whether the site is full of real users there because they want to hook up. For the most part, it’s a yes, although you’ll have to watch out for scammers who want your money (which is the case with just about any dating site). Check out our section below for advice on dealing with scammers.

Ashley Madison is a real place where users come to hook up and to seek an extramarital affair. If that’s what you want, then it’s very much legit.

A Few Tips To Have the Best Experience

Before we wrap up, here are some general hookup site tips. We’ve gathered these tips from experience, and they’re especially relevant to Ashley Madison:

Beware of Scammers: Yes, there are scammers on Ashley Madison, just as there are on just about any dating site. Scammers are fake profiles that aren’t looking to hook up and are generally just looking to get you to spend money on them. They’re unavoidable on hookup sites. Beware of profiles that look “too perfect” or users who are way too over-eager. Ashley Madison does their best to ban these users, but they can’t get them all.

Be careful, and be aware. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Watch Your Credits: Ashley Madison is a for-profit business. It’s designed to make you spend money. Not only that, since you are spending “credits” and not dollars, it’s easy to lose track of how much real money you have spent. Keep a careful eye on your credits and have a keen understanding of the payment system before you start (see our section above). Ashley Madison will also tempt you to sign up for “automatic top-ups” of your credits, and we’d advise against that.

Remember, It’s Not Easy: We’re not here to pass judgment on anyone, and everyone has their reasons for seeking an affair. We’ll just let you know that it’s often not easy. Be sure you put the proper thought into it and be sure it’s what you want. People have certainly faced repercussions from Ashley Madison, both emotional and real. Just be sure that you’ve thought it through, and that’s all we’ll say. This is an article about Ashley Madison; we had to mention it at some point!

The Final Verdict

The bottom line, is Ashley Madison worth it? Well, if you’re looking for what the website offers, then yes! Ashley Madison is the most active, discreet, and legitimate network you can find if you’re looking for an extramarital affair. It’s expensive, especially if you’re a man, so be prepared for that. But if you’re looking for what’s offered by Ashley Madison, then you truly can’t beat it as a hookup destination.

Read More

Ashley Madison has developed a notorious reputation over the years. As the first popular dating site for extra-marital affairs, it has generated its share of press. But regardless of what people say, it’s a popular dating site full of people looking to broaden their horizons. In this review, we’ll let you know whether it’s for you.

Whether you’re single, attached, or looking to experiment, Ashley Madison might have just what you’re looking for. With its wealth of “available” candidates, you’ll have no trouble finding hookups if you approach the site the right way. We’ll cover everything you need to know with our brand new 2022 Ashley Madison review, starting with a comprehensive outline of how the site works, and then jumping into detailed first-hand accounts of Ashley Madison users. 

But if you want a brief synopsis, check out the pros and cons of Ashley Madison:

Pros

–Very active community: Ashley Madison claims to have more female users than male.

–Easy to find a consistent hookup or a fling: Users on Ashley Madison are there for a reason. They aren’t messing around!

–Intuitive interface and design: Easy to navigate the platform even if you don’t use social media often.

–Discreet and anonymous: Users can opt for anonymous profiles (with fake user info), discreet billing, discreet payment methods, and discreet desktop and mobile app access.

Cons

–There are scammers on Ashley Madison, but they are easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for.

–Data breach occurred in 2015. It has since been resolved, but users are understandably wary.

–Quite expensive: See below for details on the credit system.

–Complicated pricing structure: Ashley Madison uses a combination of credits and subscriptions to charge members. It can be difficult to keep track of how much you are actually spending.

The Sign-Up Process

Registration on Ashley Madison is simple and doesn’t cost anything. You only have to provide the basics: age, marital status, height, weight, etc. Then, you’re free to browse profiles to find someone to hook up with.

You do need to provide an e-mail address, but it’s a good idea to use a separate account that does not include your real name or any identifying information.

What Can I Do For Free?

First thing’s first, if you’re not ready to make a (financial) commitment to Ashley Madison just yet, how can you get your feet wet without dropping your credit card info? There are a few ways to try out the site for free, especially for women. If you’re a man, your options are limited, but there are still a couple. Simply put, if you want to get the most out of Ashley Madison, you have to be willing to pay.

Free Sign-Up: Ashley Madison offers free sign-up. In other words, you don’t have to give your credit card info to open an account. Ashley Madison allows you to make an account, fill in your details, and start to use a basic version of the website for free. You can browse profiles and have a look around the site. You can search users depending on your preferences, and you can see which users are ready to interact in your area. Men can send one free message upon registration, but they’ll have to buy credits to continue the conversation after the initial message.

After this, as you might expect, you need to start paying to continue interacting with other users. Men need to purchase “credits” to start messaging and establishing connections with users. Below, we’ll outline the payment system, including the credit process, in detail. 

Free Messaging for Women: Ashley Madison offers free messaging for female users. The entire site is free for female users, which is one of the reasons Ashley Madison can maintain such a strong female user base. So, if you’re a woman, then your free Ashley Madison options are plentiful. You can send chats, open chats, initiate conversations, and more. The interactivity that men have to pay for, women will receive for free.

If you happen to be a male user, there are much more minimal free options, which include:

Your Free Options are Limited: Basically, that’s about it in terms of free options for men who want to use Ashley Madison! It is very much a “paid” service. Male users need to purchase credits to interact with other users (along with a few subscription options). Because of this, Ashley Madison will cost you more depending on how much you want to use the platform and how many users you intend on messaging.

If you’re a man using Ashley Madison, you’re going to need to pay. Next, we’ll explain the convoluted system in more detail.

What’s the Credit System?

Instead of a subscription model, Ashley Madison has opted for a credit system. Men using the platform need to pay for credits to interact with other users. Credits are more affordable the more you buy, and different actions require a different number of credits. It’s a bit complicated because Ashley Madison wants you to spend more money on their platform! Luckily, considering what you can potentially get out of the deal, it can be well worth it.

On one hand, it’s great that you only need to pay for the services you use. On the other hand, it’s still pricey!

Women, though, can do everything on the Ashley Madison platform for free, which is how Ashley Madison maintains such an active user base.

Signing Up: Signing up for Ashley Madison is completely free, and you don’t even have to give your credit card info. You also don’t have to use your real name or address. Some users choose not to use a profile picture, although this might make meeting people difficult!

How Much Do Credits Cost?

On the Ashley Madison home screen, you’ll see a big, brightly colored button that says “BUY CREDITS.” If you can’t tell by now, they want you to take out the credit card!

Credit costs are subject to change and might also depend on your region or be affected by sales and promotions. Here’s a general idea of what you can expect credits to cost:

Credits are sold in bulk, with Basic, Classic, and Elite plans:

–Basic gets you 100 credits for $59, or $0.59/credit.

–Classic (their most popular plan) gets you 500 credits for $169.00, or $0.34/credit.

–Elite gets you 1,000 credits for $289.00, or $0.29 per credit.

oNOTE: AnElite plan also nets you access to an “Ashley Madison Premium,” which gives you 24 hours of free chat, and “Priority Man” status. Priority Man puts your name higher in search results, making it easier for interested seekers to find your account.

After you’ve purchased credits, Ashley Madison will prompt you to automatically “Top Up” your credits each month. In other words, they want you to set up automatic payment when your credits run low. We’d advise against this, but it’s your call.

Member Initiated Contact Fee: Upon purchasing credits, Ashley Madison prompts you to sign up for a Member Initiated Contact Fee (MIC fee), allowing you to view and respond to messages sent to you by other members for free (without using any credits). MIC is free for the first month and $29.99/month after that. It’s optional, and you can choose to use credits to respond to these messages instead. If you’re a very active user, this might save you money in the long run.

What Can I Do With Credits?

As you can see, Ashley Madison’s credit plans are pricey. But it’s even more difficult to know how pricey until you know what you can do with them! Unfortunately, the credit system isn’t so straightforward.

It costs you five credits each time you send a message or open one sent by another user. Then, it will cost you credits depending on the time spent chatting with that user. You get charged 50 credits per hour of live chat with another user, and Ashley Madison will ding you another 30 credits once the hour is up, and another 20 credits once that hour is up.

Ashley Madison also allows you to send “virtual gifts” to catch the attention of other users. These gifts cost, you guessed it, credits. Depending on the gift, it will cost a different number of credits but typically ranges between 20, 30, and 50 credits.

Basically, as a man on the platform, you can expect every interaction you have to cost you credits. You can view your balance at any time, and you’re also free to re-up on credits at any time.

Bottom Line – How Much Does Ashley Madison Cost?

If you can’t tell by now, Ashley Madison is expensive. Well, if you’re a man, that is. Of course, just how expensive depends on how active you are on the platform. If you plan to message several users, carry on conversations, and maintain these connections, you can expect to spend a pretty penny. Many users spend hundreds of dollars per month on the site.

Luckily, you only have to spend as much as you want. Once you find a hookup, you’re free to stop using Ashley Madison’s services. For this reason, in the next section, we examine how easy it is to find a hookup on Ashley Madison.

Using Ashley Madison to Find a Hookup

So far, we’ve examined the platform and taken a detailed look at how much it’s going to cost you. The big question is, how easy is it to use Ashley Madison to find a hookup?

As long as you’re ready to spend some cash on the platform itself, Ashley Madison is an excellent place to find a hookup. Ashley Madison lets you sign up as attached, single, seeking males, females, or anything in between. People on Ashley Madison haven’t taken that decision lightly. They know what they want and are not ashamed to look for it (but they’ll still be discreet). If you want a hookup and want it to be discreet, Ashley Madison is a great place to find it.

People on Ashley Madison are not afraid to tell you what they’re looking for, and they’re not looking to mess around. They’re there for a reason, and they’re not going to waste their time on someone who isn’t looking for the same. Just check out some of the profiles we found:

So, as long as you’re there for the same reason, we think you’ll find success.

That said, as with most dating sites, you need to initiate contact if you want to find what you’re looking for. Ashley Madison makes it very easy to browse user profiles and find like-minded people who share your interests and want the same thing as you.

After that, send them a message, and you can spark something from there.

Of course, as with any dating site, not everyone will be interested in you. For this reason, we can’t say you’re guaranteed to find a hookup on Ashley Madison because that’s a two-way street. If people aren’t interested, then they aren’t interested. But we can say that many users on Ashley Madison are looking for hookups ranging from casual (most) to serious (some) and everything in between. If you take the effort to present yourself well, be up-front about what you’re looking for, and engage users in an approachable manner, we think you can find success too.

Ashley Madison is the world’s largest hookup site for those seeking an extramarital affair (or something else). If that’s what you’re after, you can find it there. But, as with any hookup site, the onus is on you to build your success.

So, Does Ashley Madison Work, Or Is It a Scam?

What do we think about Ashley Madison? Ashley Madison is “as-advertised.” It’s a hookup site that is full of real people looking for extramarital affairs and more. If that’s what you’re after, then it’s extremely tough to beat Ashley Madison. Nowhere else will you find a more active user base, and nowhere else will you find a platform that has been built to maintain such discretion.

That said, it’s not free. It’s very expensive. We might as well tell you that now because any user of Ashley Madison will learn it eventually. For the most part, the credit system allows you to only pay for what you use (although the MIC and Priority Man subscriptions can alter that), but just about every action on Ashley Madison costs credits. In other words, if you’re looking to use the site to its fullest, and to interact with many different users, then expect to spend money.

All that said, if you want a no-nonsense platform to find what you’re looking for, you can’t beat Ashley Madison. Here are some tips to safely get the most out of the experience.

Be Up-Front About Expectations: We’ve said it before, but it’s worth restating. Be up-front about what you’re looking for. Ashley Madison users aren’t there to mess around, and you shouldn’t be either. Be up-front about the exact kind of relationship you are looking for. People appreciate this honesty and it makes it much less likely for everything to blow up in your face if you’re straight-up with other users.

Be Yourself: Yeah, we know, it’s a cliché. Be yourself, don’t lie and pretend to be someone else. You can’t fake it in the long run, so you may as well be honest about who you are and what you’re looking for.

Carefully Craft Your Profile: This is true of any dating site, not just Ashley Madison. Your profile is your “billboard” that you’re putting out there for the world to see. It’s everyone’s first impression, and it’s often the make or break for whether someone even responds to your message. You want your profile to build you up, but be careful that it’s not too misleading! After all, if you’re a letdown in real life, then it won’t have been worth it anyway. Talk yourself up, but don’t lie. Use flattering pictures, but be sure that they’re current. People expect you to brag on a dating profile, but they don’t expect you to bald-faced lie.

Is Ashley Madison Legit? Yes, Ashley Madison is “legit” as long as you keep your expectations in check. Most of the time people asking these questions want to know whether the site is full of real users there because they want to hook up. For the most part, it’s a yes, although you’ll have to watch out for scammers who want your money (which is the case with just about any dating site). Check out our section below for advice on dealing with scammers.

Ashley Madison is a real place where users come to hook up and to seek an extramarital affair. If that’s what you want, then it’s very much legit.

A Few Tips To Have the Best Experience

Before we wrap up, here are some general hookup site tips. We’ve gathered these tips from experience, and they’re especially relevant to Ashley Madison:

Beware of Scammers: Yes, there are scammers on Ashley Madison, just as there are on just about any dating site. Scammers are fake profiles that aren’t looking to hook up and are generally just looking to get you to spend money on them. They’re unavoidable on hookup sites. Beware of profiles that look “too perfect” or users who are way too over-eager. Ashley Madison does their best to ban these users, but they can’t get them all.

Be careful, and be aware. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Watch Your Credits: Ashley Madison is a for-profit business. It’s designed to make you spend money. Not only that, since you are spending “credits” and not dollars, it’s easy to lose track of how much real money you have spent. Keep a careful eye on your credits and have a keen understanding of the payment system before you start (see our section above). Ashley Madison will also tempt you to sign up for “automatic top-ups” of your credits, and we’d advise against that.

Remember, It’s Not Easy: We’re not here to pass judgment on anyone, and everyone has their reasons for seeking an affair. We’ll just let you know that it’s often not easy. Be sure you put the proper thought into it and be sure it’s what you want. People have certainly faced repercussions from Ashley Madison, both emotional and real. Just be sure that you’ve thought it through, and that’s all we’ll say. This is an article about Ashley Madison; we had to mention it at some point!

The Final Verdict

The bottom line, is Ashley Madison worth it? Well, if you’re looking for what the website offers, then yes! Ashley Madison is the most active, discreet, and legitimate network you can find if you’re looking for an extramarital affair. It’s expensive, especially if you’re a man, so be prepared for that. But if you’re looking for what’s offered by Ashley Madison, then you truly can’t beat it as a hookup destination.

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