These are the best real-money US friendly poker rooms that I've played at.I think they're the most reliable online poker sites for American players as of December 2020 I haven't listed any poker rooms I don't trust, which is why this might be a shorter list than you find at other websites. No-download US poker sites offer American players smooth play, the latest features, vivid graphics, and quick access all the time. We Found the Best US No Download Poker Rooms. Our time in the poker industry has given us a unique insight into what works and what doesn’t. The best US poker sites offer a variety of lower wagering options to keep the good times going and our recommended sites also offer lower deposit/bonus options to suit all players. A bonus is usually easy to clear and all card rooms release it in increments, so that you can see results of your efforts right away. Best Online US Poker Sites. The US online poker landscape consists of one dominant leader (Bovada) and several smaller poker networks competing for the second position. While the selection of US-friendly sites is significantly smaller than it was, say, a decade ago, you still have a few solid options to choose from – here’s what you need to. The worldwide poker boom of 2003 was fuelled by a perfect storm of three disparate events. First, the unlikely World Series of Poker Main Event victory by a Tennessee every man with the equally unlikely name of Chris Moneymaker brought poker into the spotlight, as Americans, and poker players all over the world began to see themselves as could-be millionaires, with an equal shot at winning a.
Top Poker Rooms that Accept US Players in 2020
U.S poker players are faced with some tough decisions because of a more and more limited choice of US poker sites over time. Since 2006, it has become exceedingly difficult to find a quality online site for U.S players to call home. By 2011 the future looked even grimmer, as highly trafficked sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker closed their doors to U.S-based players.
Some have given up their search, and have either quit poker entirely or took their chances at live games. Others left the country, so that they could continue playing on the biggest online sites in the world.
But for the average U.S player, simply packing up and moving to another country wasn’t an option. What they needed was an alternative site. Unfortunately, most sites no longer allowed players from the U.S. Of the ones that did, many of them did not offer ways for U.S players to make deposits. Over the course of the last few years, banks stopped accepting transactions linked to online poker sites, making it almost impossible to use a credit or debit card to deposit funds into a poker account. Poker players from the U.S were quickly running out of options.
Thankfully, there are a handful of sites that are still accepting players from the U.S and offer alternative payment options. The sites listed below are among the best in terms of customer service, game variety, player volume, quick payouts and promotional offers. But most importantly, all of them welcome U.S players with open arms.
Best US Friendly Poker Sites in December 2020
Americas Cardroom, which is part of the Winning Poker Network, offers fast, reliable payouts, stellar customer service and soft competition. It may not possess the traffic or game variety of other sites, but what it lacks in diversity it more than makes up for in trustworthiness. It also uses a dealt rake system, meaning that whether you fold your hand preflop or not, you will receive Rank Points. Americas Cardroom offers a 100% match up to $1,000 on all first-time deposits. The bonus is released in $1.00 increments.
Bovada Poker is one of the biggest U.S friendly sites available. Formerly Bodog, Bovada hosts a myriad of large guaranteed tournaments, including a weekly 100k guaranteed. Its software is faster than any of its competitors and many of its tournaments draw over 2,000 players. This makes for some juicy prize pools. And because Bovada also hosts a sportsbook, there are plenty of beginners and fish looking to gamble it up. Bovada offers players making their first deposit a 100% match up to $500 with no promotional code necessary. Bovada works on a contributed rake system, meaning in order to earn Poker Points, you must see a flop.
BetOnline Poker is part of the Chico Network, and is the single biggest U.S friendly site in its lineup. It also boasts the best promotional offer around. Players who deposit funds on BetOnline will be entitled to a whopping 200% match bonus up to $2,500. Even break-even players will be able to capitalize upon this awesome opportunity. In addition, new players will receive free entry into one of 14 exclusive freerolls. BetOnline Poker’s software is above average, its customer service is excellent and most importantly, it touts more traffic than most US friendly poker sites.
Black Chip Poker is part of the Winning Poker Network. Also like Americas Cardroom, the site offers some of the best customer service found anywhere. Emails and inquiries are almost universally responded to within 24 hours. Payouts are handled quickly and accurately. In addition, Black Chip Poker also gives its first-time players an added bankroll boost of 10 percent (up to $30) upon making a deposit. It also offers a 100% match on deposits up to $1,000. Like Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Pokers works on the player preferred dealt rake system.
Conclusion
All told, there are well over a dozen online poker sites still open to U.S players. And because these sites are trying to attract new players, most of them offer great promotional bonuses. But it’s still important to choose a room with the type of games, customer service and payout options you are looking for.
Most of the rooms not presented on WinningPoker.org have issues. Some of them lack the traffic necessary to easily unlock incremental bonuses. Others are prone to cashiering mistakes and poor customer service. For these reasons it is imperative that you join the largest and most reputable sites around. Be sure to bookmark this site and visit regularly for updates on the state of online poker in the United States. Good luck!
See Also:
Not all poker rooms currently accept US players, but thankfully there's still a handful of reliable places to choose from…
Best US friendly poker sites.
Room | Review | Rating | Traffic | Competition | License | Visit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ignition Poker | A+ | High | Weak | No License | Visit | |
SwC Poker | A | Low | Weak | No License | Visit | |
Americas Cardroom | A | High | Tricky | Cyprus Gaming Authority | Visit | |
Nitrogen Poker | B | Awful | Weak | Costa Rica | Visit |
These are the best real-money US friendly poker roomsthat I've played at. I think they're the most reliable online poker sites for American players as of December 2020 I haven't listed any poker rooms I don't trust, which is why this might be a shorter list than you find at other websites.
Unregulated and regulated states
Due to some states deciding to regulate online poker over recent years, your options for playing poker online vary depending on which state you live in.
Luvin Poker
Here's a colorful map to help you out:
Unregulated
These states have the most freedom. From here you are free to play at 'unregulated' rooms, which are currently the biggest and most popular destinations for playing poker online.
Unregulated sounds like a negative word, but in this context these rooms have the freedom to accept players from multiple states, and so therefore have much bigger player pools. Basically, if you live in one of the green states, you are in the best position for playing online poker because you have access to the busiest online poker rooms available.
The biggest rooms in operation are currently:
Note: All of the US-friendly poker rooms I recommend on this site fall in to the unregulated category. I believe they are the best options for playing poker online if you can get to them. I do not believe regulated sites offer anything better in terms of safety.
Regulated
These states have limited choice. They have regulated online poker, which means they offer poker rooms that only accept players from within the same (or sometimes other regulated) states, and therefore have much lower player traffic.
Regulation sounds like a good thing, but really the primary goal for these states is to be able to profit more directly from the running of online poker. As a result you can only play at the regulated sites (usually), and so you have a much more limited choice in where you can play poker online. For example, these are your options in each of the regulated states:
- Delaware (since 2012): WSOP/888
- Nevada (since 2013): WSOP NV
- New Jersey (since 2013): WSOP/888, PokerStars NJ, Party/Borgata/BetMGM
- Pennsylvania (since 2017): PokerStars PA
- West Virgina (since 2019):(none yet)
- Michigan (since 2019):(none yet)
Top Us Friendly Poker Sites
Ideally it would be good if the whole of the US could pool together at some point, but as it stands the small number of individually regulated states means that you end up playing against a much smaller pool of players than you would otherwise be able to.
Unfortunately the biggest US-friendly online poker rooms tend to avoid accepting players from states with active regulated poker rooms.
Other
These states are in a tricky spot. They do not have regulated online poker rooms yet, but for certain reasons some unregulated sites have chosen not to accept players from these states either.
This is usually because these states either have strong laws against playing poker online (e.g. Washington), or because there's some significant gambling organization already operating in the state (e.g. several state licensed casinos in Maryland). Either way, some unregulated sites feel these states are too risky to open up to, or don't want to step on anyone's toes.
Nonetheless, there are still some decent online poker rooms that accept players from these states:
These rooms are bitcoin-only and are much smaller than the biggest rooms, but they're still worth playing at.
Is it legal to play online poker in the US?
I'm a better poker player than I am a lawyer. So I wouldn't want you to completely trust everything I say on this topic. However, I've been involved with online poker for years, so I'm just going to give you my opinion on playing poker on the the Internet in the US anyway.
Aside from a few states (see below), it appears to be perfectly legal to play online poker for real money in the US. Thousands of American players play online poker for real money every week. No players have ever been arrested.
If online poker is was illegal, the online poker rooms would not be accepting US players. US-facing rooms are vigilant about staying on top of the law. So unless the poker rooms prevents you from creating an account, you are good to go.
It is safe to play online poker in most US states, which is why we have these US friendly poker rooms. If you would like further reassurance from a legal expert in this area, read this article by I. Nelson Rose.
Here's a reassuring quote for you:
You are not going to go to jail for merely playing poker online. It is not a federal crime to make a bet. Half the states do have ancient laws on the books making it a crime, sometimes, to make a bet. But these are never enforced. I have been unable to find anyone who has been charged, let alone convicted, for playing Internet poker.– I. Nelson Rose (Is it safe to play poker online?)
And here's a couple more reassuring quotes from Micheal Bluejay:
No American has ever been arrested, indicted, or prosecuted by the feds for gambling online, because you can't break a non-existent law.– Michael Bluejay (Is online gambling legal in the U.S.?)
Even in states where online gambling is illegal, prosecution is rare and penalties are usually slight.– Michael Bluejay (Penalties for online gambling, state by state)
The UIGEA (2006)
The UIGEA was passed in September 2006. It stands for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and it was attached to the SAFE Port Act. Official details can be found between 31 USC § 5361 and 31 USC § 5367.
Contrary to what some people believe, this did not make online poker illegal. It simply made it a little more difficult to process transactions to and from online poker rooms and online casinos. It does not make the act of playing poker online for real money illegal, so it's not aimed at you.
Black Friday (2011)
On Friday 15th April 2011, the FBI seized the domains of the top 4 US-facing online poker rooms. This is known in the industry as Black Friday. The 4 main affected sites were:
- UB Poker & Absolute Poker
These poker rooms were indicted for apparent bank fraud offenses, although it definitely appeared to just be an attempt to reduce the number of online poker sites that could cater to US citizens. You can't let that kind of money go untaxed, so best to slow the issue down until the Government can think of a solution for getting a slice of the action.
This did nothing to change the legality of online poker -- it simply resulted in these poker rooms no longer accepting or offering real money play to US poker players. This was the biggest change in online poker for US players since the UIGEA came in to effect in September 2006.
The major US poker sites were kicked out, leaving behind a handful of smaller US-facing rooms to soak up the remaining poker players.
US online poker law by state.
Each state has its own laws when it comes to gambling online. Here's a quick overview on playing online poker in the US by state.
States that have big problems with online poker.
- Washington
These states have explicitly stated that online poker is a felony. Some online poker rooms that accept US players have restricted access to players in these states.
States that have issues with online poker.
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- New York
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Wisconsin
These states have issues with online poker and online gambling, but it's a bit of a grey area. It may be the case that there are some sort of laws in place, but they are not heavily enforced. I'm sure that there are many people in these states playing online poker on a regular basis, but there must be some element of risk.
As you may have spotted, I'm not a lawyer, so it's definitely in your best interest to do a bit of research for these particular states. This state by state gambling law summary has a lot of helpful information, so check that out.
Best Freeroll Poker Sites
States that have regulated online poker.
- Delaware
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
- Michigan
These states are beginning to allow regulated online poker through online gambling companies that have acquired permits.
It's early days though, so it's nothing to get excited about. Expect it to be a while before this regulated state-by-state poker situation gains traction and is a worth getting involved in as a serious poker player.
States that seem okay.
- All the rest
As far as I'm aware, the states in white do not seem to have any problems or issues with online poker. You'd obviously want to do a bit of checking around first to be sure, but unless you find anything blindingly obvious on the Internet you're probably fine.
For even more information on the current laws in each individual state (and general thoughts on the risks in each one), have a look at my friend's site: pokerlaws.org/united-states/. He writes more about it than I do, and is also a lot more American than I am.
Carbon Poker Review
Why aren't all poker rooms US friendly?
In short, it's easier for some rooms to operate by not accepting any US players at all. The UIGEA has made processing deposits and withdrawals trickier, so some rooms prefer to stick with non-US players to make their life easier.
Poker companies have limited resources, so some have decided to focus on developing their product and servicing players rather than constantly dealing with difficult payment processing. Other's are happy to put up with the effort. Different poker rooms, different plans and ideas.
There are a lot of poker players outside the US, so some have just decided to focus their attention on other markets.
Best US poker deposit methods.
Although deposit and withdrawal options are slightly limited for US players, it is still easy to add funds and withdraw money from your online poker account. Some of the more popular deposit options for US players include:
- Bitcoin - This is the most utterly restriction-free way to send money across the Internet. You just have to be prepared to put up with the volatility of a fledgling currency. Having said that, I think it's amazing.
- Credit Card - The success rate of this method varies greatly from room to room. It's hit and miss, but worth a shot. VISA cards have the highest success rate.
Different poker rooms will have different deposit and withdrawal methods on offer for you, so don't expect to find the exact same methods everywhere. The poker room will let you know your options in the cashier, so your best bet is to just sign up and see what they've got. They'll usually highlight options for US players.
Note: Don't be surprised to have to pay fees for these methods, and higher ones than players outside of the US might be paying. They're not terriby large, but they're noticeable. If you make a deposit/withdrawal without paying a fee, consider it a bonus.
Other useful links.
As I say, I'm not a lawyer (not yet anyway), so I don't have all the answers. Here are a few helpful pages with more in-depth information:
Go back to the Texas Hold'em rooms.