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U.S. Poker Sites Shut Down! Best Legal U.S. Poker Relevant pages:

Several popular poker sites have been shut down recently. There are now very few legal online U.S. poker sites.
If you would like to play online poker legally, then you can view our list of LEGAL U.S. POKER SITES.

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USA Poker Sites

Page summary: List of our top rated online poker sites for USA players. Best U.S. poker sites ranked by ease and security of transactions, game play, and game variety and quality.

USA Poker Sites - Best Poker Sites for U.S. Players in 2024

**** Do you want to play online poker and you are a US citizen, click here to sign up at BetOnline Poker. They accept US credit cards & eChecks. ****

Online poker has been slightly different for US players since the 2006 UIGEA US legislation was passed. The legislation regulated online gambling and forced some sites to no longer accept US players, such as Party Poker. However, there are a number of poker sites out there that do currently allow US players. The best poker site for US players is BetOnline.com

Why Are These The Best U.S. Online Poker Sites?

The USA poker sites below are the best opportunities for players in the US looking to play online poker. If you're looking for high traffic volume and huge payout opportunities, stick with BetOnline. If you're looking for a good beginner poker room with fairly weak competition and tournaments to reflect that, check out Sportsbetting.ag. Both of these sites offer excellent Hold'em cash games for US players as well as 24/7 live support and fast payouts. Both sites have advantages and disadvantages. BetOnline has a fairly basic software platform, however they offer casino and sports betting from your poker account. They also accept all credit card deposits and your bonus is instant. On the other hand, Sportsbetting.ag offers a fantastic software platform with over six different game variants and loads of user options. Lock is just large enough to host some big poker tournaments and just small enough to have a lot of soft games.

Rank Poker Site Bonus Amount Bonus Code play poker online Start Playing play poker online
1 100% up to $2000 *Use Link IgnitionCasino.eu
2 100% up to $1000 *Use Link Bovada.eu
3 100% up to $2500 *Use Link BetOnline.com
4 100% up to $600 *Use Link Intertops.com
5 100% up to $2500 *Use Link SportsBetting
6 100% up to $2000 *Use Link America's Cardroom
7 100% up to $2000 *Use Link Blackchip Poker

The Top Rated USA Online Poker Rooms

We have listed our top rated poker sites for USA players. Read below to find out exactly why we ranked these rooms as the best of the best USA poker sites. We have rated our top US poker rooms based on USA friendly deposit methods, number and variety of games offered, account safety and reputation, customer service and support, sign-up bonus and promotions for existing players.

 

Additional Information on the Top USA Poker Sites

Each one of the referenced sites has a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on their website that is extremely handy. A lot of common questions have been asked by new and experienced players a thousand or more times. Please feel free to read the FAQ sections and you may very well find what you're looking for.

The US has a little tricky way around the 2006 U.S. poker legislation in which online poker rooms often use third-party processors such as ewallets to accept US payments to avoid banks from rejecting player banking transactions. US players should have no problems depositing and withdrawing from any of the three referenced sites. If you have any questions or concerns, each poker room offers a very resourceful and courteous customer support staff. Feel free to contact them.

Depending on what you're looking for, you should find it fairly comfortable and user-friendly to play at Full Tilt Poker, Sportsbook and Bodog Poker as a US player.

Playing Poker for Real Money In The United States

USA real money online poker sitesMany people search for “real money poker USA” because it is widely believed that online poker for real money in the USA is illegal.  This is completely false.  While it is difficult to find real money poker in the USA that has easy and reliable real money banking methods, there are several online poker sites that accept and cater directly to American poker players.

When someone searches for “real money poker USA” they may be searching for several things as “real money poker USA” is quite a broad topic.  When I see someone reach this site by searching for “real money poker USA,” there are many possible questions that person may want answered.  The more detailed questions that I think these searchers may be trying to find answers for are:

  • “Is real money poker legal in the USA?”
  • “What sites can I play online poker for real money in the USA?”
  • “Are there casinos that I can play real money poker for in the USA?”
  • “How can I deposit to play real money poker in the USA?”

I also see questions related to individual online poker sites and whether USA poker players can play poker for real money at these sites.  Many of these searchers probably signed up for the “dot net” version of the poker site (i.e., PokerStars.net), which all offer nothing but free play to US poker players.  No dot net poker sites offer real money poker to USA poker players.  Many of their “dot com” sister sites do offer legal poker for Americans and I will highlight the most popular ones below.  The most common search terms that I see for this site are:

  • “Full Tilt Poker real money USA”
  • “PokerStars real money USA” or “Poker Stars real money USA”
  • “Party Poker real money USA”
  • “Sportsbook Poker real money USA”

I will go over all of these topics on this page.  Just scroll down to the question you need answering in the sections below.

Is Real Money Poker Legal In The USA?

Yes.  While poker is legal in most of the United States, it is illegal or “possibly illegal” in 14 states. I say “possibly” because some states have old laws on the books that may define online poker as illegal if they were to be interpreted in certain ways.  The 14 states you should watch your back in are:

  • IllinoisMisdemeanor offense and possibly more (felony).
  • Indiana
  • Kentucky – Governor tried to IP ban online poker sites.  That didn’t work.
  • LouisianaFelony to gamble online. 
  • Michigan
  • Missouri -  Most against online gambling but not a felony
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Utah 
  • WashingtonFELONY to play online poker for real money in the US
  • Wisconsin

The bolded state names are the states that have concrete laws on their books that criminalize the act of playing real money online poker.  Although it may be legal to play online poker for real money in the other 11 states, you should NOT take any advice on this site as legal advice!  Seriously.  Check with your local government before playing any online poker or any other online gambling at all.  If you play real money poker in a state that you shouldn’t, it is your fault — Not mine.  …just to be clear. We list poker law websites in our poker directory.

What sites can I play online poker for real money in the USA?

There are dozens of real money online poker sites that accept USA players, but there are only a couple that I personally recommend.  The sites I recommend are in no way the only ones that are trustworthy and are certainly not the only poker sites that accept United States poker players.

My favorite real money online poker site for Americans is BetOnline.com.    BetOnline offers the easiest and most reliable deposit method for USA poker players: Instant E-checks.  To use an e-check, you simply enter all the info from one of your physical paper checks from your checkbook and money is instantly taken from your bank’s checking account and deposited into your online poker account.  You can read more about E-checks a little further down this page.

Other real money online poker sites that I recommend are Lock Poker and BetOnline Poker.  Both of these poker sites offer real money poker action to Americans and they are both easy to deposit and withdraw money from. 

Lock Poker is the best real money poker site to play at if you are an American and want to deposit money using a credit or debit card.  Lock Poker has been in business since 2009 and has boasted an 80% plus credit card acceptance rate the entire time.

Are there casinos where I can play real money poker in the USA?

There are lots of land-based casinos in the United States, most noticeably in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Up until about 2005 though, not many American casinos offered real money poker.  Sure, you could find video poker machines all over the place, but it was very difficult to find real live poker with a dealer against real opponents.  The best place to find real poker was in small local card rooms like the ones that popped up all over California in the late 1980’s.

Since poker “blew up” after Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker in 2003 though, almost every Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Indian casino have their very own live poker room now.  Real money live poker has become so incredibly popular that a lot of casinos take a loss just running their poker room to operate real money poker games to draw poker players into the casino, hoping that they will play other gambling games as well.

How can I deposit money to play real money poker in the USA?

Instant E-checks – As I mentioned before, “Instant E-checks” are the best way for USA poker players to deposit money online.  To use an instant Echeck for online poker, you simply enter the information from one of your personal checks and money is instantly credited to your online poker account.  The information that is commonly required to process an instant echeck is listed below:

  • Bank name
  • Checking account number
  • Checking account routing number
  • Social security number (SSN)
  • Date of birth
  • Phone number
  • Deposit amount

Online poker sites that accept instant electronic checks instantly credit the money to your poker account, while the electronic bank transfer takes up a week to clear on your bank’s end, so make sure you take that into account when figuring your checking balance.

Credit cards – Credit cards are also an option to deposit money to play real money USA poker.  There are several U.S. poker sites that list U.S. credit cards as a deposit option, but there are only two poker sites that have high credit card acceptance rates.

Real Money USA Poker Sites

Many people search for terms related to whether individual online poker sites allow real money poker play to American citizens.  While it is true that the majority of online poker websites do not allow US poker players, several poker sites do allow real money poker for Americans.  We will go over several of the terms that internet users search for to find this page and the answer to each inquiry.

“Full Tilt Poker real money USA” – Full Tilt does not allow real money USA poker play on their website. 

PokerStars real money USA” or “Poker Stars real money USA” – Pokerstars.com does not allow USA real money poker play.  In fact, Pokerstars has closed their doors to American players. Impressive enough, the poker room still has over 20,000 real money poker players online at peak traffic times, even without the US market. 

Party Poker real money USA” – Party Poker does not allow Americans to play poker for real money.  PartyPoker allowed real money US poker prior to 2007, but stopped allowing United States players after UIGEA legislation was passed by the USA, disallowing some types of financial transactions relating to online gambling.  PartyPoker.com does not allow real money USA poker play.  If you would like to play poker for real money, visit any of the other poker sites listed on this page.

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