• US Players Accepted
• Online poker sweepstakes for real cash prizes
• Visa/Mastercards Accepted

Jan 02, 2020 Is Online Poker Legal in Washington? While all online poker players should be familiar with their state laws with regards to gambling, Washington State online poker players have a special motivation for learning more about the law as Washington is one of the few states that specifically singles out online gambling. Our experts delve into the legality of playing real money online poker in the USA, rank & review the best poker sites to safely play, which scam websites to avoid, where to find the best bonuses such as exclusive free $10 bankroll offers and freerolls, as well as learn which room has the best mobile poker client to play. The bill has now passed and is requiring ISP blocks to betting sites. It is now considered illegal to play casino/poker/sports style betting on the internet with a S$5,000 fine and/or up to 6 months in jail. The following text below was prior to this Act, online gambling is now illegal aside from certain lotteries. Before Gambling Became Illegal.

US poker sites ranked by traffic

There are currently 4 states that offer legal online poker in the United States – New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Pennsylvania became the latest to join this group when PokerStarswent live in the state on Nov. 4, 2019.

WSOP/888 US is currently the only poker site that shares online poker players between all three legal online poker states (NJ, Nevada & Delaware). It’s currently the #1 US online poker site by traffic.

Poker Stars – New Jersey and Pennsylvania

Party Poker – New Jersey only

Pala Poker – New Jersey only

US States launching soon

With the official launch of online poker Pennsylvania, there remains only one state that has legalized online poker. West Virginia legalized online poker in 2019, but wasn’t expected to go live until 2020.

The Mountain State, however, has a small population and launching an online poker room with a large number of players may be difficult without a shared liquidity pool with other states.

That may be resolved through litigation regarding the federal Wire Act.

Sweepstakes Online Poker – Available to all US Players

Global Poker – Uses a unique sweepstakes model allowing for online poker for real cash prizes and is available in all US states.

What is or is not legal in US?

Playing online poker is not strictly against any US laws. Therefore, a number of offshore sites continue to find creative ways around the banking issues created by UIGEA and continue to accept US customers.

In the years following the 2011 indictments, four states have also passed bills legalizing and regulating the activity in fenced-in markets inside state lines. Three of those states have also signed an agreement to share player pools.

In the meantime, Global Poker, which started accepting US customers in December 2016, uses a sweepstakes and virtual-currency online poker model. As a result, it is not considered online gambling, leaving it outside the purview of the UIGEA.

Where can I play poker online in the US?

Outside of state-licensed online poker sites in Delaware, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, there’s really only one legal online poker site for US players.

Global Poker

Global Poker offers what amounts to real-money online poker to players inside the United States. The site launched in December 2016 offering a form of virtual currency gaming. The virtual currency can later be converted into real money on PayPal, but players don’t start out on Global Poker buying into tournaments and cash games with real dollars.

Instead, they purchase Gold Coins which come with bonus sweepstakes prizes called $weeps Cash. The $weeps Cash can be used to buy into $weeps Cash tournaments and ring games. Any $weeps Cash earned can then be cashed out through PayPal. There are also Gold Coin poker games, but no real money available down that road.

Global Poker uses its own custom-made poker software incorporating its patented sweepstakes technology. It’s glitchy, but serviceable.

The site is strictly No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha, but there are cash games, tournaments and sit and go’s. Global Poker runs various freeroll tournaments and promotional leader boards. All of the banking is done through PayPal.

Where can I play poker live in the US?

Poker is America’s game. As a result, most states have tribal casinos, commercial casinos or card rooms where you can expect to be able to play live poker.

In fact, it’s much easier to list the states where you can’t legally play live poker. Although, even in that list of states below, you likely won’t have to look too hard to find an underground game, or a casino in a neighboring state with a poker room tucked right up next to the border.

• Utah
• Texas*
• Hawaii
• Tennessee
• Alaska
• New Hampshire
• Georgia

*Texas is experimenting with poker in private social club settings. The state attorney general has declined to issue an opinion so far, leading to sizable operations opening in major cities. However, a recent raid in Houston has cast considerable doubt on the longterm viability of the clubs.

Individual states with online poker offerings

Up to and including January 2018, there are just four US states with laws legalizing and regulating online poker.

Delaware was the first state to do it, passing the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act in the summer of 2012. It approved both online poker and online casino games.

In February 2013, Nevada became the second state to come on board, authorizing the issue of online poker licenses. Within a week, New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gambling. It authorized the issue of licenses to casinos in Atlantic City that allowed them to operate both online poker and online casino sites.

In April 2013, the first-ever legal and regulated online poker site in the US went live in Nevada. The site’s name was Ultimate Poker. An offshoot of Station Casinos affiliated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organization ran the site. By November of that same year, legal and regulated online poker sites also went live in Delaware and New Jersey.

Pennsylvania jumps on board

Pennsylvania became the fourth state to authorize online gambling. It passed online poker and online gambling legislation as a part of a comprehensive gambling expansion bill in October 2017.

Since then, there has been much legal and regulatory maneuvering in the state. There has even been an external threat that arose after the Department of Justice revised its opinion about the Wire Act’s applicability.

PokerStars officially launched in Pennsylvania on Nov. 4, 2019.

West Virginia makes it five to go

West Virginia is now the fifth state to legalize online poker. The Mountain State did so with the passage of H 2934, the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act.

The bill became law after Gov. Jim Justice declined to sign. However, the appearance of online poker (and casino) sites in West Virginia is not imminent.

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Lottery officials must still promulgate regulations for the new industry. It is likely to be 2020 before any site will possibly launch.

Activity in other states

Of course, a number of other states, including California, New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois have all seriously considered various forms of legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker over the past few years.

In 2018 and 2019, Michigan also made significant pushes to legalize online gaming, including poker.

The federal government has succeeded in pushing the largest global online poker site operators out of the US market. However, several offshore online poker operators still accept US players.

US online poker overview

There are essentially two federal laws that govern online poker in the US.

The Wire Act

The first is the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, aka the Federal Wire Act. The law essentially prohibits the operation of certain types of betting businesses using wire communications. Its original aim was to stop interstate gambling and end organized crime’s interest in the business.

The act passed decades before the internet or online poker even existed. However, since it governed the loosely-related act of betting or wagering using wire communications, many believed it had some jurisdiction over online gambling.

In September 2011, in response to questions regarding the legality of online lottery sales, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released a formal legal opinion on the scope of the act. The opinion concluded that interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a sporting event or contest fall outside of its reach.

Interested states took it to mean the act did not apply to online poker or other forms of online gambling. Now, four of those states have passed legislation legalizing and regulating the activity.

That may be changing, however. In January 2019, the DOJ reversed its opinion to say that the Wire Act, in fact, does relate to all online gambling.

In June 2019, a New Hampshire federal judge threw out the opinion as it relates to two litigants – the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and an associated vendor. However, the ripple effect of this judgment is unclear at this point.

The UIGEA

The second law is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Congress passed UIGEA in 2006. It made it illegal for US banks to process transactions for offshore online gambling operators. The law effectively pushed a number of online poker sites out of the market.

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Other sites stayed in the US. However, the DOJ forced the largest remaining sites in the industry, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet out in 2011. The DOJ charged them with various illegal gambling and money laundering charges, partly under UIGEA.

History of online poker in the US

Online gambling first hit the internet when online casinos started opening in 1994. The operators were mostly based in places like Antigua or the Isle of Man, but they still took customers from the United States and were only too happy to accept US cash.

In 1996, the Mohawk Territoryof Kahnawake, a First Nations group based just outside of Montreal, Canada brought online gambling to North American soil for the first time. It set up a gaming commission and started issuing licenses to online casino sites. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission helped the number of online gambling websites around the world go from a handful to hundreds.

In 1998, a Canadian entrepreneur launched the first-ever online poker site. Planet Poker advertised in CardPlayer Magazine in the US prior to its Jan. 1, 1998 launch. The first ever real-money online $3/$6 Hold ’em game was filled with US players.

By 1999, the US Senate realized online gambling was widespread across the US and sought to do something about it. The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced, but it did not pass.

Over the next few years, sites introduced more sophisticated online poker software, and new sites launched around the world, offering cash games and tournaments.

In 2002, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the Federal Wire Act prohibits sports betting, but not necessarily online gambling. At the time, the DOJ disagreed, claiming online gambling was illegal, However, the industry kept growing.

The poker boom

In 2003, online poker’s popularity really took off. A Tennessee accountant aptly named Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event after getting into the tournament through an online satellite. Coverage aired on ESPN, and Moneymaker’s story became a national obsession. Millions of Americans thought they could be next.

Poker was suddenly everywhere on TV, as the advent of hole-card cameras made live games more watchable than ever. Most shows were branded, and the commercial breaks were filled with spots for offshore online poker sites. The productions sold the game to the American TV-watching public and they bought it.

Then, in 2006, Congress took another shot at taming the wild beast. It passed UIGEA, making it illegal for US banks to handle transactions with offshore online poker sites. It certainly pushed a handful of operators out of the US market, but it didn’t eliminate the market altogether.

Several sites still accepted US players and found ways around the banking issues. Online poker continued to grow until April 15, 2011.

On that day, three of the largest online poker operators in the world were indicted on various illegal gambling and money laundering charges, including violating UIGEA. The sites included PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet. Access to the sites from the US was shut down, and the massive US online poker market was effectively closed.

However, it wouldn’t take long before efforts to open it up again began.

US legal and regulated online poker

In response to questions regarding the legality of online lottery sales in December 2011, the DOJ released a legal opinion that the Federal Wire Act only applies to sports betting. Several states took this to mean they could consider licensing and regulating online poker and casino sites if they wanted.

Delaware was the first state to do it, approving both online poker and online casino legislation in 2012.

In February 2013, Nevada became the second state to pass online gambling legislation, authorizing the issue of online poker licenses. A week later, New Jersey became the third state to legalize online gambling and made plans to issue licenses for online poker and online casino sites.

In April 2013, the first-ever legal and regulated online poker site in the US went live in Nevada. Legal and regulated online poker sites went live in Delaware and New Jersey in November 2013. Pennsylvania became the fourth state to legalize online poker when it passed a comprehensive gambling expansion bill in October 2017.

Now, as sites jump through the regulatory hoops to get games up and running in Pennsylvania, even more states are considering similar online poker legislation.

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Poker is an enjoyable game that can be played for fun or money. Some people play poker recreationally while others play for a living. It is simple to learn, but mastering the game requires a lot of practice, and that’s what makes it so enjoyable. Let’s take a look at the basics of the game and some common poker terms.

Poker is a game involving a standard deck of 52 poker cards. The object of the game is to be holding the best possible poker hand. Or at least, convince your opponent you have the best hand, and accumulate as many chips as you can. Poker is an entertaining social game that can be played virtually anywhere you can put together a table and a group of people.

There is some argument about whether poker is a game of skill or luck. This is an interesting topic, and we have a definitive answer. It's both! Luck can take you so far and can help you out in the short-term. The skill takes over in the long run. Confused? We will explain!

A player cannot control the cards that are dealt. Therefore, no matter how well you play, there will be days where the cards make it difficult for you to win. Let’s say you put your money on the table because you have the best possible hand (pocket aces in Texas hold’em). Your opponent calls your bet with a much weaker inital hand and ends up getting lucky and wins.

That’s an unfortunate situation that you can’t control. After all, you did your part by getting your money down with the best of it, but the dealer flipped over cards that gave your opponent the best hand. This can be attributed to bad luck. However, you will win in these situations in the long run. So while you can’t control short-term bad luck, you can control the long-term outcome because luck evens out over time.

Who Plays Poker?

Poker is a game that is popular among men and women of all ages. The game is a social activity that is often played with friends and family. It can be played in a casino or at an online poker website. Each option is a popular way to play poker. Poker is popular all over the world. There are many great online poker sites and live poker rooms in casinos in cities like Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, and Macau.

Why Play Poker?

There are many reasons to play poker. Everyone has different reasons for playing the game. For some, the game is a way to earn a full-time or part-time income. For others, it’s merely a recreational activity. Poker can be profitable if you become skilled, so there is an opportunity to make good money. If you want to have some fun and play the game recreationally, it is a wonderful social activity. The game is entertaining because it gives players an awesome adrenaline rush, and the potential to win big is appealing.

How the Game of Poker Works

Poker is a simple game to understand how to play. But not so simple to master. All forms of poker are played with a standard 52-card deck. There are many variations of poker, but they all involve playing cards, deception and wagering. Players must try as hard as they can to make it difficult for other players to figure out the poker hand they are holding. That’s the key to every form of poker.

The most poker game in the world is Texas hold’em. Each player is dealt two cards face-down to begin. Based on the combination of those cards, the players then decide if they want to fold or stay in the hand by placing initial wagers. The remaining players then get to see three community cards dealt face-up. These cards are available to all players. Another round of betting ensues. Then, another community card is placed face-up, and the chips go down again. One final community card is dealt, along with the last round of betting.

The player that wins the hand is the one that holds the strongest five-card poker hand from the seven total cards available. Of course, the winner could end up being the player with the weakest hand to start off with. That’s where the deception comes into play. To win a hand of poker with the weakest cards, you must bluff your way through, by convincing your opponents you have a strong hand.

The Invention and History of Poker

Poker is far from being a new game. It was first played way back in the early part of the 19th century, according to a poker Wiki page. The game is thought to have been invented in the United States. The popular poker game early on was five-card draw. In this game, each player is dealt five cards and then attempts to make the strongest possible poker hand. They do this by drawing additional cards from the deck, replacing them with some of the original cards dealt.

The game of poker moved into some casinos in the middle part of the 20th century. As the game evolved, more and more casinos built poker rooms. In 1970, casino owner Benny Binion put together a tournament called the World Series of Poker. Here the best players in the world came to Las Vegas to compete in a Texas hold’em championship.

The WSOP has taken pace annually since 1970. It has grown to a point where thousands of players compete every year in a series of tournaments over the course of more than one month. Millions of dollars are at stake during this legendary event, which is shown on ESPN. Poker is a thriving game and continues to rise in popularity.

Online Poker

Poker began in homes and casinos but is now most commonly played online. The convenience of online poker is appealing to professional and recreational poker players. Internet poker got its start back in 2001, a few years after the start of the online gaming boom. At first, online poker wasn’t big business, generating just $82.7 million worldwide in 2001.

By 2005, online poker was a huge deal. The industry generated more than $2.4 billion in 2005 and has continued to see an increase in revenue ever since. Part of the reason online poker’s popularity grew so much was due to Chris Moneymaker winning the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003. His win led to a massive poker boom.

Moneymaker was an amateur poker player who won a cheap satellite tournament on a poker site to get a seat at the $10,000 Main Event. He won the championship and claimed $2.5 million in winnings. Moneymaker’s shock win against many top poker professionals led others to give poker a shot. The game hasn’t been the same since.

Poker TV Advertising

Since poker is such a popular game, advertisers line up to promote poker sites, poker tournaments, etc. Televised poker events make a lot of money selling advertising space. ESPN televises the WSOP and has generated millions of dollars in revenue during the coverage.

Advertisers spend upwards of six-figures to get their company’s brand on television during the World Series of Poker. Online poker sites have spent millions of dollars in advertising. They even pay some poker pros to wear their logo during televised poker events such as the WSOP, World Poker Tour, etc. Poker is a multi-billion dollar industry that makes a lot of money via advertisement.

Poker Game Variations

There are many forms of poker and many ways to play each game. First off, there are different betting types. Some poker games are played in the no-limit variety, which means you can bet any amount up to the number of chips you have. Another common type is limit poker, which requires players to bet a set amount. The last one is pot-limit, which allows players to bet any amount up to the current size of the pot. So if there is $200 in the pot, a player can’t bet more than that.

The following are the most common poker games:

Texas hold’em: This game involves seven cards. Players each get two cards face-down and then share five cards with the other players. The object is to make the strongest possible five-card poker hand from the seven available. No poker game in the world is played more often. The World Series of Poker Main Event is a no-limit Texas hold’em tournament.

Omaha hold’em: This is similar to Texas hold’em, except players are dealt four cards face-down to start. The object is the same, as each hand involves five community cards. In Texas hold’em, players must use both of their two face-down cards. By contrast, in Omaha hold’em, players can use two, one, or none of their face-down cards.

Omaha hi-Low: This is the same as standard Omaha hold’em, except multiple players can win the pot. There is a portion of the pot that goes to the winner of the best poker hand and another part that goes to the player that holds the lowest five-card hand. A low hand is defined as having the highest card be eight or lower. If no player qualifies for a low hand, the player with the best high hand wins the whole pot. The best low hand is A-2-3-4-5.

Seven-card stud: Stud poker is an old form of poker that is still often played in casinos today. How it works is each player is dealt two cards face-down and one card face-up to begin. Players then receive three more face-up cards and one final card face-down. The object is to make the strongest possible poker hand. After the initial three cards, cards are then dealt one at a time. Players can back out at any time during the hand. If a player doesn’t think their hand has potential, they can back out early to save money.

Stud hi-low: This is the same as Omaha hi-low, except in the seven-card stud variety. There is a portion of the pot that goes to the player with the high hand, and one for the player with the low hand.

Five or Seven-card draw: Five-card draw poker is the oldest form of the game. This is what the inventors of poker played. It’s still played occasionally at social events, but rarely will you find a five or seven-card draw poker game in a casino or online poker site. Each player is dealt five or seven cards to start. Players don’t show their opponents their cards. They look over their cards and select which cards to keep and which to replace. After deciding, they draw replacement cards, hoping to improve their hand. The winner, after drawing cards is the player with the strongest poker hand at the end.

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Poker Legality

Poker is legal in most places around the world. In countries such as the United States, poker is most commonly played in live casinos. Many states are beginning to legalise the game for online play. Poker is legal, online and offline, in many European countries such as Germany, the UK, and Italy.

In China, poker is only legal in certain cities, in Macau for instance. Macau is one of the best places in the world to play poker, along with Las Vegas in the United States. Macau and Las Vegas attract some of the highest rollers in the world. They also bring in millions of low stakes poker players each year.

Illegal Poker Games

Check with your country’s online and offline poker laws before playing.

Mobile Poker

The online poker industry has evolved throughout the years. One of the best technological improvements to the game of poker has been the addition of mobile gaming. Virtually every quality poker site now offers poker games on a mobile device such as a smartphone, iPad, etc. You no longer have to play on your laptop and can play from anywhere in the world.

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However, not all poker apps are created equal. Some mobile apps offer more features and better graphics than competitors. You should look for a mobile app that has excellent graphics and has a solid reputation. You don’t want to play poker on an app that continually freezes up or is difficult to navigate. There are many great ones out there so you won’t have any problem finding one you like.

Poker Legends

Poker is a game of skill played by millions of people worldwide. Among those millions are a small group of players we consider to be legends of the game. These players have made millions of dollars playing poker. They have won some of the biggest tournaments, and are colourful characters to boot.

Doyle Brunson: Doyle has been playing poker for more than 50 years and is a former World Series of Poker champion. He’s made millions of dollars and has always been a fan favorite. Many consider him to be the greatest poker player of all-time. His nickname, “Texas Dolly”, stems from growing up in Texas.

Phil Hellmuth: They call him the “Poker Brat” because he tends to whine and complain when things aren’t going his way. However, things go his way more often than not. Phil Hellmuth has won a record 14 World Series of Poker events. Phil claims to be the greatest poker player of all time, but that is open for debate.

Stu Ungar: Back in the 1990s, Stu Ungar was as good of a poker player as there was. He was feared at the poker tables. Unfortunately, Ungar passed away years ago at an early age.

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Johnny Moss: Johnny Moss passed away in 1995 at age 88. He was a two-time World Series of Poker champion and one of the most successful poker players in the 1970s and 1980s. He remains the oldest person ever to win a World Series of Poker event.

Phil Ivey: Phil Ivey is still relatively young and in the prime of his career, but he is so good that he’s already a living legend. Ivey has won 8 World Series of Poker events and made millions of dollars playing cash games all over the world. Many would consider him the best player in the world today. That is something that's hard to dispute.

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