Online poker may not be experiencing a boom like it had in the past, but the game still has a large amount of devotees out there. In response, online poker rooms have been popping up to meet the demand. For poker enthusiasts, it can be hard to make a selection from the many choices.
One of the many obstacles for online poker players is the legality of the game. Some countries like the US have banned online poker operations. Fortunately for poker fans, Bitcoin allows people to play from as many locations as possible. It also allows for quick and secure transactions. People who are hoping to play poker with Bitcoin can choose from a wide range of online poker rooms like these five:
Oct 07, 2016 Bitcoin Games. PokerStars was once rumored to be accepting Bitcoin, but players wishing to do so would have to use either the US dollar or the euro to play poker. Even without Bitcoin on board, you’re assured of an excellent time here, especially with the variety of poker tables on board. Playing Video Poker with Bitcoins In recent years, there have been many advances pursued by the online casino industry, and one of those advances is the shift away from traditional, fiat currencies. Instead of the US Dollars and Euros that many people have grown accustomed to playing and wagering with, a new form of cryptocurrency, a currency that only exists online, has been utilized by new bitcoin casinos. Bitcoin Online Poker Guide 2020 - Learn about the best Bitcoin online poker sites from this page. Find the biggest bonuses, games & how to get started.
Americas Cardroom
Americas Cardroom is a leading online poker room under Winning Poker Network. It began operation in 2001 and gradually became one of the most trusted online poker rooms for US players. Americas Cardroom accepts players from 43 states in the country and provides services 24/7.
More than becoming a favorite among US players, it also boosted its popularity when it began accepting Bitcoin for both deposits and cashouts. Americas Cardroom becomes a haven for Bitcoin poker players with its plethora of satellites and tournaments that provide professional online poker experience.
Americas Cardroom is also known for its promotions like the Sit & Go 2.0, The High Five Series, and the MO MO MO PLO, on top of its Sunday Specials and whole lot more of online tournaments. Players are also required to install a client, which will allow them to play real money or Bitcoin.
Betcoin.ag
Another excellent site for Bitcoin poker players is Betcoin.ag. Its Betcoin Poker arm offers a variety of Betcoin tournaments that are playable using Bitcoin or Litecoin. No fiat deposits are accepted here, which means players can expect a complete cryptocurrency poker experience.
Betcoin.ag beefed up its poker platform a couple of years back when it shared tournaments with Winning Poker Network. Betcoin Poker is not entirely affiliated with WPN, but this set-up enables Betcoin.ag players to compete in more tournaments against players from other online poker rooms.
A key point for playing poker at Betcoin.ag would be its list of bonuses and promotions. Its VIP program is another feature to check out for both beginners and seasoned players.
Ignition Casino
Ignition Casino is quite new on the Bitcoin gambling scene, but it has been making its presence felt dutifully as of late. This is in part of its acquisition of Bovada Poker, one of the major poker sites in North America.
Ignition Casino has a license from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission—which apparently stopped servicing the US market—and belongs to the operators managing Bovada. With the poker platform already integrated into Ignition Casino, players can expect a familiar poker betting landscape.
As for the tournaments on board, players can get their hands on the $2M GTD tournament every week, along with sit-and-go tournaments and more.
FortuneJack
FortuneJack made an early mark in Bitcoin gambling by accepting about 10 cryptocurrencies. Now down to only five—Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, and Reddcoin—FortuneJack still fares well, and it even provides quality online poker.
Hourly freerolls, satellites, and GTD tourneys are what to be expected from FortuneJack Poker. Making this casino user-friendlier is the fact that it does not require players to download a client to begin playing. Bitcoin poker players only need to register and sign up to play Omaha PL and Texas Hold’em NL.
Red Star Poker
Red Star Poker’s ace is its wider roster of poker game variants. While others are exclusive to Texas Hold’em and Omaha, this poker site offers seven, starting with Omaha High Low 8, 5 Card Draw, 5 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud, and Razz.
There is an abundance of freerolls in this poker room, together with other promotions. Included are the Red Star lottery, the 200-percent deposit bonus, and the progressive jackpot tournaments. Red Star Poker also accepts both real-money and Bitcoin players.
Best Bitcoin Online Poker Sites
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1xBit
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Bovada
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Oshi.io
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Poker, unlike say sports betting, has always had a cash problem.
You need money to play poker but actually dealing with the transaction aspect — whether live or online — can be a huge hassle.
Online poker sites have always been beholden to banks and credit card companies as those financial institutions could quickly put the brakes on any transfer.
Enter Bitcoin.
The best part is that you don’t have to know everything about Bitcoin to make a deposit using cryptocurrency.
Why Bitcoin Makes Sense for Online Poker
There are a number of reasons why cryptocurrency makes sense for online poker, but it really comes down to the needs of the players themselves. Most online poker players are looking for some mixture of the following things when picking a payment processor:
- Reliability and safety
- Fast deposits & withdrawals
- Low fees
- Easy to use
- Won’t get blocked
It’s a tall order but Bitcoin fulfills most, if not all of the items on that list for poker online.
When you understand how to use it, Bitcoin is very reliable and safe. Unlike banks, this is mostly on the individual as bitcoin is decentralized.
Perhaps, the biggest feature of bitcoin is just how fast it is for online poker. Once you have bitcoin you can be playing poker with it in a matter of minutes instead of days. Deposits are just that quick.
Withdrawals are also fast but it usually takes a day or two to receive your poker payout because online sites need to confirm the payout amount to block money laundering. It’s still far better than waiting weeks to get a withdrawal check from other online poker options.
Bitcoin and playing bitcoin poker also have some of the lowest fees compared to credit cards and banks. You can actually pay slightly higher fees if you want to speed up your poker transaction.
Most people wouldn’t say that bitcoin is easier to use than a credit card but once you get used to the concept it’s actually surprisingly intuitive.
Finally, users can spend their bitcoin poker winnings any way they choose. That freedom is breath of fresh air who’s gotten their credit card or bank transfer blocked by a bank. It is a great currency for poker play.
Playing Poker with Bitcoin
Here’s the interesting thing about using bitcoin to player poker: You don’t actually use bitcoin at the poker table.
The vast majority of online poker sites immediately convert bitcoin to USD the moment it’s transferred into a player’s account. There are a few reasons that online sites do this but the main one is to give players a break from the volatility of cryptocurrency.
Imagine you bought $100 worth of bitcoin, deposited on an online poker site, immediately ran it up to $200 and went to withdraw your $100 of profit only to find that bitcoin had plunged 50%? It’s like you didn’t win anything at all.
Bitcoin is notoriously volatile and it’s a distinct possibility that it could lose a huge portion of its value while you are playing online. USD is a much more reliable way to fund players accounts. Especially ones who don’t want to ride the cryptocurrency rollercoaster.
The only time you have to worry about the swings of bitcoin is after you make a withdrawal. You can cash that withdrawal out to USD through an online exchange or Bitcoin ATM but the online poker site isn’t responsible for getting you hard currency. If you’re worried about bitcoin volatility you should have a plan to immediately convert your winnings to USD.
What to Look for in a Bitcoin Poker Site
If you’re looking to deposit some money on an online poker site that accepts bitcoin you should take our time and read some reviews of popular sites.
Basically, you should consider everything that would normally affect your decision to play on a poker site. Usually, the most important factors for online poker players are some mixture of the following:
- Reliable and safe to use
- High-quality software
- Lots of games with plenty of players
- Bad players
- Big sign-up bonuses
- Solid website support
As far as bitcoin goes you simply want to make sure the site accepts cryptocurrency as an option for deposits and withdrawals for poker. You also might want to make a deposit using alt-coins such as Ethereum, Litecoin or Dash. Do your research because some sites accept over 60 different cryptocurrencies.
If you’re looking for a bitcoin poker site you also might want to research crypto sign-up or reload bonuses.
Online poker sites are always trying to motivate players to make deposits using bitcoin so they’ll often offer incentives like big sign-up bonuses. For instance, if you make a deposit of $50 using bitcoin some sites will offer you a 100% deposit match, meaning you’ll get another $50 to use on the site. That money takes some time to unlock but free money is always a good thing!
Getting Started with Bitcoin
If everything you’ve read sounds like it’s right up your alley then you should consider acquiring bitcoin for the purpose of playing online poker.
The first step is to learn a little about bitcoin, digital wallets and the blockchain. If you’re just planning on using bitcoin for online poker then you don’t have to be an expert but you should at least check out the Wikipedia page.
From there you’ll want to actually acquire some bitcoin. Getting bitcoin is very different from region to region so you’ll have to do a little research in your jurisdiction. Buying bitcoin is very easy in progressive countries while more difficult in restrictive countries. If you’ve got access to the Internet then there’s a good chance you’ll be able to get some bitcoin.
Generally, people acquire bitcoin in the following ways:
- Bitcoin exchange
- From a friend
- Bitcoin ATM
- Bitcoin classifieds
Before you even acquire bitcoin, you should set up your own digital wallet. Bitcoin wallets come in many different forms including online, desktop, mobile or even a physical flash drive for extra security.
Some people leave their bitcoin on exchanges but there have been some issues with exchanges in the past so you’re better off having a personal wallet. On the other hand, if you’re just getting bitcoin to immediately deposit on an online poker site you might be OK. If you’re leaving under $100 it’s probably fine but proceed at your own risk.
Poker Sites Accepting Bitcoin
Bitcoin has many benefits beyond poker so it’s definitely worth picking up regardless of whether you end up using it for online poker.