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Poker is a rare casino game in which skills and luck go hand in hand to earn you a winning pot. This is a game in which a weak hand also has a chance of winning big because skillful bluffing can make even a full house fold!
If you are new to poker, it is crucial to learn the basics well, practice enough, master your bluffing skills, find the right poker variation, and join a trusted poker room. Playing poker is now easier than ever, thanks to technological advancements and online gambling sites that allow poker players to join tables with the smallest amount of money.
Did you know more than one hundred card rooms operate on the internet in 2023? Although it seems like a blessing given to poker lovers directly from the poker Gods, poker sites are not the same and do not offer the same quality poker tables. Besides, not all poker sites accept US players. Obviously, you do not have the time anشd money to test all real money poker sites and check which sites offer their services to US poker players. This is where I enter the equation with my online poker sites review. You can count on my impartial analysis, feedback, and recommendations about poker and gambling sites.
As a US player, you just need to read this article, choose what is best for your poker skill and playing level, and get into the endless pleasure of poker.
Refresh Your Poker Knowledge
Before I get into the details of poker sites, let us review common concepts of playing poker which is universal among land-based and online games.
Poker Hands and Rankings
Regardless of the poker variation or table location- internet or land-based-, the winner is determined according to the poker hand ranking.
Although in most poker games the highest value hand wins, in some games, like low-ball poker, the lowest hand value wins.
In general, the poker hands in a descending value are as follows:
Royal Flush➡ Straight Flush➡ four-of-a-kind➡Full House ➡Flush➡ Straight➡three-of-a-kind➡two pair➡pair➡High cards
Bluff it out
One of the best things about poker is that you should not have the highest value hand to win because even a weak hand still has a chance to win the big pot.
Bluffing is what you need to make players with strong hand fold and let you win the hand. In other words, you have to master your acting talents. When you have a weak hand, you should pretend that you have a strong one to make other players believe and fold.
Ante in
In most poker games, players need to place a forced bet at the beginning of a hand to be allowed to play. This is known as an ante or blind bet. Blind bets have two kinds: small and big, where the amount of the latter is generally twice the former.
You cannot deal without the dealer
A professional dealer is an essential component in any poker game. Because the dealer controls the course of the game, determines the order of placing the blind bets, and keeps track of players’ bets. Typically, poker games are initiated by the dealer in a clockwise direction.
Actions
After players have placed their antes or blind bets, the dealer passes the cards, and the first betting round begins. In every round, players have the following options to act:
To call: betting the same amount as the previous player’s bet or raise.
To raise: increasing the pot by increasing your amount of bet.
To fold: withdrawing from the hand and sacrificing any bets already made.
To check: pass the action to the next player and reserve your right for betting later in the round.
To play all-in: this is when you decide to play with all your remaining chips. This typically happens when you do not have enough chips to call a bet.
Betting Limits
Poker tables come with different betting limits. Typically, you will find the following poker table betting limits in online and land-based casinos.
- PL: This abbreviation represents a poker table with a pot limit. This means you can only bet or raise up to the pot amount.
- FL: This abbreviation tells that the table you are about to join has a fixed limit. In other words, you can bet or raise up to the predetermined fixed amounts.
- NL: This abbreviation shows that you are free to bet all of your chips anytime during your turn. In other words, the table is a no-limit poker table.
Poker Variations
Poker has several variations that make it a perfect game for any type of player. Regardless of the variation, every poker game falls into one of the following poker game categories:
| Poker Category | How its played | Famous Examples |
| Community card | You are dealt some cards less than five, and you should make your hand using a community card pool on the table. | Texas Holdem and Omaha |
| Draw | You are given all five cards at the beginning. Throughout the game, you try to improve your hand by discarding and drawing cards. | Five-card draw |
| Stud | You will be given your cards one-by-one in a specified combination of face-down and face-up cards. There will be a betting round in between dealing the cards. | Seven-card stud and Razz |
| straight | In this oldest poker variation, you receive all five cards at the beginning of the game. | Brag and Three-card brag |
How To Play Poker Online for US Players
Supposedly, you are one of those US poker lovers who know how to play and win the pot. But, just in case you are new to town, read the following mini poker guide to get started:
🔎 First things first, you should find the best poker site for US players that suits you. Poker players have various levels of knowledge, skills, experience, and bankroll. For this reason, finding the best site for your preferences and level is crucial. You can find all the best poker brands on this page, but make sure to choose the one that is best for you.
💻 Next step is registration. Obviously, you cannot get into the game without a verified playing account. To do so, you need to provide a couple of personal info and banking details. Then, your account will be activated and you can join the tables.
💰 Now, you should load up your account. Go to the cashier and deposit using one of the accepted methods available for US players and your state. You can check the payout, deposit, and withdrawal options in the site banking section. Then, head to the promotions and claim your welcome bonus. Be careful, you should read promotions terms and conditions well before claiming.
🃏 Now, you are free to join a table and let the fun begins. All you have to do is to choose your favorite cash game and tournament. Pick and play!
How Do We Rate Our Recommended Poker Sites for US Players?
In short, we do this by spending a lot of time and energy. To begin with, we exactly know what a great poker site should look like to poker players. Also, we know which characteristics sites should possess. So, after we review and analyze poker sites and make sure they meet our strict requirements, we put them on the list and recommend them to our readers.
Below are the most important criteria we impose for the selection of the US poker sites:
🔒 Safety and security: this is the first and by far most important factor in gambling site selection. You should always sign up with gambling sites with valid and reputable licenses because you are going to provide your personal and banking information to them. For this reason, your safety is the priority. We will NEVER EVER recommend an unlicensed or unreputable online gambling site or poker room for US and non-US players.
🎁 Bonuses: if a gambling site is not generous to provide the best welcome bonuses and poker promotions, why would you spend your money on them? We offer the best gambling sites with the most generous promotions and poker bonuses.
🎰 Game variety: a poker site should offer an extensive list of the best poker games and variations. You should have access to the most popular games like Texas Hold’em, Razz, seven-card stud, etc. In addition, you should be able to choose from cash games and tournaments. Rest assured that our recommended poker sites provide the best poker games you can find online.
🖥 Poker software: to have the best poker experience, you should play on a site with the best user interface, usability, and functionality. For this reason, we make sure to recommend poker sites that can create the best poker experience for their clients.
💳 Banking Methods: having access to the best secure and fast deposit and withdrawal methods is a component of a great poker experience. We make sure to offer poker sites that provide access to a wide range of banking methods like credit cards, e-wallets, wire transfers, and even cryptocurrencies. US players can rest assured that the recommended sites provide the best and fastest banking options available in the US gambling market.
🗣 Customer support: if a poker site does not support you 24/7, just don’t sign up with it, end of story!
🔌 Player traffic: this is another key in poker site selection that is usually overlooked. Player traffic indicates the number of players participating in cash games or tournaments. The higher the traffic, the better your chances to find filled tables at higher stakes and tournaments.
Poker Sites Allowing US Players and Accepting Paypal
Of course, there are several US-friendly poker sites on the internet, but not so many of them accept Paypal as their deposit or withdrawal method because this company abides by the rules of the countries it services. The gambling industry still has not been fully regulated in the United States. So, this is not unlikely to not find so many poker or casino sites that accept Paypal as a deposit method. Besides, you should not randomly sign up with any poker site that comes to hand. Because not all poker sites offer high-quality poker tables and not all of them are trusted and legit. For this reason, we did thorough research and handpicked the best US-friendly poker sites.
Here are our top three US-friendly poker sites and casinos:
| Poker site | Overall Rating | Bonus | Deposit Methods | Payout Speed |
| Betonline | 5/5 | 100% up to $1,000 | Credit cards, Wire transfer, ecoPayz, crypto, and more | Depends on the method but on average 1-3 days |
| Ignition | 5/5 | 100% up to $3,000 | Credit cards, Wire transfer, ecoPayz, BTC, Amex, and more | Depends on the method but on average 1-3 days |
| Bovada | 4.5/5 | 100% up to $500 | Inpay, Bank Transfer, BTC, Amex, and more | Depends on the method but on average 1-3 days |
Poker Site Reviews in 2023: Best Poker Sites for US Players
Betonline poker
Betonline has been the best gambling brand for the US and non-US players because it continues to offer the best quality games, quick payouts, the latest poker and gaming software, a very responsive mobile app, and great cash game traffic. In addition, they offer pretty good poker tournaments.
Betonline offers some of the most generous poker bonuses. Better yet, the site is one of the best poker sites on mobile, where you can easily see hands from multiple tables.
| Betonline Poker Key Features |
| Processes nearly 100% of US credit cards. |
| Supports Bitcoin and several cryptocurrencies |
| Offers active poker tables up to the $5/10 NL level |
| Offers new excellent mobile poker software for iOS and Android |
Ignition poker
Although the casino is one the great brands in the online casino gambling industry, Ignition Poker is relatively new in the online poker market.
They offer pretty good poker cash games and tournaments. Also, new and existing players can benefit from multiple offered bonuses and promotions. Currently, there is a 150% bonus for bitcoin deposits.
Another good news is that Ignition offers some of the busiest poker tournaments where thousands of players join the famous Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and PLO tables.
| Ignition Poker Key Features |
| One of the busiest online poker networks in the US online poker market. |
| Fast real money payouts |
| One of the main mobile real money platforms in the US |
Bovada poker
After Betonline, Bovada is the other big and famous brand in the US online gambling industry. Also, it has one of the loosest player bases among poker sites. Better yet, they have almost 20 years of solid records in the online poker industry.
Bovada offers the best fast-fold poker games in the US online poker market because plenty of players play at all stakes.
| Bovada Poker Key Features |
| Offers real money mobile app. |
| Bitcoin payouts within 1 hour. |
| An excellent poker reputation and clean record earned by a lack of scandals or payout delays. |
| Offers fast-fold Zone poker that allows every single player to play over 300 hands per hand per table |
To Sum It Up
I tried to give you the bests of the best so you can just focus on the game and have an amazing experience playing online poker. It’s always a good idea to read second opinions and reviews to make a good decision. But remember to read honest and comprehensive reviews and pick your poker site wisely.
Read More:
Is Online Poker Legal in California?
