Real Money Sites
The best real money online poker sites for US Players in 2023:
Ignition Poker
What Ignition Poker offers US players for real money online poker:
- The most popular US friendly poker site - Accepts players in 45 states
- Does not accept players in Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Washington State
- The highest cash game traffic for US players
- Easiest to clear poker bonus: $5 in bonus paid per $10 of rake generated
- Highest new player bonus with 125% sign up bonus up to $1250 using Bitcoin
- Anonymous poker games - your opponents cannot track you
- Lowest rake for low stakes cash games with $2 rake cap on 5+ player No Limit Holdem cash games
- Super fast payouts (24-48 hours for Bitcoin)
Americas Cardroom
What Americas Cardroom offers US players for real money online poker:
- Accepts US players in 43 states
- Does not accept players in Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland, Louisiana, Kentucky, Delaware & Washington
- $3.8 Million guaranteed weekly tournaments
- $1 Million Sit n Go Jackpots with entries for $5, $15 & $50
- Top 800 weekly cash game 7 Blitz players split the Beast Rake Race Jackpot
- Lowest rake for 5+ No Limit Holdem with stakes above $0.25 / $0.50 - Lower $3 rake cap
- Freerolls on demand
- 100% First Deposit Bonus up to $2000 USD
- Get 5.5% - 66.2%+ cash back
- Americas Cardroom referral code: Sydney100
Bovada Poker
What Bovada Poker offers US players for real money online poker:
- 100% Sign up Bonus up to $500 for players in the USA creating new accounts
- Does not accept players in Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Washington State
- Easy to clear deposit bonus at 50% clearing rate: 30 days to clear
- Anonymous poker tables
- Low rake cap for No Limit Texas Holdem cash games: low stakes at $2
- Best for beginners - no bots, HUD free
BetOnline Poker
What BetOnline Poker offers US players for real money online poker:
- Accepts players in the USA from all 50 states
- #1 in Nevada, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Washington State.
- 100% Sign up Bonus up to $1000 for players in the USA creating new accounts
- $10,000 in new player freerolls - 4X $2,500
- $2.5 Million in weekly guaranteed tournaments
- $1 Million Dollar Winfall Jackpot Sit n Gos
- $150,000 GTD Sunday Main Event $109 buy-in
- Weak players - mainly sports bettors & casino gamblers
Online Poker USA
Online Poker in the USA surging in popularity and the most popular real money online poker site for USA players is Ignition poker which is number one searched for real money site in 28 states including: California, Texas, Illinois, Florida and New York.
Americas Cardroom is most popular in Nevada and New Jersey but does not accept players from those states. ACR only accepts US players from 43 states but its recently surging in popularity because it has the best real money tournaments for US players.
We know where players in Las Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City are playing at BetOnline as are players in Maryland, Delaware and Washington. BetOnline Accepts US players from all US states and territories.
Bovada Poker is most popular in Ohio and Tennessee but is the second most searched online poker site in the USA.
Several states like Idaho, Utah, South Dakota and Maine are not showing a clear preference due to low data from those states. For detailed information check out my section on real money online poker sites by state.
Is it Legal to Play Online Poker in the US?
You can play online poker in the US legally for real money, there are no federal laws that make it illegal so you will not get in trouble for playing poker online. State laws make online poker legal, illegal or unregulated depending on the state. The only state where it is illegal to play online poker is in Washington, but the law has never been enforced. Legal online poker states where online gaming is state regulated can be played in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Other states such as California, New York, Florida, Illinois and Texas do not have laws that make online poker illegal or legal at this time but to be certain you should double check your state laws.
Online poker sites serving US players need to be more cautious as there are several laws that can apply to them. The first is The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 which has to do with using a wire communication facility int the placing of bets on sporting events across state lines but not other types of online gambling. Second is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 or UIGEA which prohibits businesses from accepting payments from bets or wagers that uses the internet and is illegal under state or federal law. Third is Anti-Money Laundering or AML which in online poker could mean chip dumping. This is why chip dumping is banned and player to player transfers are minimized. source
Texas Holdem
The most popular online poker game for US players is No Limit Texas Holdem. All US friendly poker sites have far more cash games and tournaments for No Limit Texas Holdem than Limit Holdem, Omaha, Stud or other poker games. Learn to play Texas Holdem with freerolls and micro stakes poker games plus tutorials on poker websites and you tube videos from poker pros like Daniel Negraneu. The best Texas holdem online poker site for beginners is Bovada Poker with anonymous games, lower rake on micro stakes and low steaks Holdem games with a rake cap ($2 vs $3 to $5), super easy to clear bonus and long history of serving players in the Untied States with fast payouts.
PokerStars
The most popular online poker site is PokerStars which was banned for US players as of Black Friday in 2011. You May wonder whether players in the United States can play on PokerStars for real money? Well you can if you are in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, and play legally for real money. It is not the same as the international PokerStars.com player pool and it is a low traffic segregated player pool with a lot lower guarantees. Some players have tried to play on PokerStars with a VPN, now this is tricky as they do monitor for VPN's and if caught you will be banned and your account balance May be forfeited. There is also the problem of banking and how to deposit and withdraw as PokerStars does not accept US credit cards or crypto currencies like Bitcoin. You can play on PokerStars if you are an American living in a country that PokerStars has not banned like Canada.
Reddit is a great online forum to find incite in a lot of topics including online poker in the USA. Looking at the different threads relating to real money online poker in the USA, I found different single opinions but a general overall preference for Americas Cardroom overall, but Ignition Poker for lower stakes Texas Holdem cash games. Some Redditors also suggest playing at Global Poker as they accept Paypal, however this is sweepstakes poker and not a real money online poker site. The best recommendation for US poker players on Reddit is to use Bitcoin for your deposits and withdrawals, the fees are lower if not zero, payments are much faster and the deposit bonuses are bigger. source
Are Online Poker Sites Legit or Rigged?
You would be wise to make certain that any online poker site you play at is safe to play at for real money and is not rigged. Safe poker sites have a long history of on time payouts and are licensed and regulated in a legitimate jurisdiction. Legitimate poker sites need to have verified random number generators to ensure that the deal is fair, and that there are no hacks in the software that allow cheaters to see a players hole cards as happened in Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker in 2011. They also need to have segregated player funds as was not the case of Full Tilt Poker in 2011.
Online poker forums in twoplustwo and Reddit monitor sites for signs of being rigged or use of bots. In 2019 there were found to be several bots on Americas Cardroom and the CEO, Phil Nagy shut them down and refunded the effected players their funds. Online cheating requires ongoing monitoring and even though it happens infrequently it must be actively watched for. Since these events licensing jurisdictions have increased their monitoring of poker sites and third party player auditor eCOGRA publishes the results of the online gaming sites that it audits. source
Best Online Poker Tournaments for US Players
What are the Best Online Poker Tournaments for Real Money?
The best online poker tournaments for US players for real money are at Americas Cardroom:
- The biggest online poker tournament for US players is the Venom with $7 million guaranteed and $ Million guaranteed first place.
- Monthly special tournament series like the OSS ($12 Million Guaranteed) or the High Five ($10 million Guaranteed)
- The biggest Sunday tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $0.25 to $1050
- The highest weekly guarantee for tournaments at $3.8 million
- The most weekly guaranteed tournaments with 743 minimum
- Daily $100,000 Guaranteed with $109 buy in + satellite qualifiers to win your seat
- WSOP satellite tournaments for the 2023 Main Event with $12500 packages
- $1 Million Dollar Jackpot Sit n Gos with buy-ins of $5, $15 or $50
- Freerolls on demand for $50
Real Money Sites by State
Find the best real money online poker site by state:
- Americas Cardroom - Accepts US players from 43 States: Not Accepting Players from Delaware, Louisiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and Washington State.
- Bovada Poker - Accepts US players from 45 States: Not Accepting Players from Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and Washington State.
- Ignition Poker - Accepts US players from 45 States: Not Accepting Players from Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and Washington State.
- BetOnline Poker - Accepts US players from 50 States: Accepts players in the United States from all 50 states.
States Accepted by US Friendly Real Money Poker Sites
Americas Cardroom
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
BetOnline
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisianan
- Maryland
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Bovada
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisianan
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Ignition
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisianan
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Best Real Money Mobile Poker Apps
The best real money online poker apps for Android and iPhone in the USA:
- Android - US players can play real money poker games on Android smartphones and tablets from the likes of Google, Samsung, Motorolla, LG and more.
- iPhone / iOS - Compatible for real money with all iOS devices - iPhones, iPads and iPods.
- Mac - US players can play real money poker on all Apple Mac computers including Macbooks and iMacs.
- Windows PC - US players can play real money poker downloads for Windows PC's.
- Chromebook - Real money poker can be played on chomebooks using no download poker software..
- No-Download - Play poker online for real money with no download on all devices with in browser poker games.
Real Money Online Poker FAQ
You can play online poker for real money in the United States for both cash games and tournaments in all 50 states. Real money online poker can be played on Windows PC's, Apple Mac's, Android and iPhones from anywhere with an internet connection 24/7.
These poker sites have Android apps and iOS apps that use real money and accept players from the United States:
- Americas Cardroom - americascardroom.eu
- Ignition Poker - ignitioncasino.eu
- Bovada Poker - bovada.lv
- BetOnline Poker - betonline.ag
Legal online poker can be played in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Michigan. In Washington State it is illegal and in other states there are no laws that make playing online poker illegal.
In the United States these are the online poker sites that you can play for real money:
- Americas Cardroom - Accepts real money US players from 43 states
- Ignition Poker - Accepts real money US players from 45 states
- Bovada Poker - Accepts real money US players from 45 states
- BetOnline Poker - Accepts real money US players from all 50 states
The best poker site for real money in the USA is Americas Cardroom for players in the 43 states that they accept real money players from. In Louisiana and Kentucky the best real money site is Ignition Poker. For US players in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington State the best real money poker site is BetOnline.
Americas Cardroom is legal for US players in 43 states to play online poker for real money. You can play Americas Cardroom in all states except Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Kentucky, Louisiana and Washington State.
Americans can play on PokerStars for real money in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This is a low traffic site that is not part of the international PokerStars.com player pool and it has low guarantees for tournaments.
Full Tilt Poker is not legal to play for real money in the United States.
US players can play online poker for real money in Canada at PokerStars, Party Poker, 888poker and most other online poker sites that are banned in the United States.