Online Poker Site Reviews

There are hundreds of poker sites online. The last thing you want to do is sign-up and deposit at the first one you come across. Chances are that you’ll end up being an unhappy poker player.

What I suggest you do instead is read our poker room reviews. We’ve taken the top poker sites on the web, created accounts at each and have gone through the games, support and banking options, very much like you would if you were to play there. Then we report what we find to you so that you can make an educated decision as to where you should play poker online.

To get started just choose from our reviews below. Below the links to our room reviews you’ll find a list of common FAQs pertaining to online poker, how it works, deposit options and other things that will help both beginners and advanced players alike.

Regulated Poker Sites:

PartyPoker NJ is one of the best regulated poker sites out there right now. Top-notch software, a free $25 bankroll for new signups, amazing customer service and fast cashouts/deposits make this the GO TO online poker option in NJ and the tri-state area (NY and PA, respectively). Check them out today if you’re visiting from the area and download the software in less than 2 minutes!

More Poker Reviews:

• BetOnline Poker Review – BetOnline is one of the only legitimate games left in the United States. They accept players from ALL 50 jurisdictions and have a full-service poker room, casino and sportsbook.
• 888Poker Review – 888 is still one of the most recognizable and trustworthy poker brands on the web today. With revamped software options and amazing bonuses, it’s not hard to see why this is one of the more popular poker sites online.
• Bodog88 Poker Review – Bodog88, like it’s predecessor Bodog/Bovada, caters to the Australian and Asian markets.
• Bovada Poker Review – Bovada currently has one of the best poker clients out there today, including being one of the only sites that offers “anonymous” tables for its players. The site also has its own software and features some of the more solid casino games out there.

Common Online Poker FAQs

Online poker is still relatively new, even though it’s been around for over 10 years. New players are turning to online poker everyday, and understandably, many of them have questions about how online poker works, laws, depositing and so on. So we thought it’d be helpful to you to post the most common questions that we get about online poker, and our answers. You can find them below.

Can Americans play online poker for real money?

It depends.

The biggest factor the answer depends on is where in the USA you live. There are between 10-15 states that have passed laws against online gambling. In some states, such as Washington, it’s a felony to play poker online.

However, you can still play online poker in these states, assuming you can find a poker site that will let you sign-up. There are fewer and fewer of them everyday. But it’s not legal for you, too.

Other than on a state level, there are no laws that outlaw online poker. So the best answer to that question is yes, but you should check your local laws before you sign-up to a site and make a deposit.

What poker sites accept Americans?

This changes all the time. At the moment Americans can play at the likes of Ignition Poker, Intertops, VietBet and Americas Cardroom. All of these sites exclude players from the states with stricter laws.

The best (and fastest) way to know what sites accept Americans is to look for an American flag on our toplist tables, or to visit our US specific poker (and other gambling) pages.

What sites have [this game] I like to play?

What you’ll come to find is that unless you want to play something obscure, there should be no problem finding the game, much less the variation, you want to play.

That becomes truer all the time, too. At one point Rush Poker was exclusive to Full Tilt. It wasn’t long before PokerStars came out with Zoom Poker and other sites came out with their own versions. If a game is popular enough, every site will eventually want to spread it on their site.

Can you play poker for real money online?

Yes. The exception is if you live in a state or country that does not allow it, or the poker site doesn’t allow players from your area. I covered this a little above.

Keep in mind, though, that you don’t have to play for real money. You have the option between play and real money games at almost every poker site online.

How do I make a real money deposit?

Making a real money deposit is no different than making a purchase online. So if you’ve done that then you should be fine.

For everyone else, what you’ll want to do is go to the cashier, find your preferred banking method, enter your information and how much you want to deposit. Then hit submit. Your funds should be available within minutes, if not instantly, so long as you’re using an option such as a credit/debit card or e-wallet.

Keep in mind that deposit options, limits and fees will vary from site to site.

Is [poker site] safe? What makes a poker site safe?

If the site you (want to) play at is a site 4Flush.com recommends, then yes, the site is safe. However, that’s only to the best of our knowledge, and does not guarantee that we won’t deem the room as unsafe in the future.

To answer the second question, unfortunately, there is no one way that makes a site safe to play at. What we look at is whether or not a poker site is licensed, regulated and viewed as trustworthy from within the poker community. If a lot of players are making deposits, playing games and cashing out without problems or being cheated, then we feel that would mean the site is safe for our readers.

How do deposit bonuses work?

Deposit bonuses are promotions from poker sites to encourage you to deposit once you create an account with them. Or reward you for your deposit. However you want to look at it.

The most common deposit bonus is what is referred to as a match bonus. The poker site will match a percentage of your deposit, usually 100%, up to so many dollars. For example, a common bonus is 100% up to $600. So any amount up to $600 the poker site will match you dollar for dollar. If you deposit $100, you’ll be given $100, $250 for $250 and so on. Percentages and max bonuses given will depend on the poker site.

That’s only one half of the process, though. The second half is clearing the deposit bonus. Poker sites make you play real money games and generate rake (revenue for the poker site) and release so much of your bonus to you after so you’ve paid so much in rake. For example, a poker site might ask that you earn 100 points for every $1 of your bonus, with your bonus released to you in $5 (500 point) increments. So, if it costs you .10 rake for every 1 point, you’ll need to pay $50 for every $5 of your bonus money.

Note: Poker sites have these clearing requirements in place to prevent people from ripping them off — just signing up for the bonus and then cashing it out.

Most bonuses have expiration dates, too. So you’ll want to be aware of that when shopping around for poker sites, so that the bonus you sign-up for is reasonable relative to the stakes you play, your free time and skill level.