Best Poker Sites in the US December 2024

Licence and Security

The license is the most important thing to check before you start playing. All online poker sites need to be licensed to legally operate in the US. A license shows that the site is safe, trustworthy, and reputable, as it means it has to follow strict regulations. When we review an online poker site, we always check that it’s licensed and that it follows the correct security protocols. This means checking out the level of encryption used to keep your data secure.

Bonus and Promotions

Bonuses are one of the best parts about signing up to play poker online. Welcome offers, rakeback, and other loyalty rewards all make playing online much more exciting. While a lot of these offers are fun, some can be locked behind complicated terms and conditions. Our reviews look into the promotions on offer to give you all the details, making sure that they offer value to players. We look at the total value of the bonus as well as how easy it is to claim and play with.

Payment Methods

Playing with real money online means you’ll have to deposit funds into your account. Not only that, but you’ll also want to withdraw your winnings at some point. Top US poker sites make it relatively straightforward to deposit and withdraw cash, accepting a wide range of payment methods. When we review these sites, we test them out for ourselves, checking how easy it is to make both deposits and withdrawals. We also review the minimum and maximum amounts and make sure there are no fees.

Game Selection

When you play poker online, you want to find a wide range of available game modes and ways to play. No limit hold’em, no limit Omaha, stud poker, and video poker are some of the most popular game types. Our reviews look at the versions of poker on offer as well as the availability of tournaments and cash games. We make sure that our review looks at the quality and quantity of the selection offered.

Real Money Online Poker Licensing and Compliance

All online gambling sites need to be licensed to operate legally. In the US, individual state regulators provide licenses, and your state must license a gambling site for you to be able to use it. A license shows that the poker site has adhered to strict regulations aimed at protecting players and their funds. All of the US poker sites we review have been licensed and have great reputations for player safety and fairness.

Without a license, an online poker site may not be offering fair games and might not have adequate protections in place for your money. You can check how fair games are at a licensed casino by looking at the return to player (RTP) rate. However, this doesn’t apply to games that are played against real opponents, such as Texas hold’em poker. Trusted and licensed sites also use encryption which helps keep your personal data safe.

Real Money Poker on Mobile

Online poker is now available to play from anywhere. You can enjoy poker on your mobile, thanks to mobile online poker sites. These work just the same as on a desktop, allowing you to sign up, deposit funds, and start playing whenever you like. You can play on smartphones and tablets without needing to download any software, taking your favorite poker games with you on the go.

Advantages of Online Poker

Poker has been played for more than one hundred years, but it’s gotten even better thanks to online poker sites. You can now enjoy this classic game however you want and play for real money right here in the US. There are many advantages of playing poker online rather than in a poker room or casino. Here are some of the best.

Speed

Speed is one of the biggest advantages of playing online. Live games tend to be played at a fairly slow pace, seeing around 30 hands an hour. When you play online, this can potentially triple to around 100 hands an hour. This is because there’s a time limit in which you have to complete your move. There is less time to plan your move, but the game moves at a much faster pace, allowing you to get more games in and hopefully win more too.

Convenience

With online poker, you no longer have to travel to a poker room or casino and wait for a table. You can now join an online poker site and load up a game to play whenever you want. There are always cash game tables available, and tournaments run all through the day and night, meaning you can play whenever you want. Now that poker sites are mobile compatible, you can play anywhere you like too.

Big Tournaments

Online poker sites sometimes have major tournaments that you can enter, offering big prize pools to winners. Buy-ins and availability of these tournaments vary depending on the site you use, but you can also find satellite tournaments for major events such as the WSOP. By entering these satellite tournaments and winning, you can win buy-ins to a major, televised event and potentially win millions.

Variety

Although Texas hold ’em is the most popular version of poker, it’s not the only type you can play online. There are so many different varieties of the game available at online poker sites, giving you loads of options to choose from. Whether you want to try something new or you have a particular favorite ruleset, you can play however you want. Compared to live poker, the selection is usually a lot better online.

Conclusion

Poker is growing in popularity in the US once more, thanks to legal online poker sites. These sites allow you to easily sign up, make a deposit and start playing a range of exciting games whenever you want. You can play on mobile or desktop, and there are loads of great bonuses available to claim.

Now you know a little more about the game, and how to choose the best poker site, you’re ready to sign up and start playing. Read through some of our online poker site reviews to discover the best sites that offer fair and fun poker games.