It’s reasonable to ask, “Is online poker legit,” because cardplayer pay a lot of money into online poker rooms. This is a two part article, first covering online poker and second examining which sportsbooks are legit. I recommend www.IgnitionPoker.eu (previously known as Bovada) for poker and Bovada.lv for sports betting, and so does everybody else who isn’t paid off. If you only consider a legit site, one run by state or Federal licenses, then you must by physically located in Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania. For those that live there the PokerStars, Borgata, and WSOP are the most active in the 4 licensed states.
Pokerstars: The biggest of all poker sites. PokerStars is the biggest online poker site. That sentence alone should tell you that it is hard to go wrong with PokerStars. At PokerStars, you get the full package, playable on any device, tons of tournaments and an excellent first deposit bonus. With their bonus system. List your Ad for Free Practice your Poker (for free) PokerDIY is for finding LIVE poker games, however you can improve your poker game by playing online here against the pros.
I didn’t just pull these sites from nowhere, I’ve been in the gambling business for over 10 years now. I’ve seen and dealt with all sorts of millionaire and billionaire scum bags; people that should be on the TV show “American Greed”. The only legit poker sites I suggest are mentioned on my homepage or on the ‘safe list‘. You’ll notice the list is pretty darn short, and I’ve dealt with approximately 45-60 gambling sites. PokerStars is the largest online poker site there is. Borgata is powered by Party Poker, while WSOP.com uses 888poker software. If you consider a non rigged, legit poker site to be one run from the United States, then you will have to be physically located in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, or Pennsylvania to be able to play. But I can point to unregulated poker rooms that which gives
But Aren’t U.S. Licensed Sites Legit?
It’s debatable. In fact, in total I’ve had $147,116 taken from me by the U.S. government. The money was not stolen by offshore poker sites but THE U.S. GOVERNMENT! The process of legalized poker in the U.S. was a complete scam. They attempted to shut down every online poker site that was running for US customers, simply because they wanted zero (0) competition as they launched their own poker sites.
Let me ask you this. How is it that the Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) – which has nothing to do with online poker – was the first to open up an online poker room in Nevada? How is it that poker sites like Bet365, Paddy Power, Everest Poker – which are traded on the London Stock Exchange and have market value in the billions of dollars – were not given priority in the immediate launch of poker in the US? Those 5-star poker sites never accepted US customers after UIGEA and adhered to all laws both domestic and international.
Yet the UFC gets the first poker license in Nevada. Not only that but the operations at “Ultimate Poker”, UFC’s poker site was light years behind any poker site based offshore that is legit. The Nevada Gaming Commission helped the local business already making them and the state money, because UFC was affiliated with Station Casinos (at the time). That is governmental corruption at its finest. Did I mention UltimatePoker went out of business, because they didn’t know how to operate a poker site?
Legit Poker Sites
Beginners might wonder what a legit poker site needs, so let’s define our terms. Below is a short list of the factor you should consider, always with explanations for why they’re important. Don’t use poker rooms if they don’t check off everything on the following checklist.
Which Poker Site is Not Rigged?
My buddies ask me all the time about this because it’s my job and one of the sites I most often recommend is Ignition Poker (previously known as Bovada). Having met the owner personally, he is an honest person and puts himself in the public spotlight when others hide under rocks. His previous ownership, now owned by Morris Mohawk is probably worth about 1-2 billion USD. In a closed meeting, he discussed how if anything ever went bad, he would personally make sure all his players and employees got paid from his own checkbook. On top of that the site has the most player traffic going by PokerScout and has an Alexa rank of 9,730. For a comparison, HBO has about a 4,600 Alexa rank which means millions of people use it. Most sites are in the million number ranks – which is terrible.
If you are in Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Delaware, then the answer might be different in 3 or 4 years from now as the WSOP grows its player base. The WSOP is now forced to be legitimate and all licensed poker sites in the U.S. look like the saviors of safe poker sites. In truth, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was an unnecessary federal law which shut down poker sites, drove out legit online cardrooms, and dismantled a perfectly well run market. If lawmakers had not stepped in we would still be playing at Party Poker and making money would be just as easy as it was all those years ago. But lawmakers must justify their jobs and business owners must deal with the fallout the best they can.
Be Careful of Scamming Affiliates
I could go on for hours about how people to this day are crummy affiliates who are touting poker sites to play. They are getting large up-front chunks of cash in the $100,000+ range to mention their poker rooms because they rank high for popular terms in Google and Yahoo by using spammy search engine optimization techniques over and over again to maintain rankings and visitors. I have email chains proving certain companies insolvency and forthcoming bankruptcy, yet they continue to operate. The most recent mass scale offenders were Lock Poker. This was one of the longest running scams, but U.S. law enforcement agencies never took action. Eventually, journalist John Mehaffey brought Lock Poker’s abuses to light. Players left the platform and the site shut down in 2015.
Thus, poker review sites serve a useful purpose. With honest reporting and the facts on their side, card players can make informed decisions about online poker rooms. US Poker Sites continues to monitor legit sites here, so players have the info they need. We are pretty straight forward, so we hope this site helps.
For what it’s worth, I do not believe any poker sites are ‘rigged’m but cheating and collusion goes on regularly and will never stop. Legit poker sites takes steps to eliminate collusion, but cheaters find new and inventive ways to collude. It’s a cat-and-mouse game that will never end entirely. It’s better just to play for small amounts of money – however you define “small amounts” – you don’t mind losing one way or the other.
Is Ignition Poker Legit?
So if legitimate poker sites try to make games safer, then you might ask which card rooms you should trust. Ignition Poker is the top option for American online poker players, so I’ll use it as an example. Ignition Casino launched in the spring of 2016. A few months later, Ignition bought Bovada Poker’s player pool, instantly establishing itself as the second largest online gambling site which accepted US poker players. Since then, Ignition Poker vaulted to the number one spot.
Ignition Poker therefore has all of the elements of a world class online poker site. It’s linked to an online casino, so many soft players or fish join its cash games and tournament events. The gaming platform uses Bovada proprietary software, so Ignition uses trusted and well-tested technology. It has the most player traffic of any poker site which accepts US players.
The Bovada-powered poker room includes several features that make it popular with players. Here’s a few of those features:
Deft readers might notice that Ignition Poker is newer, so they might be thinking the site doesn’t meet the criterion of experience. Ignition’s owner has been in the online poker business since the 1990s, so the poker room has more experience than the other online poker rooms which accept US players from any state.
Free Poker Sites
Poker players can find all the information they need with free poker sites. To learn more about online poker, watch live streamed poker games on Twitch and YouTube. Both platforms have a seemingly endless amount of channels which provide all-day coverage of online and live poker events. One of the best is FuryTV.
FuryTV, a YouTube channel with the best compilations, highlights, and hands from poker events all around the world. Fury ETC Ltd is affiliated with the official Twitter page of partypoker, @partypoker, and the official home of partypoker live events, Part@partypokerlive. Watching a YouTube feed like FuryTV improves your knowledge and skills at poker.
Keep reading USPokerSites for the latest advice and trends. Like our recommendations on Ignition Poker or FuryTV, we give honest opinions and detailed reasons to support those attitudes. When the latest trends and updates happen, we reasses the landscape and give our readers the best information available. Our goal is to provide reliable poker advice on the latest topics. You might not always agree with us, but like the opinions above on corrupt politicians and scamming affiliates, you’ll walk away with new ideas and information to consider. Keep studying online poker, and keep reading about the poker sites we recommend.
What separates a fish from a regular? What separates a regular from a shark? And what separates a shark from Phil Ivey?
Okay, in the case of the latter, it’s probably something genetic, but the other two questions have a much simpler answer: Hard work.
Poker, like any other complex game of strategy, involves making the maximum number of “correct” decisions based on the information you have available.
Unlike most other complex games of strategy, however, poker challenges its players by hiding the majority of the data that they’d ordinarily base their decisions on. Add variance into the equation and you’re sitting with a game that’s almost impossible to predict.
That’s why decisions in poker are rarely described as either “right” or “wrong”, but rather whether they have positive or negative expected value (also referred to as +EV and -EV)
There are so many factors that determine whether a play is +EV and it often comes down to a subjective interpretation of the hand. There isn’t one definitive resource that will tell you with exact authority whether you made the right decision or not.
That’s why constantly studying and training is the most important aspect of becoming a winning player. Hire a poker dealer uk. Fortunately for us, we live in the age of information and the internet has made finding excellent resources for getting better at poker extremely easy.
So, with that in mind, we’ve put together a list of eight resources that we feel are the ideal places for online poker players to learn how to constantly improve their skill levels.
Deuces Cracked
With more than 3,500 videos presented by a friendly and extremely helpful community of professionals, Deuces Cracked is one of the most popular training sites available for online players.
While the site covers a wide range of game types and stakes, the majority of videos are focused on catering for the micro-stakes No Limit Hold’em market.
In addition to the many one-off videos added by community members on a regular basis, the site also features a number of video “series” which consist of many installments that tackle larger topics.
The most popular of these series is an eight-part epic titled “Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment” presented by Tommy Angelo and Wayne Lively. This particular series has received widespread acclaim and is regarded as a landmark in online poker training.
Access to Deuces Cracked is currently priced at $29 per month.
PokerStrategy.com
7.9 million poker enthusiasts can’t be wrong, right? Boasting one of the largest memberships of all the poker sites we reviewed, PokerStrategy.com is easily one of the most popular online training resources.
Unlike the majority of its competitors, PokerStrategy.com is a free resource, offering users not only unrestricted access its entire knowledge base, but also a $50 instant bankroll that you can deposit at several of the major poker rooms.
This risk-free introduction to the world of online poker has resulted in Pokerstrategy.com attracting a less experienced audience, meaning that much of their material focuses on turning new players into winning players.
PokerStrategy.com’s video catalogue may not be as comprehensive as Deuces Cracked, but these have more of a “classroom” feel to better cater to their target market’s needs.
The site also offers a vast collection of strategy articles and tutorials, all aimed at helping the new player succeed. In addition, it also boasts one of the most vibrant and helpful communities all too keen to get involved in discussing hands, sessions and other aspects related to becoming a better player.
Advanced Poker Training
This unique site features an array of sophisticated tools that emulates a poker setting, provides context-sensitive guidance, and analyzes your play to point out strengths and weaknesses.
The foundation of their product is simulation software that allows the player to play up to 500 hands per hour against highly-sophisticated bots programmed to test every aspect of your game.
Their trademarked rating programs perform a real-time evaluation of your play and provides an astonishingly deep set of data that helps you identify where you need improvement.
The site’s reliance on artificial intelligence may be a concern for some, but the immersive, gamified approach to coaching may well be a big draw for others who prefer to learn while playing.
Advanced poker training will set you back $29.90 per month
You cannot withdraw your funds from there, but it’s an entertaining project, so if you want to make real bets, there are other rooms. This one is for pure fun, and if you like it, you can download WSOP – Texas Holdem to your mobile or Facebook Gameroom. It doesn’t take long to launch or join, and it’s always just one click away. The VerdictIt’s a decent poker game, the one that satisfies all the requirements. Get free chip texas holdem poker.
Bluefire Poker
If you’re looking for a training site that has more of a quality-over-quantity approach, Bluefire Poker is the one for you – especially if you’re a high-stakes 6-max No Limit Hold’em player. Slot machine games for computers.
The video content at Bluefire Poker is of an exceptionally high standard. With its relatively small roster of producers – lead by site founder and online poker legend Phil Gaflond – the site is able to better curate its output and ensure that members don’t have to sift through hours of content before finding something of real value to them.
Another reason why Bluefire Poker may the best training option for you is if you’re already an experienced player looking to learn more advanced strategy and techniques.
Bluefire Poker prizes content above all, meaning that they have spent little time cultivating a community. Consider signing up if you’re mainly looking to get advanced insight from the best roster of online video producers available.
Membership costs $29.99 per month and a $99 initiation fee.
Two Plus Two Forums
Two Plus Two is one of the originals – a genuine authority in the world of poker training – and has been around since the heydey of online poker.
One of the first online communities to embrace peer-driven hand analysis, Two Plus Two thrives on discussion. The site boasts more than 400,000 members, a large portion of whom actively participate in the seemingly endless number of hand analyses posted on an hourly basis.
More than any of the other sites mentioned here, the value a member will derive from Two Plus Two is proportionate to becoming involved. Sure, you can lurk on the edges and read what other members have to say about each others’ play, but the real magic happens when you get involved.
The Two Plus Two forums are free to join.
Tournament Poker Edge
Not many training sites have as narrow a focus as Tournament Poker Edge, with the site eschewing conventions of covering a large range of game types and focusing solely on multi-table tournaments.
Aside from the typical training material you’d find at a training site, Tournament Poker Edge also offers a structured training curriculum that takes members on an a well planned educational journey.
This product, named TPE University, allows you to consume training content applicable to your level of skill and experience and helps you assess whether you are ready to progress to a new level of training.
As can be expected of a training site with a narrower focus, the quality of content at Tournament Poker Edge is of a very high caliber, with the likes of Casey “bigdogpckt5s” Jarzabek, Charles “Hagbard Celine” Sizemore, and Ryan “HITTHEPANDA” Franklin among their regular contributors.
Tournament Poker Edge will set you back $23.95 per month.
Jonathan Little’s Weekly Poker Hand Podcast
Jonathan Little’s website offers several training resources in the form of educational videos, blog posts, and book reviews, but few of these are as insightful as the terrific weekly hand analysis he does in the form of a podcast and video.
All online poker players know that the majority of the time that you spend “studying” should involve your analyzing big hands and getting other players’ input on your choices.
Well, few people are as gifted at diving deep into his own thought process as Jonathan Little.
In this weekly series, you can expect to hear insightful and candid commentary on his and his opponents’ play, with his discussions on one hand sometimes exceeding the 12-minute mark. So don’t expect your standard, superficial analysis here.
Best of all, this resource is entirely free to everyone.
Cardrunners
Cardrunners is without a doubt one of the most respected platforms for teaching players the techniques needed to move on from the from the traps of playing standard, tight aggressive, ABC poker.
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The site’s approach to teaching – and the quality of its content – has also seen it gain favour amongst some of the world’s top professional players as a resource for constant improvement.
Their enormous roster of contributors reads like a “who’s who” of the online poker world, with the likes of Brian Townsend, Taylor Caby, Brian Hastings, and Andrew Wiggins frequently adding to the already-sizeable knowledge base.
An aspect that sets Cardrunners apart from its competition is the quality of their No Limit Hold’em Heads Up training content. This game format has become increasingly popular, especially at the higher stake levels, and no training site covers it as well as they do.
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Cardrunners’ Gold membership comes in at a cost of $27.99 per month and there is also a one-off fee of $99.00.
SitnGoGrinders
Another training site that caters for a niche audience – albeit a very large one – SitnGoGrinders aims to help players interested in dominating this popular game format.
The site has a broad focus within the scope of Sit and Go’s (SNGs), offering a medium-sized pool of videos that cover all the most popular types of tournaments.
To reflect it’s more precise, narrow scope, SitnGoGrinders has adopted an innovative pricing model, opting not to bill members on a monthly basis, but rather offer collections of themed videos (called “packs”) at set prices coming in at around $40 – $60 per pack.
Grinding SNGs is one of the most popular ways for poker players to grow their bankroll and few other sites offer the wealth of specialist information than these guys do. This site is an absolute must if SNGs are your game.
Bonus: Poker Copilot
Reviewing, analyzing, and discussing an isolated hand that included many interesting decision points is certainly one of the most effective ways to learn.
Doing so also has the most obvious impact on your bankroll since winning more and losing fewer big hands is one of the main goals of improving your game.
It’s easy to overlook the importance of analyzing your play in hands that didn’t have a memorable pot, you are playing hundreds of them in a session, after all.
To best assess these types of hands, Poker Copilot offers a feature called Leak Detection. This sophisticated functionality analyzes all of the hands that you have played in a session and points out small, typically invisible flaws that will cost you money in the long run.
Poker Copilot will analyze your gameplay and help you answer the following questions:
Conclusion
Many of these resources may come at quite a high price, but don’t let this put you off! We’ve found that paying for your education can often be a very helpful motivator for taking the process a little more seriously.
As with most things in life, the reward you get out of learning is proportionate to the investment you make in it.
Best Free Online Poker Sites
Whether it be financial, time, or effort, you get what you put in and this applies doubly when it comes to improving your poker game.
If you genuinely commit to making the most of these resources, respect the material, and trust the educational process, you are guaranteed to become a better player and show profit in the long run.
So choose which one of the above options work best for you and pour yourself into the experience of getting better.
See you at the tables!
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