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US Online Poker Site Reviews & Best Promotions
Poker site reviews can be very helpful to anyone who is thinking about which online poker room they want to sign up with. There are quite a few poker sites available in the US, especially in pro-gambling states such as New Jersey, so it’s easy to feel daunted by the idea of choosing between them.
The good news is that we’re here to help you do that. Not by telling you that there’s one poker room to rule them all (there really isn’t) but by providing honest and reliable poker room reviews that explain exactly what you can expect from each operator.
USA Online Poker Sites/Apps & Top Promotions
Best Poker Sites in the US
The quickest way that we can help you to choose a new online poker home is by highlighting the best poker sites in the US. This will give you a broad overview of exactly what’s available and where.
We’ll tell you a little about each operator and the kind of games and promotions they offer. Links to our full poker site reviews will also be provided so that you can find out more simply by clicking the link for any site that catches your eye.
PartyPoker
PartyPoker is one of the biggest names in the online poker scene, and there are plenty of good reasons for that. One is that this poker site has been around for some two decades, having first launched in 2001. That’s a long time, and PartyPoker has used it well, fine-tuning every aspect of its offering to help it build up one of the best-known poker brands around.
The main game at PartyPoker is No-Limit Texas Hold’em, but other games that you can play here also include Fixed-Limit Texas Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha. Stakes range from 1¢/2¢ all the way up to $25/$50, so no matter what size your bankroll, there’ll be a game to suit.
Cash games are plentiful here, but so are tournaments, thanks to a full schedule of both Sit & Go and Multi-Table Tournaments. And if you need a bankroll boost to take advantage of those, PartyPoker has you covered with a bonus just for signing up, as well as an even bigger bonus when you make your first deposit.
PokerStars
PokerStars has been making headlines for about the same length of time as PartyPoker, having been founded in the same year. Owned by The Stars Group, this is a top-quality site that has been adopted as the online home of multiple professional players, with Daniel Negreanu, Liv Boeree, and Chris Moneymaker all having accounts here.
There is quite a bit of choice at PokerStars as far as poker variations are concerned. As well as the obligatory Texas Hold’em you can also play Omaha Poker, Five Card Draw Poker, Razz Poker, and more for a buy-in of as little as $1.
Higher stake games are also available, of course, but be warned that the players at the highest levels can be tough to beat. That said, losing to a pro can sometimes be as much fun as beating an amateur.
This is another site that rewards new players for getting involved, so be sure to take full advantage of its promotion to enjoy free play and a generous match bonus.
WSOP
Unless you’re brand new to the game, the World Series of Poker will need little introduction. It’s the most famous poker tournament on the planet, and there are few things in life that poker players want more than to win one of its coveted bracelets. Incredibly, the WSOP online poker site could help any of its players to do exactly that.
The WSOP online poker site operates like any other and gives you a great choice of games, including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud, and more. You’ll also have a wide range of staking levels, from 5¢/10¢ at the lower end up to $100/$200. Cash games, Multi-Table Tournaments and Sit & Go tourneys are all accessible via the lobby.
What makes WSOP particularly special is that it allows you to participate in feeder tournaments that give you a chance of winning an entry into one of the more prestigious land-based tournaments. That’s right, you’ll have plenty of chances of winning your way to a WSOP bracelet.
Throw in a generous welcome package that includes free play, a deposit match and entry into daily freerolls and we think you’ll agree that the WSOP site is definitely worth exploring.
BetMGM Poker
The MGM brand was born almost a century ago, in 1924. Back then, its focus was on the production of movies, but it has since diversified into many different areas, including casinos and hospitality services. BetMGM offers online casino and sports betting, and it is also an impressive online poker site in its own right.
Texas Hold’em players will be in their element here, and while other poker variations aren’t quite so well catered for, the range is steadily increasing. As for stakes, you’ll find tables that go as low as 1¢/2¢, which makes this a fantastic venue for beginners who are just getting to grips with the game. Of course, you can also play for much higher stakes if you’re already confident enough to do so.
The range of cash games and tournaments at this site is impressive. Try playing in a Turbo game if you don’t like waiting around, a Heads-Up tournament if you want to go one-on-one or a Coin Flip tournament if you want to leave the outcome to fate. Whatever your preference, take advantage of the BetMGM new player bonus and you’ll get a deposit match as well as some free play on the house.
Borgata Poker
When the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City was renovated in the middle of the last decade, it gave the state of New Jersey its biggest and most user-friendly poker room. While not quite as groundbreaking in terms of features (tables at the land-based room even boast USB charging stations) the online Borgata Poker offering is just as impressive.
All of the most popular poker variations can be played here, including Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Hold’em, and Pot-Limit Omaha. If you’re a seasoned player then you can jump straight in, but if you’re relatively new to poker you can also take advantage of a free Borgata poker school that will teach you all about poker hand rankings, strategy, and more, giving you a better chance at the tables.
With a wide range of formats (cash games and tournaments) and staking levels, Borgata is suitable for everyone. But if you don’t believe this, you can get some free play just for signing up, and see for yourself. Then, when you make your first deposit, you can enjoy a hefty match bonus as a welcome gift.
888Poker
888 has been a leading online gambling brand ever since it was first launched in 1997. It is owned by 888 Holdings, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2005, and it offers sports betting and casino gaming as well as online poker. Its poker arm began in 2002, and 888poker arrived in New Jersey in 2013.
Having been around for quite some time, 888poker is another site that has a very good range of games. You can play Texas Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, and more. Similarly, you can choose to participate in cash games, MTTs, Sit & Go tournaments, and Poker Blast games, to name just a few of the options available to you.
Sign up here and you’ll be given a modest amount of free play to take the 888poker site for a spin. Then, when you come to make your first deposit, brace yourself for a potentially huge match bonus.
Factors Considered for Poker Site Reviews
Before we leave you to explore our poker room reviews for yourself, we should tell you something about the various factors that we consider when writing them.
There are in fact several aspects to a poker site that are of importance, and so we don’t just focus on headline offers or the poker site’s own marketing hype. Instead, we look carefully at each of the following areas:
Range of Poker Games
The research for our poker site reviews begins with a look at the range of games that are available. Texas Hold’em is by far the most popular game online, but there are plenty of players who also like to play Omaha, Stud, and even H.O.R.S.E.
Knowing that, we assess the range of poker games on offer. The wider the range, the better.
Range of Poker Formats
Having looked at the range of games on offer, we next look at what game formats are available. Ideally, we want to see a good mix of cash games, single table tournaments, and multi-table tournaments. Novelty formats are less important but will be noted in our poker reviews when these are also offered.
Bonuses and Promotions
All poker sites like to encourage new players to join them by providing bonuses and promotions of various kinds. We therefore assess the bonuses and promotions that are being offered by a particular operator to see how good they are for players and how they compare with others that are available elsewhere.
The Players
You need players to enjoy a good game of poker, so we also look at how many there are at the poker room we’re reviewing. We don’t only consider the amount of traffic that a poker site gets, but also the range of player types that it attracts. A good mix of players across all skill levels is best for an all-round poker site, as that will make it suitable for beginners, amateurs, and even aspiring professionals.
The Software
It would be a mistake to think that all online poker sites are exactly the same, and one area in which they often differ is in the software they use. As well as having their own platforms, poker rooms vary in whether they require you to download their software to your own machine in order to play. Some will also provide mobile apps so that you can play on your smartphone or tablet. All of this is taken into consideration in our poker reviews.
Banking Options
Although you won’t spend nearly as much time making deposits and withdrawals as you spend at the tables, it’s important that the banking options at a poker room are both accessible and user-friendly.
We want to see at least a handful of popular ways in which we can make deposits and withdrawals, and we also want transactions to be processed both quickly and efficiently.
Safety and Security
All of which brings us to one of the most important aspects of all, which is safety and security. Because our poker site reviews only ever feature operators that are completely legal and properly licensed for their respective states, you’ll be pleased to note that they all employ the strictest security protocols to protect both your money and your personal data.
Even so, we take a specific look at this area when conducting our poker reviews so that you can have complete confidence in our final recommendations.
Using Our Poker Site Reviews
Having seen how we go about assessing sites for our poker reviews, you’ll probably be keen to start exploring them. If you’re looking for a new online poker room to call your home, we’d suggest the following approach:
- Take another look at our reviews of the Best Poker Sites in the US.
- Make a note of the ones that catch your eye the most.
- Read our full review of each site that you’ve listed.
When you’ve done that, you can make your final choice based on what you’ve read in our full poker reviews.
Making your decision after a side-by-side comparison is far better than reading just one review and jumping straight in, only to discover later that another site on your shortlist offers more of your favorite games or better mobile poker options.
Whichever online poker room you join, play well and good luck at the tables!
