With the US Department of Justice stating that the Wire Act applies only to online sports betting, many in the country are now hopeful that real money online poker in the USA will be legalized soon. This is a possibility, as the Wire Act is one of the laws which the DOJ previously relied on when claiming that online poker in the US was banned.

PokerScout.com tracks real money poker sites from around the world. We track US poker sites in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware. New Jersey is the current market leader with the largest population of any legalized gambling state and including the top NJ online casinos. This was how the misconception of it being illegal to play poker on the Internet when betting with real money came to be. Without going into all the specifics (which can be found on our 'is online poker legal?' Page), you should know that it is not illegal to engage in online poker, for cash or when playing for free.

There has been so much confusion and misinformation over poker sites in the United States it is entirely understandable that many people are confused. In some ways, you get the impression that this is the outcome that many legislators were hoping for because it has certainly caused a lot of potential US poker players to shy away from playing online poker games and tournaments.

It is very important to be aware that it is not illegal to play online poker games when you are in the United States. It is also crucial to be aware that individual states may have a different opinion about the legality of online poker, so there is always a need to check out state laws but as for a country-wide ban on poker, it doesn’t exist.

Much of the confusion can be found in the fact that a legislation change was introduced regarding payments. This meant that increased pressure was placed on preventing payments being made from banks that went to online gaming institutions. This meant that many online gaming sites, including poker sites, decided it was no longer in their best business interests to provide services for US players and withdrew from the market.

This has led to the situation where many people believed that it became illegal for US poker players to play online. It hasn’t but there is a need to be smart about playing online.

Best Online Poker Sites for USA Players

• #
• USA Poker Room
• Mac
• BONUS AMOUNT
• KEY HIGHLIGHT
• PLAY NOW

• 1
• 100% UP TO$1,000

• Play poker, casino or bet on sports in USA

  Huge $1,000 bonus + excellent VIP rewards

• 2
• Bonus of $2000

• Provides a great VIP program with cash back

  Accepts USA credit cards & Bitcoin

Can You Play Online Poker In The Us For Real Money

• 3
• 100% UP TO$600

• Offers a casino, poker and betting site

  Operating since 1996

Playing United States Online Poker For Real Money

Even though poker can be a game that is fun to play, there is no getting away from the fact it can be a lot more enjoyable when you are playing for real money. The psychology of playing poker for real money is very much different from playing for free or fun, which means that some players will miss out if there is not money at stake.

All of the recommended sites above provide real money poker options and there are a number of incentives for choosing a particular site. There is definitely a need to find the poker bonuses that are right for you and again, it is good that there is such an element of choice open to US poker players.

You should be aware that managing your bankroll is important if you want success when playing poker and getting a good bonus can really help when you play real money poker.

How Do USA Poker Players Deposit?

With their being a number of real money poker options to choose from, players have to consider the different deposit methods that are available to them. It has already been pointed out that the number of deposit methods open to US poker players are limited compared to what used to be available but there are still a number of options available to choose from. Even the UIGEA has not been able to block or limit every deposit method, so why not have a look at the following options.

Visa Card: Using a Visa card to fund your online poker accounts are the number one choice for the majority of poker players in the US. Of all the different methods available to players, Visa is the one that is most commonly accepted and it seems to have provided the most consistency with regards acceptance rates.

MasterCard: Given that the MasterCard option is similar to the Visa option, you would also expect this to be a popular choice. It is certainly an option that many people choose but it seems as though there are more difficulties associated with this card than with Visa. MasterCard is a good option to have but it may not be your first choice for depositing funds.

Western Union: It is always good to have variety with your deposit options and this is definitely the case when it comes to Western Union. You can use this method online but you also have the option to fund your account from any Western Union store. This means that players can use cash to fund their online poker playing, which is certainly a good option. Players should be aware that Western Union charge a fee for providing this service but if it is your only chance to play online poker, many players will accept this fee.

After you have deposited funds, hopefully you will need to think about withdrawing funds too. Unsurprisingly, depositing funds is more straightforward than getting your hands on your money and it is important you check the withdrawal methods and terms & conditions for every site. No matter the good points of a site, if it doesn’t let you get your hands on your money in a way that suits you, it is not a good site for you.

The Role of the UIGEA And USA Poker Sites

These changes came about after the introduction of the UIGEA and it is their role that has caused so much confusion and consternation for US poker players. The UIGEA came into being as part of the Port Security Act and its main focus was on the shut-down that came about on the US banking system. The UIGEA was behind the legislation that made it illegal for banks in the US to process any payment that was being made to a gaming site. This is where poker players struggled to find ways to pay and play online.

It is important to make it clear that the UIGEA has never attempted to make online poker illegal for US players but as is so often the case in law, this may be viewed by some as semantics. Making it so difficult to fund payments to an online poker account definitely makes it harder for players to play and it certainly takes away much of the incentive or enjoyment that can be gleaned from playing online poker.

However, there are still online poker options for US poker players to choose from. Yes, there are no longer as many payment methods available to choose from but if you are a US based poker player, you will still be able to find some good online poker options.

Poker Sites That Are Legal For US Players

The fact that there are a number of US friendly poker sites to choose from is good news for poker players. Having flexibility in choice is always going to be beneficial for players and this is definitely something that brings merit to the industry. Some of the top poker sites for US players include:

• BetOnline
• Sportsbook.ag
• Carbon Poker
• Sportsbetting.ag
• Bovada
• Lock Poker

Different players will have their own opinions about each site and what they provide but at least with these sites to choose from, you should be able to find a poker site that meets your needs and expectations. It may not be too easy to find the best US friendly poker site but the fact that you can play poker games is a great bonus for everyone.
Even with all the blocks and barriers in place, there is still a great opportunity to have fun when playing online poker in the US.

Do you have the itch to play online poker for real-money? Good news as you have found the perfect resource for connecting with poker sites accepting Americans that still allows them to play cash games and tourneys.

This page will tell you everything you need to know when you are ready to jump into the online arena especially when it comes to risking real-money with your wagers. The OnlinePokerLaws.com staff, as you may already know, is well-versed when it comes to playing online. They have all the first-hand knowledge to prepare poker players that have never played online before and users that have never played poker before, online or live, for what to expect when playing in games or tournaments where real-money is on the line.

Is It Legal To Play Online Poker For Real-Money In The U.S.?

There was a lot of debate that swirled around this issue following the infamous 'Black Friday' when the biggest poker websites were seized by the Feds. That single event created a ton of misconceptions about the legality of real-money poker... misconceptions being the key word.

It turns out that these operators didn't go wrong by letting Americans play for money. Things went bad went those websites mis-appropriated player funds and the government had to step in before the situation was completely out of control.

But before this news came to light, the damage had already been done as many had already drawn their own conclusions about what happened. This was how the misconception of it being illegal to play poker on the Internet when betting with real money came to be.

Without going into all the specifics (which can be found on our 'is online poker legal?' page), you should know that it is not illegal to engage in online poker, for cash or when playing for free. There have been new re-interpretations of the laws that were used to shutdown the 'Black Friday' poker rooms which backs up the claim that real-money poker games are legal.

The bottom line is that actually playing online for real-world currency is not illegal when using off-shore poker sites like the ones we've listed on this page. They have friendly deposit methods which help them get around the UIGEA (U.S. players explicitly not liable for violations) and have all the games you want to play.

Bovada Poker - Open To U.S. Players (no New York, Maryland, Washington)

When you are ready to step your game up and play for cash, Bovada is one of the best sites Americans could possibly choose. There are many reasons, which we will get into below, but going forward you should know that this site is for more than just real money online poker as options for sports betting and real-money casino games are available to players with their poker account.

• $150,000 guaranteed weekly tournament every Sunday is one of the most lucrative events that U.S. players have access to
• Stakes levels as high as $30/$60 and as low as $.02/$.05 are sure to provide players at Bovada with a table that is comfortable for any size bankroll
• Over 100 daily cash poker tournaments (mainly no-limit hold'em) guarantees that tourney players will have ample opportunity to cash in and sharpen their skills
• Sit N Go tournaments with buy-ins as high as $200 and as low as $1 play all-day and start as soon as the table has been filed; heads-up matches and multi-table tourneys available too
• Bovada offers players a variety of games including Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Omaha Hi, 7 Card Stud & 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo in No-Limit, Pot-Limit, Fixed limit formats
• USA Friendly Deposit Options: VISA only (credit cards/debit cards), some VISA gift cards, Rapid Transfer (Western Union), Money Transfer (Moneygram)
• 100% to $1,000 in welcome bonuses available; converted into cash as new players earn 'player points' within first 60 days of depositing (first 'player point' earned gets access to qualifier for $150,000 guaranteed Sunday tourney)
• USA Friendly Payout Methods: Checks thru courier service, Rapid Transfer + Money Transfer

Online Poker In Usa Real Money

5Dimes Poker - Residents Of All 50 States Welcome To Play Poker For Cash

When you're not able to play for money or even register at other places, 5Dimes is your next best bet. This poker room runs on a reliable network, the 'Winning Poker Network', which is shared by a variety of vendors of which this website is included. Players from other websites are combined with those that access the network through 5Dimes which means there are plenty of players on the tables any time you want to play.

Users should be aware that there is no poker bonus for making the first deposit or any deposit; bonuses come in the form of monthly promotions that give players a goal to achieve. With that said, 5Dimes poker account holders do get bonuses when depositing into the online casino or sports betting portion of the website.

• Expect no less than 5,000 players during off-peak hours; number could be as high as 15,000-20,000 players during peak hours on weekends
• 5Dimes no-limit cash poker games have stakes as high as $1-$2 and as low as $.01-$.02 in all formats: fixed limit, no-limit, pot-limit
• $200,000 guaranteed tournaments and tournaments with other great cash/entry prizes run throughout the year
• No shortage of sit n go tourney and multi-table tournaments that run daily means that players who prefer tournament poker should have plenty of opportunities to show their skills
• Real-money poker games include Texas Hold'Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, 3 Card Poker, 32 Card Draw & Telesina
• USA friendly deposit methods include VISA (credit/debit), prepaid cards, MasterCard, Western Union, Checks & Money Orders
• Payout methods for USA players include checks/bank draft through mail, debit-card credit, Western Union transfers

More About Playing Poker For Real Money On The Internet

If you've read most of what we've said on this site, you will already be keen to a lot of the info we're about to go over such as deposits and payouts. Of course we have full pages on each subject which are complete guides to the topics but this will be just a quick lesson on why they're important.

Deposits - You can't bet real-money if you do not deposit real-money... shocker!

This is obvious because nothing that is worth anything is ever free, online poker included. You're on this page because you want to play for real but first you need to know what you're doing.

Americans go to their wallets every time and pull out a credit card if they have one. Not a bad idea and it might even work but for all of us, it's simply not an option for one reason or another. Sometimes banks decline transfers to gambling sites, sometimes players do not own a credit card or even a debit card. That's ok because there are ways around it but you've got to read and read between the lines to figure out exactly what's going on.

Methods are sometimes disguised by other names but in actuality, these are companies that you've heard of before... like Western Union. Wire transfer services are notorious for not being referred to by name but poker sites always use the big-name providers.

Checks would seem like an obvious choice when credit cards aren't an option but not all sites accept them. Confused yet? Our page about online poker deposits will help you make more sense of it all.

Payouts/Withdrawals - If you win, you want to get paid right? Of course you do...

Online Poker For Real Money In Usa

Another thing that should be easy when it comes to real-money play is actually getting paid but because of laws in the U.S., this too can be difficult if you don't know what you're getting into.

The Europeans have it made because they can usually just re-credit whatever they charged on their credit card to deposit but Americans will have no such luck. Getting credit or debit cards to work for deposits is hard enough and payouts would be that much harder. Still, with one of the best methods gone by default, there are still other options.

Online Poker In Usa Real Money Legal

Waiting for a check or money order is usually a player's best bet however it is not uncommon to go the wire transfer route. For reasons ranging from lack of banking options to the time-frame the payout is needed influence this decision.

Another thing that has a strong influence on which method is picked are fees. You can learn more about how online poker payout methods work by following the previous link.

Know Your Limits - Get Help If You Need It

No, we're not talking about betting limits and help getting better at poker. For some, gambling for money can be an addiction that can ruin a life. While poker isn't necessarily 'gambling' in the truest sense, that same rush of adrenaline will wash over you. It's exciting, it's fun but it can also be a dangerous thing for others.

We encourage anyone that thinks they might need help with an online poker addiction to do so. There are several great groups out there like Gamblers Anonymous that treat problems such as yours everyday.

If you feel you are out of control or have a family member that is, don't wait... take action because online poker is not worth the headache when it comes to being home-less or ruining your family.