There is nothing more important than making sure the online poker site you play on is safe. You want to be sure that the games you are playing are fair, that your money and future deposits are safe and that cash outs are prompt. There are hundreds of poker sites to choose from and it can be daunting task to weed out the rogues from the safe poker sites.
We’ve compiled a list below of the safest poker sites based on our own personal experience. Each site uses an RNG, which means the deal is completely random and the sites are licensed and regulated in their respective jurisdictions. Furthermore, our list of “safe poker rooms” includes sites that have zero complaints with respect to payments and have a zero tolerance policy in effect for cheating and bots.
What does all this mean? It’s simple, really – these sites are 100% safe and secure for you to play one.
Safe Online Poker Sites For US Players When it comes to playing online and spending any reasonable time on the internet, it is important that people stay safe. A lot of damage can be done if your information or personal details, including banking details, are lost or compromised so it makes sense to do everything in your power to keep this sort. US laws about online poker create a less than hospitable environment and many poker sites see the US market as too risky. The biggest players in the late 2000's, PokerStars and Full Tilt, were prosecuted under US law, settled without guilt/admitting any criminal misdeeds, and have been forced to shut down their US facing operations. List of the safest poker sites for US players The US online poker market consists of some of the most trusted names in online gaming. You can trust these major brands to offer you plenty of action in a secure and fair environment. Among them will be many names you likely recognize including PokerStars, partypoker, WSOP, 888poker and Borgata Poker. Real Online Poker for US Players Things are changing fast for online poker. There are four states that have regulated games — Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania – plus legal, sweepstakes poker games in other areas.
Finding the Safest Poker Sites Online: Tips and Tricks
Playing online poker doesn’t have to be a gamble. You can trust the safest poker sites just as much as you would your local bank or insurance company. But if you end up depositing at one of the industry rogues — sites that don’t play by the rules — you could be in for a bumpy ride. It’s no fun to learn that a site won’t let you cash out your hard earned winnings, or that you’ve been scammed by poker bots at the tables. That’s why it’s so important to know which poker sites are safe, and which aren’t. And luckily, it’s not too hard to figure it out. All you need to do is keep the following tips in mind when checking out a poker site. If you do, you’ll have no problem finding a safe online poker room.
Tip #1: The Safest Poker Sites Have a Good Reputation
Poker players talk. And they’re quite vocal about which poker sites they like and which they don’t. This is a good thing, since it helps to regulate the online poker industry in a grassroots way.In any market, customers vote with their dollars. A dollar spent with a company is a vote up, and a dollar withheld is a vote down. So when the word spreads about a rigged poker site being shady or bad, the dollars stop flowing to that site — the market votes “bad,” and the site quickly goes belly-up.
On the other hand, when word spreads about a poker site being a good place to play, and has non-rigged games, the dollars flow towards that site. It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill, growing larger as particles of snow stick to the ball’s surface. When a poker site is safe, players let each other know; and that causes players to flock to that site.
Simply put, a good reputation is a poker site’s cash cow. The safest poker sites will go to any lengths to protect and propagate their good image. So when you see people talking about how Party Poker is one of the most established and safe brands online, you know it’s a solid bet.
Tip #2: The Safest Poker Sites Attract Many Players
This follows from having a good reputation. As we saw above, the safest poker sites get talked about; and as a result they attract tons of players. The fact is that any site with a large pool of players is probably a safe bet. Who really wants to stick around playing where they aren’t safe? Nobody. When there are thousands of players online at any time, it’s a pretty good indicator that these thousands of players are pretty confident in the site. A lot of traffic means a lot of ‘votes up’ — and that means a site is probably safe. So when you see over 2500 players online at 888 Poker, you know that 2500 players are pretty sure their money is safe. That’s a pretty solid indication that you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Likewise, when you see over 1500 players online , you can be confident that you’re not dealing with a fly-by-night operation. If there were bots or colluders or chip-dumpers infesting these poker rooms, do you think thousands of players would stick around at the tables? No way.
Tip #3: Safe Poker Poker are Licensed and Regulated
While there’s no hard-and-fast rule that online poker sites must be certified or licensed, the safest poker sites online certainly are. There’s no single standard certification for online poker sites. But there are a few different organizations that monitor and regulate the industry. The safest poker sites will usually be affiliated with at least one of these organizations.
For example, 888 Poker has its software checked regularly by the e-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance organization, otherwise referred to as eCOGRA. The eCOGRA ensures that 888 is playing by the rules — that the poker software is truly a fair deal, and that there’s no cheating going on.
Likewise, Bovada Poker is certified by an organization called Technical Systems Testing. TST is a leader in the online gaming certification field; its mission is to ensure that poker sites operate using truly fair Random Number Generators. That Lock and Bovada are TST-approved means that they are without a doubt among the safest poker sites online.
Tip #4: The Safest Poker Sites are Mainstream
Safe Online Poker Sites For Us Players
As soon as a company ‘goes public’ — that is, offers stock for purchase via an internationally regulated market — it becomes just like any other company in the world. It becomes legally accountable in whatever nation it registers its stock in. It must release quarterly reports to shareholders, and must answer to shareholders’ every whim.
So when we notice that Party Poker’s parent company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc, BPTY), we can be reasonably certain that it is one of the safest poker sites online. By issuing public stock, Party Poker sets itself on the same level as Barclays and Aviva. It shouts to the world, “we are a mainstream company!” And it operates as one, too.
Safe Poker Sites For Us Players
A site like Party Poker must abide by the law and handle its customers’ money honestly. If Party were to steal from players, allow cheating on the site, or be generally shady, it would face huge legal problems and probably bankruptcy. This is all a function of its operating above the board — in the mainstream. And it’s why Party Poker has an incentive to be one of the safest poker sites online.