US Poker Sites

Top US Poker Sites

Top US Poker Sites

In the list above we show you the top 10 US poker rooms - or as many as we can come up with at the moment. That is, the best poker rooms that welcome US players.

Online poker is safe and fair, at least with the well-established poker sites above. Just handle your log-in information with care, as always!

How We Nominate Top US Poker Sites

The poker rooms in this top list are all good, solid poker rooms that offer 'poker US'. In our opinion, they are the top online poker sites for US players.

This means they have good or decent software, good or decent helpdesk, good or decent game variety, etc.

The reason we say decent is that most players will jump on a juicy game even if the software isn’t perfect. It needs to be stable but not necessarily top-notch in colors and graphical design.

In the same manner, the helpdesk must be better than terrible, but they don’t necessarily have to knock at your door with a box of chocolate.

If it’s possible to enjoy a good game of poker and possibly turn a profit, deposit and withdraw funds, download and install the software, it’s a good poker site.

A US poker site offers online poker for US players, but most of them welcome non-US players as well. In most US poker rooms you will meet the same mix of Europeans, Asians and players from South America and Africa as at your usual top rated non-US poker site.

In consequence, a top poker site for US players might also be a top poker site even if you’re not from the US.

Transferring Funds to US Online Poker Sites

Since the introduction of a stricter legislation for the transfer of funds to online gaming operators, many standard ways of depositing cash have been closed to US players and US poker sites.

For hints and tips on this, see our article on online poker funding options for US players.

Why Are there US Poker Sites in the First Place?

Why are there special US poker sites for American players? Or rather, why do some poker rooms exclude US players? Let’s have a look at the reasons behind this anomaly in the history of poker (as we hope).

Since October 2006 when the US Senate passed a new legislation regarding money transfers to online gambling operators (UIGEA, see below), many poker sites have opted to close their doors to US players. USA poker has never been the same since.

Understandably, the US poker websites and their staff want to avoid the possible legal problems involved in continuing their American business, even though in practice the legal status of the new legislation is far from established yet.

Gambling CEOs Arrested

Two or three gaming CEO:s being arrested by US authorities obviously contributed to making the issue very urgent for all concerned parties.

Nevertheless, some poker sites decided not to step out of the USA online poker market and continue to welcome US poker players in their online premises, such as Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker. We now call those 'US poker rooms'.

Some of the top US poker sites, such as PlayersOnly Poker and Sportsbook Poker, allow US players only. This is an even more radical measure to try and fly under the radar.

Pure Poker May Go Free

One thing that distinguishes the US online poker sites from many of those that chose to withdraw is the fact that these that allow US poker do not offer online casino gaming. Many observers believe that, once the actual interpretation of UIGEA by the legal system is established, online poker will enjoy a different status than pure chance games like online blackjack or online roulette.

Many of the best US poker sites also happen to be the best poker sites all categories, so US players haven't suffered any major loss of quality, even though the quantity of choice has decreased.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 is a measure that has many U.S. online gaming enthusiasts up in arms. Although online gambling would seem to be a free market enterprise, it was actually a Republican Congress that sneaked the act through on an unrelated bill to protect Port Security.

Fighting the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act

When will all poker sites allow US players again? Will it ever happen? At least some people are fighting for this. Spearheading the effort to take down the act is Barney Frank, U.S. representative of Massachusetts’ 4th District. To combat the bill, Representative Franks has introduced the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act.

The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act

Representative Frank’s proposed act is designed to satisfy both the hordes of online gambling fans that populate the U.S. and those who are concerned about the proliferation of unregulated gambling. The act would create a Federal regulatory commission that would be in charge of the licensing of online wagering companies that serviced U.S. players. The regulations would contain measures to fight underage and compulsive gambling as well as fraud and money laundering, the main concerns that opponents of online gambling seem to have.

About Barney Frank

Democrat Barney Frank has served in Congress for over 25 years and is the chairman of the Financial Services Committee. He has also been an assistant to the mayor in Boston and a teacher at Boston area universities. Barney Frank was appalled at the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and has made it one of his state missions to make online poker accessible to United States residents again.

Meanwhile we can only enjoy the game at the best US poker sites and wait for things to get sorted out.

Let me into the action at Sportsbook Poker