Best Online Poker Sites

Signing up for an online poker site can be a bit intimidating at first, but it’s really very simple.

Here are a few important factors you might want to consider when you’re ready to make your first deposit.

1. Your Sign-Up Bonus

Every online poker site will give you some soft of reward, or "poker bonus" for opening an account and making a deposit.

The offers can vary a great deal, though, so make sure you pick the one that suits you best.

For instance, some rooms will offer a big sign-up bonus that takes a lot of time to unlock. Some poker sites will give you a small but immediate bonus.

Others will give you various benefits including tickets into tournaments and free poker tournaments for cash.

We suggest comparing a few poker sites before deciding on the bonus for you.

2. The Software

Poker software has improved immensely over the last few years so there’s really no reason to play on a slow, boring or downright glitchy site.

Even the lesser-known online poker sites have fantastic software now. But it’s still important you feel confident using the game client - especially considering you’re going to be logging likely thousands of hands on the site.

Most poker sites also have play-money versions, so it might be worth your while to download the software and play around a bit before you put money into your online account.

3. Security

You absolutely need to make sure you’re playing on a safe site before you put your hard-earned cash on the line.

Fortunately, the best online poker sites are highly monitored and have to go through countless audits by gaming organizations these days.

Every aspect of the poker site is analyzed including its random number generator and encryption process. And every poker room reviewed and  listed by PokerListings has received certification from an authorized online gaming regulatory body.

4. The Competition

Not every site has thousands of players online during every hour of the day, but there are some distinct advantages to playing on a smaller poker site.

Some of the sites have notoriously bad players and it’s worth putting up with fewer players to be surrounded mostly by terrible ones.

Smaller poker sites also tend to do more aggressive marketing and will either give you a better bonus or lucrative rewards as you play more hands. It’s worth remembering that certain sites are known for particular games.

For instance PokerStars is widely regarded as the best online poker tournament site in the world, but there are arguably better cash-game sites.

5. Deposit Options

While not illegal, online poker has always fallen into a gray area in the U.S. and finding a proper payment processor can be a challenge at first.

Pay special attention to the particular online poker deposit options offered by each site. These change on a regular basis and it’s worth looking into what the most recent options are.

As a special note, quite often basic credit cards will work although it sometimes takes more than one try.