About Us

Poker exists because finding a legitimate place to play online poker for real money in the US is harder than it should be. With no federal online poker framework and only a handful of states regulating it directly, most US players end up looking at offshore poker sites — and offshore means doing your own homework on licensing, payouts and game quality before you deposit a cent. That's the gap we try to close.

We're not a poker room. We don't deal cards, hold player funds, or run tournaments. What we do is compare offshore poker operators against each other on the things that actually decide whether a site is worth your bankroll — and put that comparison in one place, in plain language.

Why We Focus on Offshore Poker Sites

Because federal online poker doesn't exist and only a small number of states license their own real-money poker sites, the vast majority of American players who want to play online end up choosing between offshore operators. These sites accept US players, run on their own liquidity pools, and typically hold licences from jurisdictions such as Curaçao rather than a US state regulator. That's a meaningfully different risk profile from a state-licensed site, and we think readers deserve to understand that difference rather than have it glossed over.

Where a site claims a specific licence, we report only what's been publicly verifiable at the time of writing. We don't upgrade a Curaçao licence into something it isn't, and we don't imply state-level oversight where none exists. If licensing information is unclear or unconfirmed for an operator, we say so instead of guessing.

What We Actually Compare

Every site that appears in our rankings is assessed against the same set of criteria, applied consistently:

• Traffic and liquidity — how active the cash games, MTTs, Sit & Gos and Spin & Go tables are at different stakes, since a quiet site at your stake level is a bigger problem than any bonus
• Game variety — coverage across No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, fast-fold formats and mixed games, not just headline tournament series
• Rake and rakeback — the effective cost of playing once rake structures and loyalty or rakeback schemes are factored in, not just the sticker rake percentage
• Bonuses and promotions — the full terms behind a welcome offer, including deposit match percentage, playthrough requirements, time limits and any games excluded from clearing
• Payments — supported deposit and withdrawal methods for US players, typical cash-out timeframes, and any fees involved
• Software and mobile experience — client stability, HUD and tracking software policy, and how usable the iOS/Android apps are
• Support and security — how contactable customer support actually is, and what's disclosed about fund segregation and fair-play or RNG certification

We score each operator against these factors and rank accordingly. Commission arrangements with any operator never move a site up or down that ranking — a lower-paying or non-paying listing can outrank a higher-paying one if it earns it on the criteria above.

How Bonuses Are Presented

Welcome offers like a deposit match are only ever shown alongside their material conditions where those conditions are known — minimum deposit, playthrough or wagering requirements, expiry windows and any game restrictions. We don't describe a bonus as free money when a player has to deposit and wager their own funds to clear it, and we don't strip out the fine print to make an offer look better than it is.

Our Independence and Commercial Relationships

Poker earns revenue through affiliate partnerships. If you click through to an operator listed on this site and sign up, we may receive a commission. That relationship is disclosed here plainly because it should be: readers are entitled to know how a comparison site pays its bills. It does not determine which sites we cover, how we score them, or where they land in a ranking. Operators cannot buy a better position, and we'll note a genuine limitation for a site even when it's ranked first — no listing, including Coinpoker, Bovada, or any other name that appears on this site, is presented as flawless.

Who This Site Is For

We write for three overlapping groups of readers: casual players who mainly want reassurance that a site is safe and easy to use, experienced grinders comparing rake structures and traffic at their stakes, and players specifically hunting a bonus, a crypto-friendly cash-out, or an alternative after a previous site stopped serving their region. The comparisons and write-ups across this site are built to serve all three, not just the reader closest to signing up.

Playing Responsibly

Online poker involves real money and real risk. Nothing on this site should be read as a suggestion that poker is a reliable way to earn income or solve financial pressure — skill reduces variance, it doesn't remove the possibility of losing. All real-money poker offers here are intended for players aged 21 and over in the states where that's the legal minimum, and 18 and over where a lower age applies; we don't produce content aimed at anyone below those thresholds. If gambling stops feeling like entertainment, free and confidential help is available around the clock through 1-800-GAMBLER. Our Responsible Gambling page has more on setting limits and recognizing warning signs, and self-exclusion programs run by individual states are always respected in how we present operators.

Questions About What We Do

If something on this site is unclear, out of date, or you think we've missed a relevant offshore poker site, the Contact Us page is the right place to raise it. Our full terms of use, including how content on this site should and shouldn't be used, are covered on the Terms and Conditions page.