Featured Poker Sites

We Still Have the Best USA Poker Sites

March 8, 2026 – 6:47 pm

While online poker has seen a little bit of slow down since its hay day, there is still plenty of online players and USA poker sites to play at. Since the bigger sites like FullTilt and PokerStars either went out of business or no longer allow USA poker players, site traffic has become an issue with some sites. If you play real money ring games, it is not as much of an issue but if you like multi player tournaments you want good site traffic so you can play in tournaments that offer a decent prize pool. If you are looking for a USA poker site to start playing at, see our full listing of the best USA poker sites and take your pick on where to play.

We recommend playing at PokerHost or BetOnline as that is where we play ourselves. BetOnline is a great site to play ring games where there is plenty of players at all different levels. Whether you play for small stakes or are a high roller, you can always find plenty of tables available at all levels.

If you like playing tournaments we recommend PokerHost. PokerHost also has good site traffic for ring games but tournaments are where they really shine. Whether you like sit n go tournaments, multi player tournaments or heads up play, you will find the best selection and best prize pools at PokerHost. For sit n go’s there is not much waiting regardless of the buyin. Some USA poker sites have poor traffic and you have to wait 30 minutes or even longer for a simple sit n go tourney to fill, but that doesn’t happen at PokerHost. You will also find the largest multi player prize pools for both daily tournaments and the larger tourneys which only happen once per week or even once a month.

PokerHost is by far the best choice for USA poker players. They have been in business since 2026 and have no intentions of going anywhere or no longer accepting USA players. PokerHost also has good USA banking options. Make a deposit with your credit card and chances are it will get approved. PokerHost has good USA credit card acceptance rates but if for some reason your card is declined you can send cash. When your ready to cashout chose between a check, ACH or cash. If you are in a hurry to receive your winnings choose a cash withdraw and have your pickup details in as little as 24 hours.

If you live in the USA and want to play online poker, check out PokerHost. PokerHost is our top site t play USA online poker. You can see our full PokerHost review for more details and use any our links to visit the poker site and receive a 200% match bonus on your first deposit. If you like a little variety and want a second online poker site to play at we recommend BetOnline. All the poker sites we recommend here allow USA players and have a good product but PokerHost and BetOnline are our two favorites. Also see our BetOnline Poker review and use any link to visit BetOnline and sign up as a new player.

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Strategy

Texas Holdem Hold Card Tips

May 5, 2026 – 12:20 pm

Playing Texas Hold'em is great fun and it's easy to see why this brand of poker is the most popular both online, in casinos and among friends. Betting on the game has many phases and strategy and tips become more and more complex as the game progresses, with an increasing number of possibilities in terms of what hands you might be able to make, what hands others could have and any number of possible bluffs that could be thrown into the mix too.

However, the simplest – and indeed most important – phase of the game, is the first round of betting once the cards have been dealt. Many beginners are far too loose at this stage, being tempted into playing far too many hands and then once you're in it can be hard to resist continuing, often resulting in big losses.

With our guide to hole card strategy you can hopefully avoid this common pitfall and give yourself the best chance possible of profiting from playing online poker.

Exactly how you play will depend on the number of players at the table, your position in the table, the stage of the game and how loose, generally speaking, the online poker site at which you are playing happens to be. The looser the table and the later you're betting comes, the more hands you can play, however, based on a 10-person table of average players and a mid-table position we would recommend the following.

Hole Card Basics

– Play with pairs of eight and higher, with a pair of aces (pocket rockets) clearly being worth a sizable bet.
– With cards of the same suit, consider playing anything with an ace with a preference for ace, five and ace, eight and higher. Strongly avoid twos and threes with anything less than a queen.
– Note that a suited ace, king combination is perhaps not as valuable as many think, being on par with a pair of jacks or queens.
– With unsuited cards an ace, king should be thought of as similar to a pair of 10s, whilst the minimum requirement to get involved is around the jack, queen and upwards or ideally queen, king.
– In a late position you may consider playing as low as a pair of twos, a suited combination of queen, three upwards, or four, five/six where there is just one or two numbers between the cards whilst an unsuited nine, 10 hand should be the lowest hand you consider playing.

Use these tips the next time playing USA online poker at any of the best poker sites listed here on our website. If you have been sitting the sideline as of late not knowing where to play, all the poker sites listed here accept USA players and deposits and offer some great online poker.

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Strategy

Quick Overview of NL Texas Hold’em

January 27, 2026 – 10:51 pm

Poker is still alive and well online in the United States.  Whether you live in one of the three states that allow online gambling, New Jersey, Nevada, or Delaware or play online at one of the poker sites that are located outside of the United States it is important you know how to play the game and the best strategy.  In this article we’ll take a look at No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games. This is just a brief explanation of the game and before playing we recommend you read a few strategy articles. Then head over to any of our recommended USA online poker sites to play online.

No limit Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular game for players play online and even at your local casino.  It can be very intimidating if you are new to the game.  Once you sit down there is no time to be afraid.  Just like anything else it is important that you are confident in what you are doing.  And for you to be confident you must know the rules.

For NL Hold’em cash games there are either 6, 9, or 10 players at the table.  We recommend playing at a table with at least 9 players to start.  This gives you more time to think and see what is going on before it is your turn to act.  Each player is dealt two cards face down that only you can see.  These are called hole cards.  There will be up to five community cards dealt face up, but we will get to that shortly.

There are two “blinds” in Texas Hold’em that take the place of the classic ante.  These are the small blind and the big blind.  They rotate around the table as each hand is dealt.  The dealer button is to the left of the small blind.  So if there are 10 players at a table only two players will put money in the pot each hand.  That means the other 8 players will get their two cards without having to put any money in the pot.

When all the players have received their two cards you are now in the preflop betting round.  The betting starts with the player to the left of the big blind.  He has 3 options.  Fold, Call, or Raise.  If you raise it must be at least double the value of the big blind.  If you fold you have not put any money into the pot so you don’t lose anything.  If there are 10 players at your table you will only be putting money in the pot preflop when you are in the small blind and big blind.  The other 8 hands you can choose to fold without investing any money.

Being that you are new to NL Texas Hold’em we strongly recommend learning what starting hands are strong and which are not.  For example if you are dealt Ace/Ace you have the best starting hand possible and 7/2 off suite is the weakest starting hand possible.  As a new player we recommend you only play the top 10% or so starting hands until you get comfortable knowing the game.

After the preflop bets are made the flop is dealt which are three community cards.  Another round of bets are made.  Then the turn card is dealt followed by another round of bets.  Finally the river card is dealt followed by the last round of bets.  If there are two or more players left in the game the best poker hand wins.

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Featured Poker Sites

PokerHost Loyalty Program

March 15, 2026 – 10:33 pm

PokerHost ReviewPokerHhost is currently running an extremely lucrative loyalty promotion for its customers. The best thing about how this promotion is that no matter what level you play at, you will be able to clear and start earning some free money or cash back on your play.

The promotion is called the VIP Diamond Program and is split up into five sections each with its own VIP point's requirement, cash back rate and exchange rate. It's worth noting at this point that you can only exchange your VIP points for cash a maximum of three times per month, but this payment will be paid instantly into your account.

How the Program Works

When playing at any raked cash game you will become eligible to earn points at the table. You will earn 10 VIP points for every $1 in rake you pay. Obviously the higher stakes you play, the more rake you will create and hence the more points you will accumulate.

Depending on how many points you earn depends on the VIP level you are assigned, and in turn the rate of cash back you will earn. Once a VIP level is earned you will remian at that level for 60 days even if you do not play. To reatin your VIP level you must make the required number of points within the 60 day decay period. If no hands are played in those 60 days then you can go backwards in the VIP levels.

On top of the cash back scheme there are also two freerolls which players are eligible to enter on the final Saturday and Sunday of each month. These are both $10k Freerolls and require at least 100 VIP points to be acquired over the month. Any winnings from these freerolls will become available for withdrawal within 7 days of the winnings being issued.

VIP Tiers

The first tier is the 10 of Diamonds and this is the entry level to start earning your cash back reward. It requires you to hit 1,500 VIP points to start making a cash back rate of 10%. Your points can be exchanged for money at the Pokerhost store at a rate of $5 for every 500 points earned. The 60 day decay period applies to this level with a reduction of 500 points if the terms aren't met.

Second is the Jack of Diamonds which requires you to clear 5,000 VIP points. This entitles you to cash back rate of 15% giving you the ability to exchange 1000 points for $15 in the store. 3,000 points will be removed if no play is made on the account within the 60 day decay period.

Third is the Queen of Diamonds allowing you to claim a cash back reward of up to 20%. You will need to clear 20,000 VIP points and doing so means your cash exchange rate will be $200 for every 10,000 points. The decay drop off is 15,000 points within the 60 day period.

Fourth is the King of Diamonds level that means you can claim up to 25% in cash back from the tables and also allows you to get $375 for every 15,000 VIP points you exchange at their store. The criteria is to get to 100,000 VIP points or more but with that comes a decay of 50,000, again within the 60 period.

Finally comes the Ace of Diamonds level where you must amass 300,000 VIP points or more. However, this gives you a jump all the way up to 35% cash back and an exchange rate of $700 for just 20,000 VIP in store. This is easily the most lucrative deal out of the five, but admittedly, the hardest to attain.

PokerHost is one of the most generous USA online poker sites when it comes to free money and cash back. Not only claim their huge sign up bonus of up to $5000, but also receive a reload bonus on every deposit you make for the life of your account. Add this loyalty program on top of the deposit bonuses and you will always be earning a good bit of free cash when you play.

For more information see our complete PokerHost review and get started at our best USA poker site!

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General

Looking Ahead at Online Poker for the USA

March 6, 2026 – 4:31 pm

It probably goes without saying that the USA online poker market has been a bit of a grey area for many over the last couple of years. There are many myths floating around that online poker is illegal for US players, and while this is true to a certain extent, there are opportunities for USA based players to play legally online.

Where in the USA is it legal to play online poker?

At the time of writing there are currently 9 states of which you can play online poker in the US. These include Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Washington and Washington DC. These 9 have all fought for the right for people within those states to play online.

It is worth noting that there are other states all working hard to legalise gambling but this is often a lengthy and drawn out process. Stay tuned here to our website and news section for updates on how other states are faring in their bid.

Which sites accept USA Players?

After finding an accepting state, you then need to be able to find a card room which then allow USA based players. Unfortunately, not all card rooms that accept USA players will do so from each state. In fact, the only network available at the minute is that of Poker Pros Network who have licensing in all of the 9 above states.

Other networks include Bovada, Merge (Carbon Poker), Revolution Gaming (Lock Poker and Juicy Stakes), Seals With Clubs (Bitcoin only) and Winning Poker (America's Cardroom, Black Chip Poker and True Poker). To play now check out our USA poker site reviews to get started.

What does the future look like for online Poker in the US?

In all honesty, the future looks much brighter than it did twelve months ago. There are more states applying for licensing and there are more much positive outcomes to these applications each month. It's unfortunately a long drawn out process at the minute but it wouldn't surprise us to see a bit of a domino effect for online poker. As more start to gain licensing more will apply due to the revenue it can potentially bring in for each.

It is, however, unlikely that online poker will ever get back to the days of the 'Moneymaker effect' just with so many players being burnt in Black Friday. As we mentioned earlier, a lot of your Average Joe's will see it as being illegal, because they simply don't know any better and uderstand the laws surrounding online poker. Hopefully though, as time goes on, online poker rooms will be able to gain the trust of players and then an influx of what was the biggest market in the world, will return.

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General

Features of the Merge Poker Network

March 30, 2026 – 9:25 pm

The Merge Poker Network has been one of the largest networks within the online poker industry for a number of years now. In fact, it's probably safe to say that they have been one of the few success stories since the emergence of 'Black Friday'. A company that has seen many changes in its time, Merge has continued to listen to users in an attempt to provide one of the most innovative poker rooms in online poker.

USA Friendly

While many poker rooms continue to flee from the US market due to the stricken laws of licensing, Merge have been one of the few companies to continue to offer their services to that of US residents. While the ban still applies in states such as Washington, New York, Maryland, Missouri, Kentucky and Louisiana, the rest of the states still legally allow US residents to partake in online poker. The Merge Network then allows each of their skins to cast the final decision on whether to accept US residents or not. We have listed here several USA online poker sites which operate on the Merge Network.

A host of innovative in-game features

Design and innovation has clearly been at the forefront of the Merge action plan with regular software updates and re-designs being a focal point to the company's success. Few areas have been adapted more than features at the tale with the inclusion of rabbit cam, expose 1 card, emotions, deal it twice, HD graphics and, finally, the inclusion of a time-bank.

Huge array of games

Companies such as PokerStars have always been a frontrunner in terms of the variety of games that's on offer for any one poker room or network. Admittedly, over the years, they have been pretty much untouchable; until now. Merge have managed to combine a host of games to rival some of the bigger players in the industry and to accompany that, each provides a decent amount of traffic to go along with it.

The main hitters are there such as Texas Holdem and Omaha variants including Limit, Pot Limit, No Limit and Omaha Hi-Lo. But on top of that mixed games include HORSE, Caribbean Stud, Five Card Stud, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, Razz, Deuce to 7 Lowball, Badugi and Five Card Draw.

Affiliations with major live tours

Merge have managed to affiliate themselves with some of the biggest live poker tours from around the world in the APPT (Asia Pacific Poker Tour), WPT (World Poker Tour) and Aussie Millions. Tournaments for each tour can be satellite in directly from the network for just a fraction of the price with many tickets including a healthy package to accompany it such as flights, accommodation and even spending money when over there. Satellites for each tour start from just $2.

Our Recommended Merge Poker Sites

If you want to sign up at a poker site that runs on the Merge Poker Network we recommend a few different sites. Our best Merge Poker Network site is PokerHost. PokerHost is our all around best USA online poker site and runs on the Merge Poker Network. See our PokerHost review for more information. You can also see our Carbon Poker review and Aced Poker review. Both poker sites are also USA friendly and run on the Merge Network.

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Featured Poker Sites

PokerHost Named Best USA Site

March 23, 2026 – 12:39 am

PokerHost ReviewPokerHost has always been one of our preferred online poker sites and we have now named them our best USA online poker site. The change comes after PokerHost has once again begun to have very good credit card success rates. While we have always liked PokerHost they did have some trouble getting USA credit cards approved but has now been resolved and you can once again deposit with your USA Visa credit card and get it approved!

PokerHost offers great software, an outstanding bonus, great customer service and once again great banking options. By using any of our links you can claim a huge 200% match bonus up to $5000 on your first deposit. Automatically double your initial poker bankroll by just signing up and making a deposit. You can also claim a reload bonus on every deposit you make for the life of your account.

PokerHost runs on the Merge Poker Network which has the best site traffic for USA players. Here you will find the largest guaranteed multi table tournaments and finding the blind level for real money cash games of your choice is never a problem. You can also find a great selection of sit n go’s in a number of different blind levels. Play in 10 minutes blinds, 5 minute blinds and even 2 minute blind levels. You will find 10, 6 and 4 seated tables plus and heads up tournaments. Regardless which you choose you will not be waiting long for any of them get started.

As we said PokerHost accepts USA Visa deposits and does a good job getting them approved. In the event your credit card is declined you can always send cash as well which is sure way of funding your poker account. Send over $200 and many times PokerHost will also either pay the fees or offer a special bonus to help reimburse the fee amount.

When you are ready to make a withdraw, PokerHost doesn’t disappoint there either. You can request a check, bank wire or cash. Checks and bank wires are generally in your hands within 5 business days but if you want your winnings fast request a cash transfer. PokerHost prides themselves in being one of the fastest paying USA online poker sites and you will have your cash pick up details in as little as 24 hours and always within 48 to 72 hours.

For more information see our PokerHost review and use any of our links to sign up and claim your bonus. We think once you play at PokerHost you will agree they are the best USA poker site and chances are you will not want to play anywhere else!

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