Online Poker Rooms

List of Online Poker Rooms

NWP is always scouring the web for the best poker deals. We regularly check with the biggest and best poker sites to see what bonuses and promotions we can scare up for our members. Below is a list of online poker rooms offering special deals for NWP'ers. Follow the links to save money, receive huge deposit cash-back bonuses, and get in on the best internet poker rakeback deals. Also, through NWP's affiliation with PokerNews, you can take advantage of freerolls and other special tournaments that have been arranged with these sites - exclusively for our members and readers. The sites listed below are not in any particular order - check out all the promos and take advantage of as many as you want. Be sure to stop back to look at this page again, as we update it frequently!

About Online Poker

Many of us began our fascination with poker in traditional ("brick and mortar" or "B & M") live venues, such as casinos and poker rooms. However, the time has come that all poker players, whether serious pros, or just casual weekenders in it for the entertainment, must turn to online venues, which by contrast, are dramatically cheaper to run and far more efficient for the player.

Online VS Conventional Poker

Although one may long for the live tells and casino atmosphere of the B& M, there are many distinct advantages of online poker over playing live. This is evidenced by the fact that today, most professional players don't even see the need to play live anymore. The fact that online, players do not sit right across from each other, and so the ability to observe their opponents' reactions and body language is overshadowed by the myriad advantages to online play. Even if we look at nothing other than reading "tells," we can still make a convincing case for the superiority of Online poker. Online, reading your opponent becomes an exercise in focusing on betting patterns, reaction time, speed of play, use of check boxes/auto plays, opponents' fold/flop percentages, chat behaviors, and other tells not physical in nature. Since poker is a game that requires adaptability, profitable online players must learn to master the new frontiers of their surroundings in this case - the cyber table.

Following, we outline some of the major advantages of online poker play.

Convenience on Online Poker

Unless you live in Vegas or Atlantic City, chances are it's a bit of a drive to the nearest live poker room. But even if the poker room is right next door, there's simply no greater pleasure than sitting in bed in your pajamas to play poker. You can even take your laptop to the toilet with you! Now that's convenience.

Multi tabling on Online Poker

Online, you're not constrained to playing one table at a time. Most Online poker players simultaneously play between two and four tables online, and many pros use multiple monitors and keep up with 8 tables or more at a time. The advantage of playing multiple poker tables is that you can put in more hands per hour, ostensibly doubling, quadrupling your profits. The caveat to this is of course that you will need to hone your craft in order to learn to focus effectively on multi-action without error.

A winning player may make around $10 per 100 hands at a low-limit game. In a casino, this would earn them under $4 an hour. After dealer tips, the winning player would probably barely break even. In an online poker room, the same player with the same win rate could play four tables at once, which at 60 hands per hour each, would earn him $24 an hour.

Increased Hourly Rate on Online Poker

Without even counting multi-tabling, your hourly rate is going to go up just from being able to play more hands per hour online. The average hands per hour you're going to get playing live poker is 20-30. In online poker games you'll be able to play 60-100 hands per hour.

Online Poker Tools

When you're playing online, all the data and stats you need are right at your fingertips. Upload your hand histories into a program like Poker Tracker, and suddenly you're able to know your hourly rate, which hands are winning you the most money, where you have room to improve, which opponents are complete donks, etc.

Less Rake

Rake is the small fee taken out of a winning pot. However, in live poker the rake isn't so small. I've seen low limit games raked higher then $5! Some live poker games even charge the entire table per hour of play.

Standard Online poker games have a cap of $3. Lower limit games like 1/2 and under have an even smaller cap. And unless you're involved in a huge pot, it's usually a fraction of the maximum rake.

Online Poker Table selection

In a live poker room, you'll generally only find only a few tables running - perhaps only one at your preferred limit. Even if there are several tables, you won't often get to choose where you are seated. And of course we have all found times when there were no tables available at all and we had to settle for a different game or limit. Online poker rooms are so sizeable that you'll never have a problem finding a table, and you can select the table you want based on the exact numbers by checking each table's statistics.

Online Poker Anonymity

Nobody really knows who you are online unless you make it public. You can be a 20 year old male with the screen name, "GinaFolds" and an avatar of a hot blonde, and many players will think you're a lady. This can come in handy when you're trying to project a table image or escape the watchful eye of disgruntled opponents.

Online Poker Precision Dealing

We've all seen the human error that can trip up dealers at live games. Sometimes there are even instances at card rooms where a particular dealer seems to have no clue what he is doing. From exposing cards, shoddy shuffling, enforcing the house rules incorrectly, messing up chip counts, etc, these errors can cost you money and put you on perma-tilt. Online dealers aren't people, and so are subject only to the vulnerabilities of highly sophisticated computer programs (the poker room software) which is constantly being monitored and upgraded. Cards are shuffled and dealt instantly, the pot and bet amounts are always clearly identified, and the margin of error infinitesimal.

Online Poker Customizable Software

Most online poker rooms have software that lets you customize the environment to your liking. Choose between different backgrounds, animations, sound effects, table layout, avatars, and four-color decks. Not to mention the fact that drunken opponents who might smell funny or dump their beer in your lap are removed from the equation.

Online Poker Note taking

You can't sit at a poker table in a B & M and take notes on your opponents. Sitting at home in the comfort of your living room and playing online, note taking is made easy, and this is a true benefit to your game. Simply click on a player's name or avatar, and write down everything the idiot did - the information will be available forever more when you see him at that site.

To sum up these advantage points, online poker is far superior to live poker. Live poker has its place for major televised tournaments, a trip to Vegas, or the occasional home game with friends, but online poker infinitely more convenient and lucrative.

Bonuses of Online Poker

The major online poker sites continually offer varying promotions to entice new players. One common feature is to offer satellites tournaments by which the winners gain entry to real-life poker tournaments. It was through one such tournament on PokerStars that now-famous Chris Moneymaker won his entry to the 2003 World Series of Poker. He went on to win the main event, causing astonishment in the poker world. Like Moneymaker, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, the 2004 WSOP champ, also won his entry at the PokerStars online cardroom.

Online Poker Integrity and fairness

The only argument against the superiority of playing poker online that holds any water is that Online venues may be more vulnerable to certain types of fraud, particularly collusion between players. We have seen how software vulnerabilities can be exploited to cheat online players (read our write up on the infamous Absolute Poker scam - a confirmed incident of cheating by employees in October 2007). However, since that debacle, it is doubtful such an extreme situation will arise again online - too many people are aware of the possibilities, and companies have collusion detection abilities far more advanced than brick and mortar casinos. Even player to player collusion is safeguarded against more completely online than live. Online poker room security employees can look at the hand history of cards previously played by any player, making patterns easier to detect than in a casino where colluding players can simply fold their hands without anyone ever knowing what they held. Online poker rooms also check players' IP addresses in order to prevent players at the same household or at known open proxy servers from playing on the same tables.

Many online poker sites are certified by bodies such as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and other major auditing firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the fairness of the random number generator shuffle, and monitor payouts.

Online Poker Legality

Online poker is legal and regulated in many countries including several nations in and around the Caribbean Sea, and most notably the United Kingdom. However in the United States, legislation initiated by the Bush administration has put a wrench in the engine for online gamblers. On October 13, 2006, seemingly in response to terrorist activity, President Bush signed the Safe Port Act into law, a bill aimed at enhancing security at U.S. ports. Attached to the Safe Port Act was a provision known as the Unlawful Online Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). According to the UIGEA, "unlawful online poker gambling" means to place, receive, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by means of the poker online where such a bet is unlawful under any law in the state in which the bet is initiated or received. Basically the UIGEA prohibits online gambling sites from engaging in transactions with American financial institutions.

In response to the UIGEA, many of the major online poker sites stopped advertising their "dot-com" sites and created "dot-net" sites that are pretty much identical, but offer no real money wagering. These "non-gambling websites" are advertised as poker "schools," calling customers to "learn the game for free," without investing any actual money.

Since the UIGEA, many banks and credit card companies will not allow direct money transfers to online poker sites, but electronic money transfer companies have stepped up to provide online "e-wallets" that players can load from a bank account, Prepaid debit cards and virtual credit cards (cards issued for online use, as a card number, expiration date and CVC code) have also emerged as a means of loading funds onto online poker sites. These function much in the same way as an "e-wallet" since money deposited into the card account is not connected to the user's bank account. The process is certainly less convenient and many players have resorted to exchanging money with one another from site to site rather than dealing with the third party handlers.

Most American online players bemoan the loss of Neteller since the passage of the UIGEA, and there is much talk about reversing the legislation with a new administration in the White House. There is little doubt that with the popularity of poker, special interests groups and lobbyists will continue to push for legal sanctions for online gambling in the United States. Arguably for US poker players, the legality issue is the one major deterrent for online play. But given the numerous advantages as outlined in this essay, online poker remains favorable and profitable venue, and there is no end in sight as poker continues to gain world wide popularity.

Online Poker are legitimate in those countries:

AF - Afghanistan (افغانستان) ; AX - Aland Islands ; AL - Albania (Shqipëria) ; DZ - Algeria (الجزائر) ; AS - American Samoa ; AD - Andorra ; AO - Angola ; AI - Anguilla ; AQ - Antarctica ; AG - Antigua and Barbuda ; AR - Argentina ; AM - Armenia (Հայաստան) ; AW - Aruba ; AU - Australia ; AT - Austria (Österreich) ; AZ - Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan) ; BS - Bahamas ; BH - Bahrain (البحرين) ; BD - Bangladesh (বাংলাদেশ) ; BB - Barbados ; BY - Belarus (Белару́сь) ; BE - Belgium (België) ; BZ - Belize ; BJ - Benin (Bénin) ; BM - Bermuda ; BT - Bhutan (འབྲུག་ཡུལ) ; BO - Bolivia ; BA - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina) ; BW - Botswana ; BV - Bouvet Island ; BR - Brazil (Brasil) ; IO - British Indian Ocean Territory ; BN - Brunei (Brunei Darussalam) ; BG - Bulgaria (България) ; BF - Burkina Faso ; BI - Burundi (Uburundi) ; KH - Cambodia (Kampuchea) ; CM - Cameroon (Cameroun) ; CA - Canada ; CV - Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) ; KY - Cayman Islands ; CF - Central African Republic (République Centrafricaine) ; TD - Chad (Tchad) ; CL - Chile ; CN - China (中国) ; CX - Christmas Island ; CC - Cocos Islands ; CO - Colombia ; KM - Comoros (Comores) ; CG - Congo ; CD - Congo, Democratic Republic of (Congo, Democratic Republic of the) ; CK - Cook Islands ; CR - Costa Rica ; CI - Côte d'Ivoire ; HR - Croatia (Hrvatska) ; CU - Cuba ; CY - Cyprus (Κυπρος) ; CZ - Czech Republic (Česko) ; DK - Denmark (Danmark) ; DJ - Djibouti ; DM - Dominica ; DO - Dominican Republic ; TL - East Timor (Timor-Leste) ; EC - Ecuador ; EG - Egypt (مصر) ; SV - El Salvador ; GQ - Equatorial Guinea (Guinea Ecuatorial) ; ER - Eritrea (Ertra) ; EE - Estonia (Eesti) ; ET - Ethiopia (Ityop'iya) ; FK - Falkland Islands ; FO - Faroe Islands ; FJ - Fiji ; FI - Finland (Suomi) ; FR - France ; GF - French Guiana ; PF - French Polynesia ; TF - French Southern Territories ; GA - Gabon ; GM - Gambia ; GE - Georgia (საქართველო) ; DE - Germany (Deutschland) ; GH - Ghana ; GI - Gibraltar ; GR - Greece ('Eλλας) ; GL - Greenland ; GD - Grenada ; GP - Guadeloupe ; GU - Guam ; GT - Guatemala ; GG - Guernsey ; GN - Guinea (Guinée) ; GW - Guinea-Bissau (Guiné-Bissau) ; GY - Guyana ; HT - Haiti (Haïti) ; HM - Heard Island and McDonald Islands ; HN - Honduras ; HK - Hong Kong ; HU - Hungary (Magyarország) ; IS - Iceland (Ísland) ; IN - India ; ID - Indonesia ; IR - Iran (ایران) ; IQ - Iraq (العراق) ; IE - Ireland ; IM - Isle of Man ; IL - Israel (ישראל) ; IT - Italy (Italia) ; JM - Jamaica ; JP - Japan (日本) ; JE - Jersey ; JO - Jordan (الاردن) ; KZ - Kazakhstan (Қазақстан) ; KE - Kenya ; KI - Kiribati ; KW - Kuwait (الكويت) ; KG - Kyrgyzstan (Кыргызстан) ; LA - Laos (ນລາວ) ; LV - Latvia (Latvija) ; LB - Lebanon (لبنان) ; LS - Lesotho ; LR - Liberia ; LY - Libya (ليبيا) ; LI - Liechtenstein ; LT - Lithuania (Lietuva) ; LU - Luxembourg (Lëtzebuerg) ; MO - Macao ; MK - Macedonia (Македонија) ; MG - Madagascar (Madagasikara) ; MW - Malawi ; MY - Malaysia ; MV - Maldives (ގުޖޭއްރާ ޔާއްރިހޫމްޖ) ; ML - Mali ; MT - Malta ; MH - Marshall Islands ; MQ - Martinique ; MR - Mauritania (موريتانيا) ; MU - Mauritius ; YT - Mayotte ; MX - Mexico (México) ; FM - Micronesia ; MD - Moldova ; MC - Monaco ; MN - Mongolia (Монгол Улс) ; ME - Montenegro (Црна Гора) ; MS - Montserrat ; MA - Morocco (المغرب) ; MZ - Mozambique (Moçambique) ; MM - Myanmar (Burma) ; NA - Namibia ; NR - Nauru (Naoero) ; NP - Nepal (नेपाल) ; NL - Netherlands (Nederland) ; AN - Netherlands Antilles ; NC - New Caledonia ; NZ - New Zealand ; NI - Nicaragua ; NE - Niger ; NG - Nigeria ; NU - Niue ; NF - Norfolk Island ; MP - Northern Mariana Islands ; KP - North Korea (조선) ; NO - Norway (Norge) ; OM - Oman (عمان) ; PK - Pakistan (پاکستان) ; PW - Palau (Belau) ; PS - Palestinian Territory ; PA - Panama (Panamá) ; PG - Papua New Guinea ; PY - Paraguay ; PE - Peru (Perú) ; PH - Philippines (Pilipinas) ; PN - Pitcairn ; PL - Poland (Polska) ; PT - Portugal ; PR - Puerto Rico ; QA - Qatar (قطر) ; RE - Reunion ; RO - Romania (România) ; RU - Russia (Россия) ; RW - Rwanda ; SH - Saint Helena ; KN - Saint Kitts and Nevis ; LC - Saint Lucia ; PM - Saint Pierre and Miquelon ; VC - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ; WS - Samoa ; SM - San Marino ; ST - Sao Tome and Principe (São Tomé and Príncipe) ; SA - Saudi Arabia (المملكة العربية السعودية) ; SN - Senegal (Sénégal) ; RS - Serbia (Србија) ; CS - Serbia and Montenegro (Србија и Црна Гора) ; SC - Seychelles ; SL - Sierra Leone ; SG - Singapore (Singapura) ; SK - Slovakia (Slovensko) ; SI - Slovenia (Slovenija) ; SB - Solomon Islands ; SO - Somalia (Soomaaliya) ; ZA - South Africa ; GS - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ; KR - South Korea (한국) ; ES - Spain (España) ; LK - Sri Lanka ; SD - Sudan (السودان) ; SR - Suriname ; SJ - Svalbard and Jan Mayen ; SZ - Swaziland ; SE - Sweden (Sverige) ; CH - Switzerland (Schweiz) ; SY - Syria (سوريا) ; TW - Taiwan (台灣) ; TJ - Tajikistan (Тоҷикистон) ; TZ - Tanzania ; TH - Thailand (ราชอาณาจักรไทย) ; TG - Togo ; TK - Tokelau ; TO - Tonga ; TT - Trinidad and Tobago ; TN - Tunisia (تونس) ; TR - Turkey (Türkiye) ; TM - Turkmenistan (Türkmenistan) ; TC - Turks and Caicos Islands ; TV - Tuvalu ; UG - Uganda ; UA - Ukraine (Україна) ; AE - United Arab Emirates (الإمارات العربيّة المتّحدة) ; GB - United Kingdom ; US - United States ; UM - United States minor outlying islands ; UY - Uruguay ; UZ - Uzbekistan (O'zbekiston) ; VU - Vanuatu ; VA - Vatican City (Città del Vaticano) ; VE - Venezuela ; VN - Vietnam (Việt Nam) ; VG - Virgin Islands, British ; VI - Virgin Islands, U.S. ; WF - Wallis and Futuna ; EH - Western Sahara (الصحراء الغربية) ; YE - Yemen (اليمن) ; ZM - Zambia ; ZW - Zimbabwe