Best Offshore Poker Sites for US Players

A limited number of states have licensed poker rooms, but did you know that offshore poker sites are available across the US? As long as you’re old enough, our recommended offshore operators are set up to welcome players from around the world, including the US. So, if you want to play online poker from the US, let’s go offshore…

BetOnline Poker	100% Bonus up to $1,000	100% Bonus up to $1,000 Daily Play & Win Poker Leaderboards New Bad Beat Jackpots for Stake Levels Multi-Million Online Poker Series	9.8 BetOnline Poker	Claim Bonus
Bovada Poker	100% Bonus up to $500	100% Bonus up to $500 $2 Million in Weekly Poker Guarantees Zone Poker and Anonymous Tables Mobile Poker Client with Multi-Tabling	9.7 Bovada Poker	Claim Bonus
Ignition Poker	100% Poker Bonus + 100% Casino Combo Bonus	100% Poker Bonus + 100% Casino Combo Bonus Quick Seat Feature for a Fast Start Complete Hand Histories for 24 Hours Packed Poker Tournaments Schedule	9.5 Ignition Poker	Claim Bonus
Everygame Poker	200% Bonus up to $1,000	200% Bonus up to $1,000 Soft Competition at the Poker Tables Up to 36% Market-Leading Rakeback Poker Freerolls Available Every Day	9.6 Everygame Poker	Claim Bonus
SportsBetting.ag Poker	100% Bonus up to $1,000	100% Bonus up to $1,000 Pineapple Open Face Chinese Poker Live New Poker Client Runs Smoothly Variety of Poker Tournaments and Series	9.4 SportsBetting.ag Poker	Claim Bonus
Juicy Stakes Poker	200% Bonus up to $1,000	200% Bonus up to $1,000 Daily Freerolls with Real Money Prizes Variety of Online Poker Tournaments $4,000 Weekly FPP Races Online	9.3 Juicy Stakes Poker	Claim Bonus

Reviews of the Best Offshore Poker Sites

If you’re in the market for an offshore poker site, we’ve done the legwork for you and found five of the best. It’s worth noting that some sites are blocked in certain states but, overall, you should be able to use at least one of the following top-rated offshore sites in the US.

1. BetOnline Poker – Best Overall Package

• Payout time: 24 hours (Mon-Fri 9am to 1pm)
• Established: 2001
• License: Panama Gaming Commission
• Headquarters: St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
• Restricted states: NJ

Our Verdict (Rating 9/10)

BetOnline has been around since 1991 in one form or another and, in 2001, it began offering poker. Since then it’s become one of the largest offshore poker operators. How do we know that? For starters, the welcome bonus is a $1,000 deposit match. We have to be honest and say the wagering requirements are a little high at $50 rake per $5 worth of bonus cash released. However, a four-figure welcome bonus is not only bigger than the industry norm, it’s something only a poker operator with ample resources could do.

Another reason we know BetOnline Poker is a major player in the offshore game is the fact it hosts tournament series with generous guarantees. For example, a $3 million guaranteed series was running during our tests. This, combined with a Bad Beat Jackpot that regularly tops $1 million is another sign of strength.

You’ll have the option to use the instant-play software or download the BetOnline desktop app. We preferred the app as it felt a little more stable and there was less table jumping in the lobby (i.e. tables didn’t suddenly move because they were full/empty). Like its peers, BetOnline Poker covers all the major poker variants, from Hold’em and Omaha to Stud, Draw, and Mixed Games.

Cash games buy-ins start at $1 and MTTs hover around the same mark. We would like a few more high stakes games but, overall, the selection is good. In fact, there are a few features that make BetOnline’s cash games stand out. You’ll not only have the option to play Open Face Chinese but sit at tables where you can straddle.

Finally, you can use the all-in cashout feature to buy your equity during an all-in pot i.e. you receive a payout regardless of how the hand plays out. Overall, this is an impressive offshore poker room. A VIP scheme and some rakeback would be nice but with daily leaderboards offering $100,000 in monthly payouts, we’re not too concerned about this.

Features Overview

• Poker Options: 9/10
• Promotions & Rewards: 8/10
• Desktop Experience: 8/10
• Mobile Experience: 8/10
• Registration Process: 9/10
• Payment Methods: 9/10
• Customer Support: 9/10

Top Sign-Up Offer: 

2. Bovada – Best for MTT Guarantees

• Payout time: 24 hours
• Established: 2011
• License: Curacao eGaming
• Headquarters: Costa Rica
• Restricted states: NJ, NY, NV, MD, DE

Our Verdict (Rating 8/ 10)

Bovada has been around for more than a decade and it shows. Both the instant-play and downloadable desktop app are aesthetically impressive. Not only that, the layout is intuitive and everything runs smoothly. In terms of the welcome bonus, there are some positives and one small negative. The one small negative is that it’s a $500 deposit match. Other offshore poker rooms give you upwards of $1,000, so there’s room for improvement here. The major positive, however, is the fact you only have to rake $10 to unlock $5 of your bonus. That equates to a rakeback rate of 50%.

All the usual suspects are there when it comes to cash games, MTTs, and SNGs. Hold’em and Omaha are most popular, but you can find a few Stud and Draw tables but not quite as many as other sites. One really nice option is Zone Poker. This fast-fold variant is one of the slickest we’ve tried and doesn’t suffer from some of the loading glitches that can affect inferior software.

Crypto payments are available and your first debit/credit card deposit is free. After that, card payments incur a fee up to 15.9%, which is excessive in our view. But, if you stick to crypto, everything is fee-free.

For a final flourish, Bovada Poker offers anonymous tables, a quick-seat function for cash games, and up to $2 million in monthly MTT guarantees. What’s interesting about Bovada’s tournament schedule is that Mondays are a major day with over $1 million in guarantees. That bucks the industry trend of making Sunday’s the main day for MTTs.

Features Overview

• Poker Options: 9/10
• Promotions & Rewards: 8/10
• Desktop Experience: 8/10
• Mobile Experience: 8/10
• Registration Process: 9/10
• Payment Methods: 7/10
• Customer Support: 8/10

Top Sign-Up Offer: 

3. Everygame Poker – Best for Deposit Bonuses

• Payout time: 48 hours
• Established: 1996
• License: Curacao eGaming
• Headquarters: St Kitts and Nevis
• Restricted states: NJ, NY, WA, MD, LA, MO, KY

Our Verdict (Rating 8/ 10)

Formerly known as Intertops but rebranding as Everygame in 2021 and it lives up to its name. The welcome bonus is based on the best deposit multiplier we’ve seen for a while. Specifically, new customers get a 200% first deposit bonus up to $1,000. This means you can deposit $500 and get the full $1,000 bonus. The minimum deposit required is $25 and you’ll only need to earn 83.335 points to unlock $5 of your bonus.

To put that in perspective, you earn 1 point per $1 raked in cash games, which means you need to rake $83 to get $5 of your bonus. You get 7 points for every $1 paid in tournament fees, which means you’ll only have to pay $12 in fees to get $5. Finally, to sweeten the deal, you’ll get 25 slot spins. You’ll need to contact the customer support team to claim them.

Payments are safe, secure, and fairly quick (withdrawals can take up to 48 hours). We like the fact you can deposit and withdraw cryptos, it’s also nice to see a User2User transfer option. The one issue with have with Everygame is that you can only make one withdrawal per week and the maximum cashout is $2,500.

In terms of gaming options, it’s a full house. Hold’em and Omaha are most popular but, given that Intertops was one of online poker’s original sites, you’ll find a nice selection of Stud, Draw, and Mixed Games. Like its peers, Everygame Poker has instant-play and downloadable software. The desktop app is the best option in terms of accessibility and stability. However, the website performs flawlessly on all devices, including mobiles.

The highlights for us are the Sunday tournament schedule. There are plenty of big-money events at the end of the week, but the main event is the Sunday Myriad. This Hold’em MTT costs $125 and features 50,000-chip starting stacks, progressive bounties, and a $10,000 guarantee. Wrapping all these features up in an attractive offshore poker package is a loyalty scheme that not only offers bonus prizes but up to 36% rakeback paid daily.

Features Overview

• Poker Options: 9/10
• Promotions & Rewards: 10/10
• Desktop Experience: 9/10
• Mobile Experience: 8/10
• Registration Process: 9/10
• Payment Methods: 7/10
• Customer Support: 7/10

Top Sign-Up Offer: 

4. Ignition Poker- Best for Crypto Poker

• Payout time: Instant to 24 hours
• Established: 2016
• License: Curacao eGaming
• Headquarters: Costa Rica
• Restricted states: NJ, NY, NV, MD

Our Verdict (Rating 8/10)

Any poker site called Ignition needs to start strong and this one certainly does that. New drivers who start their proverbial engines at Ignition can get a deposit match bonus worth up to $3,000. That money is split evenly between poker and casino gaming (150% up to $1,500 each). Even with the split, this is the biggest offshore poker bonus we’ve reviewed. The playthrough on your casino bonus is 25X, which matches the industry average. Your poker bonus is released in $1 increments each time you reach 15 loyalty miles (1 mile per $1 raked).

The loyalty miles we just mentioned can also be used to unlock additional bonuses, payouts, and tournament tickets. Our top pick for newbies and low stakes players are the weekly freerolls. Ignition puts up $2,500 in freeroll prize money and all you need to do is be an active player to gain entry. Finally, if freerolls are your thing, there’s also a weekly crypto depositor freerolls.

The instant-play and downloadable software looks great and we didn’t run into any issues testing out cash games and MTTs that start at $1. Anonymous tables are a nice touch, but our one small gripe with Ignition is that you need to log in to see a full list of active games. This isn’t a huge problem, but it does mean you can’t take a quick look at the lobby and see if there’s anything active games you want to play.

Having said this, it’s almost always worth logging in if you’re a tournament player because Ignition Poker has $2 million in weekly MTT guarantees. Add to this an impressive poker strategy tips database and there’s a lot to like about this offshore operator.

Features Overview

• Poker Options: 8/10
• Promotions & Rewards: 9/10
• Desktop Experience: 8/10
• Mobile Experience: 8/10
• Registration Process: 8/10
• Payment Methods: 9/10
• Customer Support: 8/10

Top Sign-Up Offer: 

5. SportsBetting.ag Poker – Best for Beginners

• Payout time: 24 hours (Mon-Fri 9am to 1pm)
• Established: 2011
• License: Panama Gaming Commission
• Headquarters: Antigua
• Restricted states: NJ

Our Verdict (Rating 7/ 10)

Sportsbetting.ag Poker kicks things off with a 100% deposit match up to $1,000. The minimum deposit is $50 and your bonus is released in $5 increments each time you rake $50. Overall, payments are slick, quick, and safe. The one small issue you may need to know about is the 1X rollover on deposits. Basically, you need to wager a deposit once before you can make a fee-free withdrawal.

You can use the instant-play software or download the desktop app. Both options are great, but we’d suggest getting the app if you want to play via your computer and going via the website on your mobile. Whichever route you take, Sportsbetting.ag has an impressive selection of games, including all Hold’em (including Six Plus Hold’em), Omaha, Stud, and Draw variants.

Cash games have some neat features, such as straddles and all-in cashouts. What really piqued our interest, however, was the tournament schedule. There are Sunday majors costing between $1.10 and $109. You can also take part in regular series, such as the $3 Million Championship. Finally, if you’re a fan of tournament action, there are SNG leaderboards paying out $100,000 in monthly prizes.

Features Overview

• Poker Options: 8/10
• Promotions & Rewards: 9/10
• Desktop Experience: 8/10
• Mobile Experience: 8/10
• Registration Process: 9/10
• Payment Methods: 7/10
• Customer Support: 8/10

Top Sign-Up Offer: 100% first deposit match up to $1,000

Comparing the Best Offshore Poker Sites

How do the best offshore poker welcome bonuses compare? Let’s take a look…

Are Offshore Poker Sites Legal?

Offshore online poker sites are legal businesses outside of the US. These companies may not be licensed within the US but they’re still accessible to US players. In technical terms, offshore poker sites are gray market operators. As such, you’re able to play poker online legally using offshore sites.

This means they’re legally offering fair online poker games to players from countries around the world, including the US. Not only that, the best offshore poker sites typically offer bigger bonuses than their US counterparts and innovative payment options such as Bitcoin. What’s more, because they’re located offshore, you may not be liable for tax on your profits.

Something else to mention is that no one has been prosecuted for using offshore online poker rooms, casinos, or sportsbooks. Now, it’s important to note that there are states that have their own online gambling rules that include provisions for poker sites. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t access offshore sites from those states while also using locally licensed poker rooms.

The bottom line is this: there are online poker sites licensed by reputable organizations that operate from countries outside of the US. These poker sites are international, which means players in any country, including the US, can use them.

How to Sign Up and Play Offshore Poker

OK, so you want to know how to play offshore poker. Well, it all starts with one of our secure links. These links not only start the registration process but unlock exclusive deals that get you more bonus cash. The steps below show you how to find the best offshore poker sites and get something extra as a new customer:

1. Select an offshore poker site you like the look of e.g. BetOnline.

2. Use our secure link to open the registration page.

3. Tap “Join” to open the registration form.

4. Input your name, email address, password, country, zip code, phone number, and date of birth.

5. Click “create account” then open the verification email.

6. Use the link contained in the email to verify your account.

7. Log in and go to the deposit page.

8. Finally, use the instant-play software to ante via your browser or download the desktop/mobile app.

Tax on Offshore Poker Winnings

The issue of taxation when it comes to offshore poker isn’t clearcut. As per the US tax code, all money earned from gambling, whether in the US or overseas, can be taxed if you’re a citizen of the United States. There are nuances within this overarching code with respect to deductions for losses and state tax laws. So, the general line is that poker winnings, even from offshore sites, are liable for tax.

The counterpoint to this, however, is that offshore online poker sites available in the US don’t issue W-2G forms. Moreover, they don’t report your winnings to the IRS. Casinos and poker rooms licensed in the US have to do these things. Offshore operators don’t. This means your earnings won’t technically be recorded as income and, by this token, you can argue they aren’t liable for tax.

Most US poker players who use offshore sites advise that you pay tax on your winnings but, based on the fact earnings aren’t reported to the IRS, you may decide against it. In this instance, the decision is on you.

Offshore Poker Site Networks

Out top-rated US offshore online poker rooms all operator on networks. These networks ensure you’ve got a steady stream of players to compete against and promotions to claim. The main networks serving US players are:

Chico Poker Network

Formerly known as the Action Poker Network, the Chico Poker Network is home to three poker rooms, including BetOnline and Sportsbetting.ag. The defining feature of this network is that most of its promotions are aimed at casual poker players. Indeed, there’s an unwritten desire to attract “fun” players rather than “winning” players. That’s great for skilled poker players as it means there are more fish and, therefore, more potential to win.

PaiWangLuo Poker Network

The PaiWangLuo Poker Network, also known as the Bodog Network, is home to Bovada and Ignition. Cash game traffic has remained consistent over the last decade, with the average number of daily cash game players typically above 2,000. Add MTTs to the mix and PaiWangLuo is one of the busiest offshore poker networks accepting US players.

Horizon Poker Network

The Horizon Poker Network is home to Everygame and another site known as Juicy Stakes. This network has been around for more than a two decades and stands out because of its large welcome bonuses and rakeback deals. Depending on the amount you play, sites on this offshore poker network can pay up to 36% in rakeback.

Advantages of Offshore Poker Sites

Why are offshore poker sites better than other options open to US players?

They’re available everywhere…

Offshore poker operators aren’t subject to the same state restrictions as their US counterparts. This means they don’t track your location which, in turn, allows you to play from anywhere in the US.

The bonuses are bigger…

The offshore gambling market is competitive because each operator is competing against an international pool of talent. In contrast, a poker room available in a single US state doesn’t have as much competition. Therefore, offshore sites need to offer bigger welcome bonuses, rakeback deals, and promotions to stand out from the crowd.

Your winnings are your own…

The issue of taxation is a tricky one, as we’ve said but the fact remains that offshore poker sites don’t report your winnings to the IRS. Therefore, you’ve got the option to keep 100% of your profits, if you wish.

There are more fish to catch….

One of the main reasons people learn how to play offshore poker games is so they can take on weak players. The reality is that 90% of the poker players you’ll face online aren’t very good. However, when you’re in a small market, the chances of you running into strong players increases simply because there are fewer people to play against. Offshore online poker rooms are open to the world. This means the playerpools are much larger than other US poker sites which, in turn, means you stand more chance of finding weak players to exploit.

The games are just as safe and just as fair…

Just because an online poker operator isn’t licensed in the US, that doesn’t mean it’s unsafe. Regulators such as Curacao eGaming have been in the business since the 1990s. That’s longer than regulators such as the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Add to this the fact offshore sites use two-factor authentication, SSL encryption, and accept secure payment options such as Bitcoin, and these sites are completely safe. Indeed, when you consider that one of the best offshore poker sites, BetOnline, has been active since 1991, it would be obvious by now if there were any issues with regards to fairness or safety.

Regulated vs Offshore Poker Sites

The majority of US poker players don’t have the option to use sites licensed in their state. Therefore, if you want to play online, offshore poker US sites are the only option. However, if you do have a choice between regulated and offshore sites, here are some things to consider:

The final thing to note is that regulated vs. offshore poker isn’t a zero sum game. In other words, you don’t have to choose one or the other. If you’re in a state that has regulated poker sites, you can use them as well as their offshore alternatives. Of course, if you’re in a state where online gambling isn’t regulated locally, you can ante-up with the top offshore online poker sites and enjoy the game in a safe, fair, and entertaining way.

Types of Offshore Poker Variations

Poker, if you didn’t know, is an overarching term for one of the most popular card games in the world. Certain rules, such as poker hand rankings, are consistent across all variants. There are, however, nuances to each type of poker you can play. Below are five of the most popular poker cash game and tournament variants you can play online.

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em is the main game you’ll find online and, moreover, any poker room around the world. Everyone gets two cards only they can see. These cards can be combined with five community cards to make a ranked poker hand. This variant can be played with limit, pot limit, or no limit betting structures. No Limit Hold’em is the most popular variant because it offers the greatest scope for advanced poker strategy concepts such as bluffing, range merging, and value betting.

Pro tip: try the $0.02/$0.04 No Limit Hold’em cash games on Everygame for an easy introduction to poker.

Omaha

Second only to Hold’em in popularity is Omaha. Usually played with a pot limit betting structure, this poker variant sees each active player start with four cards. Unlike Hold’em where you can use one, two, or neither of your hole cards, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) Rules dictate that you must use two hole cards. This rule, in conjunction with the fact everyone has four hole cards, means there are more ways to make ranked poker hands. As such, Omaha is a much more volatile variant than Hold’em or, to put it another way, there’s a lot more action.

Pro tip: use the Omaha poker strategy guides on Ignition before sitting down in its PLO cash games.

Stud

Stud is one of the original poker variants that initially came to prominence in the US before becoming most popular in Europe. Even though you won’t find many Stud tournaments online, the best offshore poker sites do offer a variety of Stud cash games. Limit and Pot Limit Seven Card Stud is the most common. Players are dealt seven cards in total, three of which are dealt face-down. The rest are dealt face-up, which means you need to make decisions based on your cards and the exposed cards of your opponents.

Pro tip: Join SportsBetting.ag for a mix of high and low stakes Seven Card Stud.

Draw

Draw is a poker classic. Variants such as Five Card Draw are usually played as limit or pot limit and the process of making hands requires one decision: stick or draw. Specifically, you’re dealt five cards face-down. You assess their value and decide if you want to fold or continue. Everyone who continues can swap as many cards as they wish. Once a draw has taken place, a showdown occurs if there are two or more players left in the hand.

Pro tip: Learn the nuances of Draw poker strategy and get ahead of the pack in Bovada’s MTTs.

Six Plus Hold’em

Remove all the cards lower than a 6 from the deck and what do you get? An action-packed spinoff of Texas Hold’em known as Six Plus. This short-deck poker variant is almost identical to traditional Texas Hold’em in terms of its betting dynamics, except for the fact everyone puts in an ante rather than there being a big and small blind. Additionally, the hands rankings are slightly different to account for all cards below a six being removed (i.e. there are only 36 cards in play). In Six Plus Hold’em, flushes beat full houses and three of a kind beats a straight.

Pro tip: Head over to BetOnline for the biggest selection of Six Plus Hold’em games.

Offshore Poker Bonuses Available

We’ve said more than once that offshore poker sites are the places to play if you want big bonuses. Well, to ensure you’re capable of extracting the maximum amount of value from these sites, here are the bonuses to look out for and how to get them…

• Welcome Bonuses: any rewards you receive when you join an offshore poker room is known as a welcome bonus. These bonuses can be a combination of cash and tournament tickets. In fact, some offshore sites, such as Ignition, give you bonus cash that can be used for poker and casino games. The key to finding a lucrative welcome bonus is the playthrough target. The less you have to bet in order to release your bonus, the better.
• Deposit Match Bonuses: poker promotions triggered by a financial transaction are known as deposit bonuses. These bonuses can be deposit matches, which means the amount of bonus cash you receive is equal to the amount you deposit e.g. Bovada has a deposit match up to $500. Some deposit bonuses are worth more. For example, Ignition Poker’s deposit bonus is 150% i.e. you get 1.5X your deposit.
• No Deposit Bonuses: poker bonuses that don’t require a financial transaction are known as no deposit bonuses. Examples of no deposit bonuses are prize giveaways, competitions, and loyalty rewards.
• Ongoing Promotions: top-rated offshore poker US sites will have long-term promotions designed to reward loyal players. These include things such as depositor freerolls, rake races, or leaderboard promotions.
• Freerolls: any poker tournament that doesn’t have a buy-in is known as a freeroll. These tournaments are a great way for beginners to build a bankroll because you can literally turn nothing into something. All freeroll prizes are paid out in cash, which means they don’t have any wagering requirements. All of our recommended offshore poker sites have weekly freerolls but you’ll typically have to complete a task/action to get access to them. For example, Ignition has a weekly freeroll for players who make crypto deposits.
• Rakeback: poker sites take a small fee, known as rake, every time you play pots in cash games or enter tournaments. You can get back a percentage of the rake you pay as part of a poker site’s loyalty scheme. The percentages vary from site to site and, moreover, your VIP status (determined by how much you play). What doesn’t change, however, is the fact you can get some of your rake back as cash paid into your account.

Payment Methods Available

Offshore operators tend to have more flexibility when it comes to payment processors. In contrast, regulated US poker sites can only use payment processors approved by the local gaming authority. In most cases, US poker regulators don’t recognize cryptocurrencies as legit payment options. Offshore poker operators don’t have this issue. They’re free to offer any safe payment processor they want. There are certain restrictions with regards to eWallets, so you may find that PayPal et al aren’t available. The good news is that you will be able to make deposits and withdrawals using the latest fintech innovations, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Some of the best ways to make offshore poker deposits and withdrawals are:

• Visa and MasterCard: use your credit or debit card to make fast deposits and withdrawals that are typically processed within five days.
• Wire Transfer: send money directly from your bank account to a poker site and back again. Wire transfers are ideal for poker players who want to make larger deposits and withdrawals.
• Money Order: a money order is similar to a check. You go to a local affiliate, such as Walmart, fill out a money order form and pay with cash. You then receive a prepaid document/code you can use to deposit funds to your poker account.
• Person to Person: also known as a peer to peer transfer, this payment option allows you to send money to or receive money from someone you know. You can enact a P2P transfer via MoneyGram or Ria. A transaction is only processed once both parties authorize it.
• Cryptocurrencies: it’s possible to send crypto tokens from your wallet to an offshore online poker room and back again. The leading offshore US poker sites accept dozens of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Solana, and Binance Coin. Cryptocurrencies are a great way to make small deposits and receive withdrawals within 24 hours. The other benefit of crypto payments is that they’re anonymous.

Offshore Poker Apps and Mobile Sites

The one area offshore operators could make some improvements are in the mobile arena. We’re not saying you can’t play poker via your mobile. We’re also not saying the mobile experience is poor, but it’s important to note that the majority of offshore sites don’t offer native apps.

If you don’t have an iOS or Android device, you won’t be used to mobile poker apps anyway. However, if you do have an iPhone, iPad, or Android, you’ll have to get comfortable with using a mobile poker site. The good news is that these sites are optimized for use on all mobile devices.

They’re also available instantly, so you don’t need to worry about the amount of storage left on your device or how much data it will take to download an app. Finally, all the features available on a desktop site will be available on mobiles. So, while there’s a certain level of convenience to mobile poker apps, you’ll have just as much fun whenever and wherever you want with a mobile poker site.

Responsible Gambling

It doesn’t matter where you play poker, you should always do it responsibly. Learning how to stay within your limits is not only important from a financial perspective but in terms of your prospects at the poker table. In general, players in high stakes games are better than those in low stakes games. Therefore, if you start playing at limits your bankroll can’t sustain, you’re more likely to come up against better players who will take your money.

Experienced poker players live by the 20 buy-in rule. This means you need at least 20 buy-ins for the stakes you’re playing. For example, if you want to play in a $0.50/$1 cash game where the maximum buy-in is $100, you should have at least $2,000.

Ideally, you’ll have more than 20 buy-ins so you’ve got a bigger buffer against the natural ups and downs of poker. As well as sticking to the right limits, you should avoid playing when you’re emotional (on tilt) and have systems in place to help you stop when you’re winning and losing.

All legit offshore poker sites have responsible gambling tools you can use, including deposit limits, session timers, and self-exclusion options. If you feel as though your gambling habits are becoming a problem, here are some organizations you can contact:

• National Council on Problem Gambling
• International Problem Gambling Center
• Gambling Therapy

*The problem gambling organizations listed above are free to use.

Our No.1 Offshore Poker Site

BetOnline is our top offshore poker pick for a few reasons. The company itself has been around since 1991 and it’s offered poker since 2001. This alone demonstrates that BetOnline is a legit operator that offers a high-quality product. Indeed, any company that isn’t legit gets found out very quickly in the gambling industry, so longevity is a real strength.

Beyond is tenure in the business, BetOnline has MTT guarantees topping $1 million, a generous welcome bonus worth up to $1,000, and plenty of novel features, including a bad beat jackpot. Add to this cash games and tournaments for all variants, including exotics such as Six Plus Hold’em and Open Face Chinese, and this is a comprehensive offshore online US poker site that has something for everyone.

Affiliate Disclosure: Techopedia may receive advertising commissions for visits to a suggested operator through our affiliate links, at no added cost to you. However, all our recommendations are unbiased and follow a thorough review process. Gambling can be addictive, please play responsibly and you must be a legal gambling age.

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