What is the best online poker site for US players?
There is no such thing as “the best” poker site for US players, because the answer depends on the specific player. Every poker site will have a different set of pros and cons, and some sites may be better suited to certain types of players than others. It’s important to weigh all of the variables before choosing a place to play: bonuses, traffic level (how many other people are playing), software quality and usability, and more.
Do US professional poker players still play online from the US?
US professional poker players still play online from within the US. In fact, most of the top pros in the world still play online from the US, and there are a few reasons why:Why do some people prefer to use VPNs when playing on overseas sites?
Some players rely on VPNs (virtual private networks) to conceal their physical location when they’re playing online. This way, other players can’t tell where they’re located and target them with certain strategies. The strategy is called “location hiding” or “sharking” – if you google either of those terms you will see plenty of examples of it being used by both amateurs and professionals alike. Some people also use different usernames across different sites to defeat “name bullying,” which is when other players will target their accounts for abuse and harassment.If you don’t want to use a VPN, though, it’s perfectly okay – there are still plenty of top pro players who play without hiding their location.
How much money do US pro poker players make?
US pro poker players can make anywhere from $50 an hour up to $20k per event if they’re good enough. A typical “live” chess professional can expect salary and winnings somewhere in the ballpark of $150-300k/year, but obviously this depends on how much time each player spends playing and practicing. An average online pro may be able to around $100-200k per year.
Sites where US players can play online:
PokerStars is the largest poker site in the world, and it’s full of pros who have been playing there since back when being a professional poker player was basically unheard of! Most of the top pros still play on PokerStars today – in fact, you’ll probably run into a few in any given cash game or tournament with no problem at all. Traffic levels are pretty high (especially during peak hours) although they do tend to fluctuate depending on what’s going on in the poker world (major tournaments like WSOP will obviously get more people playing). Traffic level has gone down since the Black Friday incident, but it’s still one of the best sites out there. PokerStars offers games in all different types of formats including No Limit Texas Holdem, Pot Limit Omaha and Pot Limit Stud as well as many others. They also offer some unique variations like Badugi. Poker Stars has what is widely considered to be the best software out there – it’s easy to use and gives you access to tons of useful features including hand history reviews, player notes, game filtering tools and much more. They also offer excellent multi-table tournaments (MTTs) with large buy ins! You can find plenty of MTTs running throughout each day at varying times -‘re great for players looking for something more than just the usual cash games and satellites. Traffic levels:
Full Tilt Poker. Even though Full Tilt is still struggling to recover from their past issues with the US gov’t, they’re actually one of my favorite sites for US players! You can find great cash games running all day long – however, it’s probably best to avoid tournaments unless you happen to get lucky because there aren’t many running at any given time, especially when compared to other sites like PokerStars or Party/BWin. However, what I really love about Full Tilt are their low stakes tables which are usually pretty busy you don’t have to worry about waiting around for a game to start! Traffic levels:
Bodog Poker Bodog is a great site for US players, and you’ll find lots of other Americans up at their tables which makes it easier to communicate with everyone. They have some solid traffic going during peak hours, but the level tends to die down a little bit as compared to other sites like PokerStars or Full Tilt (although this also depends on your time zone as well). The lobby looks good, but they’ve been adding more games lately which can make it a little difficult to navigate from time to time. Overall though I think Bodog has done a decent job keeping things organized and they’re still my #1 recommendation for US players. Traffic levels:
Absolute Poker – most of you probably haven’t heard of Absolute Poker, but it’s actually one of the oldest online poker rooms still around today! I’ve played on this site a few times over the years, and it seems pretty small these days as compared to other sites like PokerStars or Full Tilt – however, there are definitely some good games running up at their cash tables which makes it enjoyable overall even if you have to wait for a bit to get into some action. The software is decent enough although they do tend to be pretty slow with updates sometimes (especially after the Black Friday situation).
BetOnline Poker – BetOnline is another online poker room which is specifically aimed towards players from the USA and Canada – they used to be known as BtSportsline, but only recently decided to rebrand themselves as part of a big push into the US market here in 2015. They’re certainly making their presence felt with these recent changes, and I’ve seen some good traffic coming through on my local tables so far! The software looks okay although it could probably use a little bit of an update at some point pretty soon – hopefully this gets taken care of sometime relatively soon.
Bodog Poker is another one of the old guard sites that has been around for a long time and survived Black Friday, however they’re pretty small these days as compared to some other major poker rooms. The good news is that traffic seems to be picking up somewhat here in 2015, so you can probably expect to find a few more tables running up at the cash games although the software still kind of looks like it’s from 2002 or something – hopefully they get around to updating this thing sooner rather than later as well! Carbon Poker used to be on most top lists during its heyday back whenB ran things, but since the whole Black Friday mess the traffic hasn’t been nearly what it used to be. However, they have managed to retain most of their player base – I’ve seen a decent amount of games running up at Carbon Poker these days, though you will definitely need to put in some volume before things get going especially on weekends. The software has probably gotten worse since the old days of iPoker, however it’s still perfectly useable.
Global Poker isn’t part of the iPoker Network anymore, but they’re still hanging around somehow despite not having much new blood coming into the site after everyone realized that there are way better places to play online poker these days! When they were first on the iPoker network they had some pretty good games running up, but now it’s mostly empty tables with a few die-hards hanging around. If you decide to play on Global Poker these days I suggest only playing at the higher limits – otherwise you’ll be waiting for quite some time before getting your action! Juicy Stakes- Juicy Stakes isn’t part of the iPoker Network anymore either, but their place was taken by Carbon Poker back in late 2012/early 2013 so things are still moving along nicely enough here! The table traffic tends to be pretty soft most of the time these days, however if you look hard enough you can still find some decent games running up at Juicy Stakes in 2015. The software here still looks like it’s from the early 2000s, but it works for what you need to do if you’re playing online poker these days so no real complaints there!
PokerKing- PokerKing seems to be another site which has been around forever and managed to survive Black Friday without too much of a problem – they used to run under the name iPoker, however after that network passed away they decided to join up with Merge Network instead (which is why you’ll see “MPN” listed next to their logo on your favorite poker client There are still good daily promotions running up at PokerKing, and a decent amount of traffic on most days.
There’s nothing really wrong with the software here either – it’s definitely a bit dated but it still gets the job done. Winning Poker Network – Winning Poker Network started out as a small network that was mostly US-friendly for US players, however they’ve since expanded their horizons and added some new rooms to their list of clients over time – you’ll now find Carbon Gaming amongst others on WPN these days! The games have been pretty soft so far in 2015 from what I’ve seen, but if you look hard enough on any given you should be able to find a game running up at all stakes – it’s not quite what PokerStars is these days, but I’d say it’s pretty close.
Americas Cardroom used to be on almost every pro player’s list of good online poker rooms for US players back in 2012, however ever since Black Friday they’ve been losing ground fast against the competition! The traffic here has become much tougher since then, however if you find yourself looking for a decent game here you’ll have no trouble filling up an 8-max NLHE table or two at most times during the day. The software looks pretty nice also – obviously slightly outdated by now but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the leading online poker sites in 2015!
Ultimate Poker is one of the newest poker rooms to open up these days, since the US government finally made things legal in some states which doesn’t make it illegal to play at them online. I’m not sure if this site will still be around in a few years time when the next administration comes in with their budget cuts and howls for removing all funding from public hospitals/schools etc, but until then it’s still fine. The lobby is nothing too special but you won’t have any problems finding games running up at low stakes on most days – give it a try!
How do professional poker players manage their income
Professional poker players have to deal with making money in many different ways, so let’s take a look at how they do it. Most people would think that their primary income is generated from winning poker tournaments or cash games, however this isn’t always the case as most pros also stream live on Twitch TV where they give away advice for new players, sell merchandise and things like that – streaming is growing in popularity each year amongst poker professionals with big names such as Daniel Negreanu, Jason Somerville and Lex Veldhuis all doing quite well on Twitch recently! Another way of generating income with online poker is also by playing micro stakes SNGs up at the various PokerStars MTT satellites running these days; if you win one of these you’ll win yourself a ticket to one of the live PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) Main Events with $30,000+ waiting for the winner! This is just one example of an online poker pro who manages their income – it’s always good to diversify your income sources, so paying attention to what other players are doing might also help improve your own game in the long run.
Lex Veldhuis – Lex is a well known poker pro both online and off, as he’s been playing NLHE cash games for many years now in addition to being one of the most popular Twitch TV streamers recently! He also recently sold his own brand of clothing called ‘De Hoed’ which includes hats with funny sayings on them – so keep an eye out if you’re interested in picking up a hat or two!
Jason Somerville – Jason sold his online training website Run It Once Poker last year after quitting PokerStars when they introduced the rake they did for their high stakes cash games, so he’s now focusing on streaming full time! He usually plays quite a bit of live poker too, which is something many others are doing more and more of these days after coming to grips with how much easier it is getting action at higher stakes…
Are professional poker players gambling addicts
Professional poker players can be classified as “at risk” gamblers, which means that they have a problem with gambling but haven’t crossed the line into being an actual gambling addict. In order to get their fix playing live cash games or tournaments helps them ‘feed’ the desire to gamble, while also allowing them to make a living from it! Most people know that poker is one of the more difficult ways of making a living these days, due to the fact there are only so many big buy-in events and high stakes cash games running each year – this makes it a very competitive market unlike say 10 years ago when online poker was completely legal. Having said that though it’s not impossible for beginners to start out playing low stake MTTs or cash games at PokerStars on a small bankroll to see if it’s for them, as there are many soft tables running up to the higher stakes these days!
Joe Stapleton – Joe ‘Stapes’ is one of Twitch TV’s most popular poker streamers lately, especially with his previous hosting casting gigs at the PCA and EPT Barcelona live events last year – he also recently came 4th in the WCOOP Main Event final table for $116k! He lives out in Vegas full time these days, but regularly streams online poker on Twitch TV which is something more people are doing these days due to how many pros are doing well on PokerStars and the likes! Lex has been playing poker professionally since he was a teenager, but recently came 18th out of 3658 entries in the WPT Alpha 8 Main Event at King’s Casino Rozvadov late last year for almost $40k! He also recently announced that he’s going to be teaching free poker lessons once a week exclusively for Twitch TV members using his ‘Lessonfodder’ website which we’ve already seen some great feedback from people who’ve attended previous sessions!
Jason Somerville – Jason also recently came second in the WPT Barcelona Main Event for $216k earlier this year, and last year finished sixth out of 7053 entries at the PCA Super High Roller event for $160k! His popular Run It Once Poker training website (which he sold last year) is now his main focus with Twitch TV helping him to reach more players every day which keeps him streaming regularly.
Andrew Neeme – Andrew just started streaming on Twitch TV less than a month ago but is already off to a great start by securing two final table appearances including coming third in both an MTT & cash game so far! He also streams on PokerStars pretty regularly, but is another case of someone who’s picking up big money in live events – last year he won the SCOOP Main Event for almost $1.6 million!
Lex also recently came second in the PokerStars Sunday Million for $150k, while making around $40k in six other cashes including other MTTs & cash games! He has a fairly generous Twitch TV stream schedule these days which generally includes playing cash games at least once or twice per week alongside his regular online poker grind on PokerStars & 888poker where he’s made countless millions over the last decade or so! It’s well worth checking out his stream if you want poker advice & play at any of the sites mentioned above.
Vanessa Selbst- Vanessa is one of the all time greats when it comes to live tournament poker, with her recent recovery from a 2-7 off suit in the WSOP Main Event for $1 million in 12th place in 2013 being just one example of how good she is when it matters most! She also recently came second behind Phil Ivey in the EPT Monte Carlo Super High Roller event for €707k which was another big result for her this year – she has dozens more 6 & 7 figure live tournament cashes to her name too over the last decade or so!
Jason Mercier. Jason is one of PokerStars most popular poker pros, and recently finished second in the $50k Super High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure event for $1 million after coming third in it last year for $600k! He’s another poker pro who has made millions online & off since he started playing professionally back in his teens, but regularly streams on Twitch TV these days where he also posts plenty of selfies with other poker pros throughout events when they meet up!
Daniel Negreanu – DNegs is one of the most popular poker pros on Twitch TV after having some big results in some recent PokerStars events including coming 8th in the $100k Super High Roller at the PCA for $258k, and then just two weeks ago finishing 2nd in the PokerStars Sunday Million for $150k! He’s also recently made another final table appearance on PokerStars during SCOOP 2016 where he finished 6th out of 5608 entries in Event #2 – mtt highroller (6max) for $27.4k
Sam Trickett – Sam is one of the biggest names in the live poker scene, having scored countless millions over his last ten years or so at the top of the game after winning the WSOP Main Event for $10 million back in 2012! He’s also had plenty of success playing on PokerStars recently with big scores coming regularly – he won the SCOOP Main Event for $1.3m & then just under a year later won another similar sized event for $1.5 million! His most recent result was 3rd place in the Sunday Warm-Up for $80k which he followed up with a runner up finish in an 888poker Mixed Max [turbo] event for £41k only five days later…
Erik Seidel – Erik is an old school poker pro who has won just about everything there is to win in poker, including two WSOP Main Events – firstly the 1988 World Series of Poker Main Event for $755k back when he was just 23 years old, and then again 16 years later in 2004 for £3.5m! He remains a successful player today with plenty of top finishes on his Twitch TV profile over the last few months including 4th place during SCOOP 2016’s Event #10 highroller (6max) for €111k where he beat Fedor Holz heads up for the title, runner up spot in SCOOP 2016’s Event #8 highroller (6max) for $100k which he lost to Ole Schemion, 3rd place in SCOOP 2015’s main event where he defeated Remko under the rainbow for $101k, 7th out of 6232 entries in the PokerStars Sunday Million back in April for $39.4k, and then just last month runner up again during SCOOP 2016’s Event #12 – mtt turbo deepstack (50c entry) where he lost to Indonesia’s ‘sugarrina’ after defeating George Danzer heads up for $72.7k…
Phil Laak – Phil is an infamous character in the poker world who has had success both live & online over the years including record breaking results during his time at Full Tilt Poker where he used to play before they went bust, and more recently on Twitch TV where he’s been streaming regularly since 2015… Back when Black Friday happened Phil was playing on Full Tilt Poker with a combined balance of around $5 million between all three of his accounts, and then next thing you know it all got locked up! He was even talking about retiring from poker back then because he couldn’t access any of his money! After six long years of fighting for repayment though everything finally came good after winning a settlement case against PokerStars – who bought Full Tilt Poker and then kept all the profits to use as they pleased! Phil got $15.7 million dollars back for what he claimed was basically theft by the original owners of FTP… And according to his Twitch TV profile he has plenty more money lying around somewhere since his total winnings on there currently stand at $1,890,698 which even after splitting between three accounts is still a big number!
Peter Jetten – Peter is another well known name in online poker circles who has been playing full time since 2008 following his move from Australia to Holland where he now lives with his wife and two kids having previously played online under ‘W34z3l’ for a long time first at the Merge Network then at Carbon Poker, and on PokerStars.
Randy ‘nanonoko’ Lew – Randy is a very well known name in online poker circles who has been playing full time since 2008 following his move from Canada to Hong Kong after he decided he hated snow too much! He’s also been streaming on Twitch TV regularly since around 2015 where you can find him live most nights of the week these days… His biggest win came back during SCOOP 2013 when he won Event #8 highroller (6max) for $108k, but he’s also had plenty of success at PokerStars where he’s made many final tables including a win and 4 runner up finishes in the Sunday Million, and then another win and 3 runner up finishes in their $215 Sunday 2nd Chance…
Tom Dwan – Tom used to be one of the biggest names in poker before switching over fully to Twitch TV since 2015 where he’s been gaining lots of new fans every day it seems with his live streams… Back when Black Friday happened Tom was playing under ‘durrrr’ on Full Tilt Poker where he had a combined balance of around $6m which was also locked up for a while, and then after winning a settlement against PokerStars he had it all returned to him which allowed him to keep playing high stakes on WSOP.com under ‘TomDwan’ until they too pulled the plug US facing player accounts…
Daniel Shak – Daniel is another poker pro who lives in Canada currently who has been playing online since 2008 where he used to be a regular at PokerStars before moving over to other networks including Bodog/Bovada under his current moniker… Back when Black Friday happened Daniel was through Merge Network before eventually moving over to Full Tilt Poker as ‘D_Shak’ for a short time until they too pulled the plug on US facing player accounts which led him to start streaming more regularly, and now he has almost 100k followers on there!
Celina Lin – Celina is a poker pro and streamer who used to be based in Canada before moving back home to Asia in 2015 where she started streaming on Twitch TV around the same time… Her biggest live result came when she finished 2nd in the Macau Poker Cup $25K High Roller for $1.28m back in 2012, but her biggest online result was when she won the Triton Super High Roller Series – Philippines Main Event for just over $500k back in 2014 – Maria used to be a regular at PokerStars before moving over to other networks including Bodog/Bovada where she took her current moniker… Back when Black Friday happened Maria was playing through Merge Network before eventually moving over to Full Tilt Poker as ‘LiviaT’ for a short time until they too pulled the plug on US facing player accounts which led her to start streaming more regularly, and now she has almost 40k followers on there!
Jason Koon – Jason is another poker pro who’s been playing online since 2008 who previously worked with PokerStars doing some special projects, and is mostly active during the WSOP each year where he usually plays all of the biggest tournaments possible… During Black Friday Jason was through Merge Network before eventually moving over to play on Stars using ‘Koon’ for a short time until they too pulled the plug US facing player accounts which led him to start streaming more regularly, and now he has almost 30k followers on there!
Gavin Griffin – Gavin is another poker pro who plays mostly high stakes live cash games where he lives in Canada, but is most active during the WSOP each year where he usually plays all of the biggest tournaments possible… During Black Friday Gavin was through Merge Network before eventually moving over to play on Stars using ‘HeroCall’ for a short time until they too pulled the plug US facing player accounts which led him to start streaming more regularly, and now he has almost 30k followers on there!
Steve O’Dwayner – Steve is another poker pro who’s based in Canada where he mostly plays high stakes live cash games, but is sometimes seen playing online during the WSOP each year… During Black Friday Steve was through Merge Network before eventually moving over to Full Tilt Poker as ‘ODBWayne’ for a short time until they too pulled the plug on US facing player accounts which led him to start streaming more regularly, and now he has almost 20k followers on there!