- Online Gambling 101
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BetOnline is one of the most impressive poker casinos currently available to residents of California. We ranked it as our top online poker site in the state.
Launched in 2004, this poker room supports various forms of Texas Hold’Em, including Pot, Fixed, and No Limit Hold’Em poker. You’ll also find Windfall and Boost poker at the site.
While these games aren’t exclusive to BetOnline, they can’t all be found at rival sites, so the diversity of the poker variants impressed us.
BetOnline is also home to poker tournaments and competitions including, but not limited to, the $1 million tables, Sit & Go’s and more.
BetOnline.ag offers a fantastic range of 17 crypto deposit options, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum, allowing offshore poker fans to play with anonymity. These options are permitted alongside the conventional ones, such as VISA, American Express and MasterCard.
Poker fans can choose to play using downloadable PC and mobile poker clients or in their browsers, giving a truly versatile experience.
Few brands can match Bovada’s reputation as a top-tier US poker casino.
Californians can opt to play Omaha, Texas Hold’Em and other variants, including tables that feature Pot Limit, Fixed Limit and No Limit rules.
Bovada hosts daily, weekly and monthly tournaments, the most notable being the Monthly Millions that has a prize pool of one million dollars. Sit & Go’s, knockout competitions, and satellites to major events are also available.
Bovada has been around since 2011 and is a licensed and regulated name that Californian poker fans can trust. Their poker room is run by Morris Mohawk Gaming.
You can deposit into your account using VISA, MasterCard, and American Express as well as several of the biggest cryptocurrencies.
Formerly known as Intertops before being rebranded, Everygame Poker hosts Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo and several Texas Hold’Em poker variants, including No Limit Hold’Em.
Californians can also participate in the Sunday Myriad to win a share of a $10,000 pot offered in Sit & Go’s. They also reward players with rakeback and freerolls, making Everygame a fantastic place to play poker.
Everygame is the oldest of the poker sites on this list, harking back to the mid-1990s when it was renowned for its RNG poker titles.
Depositors have a range of banking options available, including all major bank cards, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and much more.
Online poker is currently unregulated in California. However, there is nothing within Californian law that makes joining offshore online poker sites illegal, and therefore, it is safe to play at our featured casinos.
The California Gambling Control Resource Book (2021), coupled with regulations put forward by the Office of Administrative Law in the California Gambling Law and Regulations Act do not permit locally licensed online poker.
However, several recent attempts have been made to get online poker off the ground in CA. The Iipay Nation (located in Santa Ysabel) tried in 2014 and even got as far as setting up a poker room. However, the federal government deemed it to be a breach the UIGEA in 2016 and it was then closed.
Fortunately, offshore poker rooms are outside the Golden State’s jurisdiction and therefore fine to play at. While it is illegal for Californians to play at state-based poker rooms (there are none for this reason), playing at offshore poker rooms falls into a grey area. So, you cannot be prosecuted for joining our top and recommended offshore poker rooms.
It still might be advisable, however, to use a VPN to protect your identity and ensure your complete anonymity.
There is work afoot to try and legalize online poker in California. In 2018, the US Supreme Court laid the groundwork for each state to pass online poker legislation.
Not every state has taken this step yet, but many have either set up state-licensed casinos, poker rooms and/or sportsbooks, or they are in the process of doing so. So, where does California stand?
There has been ample debate on legalizing some forms of online gambling in the Golden State. Any legalization would require licensing and regulation by an appropriate body.
California already has such an authority: the California Bureau of Gambling Control actively regulates physical gambling options in the state. Similarly, those venues receive their license from the California Gambling Control Commission.
Both would work together to license and regulate Californian online poker rooms and work with tribal agencies to establish a Californian online poker sector if legislation to legalize California online poker should pass.
Not every player looks for the same thing from online poker sites. In this section we’ll recommend which casino is best for various games and features.
Our selection of recommended offshore online poker rooms can support all manner of popular games. These are among the biggest hits with Californian poker players:
Of all the Texas Hold’Em variations that you can play, it is No Limit that attracts the biggest crowd.
No Limit Texas Hold’Em Poker is played with two-hole cards and five community cards. You’ll get to call, check, fold, and raise while playing and the table limits involved in the game depend on the room. It allows you to raise any amount of chips from your stack at any time in the betting process.
Bovada, BetOnline and Everygame Poker lead the way when it comes to offering No Limit.
Pot Limit Texas Hold’Em Poker gets its name from the way that your betting is fixed.
Unlike No Limit, which allows unlimited raises, and Fixed Limit, which has predetermined bet and raise sizes, Pot Limit lets you raise and bet as high as the current pot size.
Fixed Limit Texas Hold’Em Poker is played with small and big bets and features the same rules as other versions of Texas Hold’Em. However, Fixed Limit does not allow you to raise your bet by any amount like No Limit does.
Instead, you can only bet or raise using fixed increments that are predetermined before the game takes place. Ensure you check what this is before committing to play.
Often described as tricky for first-time poker players, Omaha Hi-Lo is a spin on Omaha Poker and is played using both high and low hands.
Any Californian interested in playing should check out Ignition poker, America’s Card Room or BetOnline.ag, which boast Omaha Hi-Lo tournaments or can be played on Sit & Go tables.
Omaha is often played with Pot Limit rules. It may look like Texas Hold’Em Poker but Pot Limit Omaha sees players required to use two of the four cards they are initially dealt alongside three of the shared community cards. This is in contrast to Texas Hold’Em where only two cards are dealt.
Once again, this version sees raises restricted to the current level of pot size.
Yes, you can play poker online for free in California.
There are several types of free poker options that you might consider, including free RNG poker games and freerolls.
RNG poker table games are played against an AI dealer and stands for ‘Random Number Generator’. These can be played for free and represent a great way to hone your skills before tackling other players for real money.
By contrast, freerolls are a poker bonus. They allow you to play hands on selected tables without having to pay an entry fee. If you’ve played slots before, you can consider them a poker equivalent to free spins.
Freerolls aren’t available at all online poker rooms, but Ignition offer $2,500 worth of weekly freerolls, while Everygame Poker offers them daily.
New players can snap up $2,500 of guaranteed freerolls when joining Sportsbetting.ag Poker, while they are available on demand as part of the loyalty structure at America’s Card Room.
Yes, Californians can play poker on their mobiles either through their browser or via a downloadable app. However, not every casino offers an app, and you may find that the available options differ based on whether your phone is Android or iOS.
From our research, we determined that the availability of iOS apps, in particular, isn’t assured and that Android compatibility is more common.
That being said, modern HTML-5 developed poker rooms work fantastically on most mobile browsers, which in turn, can be bookmarked to your homepage to create a poker app for easy access. An additional benefit of this route is that you will face fewer security risks or updates.
Modern offshore US poker rooms, including every operator on our list, support cryptocurrencies, traditional banking methods, and prepaid options.
While our featured casinos support multiple deposit methods, the limits, transaction times and fees may vary.
It is definitely worth comparing banking methods at these online poker sites. Fortunately, we’ve done the hard work for you in the table below.
Getting started playing online poker in California is a process that takes minutes once you know where to play. Follow these short steps to sign up at the top offshore poker rooms:
After selecting one of our recommended poker rooms, you can head over to the site in question. There, you will find a button that lets you sign up. Here’s the process based on BetOnline.
New players will be presented with an e-form, that they can fill out and submit. You’ll need to enter your personal, residential, and contact details.
After registering for an account, you can sign in. From there, you will find a ‘cashier page’. This may be via the lobby, or it could be under your account settings.
This banking page lists all the available payment methods (and currencies) accepted at the site and will display the minimum and maximum deposit limits, transaction times, and fees (if any) associated with each.
Select the payment method that works for you and enter your details when prompted, along with the amount you wish to deposit. You can confirm that transaction, and then your deposit should be processed instantly. Note that if you wish to claim a bonus (and it requires promo codes to trigger it), you can enter bonus codes into a box on the deposit page. Not all bonuses require bonus codes to be triggered.
Playing online poker for real money is now just a moment away. Having deposited into your poker room account and possibly claimed a bonus, you can now look at the available games.
Furthermore, if you’re a poker pro, you can dive straight into tournament action via a relevant tab. Some of our offshore poker rooms also offer beginner’s tables, and it is well worth visiting these.
You may encounter rakeback at some our offshore online poker rooms. Any poker player with experience knows that a rake is the small cut that the room takes from the pot (and thus, each player) for hosting the game. What is rakeback, then?
Rakeback is exactly as it sounds: it is a refund from online poker sites, and it can be offered as a bonus with terms and conditions attached. Alternatively, rakeback may be withdrawable (a wager-free bonus) when offered as a loyalty deal.
Some poker rooms offer rakeback regularly, as a VIP perk, on request, or not at all. It varies from site to site, so check our poker room reviews to find out which sites excel at offering rakeback.
America’s Card Room has on-demand rakeback made available via its Elite Benefits program. Over at Everygame Poker, you can take advantage of an up to 36% rakeback, although it is offered as a bonus, so expect a few T&Cs to be thrown into the mix.
Although just across the state line lies Nevada and Las Vegas and its wealth of casinos and poker rooms, Californian has over 85 licensed homegrown options to choose from, including many tribal casinos.
Land-based poker is legal, so if you fancy trying your hand at proper poker tables and winning some cash games, we’ve highlighted the five largest poker rooms you can head to in the Golden State. In reverse order, they include:
Opened in 2000, this California poker room was once one of the original Gardena venues. Despite being a casino, it is best known for its card rooms, where stud poker games are the big hit. Built over 55,000 square feet, there is a seventy-table room for players to enjoy all manner of poker games, including Pai Gow.
Found in Inglewood, Hollywood Park has 100,000 square feet of floor space and is home and host to Omaha, Stud, and Hold’Em poker games, with over a hundred and five tables for you to choose from. In-house games can also be found at this venue, including a poker and blackjack combo game, and Pai Gow Poker, amongst others.
Also known as Hawaiian Gardens, the Gardens Casino has its own poker tournaments and over 110 tables for you to explore. Three Card Poker and Pai Gow Poker are offered alongside traditional Hold’Em poker games at this venue, which spans over 150,000 square feet, and is located, as you might expect, in Hawaiian Gardens.
Located in Bell Gardens, the Bicycle is one of the most famous casinos in California. It has 185 tables covering 100,000 square feet. Unsurprisingly for such a renowned casino, the World Series of Poker, Ladies International Poker, WPT Legends of Poker, and other competitions all make a whistle stop at the Bicycle Casino. You can even watch poker being played online there, although you can’t participate in online poker games.
The Commerce Casino & Hotel takes the top spot on our list because it has over 210 poker tables, making it the largest poker room on the planet. Yes, even ahead of anything you’ll find in Las Vegas. It is home to the World Poker Tour’s L.A. Classic, in-house Hold’Em poker tournaments, and is the venue for the California State Poker Championship. There’s plenty of prestige attached to this venue, making it a must-visit haunt whether you want to play simple poker games or participate in marquee championships.
Currently, online poker is unregulated in California, limiting the options available. However, even when legalized, we believe that many local players will stick with offshore poker sites due to the numerous advantages over the competition, including:
If California did license and regulate its own online poker rooms, these would likely be subject to strict regulation surrounding bonuses, as is common at other state-licensed US poker rooms.
Offshore poker rooms catering to Californians are at liberty to offer better bonuses on account of looser regulation. Because of this, you are likely to find sizeable bonuses worth decent chunks of change.
Of course, there is always a danger that offshore casinos will have wayward terms and conditions, but that doesn’t happen at our recommended offshore poker rooms. Each has been vetted to ensure that it has fair terms and conditions, especially relating to wagering requirements.
Offshore poker rooms feature far more tables than even the biggest land-based card rooms in California. For this reason, you aren’t likely to have to wait very long to get a seat at the table.
Our offshore poker rooms can be played as live-dealer or RNG games, so you’re guaranteed to find a spot in no time at all. Moreover, online poker rooms offer a more diverse choice of tables, some with high limits and others designed for low rollers.
You’ll also have ample options when it comes to pots, betting limits and rules in variants. In short, you have more choices when you choose to play table poker at online betting sites.
Online poker rooms make it far more likely that you’re going to be able to participate in top poker tournaments and competitions. There are satellites that provide access to major competitions for budding amateurs who strike it lucky.
Sit & Go’s are open to everyone, and some tournaments are specifically designed for first timers. Freerolls can see you forgo entry fees and some jackpot competitions feature prizes worth over a million dollars.
Compared to land-based venues, your odds of getting involved in big-money tournaments are better when you play online.
California-friendly online poker rooms provide around-the-clock access to games. There are peak hours and off-peak hours at offshore poker sites, and you can take advantage of 24/7 support to boot.
Last, we would also highlight the fact that you can readily walk away from any table when playing. This isn’t always possible when you play offline. This flexibility undoubtedly makes playing at offshore poker sites advantageous.
You don’t have to be secretly gambling to prefer privacy at California online poker real money sites. In a real poker room, everyone will be consumed with interest in what you’re doing. Playing online allows you to keep your game secret.
There’s no need for players who struggle to bluff to worry, and the use of cryptocurrencies when betting means that your gambling hobby remains private if you want it to be. For players who want a touch of anonymity when they bet on poker, those options are there at our trusted and recommended poker rooms.
California poker players are some of the most renowned. Some of the World Series of Poker’s Most Notable players also dabble in online poker. Let’s introduce you to a couple of them right here.
Of course, because of California’s online gambling laws, Californian poker pros only play in selected online tournaments linked to major events (often in other states). If any Californian professionals are playing poker at offshore poker rooms, they are likely to keep their activity quiet, making it tough to get
If you still have questions about California online poker sites, check out our California online poker FAQ.
Technically, no. California doesn’t license online poker games and there are no regulated, legal online poker sites. However, you won’t be prosecuted if you choose to play at offshore poker rooms in California, and you’ll find plenty of recommended and trusted sites right here which offer online poker.
Yes, you can play poker online. California’s offshore poker rooms offer both real money and free-to-play poker games. Some free-to-play games can even win you real money (through freerolls) if you strike it lucky when playing online.
Live poker games can be played in over 85 card rooms across the Golden State. You can also find live dealer poker games at many selected and recommended online poker rooms catering to players in California.
The Commerce Casino & Hotel may not have the largest floor space, but it has more tables than any other poker room. Moreover, it is officially the biggest poker room in the world. The Commerce Casino can’t make a much bigger statement than that.
That depends on where you play. We’ve already highlighted that some of our recommended California offshore casinos support freerolls. Check our poker room reviews to discover which sites have the best freeroll deals.
Brian Rast, Justin Coung Van Tran and David Rheem are the most successful poker players from California. Together, they have amassed a pot worth over $49.4m in winnings. Other notable names include Jamie Gold, Men Nguyen, and David Pham.
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