10 Best Bitcoin Poker Sites

10 Best Bitcoin Poker Sites 2023

Bitcoin poker sites are online poker sites that accept BTC & Cryptocurrency deposits & withdrawals. 

There are 2 types of Bitcoin Poker sites;

• Bitcoin Exclusive: BTC & Cryptocurrencies are the only currency in the entire process (deposit, play & withdrawal), which means no currency conversion between BTC & Fiat such as USD, EUR & GBP thus no exchange risk.
• Hybrid: Accept both Cryptocurrencies & Fiat currencies for deposits & withdrawals. However, fiat currency is usually required to use for playing poker, this means you need to convert cryptocurrency into fiat currency after the deposit & before the withdrawal at a real-time rate, thus bearing the exchange risk.

We select the best & safest Bitcoin online poker sites both exclusive crypto & hybrid. 

As explained in our Best Crypto Casino Sites List, the nature of blockchain prevents most online fraud including identity theft and enables quick & cheap withdrawal, which low transaction costs will give you better offers.

List Of Best Crypto Online Poker Sites

SwC Poker – Bitcoin Exclusive Soft Games with Low Rake

BetOnline Poker – Best Soft All-In-One Crypto Site for Global Players

Sportsbetting Poker – Clone of BetOnline 

Everygame Poker – Most Mobile Friendly Crypto Site with Longest History

Ignition Casino Poker – Softest Crypto Poker Site in the USA & Australia

Bovada Poker – Most Successful Offshore Crypto Gambling Site in the USA

Bodog Poker – Softest Crypto Poker Site in Canada

Tiger Gaming – The No. 1 Crypto Poker Site in Canada

America’s Card Room – The Best Rakeback Offer Crypto Poker Site

Black Chip Poker – Preferred Crypto Poker Site by Grinders

Bitcoin/Cryptocurrencies Poker Basics

Bitcoin Deposit Tutorial

Those who never used Bitcoin for gambling must wonder how it works, so, watch BetOnline short video explaining the Bitcoin deposit into a poker site;

Bitcoin Poker Pros & Cons

Together with the entire process of Bitcoin betting, you can check the full details of Bitcoin Gambling pros & cons in How To Gamble With Bitcoin.

However, let me highlight a few positive points;

• Anonymity: for those who are concerned about cybercrime, BTC Exclusive poker sites like Nitrogen & SWC ask for the only email (you may want to check further in the List of Best Anonymous Bitcoin Casinos & Bonuses) 
• Accessibility: for those who face restrictions to access offshore poker sites especially for funding like the USA (see 8 Best US Online Poker Sites for Real Money 2022), Bitcoin provides the best solution.

Needless to say, the biggest negative aspect is BTC’s Price Volatility. So, for those who are concerned about exchange risk, Bitcoin Exclusive poker sites are the best.

Bitcoin & Crypto Online Poker Legality & Safety

Regarding the legality, all the best poker sites that accept Bitcoin we list here obtained the license and are regulated by each jurisdiction they register.

When it comes to safety, it should be measured not only by licensing but also by financial stability & security. 

The Bitcoin poker sites especially the hybrid sites we list have been rated A+ rank by many reputable rating sites with flawless payments for decades. 

Besides, BTC transactions are encrypted and verified while they move through the network and the poker sites keep Bitcoin deposits in cold storage, giving you additional security.

Factors To Decide Your Best Crypto Poker Site

1) Easiness Of Poker Rooms (Fish List) 

Poker is considered gambling in many countries, but it’s actually pretty much skill-oriented. 

So, if you’re a beginner (BTW, check also 7 Best Poker Sites for Beginners Latest List), you want to avoid the site filled by skilled players a.k.a. Reg, Grinder, or Shark and search the sites for recreational players (the unskilled players are known as Fish).

We assess Poker Site Softeness based on “Fish Radar” (for worldwide, see Softest Poker Sites Latest List 2022 – Shark Free, just FYI)

As you imagine, poker sites with the highest traffic have many fishes because beginners feel safe in a big poker room. However, at the same time, there are many best players (for the traffic, see the next “Popularity” section.)

The sharks tend to play lots of games. Playing 5, 10, 20, or even 50+ tables at once (multi-tabling) and 50, 100 or 200+ games per day is normal for a full-time professional. Only the highest-traffic poker sites offering lots of game selection & high stakes games can accommodate such professional activities. Thus the poker sites with the highest traffic have many pro-infested tables.

Shark Unfriendly Rules & Banning HUD

One of the easiest factors to finding fewer shark poker sites is each poker site’s unique rules. If the site sets the rules prohibiting players from multi-table to say more than 4-6 tables, it’s a clear sign that such sites have fewer pros.

Another rule is allowing not to use of screen names but anonymous as the Ignition example shown before. Anonymous tables discourage advanced players and help casual players feel more comfortable.

You may have heard HUD (Heads-Up Display). HUDs collect data on everyone you play against and then put it into numbers displayed right next to your opponent’s seat at the table as below example; HUDs allow sharks to identify fishes. Blocking tracking software like HUD shows also the sites’ efforts to create a warm, friendly, and welcoming environment for recreational players by discouraging pros from targeting and taking advantage of weaker players.

In other words, for players who want to win online poker consistently, HUD is an essential tool. Anyhow, the best HUDs for high-volume grinders & for beginners are;

PokerTracker 4

Since: 2012 (by PokerTracker Software)

License: Lifetime up to 3 PCs

Feature: Light Software / Compatibility with Windows & MAC

Support Sites: Major Poker Sites

+ Free Hand Grabber

Price: $99.99 for the most popular package (see a full price list)

Payment: Card, PayPal, Neteller& BTC

Offer: 14 Days Free Trial

Claim Free Trial

Note: With in-depth analysis of wide data collection coupled with real-time adjustment function during in-play & Free New Features for Heavy Serious Grinders, PT4 is next to none (Active forum is available).

Holden Manager 3

Since: 2007 (one of the HUD pioneers)

License: Lifetime up to 3 PCs

Feature: Easy to install / Multi-language support

Support Sites: 12 Major Poker Sites + Free Hand Grabber

Price: $100 for the most popular package (see a full price list)

Payment:Card, PayPal, Neteller & BTC

Offer: 15 Days Free Trial 

Claim Free Trial

Note: With all the features of Full stats (customizable to make the feed less cumbersome), In-depth analysis (adjustable based on skill level) & Post Game Analysis (focusing on your core skills by finding your leaks) make HM3 the best HUD for Beginner/Casual Players (Active forum is available).

These are the poker tracking software not only for HUD but can also analyze your poker hands namely finding your leaks & studying opponents to spot their weaknesses. 

We explained in full detail about these excellent tools as well as a multi-tabling tool in Best Hud for Poker – Head-Up Display Software.

All-in-one Betting Site

There are 2 types of betting sites regarding the range of offering services, which are;

• All-in-one betting sites, including a sportsbook, casino, and poker room, all playable with a single account
• Poker only sites

All-in-one sites like BetOnline; tend to have the easiest online poker games.

The reason why a poker room with a casino and/or sportsbook is Softer is that there are often a lot of people who crossover. You’ll find considerable spillover from the sportsbooks & casino tables at the poker tables (see also World 19 Best Offshore Betting Sites Offers where you find excellent all-in-one gambling sites accepting Cryptocurrencies)

Someone will win a lot of money in the casino or sportsbook and then feel like gambling on poker. But these guys are usually amateurs. They are gamblers, which means they play for entertainment more than profit, and poker games are all the same gamble to them.

In other words, they are Fishes who don’t study & learn poker. Sharing a table with one of these players can be a very rewarding experience.

Overlay

Overlay in poker means the gap between a poker tournament’s guaranteed prize pool and the actual prize pool contributed by participating players.

For instance, if a tournament has a guaranteed prize pool of $1,000, a buy-in of $10 and 90 players enter, the players will generate only $900 to the prize pool. The rest of the prize pool (in this case $100) is made up by the tournament host and —would be the overlay for the tournament.

In other words, the tournament begins as if 10 people had already been knocked out. As you imagine this will surely increase anyone’s ROI, so it’s a soft game.

If the overlay is common in a particular poker site, it indicates less traffic & many soft games.

Bitcoin Poker Sites Fish Ranking

Considering the above factors, the easiest poker room ranking in Canada is;

•   1st: Ignition Poker – Extremely soft with anonymous table, HUD disallowed & limited multiple tables
•   2nd: Bovada Poker – Extremely soft, exactly the same as Ignition (same PaiWangLuo network) 
•   3rd: Bodog Poker – Extremely soft, exactly the same as Ignition (same PaiWangLuo network)

• 4th: BetOnline Poker – Very soft, huge spillover from casino & sportsbook, high pre-flop rate
• 5th: Tiger Gaming Poker – Very soft, exactly the same as BetOnline (both Chico Network)
• 6th: SportsBetting Poker – Very soft, exactly the same as BetOnline (both Chico Network)
• 7th: Nitrogen Poker: – Very soft, spillover from casino & sportsbook & HUDs banned
• 8th: EveryGame Poker – Soft, high spillover from casino & sportsbook & relatively higher pre-flop rate
• 9th: SwC Poker – Soft with limited traffic 
• 10th: America’s Cardroom – Tough with no HUD restriction & no Shark Unfriendly rules
• 11th: Blackchip Poker – Tough, exactly the same as America’s Cardroom (both Winning Poker Network)

2) Poker Site Popularity

Traffic is an important factor to assess poker sites because If traffic is high, there are a lot of players who actively take part in online poker games offered on the site, so you can play anytime. 

The below table from Poker Scout shows the world’s top 15 high-traffic poker sites;

People often ask “Does Party Poker accept Bitcoins?”, the answer is No. Unfortunately, PartyPoker, 888Poker, IDNPoker (this network focus on the Asian market), Winamax.fr (France-based, target EC market), iPoker (Playtech network, target Europe & Canada), & Unibet don’t accept any cryptocurrencies.

The below big poker network skins accept BTC;

•   Pai Wang Luo: Bodog Poker / Bovada Poker / Ignition Poker
•   Winning Poker: America’s Cardroom / Black Chip Poker
•   Chico Poker: BetOnline Poker / Sportsbetting Poker / Tiger Gaming Poker

GGPoker Caution

BTW, when it comes to GGPoker, popularity is not necessarily represented quality, thus we don’t include it in our list. We constantly receive terrible feedback from our members, some seriously believe GGPoker is rigged.

We intentionally sent a bit complicated inquiry, then they kept neglecting it even after the 5th reminder, never experienced such unprofessional customer support. Such a negative reputation is confirmed by below Trustpilot;

It’s better to avoid. 

3) Attractive Welcome & Recurring Bonuses

Obviously, the bonuses enhance your winnings or compensate for your loss. We don’t suggest you waste lucrative opportunities, thus we separately prepared a Complete Guide to Online Poker Bonus Hunting for Dummies, which explains online poker bonus types & how to evaluate each bonus to cash out efficiently. 

Best Bitcoin Poker Welcome Bonus

Deposit bonuses are a great way to build your bankroll and earn extra spending money. The best bonuses are;

•   1st: EveryGame Poker – 200% Deposit Bonus up to $1,000 (Claim HERE)
•   2nd: America’s Cardroom – 100% up to $2,000 (Claim HERE)
•   3rd: Blackchip Poker – 100% up to $2,000 (Claim HERE)

• 4th: TigerGaming Poker – 100% Deposit Bonus up to $1,000 (Claim HERE)
• 5th: Bodog Poker – 100% Deposit Bonus up to $1,000 (Claim HERE)
• 6th: BetOnline Poker – 100% Deposit Bonus up to $1,000 (Claim HERE) 
• 7th: SportsBetting Poker – 100% Deposit Bonus up to $1,000 (Claim HERE) 
• 8th: Ignition Poker – 100% Deposit Bonus up to $1,000 (Claim HERE)
• 9th: Bovada Poker – 100% Deposit Bonus up to $500 (Claim HERE also BTC exclusive Membership)

Best Rake

Besides, cryptocurrency-only poker rooms have much lower overheads than regular online poker rooms so they are generally able to offer lower rake rates on cash games and tournaments.

Major poker rooms like PokerStars & Party Poker charge the standard 4% to 7% rake but crypto-exclusive sites like SwC offer a significantly lower rake of 1 – 2.5%.

Bitcoin Best Poker Sites Wrap Up

Cryptocurrencies Opportunity

Although there are a few cons/cautions in Crypto betting including volatility & future uncertainties of cryptocurrencies, we assume the advantages may surpass eventually.

In long term, many people believe it would be Rising Right as much brilliant stock prices like Amazon, Netflix & Alphabet, etc.

Surely, I can’t assure you anything but believe that Cryptocurrency assets should be a part of your diversified portfolio, and preferably you use the money you are prepared to lose.

From this perspective, I guess the money you rake from Poker Bonus & other bonus hunting would be the most suitable and just leave them untouched as long as possible.

Then, who knows that the profits you gain now could grow to be over x100 in 10 years (there are several experts who predict BTC/USD would be over $200,000, well one model predicts $1,000,000 which sounds too much though).

You may want to use cryptocurrencies for sports betting, then, suggest taking a look at the List of Best Bitcoin Sports Betting Bookmakers, and Stake regularly offers Risk-Free bets, just FYI. 

Lastly, in case you happen to be a sharp casino & game bonus hunter using cryptocurrencies, then strongly suggest taking a look at the List of 52 Best Bitcoin Casino Bonuses and for those who appreciate the highest privacy, go to the List of Best Anonymous Bitcoin Casinos & Bonuses, just FYI.

Good Luck!!

Joshua Walker (bio)

Editor – Global Extra Money (GEM)