Bitcoin Poker Reviews – Why Bitcoin is Needed

Federal laws mean that banks are prevented from knowingly transacting with online gambling sites from the US. This law does not affect individual players – though it has forced the sites to find legal jurisdictions outside of the US for their licenses.

While you can deposit at poker sites using credit cards, the banks do try and block these transactions. The offshore sites claim that they are able to accept players from anywhere in the world, citing international free trade laws to back them up.

Bitcoin gets around these banking restrictions. The big advantage of this virtual currency is that it is outside of the control of any government or financial authority. Instead Bitcoin payments are recorded in a distributed ledger known as the Blockchain.

Many people think of Bitcoin as techy, volatile and hard to use. These days none of these are true. Using Bitcoin is not much more difficult than operating a PayPal account! The volatility on a daily basis is low – and you’ll not hold Bitcoin for very long for an average deposit either.

Bitcoin Poker Reviews – 2 Types of Bitcoin Poker Site and What to Look For

When Bitcoin was new some new poker sites which exclusively worked with this currency appeared. These pioneering sites used only Bitcoin for deposits and also featured games in this currency.

These days the bigger and better known offshore poker sites accept Bitcoin. These sites do not hold their games in this currency – instead using dollars. What will happen is that you deposit in Bitcoin, and your balance is instantly converted into USD. It is held in dollars until you are ready to cash out, at which point your withdrawal will be in Bitcoin again. This is an effective way of protecting you from any fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin.

The ability to deposit is only part of the equation when it comes to choosing a poker site. More important than this are the trust signals / reputation of the sites – and the number and types of games available at them.

The first thing to check for in any Bitcoin poker site review is that the site is licensed (in a known jurisdiction), and that their games have been tested for fairness by a 3rd party auditor. I also recommend you search online for any scandals or issues with delayed payments – both red flags.

Different Bitcoin sites have different mixes of games. Examples include the anonymous play model at Ignition Poker (where you use numbers instead of screen names that stay with you), and the tournament focus of the Winning Poker Network. There is also a lot of variation in both the generosity and the frequency of player promotions across the different sites.

Bitcoin Poker Reviews – Quick Guide to Making a Bitcoin Deposit

Once you have checked the reviews and chosen a site, the next step is to get set up and ready to make your first Bitcoin deposit. There are 3 steps, and all of them are very easy.

First you need to get a Bitcoin wallet. There are online versions and downloadable ones. An online wallet will be fine for everyone who is not a high-roller! Opening one of these (from somewhere like CoinBase.com or BlockChain.info) is no more difficult than registering for any online wallet such as PayPal.

Next you need to fund your wallet – effectively to buy some Bitcoin. You can do this through one of many exchanges very quickly and easily. Alternatively, you could get someone you know to send you the Bitcoin.

You are now ready for the final step, which is making the deposit. In the cashier section of your poker site you should choose the Bitcoin option. You will then be given a string of letters and numbers – known as a receivers Id. You go to your own wallet, choose ‘Send Bitcoin’ and use this Id as the place to send to. Your deposit is usually available (in USD) for you to start enjoying the games within minutes.

If you deposited with Bitcoin, many sites will also let you withdraw with this. Here the process is reversed. You give the site your receivers id, along with the amount you wish to withdraw and they send you the Bitcoin.