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Bitcoin Poker Sites

One of the hottest trends in the online gambling industry in the past year is Bitcoin (BTC). The virtual currency has grown in value tremendously over the past twelve months and is being used to do everything from buying coffee to funding online gambling websites.

Naturally, the cryptocurrency has been adopted by many online gambling operators and several bitcoin poker sites are now available for players around the world. The cryptocurrency explosion continues to grow at a rapid rate, and one must wonder where the currency will be in a year’s time and how it may affect the current online gambling marketplace, let alone the world’s financial system.

Top Bitcoin Poker Sites and Rooms

There are quite a few options for bitcoin online poker, and that number is rapidly expanding. Online poker sites do not have the large number of players that traditional fiat-currency online poker rooms do, at least not yet. But, there are more than enough players to get a game going during peak hours and plenty of tournament options.

There are other poker sites that accept bitcoin, like the ones below:

Bitcoin Poker Rooms

A legion of BTC online gambling sites has sprouted up in recent years, from online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms. All of these online gambling entities have had some level of success, but bitcoin poker sites have undoubtedly taken off over the past year.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an open-sourced currency that is mostly bought and sold electronically but can also be sold in physical coins. BTC transactions mostly take place on the internet but can be traded in any type of marketplace, either online or offline. Using user-to-user technology, transactions are facilitated by the network which conducts the transactions of buying, selling and transferring coins.

• Unlike traditional fiat currencies such as the United States Dollar, Bitcoin is not tied to a central bank or government and cannot be manipulated by a government banking authority or have restrictions or regulations imposed on them.
• The supply of the cryptocurrency is actually capped at $21 million according to the current Bitcoin protocol. There is some automation of the buying and selling of the coin as to not flood the market. As it becomes more and more popular and gains value, they can be divided up to 8 decimal spaces – keeping the supply virtually unlimited.
• The BTC protocol was allegedly written by a Japanese man named Satoshi Nakamoto. However, this was just an alias and the true identities of the inventor(s) of Bitcoin are unknown.

That depends on your jurisdiction, but in most cases, the currency is legal or in a bit of a legal grey area. While express legality is rare in most countries, so is explicit language that outlaws the virtual currency. For instance, the United States defines legal tender as money issued by the US Treasury.

However, the US government does recognize BTCs as a virtual currency as stated by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The currency may not be expressly legal, but it is certainly not illegal in the United States. This seems to be consistent with most other nations across the world, but it is always best to check local laws.

Transferring Bitcoin

The ease of transferring Bitcoin is the reason the cryptocurrency is so popular. It is sent and received by using BTC addresses. These are unique sets of numbers and letters that are the basis for the market. The addresses are case sensitive and must be entered exactly for the transfer to go through correctly. They range from 27-34 characters and contain both letters and numbers. Here is an example of a BTC address:

• 32uEbMgunupShBVTewXjtqbBv5MndwfXhhb

A fair comparison for BTC addresses would be an email address, except that users can transfer coins. If you want to send or receive BTC to an online poker account, Bitcoin wallet or any other type of Bitcoin-accepting site – you will need one of these addresses.

Addresses can be generated instantly by most Bitcoin wallets, services and websites. They can also be generated offline via specific software. It is crucial to verify your address before sending and receiving coins because a mistake could have the coins lost forever.

Users can have an unlimited number of BTC addresses. In fact, many advise using a different address for each individual transaction or transfer over the Bitcoin marketplace. This provides extra added security, but one can go even further to protect their coins.

Private keys can be attached to a specific BTC address or wallet. Private keys are a set of numbers that are required for a user to access funds on a particular address, adding another layer of a security to an address. Users can attach several private keys to one Bitcoin address or set of addresses, beefing up security even further.

Acquiring Bitcoin

The most common way to acquire this currency is through an e-wallet. Bitcoin wallets are secure methods for sending, receiving, and storing BTC. Each wallet comes with a Bitcoin address for utilizing these methods.

Most wallets charge a small fee when exchanging fiat currency for BTC, such as converting USD into the cryptocurrency and vice-versa. Transferring and receiving to and from your wallet is almost always free.

The most popular Bitcoin wallet is Coinbase, which charges a 1% fee to buy from traditional fiat currencies via your bank account and the same fee to convert back to traditional money. There is no fee to send and receive BTC to and from your Coinbase wallet.

The 1% fee is among the lowest charged by wallets and Coinbase is –in our opinion– the most secure option for sending, receiving and storing this crypto. New customers will be limited to 10 BTC on their first transaction, which will take several business days. Once that goes smoothly, customers will be able to buy up to 50 BTC per day and the coins will be credited instantly.

Wallets and exchanges are not the only way to purchase Bitcoin. There are many online services that will send cryptocurrency to a specified Bitcoin address given by the user. These usually come with more fees, but transfers are quick, usually within a few hours.

Finally, BTC can be traded among other enthusiasts through Bitcoin forums, marketplaces or even in person. These can riskier methods than dealing wallets, but if you can establish trust with others it can be a free way to buy and sell BTC.

Bitcoin Advantages vs. Traditional Currencies

Bitcoin has a few unique advantages over traditional government regulated currencies. As we discussed above, they cannot be manipulated or restricted by a central bank, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

1. A cryptocurrency allows users to be anonymous in many cases and operate independently from traditional banking and money transfer systems. Also, unless a user publicly releases their Bitcoin wallet addresses no one can trace or track BTC back to them.
2. Costs are also much lower and transferring funds is much faster. Traditional bank wires can take several business days. BTC, on the other hand, can be transferred 24/7 year-round with little or no fee, and transfers can be done instantly (may take several hours).
3. There are normally no fees for transferring coins to different BTC addresses, and if there are fees, they are marginal, usually not more than a few dollars. Furthermore, once Bitcoins are sent they cannot be “charged back” and the order cannot be rescinded by a central authority or law enforcement.
4. Coins can only be accessed through user-stored details, not through traditional authorization methods. This does not mean the currency is unhackable, but that they cannot be accessed by traditional means, such as social security numbers, government IDs or by hacking a person’s email or online banking password.

Failed Bitcoin Sites

Some Bitcoin-only sites were unable to gain enough market share to remain in business.  Others simply never opened.  Casualties include SealsWithClubs, Satoshi Poker, WinPoker and Infiniti Poker.

SealsWithClubs went offline on February 11, 2015.  The site’s board of directors decided to shutter the room on February 20, 2015.  A new room related to SealsWithClubs called SWCPoker replaced it in 2015.  It is basically the same site with different software.  Bryan Micon, its CEO, was charged with violating Nevada law for operating an unlicensed poker site.  These charges were initiated after a raid on Micon’s Las Vegas home.

Micon eventually became chairman of SWCPoker.  Micon agreed to plead guilty to the charges related to SealsWithClubs.  It is unclear what his involvement in SWCPoker is to this day.

WinPoker was an iPoker skin.  It was the first online poker room to accept BTC.  It ceased operations in 2015.

Infiniti Poker intended to be a hybrid site that accepted traditional e-wallets from Europeans and Bitcoin from U.S. players.  Its soft launch in 2013 was a failure.  It generated virtually no players.  The site went offline in February 2014.

Satoshi Poker never got off the ground.  It opened but never generated any interest.  The site went up for sale in April 2014 on a Bitcoin forum for 30 BTC.  The buyer of the site did not honor player balances, according to the previous owner that admitted the site was nearly bust when he unloaded it.

Other Cryptocurrencies Accepted in Online Poker

When it comes to cryptocurrencies used in online poker for deposits, BTC is the most well-known and heavily used. However, there are other options that players should consider. By learning more about the cryptocurrencies below, you will have even more deposit options when it comes to your online poker gameplay. Read to see what other cryptocurrencies we recommend.

With Litecoin, online poker players have a similar option to Bitcoin when it comes to the cryptocurrency type. However, there are key differences. Litecoin is considered quicker and cheaper, with prices surging in 2018. For mining, Scrypt is used and the average block mining speed is 2.5 mins which is much faster than the 10 of BTC. There are several recommended poker sites that accept Litecoin as a funding option, make sure to check them out.

Another cryptocurrency option, Ethereum is a deposit method being used by online poker rooms today. In simple terms, Ethereum is an open software platform that uses blockchain technology for developers to build and deploy decentralized applications. It is distributed via a public blockchain network. With ETH, miners will work so that they can earn Ether, a crypto token that fuels the network, it is tradable, and can also be used by developers to pay transaction fees and services.

Created in late 2017, Bitcoin Cash is a fork of classic BTC. With Bitcoin Cash, the user can increase the size of blocks, which allows more transactions to be processed. With this option, miners can use a BCH chain to process more payments per second. Check out our Bitcoin Cash Poker Sites page for more information about the benefits of using this crypto for online poker, how it can be used and the best casinos that accept Bitcoin Cash.

Formerly known as Darkcoin and XCoin, Dash is an open source peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Dash can be used for instant transactions and private transactions, operating with a self-governing as well as a self-funding model. This option is one of the lesser known cryptocurrency options being used in online poker gaming today. Visit our Dash Poker Sites page to learn more.

The Future of Bitcoin in Poker

The cryptocurrency has come a long way in the past few years and are now being accepted as a means of payment for many products and services. Hundreds of business, including restaurants, dentists, and real estate companies across the United States and Europe now accept it as payment.

Bitcoin poker has grown rapidly in recent years but is still an extremely new concept. Many gambling markets are unregulated and offer costly transaction options, and are also vulnerable to government inference. BTC poker takes care of both of these issues.

The liquidity to make them viable poker rooms for the masses is not quite there yet. However, Bitcoin-based rooms already offer the lowest rake and best rewards in online poker, not just in the cryptocurrency realm. Tournaments, rewards and game selection all stand to increase as more and more people start playing poker with BTC.

In our opinion, the future looks bright for Bitcoin and bitcoin poker sites.