Best Place To Play Poker Online

• Best Place To Play Poker Online With Friends
• Best Place To Play Poker Online With Friends
• Best Online Poker Clubs

We review the best legit poker sites so you can safely choose where to play real money poker online. Our top pick for March 2021 is Intertops Poker. Intertops Poker 2. Partypoker, one of the best poker sites in the world partypoker is one of the best online poker sites, jam-packed with a 24/7 schedule of exciting poker cash games and tournaments with huge daily.

• 6 month+ travel visas
• Amazing weather
• Diverse selection of cities/climates to choose from
• Casinos and live poker events
• Close proximity to other APPT events in Asia
• Open banking infrastrucure
• Pretty good internet (not the best but certainly manageable)
• Amenities galore
• World class restaurants
• International flight hub
• Surfing and water sports
• Lovely Aussie people
• English-speaking country
• Cons: It’s pretty expensive to live here, but that’s because everyone wants to live here. Another bummer, it’s kind of far from everywhere except New Zealand and a few South Pacific islands. The shortest direct flight to LAX is 15 hours or so.

4) Vancouver, Canada: Overall, Canada is marked with somewhat of a scarlet letter these days, which is: no Neteller or Skrill access (wah! ^insert crying emoticon face). Bummer, we know. There is also the issue of online gambling being a grey area and rumors of Amaya pulling Stars/FTP out of dear ‘oh Canada land. So far, that hasn’t happened, but it would surely be devastating if it did. In the meantime, we can’t deny the wonders of living in Vancouver overall as a global destination:

• Extremely high standard of living
• High internet speeds/reliable infrastructure
• Amazing food options
• Easy public transportation
• Good international flight schedules
• Casinos
• Stanley Park, nature, hiking, boating
• Whistler (enough said)
• Close proximity to the US
• Stay up to 180 days per year (most Western passport holders)
• English speaking
• Diverse population – you won’t be the only expat around
• It’s just awesome
• Cons: High cost of living, limited deposit/withdrawal methods for non Canadians, forex fees and gloomy weather (most of the time)

• Low cost of living compared to most of Western Europe
• Wide selection of affordable rental properties
• Decent infrastructure and internet speeds
• Small city with a town-like feel
• Great food
• Beautiful women
• Small but strong poker community
• Part of the EU Schengen area
• Central location to the rest of Europe (for when you win those EPT packages)
• Relatively foreigner-friendly banking options
• Cons: Regulation has been on the table in recent years and there have been some changes and questions on legality. So far, nothing much has changed from the players’ perspective but that can change at any time. Get it while it lasts. PS: Hungarian is a super difficult language to learn.

• Tyler Phillips: http://blog.pokerrefugees.com/2013/10/player-interview-tyler-phillips.html

• Gambling of all types is expressly legal, yay
• Airports: London is within striking distance of quite a few international airports which means cheap flights and plenty of options to fit your schedule. Heathrow is one of the busiest hubs in the world. Get in or out whenever you want.
• 1st world living: Great Britain has long been one of the world’s superpowers. Whatever you want, you can find it here.
• Internet: Not the best in the world but certainly good enough for online poker. Reasonably priced.
• Tourist Visas are available for up to 6 months for most western nations’ citizens, and it’s not part of the Schengen area (90-day limits).
• Restaurants that give NYC a run for their money
• Culture: Never get bored
• It’s relatively safe around these parts
• EPT London, casinos
• Multi-currency bank accounts
• You can get a PokerStars debit card! <3
  

  Love at first sight

• Isle of Man/PokerStars HQ are just up the road (hang a left at the Irish Sea)
• EU Citizens can stay as long as they want (aka permanently)
• Cons: (1) It’s so expensive to live here that it could actually cancel out a significant amount of those tax savings (2) The weather is not known to be the best

• Online poker is legal
• Internet is fast and cheap
• Access to all forms of payment processing, e-wallets, depositing and withdrawing
• Generally low cost of living compared to the rest of Europe
• Mild climate
• They also speak English here (thank you British Empire?)
• No car needed if you live in St Julians or Sliema
• Sea views and beaches
• Pubs on every corner
• Good food and restaurant options
• Portomaso Casino & EPT Malta
• PokerStars has an office here (as do 200 other gambling companies)
• Cons: It’s super small, there’s not too much to do outside of poker and partying (compared other EU countries), there are less international flights compared to the bigger airports in Europe, 90-day max Schengen visa for Americans, and despite open regulation, it’s ironically a huge pain to open a bank account

• Alextoon1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJNAO_8o8NM
• Blog Interview with Dan Smallidge, Malta: http://blog.pokerrefugees.com/2013/07/poker-refugees-player-interview-dan.html

So, you're interested in online poker, but you don't want to risk too much money just yet. Where's the best place to play small stakes online poker for real money?

Below is a table of what I think are the best sites for low limit online poker.

Best small stakes poker rooms.

Note: The SNG column indicates the lowest stakes single-table (STT), non-turbo SNGs on offer.

How I've rated these sites.

These poker rooms have primarily been ranked based on players looking to play no limit Texas Hold'em poker online for small stakes, whether that be in cash games or tournaments (i.e. SNGs and MTTs).

Here are the 4 main factors I took in to account when ranking these sites:

1. The lowest stakes games on offer.
2. The number of players frequently active at these limits.
3. How bad the players at these stakes are.
4. The general overall quality of the poker room based on software, traffic and support.

Clearly the level of the absolute lowest stakes cash games and SNGs on offer at a poker room is one of the biggest factors. It's not much use signing up to a poker room that doesn't offer SNG games under $5, or cash games under $10NL if you have a $30 bankroll. Even if you intend on playing at slightly higher limits anyway, it's always good to have the flexibility there to move down if needs be.

I've also taken in to account the quality of the competition. The softer the competition, the more money you will win – it's as simple as that. Therefore, I've included my rating of the 'softness' of the poker sites in the table to help you make the best choice.

Lastly, player traffic and my rating of the poker room overall has been considered. I'm sure I don't need to explain why on those two counts.

Summary of the smallest stakes games on offer.

Here's a quick summary of the most common limits of micro stakes games available at the majority of online poker sites.

• 1c/2c (this is the absolutely lowest level available online)
• 2c/5c
• 5c/10c
• 10c/25c (you can occasionally find 10c/20c games at places like the iPoker network)
• 25c/50c

• $1 + 20c
• $2 + 25c
• $5 + 50c
• $10 + $1

Playing micro limit online poker for the first time?

We've all played low stakes online poker; even the best players had to start somewhere. It all starts with grinding it out in the micro stakes cash games or low level tournaments, building a bankroll and moving up to higher limits when you get the chance.

There are two key things to remember:

1. Take your time and play within your limits.
2. Keep playing and learning.

1) Take your time and play within your limits.

Good bankroll management is essential. And no, I don't mean that in the 'flossing is essential' or 'remembering your relatives' birthdays is essential' way. I mean it as in 'not turning the gas cooker off before you go to sleep is essential' and 'not starting fights with bears is essential'.

Seriously, treat your bankroll with ultimate respect. Without it, you can't play poker and you can't win money. Don't get careless and fritter your earnings away because you're on tilt.

Here are the basic rules of bankroll management that you should always stick to:

• Cash games - always have at least 20 buy-ins for the stakes you're playing at.
• SNGs - always have at least 40 buy-ins (including fees) for the level you want to play at.

Best Place To Play Poker Online With Friends

If Chris ferguson can do it, so can you.

2) Keep playing and learning.

The more you play and the more you learn, the better you will get. The better you get, the more money you'll win. It's the cycle that every successful poker player has taken and continues to take.

Read strategy articles, read books, watch strategy videos, join a training site.

The information on how to win money from poker is out there, it's just up to you whether or not you take advantage of it.

How the stakes of online poker are categorized.

Technically, $50NL cash games and lower are referred to as the 'micro stakes' and not 'small stakes'. Seems quite strange considering that I'd hardly call $50 (or even $10 for that matter) a micro amount of money. But that's just how it is.

I decided to go ahead and call this page a guide to the best 'small stakes sites' anyway as I know that's what most people are searching for when they use that phrase.

For the sake of education and being thorough, here's how the different levels/limits of NLHE cash games and SNGs are categorized:

Note: I've used shorthand for the cash game levels in the table above. Stakes written like $50NL indicate the standard maximum 100bb buy-in for that level. So for example, $50NL is the same as writing 25c/50c, and $400NL is the same as writing $2/$4.
This is a common way of writing the varying limits in NLHE cash games. The cool thing about this notation is that it saves you having to try and type that pesky forward slash.

You may also notice that the term 'low limit' or 'low stakes' poker hasn't been used here. That term is more commonly used when referring to playing live poker in casinos, with anything up to $3/$5 being considered low limit (crazy I know). It's just another one of those things in poker.

A few extra tips.

• Use good bankroll management. I've told you about this before, but it's so important it's worth mentioning at least one more time.
• Don't get too fancy against micro stakes players. You only need to think one level above a poker player to beat them, and small stakes Texas Hold'em players are thinking on a low level for the most part.
• Avoid paying more than 10% in tournament fees. Paying 20% in fees for SNGs is just going to kill your winrate. 10% fees are standard at most levels, but in the micro levels at some rooms the fees are bumped up. Either avoid these rooms, or play at a slightly higher level where the fees are more friendly.
• Take your time. It's not about doubling your bankroll in each session. Poker is a marathon, not a sprint. If you want quick and easy winnings, play roulette.

Best Place To Play Poker Online With Friends

After that, it's all about time, effort and persistence. Just make sure you give me a shout out when you win your first WSOP main event.

Useful links.

Best Online Poker Clubs

Go back to the Texas Hold'em rooms.