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Online poker is legal in Pennsylvania since 2017. PA players can access real money poker sites and play different games with poker players in the state.
PokerStars PA is the only legal PA poker site right now to play real money poker games online.
If you want to play (and secure a free $30 bonus to start with your first games) continue to this page.
On this page, you are going to learn:
- How to play online poker in Pennsylvania
- What are the best PA poker sites
- Why Pennsylvania gambling laws allow PokerStars to operate in PA
- Lots more
If you want to play the BEST online poker games in Pennsylvania, and you want to do so with the largest bonuses available to PA poker players, you'll love this new guide.
Let's dive right in.
PA Online Poker Sites
PokerStars PA is the best online poker site to offer real money games in Pennsylvania.
You can play legal real money online poker games in Pennsylvania from November 4, 2019.
That day, industry-leader PokerStars celebrated the first-ever 'shuffle up and deal of their PA-focused poker site.
888poker and partypoker are also expected to launch an online poker site in Pennsylvania in 2020 to compete with their arch-rival.
The opening of more PA online poker sites like 888poker PA and partypoker PA represents a great opportunity for all PA poker players.
More competition between international giants like these three is sure to result in great online events, synergies between online and offline operations and (why not) all great PA poker bonuses.
Here's a recap of the best PA online poker sites available to play real money poker games in Pennsylvania right now:
| Poker Site | Status | Play |
|---|---|---|
| PokerStars PA | Active | Register Here |
| 888poker PA | Coming Soon | N/A |
| partypoker PA | Coming Soon | N/A |
PokerStars Pennsylvania
PokerStars is the only poker site authorised to offer real money poker games to PA players.
This is the only PA poker site where you play free games to win real money (freeroll tournaments), play all the most popular poker variants, and experience international hits like PokerStars' Spin and Go tournaments.
When you register to play online poker games in PA on PokerStars, you get:
- An excellent bonus package with tickets to play Spin and Go tournaments
- A bonus match bonus on your first deposit
- The best customer support service in the industry
- Unlimited access to the only online legal poker games in PA
PokerStars PA has seen well over 600 players activate an account during the first night of action alone — with that number growing ever since.
The games on PokerStars PA are ring-fenced. Pennsylvania gambling laws do not allow the PA online poker sites to share liquidity (and player pool) with any of the poker sites in NJ, Delaware, and Nevada.
PokerStars' PA online poker site is operated in cooperation with the Mount Airy Casino Resort, the brands' partner in the State.
Games and Tournaments on PokerStars PA
Since this is the only legal poker site in Pennsylvania, PokerStars PA is where you find all the best online games.
The PokerStars PA poker client features an extensive offer of both cash games and poker tournaments.
Cash Games on PokerStars PA
The ring action reaches its peak in the evening when PokerStars PA continues to register the highest number of active players at its tables.
The cash games feature stakes that start at $0.01/$0.02 and go all the way up to $25/$50.
While not many PA poker players can afford the $25/$50 tables, you get a lot of action when you join the $1/$2 NLH games.
The majority of players on PokerStars PA are on the site to play no-limit hold'em games. However, this poker site also features a great range of other options, including:
- Limit Hold'em
- Omaha
- Seven-Card Stud
- H.O.R.S.E
- Razz
- 2-7 Triple Draw
Online Tournaments on PokerStars PA
As a tournament player, you are going to love the offering and the tournament calendar that PokerStars has planned to become the top online poker site in Pennsylvania.
The offer of no-limit hold'em is great and so are some of the guaranteed prizes available every day.
Some of the top daily events run by PokerStars in Pennsylvania include tournaments like the Hot Turbos, the KO Fever, the Moonlight Express, and the Nightly Stars.
You can also enjoy some Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, and Stud poker action with the Change Up daily events.
But the daily guaranteed multi-table online poker tournaments are events where everyone end up, sooner or later.
| Tournament | Time | Buy-in | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Big $5 | 4 p.m. | $5 | $500 |
| The Big $30 | 5 p.m. | $30 | $1,000 |
| The Big $50 | 6 p.m. | $50 | $2,000 |
| The Big $10 | 6 p.m. | $10 | $1,000 |
| The Big $20 | 7 p.m. | $20 | $1,500 |
All times are EST
The Sunday Majors on PokerStars PA
Now that online poker is legal in PA you can join your share of weekend actions with PokerStars' legendary Sunday poker tournaments.
The Sunday Majors are the best poker tournaments in PA. There you find the most exciting action and, of course, the best real money prizes.
The Sunday action at PokerStars PA begins with the $8,500 GTD Sunday Warm-Up, a $50 buy-in event starting at 4 p.m., and leads to the $500 buy-in Sunday Special, the marquee event of the day where the players compete for a guarantee of $15,000.
| Tournament | Time | Buy-in | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday Warm-Up | 4 p.m. | $50 | $8,500 |
| Sunday Storm | 5 p.m. | $10 | $4,500 |
| Sunday Special | 6 p.m. | $200 | $45,000 |
| Sunday High Roller | 7 p.m. | $500 | $15,000 |
| Sunday Supersonic | 10 p.m. | $75 | $5,000 |
PA Online Tournament Series
PokerStars brings to Pennsylvania poker players also some of their most successful annual online tournament series.
This is the site where you find massive multiplayer events like the Pennsylvania Spring Championship of Online Poker (PASCOOP), the Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker (PACOOP), and the Summer Series.
Keep visiting PokerNews.com to know more about these events and their online qualifiers as the respective schedules are released.
888poker Pennsylvania
888holdings is expected to launch their own 888poker PA poker site shortly after PokerStars.
The 888poker PA website will be the result of a cooperation between 888poker/WSOP.com and Harrah’s Casino.
The fact 888 and WSOP.com might merge their player pools could lead to their product being the one with the highest number of active players in Pennsylvania.
However, we do not have an official date for the launch of 888poker PA.
Back in September, 888poker's Head of Commercial DevelopmentYaniv Sherman announced that the company intended to adopt a 'selective approach' to online poker in Pennsylvania and would launch a new product in the state 'as soon as possible.'
Sherman mentioned PA's tax and fee regime as the main reason why the company decided to take a more cautionary approach and intended to work closely with their partners Harrah's and WSOP.com to make sure a jump in the PA online poker market would be as cost-efficient as possible.
partypoker Pennsylvania
partypoker is also expected to join the race and compete for a share of the market contended by the other PA poker sites.
GVC's online poker site intends to enter Pennsylvania in partnership with the Valley Forge Casino.
Like in the case of 888poker, we have yet to receive the official date of partypoker's launch in Pennsylvania.
Other Pennsylvania Poker Sites
PokerStars, 888poker, and partypoker are not the only companies that have decided to shape Pennsylvania's online poker market.
More names in the industry have decided to secure a license to offer real money poker games online to PA players, and so we can only expect other Pennsylvania poker sites to launch soon.
The list of companies that hold a license to launch poker sites in Pennsylvania includes:
- SugarHouse Poker
- Harrah's Poker
- Hollywood Casino Poker
- Mount Airy Poker
- Parx Poker
- Valley Forge Poker
- Wind Creek Poker
Pennsylvania Poker F.A.Q.
Can you play poker online in Pennsylvania?
Yes. PA players can play online poker games for free and for real money. Free-to-play poker apps like the WSOP Poker app are all legal in Pennsylvania.
PokerStars PA is the only poker site authorised by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to offer real money games online.
Can you play online poker for money in PA?
Yes. You can play real money cash games, tournament, sit-and-go and more on the PokerStars PA website. At present, this is the only real money poker site that operates in Pennsylvania under a license issued by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
When will online poker start in PA?
Real money online poker in PA started on November 4, 2019, with the official release of the PokerStars PA online poker client.
How to play online poker in PA?
- Select one of the PA poker sites approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
- Register a free gaming account
- Confirm your identity
- Choose a poker game and play
Where can I play online poker in PA?
To date, the only online poker site authorised to offer real money poker games to PA players is PokerStars. Other PA online poker sites are expected to enter the state between Q1 and Q2-2020.
Is online gambling legal in Pennsylvania?
Online gambling is legal in Pennsylvania. On October 30, 2017, PA governor Tom Wolf signed into law the bill that legalised online sports betting, online casino gambling, and online poker in Pennsylvania.
PA online casinos and sports betting sites started to offer their services to PA players on July 15, 2019. The first real money online poker hand in Pennsylvania was dealt on PokerStars on November 4, 2019.
The ability to play online Texas holdem from your house or
apartment or on your tablet or phone while you’re on the go is
one of the best developments of the last 20 years. No longer do
you have to get dressed and drive or fly to the nearest casino
with a poker room or risk the dangers of playing at an
underground game.
Now you can find thousands of players competing online at any
hour of the day. The largest online poker rooms have tens of
thousands of players around the clock and dozens of online rooms
have over 1,000 Texas holdem players waiting for you to join the
action at any time of the day or night.
But before you jump into the fray take a few minutes to learn
more about playing online including about online poker room
bonuses, deposit and withdrawal options, playing styles, limits,
and a few things about strategy.
Limit and No Limit
Deposits & Withdrawals
Playing Styles
Additional Resources
Free Games and Freerolls
At the low end of online Texas holdem play are free ring game
tables and free tournaments. These games don’t cost anything to
play and you can’t win real money. The competition is terrible
and even if you play perfect strategy the variance can be
brutal. You’ll win eventually if you keep playing solid poker,
but you’ll also get drawn out on often.
The next step up is freeroll tournaments. These are almost
always run as no limit Texas holdem games. You get to play for
free but the top finishers win real money. Most players who
finish in the money win pennies and even the final table
finishers usually only win a couple dollars. But what can you
expect?
Freeroll tournaments are also filled with poor players, but
you will find a few decent players at most tables. You need to
play a tight and aggressive tournament strategy, but don’t be
surprised if you get knocked out by a player who plays an odd
hand or should fold instead of calling.
You can play in freeroll tournaments until you win enough
money to start playing at the micro limits and keep improving
and building your bankroll from there.
Real Money Stakes
Micro Limits
Once you master the free games or if you want to jump in at
the lowest levels of real money online Texas holdem play you can
play at the micro limit tables. These tables start with limits
as low as .01 / .02 at some poker rooms and the no limit games
can be entered with $1 or less.
Surprisingly, the play is much better at the micro limits
than at the free tables, but the overall level of your
competition is still quite poor.
Low Limits
Play Holdem online, free
The low limits are where most players start feeling like
they’re playing for real money, but you can still play at these
limits with a deposit of $100 to $200. Even if you’re a
consistent winner it’s difficult to make a living at this level.
Your best bet to win consistently is to play a solid game
focusing on tight starting hand requirements, correct calls and
folds base on pot odds, and not trying anything fancy. Simply
[lay your best poker, bet when you have the best hand, and fold
when you don’t. Most bluffs are a waste of time and trying to
fool your opponents isn’t worth trying because they probably
aren’t paying attention anyway.
Medium Limits
At the medium limits of online Texas holdem, you start
separating the real players from the pretend players. If you’re
able to win consistently at this level you can make a decent
living as an online poker player.
You have to be a good fundamental Texas holdem player but you
also have to be able to read your opponent’s betting patterns,
adjust your play based on the table, and think beyond the
current situation. You need to start visualizing all of the
possible outcomes for every hand and use this information to
make every single decision.
High Limits
When you start playing online Texas holdem at the high limits
you’re playing with a great deal of money. Pots can reach
hundreds of thousands of dollars and frequently reach into the
tens of thousands.
The competition is good, with professional poker players
joining these tables often. Not only do you have to be a top of
the line player from a poker basics standpoint, you also have to
be able to play the other players and constantly adjust your
game if you want to be a long term winner.
Another issue that can become a concern when you play at
these limits is moving your money around online. The best option
is usually direct bank wires into and out of the poker room, but
when you’re moving tens of thousands of dollars and more it can
create issues that low level players don’t have to think about
and deal with.
Limit and No Limit
Most players are introduced to Texas holdem by watching a no
limit game. Most televised poker games and tournaments are no
limit Texas holdem. When you start playing online you’ll have
plenty of no limit options.
But online poker rooms also offer limit Texas holdem games
and many players would be better off starting in these games
instead of jumping into the no limit games. You still have to
play solid poker to win at the limit tables, but a mistake
rarely costs you your entire stack like it does at the no limit
bales.
If you’re a new player or are just starting to play
online, consider trying your hand at a few low level limit
tables before moving up and / or to the no limit tables.
Online Strategy
Online Texas holdem strategy is the same as live game
strategy. The only real difference is you can’t see your
opponents so if your game depends a great deal on reading your
opponents you’ll need to make a few adjustments moving from live
play to online games.
How To Play Limit Holdem
We have an entire section of the site dedicated to Texas
holdem strategy, so if you want to get a complete education you
should investigate that. But here’s an overview of the important
parts of online Texas holdem poker strategy you need to focus on
in order to be a winning player.
The importance of playing better
starting hands on average than your opponents will never change.
If you want to be a winning Texas holdem player you have to use
smart and tight starting hand requirements. The good news is
most of your online opponents play far too many hands so this
makes your job easier.
Position is directly related to your choice of
starting hands. Only play your strongest hands when you’ll be
out of position and you’ll get better results. Most players
ignore position so if you simply use good judgment you’ll be
ahead of most Texas holdem players in this area.
Don’t be like most online Texas holdem
players and simply jump into the first game you see. Take some
time to watch a few tables and find one that seems to be filled
with poor players. Choose to play against worse competition, not
better, and your results will instantly improve.
Until you reach the middle and high limits you’re
probably best to not bluff at all. You might be able to run a
successful bluff from time to time at the low limits, but most
of your opponents simply aren’t very good so they won’t even
realize they should fold or call, depending on what you’re
trying t accomplish, so your bluff will be wasted.
You can’t see your opponents
when you play online but you can notice certain playing
tendencies they have. Some players become predictable in certain
playing situations and if you pay enough attention to learn
about these situations you can use the information to increase
your profits.
It may seem strange to see a section on
bankroll management in a set of things about strategy, but the
best Texas holdem players follow bankroll guidelines and f you
want to be the best you need to start acting like he best. Make
sure your bankroll is big enough to support your play at your
current levels.
Playing Styles
When you play Texas holdem the way you play your hands can be
classified as one of four different playing styles. It’s
important to understand your playing style and be able to place
your online opponents in one of the four categories as well.
When you can determine which playing style each of your
online opponents uses you can use this information to make
better playing decisions against them. Here are the four playing
styles.
- Tight and Aggressive
When you play tight and
aggressive it means you don’t play many starting hands and
when you play a hand it’s usually played in an aggressive
manner. This means you bet and raise trying to force your
opponents to make mistakes. You rarely check and call
because you can’t get your opponents to fold when you play
passively. Tight aggressive play is generally determined to
be the most profitable way to play. - Loose and Aggressive
A loose an aggressive player
plays their hands aggressively like the tight and aggressive
player, but the loose player plays far more hands. A loose
aggressive player can be profitable in the long run if they
play well after the flop, but they have more to overcome to
reach profitability than the tight aggressive player because
they start too many hands behind their opponents. - Tight and Passive
A passive player rarely bets or
raises, choosing to check and call in most situations. This
style doesn’t force your opponents to make mistakes and
forces you to show down the best hand because your opponent
doesn’t have an opportunity to fold. Because of the tight
starting hand requirements a tight and passive poker player
can play close to break-even poker in many games, but it’s
difficult to be a long term winner playing this way. - Loose and Passive
A loose player who also plays
passively has almost no chance of winning in the short or
long term. They play too many hands and then let their
opponents lead the action.
You want to play in a tight and aggressive manner as much as
possible if you want to win the most in the long run. In some
games you can loosen up your starting hand requirements slightly
but you want to keep playing aggressively as often as possible.
When you’re able to place your online opponents into one of
these categories you can use this information against them. If
you know a player is aggressive you can check to them with a big
hand sometimes because the odds are strong that they’ll bet. If
a player is passive you can draw to hands more often because
they won’t make you pay a high price to do so.
Bonuses
When you start playing poker online for real money you can
usually get an attractive sign up bonus. These usually offer a
set percentage of your deposit up to a certain amount.
Here are a couple examples.
- 100% deposit bonus up to $100
- 200% deposit bonus up to $500
If you get a 100% bonus up to $100 it means the poker room
matches your deposit up to $100. If you deposit $25 the poker
room matches it with $25. If you deposit $100 they match it with
$100.
If you get 200% on a $100 deposit you get an extra $200.
Most online Texas holdem bonuses are placed in a special part
of your account and released in small increments based on how
many raked hands you play or how many poker or comp points you
earn. You might have $10 of your bonus account released for
every 500 raked hands you play or every 100 comp points you
earn.
The only way to know exactly what you’re signing up for and
what you have to do to clear the bonus is read the terms and
conditions closely. If you don’t completely understand how a
bonus works you can contact the support department of the poker
room. It’s always better to find out about bonuses before making
a deposit.
Deposits and Withdrawals
If you’re going to play online Texas holdem you have to be
able to move your money into and out of the poker rooms. Your
ability to do this easily is directly related to where you live.
For example, if you live in the UK you have a wide range of
online wallet accounts and other deposit and cash out options.
But if you live in the US you might need to use a credit card or
direct bank wire to make a deposit and accept a check in the
mail to make a withdrawal.
No Limit Holdem Online
Here’s a list of popular deposit and withdrawal methods for
online Texas holdem.
- Bank Wire Transfer
- Visa/MasterCard
- Neteller
- Skrill
- Western Union
- PayPal
- Check
- ACH
The easiest way to see which options you have is to look in
the cashier area of the poker room where you play or contact the
customer support department.
Bankroll
When you play online Texas holdem you have to use the same
type of bankroll management as you do playing live poker. If you
don’t have enough bankroll to ride out the ups and down of
playing poker you stand the chance of running out of money. If
you can’t buy into a game you can’t possibly profit from the
game.
Here are some general online Texas holdem bankroll
guidelines. They aren’t exact because they don’t take into
account your ability. If you’re a losing player you’ll never
have a big enough bankroll.
No Limit Ring Games
When you play no limit Texas holdem ring games you should
keep from 20 to 30 times the average buy in amount of the games
you play. If you play $500 buy in no limit games you should have
between a $10,000 and $15,000 bankroll.
Limit Ring Games
Limit players should have 200 to 300 big blinds for the limit
they play. If you play $20 / $40 limit you should have $8,000 to
$12,000 in your bankroll.
No Limit Tournaments
If you play no limit Texas holdem tournaments your bankroll
requirements are tied more closely to how often you can manage
to finish in the money and how often you’re able to make a final
table with the chance to win a large prize pool.
When you win a large tournament you might win anywhere from
100 to 500 times your buy in, so this can have a large impact on
your bankroll.
A good rule of thumb is to start with 25 times the average
buy in of the large player pool Texas holdem tournaments you
play in. As you play you can see how often you can get into the
money and how often you need to do so to break even.
Some of the top players only need four or five times the buy
in as a bankroll, but even most of them have 50 to 100 times the
buy in or more.
The biggest job of your bankroll other than buying into games
is to give you enough of a mental cushion that you don’t have to
think about the playing decisions made on every hand in relation
to your bankroll.
In other words, you want a bankroll big enough you never have
to think about it while you’re playing.
Additional Resources
In addition to all of the information above, we have provided you
with a few other articles we think you my find useful for playing
online poker.
- Texas Holdem Calculators
Summary
Playing Texas holdem online is a great way to unwind or
compete in an exciting game from the comfort of your home. You
don’t have to waste the time and energy to travel to the nearest
poker room and you might even get a big bonus for playing.
Concentrate on playing good strategy and using a solid
playing style and you can be well on your way to long term
profit and fun.