We're going to do the opposite: show you exactly where you can play poker online and guide you to the largest poker sites that still accept American players. In short, the best U.S. poker sites.

Place of residence: Ledyard, Connecticut, USA This is the biggest poker room at the East coast of the United States. They play Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, HORSE and Razz here. World Poker Tour often has stops here. In September 2016 Ignition Casino took over Bodog/Bovada making it the third biggest online poker room in the world and the largest poker site that accepts US players! US Poker Sites feature a wide variety of games including Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Mixed Games, MTTs and Sit and Gos up to modern variants such as Zoom or Spin & Gos. NETeller, the largest e-wallet used by US online poker sites, has $55 million in USA-based player funds seized by the United States government. Funds are eventually released back to players several months later, but no future e-wallet servicing US players is able to survive long-term.

Although the US government has made it slightly more complicated for Americans to play poker online in the last few years - or, specifically, to deposit and withdraw money from online poker sites - the US poker market is still the biggest in the world.

And from California to the New York Island, from the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, hundreds of thousands of poker players are still grinding it out online every day.

Where are you most likely to find them? These are the largest US poker sites online today:

Biggest Poker Rooms In Usa Today

Massive US Poker Sites

PokerStars: When PokerStars announced after the UIGEA was passed in 2006 that it was going to stay in the US market, it was a big relief for American poker-tournament enthusiasts.

This meant they could still participate in the Sunday Million, the World Championship of Online Poker and the wide range of daily freerolls, satellites and sit-and-gos Poker Stars offered.

Since then, the tournament lineup at PokerStars has exploded even further, offering by far and away the most extensive range of poker tournaments available online.

Biggest Poker Rooms In Usa Map

And because of its willingness to continue in the US market when others turned away, PokerStars soon became, and still is, the largest poker site in the world.

Full Tilt Poker: Like PokerStars, when most sites left the US market after the passing of the UIGEA, Full Tilt Poker also chose to raise the stakes instead.

With backing from several big names in poker, including Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Howard Lederer and Erik Seidel, Full Tilt Poker started an aggressive ad campaign to recruit new players.

It paid off. Today the majority of all high-stakes cash -game action takes place at Full Tilt and whatever game or limit you prefer, Full Tilt Poker has it around the clock.

Medium-Sized US Poker Sites

UB.com/Absolute Poker: Both UB.com and Absolute Poker have a somewhat turbulent history.

The two are of course famous for the super-user account scandal that shocked the poker community a couple of years back. But they are also known for providing great cash-game and tournament action, and for sending hundreds of players to the World Series of Poker every year.

Today, UB.com and Absolute Poker run on the same network, Cereus, which is the sixth-largest poker platform in the world.

Bodog Poker: The traffic at Bodog Poker peaked around the time Jamie Gold miraculously won the WSOP Main Event wearing the poker site's colors in 2006.

Shortly thereafter, Bodog ran into some trouble with a cyber squatter and lost the rights to use its own domain name. 'Bodog' became 'BodogLife' and everything was turned upside down.

Now, though, after a protracted legal battle, Bodog is back and traffic is growing again every day.

The fact Bodog Poker has also made it very easy for Americans to make deposits and withdrawals has made it, once again, one of the more interesting US poker sites out there.

Up-and-Coming US Poker sites

Sportsbook Poker/PlayersOnly Poker: Both Sportsbook Poker and PlayersOnly started on the Cake Poker Network but have recently moved to the Merge network - a niche platform that also accepts US credit-card deposits.

The traffic is still in the lower segment overall, but if you play low- to mid-stakes Hold'em tournaments or ring-games (as 95% of all players do) there are always games to choose from here.

And, since this is a growing network, there's also a lot of dead money at the tables.

If you're interested in playing at any of these sites, check out our toplist of the largest US poker sites where you'll also find exclusive sign-up bonuses and in-depth reviews of the best sites for US players.

If you want to know how to fund your US online poker account, which is quite a hassle these days, we have the complete list of US poker sites credit card deposits as well as other payment methods for Americans.

US Poker Rooms: The Best Legal Online Poker Sites in the United States

Ever since 2011, online poker players based in the United States have faced many challenges when it comes to finding sites on which to play their favorite game. Some offshore 'rogue' sites currently available to players in the US operate in a legal gray area that can make playing on them risky for American players. While we recommend you to avoid those sites, the good news if you are living in the United States there are now an increasing number of US eligible poker sites on which you can play legally.

Right now there are four states that offer legal and regulated online poker — Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In addition to the sites in these states — many of which feature some of the best online poker software around — there are other poker sites for American players that offer subscription-based poker which in most cases is legal in other states as well.

Our comprehensive US Poker Map includes everything you need to know about the status of online poker in all 50 U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia. There you'll find a ton of information not only about the four states where online poker is currently legal, but also about states where online poker has been legalized but regulation is pending, states where online poker is not legal but currently under discussion, and those where it is not legal and not presently being discussed.

Legal US Poker Sites

When it comes to Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, members of the PokerNews editorial team have provided in-depth analyses of each state's offerings, including explanations of the software they use, the promotions they feature, the traffic and game selection they provide, the support and banking options they offer, and much more to help you decide which among them are the best US poker sites where players can play for real money on these state-regulated online poker sites.

Additionally, we are constantly monitoring these sites and others for the latest changes and promotions, to make sure our reviews of the top US poker sites remain the most up-to-date in the industry.

If you are new to online poker, finding a room with great promotions and excellent software should be on the top of your list when it comes to deciding which are the best US online poker sites. Also, keep in mind that a room with a great customer support is always a good start. At the same time, more experienced online poker players should be hunting for poker rooms with the best games, biggest traffic, closely followed by great software.

Click below to read about current, state-regulated online poker sites:

As you'll discover by following the links above, New Jersey and Nevada currently provide the most options for US poker players, while online poker players in Delaware have three sites from which to choose, all of which use the same platform although each offer different bonuses and promotions.

Pennsylvania just launched its first online casinos in July 2019 with the first online poker sites not going online right away. As a much bigger state than Delaware, Pennsylvania has better potential for attracting larger player pools and thus may well start to challenge Nevada and New Jersey when it comes to providing the best poker sites for US players.

Speaking of player pools, it is worth pointing out that thanks to an interstate compact between Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware, players in each state playing on WSOP.com/888 sites have been able to play against each other in combined player pools. It's possible Pennsylvania may also be allowed to become part of that interstate compact as well, making for even better liquidity for those playing in those four states.

Another point worth making clear to US online poker players — you don't have to live in the states with legal and regulated online poker in order to play on the sites. You only have to be within those states' borders in order to be allowed to create accounts and take part in the games.

Meanwhile if you are a US-based online poker player who doesn't live in Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, you should look into subscription-based online poker as this is your only legal option.

The Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006 changed the landscape by which online poker operators could legally operate, specifically prohibiting 'gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law.' Subscription-based sites in the US are not covered in this US law since there is no entry fee for any of the tournaments or ring games. While widely legal throughout the United States, some states do prohibit play on subscription-based poker rooms.

Biggest Poker Rooms In Us

The software on many subscription-based sites is easy to use whether you have played poker online or not. Since the software was designed with the recreational player in mind, it is often web-based and not conducive to multi-tabling. The games are not only fun due to the casual setting, but you can often have opportunities for big prizes including packages to take part in land-based poker events, as well as cold hard cash.