CASH GAMES · TOURNAMENTS · US PLAYERS
Your poker room should have games at your stakes when you actually want to play. Compare the tables, tournament entries and fees before choosing where to put your money.
Offshore poker rooms for eligible US players.
Updated
Start with Ignition for numbered seats or BetOnline for player nicknames and table stats.
Prefer a seat number to a public nickname? Ignition keeps opponents anonymous at the table. Choose between cash games and tournaments, with Hold’em and Omaha among the options.
BetOnline uses player nicknames and a built-in stats display. It is worth comparing when you like to follow how a table is playing. Rake caps differ from Ignition’s at some smaller stakes.
Bovada shares Ignition’s player pool. SportsBetting.ag shares BetOnline’s on the Chico network. Switching between brands in either pair does not necessarily give you different opponents.
Same player pool as Ignition
Worth comparing if you already use Bovada. The account and cashier are part of the choice, but this is not a separate pool of poker players.
Same network as BetOnline
Already use SportsBetting.ag? Check its poker lobby before looking elsewhere. It gives you another brand on the same network, rather than a completely different set of games.
BetOnline prohibits multiple accounts on its poker network. Do not open another account to claim a second welcome offer.
A cash game lets you finish after a hand. A tournament can run for hours, and walking away does not turn your chips back into dollars. That difference matters more than the size of the advertised prize.
CASH GAME EXAMPLE
These are the small and big blinds, not the most you can lose in a hand.
Your chips have a cash value. In a no limit hand, your whole table stack can be at risk. Check the allowed starting stack before taking a seat.
TOURNAMENT EXAMPLE
The first amount goes to the prize pool. The second is the entry fee.
Tournament chips do not have a fixed cash value. You are playing for a finishing position. Extra entries, rebuys or add-ons can increase what you spend.
These are worked examples, not minimum deposits or required starting stacks. Each room sets its own stakes and entry rules.
Hold’em deals you two private cards. In standard four-card Omaha, you receive four but must use exactly two of them, together with three cards from the board. Both games can be played as cash games or tournaments. Learn the Texas Hold’em rules and betting rounds before trying to learn a new game while money is on the table.
Filter the lobby to your game and stakes, then check which tables have players and where a seat is available. For tournaments, look at entries and registration times. A busy $1/$2 game tells you little about the $0.05/$0.10 game you came to play.
Fast fold poker moves you into another hand after you fold. A regular cash table keeps you with the same group for longer. Choose the pace you enjoy; more hands also mean more money passing through the game.
Rake is the room’s cut of a cash game pot. The percentage matters, but so does the cap: the most taken in base rake from one pot. Compare the cap at your actual stakes.
| Blinds | Ignition | BetOnline |
|---|---|---|
| $0.05 / $0.10 | $2.00 | $1.50 |
| $0.10 / $0.25 | $2.00 | $2.50 |
Both schedules use $0.01 for each $0.20 in the pot at these stakes, equivalent to 5% before the cap. BetOnline has the lower cap at $0.05/$0.10; Ignition has the lower cap at $0.10/$0.25.
5% is $2. Ignition takes $2 in base rake. BetOnline stops at its $1.50 cap.
$0.50 less at BetOnline
5% is $2.50. Ignition stops at $2. BetOnline takes $2.50 in base rake.
$0.50 less at Ignition
The examples assume six players were dealt in and a flop was dealt, with no uncalled money included in the pot. They exclude jackpot deductions and rewards. Fast fold, Omaha and tables with fewer players can use different caps.
The cap is not charged on every hand, and it is not a fee paid separately by each player. Smaller pots may never reach it. The amount you pay over a session depends on the hands you play.
Rakeback returns some of the fees you have paid. It is not a refund of your losses. Points, tournament tickets and cash bonuses are different rewards, so check what you actually receive.
BetOnline lists weekly rakeback from 10% to 30%, depending on VIP status. Bronze and Silver receive 10%; 30% belongs to the top tier. Poker play earns rewards but does not itself move you up the VIP levels.
At a 10% rate, $20 in qualifying rake produces $2 in rakeback. That is money returned from fees already paid, not $2 earned just for taking a seat.
Ignition Miles can be used for rewards including tournament tickets and casino bonuses. A tournament ticket is not the same as cash you can withdraw. Read the ticket’s eligible events and expiry before redeeming it.
Choose a reward you will actually use. Playing extra games just to collect points can cost more than the reward is worth.
A headline combining poker and casino bonuses can look larger than the amount available for poker. Before accepting it, find the poker amount, how it is released, which fees or games count, and when the offer expires. Check whether an early withdrawal cancels anything still waiting to be released.
Do not assume a casino wagering target applies to poker, or that a displayed bonus is already cash. The bonus terms worth checking matter more than a large number beside a deposit button.
The guarantee is the advertised minimum prize pool, not what the winner takes home. Look at the full entry cost, the payout places and the time you will need to play.
The published schedule lists Sunday at 4 PM Eastern and $162 for direct entry. Qualifiers start from $1, but you must win a seat through those games. A $1 qualifier is not a $1 ticket straight into the main event.
Schedule checked September 6, 2026. Confirm the start time, guarantee and entry conditions in the lobby before registering.
1
Entry and extra spending
Check whether the event allows another entry after elimination, rebuys or add-ons. Decide your total spending limit before registering, not after losing your first stack.
2
Starting stack and blind levels
A large starting chip count tells you little on its own. Compare it with the first blinds and the length of each level. Turbo events increase the blinds more quickly.
3
Late registration
Joining after the start can leave you with fewer big blinds than players had at the beginning. Check the current level, not just the original starting stack.
4
Bounties and payouts
Bounty events set aside money for eliminating opponents. Read how that part is paid and how much remains for finishing positions. The headline prize pool is not all for first place.
ANOTHER OPTION FOR SCHEDULED TOURNAMENTS
BetUS lists a Saturday main event at 9 PM Eastern, with a $22 entry and a $5,000 guarantee. Rebuys are available, so $22 is not necessarily your total spend. Its public poker page still lists cash games as upcoming. Choose it for a scheduled tournament rather than assuming there will be a cash table waiting.
Saturday at 9 PM Eastern
Check the current lobby before registering.
Free entry does not always mean no deposit. Ignition’s crypto depositors’ freeroll, for example, requires a qualifying deposit and a ticket. Other freerolls may have membership or invitation conditions. Read the entry rules before treating one as a way to play without putting in money.
At Ignition, seat numbers replace screen names. That makes it harder to follow one nickname from game to game. It does not stop an opponent watching your bets during the game, and it does not make the table free of skilled players.
BetOnline’s built-in HUD, a display of player statistics, appears after ten hands and resets when you leave the table. Those numbers describe a short session, not a complete picture of a player.
Allowed tools are not the same as outside help. BetOnline allows certain tracking tools using information from your own play. Bought hand databases, bots and real-time solvers are prohibited. Read the room’s rules before running poker software alongside a game.
A bad beat is not proof of cheating. If something looks wrong, keep the hand number, table or tournament name, and time so support can investigate the specific play. Never share your account or let someone else make decisions for you.
Check the poker room itself on your phone, not just the casino homepage. You need to be able to find the right game, enter a bet amount and reach the cashier without losing track of your table.
BetOnline provides desktop software and browser access, including mobile browser play. The route you use can affect the controls and layout. Start with one table and find the bet box, time bank and sit-out control before opening more games.
For any room, confirm that the game you want is available on your device. Read the disconnection rules before entering a long tournament. A dropped connection is not an automatic refund, and a timed-out hand may be checked or folded according to the game’s rules.
BetOnline says it aims to process withdrawals within 24 hours. Processing is not the same as money reaching your wallet or bank. BetUS also warns that poker activity or winnings can need extra checks and take longer than its usual withdrawal window.
Before depositing, check the available withdrawal methods, fees, limits and ID requirements. Crypto transfers still need the correct coin, network and address. Compare withdrawal checks and payment times rather than assuming a quick deposit means an equally quick cashout.
State-licensed poker rooms and offshore rooms are not interchangeable. Availability depends on your location and the operator’s rules. A site letting you register does not establish that playing there is permitted under your state’s law.
Some regulated rooms share players across participating states, so a state licence does not always mean a pool limited to that one state. Check your state regulator’s approved operators for local options. For the wider account differences, read the offshore casino guide.
Start with Ignition for numbered seats or BetOnline for player nicknames and a built-in stats display. Then compare the games running at your stakes, the rake cap and the account conditions. Neither room can promise an easy table or a winning session.
No. They share a player pool. You can still compare account features and cashier options, but changing between those brands does not necessarily give you different opponents.
No. Cash game rake is taken from qualifying pots under the room’s rules, usually up to a cap. It is not automatically 5% of every bet you make. Check the stake level, number of players and any separate jackpot deduction.
You can stop a cash session after a hand and leave with your remaining table balance, subject to the room’s rules. Tournament chips cannot simply be exchanged for cash when you decide to leave. Walking away may leave your stack losing blinds until it is gone.
Some freerolls allow this, but others require a deposit, membership level or ticket. Read the specific entry conditions. A tournament described as a depositors’ freeroll is not an unrestricted no-deposit game.
No. Numbered seats limit the usefulness of a persistent screen name, but anonymity is not proof that a room is free of bots or collusion. Read its fair-play rules and report suspicious hands with their hand numbers.
Do not assume so. Poker and casino offers can have separate balances, eligible games and release conditions. Check the poker terms, expiry and withdrawal rules before accepting an offer or using the funds.
No. In a poker room you compete against other players for pots or tournament prizes. Video poker pays according to a fixed payout table after you choose which cards to keep. The rules, fees and decisions are different.
Ignition is the starting point for numbered seats. BetOnline is the alternative for player nicknames and table stats. Before putting money in, look for a game you know, at a stake you can afford, running at the time you normally play.
Looking for draw poker without opponents? Compare video poker games and paytables instead.