Find the best offshore poker sites and learn all the ins and outs of playing online poker in the US.
At PokerScout, we’ll share our list of the best offshore poker sites for US users to play Texas Hold’em, Omaha poker, and many other poker games. You can also discover offshore poker room bonuses for new and existing customers.
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| Play Hi-Lo Stud |
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Bovada |
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| Play 7 Card Stud |
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Reviews of Offshore Online Poker Sites for September 2024
Play offshore online poker sites in the United States for real money with confidence of your safety in mind.
These are our top offshore poker sites that we can recommend for US users, complete with mini reviews judged on a 10-point scale.
1. CoinPoker – Best Overall Offshore Poker Site
| Poker Network | License | Payout speed |
| Independent | Curaçao eGaming | 2-24 hours |
- Poker Games Variety 9.9/10 – CoinPoker is home to a large number of NLH and PLO games. We’d like to see more mixed games in the future.
- Poker Tournaments 10/10 – CoinPoker has some of the best poker tournaments on the internet, with great structures and deep stacks.
- Traffic and Player Base 9.8/10 – While CoinPoker doesn’t have high traffic, they don’t have many skilled players, allowing for good players to get in and profit.
- Software Quality 9.5/10 – CoinPoker’s software is some of the best on the market, though there are minor improvements that could be made on PC.
- Betting Limits and Payments 10/10 – CoinPoker allows players to make immediate deposits and withdrawals using a large number of crypto methods.
- Mobile Friendliness 10/10 – CoinPoker’s app is phenomenal and allows players to play multiple games at once with ease.
CoinPoker is our number one choice for the best offshore poker room because it hosts different poker varieties and is home to the world’s biggest PLO cash games, often times with world-famous high-stakes poker pro Tony G sitting down.
It is a decentralized platform that is dedicated strictly to online poker.
The fast, free, convenient CoinPoker app is available on Android devices as well as on desktop for both PC and Mac. You’re able to play anywhere in the world without the use of a VPN.
Players can use USDT, CHP, BTC or ETH to deposit or withdraw instantly from their CoinPoker account from anywhere in the world, giving users a top sense of security and privacy.
2. Ignition – Best Offshore Poker Site for Anonymity
| Poker Network | License | Payout speed |
| PaiWangLuo Poker | Curaçao eGaming | 1-24 hours |
- Poker Games Variety 9.6/10 – Iggy has a number of regular tournaments that players enjoy.
- Poker Tournaments 10/10 – Big tournaments to choose from, especially on Sundays.
- Traffic and Player Base 10/10 – Ignition is home to a huge number of fish and the tournaments are regularly full with hundreds, if not thousands of players.
- Software Quality 10/10 – Ignition is a fantastic app and has some of the best graphics and animations anywhere on the internet.
- Betting Limits and Payments 9.3/10 – While Iggy accepts a large number of payment methods, deposit maximums range from just $450 to $5,000.
- Mobile Friendliness 9.2/10 – Ignition Poker is a far better site to play on desktop than mobile. However, many people very much enjoy using the app.
On Ignition – known as Iggy in poker circles – you don’t get to have a username, meaning that nobody will ever know who you are or be able to track your patterns.
This can allow you to exploit opponents and not prevent them from knowing your long-term tendencies.
If you’re a bit skeptical about joining an offshore poker site, Ignition Poker is the right place to ease your doubts.
3. ACR Poker – Best Offshore Poker Site for Tournament Grinders
| Poker Network | License | Payout speed |
| Winning Poker Network (WPN) | Curaçao eGaming | 1-24 hours |
- Poker Games Variety 10/10 – ACR has a ton of mixed games and Mystery Bounty tournaments.
- Poker Tournaments 10/10 – You’ll almost certainly never find another offshore poker site with bigger poker tournaments.
- Traffic and Player Base 9.4/10 – ACR has a ton of players from all over the world, though many are regulars, which makes it harder to win.
- Software Quality 9.8/10 – ACR has fun animations that enhance the user experience.
- Betting Limits and Payments 9.7/10 – Players can deposit using both card and crypto. While players can deposit up to $25,000, the amount is far less with cards and varies depending on your jurisdiction.
- Mobile Friendliness 9.5/10 – ACR is admittedly a lot better on desktop than on mobile. Regardless, you can play ACR on mobile through their own dedicated app.
ACR is home to hundreds of tournaments a day, especially on Sunday, which can see fields in the several thousands.
Even during the week, there are $11 tournaments with a first prize of nearly $3,000.
If you’re a huge MTT grinder, then ACR Poker is definitely the place for you.
4. Black Chip Poker – Best Offshore Poker Site for Rakeback
| Poker Network | License | Payout speed |
| Winning Poker Network (WPN) | Curaçao eGaming | 1-24 hours |
- Poker Games Variety 10/10 – Black Chip Poker has MTTs like PLO5 and is chock full of PKOs ranging from under a dollar to $2,650+.
- Poker Tournaments 10/10 – There are a large number of multi-day tournaments and several series with $1M+ GTDs.
- Traffic and Player Base 9.4/10 – Black Chip Poker has an extremely large player base, though the field is much stronger than offshore poker sites.
- Software Quality 9.8/10 – Black Chip Poker has fun graphics and animations, however the site goes down for maintenance around once or twice a month.
- Betting Limits and Payments 9.7/10 – Players can deposit using a large number of payment methods. Players are able to deposit up to $25,000 using crypto.
- Mobile Friendliness 9.5/10 – Black Chip Poker is much better on PC than using a mobile device. While they have a dedicated mobile app, it is not as mobile friendly as other poker apps.
Black Chip Poker, who are also on ACR’s WPN network, is home to a fantastic rakeback program.
Players can receive 27% to 65% rakeback, depending on their volume.
5. BetOnline – Best Offshore Poker Site for Instant Browser Play
| Poker Network | License | Payout speed |
| Chico Poker | Panama Gaming Commission | 24 hours |
- Poker Games Variety 9.5/10 – BOL is home to a phenomenal tournament selection, though they severely lack in mixed games.
- Poker Tournaments 10/10 – Amazing structures and very busy Sundays.
- Traffic and Player Base 9.9/10 – BOL is home to extremely soft fields and has a very deep roster of regular fishy players.
- Software Quality 9.9/10 – BetOnline Poker plays the same on web browsers and with its dedicated app. It’s a phenomenal app that rarely has issues.
- Betting Limits and Payments 10/10 – You can pay with a large number of crypto as well as credit cards. Deposit limits range from $2,500 with credit cards to $500,000 with BTC.
- Mobile Friendliness 9.9/10 – While BOL is fantastic on desktop, the buttons can be kind of small on mobile. However, the mobile app is reliable and is relatively easy to use.
BetOnline doesn’t require the use of an app to play, which means you can instantly play from anywhere from any device on any browser.
If you like to travel and play on different devices, this is a huge benefit as you won’t ever need to worry about accessibility.
BetOnline is also home to many huge tournaments with extremely soft player fields. BOL Poker is also chock full of various promotions.
How to Get Set Up at an Offshore Poker Room
So now that you’ve decided that you want to join an offshore poker room, you have to get yourself set up. Luckily, the process is very simple and only takes a few minutes. Let’s show you how to join CoinPoker as an example.
1. Visit the Poker Room Website
Go to Coinpoker.com and click on the ‘Register’ button.
2. Fill in Personal Details
At CoinPoker, you just need to fill out your email, create a nickname, set up a password, and enter a promo code, if you have one.
3. Download the App and Deposit
After you confirm your account, you can download the CoinPoker app. Once you’re on the app, you can make your deposit in either USDT, CHP, BTC or ETH from your crypto wallet.
4. Play!
Once you have money in your account, you can start playing immediately.
Before you get going, you’ll want to go into your custom settings and adjust the site to your liking. Preset raise sizes, four-color decks, default background and felt colors, and much much more.
Types of Poker to Play at Offshore Sites
All games are not created equal, so you have to figure out what game is right for you. Here are some of the biggest variations of poker in the world right now.
Texas Hold’em
Without a doubt the most popular game at the best online poker sites is Texas Hold’em. It is readily available to play in a number of different varieties, with the top games being no-limit and limit Texas Hold’em.
In Texas Hold’em, you use your two hole cards and five community cards to make the best five-card hand.
Each hold’em variant differs in the way you bet, though the rules and gameplay are practically the same.
Learn how to play Texas Hold’em poker and then get ready to enjoy a fast, exciting game that’s easy to understand.
Limit Hold’em
Limit Hold’em is an old-school variety of Texas Hold’em that is a fixed-limit game.
This means that bets and raises are fixed amounts and are also capped, generally with a maximum of three or four raises per round.
Omaha
Omaha poker is a similar game to Texas Hold’em except you almost never play in a no-limit mode.
Furthermore, you play with four hole cards instead of two and you can only use exactly two hole cards and three community cards to make the best five-card hand.
If you want to know the ins and outs of the game, you can learn how to play Omaha poker.
Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)
PLO is the most popular form of Omaha poker, with players only allowed to bet the size of the pot.
PLO is arguably the second most popular poker game in the world, outside of no-limit Texas Hold’em.
7-Card Stud
7-Card Stud was one of the most popular variants of poker until recent times, when Texas Hold’em took flight in the early 2000’s.
Though it’s not common, 7-Card Stud is still available to play online at top offshore poker sites.
In Stud, you first receive two cards face down and one card face up. Then betting continues on every street until you have received four cards face up and a final third down card. You win by having the best five-card high hand.
Razz
Razz is one of the oldest poker variants and is still extremely popular today. Though Razz isn’t often found at the best offshore poker sites, it’s one of the best mixed games in the world.
Razz is the opposite of 7-Card Stud, where you use five out of the seven cards to form the worst possible hand, where aces are always low and a wheel (ace to five) is considered the nuts.
Poker Tournaments and Cash Games
Poker is played in two main forms: poker tournaments and cash games. Let’s show you the differences between the two so you can know how to play offshore poker to your liking.
Cash games are restricted to a single table with people playing using real money as chips.
Tournaments, meanwhile, can have a virtually unlimited number of entries, with a set buy-in fee to register. Generally, 10-15% of the field is paid on a sliding scale, with the winner usually receiving between 10-20% of the entire prize pool.
Popular Bonuses Available at the Best Offshore Poker Sites
When you play poker online for real money on offshore poker sites, you will have the opportunity to earn extra money and tournament tickets through promotions.
Now that you know how to play at offshore poker sites, let’s tell you all about the poker bonuses.
Just about every offshore poker room will offer you a considerable welcome bonus, which provides a big chance to boost your bankroll and extend your play time.
A deposit match bonus is exactly what it sounds like: whatever you deposit, the site will match at whatever percentage is offered.
While the majority of offers are 100%, some may be as high as 200% or more, while others may be limited to just 50%.
A no-deposit bonus is the most sought after bonus of them all, as they do not require you to make a deposit to receive the bonus. It should be noted that in most cases, the no deposit bonus is usually pretty small.
The no deposit bonus can help you spin up a bankroll out of nothing.
For example, this author has spun up a $20 no deposit bonus all the way up to over $20,000 in profit, so it’s not impossible.
Players may be offered a free tournament ticket for making a deposit, which can be used to directly enter a tournament for free.
For example, you may be given a $55 tournament ticket, which will allow you to enter any $55 tournament offered on the website.
Free tournament tickets may also be offered via promotion or in something like an e-mail offer.
A freeroll is a free tournament with cash prizes for the top 10-20% of all entries.
While the large majority of freerolls are for a nominal prize pool (ie. $100), there are promotional freerolls for a much larger prize pool.
Rake is the amount the offshore poker sites take from every tournament entry fee and every cash game pot.
Almost all sites offer rakeback, which allows players to earn some of that rake back as they put in more volume.
VIP rewards are often given to players via a loyalty program.
On many of the best offshore poker sites, you’ll receive points based on your wagering activity. This may allow you to receive a higher percentage of rakeback, real prizes, and other VIP benefits.
What is the Fastest Payment Method at Offshore Poker Sites?
Cryptocurrency is easily the fastest and most popular deposit and withdrawal method at offshore poker sites.
Fees are incredibly low and both deposits and withdrawals are virtually instant, with players almost never having to wait more than 30 minutes for money to hit their accounts.
Crypto is also the most private and secure method due to its anonymity.
You will also find that crypto poker sites are rapidly growing in popularity as players are often able to use USDT, BTC, ETH, and many other virtual coins for payment.
CoinPoker has their own cryptocurrency (CHP) which can offer exclusive bonuses and rakeback if you have enough CHP in your account to cover your entire rake.
You can learn more of the top-rated poker crypto site with our CoinPoker review.
Most Popular Offshore Poker Site Networks
Some poker networks play across multiple websites, meaning that no matter what skin you’re playing on, you’re playing against the same player pool when you play on offshore poker sites for real money.
Here are some of the most popular offshore poker networks.
Three skins make up the Chico Poker Network:
- BetOnline and SportsBetting make up the United States market;
- While TigerGaming is designed to serve the rest of the world.
PaiWangLuo Poker, or PWL for short, serves two main skins in the United States: Ignition Poker and Bovada.
They also host Bodog, which used to be extremely popular in the US before it was shut down several years ago.
Bodog is still a very common skin in India, Latin America, and other parts of Asia.
The Horizon Poker Network is a network of two rooms: Everygame Poker and Juicy Stakes Poker.
Horizon has been around since 1996 and offers 36% fixed rakeback and accepts players from all over the world.
Top Offshore Poker Sites Compared
So now that you want to play, you need to choose the site that’s best for you.
| Best Offshore Poker Sites | Best For | Poker Bonus | Rake | Rakeback | Stakes Offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoinPoker | Overall poker experience | 150% Crypto Bonus up to $2,000 | 5% cash, 8% MTTs | 33% via CHP | 5NL up to 20KNL (sometimes higher PLO stakes are available) |
| Ignition Poker | Anonymous play | 150% Crypto Poker Bonus up to $1,500 (BTC) / 100% Bonus up to $1,000 (Credit Card) | 5% cash, 7% SNGs, 7-10% MTTs | None | 5NL up to 2KNL |
| ACR Poker | Tournament grinders | 100% Crypto Bonus up to $2,000 | 5% cash, 6% SNG, 2-10% MTTs | 27% up to 65% | 10NL up to 5KNL |
| Black Chip Poker | Earning Rakeback | 100% Crypto Welcome Bonus up to $2,000 | 5% cash, 6% SNG, 2-10% MTTs | 27% up to 65% | 10NL up to 5KNL |
| BetOnline Poker | Soft fields | 100% Crypto Welcome Bonus up to $1,000 + 21 Satellite Tickets (with promo code: POKER1000) | 5.56% cash, 10% MTTs | No direct rakeback, only available for VIPs. | 10NL up to 1KNL |
What are Offshore Poker Sites?
Offshore poker websites are run by another country and regulated by that specific jurisdiction. This allows players from other countries to play as the jurisdictions allow these players to compete.
Yes, it is perfectly legal for US players to play on these regulated offshore poker sites. This is ideal for states that have not yet legalized online poker play like Ohio and New York.
Players do not have to use a VPN in order to play offshore online US poker sites.
While it’s illegal to host poker sites in states that don’t allow it, it’s perfectly legal to play with operators as long as the poker site welcomes American players.
The subject of taxes is definitely a gray area but offshore online US poker sites don’t report your winnings to the IRS.
Therefore, if you so please, you can keep 100% of your profits, though technically you’re supposed to self-report your gambling winnings.
Advantages of Using Offshore Poker Sites
Why are offshore poker sites better than many of the other poker websites available to US players? Let’s break it down for you.
No matter where you travel to, you’ll almost always be able to access your account.
The large majority of offshore poker sites accept players from anywhere in the world and provide compatible mobile poker apps for added convenience.
Because offshore poker sites must compete with other international sites, they need to offer larger bonuses in order to compete.
Most of the best offshore poker sites offer massive crypto deposit bonuses as well.
While it’s a legal gray area, you’re able to keep 100% of your winnings if you so please as offshore poker sites do not report your profits to the IRS.
Generally, the player pools are full of fish that aren’t in areas of the world that have access to regulated poker sites.
In this way, there are many inexperienced online players that may just be learning how to play poker.
Offshore poker sites are required to be licensed and regulated. Top regulators like Curaçao eGaming have been in the business for over three decades, which is longer than any American gaming agency.
These sites mainly deal with deposits and withdrawals using cryptocurrency, which adds a larger level of privacy and security.
They also use two-factor authentication, SSL encryption, and random number generators (RNG). Offshore online US poker sites are just as safe as any other poker site on the market.
Is Online Poker Rigged?
No, online poker – especially at offshore poker rooms – is not rigged for a multitude of reasons.
The first being that players are able to use their own poker trackers and any anomaly over a large sample size would be easily detected.
Random number generators (RNGs) select the cards and determine which cards you receive and which cards hit the board. RNGs are as close to random as possible.
Regardless of how well you play, if you have pocket aces against a smaller pocket pair, you’re going to lose 20% of the time.
Online poker also must be licensed by regulators, so operators can’t just do whatever they want and get away with it. If they did so, they would risk their license and miss out on all future profits, which are practically guaranteed once you have an established offshore poker site.
Offshore poker sites also don’t care who wins and who loses. They make money off the rake either way, so it actually doesn’t matter to them. There are also a huge number of consistently profitable players out there, so there would be a big red flag if they didn’t profit on a certain site over a large sample size.
Protection from Bots and Cheats
While there are security teams in place on these regulated offshore poker sites, they aren’t perfect and sometimes bots and cheats slip through the cracks. However, there are a number of ways that you can identify bots, which are both illegal and unethical to use.
These bots generally play perfect GTO poker, which will print money over the long run, taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes.
There are also cheaters, with players that either chip dump to others to increase their odds of winning the tournament or, oftentimes, they will ghost, meaning that a better player will take over for a worse player in the late stages of a tournament.
Here are some ways that you can identify bots:
- A single account plays on an insane number of tables (25+).
- A single account plays for an incredible amount of time (14+ hours a day).
- Players don’t respond to moderator messages or chats when a proposed deal is made.
- Players take the same amount of time every single hand.
Conclusion
With the legality of online poker still up in the air in many states across the US, it’s still possible to play online poker at many of the best offshore poker sites.
You should make sure that the site fits your player profile before you begin.
Whether you want fantastic game selection, great rakeback deals, or you’re looking for soft player pools, there are plenty of offshore poker sites for real money that you can choose from.
FAQs
What is the best offshore poker site?
Based on our comprehensive review, we believe that CoinPoker is the best offshore poker site.
Are offshore poker sites safe?
Yes, the offshore poker sites we have discussed are all licensed by gaming commissions. Do your own research before joining any poker site.
Can I play at offshore poker websites from my mobile device?
Yes, many of the best offshore poker sites come equipped with their own dedicated mobile app.
Are offshore poker sites legal for US citizens?
Yes, you can play on offshore poker sites for real money as a US citizen.
Do I need a VPN to play poker online?
No, a VPN is not required to play online when you play on offshore poker sites.