Fans of online gambling, including poker players, now have another option when it comes to funding their accounts: Bitcoin.
Bitcoin poker is on the rise, as investors who have made money on the king of crypto look to wager some of their earnings. This can be done on sites that are exclusively for Bitcoin poker, but it is increasingly becoming an acceptable funding method on some of the top poker sites around the world.
In this guide we will go over the pros and cons of Bitcoin poker and share some of the best options for playing poker with your Bitcoin along with other crypto assets.
Bitcoin Poker Pros & Cons
Pros
Much easier deposits and withdrawals
Makes signing up for online poker sites easier
No rejected credit card transactions
Cons
Funding can be more technical if you’re not familiar with crypto
Gambling can be addictive
Setting up a Bitcoin Poker Account
It is easy to set up a Bitcoin Poker Account following the steps outlined below:
- Choose a Bitcoin specific poker site or poker site that accepts Bitcoin as a funding method, we have a few listed in this article but there are many to choose from
- Set up an account on the site, providing the necessary information including your email and a password
- Choose to fund your wallet with Bitcoin (or another accepted crypto)
- Follow the steps, including copying the Bitcoin address that you are to send the Bitcoin to
- Go to your external Bitcoin wallet, select the amount you want to send, verify the network fee and paste the Bitcoin address you got from the poker site
- Send your funds
- Wait
- Once your funds are deposited you can begin playing poker. Depending on the site your Bitcoin may be automatically converted into USD, or kept as BTC and therefore subject to value fluctuations
Bonuses for Bitcoin Deposits and Depositing with Crypto
As an incentive for uses to use Bitcoin to fund their accounts, many poker sites offer higher first deposit bonuses if you use Bitcoin rather than fiat via a bank account or credit card. They do this because there are lower fees on their end for receiving a Bitcoin payment, and because there is the long-term potential of Bitcoin going up in value if they are holding the funds and paying you out in fiat.
Generally speaking, on most poker sites there are multiple crypto options for deposits apart from Bitcoin, and these often come with different bonuses, if any.
One thing to pay attention to is whether the site automatically converts your crypto into fiat or if they leave it as crypto. You want the funds to be kept as crypto because then if the value goes up you gain money that way in addition to being able to gamble with it. Other cryptos commonly accepted are Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum (ETH).
Is Bitcoin Poker Free?
No, Bitcoin poker is not free, you need to fund your account in order to play, which can often be done with credit cards or a bank account in addition to Bitcoin.
There are sites that offer you bonus money on your first deposit though, and often higher bonuses for Bitcoin deposits.
Most poker sites also offer play money accounts so that you can get familiar with the software without putting any real assets at risk.
Is Bitcoin Poker Safe?
It depends on the operator.
There are some online poker sites that have been operating for years and have proven their record as safe places to play but there are also shadier sites that don’t offer a huge amount of credibility.
Be very careful when picking an online poker site, especially if it’s a site that doesn’t have a long track record.
How to Deposit Bitcoin into Poker Account?
In order to deposit Bitcoin into a poker account first choose it as a deposit method. Next, copy the address the site provides for you to send the Bitcoin to.
Then, go to your Bitcoin wallet and paste the address and choose how much you want to deposit. Verify the address and the network fee before sending the transaction. Once sent you just have to wait for it to be received by the site.
Most poker sites will immediately convert your playing balance into USD (or a similar fiat currency) so that you don’t have to worry about the volatility of cryptocurrency while playing poker.
