Poker Writer
The best online poker sites in New York offer a chance for you to get your hands on some of that Wall Street money – but how do you know which sites have the best games and bonuses?
To get the best experience for online poker in NY, take a look at our expert reviews of the best sites, claim the highest-value poker bonuses, and check out the different game types available in the Big Apple.
Top Sites for Online Poker in NY
Based on hours of grinding, we have picked some of the best US poker sites and focused on their offering in the Empire State. Learn more about the top platforms and how you can join the best online poker sites in New York.
1. CoinPoker – Best Overall Online Poker Site in NY
CoinPoker offers worldwide access, soft games, and a strong first deposit bonus of 150% up to $2,000. No other New York online poker sites come close to CoinPoker in terms of software because it offers anonymous payments and blockchain-powered games.
The selection is plentiful to play online poker for real money in New York. CoinPoker has plenty of tables for Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and 5-Card Omaha. But we’d like to see Stud games in the future.
Welcome Bonus: 150% up to $2000- Promo Code: PSCOUT
- Minimum Deposit: $10 USDT
- Poker Games Variety: NLHE, PLO, and MTTs.
- Rake: 5% industry standard with different caps
- Mobile Version: Android
Features
CoinPoker is the ideal place to play Omaha in New York. We regularly ante up in the 4-max cash games, and there’s always a ton of action at the 5 Card Omaha tables. Hold’em hasn’t been excluded from the mix, so don’t worry if Omaha isn’t your thing.
You do need to know how crypto payments work, but there are plenty of guides online for that. Once you know how to transfer BTC and other tokens, you’ll have access to daily freerolls, $100,000 guaranteed MTTs, and 33% rakeback.
Pros
- Anonymous payments
- 33% rakeback
- Fair blockchain technology
- Plenty of juicy Omaha games
Cons
- You can only make crypto payments
- Doesn’t have Stud or Draw Games
Our Verdict
Unlike other popular New York poker rooms, CoinPoker isn’t part of a network. That makes it more appealing because the executives at CoinPoker have full control over the games they run, unlike networked operators. This means players get more of what they like, which increases traffic.
You can play MTTs for just $0.01 at CoinPoker and make crypto payments using BTC, USDT, and other popular tokens. It also has a dedicated token (CHP) that gives holders access to special bonuses.
You might even catch iconic poker pro Tony G playing one of his regular games on this New York poker site.
Read our detailed CoinPoker review to learn more about the platform.
2. Black Chip Poker – Top NY Poker Site for Cash Games
If cash games are your thing, there are plenty of Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud games from $0.01/$0.02 to $2/$4 and above at this New York poker site.
Black Chip Poker is available in multiple countries, including the US, UK, and Canada. This means you’ll find action at all times of the day or night. It also creates a diverse player pool.
- Welcome Bonus: 100% up to $2000
- Promo Code: N/A
- Minimum Deposit: $25
- Poker Games Variety: NLHE, Omaha, MTTs, Short Deck, and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo
- Rake: 5% industry standard with different caps
- Mobile Version: Android and iOS
Features
You’ll never be short of options at Black Chip Poker, thanks to daily freerolls, $1 tourneys, and multi-million-dollar MTTs such as the Sunday Special, BIG10, and Venom.
With this online poker NY site, you’ll be able to make safe, anonymous, and lightning-fast payments from $20 using over 60 cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, and USDT.
Pros
- Accepts major cryptocurrencies
- 27% rakeback available weekly
- Great selection of WSOP qualifiers
- Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud games
Cons
- Design might not suit everyone’s tastes
- Not many high-stakes cash games
Our Verdict
There are a lot of similarities between Black Chip Poker and ACR Poker because they share the same network. This means the MTT schedule is unparalleled in terms of seven-figure guarantees.
Also this online poker New York site stands apart from its stablemate because of its Elite VIP benefits, such as cash bonuses and free tournament tickets.
Read our full Black Chip Poker review to learn more about this NY online poker site.
Why Play Online Poker in New York?
The following green flags will help you filter through all the best online poker sites in New York and choose the perfect one for you:
Safety
You should only use legit sites if you’re going to play online poker with real money in NYC, or anywhere in the state for that matter. Regulations are enforced by licensing agencies, such as Curaçao eGaming, so a stamp of approval from these agencies ensures you’re in safe hands.
Positive reputations are forged in two ways: time and/or technology. ACR has been going strong since 2001, so it must be doing something right.
Conversely, although CoinPoker hasn’t been around as long, its blockchain technology ensures that all results can be publicly verified, which keeps its reputation in check.
Games and Stakes
As a standard, we look for New York online poker sites that offer Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud. There should be cash games, SNGs, jackpot SNGs, and MTTs for these variants.
It’s no use running these games if they’re not available to players at every level.
CoinPoker has MTTs that cost as little as 1 cent and as much as $1,000. Throw some freerolls into the mix and you’ve got a great NY online poker site.
Bonuses and Unique Features
The best online poker sites for New York players strive to give you something extra. These extras can be bonuses, rakeback, expedited withdrawals, and better customer service.
All of the New York State online poker rooms we recommend have unique features that set them apart from average gaming sites.
CoinPoker uses cutting-edge blockchain technology that no other New York online poker site has. Ya Poker has an impressive VIP rewards program, and other sites on the Winning Poker Network run record-breaking tournaments.
These are the types of extras you should demand when you play online poker in NY.
Popular NY Online Poker Games
All of the best online poker sites in New York offer three games: Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud.
The observant among you will notice that Draw or niche variants like Razz, Badugi, or Mixed Games haven’t been included.
But if you like the idea of holding and exchanging cards, you can play casino poker variants such as Tri Card Poker and video poker options. These are available at the featured sites for poker online in New York, since these also have casino sections.
Whereas, if you’d prefer to compete against other players, the busiest and best games online are Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud.
Texas Hold’em
Texas Hold’em is used for the biggest tournaments in poker, including the WSOP Main Event, and it’s the game that almost everyone learns first. It is available at all of the top sites for online poker for real money in New York.
Each player receives two cards only they can see (hole cards). These cards can be combined with a set of communal cards (community cards). The aim is to make the best 5-card hand or win pots uncontested by making everyone else fold.
Texas Hold’em hands can play out over four betting rounds:
- A betting round (pre-flop) takes place, and if 2 or more players remain active, 3 community cards are dealt (the flop).
- Another betting round takes place at this point, and if 2 or more players remain active, a fourth community card (the turn) is dealt.
- A fifth community card (the river) is dealt if 2 or more players complete another betting round.
- A final betting round occurs after the river card is dealt, and a showdown takes place if 2 or more players call the last biggest bet.
There are tons of things to think about when you play Hold’em, but our top tip for beginners is to look at poker hands like stories. Your goal is to tell a believable story.
If you want to run a bluff, make sure people think you’re a tight player and start the hand aggressively. If you want to trap someone, feign weakness. Tell believable stories, and you’re more likely to get the outcomes you want.
Omaha
Omaha is an extreme version of Hold’em. By and large, the rules are the same, so you can easily learn how to play Omaha if you are familiar with Hold’em. You need to make the best 5-card card or get everyone else to fold.
Hands also play out over four betting rounds, with up to five community cards being dealt in the same sequence as Hold’em. These are two differences that make Omaha an extreme version of Hold’em:
- Each player gets four hole cards.
- You must use two hole cards to make ranked hands.
These conditions require you to think of more hand combinations. More possible hand combinations create more variance, which places greater importance on hand selection, hand reading, and pot control.
Omaha comes in two main forms: Hi and Hi/Lo. The former requires you to make the best high hand, while Hi/Lo gives you two ways to win pots: with the best high hand and the best low hand.
The main tip for both types of Omaha is to start as you mean to go on. Specifically, make sure all four cards are closely related so that you’ve got a better chance of making strong hands after the flop.
Stud
Stud games, such as 7 Card Stud, don’t have community cards. Instead, everyone receives their own set of cards. Some are dealt face-down, and the rest are dealt face-up. For example, in 7 Card Stud, 3 cards are dealt face-down, and four are dealt face-up.
This means the hands you make are based on your cards. In turn, your decisions should be based on the cards in front of you and the ones on display around the table.
ACR has some juicy Stud games, and our tip is to learn the basics by playing small-stakes games where there are likely to be more newbies.
In addition to game selection, don’t run too many bluffs because most NY poker sites offer limit games. It’s much harder to force people off made hands when the amount you can bet or raise is limited.
Poker Variations at the Best New York Online Poker Sites
Here’s a quick overview of the ways you can play online poker with real money in New York:
| NYC Online Poker Site | Social Poker | Hold’em | Omaha | Stud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoinPoker | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| ACR Poker | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Black Chip Poker | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Ya Poker | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
NY Online Poker Bonuses
Learn more about the different types of poker bonuses to look out for at our recommended New York online poker sites:
Welcome Bonuses
The best position you can be in when it comes to NY poker online is being a new customer because welcome bonuses contain the most added value.
In fact, this is why we tell people to join as many New York poker rooms as possible. As long as you do it responsibly, joining all of the best online poker sites in New York gives you the chance to get thousands of dollars in site credit and tournament tickets.
Make sure you understand the wagering requirements and minimum deposit limits – you’ll need to hit specific rake targets (wagering targets) to release the bonus amount in cash.
Free Tournament Tickets
Free tournament tickets aren’t just for new customers. You can get entry to special MTTs as an existing customer by claiming reload bonuses and earning VIP rewards.
The beauty of playing real money tournaments is that they pay cash prizes to the top finishers. Therefore, you can turn free tickets into cash prizes that aren’t locked away until you hit certain betting (rake) targets.
Freerolls
Not all multi-table tournaments (MTTs) have a buy-in. The best online poker sites in New York run free-to-enter called freerolls.
For example, you can log into CoinPoker on any given day and enter freerolls with prizepools ranging from $50 to $2,500.
You can even enter satellite freerolls that give the top finishers access to big buy-in MTTs. As it is with free tournament ticket bonuses, any money you win from freerolls is paid in cash and yours to keep.
Rakeback
There are plenty of qualities to consider before you join an online poker NY site. However, we often choose sites that offer poker rakeback deals because it can be extremely lucrative.
Rake is a small fee you pay each time you play cash game pots and enter tournaments. Rakeback allows you to claim back some of this money.
For example, CoinPoker offers customers 33% rakeback. If you played real money poker in NY at CoinPoker and paid $500 in rake, you’d get $165 back at the end of the week.
VIP Rewards
If rakeback isn’t available, we’ll look at the best online poker sites in New York that offer VIP rewards. These rewards are similar in the sense that you earn points based on the amount of rake you pay.
Points determine your VIP status, and that unlocks a variety of rewards, including cash bonuses, free tournament tickets, and special prizes.
Real-Money Poker Apps in New York
There are two ways to play online poker apps for real money in New York: optimized poker apps and instant-play mobile sites.
Some sites have optimized instant-play platforms, which means you can play from a mobile browser. Others, such as CoinPoker and Black Chip Poker, have dedicated mobile apps.
For example, CoinPoker operates much smoother on mobile than on PC with some updates hitting its app before the desktop version.
There are many benefits to using a real money poker app in New York including exclusive mobile-deposit bonuses now-and-again and the ease of playing anywhere, anytime.
Banking at the Best Online Poker Sites in New York
Crypto is our preferred payment method of choice to play online poker for real money in New York. If you want fast, secure, and guaranteed transactions, look for crypto poker sites as these accept Bitcoin, USDT, and other cryptocurrencies.
Most of the top poker sites in the Empire State accept fiat payments, but US gambling laws mean that transactions aren’t always guaranteed when you use debit/credit cards and bank transfers.
EWallets such as Skrill are useful because they act as an intermediary between your bank and a poker site. However, these are not available on sites for online poker for real money in NY due to local regulations.
Can you play online poker in New York for free? Yes, New York free poker sites are legal in the state, and we’ll touch more on this further down the page.
There are free NY poker sites that comply with US sweepstakes laws because you play for virtual coins rather than cash. These coins can be redeemed for prizes, a bit like raffle tickets.
This is perfectly legal in the Empire State, which is why we recommend giving New York free poker sites if you’re a newbie.
Laws for Online Poker in New York
With many legal changes for gambling taking place in the past decade, we bring you all the latest legal information for online poker in NY.
Is Online Poker Legal in New York?
Not currently. However, there are two ways to play legal online poker in New York despite the lack of state regulations at the time of writing:
- You can use New York free poker sites (aka sweepstakes sites).
- You can play real money online poker in New York using offshore sites.
The Changing Landscape of Legal Online Poker in New York
Historically, the Empire State has taken a hard line against all forms of gambling, including online poker. For example, in 2009, the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Action Against Online Poker Players ordered four banks to freeze payments owed to 27,000 poker players.
That action was based on an act known as UIGEA, a federal law that didn’t make online poker illegal. Therefore, the Southern District of New York’s legal action was based on payments rather than online poker as an activity.
Therefore, because online poker isn’t explicitly outlawed in New York, there are ways to play. Specifically, you can use offshore poker sites that process payments in a variety of ways, including via crypto transfers.
When Will Online Poker Be Legal in New York?
A new NY online poker bill was submitted by Senator Joseph Addabbo in June 2024. This New York online poker bill followed previous attempts to regulate the industry on a state level.
Despite a desire among some to regulate the New York online poker scene, no bills have been signed into law.
Therefore, at the time of writing, New York State online poker defaults to federal law, which means it’s not illegal to play poker online.
Can You Play Online Poker in New York for Real Money?
Yes, you can play online poker with real money in New York using offshore poker sites like CoinPoker and Black Chip Poker.
In fact, some of the softest cash games and poker tournaments NYC has to offer are on these sites. So, if you want to play real money poker in NY, it’s worth checking out offshore platforms.
Are Poker Winnings Taxable in New York?
Gambling winnings are taxable in New York, but the current laws don’t apply to online poker as it’s not regulated. Also, online New York poker rooms are based offshore, which means they don’t report to US tax authorities.
Online Poker in New York vs Other States
The only way to describe the online poker landscape in America is fractured. Some states, such as New Jersey and Nevada, have their own regulations, and others, including Texas and California, are in progress.
There are arguments on both sides with regard to which states offer a better online poker experience. In our opinion, states such as New York and Florida are better for a few reasons:
- Offshore sites in NY aren’t restricted to local player pools, so there’s more action.
- More weak players use these poker sites.
- The bonuses are bigger.
- Tournament guarantees are much larger.
We’re not saying regulated states like New Jersey are bad for online poker players. However, the top New York online poker sites have more to offer with better products overall.
Best Online Poker Sites in New York – Key Takeaways
NY online poker is thriving. You’ll find games at all stakes, MTTs with huge guarantees, and plenty of unique features at the best online poker sites in New York.
Here’s why you should play online poker for real money in New York:
- The top New York online poker sites are safe, regulated, and capable of processing payments.
- There are tons of soft games and generous tournament guarantees.
- Playing online poker in NY is fun and gives you the chance to compete against people worldwide.
