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Dedicated sweepstakes poker sites aren’t overly common across the US. In fact, only Global Poker is legally allowed to offer its services. With that being said, it isn’t the only place you can enjoy sweepstakes poker games.
In this guide to sweepstakes poker sites, we take a look at what Global Poker has to offer and review some of the very best alternatives. We also offer a complete insight into the legalities of sweepstakes poker and provide some top tips to ensure you have the best possible experience when playing online.
Sweepstakes poker is ideal for those who like the thought of playing Omaha or Texas Hold’em without the risk. Social and sweepstakes poker sites do not require a purchase to play and, instead, make use of virtual currencies.
The two types of virtual currencies used will vary depending on how and where you plan to play. For those playing at a social casino - or a sweepstakes casino for fun only - Gold Coins will be your currency of choice. These coins have no real monetary value and cannot be converted into cash prizes. If you plan to play at a sweepstakes casino with the hope of walking away with cash prizes, then you will use Sweeps Coins.
Once you have registered, you will be able to redeem your first no deposit bonus. This bonus will offer you your first batch of Gold Coins and/or Sweeps Coins to use across your sweepstakes poker site. From here, you will be able to enter tournaments and play sweeps casino games online, as you would at any real money alternative.
Playing at a sweepstakes poker site is completely legal across the US, except in Washington. Sweepstakes poker games are considered to be games of skill and so fall under slightly different laws to traditional real money online poker sites. However, although it is perfectly legal, not all states allow it.
In this next section, we take a closer look at the very best social and sweepstakes casinos that offer poker games to its users.
Stake.us is a sweepstakes casino that has created its very own video poker game. The Stake Original titles can be played online or through your mobile browser and is available to those playing for fun or with Stake Cash.
Both Gold Coins and Stake Cash can be unlocked as part of the daily login bonus. First-time visitors will also be able to make use of our exclusive promotional code BALLISLIFE and unlock a welcome offer that provides 5% Rakeback on any casino losses.
Alongside its original video poker title, Stake.us has over 300 casino games covering slots, scratchcards, live dealers, table games and feature spins. The bulk of the portfolio is backed by Pragmatic Play and Hacksaw Gaming, providing a fast-loading and smooth sweepstakes gaming experience.
Those playing with Stake Cash will need to meet a 3x playthrough and minimum withdrawal requirement before any Stake Cash can be exchanged for merchandise, vouchers or digital cash. It is also worth noting that Stake.us is currently unavailable in Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Kentucky, Vermont, Michigan and New York.
Global Poker is the only dedicated sweepstakes poker site available in the US. Unless you’re in Washington state, you can enter games and tournaments, play Omaha and Hold ‘em, with micro, low, medium, or high buy-ins.
For all new verified players, a $20 Gold Coin package purchase that includes $20 of Sweeps Coins (SC) will be released into your account. No Global Poker promo code is required; however, you will need to play through the bonus once and meet the minimum withdrawal limit of 50SC before any Sweeps Coins are eligible to be converted into cash.
Beyond the welcome bonus, you’ll also be able to unlock further free coins by posting a letter to HQ, entering competitions on Facebook, making further Gold Coin package purchases and logging in daily.
Although poker is clearly the main focus here, you can also find 26 slots to enjoy. All games and tournaments can be loaded and entered both online or through your mobile browser. As things stand, we are still waiting for an app to be launched.
Global Poker is one of the few, if not the only, sweepstake poker site that hosts thrilling tournaments. Over a hundred of different tournaments are hosted each day in different poker formats, such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, you might even find a HORSE game or two. Knock-out games are the most common, but you will also find tournaments that enable rebuys should you suffer a bad beat. Just make sure you don’t go on tilt afterwards and covet your chips carefully.
If you are looking for a lengthy and in-depth poker experience, then there are plenty of deep stack tournaments to be found. If you don’t have the budget for tournaments with a hefty buy-in, then don’t worry, there are plenty of satellites to go around. For a more up-pace style of playing poker, you can opt for any of the turbo or hyper-turbo tournaments.
Buy-ins are available for as little as 1 Sweeps Coin, which is perfect for beginning players or players wishing to play satellites. High stakes games can range up to 128 Sweeps Coins, however the prize pools will range into the tens of thousands. Perhaps the highlight of the weekly schedule is the Sunday Scrimmage.
No Limit Texas Hold’em is perhaps the most popular poker format around. It is also the most versatile one, and can be played as normal, deep-stack, turbo, bounty or sit and go. This version of poker is widely available at all sweepstakes poker sites. When spoilt for choice, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees.
When deciding on the best Texas Hold’em sweepstakes sites, you might first want to look at the welcome bonus they have on offer, especially the amount of free Sweeps Coins (or the sweepstakes casino’s equivalent) they have on offer. Since Texas Hold’em can be a very fast-paced game, you might find yourself low on chips sooner rather than later. This is why we recommend BetRivers.net, who hand out daily rewards of 20VC$ just for logging in.
Although not as popular as Texas Hold’em, lovers of Omaha are plentiful. This type of poker requires a lot more foresight because you’re playing with two hands instead of one. That being said, that also means that your opponents are playing with two hands and have a much higher chance of holding a winning hand. Omaha poker is volatile and requires a lot of practice, logic and probability calculations to master.
When deciding on the best Omaha sweepstakes poker site, it is simply a matter of availability, as many sweepstakes casinos do not offer this format of the game. At the moment of writing, Global Poker is the only sweepstakes casino that offers Omaha poker.
Global Poker is by far the best sweepstake poker site if you are looking to play tournaments. As mentioned above, they have a myriad of different poker formats and structures available. Whether you are a fan of a quick game of hyper-turbo poker or a slow drawn-out deepstack tournament, Global Poker has it all.
To top it all off, Global Poker also offers exclusive tournaments on their weekly schedule like the Sunday Scrimmage. They also host a yearly open tournament called Rattlesnake Open, which is by far the biggest within sweepstake poker tournament on the web with a prizepool of 1 million Sweeps Coins.
Playing poker at sweepstakes casinos works pretty much the same as it does at regular online casinos. The only difference between the two is the buy-in method. At regular poker sites, you use real cash to enter any type of poker game or tournament, while at sweepstakes poker sites you use Sweeps Coins or whichever name is the equivalent at the site you’re playing at.
In reality, anyone can learn how to play poker. All it takes is practice, probability calculation, and a bit of luck at times. For many beginners, the game may seem daunting at first because they’ve probably only seen professional poker players going at it. All it takes to get started is simply dive in and start playing with low stakes to get a good look and feel of the game, as well as memorize the different poker hands and how to play them wisely.
Knowing the poker hand rankings by heart is the bread and butter of any beginning poker player, no matter if you’re playing for real cash prizes or Sweeps Coins. While it looks like a lot of work in the beginning, the more you play, the more you start to recognise which cards can make a winning hand and the value of the hand. If you are a beginner, then we recommend keeping open this tab while playing poker to keep track of the different poker hand rankings. They are as follows, ranked from lowest to highest:
Also keep in mind that the value of the poker hands are based on their probability - the higher the value, the lower the probability to land any of the hands mentioned above.
Not every hand is a winning hand, no matter how lucky you think you are. On average, you will be folding your hands 66% of the time. You do not need to join every pot for every round, especially not if the cards you were dealt are drab. It is also important to count your losses when someone raises too aggressively. Not all raises are bluffs and it is very likely your opponent has something good in their hand that will be yours.
In the beginning, you might be too preoccupied with your own chances of winning and which cards land on the table and that is fine. The more you progress in your skills at the game, you will be able to divert your attention to how other players are playing. For example, a certain player can go all-in every single pot, which means they are likely just bluffing. A player who mostly folds and then suddenly plays a hand probably has some good cards in the hole. A player who aggressively raises constantly just wants to steal the pot money constantly. By time you will be able to pick them off one by one and place your bets in a calculated way.
It’s easy to get swept away in a game of poker, especially when you were so close to winning the pot and your opponent beats you on the River. “Going on tilt” just simply means you are annoyed because you could have won, but you lost in the end, losing a large amount of chips. In turn, you will play much more aggressively the next rounds to win back your money regardless of the value of the cards you were dealt. More experienced players will pick up on this and can easily outplay you this way. Try to keep a cool head, even after a bad beat.
Before we leave you to make use of our dedicated social and sweepstakes casino reviews, we've created this below list catered specifically to those wanting to unlock a top sweepstakes poker experience.
As we know, all new sweeps casino sites are legally required to ensure you can play for free. So, it’s always wise to focus on how your social or sweepstakes poker experience will begin and what perks lie beyond the new customer no deposit bonus.
The size of the blinds at your chosen sweepstakes poker site will determine your minimum entry point. Some sweepstake poker sites will also make use of buy-ins, so make sure you check the average before using your Sweeps Coins.
Whether you are playing a game for fun or entering a large tournament with Sweeps Coins, understanding the kind of prize pools available will help you choose the right sweepstakes poker site for you.
There are some fantastic online sweepstakes poker games and tournaments readily available to enter. However, sometimes it’s nice to give sweepstakes poker a break and load up a play-for-fun slot. With this in mind, we believe that it may be worth finding a sweepstakes poker site that offers other games, like Global Poker.
If you are fortunate enough to acquire additional Sweeps Coins, you may find yourself in a position to make a prize withdrawal. To avoid any disappointment, make sure you check the kinds of prizes available.
Sweepstakes poker is legal across the majority of the US and mimics the experience found at real money alternatives. You never need to make a purchase to play and you will be presented with regular bonuses, in order to keep your virtual currencies topped up.
Gold Coins are play-for-fun only and Sweeps Coins present you with the chance to walk away with cash prizes. However you plan to play, we are certain that we have got a social or sweepstakes casino review that will suit your style - just remember to check out the bonuses, blinds, and prizes before signing yourself up.
Although real money sweeps casinos are off the table, you’ll still be able to play poker for real money prizes at dedicated sites like Global Poker. You’ll also be able to join top social and sweepstakes casinos that offer video poker games to its users.
Sweepstakes poker sites are growing in popularity and the need for mobile accessibility is inevitable. Already we have seen many top social and sweepstakes casinos provide a dedicated experience through mobile browser or mobile application, allowing you to play on the go.
Due to the very nature of sweepstakes poker sites, you’ll be able to enter competitions without ever making a purchase. With this in mind, you’ll find similar sites to Global Poker will all make use of virtual currencies that can be acquired by unlocking daily login bonuses, referring a friend, and opting into the rewards program.
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