Finding a Safe Online Poker Site

With many an online poker site being operated from offshore locations in Gibraltar, Costa Rica, and elsewhere, you can not count on your own government regulators to help you out should you ever encounter a serious problem while you are playing poker online.

In many cases, should something go wrong, your only option is to try to make things right by contacting the site’s management. That’s why it is so important for you to pick your online poker site carefully. Here are some tips for getting that done:

Play only at sites that have been around for a while and have a good online reputation.

Look for sites that offer 24/7 live technical and customer support. Ideally the site will offer a 24-hour toll free telephone number as well as live chat and email support options.

Look for safeguards against cheating. Many of the better-run sites operate software that automatically keeps track of how often any two or more particular players end up in the same game and looks out for suspicious winning patterns.

Check the Service Interruption policy to see what the site does when you lose your internet connectivity in the middle of a game. Some sites will automatically make an "all in" bet; others may force you to fold.

Check the funding options. Most of the major credit cards no longer accept funding requests from an online poker site. In addition, pending legislation which may have gone into effect by the time you are reading this, prohibits U.S. banks from funding online gambling accounts by wire as well. This means it’s important that you be able to use one of the funding sources that the site does accept.

Examine the payout policy. Some sites require you to have a certain amount of winnings in your account before you can withdraw your money. Some sites will pay you by bank wire and others send a paper check. Whatever the payout rules are, make sure you can live with them before you deposit your money.

Perform a safety double-check before you invest real money. Start out by playing free games, if they are offered, when you find a site you think you can trust. That way you can check out the software and make sure that you’ll be happy playing at your newly-found online poker site.