Legal Online Poker Sites In New Jersey
Are you from New Jersey or visiting the state and interested in playing online poker? The good news is, you can! New Jersey is one of only four states in the USA that permit online poker.
Legal online poker operators have moved to embrace mobile apps for an easy poker experience on the go. Here’s a look at a few aspects of the major online poker sites in New Jersey. This app is simple to use with large icons for cash games, sit and go’s, and multi-table tournaments. Blast Sit and Go’s are another nice mobile option. Online poker was ruled legal in New Jersey seven years ago, back in November 2013. Since then, it has been one of the many options for internet gaming and online casino games enthusiasts in Garden.
With a population of 8.9 million people (2018), there is the potential to earn a lot of money. The rules are simple; as long as you are 21 years of age or older and present in New Jersey, you are legally allowed to play online poker. Do you have to live in NJ to play online poker? Not at all. As long as you are in state lines, you can play.
New Jersey Online Poker
It’s 2020, and everyone wants to access everything on their phone. Poker is no different, and you can play poker on your Android or iPhone via the apps available through PokerStars, 888 Poker, Borgata Poker, and WSOP. There are varying degrees of functionality, but hey, you can play in New Jersey on your phone, and you wouldn’t have predicted that in 2012! These apps offer and sites offer online poker for real money.
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Which poker operators have poker apps for NJ?
If you want to play poker in NJ on your mobile, you can play legally at any of these 3 operators
Online poker has been legal in New Jersey since November 2013. It was the third US state to legalize playing the popular card game online for real money behind Nevada and Delaware. Since then, the Garden State has established itself as one of the hotspots for poker, with players able to play at Atlantic City poker tournaments or one of the available NJ poker online sites.
This article will provide an overview of the current laws of playing poker online for New Jersey residents and visitors, how the operators keep players safe and list the best NJ online poker sites and apps. For poker players looking for the best real money NJ poker tournaments, free poker apps, or for those who just want to play online poker with friends, this page has you covered.
NJ Online Poker Overview
Since launching its online poker industry in 2013, New Jersey has become a market leader in the United States. It has been a pioneer for legal real money online poker, and other states have taken their lead and followed suit. The NJ online poker market offers players loads of variety, with several well-known operators offering real money poker sites and different games.
Online poker continues to grow in New Jersey, and with neighboring Pennsylvania now also offering legal online poker, the competition could help attract new players.
NJ Online Poker Laws
The online poker industry went live in New Jersey following a gambling bill that was signed into law in 2013. This bill covers online casino sites and online poker in the Garden State. The law gave the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) the ability to approve licenses for online gambling operators in NJ.
The law enables operators to provide DGE tested online poker and casino games for players who are physically located within the state and are 21 or older. Following the law being introduced, six online poker sites were launched in New Jersey. Three additional sites have now gone live, and online poker remains a vibrant industry in New Jersey.
Time to Earn
The best part is, there is a pool of young men and women who were not around when the online gambling ban took effect. They didn’t play millions of hands like the now 35 + generation. This means that games are easier than they are in the rest of the world. Travel to Europe and play online, and you are confronted with tougher opposition, even at low stakes. Online gambling in the USA is restricted to players in the USA so that you won’t be facing off against European professional. Think of all the young guns eager to play online in New Jersey but don’t yet have the skills or experience to crush the competition? If playing games online is your thing, then have a look at what online casinos are available in New Jersey too.
Where to Play?
Some of the big names have already set up New Jersey poker sites, including PokerStars, 888 poker, WSOP, and Party Poker. They all offer sign up incentives that allow you to play with free money upon joining or lucrative match deposit offers. Read the terms and conditions, so you are aware of the wagering requirements and keep abreast of any loyalty schemes. These sites are perfectly safe and offer the usual deposit methods, including VISA, Mastercard, and PayPal.
If you are visiting a casino, you can look into some of the Atlantic City poker tournaments which are happening all the time. Any poker fan should go and watch the action as it’s pretty amazing seeing all the pros in action.
New to Poker?
Don’t worry! There are freerolls available on all New Jersey poker sites affording you the chance to get acquainted with the software, interface, and flow of the games. Keep in mind; this is not the same caliber of player you face in real money games. It is always wise to exercise prudence and test software before investing. I advise trialing all the major sites to see which is best for you.
If you are feeling adventurous, you can always try your hand at Strip Poker. There is no hiding your game face here.
Free Tips
So now you know you can play online poker in New Jersey that it’s safe, legal, and there is potentially weak competition ready to gamble against you, so it’s time to play. We have a few essential tips for you to get started and start earning at the low stakes. You can check out the Borgata poker blog for some great tips and advice to play online.
Solid Hand Selection
One of the most fundamental skills required to beating weak opposition at low stakes is carefully selecting the hands you enter the pot with. This is the first decision of every poker hand, and its importance can’t be understated. This means throwing away your ace rags in early position, folding KJ from the small blind when a tight player opens from middle position, and understanding that low pairs are only of value when there is an opponent with a deep stack behind them. The best starting hands to play are below:
- AA
- KK
- AKs
- JJ
- AKos
- AQ suited
- TT
- 99
- AQos
Limit Your Bluffs
The calling card of the fish is to call down. There is an old poker adage that you can’t bluff an idiot, and this can be attested at the micro and low stakes games online on New Jersey poker sites. You don’t crush low stakes by constantly bluffing; you beat them by value betting your strong hands and picking up nothing pots. This doesn’t mean stopping the continuation betting in heads up pots on a favorable board. It means reign in the triple barrel bluffs and advanced check-raises that may work against a professional but not the recreational player you are likely to find on a New Jersey poker site.
Training
In the wake of the legislation change in America, most of the training sites closed down, but there are still great training sites across the pond that offer relatively cheap services. Texas Holdem Questions offers a unique mentor program by email, with a month one trial, only $65 or annual Training Video membership for £49.99 ($65) where you gain unlimited access to video content they upload. Most of the material is aimed at micro and low stakes games and help you quickly learn ways to beat the New Jersey competition.
BetMGM poker
The best real money poker apps NJ try their best to replicate the desktop versions of regulated online poker rooms in New Jersey. NJ poker apps Android and iOS devices are both available. With modern technology and the increasing desire for players to be able to play on mobile, the majority do this very well. However, the choice of tables and tournaments when playing on an app is more limited.
With the advances of NJ mobile poker, players can now play on multiple tables simultaneously; however, this is limited to one poker app. All six apps we have listed above provide free money play and a variety of fun games.
No-Limit Hold’em is the standard for most NJ online poker sites and apps when it comes to real money games. There are other games available, but the choice is more limited compared to the desktop version of the sites. For poker players looking for a bit more variety, PokerStars does offer Pot-Limit Omaha games. However, other mixed games such as Stud or Omaha Hi/Lo are not featured on NJ poker applications.
NJ Poker App Insights
WSOP
People may recognize the game thanks to the World Series of Poker tournaments that are held annually in Las Vegas. This app is great fun to play on, with numerous sit and go’s and multi-table tournaments available. When playing on a mobile, you can also access the Blast Sit and Go’s, which are an excellent addition. Blast games are fast-paced, winner-take-all sit and go tournaments.
The tournament lobby is impressive, and you can easily navigate to the games which appeal to you the most. The tables feature four players taking each other on for prize pools that can be as much as 10,000 times your buy-in. Another element we like is that when a timer runs out, all the players are still in until there is a winner.
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Partypoker
Partypoker overhauled its app last year, and the platform is now an exciting, user-friendly environment providing real money poker games. The interface has been revamped with a new portrait layout introduced to enable one-handed gameplay. Players can easily switch through games, and the app runs smoothly with nice graphics and a clean player lobby.
Partypoker offers SPINS tournaments which perfectly suit mobile play. These three-person tournaments can be played with one hand so NJ players can play on the move without hassle. Some of the features include bubble chat, emojis and animations, hand replayer, and an enhanced search tool. Like WSOP, partypoker is great fun and is a superb option for NJ online poker players who want to play some games remotely.
Borgata Poker
The application for Borgata Poker is the same program as partypoker, so the Borgata option is just a skin of the partypoker app. Which one players choose will likely come down to which rewards program you are already a part of. There may also be some extra promotions and bonus offers available on Borgata Poker that is not an option on partypoker.
Players will find the experience with the Borgata Poker app very similar to partypoker. There is the same opportunity to qualify to play in live Borgata Poker tournaments, such as the World Poker Tour events.
PokerStars
PokerStars is an extremely exciting NJ online poker option. When you have created an account and log in, you will be greeted with a vertical screen with a slide bar where you can scroll through looking for games and other features. We were impressed with the game selection, design, and aesthetics of PokerStars NJ; it certainly looks fantastic.
The app offers cash games including no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha, sit-and-go’s, tournaments, and the popular Spin & Go’s. Zoom poker is also an option, which is a very fast-paced game for those who want to get through hands quickly.
One of the features we love on PokerStars is that it recommends games to players based on what they have played in the past. If you wish to switch these recommendations off, you can tap the large icons and use the filters instead. The only thing we noticed that was slightly out of the ordinary on this app was that players could not specify an exact buy-in for cash games.
This is a fantastic mobile app; it is uncluttered, and you can view your account information, and filter between games and tournaments is a breeze.
888 Poker
The same software is used for both the 888 and WSOP NJ online poker sites, so the experience is also the same for both apps, apart from the different color schemes. You have to specify the type of game you are looking for if you want to access cash games, for example, and you cannot see the tables by name. There are regular multi-table tournaments, and these work really well on mobile devices.
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Legal Online Poker Sites In New Jersey -
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BetMGM poker
BetMGM Poker is just another skin of partypoker. Customers will be able to access all of the games and tournaments and use MGM’s sports betting and online casino offerings. Players in NJ who play on the partypoker, BorgataPoker, and Bet MGM platforms can take advantage of excellent tournaments and player pools. The NJ online poker market is only growing, so this bodes well for players in New Jersey.
Types of online poker games
NJ online poker sites will offer various poker game variations and bonus games that could earn you some fantastic payouts. Each online poker site or app will have different betting limits and different games, so make sure you check what is on offer before signing up and playing. The best NJ online poker sites will typically offer the most popular poker games, which include:
- Draw Poker
- Stud Poker
- Omaha Poker
- Texas Hold’em
- Casino Hold’em
- Three Card Poker
- Caribbean Stud
New websites appear all the time in New Jersey, and some offer new variants of poker that players may not have come across before. Whatever you are looking for, there is no shortage of poker tournaments in NJ, with numerous poker rooms and now fantastic sites offering excellent poker games.
Benefits of playing online poker
If you don’t want to make a trip to a poker room or walk on a casino floor, playing poker online is a fantastic alternative. One of the significant benefits of playing online poker is there are lower stakes. This means players who have a lower bankroll have more options with cash games and tournament buy-ins starting from a really low value. Players can also play for free to learn NJ online poker rules and get used to the game before playing for cash.
Additionally, the game selection online is impressive. You will not have to spend hours searching for poker action in the NJ online poker market; there are numerous options available at any time of the day or night. Finally, players can access some fantastic bonus offers and promotions by playing poker online. With the competition increasing, poker sites regularly offer cashback promos, freerolls, deposit match bonuses, and more.
NJ online poker safety
Anyone who signs up to a legal online poker site in New Jersey can feel assured that they are playing in a safe environment. NJ online poker sites must undergo a thorough process to obtain a license, much like a physical casino. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement oversees the online poker industry, and any site not adhering to the stringent measures it has in place would be banned.
Personal player information is protected with licensed NJ poker sites; however, offshore sites don’t have the same safety measures in place, so we would recommend avoiding those. Some new poker sites, such as Ignition Casino, are regulated from different bodies; just make sure you check out each poker site’s safety information before playing.
Final Thoughts
Online poker should never have been banned in the USA, but there is hope that common sense will prevail soon, and the rest of the USA will join the few states that currently permit it. In the meantime, if you are a New Jersey resident or passing by for the weekend, fire up a game on one of the several NJ poker sites now available in the state. Please remember to play well, have fun, and gamble responsibly.
FAQs
Who can play online poker in New Jersey?
Players must be 21 years old to legally play for real money on an online poker site in New Jersey. Anyone that age or above can create an account at an NJ online poker site, deposit some funds and start playing. However, you must be physically located in NJ to play, and sites will use geolocation technology to pinpoint your location.
When did Poker Stars NJ go live?
PokerStars NJ went live in 2016 and is one of the most popular NJ online poker platforms available today. It offers numerous tournaments and cash games and has options for poker players of all skill levels.
Can NJ poker players play online against players in other states?
Legal Online Poker Sites In New Jersey Today
Yes, they can. A multi-state poker compact was approved by regulators in New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware. Players can compete against others in a shared player pool on WSOP and 888 Poker sites.
What is the largest poker room in NJ?
The largest poker room in New Jersey can be found at the Borgata. Most poker rooms in NJ have at least ten tables, with only the Golden Nugget having fewer.
In 2020, residents of New Jersey can enjoy great real-money poker legally online. Yes, legal poker sites in New Jersey are thriving and you've got lots of choice in where to stack your chips.
Together with Delaware and Nevada, New Jersey has been one of the pioneers of newly regulated online poker in the USA, and as such, boasts some of the top legit sites around.
The first legal poker rooms online appeared in the Garden State in the Fall of 2013, and with many of the world's biggest operators on board, Texas Hold'em and Omaha players can find the best poker sites in New Jersey to play in 2020.