Online gambling has come to West Virginia – that's right, online poker in West Virginia is now fully legal. This comes as part of a multi-year fight to legalize online poker in the state.
Of course, online poker is a learning curve for residents of the state. But now is a good time to start learning how to play poker in WV so you can have a great time and maybe earn some money doing so.
For years, if you lived in West Virginia you had to go to another state to either gamble online or find a brick and mortar casino. That's not the case anymore. Online poker is now in West Virginia and it is a fun and exciting way to help gamblers come together to get in on the action.
For decades people had to hide out and play poker under the table. That left people not knowing if the cards were rigged or if people were cheating.
When it comes to online poker in West Virginia, a random number generator will mean the cards are always honest. And since it's impossible to cheat at online poker that part of the playing field will be smoothed over.
Now it's time for people from those country roads in West Virginia to find out what they have been missing.
Best WV Online Poker Sites
Now that online poker sites have finally opened up in West Virginia, CaptainGambling is going to take a close look at each and every one of them. We will do so in a variety of ways that we will now explain. We understand that if you live in West Virginia you may be completely unfamiliar with online poker. We want poker in WV to be fun, fair and fantastic. That's what we look for in the sites that we review. Here is some other simportant tuff we always check out and the reasons why.
Are the sites stable?
You've been on the internet for a while. You know what it's like when a site isn't stable. It crashes all the time. When you are ordering something from Amazon that's not that big a deal. You can simply refresh your page and start over. But if you are playing a hand of poker and about to win a big pot it can be devastating to have the site suddenly crash – causing you to lose your hand. When we review online poker in West Virginia, we always take a close look at just how stable the APIs for the various sites are.
How good is their customer service?
We've all experienced bad customer service. How many times in your life have you been stuck on hold with the cable company or your electricity service? Bad customer service sucks. It eats up your time and your patience. That's why we always look for good customer service. Do they just have live chat? Is there an email address? Can you contact someone on the phone? These questions go into our assessments of every site. We'll also take a close look at how well these options operate. When you contact live chat are you left waiting for a half-hour or more before you get your answers? What about through email? Are there hours of waiting to get a response? And particularly on the phone. We'll look to see if you get stuck there for hours waiting for someone to talk to you.
Do they offer a variety of online poker games in West Virginia?
Texas Hold 'Em is the default online poker game. And it's fun and people seem to have a good time with it. But it's not the online poker game out there. If you've been to a casino you've seen the five-card draw poker machines with names like “Joker's Wild.” We take a look to see if the site has these variants for you to try. They add variety to the mix that can be very fun.
How easy is it to make deposits?
If you want to try out online poker in West Virginia, you will want to be able to make a deposit and just start playing. We evaluate the deposit methods and how well they work. All online poker in West Virginia should accept credit cards. But what's also nice is if they take PayPal and e-wallets. Direct wire transfers can be great as well. All deposits should be credited instantly to your account.
How fast are withdrawals?
Here's a secret about the online poker situation. While deposits are instant, withdrawals are not. That can be frustrating for a gambler, particularly if he or she just had a few great hands. But it's the way the system is set up. Most casinos will take a day to process your withdrawal request. Some will take longer – and get penalized in our reviews for doing so. Then the amount of time you'll have to wait to take your money out will depend on how you made your deposit. Credit cards can take up to five days. PayPal and e-wallets should be the next day. Direct wire transfers can take up to seven days to end up back in your account.
How good are the bonuses?
This is something else that will be important for residents of West Virginia. When you play online poker in West Virginia the casinos all offer you bonuses to get you to pick them. These bonuses may be
poker no deposit bonus
offers, welcome bonuses or bonus money for tournaments. We'll explain what these terms mean in the next section. But for now, just understand that the quality of their bonus offers will play a huge role in what kind of rating they get from us.
Is it easy to register for the site?
Online poker sites ask for personal information when you register for them. Some of that is the basic stuff that they need to manage your account. This includes your real name, your screen name, your address and what method you want to use to pay. But often they ask for other information that they really don't need – like your email address and your phone number. They want this information so that they can more easily market their services to you. However, we at CaptainGambling think that the less information a site asks you for when you register the better. You don't want your email address or phone to be clogged up with a ton of spam.
Do they have an app?
Playing online poker in WV at home on your desktop or laptop is a great way to kill a couple of hours of your time. But sometimes you'll want to connect while you are on the go. You may travel a lot for work and be stuck in airports or train stations. That's when you want to be able to just launch an app and connect immediately. Trying to enter an online poker site in your phone's browser is a pain you don't want to have to deal with. Apps make the experience much more fluid and easier to deal with. We'll take a close look at whatever apps they release and let you know how well they respond.
Which Bonus Offers are there at Online Poker In West Virginia?
Bonus offers are what an online casino puts out to try to entice you to gamble with them and not at another casino. It's a promotional device to try to grab your attention. When playing poker in WV here are the three types of bonus offers online casinos are probably going to make.
No Deposit Offers.
This is the most basic type of bonus. It's designed to get you to try out the casino. All you have to do is register for the site. You don't have to put in any of your own money. Instead, the casino gives you money and you can start playing online poker with that cash right away. There is one catch. You'll have to “play through” the money before you can withdraw it. Imagine the play-through rate is 10. Now imagine you got $10 in no deposit bonus money. You'd have to win $100 with that $10 and bet the $100. Only then would you be able to withdraw your winnings. That's not a bad deal though because the purpose of no deposit bonus offers isn't to win money. It's to give you some experience with the casino so you can decide whether or not you like it.
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Welcome Offers.
These are generally more lucrative than no deposit offers. What happens is that the casino gives you matching funds on your first deposit. This is at least $250 but can go up to $1,000. Once again just like the no deposit offers, you'll have to play through this money a certain amount of times. That said it's a good deal because it gives you free money to keep playing if you lose your initial stake.
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Tournament Bonus Offers.
These work pretty much the same way tournaments work at brick and mortar casinos. If you are unfamiliar with them here is the deal. Everyone puts in a set amount of money. Then they get their chips. Everyone plays until only one person has chips. He or she is the winner and gets a cash prize. More often than not the people who came in second or third will generally also get a share of the tournament money.
These are the basic bonus offers you will find in places that host poker in West Virginia. They are similar to what every other poker site in America has.. If any West Virginia online poker sites create their own special types of offers, we will update this page and let you know.
How to have a safe and secure gambling experience
When playing online poker sites here in the state of West Virginia, it's important to make sure that your experience is as safe and secure as possible. What we're going to provide you with just now is our top tips towards having a safe and secure gambling experience.
Use reputable websites
First and foremost, it's important to use safe and fully regulated website when playing poker online in West Virginia. You can check if a site is properly licensed by a top tier regulatory body by checking the stamps and logos of their affiliates at the bottom of the homepage.
2. Use sites with an SSL certificate
An SSL certificate is an encryption code that protects the account security of a site and its users. This means that when you sign in, all of your data and personal information is protected against hackers and scammers etc. You can see if a website uses an SSL certificate by checking for a lock and key symbol next to the URL bar when you sign in from your browser.
3. Change your passwords regularly
Changing your password regularly will help protect your website from being hacked. Ultimately, this means that your money and personal data should be completely secure. If you're a frequent online poker player, we recommend changing your password as often as once per calendar month.
4. Budget wisely
No matter if you are a casual player or a high roller, it's important to make a budget and stick to it to help ensure you keep on top of your finances. Your budget can be made weekly, monthly or daily, as long as it's within your means and you stick to it rigidly.
⚖️ When did online poker become legal in West Virginia?
Originally the state said that licenses would be issued, and the sites would be up and running in the summer of 2020. However, the coronavirus pandemic created inevitable delays, so much so that it was not until early 2021 that online poker in West Virginia became fully legal.
🔞 What age do I have to be to play online poker in West Virginia?
Like all other states, you have to be at least 21 years of age. This is strictly enforced. If you are not at least 21 the site could seize your account and all of your profits. You could also be referred to the authorities by the site itself. Don't try to play poker online in West Virginia if you are not at least 21 years of age.
🃏 What is Texas Hold 'Em?
Texas Hold 'Em is one of the oldest poker games around. It starts out with each and every player is dealt two cards down. People then make their bets. The one card is turned over in the center of the table. This is called the river or the flood. The player can combine their cards with the cards in the river. People then bet again. This goes on until five cards are up in the river. Players then place their final bets and show each other their hands.
Become a Member Now
Want to join a reputable online poker site and get in on the action? It's really easy to do. Pick an online poker site where you want to play, register and make your first deposit. Then you can get in on the game. You can also share your reviews of various poker sites, or talk with other players. Just register for CaptainGambling today.
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