Where to Play Free Online Poker in the US

Global Poker

Global Poker is the benchmark for PvP sweepstakes poker, and it’s not particularly close. I’ve been playing online poker long enough to be skeptical of anything labeled “sweepstakes,” but Global Poker feels like a real poker room first and a workaround second. The software is stable, the tables fill consistently, and you’re not limited to bare-bones Texas Hold’em.

Cash games and tournaments run across Hold’em and Omaha, with a healthy mix of full-ring, six-max, and heads-up formats. Tournament guarantees are meaningful rather than symbolic, and the leaderboard promos actually reward regular play instead of one-off spikes. The inclusion of niche formats like Crazy Pineapple and the ability to host private games puts Global Poker ahead of most real-money sites, not just sweepstakes competitors.

If your goal is skill-based play with long-term upside, this is where sweepstakes poker makes the most sense. You’re not fighting house math or gimmicky mechanics, just other players, for better or worse.

• Poker formats available: PvP poker only
• Poker game types: Cash games (full-ring, 6-max, heads-up), Tournaments (MTTs, Sit & Gos, satellites, rebuys, bounties)
• Other Casino Games: None

Stake.us

Stake.us approaches sweepstakes poker from the opposite direction—it’s a casino platform first, with poker layered in thoughtfully rather than aggressively expanded. That’s not a criticism. The poker offering is smaller, but it’s clean, fast, and well integrated into the wider ecosystem.

PvP poker tables are easy to jump into, and the player pool tends to be more casual than what you’ll find on dedicated poker rooms. That makes Stake.us a good option if you want lower-pressure games or you’re mixing poker sessions with other casino formats like video poker or table games.

Where Stake.us really stands out is consistency. The UI is polished, the payout mechanics are transparent, and the poker product doesn’t feel neglected—even if it’s not trying to compete head-to-head with Global Poker on volume or depth. It’s a solid choice if you want poker without committing fully to a poker-only environment.

• Poker formats available: PvP poker, video poker, table-game poker (vs. the house)
• Poker game types: PvP cash games and small tournaments, video poker variants (in-house), table poker variants (e.g. Hold’em-style games vs dealer)
• Other casino games: Slots, originals, table games, live-style games

Clubs Poker

Clubs Poker sits somewhere between a traditional online poker room and a private club model, and that’s both its strength and its limitation. The focus is almost entirely on PvP poker, with Texas Hold’em as the core offering, and the atmosphere feels tighter and more insular than larger platforms.

Games are softer on average, but traffic can be inconsistent depending on the time of day. When tables are running, the experience is smooth enough, though the software doesn’t feel as modern or flexible as Global Poker’s. Tournament variety exists, but it’s clearly secondary to cash-game play.

Clubs Poker works best if you value smaller fields, familiar opponents, and a more controlled poker environment. It’s not where I’d send someone looking for constant action or exotic formats, but for steady, straightforward PvP sweepstakes poker, it holds its ground.

• Poker formats available: PvP poker only (Texas Hold’em focus)
• Poker game types: Cash games, tournaments (scheduled MTTs, Sit & Gos)
• Other casino games: None

Video Poker

Sweepstakes video poker is a hand-making game. By that, I mean your only aim is to make ranked poker hands. There’s no dealer involved, and you don’t have to worry about other players.

The game starts with a single wager. After that, you’ll receive five cards. You can hold or exchange as many cards as you wish before hitting the play button for a second time.

Doing this swaps the cards you didn’t hold for new ones. If your final five cards make a ranked poker hand that qualifies for a payout, you win coins. If not, you don’t win coins. It’s that simple.

What I Look For

There are various ways to play sweepstakes video poker online. Each variant has its own quirks, but the fundamentals are always the same.

Before I talk about each variant, here are three metrics I use to assess games:

• Coin Limits: A game without coin limits that allows you to play at your preferred level isn’t worth playing.
• House Edge: The house (aka the casino) has an edge in video poker, so I look for games with the lowest. The average house edge is between 2% and 3%, so anything within this range is fair. RTP is the inverse of the house edge. So, a 98% RTP means the edge is 2%.  
• Payout Table: Sweepstakes video poker games have different minimum hand requirements and payouts. The best games have the largest payouts. Some even have progressive jackpots.

Assessing video poker variants using those three metrics will maximize your return on investment (ROI). This doesn’t mean you’ll win every time you play, but it does mean you’ll give yourself the best chance of getting a return on your investment in the long run.

Video Poker Variants

You can play sweepstakes video poker in various ways. The most popular variants are:

Jacks or Better

Jacks or Better sweepstakes poker is relatively self-explanatory. As it is with all types of video poker, there are two rounds, and you have to make a ranked five-card hand. The minimum qualifying hand is a pair of jacks.

A spinoff of Jacks or Better is Tens or Better, which is identical except for that fact that the minimum hand requirement which, as you can guess, is a pair of tens.

When it comes to payouts, the amount you get depends on the number of coins you wager and the hand you make. It’s possible to wager between one and five coins per hand in video poker. This increases the amount you can win when you make a ranked hand.

The payouts for Jacks or Better video poker range from 1x to 4,000x. You get a 1x payout for making a pair of jacks with one coin. The 4,000x payout is for a royal flush when you wager five coins.

Deuces Wild

The interesting thing about Deuces Wild is that deuces (aka cards with a value of two) are wild. That means they can substitute for all other cards, much like wild symbols in sweepstakes slots.

Adding wildcards mixes up the rankings. The minimum qualifying hand for a payout is three-of-a-kind, which is different from Jacks or Better sweepstakes poker. The payout table also contains prizes for five-of-a-kind, which is four cards of the same value plus a deuce.

Deuces Wild also pays prizes for making an unnatural royal flush (a royal flush made using a deuce) and four deuces.

All American

All American video poker uses the same rules and qualifying hands as Jacks or Better. The difference, however, is that you win more for straights, flushes, and four-of-a-kind straight flushes.

All American vs. Jacks or Better Poker Payouts

Hand	All American Payout (one coin)	Jacks or BetterPayout (one coin)
Hand	All American Payout (one coin)	Jacks or BetterPayout (one coin)
Royal Flush	250x	250x
Straight Flush	200x	50x
4 of a Kind	34x	25x
Full House	8x	9x
Flush	8x	6x
Straight	8x	4x
3 of a Kind	3x	3x
Two-Pair	1x	2x
Jacks or Better	1x	1x

The increased payouts for All American are offset by lower payouts for two-pair and full house hands.

Where to Play Video Poker

Video poker isn’t as popular in the sweepstakes world as it is in the real-money sector. I’ve used plenty of top-rated sweepstakes casinos, including Spree Casino and Ace.com, that don’t have video poker.

That being said, there are places to play this sweepstakes poker variant. My favorite is Stake.us because its version of video poker is made in-house. That means the rules have been adapted slightly to offer better-than-average payouts.

For example, the payout for a royal flush in Stake.us video poker is 800x. The standard payout for a royal flush in Jacks or Better (when you wager a single coin) is 250x. Some payouts, including four-of-a-kind, are slightly lower. Overall, though, it’s a high-paying video poker variant.

Table Game Poker (Player vs. The House)

Table game poker variants are heads-up showdowns between you and the dealer. In this regard, table poker is like blackjack. Each variant has its own rules, but the aim is always the same: make a better-ranked hand than the dealer.

For example, in Casino Hold’em, you and the dealer receive two cards each. From there, three community cards are dealt in the middle of the table. At this point, you can decide to continue (by paying a second bet) or folding.

If you continue, two more community cards are dealt before a showdown. If the dealer has a qualifying hand, a showdown occurs, and the highest-ranked hand wins. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, you win by default. This hand vs. hand dynamic is the same in all sweepstakes table poker variants, including Caribbean Stud, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, and Three Card Poker.

How Video Poker Differs from “True” Poker

The biggest difference between table and true (aka PvP) poker is your opponent. In table poker, you’re playing against the dealer (aka the house). This means you have an inherent disadvantage.

In PvP poker, you’re playing against other people. The house isn’t involved. That means you’re on an even footing. Moreover, it means you can make players fold and win without a showdown. That’s impossible in table poker.

The dealer doesn’t have the power to fold, which means you’re always going to a showdown. Because of this, you need to be aware of the hand rankings and how likely your cards are to win a showdown.  

Strategy Tips

The best strategy tip I can give you for table poker is to know which hands are most likely to win a showdown.

Your likelihood of winning can be based on the strength of your cards and any community cards on display. In variants without community cards, such as Three Card Poker, you have to rely on the ones you’re holding.

Regardless of whether or not there are community cards, it’s almost always true that it’s worth going to showdowns with pairs or better. Similarly, if you’ve got at least two high-value cards (queens or better), it’s probably worth going to a showdown.

This is because the dealer needs a pair or better to qualify in most table poker variants. Therefore, if you play high-value cards, there’s a decent chance you’ll get a return on your investment because the dealer won’t qualify.

Where to Play Table Game Poker

Some sweepstakes sites, including Spin Blitz, don’t offer table poker, but most do. Personally, I like Texas Hold’em 3D at Pulsz Casino because of its unique layout and the fact that you can place separate bets on the flop, turn, and river.  

Another great place to play table poker, including Three Card, Casino Hold’em, and Extra Texas Hold’em, is BetRivers.net. Finally, if you want to try an exotic poker spinoff, check out Bet on Teen Patti at Sportzino.

PvP Poker (Real Deal Poker)

This format is the only way to play sweepstakes poker for prizes against other people. Some people call it player vs. player (PvP) poker; others call it real poker. I call it poker because it was my introduction to gambling and, moreover, it’s the format most people think of first.

The fundamental difference between PvP sweepstakes poker and its counterparts is your opponent. Instead of the house, you’re competing against other people. That means you’re not necessarily at a disadvantage the moment you sit down.

As I’ve, the house has an edge when you play sweepstakes video poker and table poker. In PvP sweepstakes poker, there is no inherent edge. Some players might be more skilled than others, but the game itself is neutral.

That means you can actually achieve a consistent long-term win rate. I’m not saying you can’t win coins playing sweepstakes table poker or video poker. You can. However, over time, the house has an edge.

In real sweepstakes poker, it’s theoretically possible to win every time you play. Take it from me, as someone who’s played for years, that won’t happen. Even elite players like Phil Ivey lose. However, when you lose, it’s either down to poor decisions or bad luck, rather than an underlying disadvantage.  

Where to Play PvP Poker

There are a few notable sweepstakes poker sites, including these standout names:

• Stake.us Poker
• ClubWPT
• Clubs Poker

The name I’ve not added to that list is Global Poker. This, for me, is the undisputed king of sweepstakes online poker. It’s been around since 2016, and, in my view, it’s better than the average online sweepstakes poker site.

In fact, it’s just as good as any real-money poker site I’ve used. The software is reliable, there are plenty of games to choose from across all formats, and you can also find opponents. You can also play for generous tournament guarantees, bonuses, and leaderboard promotions.

Finally, when it comes to features, Global Poker moves even further beyond its peers. For example, it has Crazy Pineapple cash games. There aren’t many real-money sites, let alone sweepstakes poker rooms that have this three-card spinoff of Texas Hold’em.

Something else Global Poker has that you don’t find much these days is private games. You can set up a club and host private tournaments for invited players. As someone who started out as a real-money poker player, I was always skeptical of sweepstakes sites.

Global Poker changed my mind. It showed me that PvP sweepstakes poker rooms didn’t need to be poor imitations of real-money sites. Global Poker has a genuinely impressive product that’s raised the standard. That’s led to other brands, including Stake.us and ClubWPT, putting a lot more effort into their products.      

Game Formats

Online Sweepstakes poker games are broadly divided into two categories: cash games and tournaments. Within these categories are subcategories, which I’ll discuss in a moment. Before that, let me explain why cash games and tournaments are slightly different.

Cash Games

Cash games are on-demand and ongoing. You can also open a table, take a seat, and play whenever you want. Then, when you’re finished, you can remove your chips from the table and leave.

The chips you have in front of you are worth something. Let’s say you sit down in a game with 2,000 Gold Coins. You play for an hour, win 1,500 Gold Coins, and leave. Those 1,500 Gold Coins are profit and will be credited to your account balance.

Tournaments

Tournaments are scheduled events. They have start and end points. Additionally, you pay to enter. For example, a sweepstakes poker tournament might cost 500 Gold Coins. You only get to play if you pay the entry fee.

Once you’ve entered and the tournament starts, you get a stack of chips. These chips are basically your lifeline. They’re what keep you in the tournament. Lose them all, and you’re out. At the same time as you’re protecting your chips, you also need to accumulate more because the blinds are always increasing.

The aim, therefore, is to take chips from other players and survive as long as possible. If you survive long enough to make it “into the money,” you get a return on your investment. If you’re eliminated before “the money,” you don’t win anything.

That’s the only way to win money in tournaments. The chips in your stack aren’t worth anything, which is why I call them lifeline tokens. Now that’s clear, here are the various cash game and tournament subcategories:

Sweepstakes Poker Cash Games

• Full-ring = nine seats at the table
• Six-max = six seats at the table
• Heads-up = two seats at the table

Cash game tables have different stakes. For example, a 100/200 game has a small blind that costs 100 Gold Coins and a big blind that costs 200 Gold Coins. Finally, the best sweepstakes poker sites allow you to play Texas Hold’em and Omaha cash games.

Sweepstakes Poker Tournaments

Sweepstakes poker tournaments can feature multiple tables (aka multi-table tournaments) or one table (aka single-table tournaments). Multi-table tournaments (MTTs) have scheduled start times and come in a variety of formats, including:

• Freezeout = you’re eliminated after losing your chips,
• Rebuy = you can buy more chips when you’ve got fewer chips than your starting stack (rebuys are only available for a limited amount of time),
• Bounty = you win a bounty prize by eliminating selected players/or all players,
• Satellites = low-cost qualifiers that give the top finishers tickets to more expensive tournaments,

Single-table tournaments are also known as Sit & Gos (SNGs) because they go when everyone is sitting. For example, a six-max SNG starts once the sixth seat is filled. They’re essentially mini tournaments that end relatively quickly.

I started my poker career as an SNG player because they combine the strategy elements of tournaments with the speed and convenience of cash games.

Real Poker Strategies

Before I begin, it’s important to note the difference between online poker and live games. Most strategy concepts that work online also work in live games, but some are unique. For example, physical tells (i.e., gestures and facial expressions) provide useful information in live games.

Naturally, you can’t see your opponents when you play sweepstakes poker for prizes online. Therefore, you need to rely on other tells, such as the time it takes them to make a decision. For example, generally speaking, if someone acts quickly, they’ve got an easy decision, which can signal a strong hand.

You also have to adopt a different mindset if you’re crossing over from table poker or video poker. These games are about playing the odds. Specifically, you’re assessing the cards you’ve got vs. the cards you can hit/the dealer has. If the odds are in your favor, it’s best to bet.

There’s an element of this in PvP poker, but you also have to take into account psychological factors, bet sizing, your position at the table, hand ranges, previous information, and more. That’s what makes PvP sweepstakes poker fun but difficult.

Fortunately, if you can master basic strategies, there are coins to be won at the best sweepstakes poker sites. Now that’s clear, here are my top three sweepstakes poker strategy tips:

1. Tight is Right

Poker players can be categorized as tight or loose, which means they’re selective about the hands they play or they’re not. Tight is definitely right a lot of the time, particularly if you’re a new player.

I recommend playing the best-ranked starting hands in Texas Hold’em, including pocket aces, kings, queens, and jacks, as well as some strong aces, such as A-K and A-Q. You can add a few other strong starting hands to your range, but not many.

This approach stops you from playing too many hands and getting into tricky spots. It also gives you a better chance of making strong hands that can win showdowns.

2. Almost Always Be Aggressive

Pairing a tight strategy with an aggressive betting style is another good idea. By aggressive, I mean that you bet, raise, and re-raise at every opportunity. Essentially, you want to take the lead by being the aggressor.

This is much easier to do when you have a tight strategy because you’re more likely to have strong hands. It’s much easier to bet or raise with strong hands rather than bluff, which is why I recommend a tight-aggressive strategy.

One mantra I used in my early days was: if the hand you’ve got isn’t good enough to raise, then it’s not good enough to call with. If you stick to this mantra, you’ll mostly be folding or raising hands.

3. Think in Ranges

This skill will take a bit more time to master, but it’s an important one. The mistake beginners make is trying to put opponents on a single hand. For example, they’ll say something like, “my opponent has a pair of eights.”

That’s OK, but it’s hard to pinpoint a single hand accurately. That’s why pros think in ranges. When the hand starts, you use all the information at your disposal to assign your opponent a range of potential hands they could have.

Then, as you move through the betting ranges, you gradually remove hands from their range. Eventually, you’ll be left with a small selection of hands they might have.

Let’s say there are four possible hands they could have based on the way they’ve played. At this point, you can say this hand in their range is more likely than the others and make your move accordingly.

Some things to consider when you’re assessing someone’s range are:

• If they bet, called, checked, or raised.
• Their position – if they were one of the first players to act, they probably have a stronger hand because it’s risking making moves early due to the number of players left to act after you.
• Any previous action, such as hands they’ve shown before.

Taking these things into account can help you assign opponents a range and make better decisions when you play PvP poker sweepstakes games.

How Sweepstakes Currency Works for Poker

The only way to play sweepstakes poker for prizes is to use Sweeps Coins (SC). Gold Coins are for fun only, which means they can’t be redeemed for cash or gift cards.

Sweeps Coins are used slightly differently in each sweepstakes poker variant:

Sweepstakes Video Poker

Sweepstakes video poker works on a per-hand basis. You adjust the SC value before tapping the “deal” button. The amount you win is based on the value of your SC wager and the hand you make. The stronger the hand, the better the return.

Sweepstakes Table Poker

In sweepstakes table poker games, Sweeps Coins are used for wagers. For example, in Casino Hold’em, you make an initial ante bet using SC.

After that, both you and the dealer get two cards each. The dealer also deals three community cards. At this point, you can fold or put SC in the “play” box to continue. If you win, you get a payout (in SC) based on the value of your ante and play bets.  

PvP Sweepstakes Poker

Sweeps Coins are used as chips in cash games and to pay tournament entry fees. The chips you win in cash games are added to your balance.

In tournaments, you win a share of the prizepool (which consists of Sweeps Coins) by finishing in a payout spot. In most cases, the top 15%-10% of the surviving players in a tournament win a share of the prizepool.

Prizepools are top-heavy, which means you win a larger share of Sweeps Coins the higher you place.

Redeeming Sweepstakes Poker Prizes

As I’ve said, Gold Coins are fun tokens, which is why you can use them to get a feel for games you’ve never played before. If, however, you play with SC, it’s possible to redeem them at a 1:1 rate if you meet the minimum limit.

Every sweepstakes casino has its own minimum redemption limit. At LoneStar Casino, the minimum redemption is 100 SC. At Ace.com, it’s 75 SC for cash redemptions and 10 SC for gift cards. Therefore, if you want to play sweepstakes poker for prizes, make sure your balance meets or exceeds the minimum requirement.

Sweepstakes Poker Bankroll Tips

I’ve always taken a conservative approach to bankroll management. It’s better to have more coins than not enough. In general, there are more swings in video poker and table poker than in PvP games because you’re playing against the house.

That being said, you also need enough coins to play the PvP sweepstakes poker. The general rule I live by is 100x the buy-in. If you’re going to play tournaments that cost 100 coins, you should have at least 10,000 coins.

Similarly, if you’re playing Jacks or Better sweepstakes poker and play 10 GC per hand, you should have at least 1,000 GC. Sticking to this rule should help you ride the natural ups and downs you experience in all types of online sweepstakes poker.

Again, as I said in the previous section, use Gold Coins to your advantage. Use them to have fun with, but also test new games and hone your skills before you try to win real prizes using Sweeps Coins.

Which Poker Type is Right for You?

The table below will help you find the right type of sweepstakes poker based on your skill, experience, and playing preferences:

Feature	Video Poker	Table Game Poker (vs. House)	PvP Poker
Opponent	The house	The Dealer	Other players
Skill Level	Novice to expert	Beginner to expert	Beginner to expert
Experience Required	Some knowledge of poker is required	Basic knowledge of poker required	Moderate knowledge of poker required
Best Place to Play	Stake.us	BetRivers.net	Global Poker
Volatility	Medium	High	Medium
Speed	Fast	Moderate	Slow
Best for	Players who like fast casino games with a low house edge	Players who enjoy blackjack but want more betting options	Players who enjoy using skill and strategy to beat opponents

Check out other types of casino games available at sweepstakes casinos.

Desktop vs. Mobile Poker Experience

The majority of sweepstakes poker sites are browser-based. That means you can move from your computer to a mobile device without downloading an app. It’s not always been the case, but today’s software is optimized for all situations.

Everything from adjusting the coin value to hitting the play button is easy on any device. This also goes for PvP sweepstakes poker tables.

You can use a slider to adjust the number of coins you’re putting into the pot. You can even play multiple tables and move between them by swiping or tapping tabs.

Sweepstakes poker apps also give you access to these features and qualities. For the record, sweepstakes casino operators don’t typically have iOS or Android apps. Instead, they rely on optimized sites.

However, some sweepstakes poker sites, including ClubWPT, are accompanied by a mobile app. These apps are just as slick as their mobile site counterparts, but they’re slightly better with regard to access because you can access them directly from your phone’s home screen.

How to Start Playing Sweepstakes Poker

That’s everything you need to know about online sweepstakes poker, where to play, and the games on offer. Before you go, I’ll show you how to play sweepstakes poker for prizes in just six simple steps:

1. Read our sweepstakes casino and poker site reviews.
2. Use the secure link within the review to start the registration process.
3. Enter your name, address, email, and birth date on the sign-up form.
4. Allow the software to verify your identity and location. *You may be required to provide a phone number and verify it using a code sent via SMS.
5. Log in to claim your Gold Coins and SC welcome bonus.
6. Find your preferred sweepstakes poker game and play.