About Us — How We Review Online Poker Sites

Poker compares real money online poker sites and apps for US players — cash games, tournaments, Spin & Gos and the operators behind them. This page explains who we are, how we put our rankings together, and where our money comes from.

What We Actually Do

We're not a poker room, and we don't process deposits or payouts. We research operators — their licensing, traffic, game mix, deposit and withdrawal methods, software, and bonus terms — and we lay that research out so you can compare sites without digging through ten different terms-and-conditions pages yourself. Where an operator's claims can't be independently verified, we say so rather than repeating marketing copy as fact.

How We Score and Rank Sites

Every site on runningbecauseican.com is assessed against the same set of criteria, weighted toward what actually matters to someone choosing where to put real money down:

Licensing and regulatory standing — what jurisdiction or state licence the operator holds, and what that does and doesn't guarantee
Traffic and liquidity — active player counts by format and stake, since a poker site is only as good as the game running on it
Game variety — No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, mixed games, fast-fold formats and Spin & Go-style lottery tables where offered
Rake and rewards — rake structure, rakeback and loyalty programs, since effective rake matters more than a headline number
Software and mobile experience — client stability, iOS/Android apps, and whether HUD or tracking software is permitted
Payments — deposit and withdrawal methods available to US players, processing times, and any fees
Bonus terms — the full playthrough or clearing requirements behind any welcome offer, not just the headline figure
Support and security — how contactable support is, and what's disclosed about fund segregation and account security

Commission arrangements with any operator never buy a higher position in our rankings. A site with a bigger affiliate payout gets the same scrutiny as one with none.

A Note on Bonuses and Promotions

Every welcome bonus you see referenced on this site — such as Coinpoker's Battle of Malta series, Bovada's 100% match up to $500, or Americas Card Room's deposit bonus up to $2,000 — comes with playthrough requirements, time limits, and eligibility rules set by the operator. We link out to full terms wherever we can, but the operator's own terms and conditions always govern the offer, not our summary of it. Bonus value is never guaranteed and clearing requirements can make a headline figure harder to realize than it first looks.

Licensing, Legality and Who Can Play

There's no single federal framework for online poker in the US — legality is decided state by state, and the sites listed here vary in how they operate depending on where you're located. Some hold state-level licences; others operate offshore under licences from jurisdictions such as Malta or Curaçao. We report what we can verify about each operator's licensing status, but a licence in one jurisdiction doesn't automatically mean a site is available or legal to use from every US state. Always confirm a site's status in your own state before creating an account. Real money poker is restricted to adults 21 and older in most states (18+ in a few) — this site is not intended for anyone under the applicable age, and nothing here should be read as encouragement to play beyond what someone can comfortably afford to lose.

Our Independence and How We're Funded

Poker earns revenue through affiliate partnerships. If you click through to a poker site from this page and sign up, we may receive a commission — at no extra cost to you. This funds the research that goes into our reviews, but it doesn't decide them. Ratings reflect what we find when we compare licensing, traffic, game selection, payments and terms, not who pays the highest referral fee. When a site has a real limitation — thin traffic at certain stakes, a slow withdrawal method, a steep clearing requirement — we say so in the review rather than leaving it out.

Playing Responsibly

Poker is a game of skill, but outcomes are never guaranteed, and no amount of skill removes the possibility of losing money. We don't present any site on this page as a way to make income or solve financial pressure, and we'd encourage anyone reading to treat deposits as entertainment spending, not investment. If poker stops feeling like entertainment, free and confidential help is available through 1-800-GAMBLER. Our Responsible Gambling page has more detail on setting limits, self-exclusion tools, and where to find support.

Get in Touch

Spotted something out of date, or think we've missed a site that should be here? The Contact Us page is the place to flag it. Full details on how the site works, including our terms of use, are set out on our Terms and Conditions page.