A new day has dawned in the U.S. online poker scene since the states of Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have recently agreed to merge six different poker sites into one, known as WSOP.com. This marks the first time that a fully government-regulated online poker site has a player pool that contains more than one state, and the implications for the future are extremely exciting for poker players.
This recent merger has resulted in WSOP.com becoming a bigger and better poker site with larger tournaments, appealing player promotions, and higher cash game traffic. Let’s now take a peek at all of the various features of the poker room at WSOP.com so you can see for yourself how the site has changed or, in some cases, remained the same.
Reputation of WSOP.com
Caesars Interactive Entertainment (a wholly owned subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment), which owns and operates WSOP.com, is one of the largest gaming companies in the world. They are regulated by the Nevada Gaming Commission Board which is known for taking a very strict approach to governing the online gambling world. We cannot think of a single online poker site that we feel safer playing on thanks to the government regulations and intense security measures that exist on WSOP.com.
We also cannot find a single instance across the internet where anyone who was treated unfairly or cheated by WSOP.com. With these facts in mind, we can honestly recommend this site as a reputable and fair place to play poker.
Formats of Poker at WSOP.com
Primary Formats Offered: Cash Games, Sit and Go Tournaments, Multi-Table Tournaments, Heads-Up Tournaments
Primary Formats Not Offered: None
WSOP.com not only has every primary type of poker covered, they also have a few unorthodox variations which keep the games interesting. After 15 years, we think it is great to see new and innovative ideas taking motion in the online poker world, and WSOP.com appears to agree with us.
For example, sit and go tournament players will have the option of playing in regular sit and go tournaments or in the newly created BLAST tournaments. These four-man super-turbo sit and go tournaments will feature a random prize pool of between 2 buy-ins and 10,000 buy-ins in a winner-take-all format. Another unique aspect of these BLAST tournaments is that there is a clock which counts down for a few minutes in each one and once the time has run out on the clock each player will be forced to move all-in every hand.
Another example of an interesting poker format on WSOP.com are the ALL-IN tournaments. As you might have deduced by looking at the name, these multi-table tournaments force each player to go all-in every hand until the tournament is over. These types of tournaments make for popular satellites into large tournaments and they also make the competition in those large tournaments easier since the players who win these sorts of satellites probably would not have played the tournament otherwise.
On a side note, one of the biggest things that changed for WSOP.com after merging the three states together is that the multi-table tournaments have become much larger. For example, their Sunday major tournament is now a $320 entry fee with $100,000 guaranteed! This absolutely destroys their previous Sunday major and we can only imagine how big things will get once more states get involved.
Poker Games at WSOP.com
Primary Games Offered: No Limit Hold’Em, Limit Hold’Em, Pot Limit Hold’Em, Pot Limit Omaha, Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo
Primary Games Not Offered: Razz
There is no doubt that No Limit Hold’em is the main poker game on WSOP.com as most of the cash games, sit and go tournaments, and multi-table tournaments will be played with this game. This is completely standard for an online poker room since No Limit Hold’em still holds a firm grip on the most popular poker game in the world.
The second most popular game on WSOP.com is Pot Limit Omaha, but it is a distant second since there are only a handful of tables running at any given time. You will almost always find a low stakes cash game playing Pot Limit Omaha, but getting a sit and go tournament to fill up with players will take some time. There are usually one or two multi-table tournaments featuring Pot Limit Omaha each day. Another piece of good news for Pot Limit Omaha players is that one of the WSOP online gold bracelet events will be played with this game!
Any other game outside of the two main games are extremely tough to find in the sit and go tournament lobby or the multi-table tournament lobby. The only place where you will find games such as 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo or Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo will be in the cash game section of WSOP.com but these games are almost always played at micro stakes.
Poker Limits at WSOP.com
Cash Games Min/Max Limits: $0.01/$0.02 to $25/$50
Sit and Go Tournaments Min/Max Limits: $0.25 to $200
Multi-Table Tournaments Min/Max Limits: Free to $1,000
Whether you are a poor newcomer, a rich veteran, or anything in between, WSOP.com is guaranteed to have some poker games that you will enjoy playing. The only place where they really have room to improve in this area would be to add in some sit and go tournaments that cost more than 50$ which are not heads-up tournaments. Outside of that, it is really hard to criticize the wide range of buy-in levels that are found in every format of poker on WSOP.com.
Poker Software at WSOP.com
In order to enjoy the poker games that WSOP.com has to offer you will first need to download the poker application from their website by clicking on the big red “Play Now” button. There is no way to access the poker room from your browser, but this download only takes about 3 minutes from start to finish.
The poker games that you will find on WSOP.com were developed by the popular company named Playtika. This company is famous for contributing to popular gaming sites such as Slotomania and Caesar’s Casino while also licensing their games to legal real money gaming sites based in the U.K., France, and Italy.
There does not appear to be any major glitches in the functionality of the poker software on WSOP.com and everything appears to run very smoothly. With hundreds of hours of testing under our belt, we have never seen the software just randomly crash or go offline which is reassuring for those who are used to playing on unregulated poker sites where this sort of thing happens often.
The software not only functions well, but it looks amazing too! The sleek design and easy-to-read lobbies are very easy on the eyes and even if you do not enjoy these visual features there are a ton of options available which allow you to toggle how the games look. There are four different table themes, nine different deck backs, three different deck faces, and a plethora of gameplay options at your disposal as a player on WSOP.com.
Poker Competition at WSOP.com
Every year the World Series of Poker Main Event is played repeatedly on popular channels like ESPN, making the WSOP a household name for over 15 years now. This type of mainstream exposure tends to bring in a lot of recreational players who have a dream of making it in the poker world, and WSOP.com is where residents of Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware will attempt to start this journey.
Another reason why playing on WSOP.com is easier than other poker sites is that Heads-Up Display programs are banned, which keeps a lot of professionals from wanting to play there. They also have a very effective security team that uses geolocation technology and numerous other security measures to make sure that cheaters and robots do not get away with taking advantage of their players.
We will admit that the competition is probably not as easy as it would be if there were more than three states involved, but only time will tell if that becomes a reality or not. It would also make the competition a bit easier if there were a sports book or a racebook connected to the online poker room since it would bring more recreational gamblers to the tables, but at the moment these features do not yet exist.
WSOP.com Mobile App
Playing poker on WSOP.com from your mobile device is possible as long as you have an Android phone, an iPhone or an iPad. All you need to do is head to WSOP.com from your mobile device’s web browser and click on the big red “Play Poker Now” button. With that being said, from an Android phone we could not get past the welcome message that says our location has been successfully validated since the big red “OK” button does not seem to work.
For those of you who do manage to get the mobile app to function properly, you will notice that all of the same real money poker games are available as when you are playing from your computer. You will even be able to play on any of the play money tables from the comfort of your mobile device if you wish.
Rake and Rakeback at WSOP.com
The rake in poker tournaments on WSOP.com is pretty standard since they take around 10% of the entry fee in rake for low stakes tournaments and only 7% rake in the high stakes tournaments. You will also find rake as low as 3% in tournaments where the structure is labeled as a super turbo.
The rake in cash games is set at $0.01 for every $0.20 in the pot for every limit from $0.01/$0.02 up to $2.50/$5.00. Once you get to the $5/$10 NL games the rake is lowered to $0.03 for every $1 in the pot. At $10/$20 NL, the rake is once again lowered to $0.02 for every $1 in the pot, and players at every limit higher than $10/$20 NL will enjoy a rake rate of $0.01 for every $1 in the pot.
Rakeback on the poker room at WSOP.com comes in the form of Action Player Points or APPs. These points will be earned at the rate of 2 APPs for every $1 in rake collected at the table in cash games or 2 APPs for every $1 in rake paid in tournaments. Each APP will reward you with a certain number of WSOP points which can then be converted into dollars at the rate of 100 WSOP points per $1.
The number of WSOP points that you receive per APP that you earn all depends on your VIP level. You will need to earn 200 APPs per month to reach the Bronze Level, 750 APPs per month to reach the Silver Level, 1,500 APPs per month to reach the Elite Level, and 20,000 APPs per year to reach the Champion’s Club. Bronze players will enjoy a 4x multiplier on the WSOP points that they earn while the top level Champions Club members will receive a 16x multiplier on their WSOP points.
WSOP.com Sign-Up Bonus
The sign-up bonus comes in three parts which include a 100% match deposit bonus of up to $1,000, seven tickets to WSOP bracelet event freeroll satellites, and one $5 BLAST sit and go tournament ticket. The freeroll satellites will generally reward between 1-3 seats into the $365 WSOP online bracelet event and you will have only seven days after your first deposit to use your tickets towards them. The $5 BLAST tournament ticket must be used within a year of receiving it.
Other Promotions at WSOP.com
There is no shortage of promotions to be found outside of the Sign-Up Bonus on WSOP.com and they mostly come in the form of special tournaments and leaderboards. You will also earn points toward increasing your Reward Level while you participate in all of the following promotions which just adds to the impressive amount of value to be found here. The only thing they seem to be lacking is a deposit bonus for those who are not first-time depositors.
Player of the Year Leaderboard
Each year WSOP.com likes to motivate the best multi-table tournament players on the site to grind as hard as they can by holding a Player of the Year contest. At the end of the year, the player who sits in first place on this leaderboard is rewarded with $10,000 cash, a special Player of the Year gold ring, and VIP seating at the 2019 WSOP Main Event Final Table. These prizes are impressive but we hope that in the near future they begin to offer prizes to more than just the first place finisher.
Sit and Go Leaderboard
The Sit and Go Leaderboard on WSOP.com is a rewarding promotion for players of all buy-in levels who love to play sit and go tournaments. There are three different leaderboards to participate in each week and whatever leaderboard you are on is totally governed by the buy-in amount of the tournaments you play.
The Low Limit Leaderboard is for those who play buy-ins of $5 and under, the Mid Limit Leaderboard is for players in buy-ins of $20 and under, while the High Limit Leaderboard is exclusively for those that play in $25 buy-ins and above. The prize pool for the Low Limit Leaderboard is $500 total while the Mid Limit Leaderboard pays out $1,000 and the High Limit Leaderboard pays out $1,500 total.
Hero Freeroll
Anyone who has ever been a part of the U.S. Armed Forces, Fire Department, or Police Department is eligible to play in the Hero Freeroll which comes with a $1,000 guaranteed prize pool. Once you have uploaded your official documents to verify your hero status you will be able to play this tournament on the third Sunday of every month at 3 PM PST.
Senior Special
Any player who is over 50 years of age is considered a senior by WSOP.com and they will benefit from the Early Bird Special as well as the nightly senior tournament. The Early Bird Special will reward all seniors with double APP points during the hours of 12 PM and 4 PM PST each day. The nightly senior tournament will feature a $500 guaranteed prize pool rake at 6 pm each day and charges less rake than an $11 buy-in usually would.
WSOP Bracelet Events
One of the most exciting developments in recent years for online poker players is that it is now possible to win WSOP gold bracelets by playing online. The only site where this can be done is WSOP.com and this year they are rewarding a total of four different WSOP gold bracelets to online winners.
The buy-ins for these gold bracelet events range anywhere from $365 up to $3,200. Three of the four tournaments will be playing No Limit Hold’em while the fourth is going to feature Pot-Limit Omaha.
Both the $1,000 online bracelet event and the $3,200 online bracelet event will each feature a massive $1 million guarantee, which is the highest guaranteed amount a regulated U.S. poker site has ever seen. If you combine this with the fact that there are a ton of satellites into these events over the next couple of months it’s clear that there are a lot of reasons to get excited about these bracelet events no matter what your bankroll is.
Total Rewards Connect
WSOP.com offers the unique opportunity of linking your online poker account with your Caesar’s Entertainment Total rewards card. This means that every APP you earn on your online poker account will also earn you 1 Tier Credit towards your Total Rewards account. All Tier Credits earned by playing on WSOP.com will be credited to your Total Rewards account by the second week of the following month. By the end of the year, if you play enough online poker on WSOP.com you could start reserving rooms in Caesars-owned hotels for free and many other benefits that high rollers get to enjoy.
WSOP.com Bonus Terms and Conditions
When you are clearing a deposit bonus you will receive it in $10 increments every time you earn 100 APPs. You will have 90 days to clear your match deposit bonuses, which is a pretty reasonable amount of time, and any unclaimed bonus money will be forfeited after that period.
You are allowed to claim more than one bonus at a time on WSOP.com, but your poker play will only count towards one playthrough requirement at a time. We do not recommend doing multiple bonuses at once since the 60-day time limit will begin from the day it is placed into your account and you will be cheating yourself out of some bonus money.
Any tournament tickets that you win cannot be redeemed for cash and must be used in a poker tournament. They also come with a specific expiration date that can be clearly seen when you click on the “Tournament Tickets” option in the upper right-hand corner of the main lobby.
Customer Service at WSOP.com
There are four different ways to contact WSOP.com which include a mailing address, an email address, a phone number, and a Live Chat feature. All of these methods are available to you 24/7 except for the Live Chat method which their site says can only be reached from 3 PM to 11 PM PST each day.
Contacting WSOP via snail mail is not advisable since it is guaranteed to be the slowest option that you have to choose from. However, anyone who still prefers this method can send them a letter at the address below:
Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc.
One Caesars Palace Dr.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
The Live Chat feature was available just one day ago but has since been eliminated from their website. We believe this was simply because of a high volume of chat requests due to the fact that the site just launched and that they will bring this feature back soon.
It appears that calling WSOP.com by phone at 866-745-2385 is currently the best option available. Their “Contact Us” page warns that wait times are much higher than usual at the moment due to their recent launch, so it would be unfair for us to test out their response speed at this time.
The last contact method that you have at your disposal is to email them at [email protected]. The advertised response time on this method is within 72 hours, so we recommend avoiding this option unless you absolutely have to.
If you have tried all of the above options and still have not solved your problem, you should contact the Nevada Gaming Control Board at 775-684-7700. These guys govern the Nevada gaming industry and their strict reputation guarantees that they will investigate your issue thoroughly.
Deposit and Withdrawal Options on WSOP.com
Minimum Deposit: $10
Maximum Deposit: $100,000
Deposit Methods: e-Check ACH, Visa Card, MasterCard, PayPal, Cash at Casino Cage, PayNearMe, Neteller
Withdrawal Methods: e-Check ACH, PayPal, Cash at Casino Cage, Neteller
There are seven different ways to deposit money onto WSOP which gives a wide range of options compared to most poker rooms. All of these options will be completed instantly once you finish filling in your personal and transactional information.
The unique part about the banking options on WSOP.com is that one of them allows you to go to any Caesars-owned casino property 24 hours a day to make your deposits and withdrawals using their cashier cage. The casinos that are participating in this feature are the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Caesar’s Palace, Planet Hollywood Casino, Harrah’s Casino, and Paris Casino. All of these options are currently located in the state of Nevada, but we assume they will be adding some casinos from New Jersey and Delaware to this list soon.
The minimum deposit limit for all of the deposit options is set at $10, with the exception of Cash at the Casino Cage which imposes a minimum limit of $50. This is great news for recreational players who just want to throw a small amount onto the site and splash around a little bit.
The maximum deposit limit ranges anywhere from $600 with a Visa Card to $100,000 using the Cash at the Casino Cage method. Most of the other deposit methods impose a maximum limit of $5,000 per transaction and $30,000 per day. These numbers are certainly large enough to appease the high stakes players on the site.
Once it comes time to withdraw some of your winnings, you will have all of the same options that were available for depositing money except for Visa Card, MasterCard, and PayNearMe. It is important to remember that you need to deposit money with a certain banking method before you will be allowed to use it to withdraw funds unless you plan on using the e-Check ACH or Cash at Casino Cage methods.
The minimum withdrawal limit ranges from $10 when using the ACH bank transfer up to $50 when using the Cash at Casino Cage method. The maximum withdrawal limits vary wildly depending on which method you use with but the actual specific amounts are not listed anywhere in their terms and conditions or on the banking section of their website.
All of the withdrawal methods will allow you to receive your money with no fees in under a week, although some will be faster than others. The Cash at Casino Cage will obviously be the fastest option available as long as you live in Las Vegas since you can just walk right in and get your money. We have tested many withdrawals from WSOP.com using the PayPal method and we always receive our money in about 4 or 5 business days.