WV Online Poker Sites and Bonuses

WV online poker is legal. However, there are no licensed sites. West Virginia is a small state that is unable to create proper liquidity to sustain a poker site. That lesson was learned in Delaware. Its intrastate sites raked less than $1000 a day for years and peaked at 20 or 30 players before joining the interstate online poker pool, according to past data generated by GameIntel.

In November 2023, West Virginia joined the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement. This allows it to network the state’s poker sites with ones in Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, and New Jersey. No West Virginia poker site has been announced yet. However, it seems like at least one will come to the state in 2024.

The only way to play poker in West Virginia now is at one of the state’s three live poker rooms. Only cash games are dealt at these casinos. West Virginia poker rooms only deal a few tournaments per month. There are no daily tournaments available in the state.

The main cash game is Texas hold’em. It is usually 1/2 or 1/3 no limit Texas hold’em. There may be a 2/5 no limit or 3/6 fixed limit game during busy hours. An Omaha game might be found during special events.

Alternatives to WV online poker

There are a few alternatives to playing West Virginia online poker. Online casinos in WV are legal. These games are licensed and live today. 

You can play several poker games on WV casino sites. The closest to real poker is online Ultimate Texas Hold’em. In this game, the player and dealer receive two cards, just like at a poker table. You can raise up to four times before the flop, or check and get into action later in the hand. You can read more in our online Ultimate Texas Hold’em guide.

There are several other online poker casino games available to anyone 21 years of age or older in West Virginia. Those options include Casino Hold’em, Texas Hold’em Showdown, Texas Hold’em Bonus, Three Card Poker, Criss Cross Poker, Mississippi Stud, and Four Card Poker. All these games qualify for an online casino bonus.

You can play West Virginia online poker games for as little as $0.10. That means you only need a small bankroll. The minimum deposit at West Virginia online casinos is often $10. That is much cheaper than what you need to play similar games at a live casino. 

Play online poker in Pennsylvania 

If you prefer online poker over the live game and are near Pennsylvania, you can play it there. Pennsylvania has three licensed poker sites. Those are BetMGM, PokerStars, and WSOP. 

Our top pick is BetMGM Poker. That site offers the best online poker bonus. It is the equivalent of about 50% rakeback. Borgata Poker is on the same network. You can hit the new player bonus at both.

PokerStars is another safe poker site. It is home to the largest variety of cash games and tournaments in Pennsylvania. 

WSOP.com is the other Pennsylvania poker site. It had one of the worst reputations in the entire online poker industry. It uses 888 software. That company operates many aspects of the site.

888 is best known in the online gambling industry for paying tens of millions in fines for numerous gaming violations, slow payouts, terrible software, and incompetent management. 

We recommend avoiding WSOP. It is the worst option available and shows no signs of improvement. 

WV interstate poker sites

While there are no West Virginia poker sites today, that is hopefully changing soon. The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement was signed by West Virginia with four other states in November 2023. This solves the liquidity issue. Hopefully, a WV poker site will launch this year.

Likely, the same legal poker sites from Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will end up accepting West Virginia players one day. Those brands are BetMGM, PokerStars, and WSOP.

Online poker games

There are three main online poker games. Those are Texas hold’em, Omaha, and seven card stud. Omaha and seven card stud may come in hi/lo formats. These come in cash games, multi-table tournaments, sit and gos, and lottery sit and gos.

Types of online poker West Virginia will offer

There will be three types of games available in West Virginia when online poker launches. Cash games are when players can come and go as they wish. The chips are worth face value at these tables. 

Multi-table tournaments are popular among online poker players. These allow large prize pools, especially when multiple states are networked. 

Sit and gos are small tournaments, often with just one table. These are quick tournaments that launch as soon as enough players register. 

Lottery sit and gos work a little differently than regular ones. These three-player tournaments have prize pools determined by a random number generator. The largest prize pool can be as much as 1000 times the buy-in. However, some are less than the buy-in to make up for this. 

Texas hold’em

The most common online poker game is Texas hold’em. Most tables are no limit, meaning players may bet all chips in front of them at the time. Fixed limit and pot limit are other forms of Texas hold’em.

In Texas hold’em, players are dealt two cards. Two players post blinds. The player to the left of the dealer button posts the small blind. The second player left of the button posts a big blind. This is equal to the amount required to call before the flop.

Once the first betting round finishes, three cards are displayed. This is known as the flop. The betting action starts to the left of the button. Once all bets are called, the turn is shown. The betting starts the same here as after the flop. When that betting round finishes, a fifth card is placed on the board. This is called the river. The last betting round occurs here.

The winner makes the best five-card hand between the five community cards and two dealt. The hand also ends when all players fold to a bettor. 

Omaha

Omaha is the second most popular online poker game. It is most often dealt as pot limit. It can be hi or hi/lo. You may find some limit Omaha games, especially at hi/lo.

A hi/lo game is a split pot format. If at least three unique cards on the board are eight or lower, a low is possible. The best low is a wheel, which is a five-high straight. Flushes and straights do not matter in lows.

Omaha betting is like Texas hold’em. The main difference between Omaha and Texas hold’em is that Omaha players receive four cards. Players must use two from their hand and three from the five community cards. In Texas hold’em, players may use any combination of their two hole cards and five community cards, including the entire board.

Seven card stud

Seven card stud may be played hi only or hi/lo. A hand of seven card stud starts with two cards dealt face down and one up after players ante. The lowest up card makes the first bet, known as a bring-in. 

After players call, another card is dealt face up. From here on, the highest up cards have the opportunity to make the first bet. In seven card stud hi, an open pair is permitted to double bet in this round, which is an amount equal to the big bet in the game.

Once bets are finished, another card is dealt face up and there is another betting round. This bet is double the last round. After this, there is another up card dealt and another betting round at the same limit. After that, one last card is dealt face down. There is then a showdown. The best five-card hand wins. If the game is hi/lo, it may split the pot if a player makes five cards that are eight or lower. 

WV online poker FAQs