Online Poker Bitcoin Part currency, part investment vehicle, Bitcoin is the latest tech trend to move beyond niche status and into the mainstream. Financial experts everywhere are debating the merits of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. While eager users continue to buy it, sell it, and spend it. But while the rest of the world is finally waking up and taking notice. The online poker community has long recognized the power and potential of Bitcoin.
The earliest vehicles for Online Poker Bitcoin adoption.
One of the earliest vehicles for crypto kitties adoption was the iGaming industry. Which benefited immensely from cryptocurrency’s fundamental concept. With anonymous exchanges between customer and provider, zero third-party oversight from banks and financial institutions. Nearly instantaneous transactions and the removal of fees tacked on to deposits; Bitcoin has transformed how online poker is played.
If you’re an online poker player looking to convert your bankroll. Bitcoin or simply use the stuff to make your hobby a little easier. This page was written with you in mind. I’ve recently taken the plunge myself setting up a virtual wallet and exchanging fiat currency for Bitcoin. The depositing to my favorite online poker sites and I’ve been thorough. Impressed with the process every step of the way.
On that note, I’ve assembled this step-by-step guide to playing. Online poker with Bitcoin as a way of paying it forward. You’ll learn about the basics of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The ways online poker sites and their players can benefit from adoption, and how to fund your account. From there, I hope that readers enjoy the same experience I did, meaning no hassles from banks blocking transactions.
Take a Crash Course in Cryptocurrency.
Before embarking on your Bitcoin journey, you should take some time to research exactly. What cryptocurrency is to make a long story a bit shorter. Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by a mysterious figure known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. Widely believed to be a pseudonym used to protect the inventor’s identity. Nakamoto published a white paper entitled Bitcoin A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System.
The purpose of this white paper was to provide proof. In mathematical terms, an idea was put forth ten years earlier by computer engineer Wei Dai. As envisioned by Dai, the age-old art of cryptography or encoding messages could be used. As the basis for a new form of currency and commerce.
Set Up Your Virtual Wallet.
Before you can use Bitcoin, you need to obtain some for yourself. The easiest way to convert your fiat currency into Bitcoin is through a cryptocurrency exchange. Sites like Coinbase, Poloniex, and Bitstamp are among the most popular exchanges out there today, and they strive to make the process as simple as possible. As the name suggests, an exchange is nothing more than a platform for people to buy and sell Bitcoin.
A seller out there lists their lot, so to speak, and as the buyer, you list the amount you’re looking to buy. Once a match is made, your dollars are sent to the seller in exchange for their equivalent value in Bitcoin. As of this very moment, the exchange rate comes to USD 1> $15,000 BTC, which should help make the math easier for the sake of explanation.
Let’s imagine you’re looking to start with a $1,000 bankroll on your favorite online poker site. After firing up a cryptocurrency exchange site, you purchase $1,000 worth of Bitcoin from a seller, which comes to 0.07 BTC. Now that you have some Bitcoin to work with, you’ll need somewhere to store it securely, and that’s where a Bitcoin wallet comes in handy.
Identify Bitcoin-Friendly Online Poker Bitcoin Rooms.
This step is probably the easiest of the bunch because so many online poker rooms are clamoring to add Bitcoin capability. Ever since the US government authorized the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, which banned companies from conducting online gambling-related business, poker sites and players alike have struggled to escape the long arm of the law.
If you’ve ever had your credit card transaction declined when trying to make a deposit, you know exactly what I’m talking about. For a while there, it became quite difficult to conduct online poker transactions using traditional means. Players were forced to purchase gift cards or use services like Neteller to bypass the prying eyes of banks and financial institutions.
With the advent of Bitcoin online poker rooms finally had a way to conduct deposits and withdrawals without the banks getting in the way. These transactions are guaranteed to go through, and even better, the lack of bank involvement means no fees charged to pay off the middleman.
With 2018 now upon us, almost every major online poker platform has added Bitcoin functionality. Whether you prefer Bovada, America’s Card Room (ACR), or the 888 Poker network, Bitcoin has become the preferred deposit method offered by operators.
Deposit Funds from Your Online Poker Bitcoin Wallet.
After registering your online poker account, head for the Cashier or Banking section of the site to initiate a deposit. You’ll see the usual tabs for debit and credit card deposits, along with wire transfers and other outdated methods. But along with those, you’ll also find the familiar Bitcoin logo, so go ahead and click there to begin.
Next, the site will provide you with a one-time-use private key that provides access to its virtual wallet. Armed with this long string of encoded text, you’ll head back to your Bitcoin wallet and set up the terms of a transaction. The private key provided by the site establishes them as the “buyer” of your Bitcoin, but rather than send money back to your virtual wallet, the site simply adds the funds to your poker account.
Withdraw Funds to Your Bitcoin Wallet.
After you’ve terrorized the tournament tables and crushed the cash games, your bankroll has ballooned to $5,000. At this point, you’d like to enjoy the fruits of your labor on the felt, so you decide to initiate a withdrawal. For longtime online poker players, this step of the process once proved to be the most difficult. Poker rooms were more than happy to take your deposit.
Paying cash-out requests wasn’t always as easy, namely because banks and other financial institutions remain hesitant to cash checks issued by iGaming companies. This is why Bovada, ACR, 888 Poker, and all the rest were forced to doctor their withdrawal checks. Rather than pay players out directly, these sites concealed cash-outs as payments for freelance services rendered and other disguises designed to trick the banks.
Use Common Sense and Stay Safe.
Whenever a new technology inspires rapid adoption and demand, inviting speculators to invest in hopes of turning an easy profit, pundits are quick to label the new trend as a bubble. Those dot com startups that were all the rage in the late ‘90s drew billions in investment. But for every eBay or Amazon, hundreds of sites crashed and burned, creating one of the more infamous bubbles in memory.
More recently, the resurgent housing market of the mid-2000s created an artificial bubble, sparking a foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession. Many self-proclaimed experts out there today have labeled Bitcoin as the next great bubble, and to be quite clear with my readers, I don’t know if they’re right. I tell you this not as a word of warning against using Bitcoin for online poker.
