In an industry famous for controversy, finding legitimate California online poker sites is crucial.
That’s why we’ve sifted through dozens of places to play online poker in California – ranking them for reputation, cash game traffic, tournament variety, bonuses, and more.
A little spoiler: we ranked Ignition Casino as our best online poker site in California for its incredible bonus, super smooth downloadable app, and the best customer support around.
That said, there’s plenty more quality in our list of top California poker sites.
Let’s find your next California online poker room.
Best California Online Poker Sites
| Best California poker site overall | Ignition |
| Best knockout tournament | Bovada |
| Best for crypto bettors | BetOnline |
| $2,000 welcome bonus | Blackchip |
| Tons of tournaments available | GG Poker |
| Best for 7-Card Stud | America’s Cardroom |
| 200% match bonus | Everygame |
| Top pick for casino poker games | mBit Casino |
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1. Ignition – Best Real Money Online Poker Site in California Overall
Pros
- Up to $1,500 bonus for online poker
- Feature-rich online poker app
- Weekly freeroll promotions
- Fully anonymous tables
- Fast-fold ‘Zone Poker’ feature
- Rabbit cam
- $100,000 guaranteed tournament weekly
Cons
- Credit card deposit fees
- Low weekly payout limits on some methods
Ignition Casino is hands-down our best online poker site in California.
Not only does this game have great bonuses and exciting tournaments, but the downloadable poker app is built to run beautifully on PC, iOS, and Android devices, letting you experience the best poker room possible from wherever you are most comfortable.
Online Poker Offerings – 5/5
Ignition’s online poker options are all built around Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Hi/Lo. You’ll find plenty of tables to join in 6 or 9-seat configurations with a variety of limits available.
There’s even a practice mode so that way if you’re new to the game (or looking to expand your poker playing horizons) you can do it without burning through your bankroll.
In addition to cash games you’ll have access to Zone Poker, which instantly moves you to a new table when you fold (which gives you a chance to play significantly more hands-per-hour than standard games), Sit & Go games and Jackpot Sit & Gos — for players looking for more substantial prizes.
Ignition also hosts a ton of tournaments for high rollers and casual players, with all manner of buy-in and bet limits up to $100,000 in GTD money — and thankfully a filtering system perfect for finding the ideal tournament for you.
And with fully anonymous tables (one of our favorite Ignition features) you won’t have to worry about other California online poker players learning your play habits and exploiting your style, giving you one of the most fair poker experiences around.
Welcome Bonus – 4.8/5
Ignition is one of our favorite approaches to the welcome bonus. New players get two bonuses with their first deposit.
Credit card depositors will get two 100% deposit match bonuses worth up to $1,000 each. The first bonus is only usable at the poker tables and can be unlocked by playing real money games to earn Ignition Miles points.
The second bonus is for Ignition Casino’s slots and table games and comes with a fantastic 25x wagering requirement attached.
If you deposit with one of the accepted forms of cryptocurrency your bonus is supercharged up to two 150% match bonuses worth $1,500 each instead — with the same excellent wagering requirements.
Deposit Methods – 4.8/5
Ignition Casino accepts credit cards, and e-wallet deposits through MatchPay, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Tether.
There are no fees attached to crypto deposits, but Ignition’s credit card transaction fees start at 15.9% and go up from there, so we recommend playing with some form of cryptocurrency since you’ll also get a bigger bonus.
2. Bovada – Best Online Poker Site in California for Knockout Tournaments
Pros
- 100% match up to $500
- Easy-to-use poker app
- $1.5 million in GTD tournaments
- Great selection of bounty tournaments
- Find your perfect table in two steps
- Zone Poker and other features available
Cons
- Smaller bonus than some competitors
- High fees on credit card deposits
Next up we have Bovada. While primarily known as a powerhouse in the sports betting and horse racing industry, Bovada also offers an excellent collection of poker rooms for serious poker players.
Considering it is a sister site to Ignition Casino, you can expect the same sterling support and a similar suite of features here.
Online Poker Offerings – 4.9/5
As stated above, you’ll find a very similar collection of poker options at Bovada. This means you’ll have access to a wide range of Texas Hold’em and Omaha tables, prime for all skill levels.
And with Bovada’s Quick Seat system, you’re never more than two steps away from finding a cash game.
One of our favorite aspects is Bovada’s attention to detail when it comes to Knockout Tournaments. These tournaments not only have a significant prize pool as the end goal, but players will earn a bounty on every player they knock out.
There are also a variety of Knockout Tournament games available including the classic Knockout format, Sit & Go Knockout games (which combine the best of both worlds), and Progressive Knockout tournaments where the more players you knock out, the higher your bounty gets — with the winner claiming their own bounty as well.
Welcome Bonus – 4.7/5
Bovada offers players who use the PWB500 promo code a 100% match on their first deposit good for up to $500 in bonus cash.
This bonus has no rollover requirements but instead is unlocked by earning Poker Rewards points by playing real money poker games.
For every 150 points you earn, $5 of your bonus will be unlocked until you’ve unlocked the whole thing, but you’ll only have 30 days to do so, so make sure you get right on it.
Deposit Methods – 4.8/5
Similar to Ignition, Bovada accepts Visa and Mastercard deposits, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Tether.
There are some fees on credit card deposits, though, and it can vary from one card to another, so make sure you do your homework before making any deposits.
3. BetOnline – Best Poker Site in California for Crypto Enthusiasts
Pros
- 100% match up to $1,000
- Great poker bonuses are available
- Poker odds calculator tool
- Bad beat jackpot feature
- Sunday majors up to $150,000 GTD
- Tons of crypto banking options
- Great weekly leaderboards
Cons
- High fees on some deposit options
- The best bonuses favor sports betting
BetOnline offers a stellar poker experience that is hard to beat — especially for cryptocurrency bettors, thanks to the surprisingly wide range of accepted forms of crypto.
Couple that with several poker-focused bonuses and BetOnline really helps you stretch your Bitcoin or fiat currency.
Online Poker Offerings – 4.8/5
While we don’t like the table browser as much as we do Ignition Casino, BetOnline still manages to offer a very intuitive experience, making it easy for you to find practice and cash games with relatively few clicks.
In addition to your standard cash games and tournaments, you’ll find plenty of Sit & Go tourneys and a ton of fast-paced Windfall format tournaments which offer an exciting multiplier feature to really amp up your potential winnings.
Add to that one of the best bad beat bonuses we’ve seen (taking the sting out of getting a win swept out from under you), and BetOnline does poker well.
Welcome Bonus – 4.8/5
New poker players from California can get a 100% match-up to $1,000 bonus when they use the POKER1000 promo code.
BetOnline also offers weekly leaderboard offers with $100,000+ in prizes, a rarely-seen but appreciated poker reload bonus and other exciting promotions for poker players.
They’ve also got a great bonus for sports betting in California up to $1,000.
Deposit Methods – 4.8/5
BetOnline accepts most standard fiat deposit methods including credit cards, money orders, bank transfers, and so on, but what impressed us was its dedication to cryptocurrency.
You can load up your account with Bitcoin, Avalanche, Binance, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Polygon, Ripple, Shiba Inu, Solana, Stellar, Tether, Tron, and USDCoin — and all of those options have very low minimum deposit limits.
4. Black Chip Poker – California’s Best Poker Welcome Bonus
Pros
- Up to $2,000 in bonus funds
- Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and 7-Card Stud
- 20+ year reputation in California online poker
- Rewards for regular Sit & Go players
- Great small stakes cash games
- Massive Sunday tournaments
Cons
- No anonymous tables
- Cashout fees on some options
Black Chip is no stranger to the scene, having been around for nearly 20 years.
It has made immense improvements over the last decade, always staying up to date with poker trends, and is easily one of the best online poker sites you can entrust your bankroll with.
Online Poker Offerings – 4.7/5
As is the case with most modern online poker sites, Hold’em is far and above the most commonly played game here — though you will also have access to Omaha and even 7-Card Stud.
The poker app is sleek, stylish, and easy to use. If we had one major complaint it would be the lack of anonymous table support. In fact, Black Chip openly supports a variety of HUDs so unless you’re also really into the HUD life, this might not be the best choice for you.
Tournament player? You can look forward to huge GTD tournaments: $100,000 GTD, $250,000 GTD, $300,000 GTD, and $500,000 GTD are up for grabs.
Welcome Bonus – 4.9/5
New players will get a 100% match up to a $2,000 welcome bonus.
Similar to the other top poker bonuses we’ve covered, you won’t get the bonus cash up front, but will instead unlock it over time by playing real money games — in this case, you unlock $1 for every 27.5 Black Chip Award Points you earn playing.
There are plenty of other exciting offers like the Daily Double, a Mystery Bounty feature, and more.
Deposit Methods – 4.6/5
California players can load up their accounts via credit card, MoneyGram, Skrill, Neteller, and a respectable number of cryptocurrencies.
5. GG Poker – Best Online Poker in California for Tournament Variety
Pros
- 100% match up to $600
- Up to 60% rakeback
- All-In Fortune promo
- Great poker series up to $5,000,000
- Endorsements by champions like Daniel Negraneau
- Doesn’t support 3rd party HUDs
Cons
- Tables are non-anonymous
- Limited payment options
Rounding out our top five list is GGPoker. This site is a fantastic choice for players who are serious about online tournament play, given just how many exciting options are available.
Real Money Online Poker Offerings – 4.7/5
GGPoker seems to exclusively dabble in Texas Hold’em and Omaha varieties, so Stud fans are left out in the cold, but everyone else will have a massive collection of cash games and tournaments to choose from.
In fact, we were blown away by the tournament variety from the Bounty Hunter tournament (pretty close to the standard Knockout variety) to the casino’s exciting Omaholic offering — a fantastic (and potentially lucrative) option for players looking for a tourney built around the Omaha ruleset.
You’ll also find High Rollers tournaments with massive guaranteed weekly prizes, mystery bounties, and tons of other great options.
Welcome Bonus – 4.7/5
New players will get a 100% match on their first deposit up to $600 (or $100 in rewards).
This bonus is unlocked at a rate of $1 for every $5 paid in net rake and tournament fees and unlike some of the other bonuses we’ve seen, you’ll be given a gracious 90 days to complete the requirements.
Deposit Methods – 4.6/5
You can load up your account via credit card, Bitcoin, USDCoin, and a variety of e-wallet methods including Skrill and Neteller.
How We Pick the Best California Online Poker Sites
Online Poker Offerings
We look at what sort of poker is available. Whether they offer Seven Card Stud, Texas Hold’em, or Omaha Hi/Lo, we’ll tell you all about it, as well as any other noteworthy features, games, GTD tournaments, and what have you.
Welcome Bonus
The best online poker sites know that a good welcome bonus is the best way to get new blood in the door.
That’s why we’ve read all the fine print to make sure that each of our California online casinos on this list offers you a generous starting bonus of some sort, to ensure you can hit the ground running.
Deposit Methods
All the bonuses in the world won’t do you a lick of good if you can’t give the casino your money.
Whether you’re a die-hard blockchain bro, e-wallet enthusiast, or debit card debutante, you’ll find a payment method to suit your needs.
Why is Ignition Casino the Best California Online Poker Site?
What makes Ignition Casino the best choice for playing poker online in California?
While there are clearly several great internet poker options, there are a few things that really make Ignition Casino stand out from the crowd.
- Top-quality poker app: Whether you’re playing on your mobile device or desktop PC, Ignition’s downloadable app works beautifully and gives you a ton of features ranging from customizable tables to note-taking apps.
- Fully anonymous tables: You won’t have to worry about other players studying your methods and using your playstyle against you thanks to the anonymous tables.
- More hands-per-hour: With Ignition’s Zone Poker feature, you can be instantly moved to a new table when you fold, giving you significantly more time playing — perfect for when players are trying to get a few hands in during their lunch break.
- Tons of exciting tournaments: Ignition Poker offers a wide range of exciting tournaments including Knockout tournaments, Jackpot Sit & Go games, and even $10k 6-Handed Monster games. These tournaments come in a wide range of buy-in, making sure everyone has something available, regardless of the size of their bankroll.
- Full-fledged casino: When you need a break (or are looking to use the other half of your welcome bonus) Ignition offers hundreds of casino-style games including slots, table games, and plenty of great casino poker games like Pai Gow, Caribbean Stud, Teen Patti, and so on — giving you a Las Vegas experience from the comfort of your own home. Heck, they even offer virtual sports betting games!
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California Online Poker – FAQ
What is the best online poker site in California?
Ignition Casino is hands down the best online poker site for California players. Not only is the poker app rich with features like fully anonymous tables, but Ignition gives out one of our favorite poker bonuses, offering up to $1,500 specifically for the tables.
Plus, in addition to the standard online poker room gameplay, there are regular high-stakes tournaments available, letting players put their luck and skill to the ultimate test.
Which California poker site offers the best bonuses?
If you’re looking for tons of bonus cash to take to the poker tables, we think Black Chip Poker offers the best welcome bonus. With a 100% match good for up to $2,000 in bonus funds, that’s enough play to give pretty much all poker players a leg up.
Can I play poker online on my mobile device?
Yes, you can play online poker using your phone, tablet, or other mobile device. Virtually all online poker sites offer flawless mobile compatibility, while others offer feature-rich, downloadable mobile apps that make it easy to enjoy cash games and tournaments.
Is online poker legal in California?
Online poker is legal though the legality depends on the region. All of the legal online poker sites listed here are licensed from legitimate gaming authorities like Curacao and Malta.
Can you play online poker in California?
Yes, you can play online poker in California by using offshore online poker platforms like Ignition and Bovada, who operate with legitimate licenses from jurisdictions like Curacao and Malta.
Top Five California Online Poker Sites
Ignition: Our pick for best overall, Ignition offers exciting cash games, anonymous tables, and fast-paced Zone Poker. Sign up today to get 150% matched on your first deposit up to $1,500.
Bovada: If you like claiming bounties by knocking out other players, Bovada’s exciting Knockout tournaments are a perfect fit. Sign up today to get a 100% match up to $500.
BetOnline: BetOnline is our favorite crypto poker site for Hold’em and Omaha cash games. Use POKER1000 to get up to $1,000 in bonus cash today.
Blackchip: This long-standing poker site offers a great blend of Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and 7-Card Stud in one of the sleekest poker apps we’ve seen to date. Sign up today to get up to $2,000 matched on your first deposit.
GG Poker: Players who can’t seem to get enough high-stakes tournament action will love GG Poker’s robust offerings. New players will receive up to $600 in bonus cash with their first payment.
Start Enjoying the Best Online Poker California Has in Just Five Minutes
If you’re on the hunt for the perfect real money online poker room for a few games of low (or high) pot-limit Omaha, Hold’em, or any number of other exciting online gambling options, look no further than Ignition Casino.
By following our step-by-step guide you’ll be anteing up in mere minutes.
Step 1: Visit Your Preferred Casino
- Head to our #1 California poker site: Ignition Poker
- Click the “Play Now” button
- Wait for the registration form to load
Step 2: Create Your Account
- Fill out your name and date of birth
- Provide your cell phone number and email address
- Create a unique password (and make sure you don’t forget it)
- Add your zip code and agree to the terms and conditions before clicking register
Step 3: Claim Your Bonus for Playing Online Poker
- Verify your account and log in
- Open the “Rewards” link under the hamburger menu
- Click on the “Bonuses” tab and select your preferred welcome bonus
- Choose your payment method and follow the instructions
- Enjoy up to $3,000 in bonus cash split between casino games and online poker!
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Still Wondering How to Play Online Poker in California?
Now that you know where to find the best sites for playing online poker in California, it’s time for you to get on out there and deal yourself in.
While we think that Ignition is the best of our offshore online poker sites, letting you play cash games, thrilling tournaments, and more with its stunning app, we understand that it might not be what you’re looking for — luckily for you, we’ve dug up several other fantastic choices.
No matter which California online poker rooms you decide to play at, however, it’s important to remember to focus on having fun and to always wager responsibly.
DISCLAIMER: 21+ only. Online gambling comes with many risks. The information on this site is for entertainment purposes only. Players are advised to gamble responsibly and only use funds they can afford to lose. Remember, online gambling is only intended for entertainment purposes and is not a solution to any financial difficulties.
Gambling laws and policies vary from one region to another. Some sites mentioned in this review may not be accessible in your area. Always do your due diligence and check your local gambling policies. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
We are committed to providing our readers with accurate and timely information. The details mentioned in our review may be subject to change as casinos seek to improve their sites to offer their players a better gambling experience.
If you suspect you’re becoming addicted to gambling, seek help immediately by contacting the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
The following resources may be helpful as well:
