When you’re brand new to the legal online poker world – or playing casino poker in general – one of the very first items on your checklist will be registration. But the next step is also crucial: depositing.

Whether you’re using a bonus or not, you must deposit funds into your account to play real money online poker. Naturally, this is especially important if your chosen poker site is running a deposit match poker welcome bonus, like BetMGM Poker is currently offering. The more you deposit, the more bonus funds you get – up to $1,000 in this case.

Initially, there are all kinds of questions around depositing. Between accepted payment methods and where and how to fund your account, it can get confusing. Read through this article for answers to all of your most commonly asked questions about initial deposits at BetMGM Poker.

Is Real Money Poker Legal in US?

Real money poker is legal in some parts of the United States. There is no federal law that legalizes it on a national level, but a 2011 opinion about the Federal Wire Act set the precedent for states to legalize online poker within their own borders. Furthermore, states are allowed to sign a multi-state agreement to share online player pools across state lines.

There are only a handful of states that have legalized online poker since the 2011 Department of Justice decision: New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. But keep in mind, each has different rules, operators, and availability.

• New Jersey: BetMGM Poker and others operate online poker and casino games in New Jersey. They can share player pools with other states upon state regulatory approval.
• Nevada: This state legalized online poker and has had only one operator approved for operations in the past decade. It did sign the multi-state agreement.
• Michigan: It is legal to play poker online at BetMGM and other sites in Michigan, and operators can share player pools with other states.
• Pennsylvania: BetMGM and other poker sites offer real-money online poker in Pennsylvania, but it is not yet a part of the multi-state agreement.
• West Virginia: The state legalized online poker and casino games, and it signed the multi-state agreement, but no poker sites operate there yet.
• Connecticut: Online poker and casino games are legal in Connecticut, but no poker operators have launched there. It is also not yet a part of the multi-state network.
• Rhode Island: Online poker is legal in Rhode Island, but no framework has been established to issue licenses yet.

How Do You Deposit in Poker?

To play online poker in legal states, a player needs to create a free poker account. After choosing a login name and password and verifying basic information, a player can quickly deposit funds and start playing.

At BetMGM Poker, for example, players can deposit using the following methods: 

• Visa, Mastercard, and Discover credit and debit cards
• MGM Rewards Mastercard
• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Play+
• VIP Preferred echecks
• PayNearMe
• BetMGM gift cards
• Nuvei instant bank transfers
• Bank wire transfers

Most deposit methods are instant or same-day transfers upon verifying account information.

How Do You Deposit Money For Online Poker?

As mentioned in the answer above, you simply have to register for an online poker account with your chosen operator, such as BetMGM Poker, and follow the steps. You can then use one of the approved payment methods to transfer funds electronically. Once that is processed, the funds will be available for playing online cash games, tournaments, and more. 

What Poker Sites Have a Minimum Deposit?

Online poker sites that offer legal and regulated real-money poker sites have minimum deposit requirements. These vary, especially based on the deposit method chosen, but the minimum is most often $10.

What Casino Has a $5 Minimum Deposit?

Online casino deposits normally start at $10. Most payment processors will not do transactions for less than $10. 

What Casino Has The Lowest Minimum Deposit?

BetMGM Poker allows poker players a minimum deposit of just $10 to start playing.

How Much Money Do You Put in Poker?

To play online poker at a legal poker site in the USA, players must deposit at least $10. For this amount, they can play micro stakes poker cash games for $0.01/$0.02 or $0.02/$0.05. There are also online poker tournaments and satellites that start at just $1 or $2.

Most new poker players online start with a deposit of $25 or $50, which makes the welcome bonus more valuable. For example, the BetMGM Poker welcome bonus matches the player’s deposit at 100% for up to $1,000, so the more a player deposits, the more they receive in free money as a bonus.

For online casino players, a $10 deposit is enough for some low-stakes table games and some minimum bet online slot play.

How Do You Buy into a Poker Game?

To buy into a poker game online, a player must first deposit real money into their online poker account. They can then simply go to the poker lobby to search for cash games, tournaments, or sit-and-gos. The sort function allows a player to choose which games they want and then sort by buy-in, start times for tournaments, and many other factors.

In live poker games, a player will buy into a poker game at the cashier for tournaments or at the table for cash games. The poker room host or manager will provide instructions as to the minimum buy-in for a cash game or the buy-ins for tournaments. 

What is The Smallest Buy In Poker?

The smallest buy-in for live poker games is often $40 for a $1/$2 Limit Hold’em game. However, players can compete in $0.01/$0.02 cash games online for as little as a dollar. Even tournaments often run satellites for just a few dollars to allow players to win seats into larger buy-in tournaments. 

Do Casinos Take Money in Poker?

Just like casinos take money to play poker at land-based properties, online casinos also take money in poker. To play poker at an MGM Resorts-owned casino, people must pay in person, and they can also play online at BetMGM Poker sites for real money.

In both cases, the casino – live and online – collects rake as a fee for providing the poker games, dealers, supervision, and oversight. Cash games take a percentage of pots played as a fee, and in tournaments, players pay a fee on top of the buy-in to participate. This happens at every live and online poker room that offers real-money poker.

Can You Play Online Poker Without Money?

Online poker sites in the regulated United States market require money to play online poker. It can be as little as a few cents, for example on BetMGM in the $0.01/$0.02 cash games, but it does require money. 

How Do You Bet on Poker for Beginners?

For online play, assuming your poker account registration is complete, you have deposited in your account, and your welcome bonus is ready to be used, you can begin playing. This features numerous resources to get you started, such as the poker beginner guide to cash games, rules for new live poker players, or poker strategies for beginners. Or, simply visit the Poker Guides section for a selection of articles on poker education, tips, how-to’s, and more.

Now that you know all about depositing, sign up now to play online poker at BetMGM.