Online Poker Real Money Massachusetts

For many years, the government in Massachusetts watched residents (and their revenue) cross into neighboring Connecticut to enjoy poker games at the resort casinos of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. In 2011, they finally took action, approving 3 State-licensed casinos. These have gone through tender and construction has already started. Big names like MGM and Hard Rock are building their casinos fast – with poker rooms expected to open in both in 2015 and 2016.

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Recommended Massachusetts Poker Site

This article covers all the different ways you can play poker in this State. First of all, live (casino) poker games are covered. After that you will find information on social poker games including home-games and bar leagues. Next online poker is discussed, along with the chances of future regulated internet games. Finally, you will find information from the Massachusetts Statute books clarifying the legality of poker – along with a summary and quick look into the future.

Live Poker Games For Massachusetts Residents

Until 2015 at least, finding a casino with a poker room is going to involve a trip across State borders into Connecticut. You’ll be happy you made the journey, with the poker rooms at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods some of the best on the East Coast. Big tournament events as well as high and low stakes cash games are the norm at these famous venues.

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The Hard Rock and MGM casinos promise poker action soon, and you can be sure that these big casino groups will be looking to attract the major tournament events too. These will be complimented by 1 additional State casino, and a tribal casino is already at the planning stage too. After many years of being a desert for live poker games, MA is about to hit a boom.

Are Home Games Legal In Massachusetts?

You can legally enjoy a social home poker game in this State, with these games having an exemption from the generally strict gambling laws. The rules state that nobody is allowed to make a profit from running these games – which can include raking the pots or charging an entry fee (for example tournament entries).

There are also bar league poker opportunities here. These are not able to charge an entry fee, though they do reward players with small real prizes.

Are Online Poker Games Allowed In MA?

At the moment, internet gambling is assumed to be illegal under the current State laws – which do include a ‘gambling on the telephone’ clause. There are already some discussions concerning future regulation of internet poker games. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (who oversee all types of gambling in MA) have already come out in favor of regulating online games. While there is some political support for this move, the battle to license live casinos is still in the recent past – so there might not be the political will just yet for another big fight. Success of regulated State poker games elsewhere, including revenues for State coffers, should go a long way to kick-starting this type of legislation. With more than 6.5 million residents, this State would be able to support poker sites of their own – though joining with others in a liquidity sharing deal would benefit both players and the poker sites.

What Do The Massachusetts Statutes Say?

Like many States, the MA law is set up to say that all gambling is illegal, unless there is a specific carve-out on the books. Wagering is the key factor here, and unusually the legal wording does not clearly differentiate between the players of gambling games and the organizers of them (which could be a problem if you get busted!).

Here is the key wording from section 1 of chapter 271 of the State code:

…winning at one time or sitting, by gaming or betting on the sides or hands of those gaming, money or goods to the value of five dollars or more, and of receiving the same or security therefor…

There is no easy ‘skill game’ clause for poker, as the definition of wagering does not specify whether this is on a game of chance or a game of skill. You will find that bets of under $5 are exempt from this definition, though it is not clear if that is per individual bet or per hand.

Poker In Massachusetts – Summing It Up

Things are about to kick off in style for live poker fans in Massachusetts, with the Hard Rock and MGM opening their doors in 2015 and 2016. In the meantime you can still enjoy a road trip across to Connecticut for the games at Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods – or you can play in a social home game (as long as nobody is making a profit by running that game).

Online poker looks like a strong possibility here. Like in many States, the appetite for legislation will largely depend on how much money the pioneer States of Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware raise for their State coffers. Once this is proven, there is little reason to think that Massachusetts would be a State to opt out.

Massachusetts poker players have a lot going for them. They can either play live poker at two casinos within the state, or they can play poker online at one of the best Massachusetts poker sites.

If you’re interested play real money poker in Massachusetts, then here’s good news! This guide will help you get started, whether you want to play live, online, or both.

Here’s what our guide covers.

• The benefits to playing poker online
• The poker games and stakes you can play online
• The online poker promotions you can claim
• What the best online poker sites for Massachusetts have in common
• The two casinos in MA that offer live poker including the games they spread, the promotions they run, and more

Our goal is to help you understand what your poker options are and to help you find a place to play. That way, you spend less time reading and figuring things out and spend more time playing poker.

Sound good? Then, let’s get started.

Online poker is not the same as live poker. Never mind the social aspect – the games and stakes you can play, the hours you can play, the promotions you can claim, and much more are different, too.

What we want to do now is show you some of the ways that online poker is different. But different in a way where you can benefit.

A deposit bonus is a promotion you won’t find offline. This is an offer in which the casino matches a percentage of your deposit. This can double or even triple your bankroll.

For example, many of our top poker sites in Massachusetts offer a 100% match bonus up to $500 or $1,000. For every $1 you deposit, the poker room will give you $1. If you claim the maximum bonus, you’ll add $500 or $1,000 to your bankroll.

Online poker sites have far more cash game and tournament variants than any live cardroom.

For example, you can play heads-up cash games, 6+ Hold’em MTTs, step and satellite tournaments, MTTs with turbo and hyper turbo blinds, deep stacks, and much more.

Another benefit to playing poker online are the micro stakes.

These are games that have limits ranging from $0.01/$0.02 to $0.50/$1 for cash games and tournament buy-ins for $1 to $20.

Anonymous tables use numbers instead of screennames to identify players. These tables don’t allow permanent note taking or tagging either.

How To Play Online Poker In Massachusetts

This is done to create a more even playing field between weaker or newer and stronger poker players.

This is an option in which you can play on more than one table at a time.

Multi-tabling enables you to play more hands, earn more money, and get more playable hands during your session.

Casino poker rooms usually run one or two tournaments per day.

But when you play online, you’ll find dozens of tournaments running every day. That doesn’t include the SNGs that you can play either.

The top MA online poker sites in guarantee tens of thousands of dollars in tournament prize pools every day and millions of dollars every week.

You won’t find such tournaments in your average card room.

You can play online poker using your phone which enables you to play poker from anywhere in the world that has internet.

How does that sound? How does every other benefit in this list sound? Good, right? These are just a few of the many unique reasons why you should play poker online. You won’t find any of these benefits offline, that is for sure.

Now, what you will find offline are games and promotions. But the games and promotions you’ll find online are different in a good way!

We want to do these benefits a little more justice than the benefits we talked about in the last section. So, let’s take a closer look at the games and promotions that the top poker sites in Massachusetts offers.

Online Poker Games

One of the reasons we like to play online poker so much are the games. Join one of the best Massachusetts poker sites, and you can find more variety than several live cardrooms combined.

The most common poker games you can play are Texas Hold’em and Omaha. But depending on which site you join you might also be able to play these games.

• Seven-Card Stud
• Razz
• Mixed games, such as H.O.R.S.E., H.A., H.O.E., H.O.S.E., etc.
• 2-7 Triple Draw
• Five-Card Draw
• Badugi

These games are available in fixed, pot limit, and no limit betting formats. And you can play them in cash games, tournaments, and SNGs.

But another huge difference between online and live poker games are all the variants you can play.

A large percentage of the games you’ll play online, especially tournaments, use a combination of these variants, such as a turbo, deep stack, knockout tournament.

The last thing you need to know about online poker games are the stakes you can play for. As we said earlier, you can play for much smaller limits than brick-and-mortar poker rooms offer.

For example, you won’t find a live cash game with limits less than $1/$2 or $1/$3, but online poker sites offer many levels below that. Here are the limits that you can expect to find from any one of our recommended poker sites.

• $0.01/$0.02
• $0.02/$0.05
• $0.05/$0.10
• $0.10/$0.25
• $0.25/$0.50
• $0.50/$1

There’s also a wide range of buy-ins for the MTTs and SNGs that you can play at the top poker sites in Massachusetts.

What’s great about these lower stakes is that people who could otherwise only play a few times per year live because of how expensive it is can now play far more.

You also have a lot of levels to move up and down to, which gives you the freedom to adjust based on how well you’re playing and variance. For example, you can take a small jump to test higher limits and not risk your entire bankroll. Or you can drop down one level and it won’t hurt your ego too badly.

Great, right?

The bottom line is this, you’re going to have a much larger selection of games, variants, and stakes to choose from online. This will help you prevent boredom, manage your bankroll, and enjoy playing poker more since you can play according to your experience, budget, and interests.

Another huge benefit to playing real money poker online are the promotions. For example, we talked about the deposit bonus earlier, an offer in which the poker site will give you $1 for every $1 you deposit.

This is hugely beneficial. If you’re a slightly losing poker player, this money will help you stay afloat. And if you’re a breakeven or winning player, then every extra dollar you make is pure profit.

The great news is that the deposit bonus isn’t the only promotion that Massachusetts online poker sites run, far from it. They run several other promotions that can also add more profit to your bottom line.

This is a competition to see who can accumulate the most (paid) rake in a given timeframe.

The people who generate the most rake will win a prize.

This is also a competition. A few examples of challenges the poker room might issue include playing the most cash game hands or the most SNGs during a specific period.

You’ll earn points for ever hand or SNG you play. The more points you earn, the higher up on the leaderboard you’ll finish and the better the prize you’ll earn.

The points you earn for playing real money games will determine your status in a VIP program. VIP programs often have multiple tiers. You’ll need to earn so many points to reach each one.

Once you reach the next level, you’ll unlock that level’s perks. The perks get better as you improve your status. The perks you can unlock include bonuses, higher points-to-cash exchange rates, freerolls, and more.

Freerolls are poker tournaments cost nothing to enter but usually have a real money prize pool.

The near thing about freeroll tournaments in 2020 and beyond is that freerolls are often reserved for VIP members or real money players. This means the fields are much smaller than they used to be, making it much easier for you to win money from them.

You’ll earn points for playing real money games, which you can later turn in for cash.

If you join one of our top-rated MA poker sites and you know basic poker strategy, making money from these offers isn’t that terribly hard to do.

You don’t need much to start playing poker online. All you need is a computer or mobile device, an internet connection, and a few bucks to deposit into your account.

Online Poker For Real Money In Massachusetts

Well, you obviously have a computer and internet access. And chances are, you wouldn’t be here if you couldn’t afford to deposit at least $5 or $10 to play poker (the deposit minimum at most sites).

But what you might not have is an account with at least one online poker site. And that’s where we come in to help.

You’ll notice that we recommend several poker sites on this page. These are the best poker sites in Massachusetts, and here is why you should join at least one of them.

• They all have gambling licenses issued by a reputable gaming authority.
• They all have a positive reputation in the online poker community.
• They all have safe and secure poker software.
• They all have native mobile apps or mobile-responsive websites.
• They all accept US-friendly banking options like Bitcoin, credit and debit cards, and bank wires.
• They all have promotions such as deposit bonuses, cashback, rake back, guaranteed tournaments, and leaderboard challenges.
• They all have a large variety of poker games, variants, betting formats, and stakes.
• They all have high-quality software with features like four-color decks, anonymous tables, auto-muck, different table layouts, and note-taking.
• They all have many ways to contact customer service such as by email, live chat, and phone.

These poker sites are truly the best of the best. Here’s how we know that.

• We have spent years playing online poker.
• We have spent the last several years working in the online poker industry.
• We have spent hours researching, testing, and comparing the best poker sites in the United States.

The point is that we know what we’re doing. When we say that these are the best poker sites in Massachusetts, you have our word that there are no better sites out there that you can join.

Casino Poker in Massachusetts

There are two casinos that offer poker in Massachusetts — the Encore and MGM.

Here are the games and promotions that each one offers.

The Encore Boston Harbor has 74 tables, which easily makes them one of the largest poker rooms in the country. Their poker room has 75 TVs, complimentary drinks, tableside food service, and free Wi-Fi, so you have everything you need to enjoy your poker night.

The Encore runs several promotions too, such as their “comp dollars,” which they offer on all their games. They also run a bad beat jackpot on their cash games (up to $2/$5).

Outside of their poker room, the Encore has a spa, fitness center, the Harborwalk, and several restaurants and bars. You’ll have plenty to do both on and off the tables.

The MGM Springfield has 23 poker tables where they run both cash games and tournaments 24/7. That said, poker tournaments appear to be their primary focus.

They run a variety of tournaments each week. Here are a few examples of MTTs they’re running or have run in the past.

• Springfield Armory Classic (part of the East Coast Poker Tour (ECPT))
• $250 NLHE with $50k GTD (multi-day event)
• $75 NLHE with one rebuy
• $100 NLHE Turbo
• $75 NLHE Turbo with one rebuy and late registration
• $75 “Women’s Wednesday” NLHE ($20 added for each woman that enters)
• $60 NLHE
• 50/50 NLHE Bounty

The MGM Springfield runs a variety of promotions, too.

For example, they have a progressive $200 hourly high-hand promotion on Fridays and Saturdays. And you can win up to $2,500 for making quads, a straight flush, or royal flush.

There’s plenty going on inside their poker.

Outside their poker room, you can go see a comedy show or music act, walk over to the Symphony Hall, use a golf simulator in their Topgolf Swing Suite, or eat at one of their seven restaurants.

Can You Play Online Poker In Massachusetts

There is plenty to do at the MGM too, if you want to head there for the weekend instead of just for poker night.

And this wraps up your casino poker options in Massachusetts. They both sound like great options if you enjoy live poker and don’t mind making the drive.

Summary

Massachusetts isn’t a poker utopia like Nevada, Pennsylvania, or Florida. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of real money poker action to go around.

Real Money Texas Holdem Sites

Just take the two casinos we talked about earlier. There are nearly 100 poker tables between them where they spread Texas Hold’em cash games and tournaments.

And then, of course, there is online poker. There are tons of benefits you can enjoy when you go this route, including a large variety of games and stakes and profitable promotions.

Online poker is awesome. We suggest you give it a shot if you haven’t already. All you need is a PC, internet access, and at least $10. Oh, and you’ll want an account with one of the top poker sites in MA.

We can’t help you with the first three items, but we can show you the best Massachusetts poker sites. They’re on this page. Choose one and create your account now! You truly won’t regret it.