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Bitcoin Guide for Online Poker

As long as online poker has been around, the big question has always been how to deposit and withdraw your funds. There have been many options throughout the years that have come and gone but Bitcoin has been by far the most intriguing. Bitcoin was invented and released by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008-2009 as an open-source, peer-to-peer digital currency and has become the single, greatest option for transferring cash to and from online poker sites.

Today, Bitcoin is the absolute nuts when it comes to online poker transactions. The reason for this is that it’s decentralized and not even treated as an actual currency (in most countries). So what this means, especially in countries like the United States, is that the government doesn’t decide whether you’re allowed to play online poker. Deposits and withdrawals are insanely fast because it’s a digital currency – it literally takes seconds to transfer them. With Bitcoin, you no longer have to request a check or wire transfer and wait forever or worry about your bank rejecting the funds.

To get started with Bitcoin, first, check to make sure the site(s) you play on accepts Bitcoin (most do these days). Then you need to setup the following two items:

Online E-Wallet
This is the most common type of e-wallet and the easiest to use. You temporarily store your bitcoins here when transferring them to and from a poker site. NEVER attempt to transfer Bitcoins directly from an exchange. This is VERY important since Coinbase, for example, will terminate or suspend accounts that are related to gambling. Creating an e-wallet is fast and simple. We recommend either Blockchain or Electrum. Just create an account and they will provide you with a unique link for you to login.

Bitcoin Exchange
This is where you can buy, sell and transfer Bitcoins. For USA players, it’s where you also link to your bank account. Circle has no fees for transactions, Coinbase does, and Kraken is currently the best for Euro-based countries. Linking to your bank account generally takes a few days and you’ll also need to verify a couple small deposits to confirm your account (similar to PayPal).

After you’ve completed these two steps, you are ready to start using Bitcoin! Here’s how the process works for both depositing and withdrawing your Bitcoins.

Deposit: Bank > Exchange > E-Wallet > Poker Site

  1. Purchase Bitcoins on your exchange from your bank account.
  2. Send bitcoins to your e-wallet.
  3. Go to the poker client cashier and deposit via Bitcoin.
  4. Enter the amount. You will be given an exact Bitcoin amount and unique address at this point.
  5. Go back to your e-wallet and choose Send.
  6. Enter the Bitcoin amount and Bitcoin address from the poker client cashier.

Withdraw: Poker Site > E-Wallet > Exchange > Bank

  1. Go to the poker client cashier and withdraw via Bitcoin.
  2. Login to your e-wallet and choose the receive option.
  3. Copy the unique Bitcoin address from which to receive the funds.
  4. Go back to your poker site cashier and paste the Bitcoin address when requested.
  5. Once the funds are received in your e-wallet, transfer the Bitcoins to your exchange account (same steps as above).
  6. Convert your Bitcoin to your preferred currency then withdraw funds to bank account.

And that’s it! If the process looks intimidating, no worries. Once you go through the steps, you’ll be an expert in transferring Bitcoin. It’s really that simple!

If you’d like to learn more about Bitcoin (and we suggest you do), we recommend the following info sources:

 

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