What is sweepstakes poker?
Sweepstakes poker looks and plays just like regular poker in that you have to aim to get a winning hand. However, the crucial difference is that there is no real money gambling when you play
sweepstakes games.
Instead, it will always be free to enter in the sweepstakes and what’s best is that you can potentially redeem cash prizes for taking part. So if you like the idea of playing online poker for free while getting the chance to redeem real-world prizes, sweepstakes poker is definitely worth a look.
Is sweepstakes poker legal in the US?
Yes, you can legally play sweepstakes poker online in most states in the US. Because there is no form of real money gambling at sweepstakes poker sites, they don’t require the same kind of licensing and regulation that govern regular online poker platforms.
Instead of this, each sweepstakes poker platform will have to abide by the sweepstakes gaming laws of each state that it operates in. On the whole, this means that you can legally play at sweepstakes poker sites everywhere from Florida to California.
However, it’s important to remember that each state has the power to limit which poker platforms operate within their borders. For example, you can’t play sweepstakes poker or any other games at Stake.us from the states of Washington, Vermont, Idaho, Nevada, Kentucky, Michigan or New York.
Basic features of how sweepstakes poker sites work
While sweepstakes poker platforms look and play a lot like standard poker sites, there are the following important differences to keep in mind:
You don’t gamble real money sweepstakes poker games but instead will be using different forms of virtual currency that have no cash value outside of the sweepstakes poker platform.
You don’t directly win cash or any other prizes on sweepstakes casino sites. Instead, you can redeem prizes by trading in a kind of virtual currency called Sweepstakes Coins.
Sweepstakes gaming platforms have to let you enter their sweepstakes with no purchase necessary. This means that you should always be able to play games like poker for free at these sites.
You cannot make real money deposits at sweepstakes gaming sites. The closest thing that you get to this is to make a one-off purchase of the Gold Coins kind of virtual currency that is used to play for fun with no option of redeeming any prizes.
Helping you find the best sweepstakes poker sites
The good news is that there are more and more sweepstakes gaming platforms operating legally in the US that feature online poker games. Some of these are dedicated sweepstakes poker sites, while others are sweepstakes casinos that feature various poker variants.
This page has highlighted some of the best places for playing sweepstakes poker that you can access right now. As a result, you can just click on any of the brands featured in the banners of this page and be instantly taken to a site where you’ll get a legal and safe way to play poker sweepstakes games for free.
However, we’ve handpicked Stake.us as the perfect example of what you should be looking for in a sweepstakes poker platform:
Stake.us: Pros & Cons
- Exclusive Stake.us promo code
- Stunning Stake Poker game
- Play online poker for free
- Redeem crypto, gift cards and merchandise prizes
- Gameplay may seem simplistic
Anyone who has read this
Stake.us review
will know that this is a sweepstakes casino that has been dramatically reinventing how you can play many classic casino games. The brand has great success with its reinterpretations of everything from baccarat to blackjack, and so it was only a matter of time before it would launch its own poker game.
The Stake Poker game is great fun and seriously simple to play. It strips down the gameplay to the bare minimum making it easy for beginners to get involved, yet there’s enough to it for experienced poker fans to stay interested.
The best part is that if you sign up to Stake.us using this exclusive
PROMOBOY
code, you can get a welcome offer that gives you 55 SC, 260,000 Gold Coins and you’ll also get 5% rakeback on your losses. This means that you can play Stake Poker with free credit, get a helping hand in redeeming real-world prizes, and even get some rakeback on your losses to try again later on.
260K GC ,
55 SC
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The basics of playing poker sweepstakes
On the whole, most poker sweepstakes games should look and play like a regular game of poker. This means that you’ll simply have to get a winning hand by getting a particular combination of cards that has a higher value than anyone else. Here is a quick example of how you can play most poker games at sweepstakes casino sites:
- Load up the poker game from your web browser
- Make a bet with one of the virtual currencies
- Two cards will be dealt face up on the table
- You now decide whether to fold or to keep playing by raising your stake
- If you raised your stake, you will now see three community chest cards dealt face up
- This will reveal whether you have got a hand that is better than that of the dealer
- If you’ve got a winning hand, you’ll win your bet.
As such, playing these sweepstakes poker games requires you to make a prediction about what the next cards dealt will be. Here is a quick reminder as to the ranking of different hands for playing poker online:
- Straight flush:
Sequence of five cards in the same suit
- Four of a kind:
Four cards of the same ranking
- Full house:
Three cards of the same rank and a pair.
- Flush:
Five cards of the same suit
- Straight:
Five cards in a sequence
- Three of a kind:
Three cards in the same rank
- Two pairs:
Such as two Queens and two Jacks.
- One pair:
Two cards of the same rank.
- Highest card
Different variants of sweepstakes poker
It’s always interesting to see what variants of poker you’ll find at sweepstakes gaming platforms. Here are just some of the most popular versions of online poker that you’ll find at these sites:
Perhaps the most popular variant of poker online. This is where you just have to get a five-card hand ranking higher than that of the other players. You’ll get two ‘hole’ cards initially dealt to you to begin with, and there will be five ‘community’ cards on the table.
This is pretty similar to Texas Hold’em, but the key difference is that you will get four ‘hole’ cards dealt face down. From here you have to pick two of your hole cards and three of the five ‘community’ cards to try and make a winning five-card hand.
Other popular poker variants
It’s safe to say that Seven Card Stud was the most popular poker variant until Texas Hold’em came along. Since then, there has been an explosion in the variety of poker variants that you’ll find at sweepstakes gaming platforms. This means that you can shop around and find a brand with anything from Omaha High/Low to more intriguing games like Razz and even something called Crazy Pineapple.
Get a bonus for playing sweepstakes online poker
You will find that all sweepstakes casinos will have bonuses that let you play games like poker for free. After all, these sites are only allowed to legally operate if they let people play with no purchase necessary.
Each sweepstakes casino will therefore spend plenty of time coming up with a variety of special offers for new and existing customers, and you only have to look at this
Stake.us no deposit bonus
review for a good example of this. So here are just some of the different kinds of ways that you can get free credit from sweepstakes casinos:
| Bonus type | How it works |
| Welcome offers | Sign up to the sweepstakes casino and get free credit in return. |
| Daily login bonuses | Log into your sweepstakes gaming account every 24 hours to get free credit. |
| Social media giveaways | Follow the sweepstakes casino on social media, complete simple tasks and get your free coins. |
| Races, missions and challenges | Play more than anyone else at the sweepstakes casino or complete various gaming challenges to get rewarded with free credit. |
| Postal requests | Send in a postal request to the sweepstakes casino in the way described in the T&Cs to get free Sweepstakes Coins |
| Reward programs | Get benefits for the more games you play at the sweepstakes casino. Benefits include free coins, exclusive games and elevated customer support. |
It’s also worth noting that you will sometimes be given a purchase bonus of free Sweepstakes Coins when you buy one of the Gold Coins packages. Not exactly free, but still a good way of working towards redeeming some cash prizes.
Our recommended online sweepstakes poker bonus
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Redeeming prizes from poker sweepstakes
Not only can you play online sweepstakes poker for free, but there is also the potential for redeeming some prizes. In order to do this, you will have to be playing with a form of virtual currency called Sweepstakes Coins, rather than Gold Coins. Here is how these two types of virtual currency work:
Sweepstakes Coins
These might be called Sweeps Coins, SC, or something else, but they let you play the games in a promotional sweepstakes mode. If you play through your Sweepstakes Coins enough and have the minimum amount in your account, you can then redeem a prize like cash, gift cards or merchandise. Just note that you cannot purchase Sweepstakes Coins but can only get them for free via a special offer.
Gold Coins
This kind of virtual currency simply lets you play the games in a standard mode which means that you cannot redeem any prizes. You can either purchase Gold Coins or get them for free via a promotional offer.
Simple tips for playing poker sweepstakes
Anyone can win a game of chance like poker, but it’s worth thinking carefully about how you can get more consistent in how you play. So here are a handful of simple tips you can use when you next play sweepstakes poker:
Use your Gold Coins first
It’s probably a good idea for rookie gamers to start playing sweepstakes poker with Gold Coins before they put those Sweepstakes Coins to use. After all, Gold Coins are used to play for fun and they are fairly easy to get for free.
Just because you are playing with virtual credit doesn’t mean that you can afford to get reckless in how you play. The best advice here is to treat your virtual credit like you would your own money and then you shouldn’t have to make too many Gold Coins purchases.
Most sweepstakes casinos will be more than keen to keep your account stocked up with free coins. As such, it’s worth checking into your account every day to make sure that you always get free credit rather than having to spend your own cash.
Find the best poker variants
You might find a variety of different poker variants at the sweepstakes gaming platform. So shop around by finding the variant that’s the best fit for your level of experience. As such, it might be best starting off with something like Texas Hold’em before advancing to some of those jackpot sit ‘n gos.
Understand how probability works
It’s important to know that your chances of getting a straight flush are very slim, so it’s best to be realistic in how you play. After all, even a relatively low ranking single pair has won plenty of poker games in the past, and there’s no reason why such a hand can’t work wonders for you.
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Step by step guide for signing up to play online poker sweepstakes
Never played at a sweepstakes gaming platform before? No problem, here is a quick rundown of what you need to do to get started:
- Visit one of the sweepstakes brands featured in the banners of this page
- Load up the site from your web browser
- Hit the sign up button and fill in the registration form
- Verify your account by submitting some photo ID
- Get your welcome offer that should give you free coins
- Start playing sweepstakes poker
Playing poker sweepstakes on your mobile
More and more people now like to play sweepstakes poker from the convenience of their smartphones or tablets. This is something that has been well catered to by all good sweepstakes poker platforms who will each give you a flexible way to play from the small screen.
You’ll find some sweepstakes poker platforms who have developed their own apps that you can download to your iOS or Android device. However, other sweepstakes brands prefer to create mobile-optimized poker sites that you can simply load up from the browser of your smartphone or tablet. Either way will give you a great way to play sweepstakes poker.
Pros and cons of playing sweepstakes poker vs regular online poker
By now you’ll have a pretty good understanding of what sweepstakes poker is and how it works. So here is a quick refresher as to how playing poker in sweepstakes compares with regular real money online poker:
Pros & Cons
- Available in most US states
- Play poker online for free
- Redeem real money prizes
- Convenient and easy to play
- Smaller range of poker variants
- Relatively few poker tournaments
Conclusion - Get started playing sweepstakes poker
This guide has revealed that sweepstakes poker offers you a legal and safe way to play this classic card game online in many states across the US. Not only can you look forward to playing all of these poker games for free, but you can enjoy working towards redeeming some real money prizes too.
Of course, you can expect to see many more sweepstakes poker platforms getting launched as the phenomenon becomes even more popular. So what this space to see which sweepstakes poker sites you should be playing at.
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Poker sweepstakes FAQ
🚫 How old do I have to be to play poker sweepstakes?
It depends on the site you are using, but it’s common to have to be at least 18 or 21 years old to play any online sweepstakes game
✅ How do I know if the sweepstakes poker machine is fair?
It’s smart to only use those sweepstakes poker sites recommended on the banners of this page, as they are all sites that have their games regularly tested by independent third-party auditors.
💰 Can I play poker sweepstakes for money?
No, you don’t play sweepstakes games with money nor can you directly win real money. Instead, you will be playing with virtual credit and you can potentially redeem real-world prizes.
