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1. SwCPoker 2. Blockchain.Poker 3. Nitrogen Poker
4.1. Other Sites 4.2. Bitcoin
ID verification, proof of address, bank account information – these are annoying details that you must provide if you wish to use many kinds of services on the internet, and online poker rooms are no exception. Did you know, though, that there are a number of anonymous poker sites where you don't need to supply your personal documents? Where site management doesn't need to investigate, and doesn't care, who you are or where you live but will faithfully pay your winnings honestly and speedily?
Check out our list of the top three places for Anonymous Poker online:
- SwCPoker
- Blockchain.poker
- Nitrogen Poker
#1 Anonymous Poker Site – SwCPoker
SealsWithClubs was the originator of the Anonymous, Bitcoin poker model, and it has since been succeeded by its descendant SwCPoker. At this room, one chip is equal to 1/1,000,000 of a bitcoin, a unit also known as µBTC.
SwC is the anonymous poker site with the greatest amount of player traffic, and it is also the largest room that conducts its gameplay exclusively in Bitcoin. Besides having the most games, it also has the most diverse array of them. While competitors are hard-pressed to get any formats going besides just NL Hold'em and PL Omaha, SwCPoker hosts Open Face Chinese, stud games, Courchevel, Triple Draw Lowball, mixed games, and more.
When you play here, you can look forward to getting rewards through the Krill system, which delivers rakeback at higher and higher percentages the more you play. There are also no-rake micro-stakes tables, a weekly Krill leaderboard, plenty of freerolls, and a bad beat jackpot.
To open an account at SwCPoker, all you need to do is supply a valid email address, choose your screenname, and enter a password. You can enable two-factor authentication through Google Authenticator for additional security protection. Click on the button below to get started.
SwC delivers same day payouts virtually every time, and it has software for Windows, Mac, and Android as well as a web-based HTML5 version. Browse over to this SwCPoker review for further details.
#2 Anonymous Poker Site – Blockchain.Poker
Blockchain.Poker is a relatively new, anonymous, BTC cardroom with a committed dev team and an ambitious project roadmap. Each Blockchain Poker chip is worth one-hundred-millionth of a bitcoin, a sum that is also called a satoshi. You can play in one of three crypto coins here: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV.
The gaming selection is a bit limited with only NLHE games represented, but on the other hand, you have complete freedom to create your own tables, tournaments, and SNGs with a pretty wide menu of customization options. Sweetening the pot is the 100 free chips in each of the three supported crypto-currencies that this room provides to new players.
Additional free value comes from the points system that lets you exchange points for free chips at a rate between 1% and 50% rakeback depending on how many chips you trade in at once.
When you visit the website, Blockchain Poker will create an account for you with a made-up username and screenname. You can change your screenname at any time, granting you an extra measure of anonymization. To protect your account, you ought to secure it with a password as soon as possible, but this is not a requirement. Press the button below to go to Blockchain.poker and open an account.
The poker client loads in your web browser; there are no download versions. Cashouts are blazing-fast, almost always appearing within an hour and sometimes in just a few minutes. You can read a comprehensive review of Blockchain.Poker to familiarize yourself with it before signing up.
#3 Anonymous Poker Site: Nitrogen Poker
Nitrogen has been serving up online poker since 2014, and it also runs a robust attached sportsbook and a small casino section too. All betting here takes place with in-house chips valued at 1 mBTC apiece – that is, 1/1,000 of a bitcoin.
There's NL Texas Hold'em, PL Omaha, and Crazy Pineapple here for you to enjoy. Most games are micro-stakes affairs, but higher action does get going sometimes. One freeroll satellite tourney each day allows you to earn MTT tickets.
Other freerolls you can enter are unlocked by collecting a certain quantity of Nitro points in a day or a week. These Nitro are earned merely by playing in the games, and besides granting you freeroll entries, Nitro can be exchanged for mBTC credits and free bets to use in the sportsbook.
Though associating your email address with your Nitrogen account is purely optional, you may want to do it so that your interactions with customer support go more smoothly. You also can turn on two-factor authentication for your own peace of mind. By default your screenname will be “satoshi” followed by a sequence of numbers, but it's possible to change it at any time.
Upon visiting the Nitrogen Sports website, you will have the option to log in to an existing account or create a new one. You needn't supply a password or even a username to get started. However, it's recommended that you set them up as soon as possible for account security. Follow the link below if you're ready to play at Nitrogen:
There aren't any download installers for Nitrogen Poker because the software runs entirely in your web browser. Withdrawals are completed typically within four hours and oftentimes even faster. We've prepared an accurate Nitrogen Sports Poker review for your enlightenment.
Why Would I Want an Anonymous Poker Site?
There are several reasons why you may wish to find a poker venue that does not request that you establish your identity.
If you value your privacy, then you might not feel like exposing your personal info online. Although it's pretty rare, there have been instances of poker room security flaws allowing unauthorized access to users' submitted files. Clearly, though, this cannot occur if you've never uploaded any compromising documents in the first place.
Another key advantage to anonymous poker is that it enables transactions – particularly the first withdrawal you make – to be completed more quickly. It's not unusual for account verification at mainstream internet poker sites to take several days. If there's an issue with your documents and you have to resend them, this process can take even longer. By dealing only with anonymous poker rooms, you can avoid this inconvenience altogether.
Finally, you might be motivated by an ideology of personal freedom and liberty. Your name, address, and payment info are nobody's business besides your own. Even though every legitimate site will not misuse or share the data it collects from you, there's no reason to take unnecessary risks.
Why Aren't All Online Poker Sites Anonymous?
Given the undoubted benefits of anonymous poker rooms, you might be wondering why every poker site doesn't do things in this way. The answer lies in the business models and particularly the cashier functions of the companies that operate in this industry.
Entities that do business with banks and traditional financial organizations may be required to comply with various Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. These rules are intended to ensure that corporations keep pretty close tabs on their customers. Closely related are anti-money laundering (AML) obligations. The combination of KYC and AML procedures lets banks, in theory, combat crimes like fraud, tax evasion, and embezzlement.
Therefore, most enterprises that interface with the banking system have to comply with these regulations and cannot get around the need to ask their users for the relevant documentation. Only sites that eschew the legacy finance industry can really afford to ignore these requirements.
Almost all anonymous poker sites instead use Bitcoin (BTC) or other crypto-currencies. This effectively bypasses meddlesome financial organizations and governmental inquiries.
More About Bitcoin
Bitcoin and a growing number of “altcoins” work by using distributed computing to verify transactions and store them on an immutable ledger called the blockchain. There's no central point of failure because the Bitcoin network runs on thousands of independent machines worldwide. There's also no middleman skimming a bit off the top, so BTC transaction fees are very small. Other advantages include speedy processing of deposits and withdrawals along with a high level of anonymity.
You will need to acquire some bitcoins if you don't already posses any in order to play at any of the anonymous poker rooms described above. You can find out how to get started with this thorough guide to using BTC for online poker.
Anonymous Poker FAQ
We've only touched the surface of how anonymous poker sites work. You can find out more below by looking through our FAQ for answers to questions that you might have.
Although it may appear that the ability to create an account anonymously could lead to all kinds of cheating, this is not really the case. The poker sites have deployed sophisticated tools to combat collusion, multi-accounting, and botting. The lack of being able to tie each account to a real-world identity doesn't really hinder efforts to analyze hand histories, compare IP addresses, and apply all the other strategies that gaming sites use to detect nefarious activities.
No, the entire online ecosystem surrounding fiat money payments, like those denominated in USD and GBP, is one where it's important for companies to verify the identities of their customers. Thus, it's practically impossible for fiat-based poker rooms to offer anonymous poker.
All of our recommended places for anonymous poker utilize the crypto-currency Bitcoin. BTC transactions for internet poker can be processed without the identity of the sender being revealed.
While this page describes sites where all cashier and account functions are anonymous, this is a different matter than actually playing anonymously. Still, if you are concerned about accessing games where no screennames are shown, then you do have options available.
Two of the rooms highlighted on this page, Blockchain.Poker and Nitrogen Poker, enable you to change your screenname whenever you want. Thus, you can enter in a new one before each session, and your opponents will have no way of knowing what your previous gameplay history was like. This is effectively a way to make your tables anonymous using your own initiative.
There are mainstream internet poker rooms that do not show users' screennames as a matter of course. Two of the most prominent are Ignition Poker and Bovada, which are part of the same online poker network. These two operators display next to each player just a seat number or, in the case of tournaments, a number indicating in what order that individual registered for the game. Bear in mind, though, that Ignition and Bovada are only anonymous on the gameplay end; you might still be required to prove your identity when cashing out or performing other account-related activities.
There are no commercially available HUDs for SwCPoker, Blockchain.poker or Nitrogen Poker, so you're out of luck if you seek a sophisticated HUD-and-tracker package for use at these sites.
SwCPoker hand histories are reportedly written in a format very similar to PokerStars, and several players have reported success by making a few manual tweaks to the files and then importing them into their tracker program of choice. And there's a Blockchain Poker HUD available from rainbowflop.com, although this is a third-party site, and we make no representations or warranties about the reputability or functionality of this app.
