A Look at the New Jersey Online Poker Sites

With November's launch of legal online poker in New Jersey, players in the Garden State now have the opportunity to get back on their computers and start playing poker online legally once again. The list of current legal NJ online poker sites remains relatively small, but just the fact that New Jersey poker sites are up and running again is enough to excite any poker fan.

So far, six casinos have received licenses to operate online gaming operations in New Jersey, with one, Golden Nugget still yet to go live. In order to operate an online casino or poker room under the new New Jersey law, a site must be an extension of a land-based casino which already operates within the state's borders. This has so far prevented some of the world's biggest sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt from being able to enter the NJ online poker market. However, a few other large brands such as 888 Poker and PartyPoker have teamed up with New Jersey casinos to provide their NJ online poker sites.

It is important to note that a player must physically be within the borders of the state of New Jersey in order to play on one of the new jersey poker sites. One of the requirements for licensing is that sites must be able to prove that their geolocation software works accurately. Consequently, some site will accept new accounts from anyone but require that you be in NJ to access the site; while others are currently rejecting any applicant who does not have a home address in New Jersey. When looking at where to play online poker in New Jersey, you should always check a poker room's website to see what their current policy is.

In the short amount of time that online poker has been legal in New Jersey, one site has already taken a commanding lead in online traffic. PartyPoker and the famed Borgata Casino in New Jersey have joined forces to open what is quickly becoming the biggest of the NJ online poker sites.

Running on the famed PartyPoker software, the two sites essentially operate as a single entity. Offering both cash games and multi-table tournaments, the site has already seen decent traffic and a good amount of games and tournaments, despite the fact that the player pool is closed to NJ only players by law. Players can make deposits through Mastercard, Visa, Skrill, or in person at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.

Next in line when looking at where to play online poker in NJ is WSOP.com, which also operates a site in Nevada, although it does not share player pools. It operates through a partnership with Caesers, and has quickly gained traction as the second most popular of the new NJ online poker sites. They offer all the bells and whistles that you come to expect with a big international poker site as they run the 888 poker software. WSOP.com offers Hold'em, Stud, Omaha, Sit 'n Go's, cash games, and multi table tournaments along with providing its players with an extensive loyalty VIP program.

In addition to providing the software for WSOP.com, 888 Poker operates its own New Jersey online poker site under the title All American Poker. It does not share players with WSOP.com at this time, but provides the same exact suite of games and tournaments due to the use of the same software. Given the international reputation of the 888 brand, they expect to expand and do very good business in the future.

The final place where to play online poker in New Jersey is the purely American Ultimate Poker, which started in Nevada and operates in New Jersey through a partnership with Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Offering Hold'em and Omaha cash games and Sit 'N Go's, they also host some Hold'em multi-table tournaments. Ultimate Poker is noteworthy as one of the New Jersey poker sites which accepts deposits through PayNearMe at any NJ 7-11 convenience store.