Subscription poker sites represent an interesting alternative to the conventional online poker experience, where players deposit and play for real money and must reload again once they have lost it if they want to continue playing. Many people are wary of losing too much playing poker or taking the game too seriously on real money sites, but find the games at play-money sites to be too unrealistic, with players not caring whether they win or lose. Subscription poker sites solve both of these problems in a novel way.

How do Subscription Poker Sites Work?

When you sign up, you agree to pay a monthly subscription to the site, typically in the region of $20, and in return you’re given a fixed amount of ‘site points’. Every day at midnight, if your balance is below for example 1,000 points, your account will be topped up. If your account has more than 1,000 points, you keep the balance.

These points can be used to buy into daily tournaments, where players can win real cash prizes, just like tournaments on regular real money sites, and also seats at live tournaments such as World Poker Tour events. The sites also run tournaments where players can compete for physical prizes such as Tag Heuer watches and other expensive designer accessories.
Subscription based poker sites offer a wide variety of games and players can play Omaha and Stud variants, as well as the ever popular Texas Hold’em.

Are Subscription Poker Sites Legal?

In the wake of Black Friday, where the U.S. government shut down several high profile real-money online poker rooms, a lot of poker players in the United States are looking for a way to get back playing poker online. Luckily, subscription based sites don’t break any of the rules set down in the UIGEA legislation which was passed in 2007, as players are not technically wagering real money, but simply paying a subscription to a ‘club’ where they can win prizes and cash. Subscription poker sites are legal under sweepstakes rules in the US and the sites are in no danger of being shut down because they operate completely within the confines of the law.

Beyond the US, you’ll find that subscription poker sites have a similar legal standing in most countries, and as long as you’re able to send the monthly subscription to the site through conventional methods like credit card or Paypal, you won’t be breaking any laws.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Subscription Based Poker

The best thing about subscription based poker is that you get to play a whole lot of poker for very little outlay. Your $20 goes a long way every month and you’ll be able to play in multiple tournaments every day with your site point balance. If you enjoy poker but have poor discipline with money, then this is great way for you to experience the thrills of the game while insulating yourself from the prospect of big financial losses. The games also play much more realistically than play-money games on other sites. Because there are prizes at stake, it is in players’ interests to play sensibly and you’ll find that for the most part people won’t be going all-in pre-flop every hand when they get bored, like you’d see at play money tables.

On the downside, subscription based poker is still quite a small niche and it hasn’t grown as much as first expected after Black Friday. This means that is doesn’t really represent a good alternative to real money play for serious players. If you convert the points value of tournament buy-ins to the cost of a subscription in real money, you’ll find that most tournaments have an equivalent buy-in of less than $5 and there isn’t the potential for making a living playing poker on subscription sites.

The other downside is that at subscription based poker sites, all of the play is tournament based. There are no cash-game style tables on offer where players can play against each other for their daily points and if you’re a cash game player, then subscription sites have little to offer you unless you’re willing to make the switch over to tournaments.

For recreational players who want to limit their potential losses or for players who are just learning the game, then subscription poker sites offer a good alternative to real money play, but subscription sites haven’t really grown to the point where they are a viable option for serious poker players.