Global Poker

Launched in 2016, Global Poker took it upon themselves to do what no one has done before. They built an online poker site that fully complies with current laws and regulations in the US and yet allows players to convert winnings into cash prizes.

Those looking to play online poker from the United States do not really have many options available to them that are completely legal. With the exception of a few states, namely New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, there are no legal poker sites available to online poker players in the US — except for Global Poker.

Currently, only those in states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Connecticut, and Michigan are restricted from playing on the site. Everybody else is welcome to register and compete for real money prizes here.

To do this, the poker site has adopted the so-called sweepstakes poker model. Instead of making real money deposits, players can only purchase Gold Coins, which are effectively play money and have no real monetary value.

However, for every purchase, players are also rewarded with an amount of free Sweeps Coins equivalent to the dollar value of the purchase. These coins can be used for play on Sweeps tables and can be redeemed for monetary prizes. The loophole is that players never actually purchase these coins but these are instead given as a reward for purchasing Gold Coins.

What makes Global Poker stand out from any other US sites is the fact that it is not ring-fenced in any way. While state-licensed states only accept players from the particular state (or several states in the case of NJ and NV or MI and NJ, both of which allow the sites to combine players across state borders), Global allows players from the entire US (with the exception of few states) to play together.

If this sounds a bit complicated that is because it is, but this was the only way for the operator to set things up in line with the current legislation. Keep on reading this Global Poker review, and you will find out everything there is to know about this site.

Is Global Poker really legal in the United States?

Yes, Global Poker is completely legal in the United States, and you can play on the site and claim real money rewards without any concerns as the platform operates on a sweepstakes model. Only states where Global Poker isn’t currently legal are Idaho, Michigan, Montana, and Washington.

Global Poker Welcome Bonus

The Global Poker welcome bonus offer is somewhat different to what most players might be used to with traditional poker sites. Because it uses the sweepstakes model, the room’s entire banking system is different, and this reflects on the welcome bonus as well.

All new players are eligible to receive a welcome bonus that’s equal to a $20 purchase, which translates to:

• 100,000 Gold Coins
• 20 Sweeps Coins (SC)

The best part about this bonus is that it requires no financial risk on the player’s part whatsoever. Everyone who joins and successfully verifies their identity by sending the relevant documents (pictures of the ID and the proof of residence) will receive the welcome package. Verifications are done manually, so it may take a little while to get your bonus, but it is usually completed within 24 hours.

Players who do decide to make a purchase can also get a 100% boost on their first buy of $20. Namely, buying the $20 package will result in SC 40, so it is another easy way to boost the initial bankroll.

Compared to other bonuses offered by regulated sites, Global Poker does not offer as much value for serious players. For those new to poker, though, the ability to get 20 Sweeps Coins and effectively play for real money at cash tables and in tournaments is a pretty sweet deal.

Free Sweeps Coins via Post Request

Another completely free way to acquire free Sweeps Coins is by sending a post card or a simple piece of white paper to the Global Poker physical address.

On the card, you’ll need to enter your personal details: name and surname, your registered Global Poker email, and your return address. The card must be filled in by hand.

For every properly filled card, Global Poker will award your account with 5 free Sweeps Coins. There is a limit of one request per envelope, but there is no limit as to how many individual envelopes you’re allowed to send to request more free SC.

Promotions

Just like the welcome offer, Global Poker promotions are structured somewhat differently than what you might expect from a traditional poker site. That said, the room still offers some pretty rewarding promos; it is just the matter of getting used to the model and figuring out how stuff works.

A majority of Global Poker promotions are structured around tournaments, or tournament series, to be more precise. Since it cannot offer standard promos like rakeback and cash bonuses, the operator features frequent MTT series with loads of added value and special prizes for the winners, often including custom-made trophies, branded merchandise, and unique avatars.

Hard-core players might not see these as particularly incentivizing, and Global Poker definitely takes a more relaxed, casual player-focused approach. Their promotions are designed first and foremost to wake the competitive spirit in people. The best evidence for this is the fact that these tournaments usually run concurrently for Sweeps Coins and Gold Coins players.

Global Poker Rewards: The Vault

All cash game players at Global Poker can claim 30% giveback via The Vault feature. One of the fresh additions to the site, this is essentially a loyalty bonus that rewards all ring game players every time they play a Qualifying Hand.

You don’t need to manually opt in to participate or jump through any hoops to claim your Vault rewards. All ring game players with verified accounts automatically benefit from The Vault.

A Qualifying Hand is any hand where the rake was taken from the pot. The software will automatically add the appropriate giveback value to your Vault, and you can claim your rewards from your account at any point.

The Vault is active for GC and SC games alike. The only important distinction is that any rewards that you claim from the SC Vault need to be wagered before they can be exchanged for cash prizes.

Banking

If there is one thing that confuses players the most about Global Poker that is how deposits and withdrawals actually work here. At first, it may seem fairly confusing, which can turn some people away from the idea of playing here. So, we will do our best to try and explain it.

On the top layer, Global Poker is play money site, which means you can play here for free for as much as you like using play chips — Gold Coins. These have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for real money in any way.

However, like most play money sites, Global Poker also offers you the chance to purchase Gold Coin. This way, you can accumulate your play money bankroll quickly to access higher stakes cash games and tournaments. But, there is the twist.

Every time you buy a certain Gold Coin package, Global Poker will also give you some Sweeps Coins (SC). For example, if you purchase the $20 package, you will receive $100,000 Gold Coins and 20 Sweeps Coins on top. The number of Sweeps Coins you get equals the number of actual dollars you spent to purchase the package.

So, if you spend $50, you will receive 50 Sweeps Coins.

The loophole that Global Poker uses is that you are never purchasing Sweeps Coins. You are only buying Gold Coins, while Sweeps Coins are given out to players as a gift, so there are no actual deposits. You spend your money on Gold Coins and receive the other coins as a thank you from the site.

In the Global Poker client, you will find two lobbies. One is for GC games, and the other for SC cash games and tournaments. If you are looking to play for real money, you will need to get involved with Sweeps Coins games.

Purchasing Gold Coins & Converting Sweeps Coins to Cash

To buy Gold Coins (and receive “ree Sweeps Coins), players can use several payment methods:

• MasterCard
• American Express
• Skrill

PayPal used to be an option as well, but it seems it is no longer supported by the operator, which is a real shame, given the fact many people in the US have and frequently use this method for other online payments.

Global Poker will present you with several options (packages) when purchasing Gold Coins, and will also show you the corresponding Sweeps Coins value. As a rule of thumb, the higher the value of the package, the better your SC reward. For example, if you buy a $5 package, you might only receive 4 SC. But, if you purchase a $100 pack, you will get 103 SC.

Sweeps Coins can be used on cash tables and tournaments and you can play with them just as you would with real money. However, you might be wondering how do you “cash out?”

The process is quite simple. When you want to exchange some (or all) of your Sweeps Coins for real money, simply go to the Store section, and click the Redeem tab. Type in the amount you want to redeem and select the method (the most popular ones are Skrill and bank account, but you can also exchange SC for gift cards).

Once you confirm the transaction, the amount of Sweeps Coins will be removed from your balance and you will receive cash to your selected method. Cashouts are not as fast as with other US sites, though, so you might have to wait a few days to receive the money.

Tournaments

Global Poker features a surprisingly rich selection of tournaments across the board. From their daily and weekly schedule to regular series, players looking for some MTT action will not be disappointed by what this room has to offer.

When it comes to weekly tournaments, the operator’s flagship event is definitely Sunday Scrimmage. This is a regular event with the guaranteed prize pool of SC 50,000 and the buy-in of SC 218. Global Poker also offers a variety of satellites for this particular tournament, so players can earn their seats for as little as SC 2.20.

The weekly SC 5000 Bonanza is another interesting tournament worth getting involved with, as the buy-in is just SC 0.11. However, there is a catch. To be able to enter this tournament, players need to see at least 500 flops during the week.

On the bright side, Global Poker does not discriminate against Gold Coin players. You can see all 500 flops at GC tables and play this tournament for SC 0.11 every week. If you have the patience and the mind for it, this can be a great way to kick-start your poker bankroll.

Daily Hundo tournaments also offer some nice opportunities. Every day, there are two Hundo events:

• SC 100 Guaranteed with the buy-in of SC 1
• SC 500 Guaranteed with the buy-in of SC 5

To get access to these, though, you will need to play at least 25 Gold Coin cash hands, so even if you are not interested in play money games, you will have to mix things up for at least a little while to get the required number of hands in.

Tournament Series

As we have mentioned previously in this Global Poker review, this room features a good number of series across the board. Every few months, players have a chance to get involved with a new one and have a shot at big guarantees, shiny trophies, and more.

These series are better known as GP Championships, and there are currently three of these taking place a few months apart:

• Rattle Snake Open
• Grizzly Games
• The GOAT

These series feature dozens of tournaments, with GC and SC events running concurrently. Winners get their prizes (paid in SC or GC), but also compete for custom made trophies, special avatars to let the other players know about their achievements, and GP merchandise.

It is quite common for these series to feature well over 1,000,000 SC in guaranteed prizes across all events and the special Tournament of Champions event at the end, gathering all tournament winners in a special event with added prizes.

All things considered, Global Poker is a great place for tournament players with plenty of action and a lot of value. It may not be WSOP or PokerStars, but it is not far behind, either.

SNGs (Sit and Go Tournaments)

Global Poker offers a decent spread of sit and go tournaments across various buy-ins. The action starts at SC 0.50 and runs all the way up to SC 100. Naturally, smaller buy-ins fill up quicker, but there is some action to be found at higher stakes as well, especially during peak hours.

It must be said that the operator has kept up pretty well with the regulated US sites in this department as well, since there are also popular jackpot sit and goes available across several levels.

While they do not have a fancy name (they are simply called Jackpot Sit and Go), they offer the opportunity to win a random prize between 2x and 200x the buy-in. The maximum win is not as big as what you can get with BLAST or Spin and Goes, but your chances of getting seated in the jackpot tournament are much higher (about 3 in 10,000).

There are four distinct buy-in levels, so regardless of your bankroll, you can get involved with the action:

• SC 0.50 buy-in — SC 100 Jackpot
• SC 1 buy-in — SC 200 Jackpot
• SC 5 buy-in — SC 1000 Jackpot
• SC 10 buy-in — SC 2000 Jackpot

These are played three handed and in the hyper turbo format, featuring the winner takes all structure. The only exception are the sit and goes featuring the jackpot win (200x), where the winner gets 75%, the runner-up receives 15%, while the first person to bust still gets 10% of the prize pool.

Cash Games

Global Poker features decent cash game traffic and players might be surprised at the level of action happening here. At peak hours, there are usually well over 100 SC tables running across different stakes, so it is usually not hard to get into the action.

At the moment, the room offers No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Omaha 8. The game variety could definitely be better, but it is the fact these are the three most popular game variations, so most players will not be affected by the lack of stud and draw games.

As for the stakes, Global Poker offers a solid spread, starting as low as SC 0.02/0.04 and going up to SC 10/20. Naturally, most traffic is reserved for lower stakes (NL20 and under), but those looking for some higher stakes action will still be able to find some. Hold’em is the most popular option, but there is a fair bit of PLO action as well.

In terms of rake, Global Poker features the flat 5% structure across all stakes. This is a bit steep for the lowest of stakes, but works to your advantage as you move up, so it has its positives and negatives.

Rake in Global Poker Cash Games

Global Poker charges 5% rake across all of its cash game tables (GC and SC games alike). The rake cap differs depending on the number of players at the table, with different caps for:

• For two players
• Three to five players
• More than five players

For games with five or more players, rake caps are as follows:

• SC 0.05/0.10 — SC 1.50
• SC 0.10/0.20 — SC 2
• From SC 0.25/0.50 to SC 1/2 — SC 3
• SC 2.50/5 – SC 3.50
• SC 5/10+ – SC 4

The rake is somewhat on the higher side when compared to real money sites, especially at higher stakes. Add to this the fact that you do not really get any kind of return on the rake produced, and it is clear that playing at Global Poker is not super cheap. On the other hand, it is the only officially legal option in much of the US, so maybe it is the price worth paying.

How Do I Sign Up for Global Poker?

Opening a new account with Global Poker is quite easy. The whole process is very simple and straightforward and players have several different ways to get started:

1. Logging in via Facebook
2. Logging in via Google
3. Register using an email address

The first two methods are self-explanatory. If you want to use your Facebook or Google login to register with Global Poker, you simply need to select the corresponding option. You will then be able to log in with the credentials you use for these accounts and you will be set up in a matter of minutes as you will just need to choose your nickname on the platform.

The third option is similar to the registration process used by other poker sites out there. You will need to enter your email, desired username, password, and country of origin. After this, you will receive an email with the verification link that you will need to click before you will be able to sit down to play.

Global Poker Account Verification

As soon as the registration is complete, you will be able to access your Global Poker account and join the tables. You can also purchase Gold Coins and receive Sweeps Coins. However, until you have verified your account, there will be limitations in place.

The most important restriction for unverified accounts is the maximum purchase amount. You will be able to make only $3000 worth of purchases in the period of 30 days. After you verify your account, that limit will increase to $12,000 in the same period. Additionally, you will only be able to redeem your Sweeps Coins after the verification.

The verification process at Global Poker is pretty painless and it entails just two steps:

• Uploading your photo ID and your selfie directly to your account
• Emailing your proof of address to Global Poker support

As for the proof of address, the operator accepts a number of different documents, such as bank statements, government-issued letters, and utility bills (not older than six months) as well as current government-issued IDs showing the address.

Future of Global Poker in the US

Global Poker has been around for a while now with moderate success. Being the only poker room to legally cater to players from almost the entire United States, it has done what no one has done before or after. Still, it seems like it could never quite get a lot of traction.

With the US legal landscape changing and future interstate compacts looming, it will be interesting to see what will happen with Global Poker.

The fact is, the number of states with regulated online poker is still relatively small, and it will take at least a few years before more states join the party. In the meantime, the operator represents the only legal option for the players from those states that are still to pass the regulation.

From that perspective, Global Poker still has plenty of time ahead of them. What will happen later down the line with more local regulations and more interstate compacts, it is impossible to predict. We will simply have to wait and see how things play out.

Software

The software is often what can make or break a poker room. A good and reliable platform is a must for modern operators looking to stay competitive. In this particular department, Global Poker has done a decent job, even if their solution is nothing out of this world. It is a fairly simple, but reliable multi-functional platform that covers all the basics.

Functionality

Global Poker offers a platform that is entirely web-based, which means there are no downloads required. These types of solutions have not performed the best in general for other rooms that tried to implement them, but Global Poker has done a very decent job. While you will not find that many advanced options, there are more than enough to personalize your gaming experience, while the platform itself performs well across different devices.

For mobile users, there are standalone apps you can download, but you can also use the web platform on phones and tablets. The choice is entirely yours and it does not make much of a difference what option you take as both solutions offer similar gameplay.

Reliability

For a web-based solution, the Global Poker platform is very stable and reliable. It allows multiple tables to be played at the same time and there are no strange glitches or disconnects to worry about. It makes sense to be somewhat skeptical of a room that does not have standalone desktop software, but this one definitely exceeds expectations.

Appearance

Global Poker definitely cares about the overall impression. Avatars play a huge role in the gaming experience and players can purchase new ones and win special avatars through different competitions or by taking down special tournaments.

In general, the platform features a rather simple but fairly smooth interface with very little clutter. The design will not leave you speechless but once you start playing here, you will learn to appreciate the simple and player-friendly layout.

Global Poker FAQ

Does Global Poker Offer a Welcome Bonus?

Yes, new players can receive a Welcome Bonus from Global Poker!

Since Global Poker is not a traditional online poker site, its welcome bonus is somewhat different as well. To get the Global Poker welcome bonus, you do not need to make any real money transactions, but you will need to fully verify your account by uploading the required identification documents.

Once you have successfully completed the process, you will receive a $20 Gold Coins package, which includes 20 Sweeps Coins. The verification is a fairly simple process whereby you will need to provide Global Poker with your picture ID and proof of address.

What Payment Options are Available at Global Poker?

Purchasing Golden Coins at Global Poker can be done via your account section on the site. The room offers a variety of packages with varying amounts of Gold Coins and free Sweeps Coins that go along with them. Accepted payment options to complete these purchases include MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Skrill.

How Do I Convert My Global Poker Sweeps Coins into Cash?

Whenever you want to convert all or a part of your Sweeps Coins to cash, you will be able to do so inside the Global Poker store. Inside the store, navigate to the “Redeem Prize” tab and select from one of two available options: Redeem your prize as a gift card and Cash Prize Redemption. The second option is what you will choose if you want to receive your winnings in cash. Simply type in the amount of Sweeps Coins you want to convert to cash (they will be converted at 1:1 ratio) and the money sent to your bank account.

What Promotions Are Available at Global Poker?

Although Global Poker can not offer promotions in terms of cash bonuses or rakeback because of its business model, the room still manages to come up with some interesting promos for the players. These promotions will help you boost your GC and SC balances and improve your overall experience on the site.

What Poker Game Types Are Offered at Global Poker?

Global Poker offers two main types of games: Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. Gold Coins are play money and are available to everyone but there is no possibility of winning real prizes playing in these games. Sweeps Coins (SC) games are only available to players from the United States (excluding Washington) and Canada (excluding Quebec) and any coins won in Sweeps Coins games can be redeemed for cash.

What is the Rake at Global Poker?

While Global Poker does not offer traditional real money games, they still charge rake on their Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins tables alike. The rake is capped at 5% across the board, from the smallest to the largest no limit and pot limit games.

How Good is the Global Poker Software?

Global Poker features a web-based software that requires absolutely no download or installation. As soon as you open an account, you will be able to log in via a web browser and get started right away. This is quite handy as it makes it easier to play from different devices.

At the same time, the software is quite basic in terms of options and settings. You only have a few options available to you, such as the ability to open new tables in the new window and turn sounds on and off. You can also turn on the four-color deck, which makes playing much easier.

How Can I Contact Customer Support at Global Poker?

To get in touch with the support team at Global Poker you can use one of several options. The most convenient one is via email as you can include any attachments or additional documents as required. The email address for Global Poker customer support is support@globalpoker.com

However, Global Poker representatives are also quite active on social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. If you need immediate assistance, this might be a better way to go get through to someone.

At the moment, Global Poker does not offer a live chat functionality or phone support.