PokerStars NJ Review

PokerStars NJ is our top pick for best poker site in New Jersey.

PokerStars is the only site in the US to combine its New Jersey and Michigan players together. This means a lot more cash games, more tournaments, and much bigger guarantees than anyone else.

Here we dig into why PokerStars New Jersey is a great poker site to play on including in-depth information on its generous welcome bonus, how to sign up, how to cash out, its app and software.

Can I Play on PokerStars in New Jersey?

Yes! PokerStars is available in New Jersey and offers a great selection of cash games and tournaments. The poker site shares its player pool with Michigan, creating one of the biggest player pools in the regulated US market.

PokerStars NJ Welcome Bonuses

PokerStars New Jersey offers a solid welcome bonus package for all new players. There are two distinct offers and players can only take advantage of one of them.

We have broken down both of these welcome bonuses in detail, so you can see what they offer and which one might be a better fit for you.

Get $150 in Poker & Casino Bonus Play

The operator has decided to standardize its welcome bonus across the PokerStars US sites. This means that players in New Jersey can now claim $150 worth of Bonus Play after playing just one cash game hand.

To qualify for the offer, players need to manually opt-in for it from the Challenges window and meet the requirement (i.e. play a hand at real money cash tables) within the first five days since registering.

The bonus is awarded across 5 days as follows:

As is usually the case with PokerStars tickets from promotions, any winnings players get from target tournaments are theirs to keep without any restrictions or wagering requirements. Winnings from the casino portion of the bonus are still subject to wagering requirements.

Deposit Match Bonus:100% up to $600

The second welcome offer by PokerStars New Jersey is more in line with what players are used to. It is a simple and straightforward match bonus, boosting your first deposit in full up to $600.

For this bonus, the minimum deposit is $10, and you will need to use the code STARS600 to trigger the offer.

When your deposit goes through, the site will issue the bonus amount, but this money is not available for play immediately. Instead, you will need to release it in increments. Every time you earn 140 Redemption Points, $10 of the bonus will be released into your real money account with no further restrictions.

Redemption Points are earned at the rate of 5 points for every $1 paid in rake or tournament fees, which means that the welcome bonus provides you with an effective rakeback of 35% while active.

You have 120 days to clear the bonus. Any funds not released after that period expires will be removed from the bonus balance, but you will keep all the cash released up to that point.

Depositors Freeroll Ticket

You will get a ticket for a Depositors Freeroll regardless of what bonus offer you go for. This will give you a chance to further boost your bankroll in a tournament taking place at 18:00 ET on the last Sunday of each month.

The prize fund for the freeroll is not fixed and it changes every month. However, it is usually worth your while to get involved and try to at least make the money. You can check the status of your Depositors Freeroll ticket (and any other tickets, for that matter) in the “My Stars” section of the software.

PokerStars NJ Promotions

PokerStars NJ offers a variety of promotions for players to participate in, including freerolls and Missions. These promotions provide players with the opportunity to earn additional bonuses and special rewards while participating in the site’s real money games.

Freerolls

PokerStars NJ offers a variety of freerolls for players to participate in, depending on different requirements. These freerolls can be quite valuable, as some of them have generous prize pools and award tickets to bigger events, including those available during major series. Getting involved in these freerolls is a great way for players to earn additional bonuses and special rewards.

Missions

PokerStars NJ offers Missions for players to participate in, which are interesting tasks that require players to play different formats of real money poker and achieve certain goals. These Missions vary in difficulty, with some being very easy to complete and others taking longer to finish.

Players can find these Missions in the “Challenges” section of the app. Getting involved with PokerStars NJ Missions is a great way for players to earn additional bonuses and special rewards.

PokerStars NJ Stars Rewards Program

Stars Rewards is a personalized rewards system for the players that the site uses across its network. It is an interesting concept that provides value for poker, casino, and sportsbook players alike, but it is not as appealing to those interested exclusively in poker.

The rewards you get are based on how much and how high you play. The system is fairly straightforward, but there are some random elements to it, as you can never be certain what to expect. If you are new to PokerStars NJ, this is how it works in a nutshell:

• You can keep track of your rewards progress through the My Stars section of PokerStars NJ.
• To progress, you need to collect reward points, which you do by playing real money poker, betting on sports, or wagering in the casino.
• To unlock the next reward, you need to fill the Progress Bar.
• You will unlock the next Chest once the Progress Bar is full.
• Inside the Chest, you will find Bonus Play money, tournament tickets, and StarsCoin, which can be used at the Rewards Store.

Rewards Points

The key to moving your Progress Bar forward is collecting Rewards Points. You will receive these points for different activities, but the main source of Rewards Points will be your play at one of PokerStar’s products.

As some general guidelines, this is what you can expect:

• Online Poker: receive 100 Rewards Points for every $1 you pay in cash game rake or tournament fees
• Stars Casino: Different games contribute at a different rate towards Rewards Points. You should check the PokerStars NJ site for the exact information.
• Sports Betting: You will receive 1.7 points for every $1 wagered on a single bet and 4.7 points for every $1 staked on multiple wagers.

PokerStars Chests Explained

Chests make up a very important part of the rewards system at PokerStars. As mentioned, these chests contain different rewards, and you can never know for sure what is inside until you open them. However, based on the color of the Chest, there are certain guaranteed values that you can count with.

PokerStars Chests Expected Values?

If you would rather collect more Chests and open them all at once, you can also do that. Just keep in mind that unopened Chests will expire after three months.

PokerStars NJ Tournaments

On the global level, there is no other poker site out there that can parry PokerStars when it comes to Multi Table Tournaments (MTTs). Huge events attracting thousands of players and offering massive prize pools are greatly responsible for the success the room enjoys today.

PokerStars New Jersey has continued down the same path, creating a very solid schedule of daily and weekly tournaments across the board. From micro-stakes to high-roller events, there is something for everyone. This offering has only improved with the operator joining forces with its sister site in Michigan, creating a much larger player pool and creating opportunities for bigger guarantees across the board.

In addition to featuring Texas Hold’em events, PokerStars NJ also hosts tournaments in variants such as:

• Omaha
• Seven Card Stud
• Razz
• Five Card Draw

MTTs

The daily MTT schedule is very rich, with certain event categories enjoying great popularity with the players. These are:

• The Daily Bigs (featuring buy-ins from $5 to $30)
• The Hot Turbos (turbo MTTs with buy-ins from $5 to $50)
• KO Fever — daily Progressive Knockout tournaments
• Change-Up — four daily tournaments featuring a different game format each

As always, there are also several weekly tournaments worth playing, the most prominent ones taking place on Sundays, i.e. Sunday Warm-Up, Sunday Special, Sunday Storm, and Sunday High Roller.

PokerStars NJ has really done a lot for the online tournament scene by introducing special series such as the New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOOP) and NJSCOOP.

PokerStars NJ 'COOPs

PokerStars is best known for its major tournaments, and the ones under the COOP heading take the cake. There are two of these taking place in New Jersey every year:

• US Championship of Online Poker (USCOOP) – usually taking place in September
• US Spring Championship of Online Poker (USSCOOP) – taking place in the first half of the year, between March and May

PokerStars combined its player pools from Michigan and New Jersey, bringing them all under one roof. This allowed for their 'COOP events to become even bigger and better, but since these series now combine players from two states, they have been renamed to contain the 'US’ prefix instead of specific state prefixes.

While there are only two states participating in USCOOP tournaments for the time being, the number will likely grow in the future, with PokerStars PA probably joining the fold in the near future, followed by new states where the operator decides to launch.

In general, 'COOP events attract a lot of attention, featuring big prize pools across dozens of tournaments, and offering players a chance to compete not just in No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha events, but also tournaments featuring less popular variants, like 7 Card Stud, Badugi, 2-7 Triple Draw, and more.

Sit & Go

PokerStars NJ offers a decent selection of sit & go tournaments across various stake levels. You will find Hold’em and Omaha games in both turbo and regular time formats.

The traffic in these is not the greatest, so if you want to play SNGs, you will probably have to be patient and wait for a bit for the games to fill up, especially as you move up the stakes.

Spin & Go’s

Spin & Go tournaments became very popular shortly after PokerStars released them. This exciting format gives players a chance to get lucky and play for a prize worth up to 1000 times their buy-in against just two other players.

Players in New Jersey have access to Spin & Go’s as well. There are five distinct levels: $1, $2, $5, $10, and $25.

These are winner-take-all tournaments when there are smaller multipliers at stake. However, if you get seated into one of the top three tiers (80x, 100x, or 1000x), you will be guaranteed to cash in, as the second and third-place finishers get to split 8% to 10% of the prize pool.

PokerStars NJ Spin & Go buy-ins & prizes

Cash Games

PokerStars NJ offers a wide array of cash game options across all different stakes. Tables start as low as $0.01/$0.02 and go up to $25/$50, so there is plenty of choice for everyone. The range of poker variations is better than at any other poker site available in the state:

• No-Limit Hold’em
• Pot-Limit Omaha
• Fixed-Limit Omaha
• No-Limit Omaha
• 7 Card Stud
• Razz
• Five Card Draw

As you would expect, the action is best at NLHE and PLO tables. You will have no problems finding games running up to NL500 around the clock. Beyond these stakes, there is not as much action, although things tend to pick up at weekends.

Cash game games & stakes at PokerStars NJ

PokerStars NJ Traffic History

How to Sign Up at PokerStars NJ

If you’re looking to join the action on PokerStars NJ, the first thing you’ll need to do is create your account. This can be done from anywhere, but you must be in New Jersey to play the games. Here’s how to get started:

1. Download and install the PokerStars NJ client from here
2. Open the PokerStars app and click on the green “Join” button in the upper right corner.
3. On the first screen, enter your email, password, and a screenname to use at the tables.
4. Next, provide your personal information and make sure to enter it correctly, as you will need to verify it later.
5. Check your email for a message from PokerStars containing a verification link. Click on the link to verify your email address.
6. Once your email is verified, you can log in to deposit funds, claim your bonus, and start playing.

PokerStars NJ App & Software

In addition to game selection and player traffic, the quality of the poker software is one of the key elements determining the players’ overall experience. PokerStars has always excelled in this particular area, having created one of the best online poker platforms in the industry.

Over the years, we have determined there are three crucial factors in determining the overall quality of poker software. So, let us see how these stack up for PokerStars New Jersey.

Functionality

PokerStars NJ offers a highly functional software solution that works well across different mobile and desktop platforms. You can run the PokerStars software on Windows, iOS, and Android devices of all shapes and sizes.

The PokerStars NJ App is easily one of the best in the industry as well, answering to many players’ needs and expectations.

The overall design is very player-friendly and includes various customization options. In a matter of minutes, you can set things up the way you like them and tweak the tables’ interface to fit your particular needs.

Reliability

PokerStars has been one of the industry leaders almost since the beginning of online poker. The company has always put a lot of emphasis on the reliability of its software, understanding that it is crucial for players to be able to play with peace of mind that they will not get disconnected in the middle of a huge pot or some other weird bug will cost them money.

The current PokerStars platform doesn’t have any of these issues. While occasional disconnects and disruptions can happen (like with any other online service), these are really rare. Plus, PokerStars has the tradition of compensating players for losses caused by technical problems, which only shows how confident they are about the product.

Appearance

PokerStars has recently rolled out a brand new graphics engine across its network. This engine called Aurora, has significantly improved its already quality design. The platform is not just easy on the eyes and simple to use, but it also offers a variety of interesting animations and different table themes to improve the overall gaming experience for serious and casual players alike.

PokerStars NJ App

The PokerStars NJ App allows players to enjoy online poker on the go. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices, making it easy and convenient to download and install. Once the app is installed, players can log in with their existing account details or create a new account if they do not have one already.

The app offers access to all the cash games and tournaments available on the platform and the option to make deposits. This means players can enjoy the full PokerStars experience from their mobile devices.

The app makes it possible to play up to five tables at the same time, with automatic alerts to ensure players never miss their turn to act on any of the tables.

In addition to the convenience and accessibility of the mobile app, PokerStars NJ also ensures the security of players’ personal and financial information. The app utilizes high-level encryption protocols to protect players’ information from any potential interception or abuse.

PokerStars NJ adheres to strict rules and regulations set forth by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to protect players and ensure fair and safe gameplay. Overall, the PokerStars NJ mobile app offers a modern, reliable, and secure option for players looking to enjoy online poker on the go.

Banking at PokerStars NJ

Banking at PokerStars NJ is quick and secure, with a range of easy-to-use deposit options available to players. A minimum deposit of $10 is required, unless stated otherwise.

Players can deposit funds through the desktop or mobile client using methods such as instant eChecks, Skrill, and PayPal. The Fast Deposit feature allows for even quicker funding of player accounts and supports many popular deposit methods.

The available deposit and withdrawal methods are depicted in the table below:

At PokerStars NJ, players can trust that their sensitive financial information will be fully protected no matter which deposit or withdrawal method they choose. The company employs high-level encryption protocols to securely transfer this information between the player and the server, making it nearly impossible for it to fall into the wrong hands.

In addition, PokerStars NJ follows strict regulations to ensure the safety of player funds at all times. Players can have peace of mind knowing that their money is always secure.

Deposits

The Fast Deposit feature at PokerStars NJ makes it easy for players to quickly fund their accounts. Many popular deposit methods are supported, and the Fast Deposit logo appears beside the deposit method in the Cashier. Players can enable this as their 'Fast Deposit Account’ and submit transactions directly when playing.

Withdrawals

To withdraw funds, players can log in to their PokerStars NJ account and visit the Cashier. They can then select the ‘Withdraw’ button, input the desired withdrawal amount, and choose ‘Submit.’ PokerStars NJ’s withdrawal policy allows players to automatically receive their withdrawals back to any method they have used to deposit, up to the amount deposited.

Any amount in excess of previous deposits can be withdrawn to the method of the player’s choice. The quickest withdrawal methods include instant eChecks, Skrill, and PayPal.

Secure Account Segregation

PokerStars NJ takes a total and unwavering commitment to the safety and security of player funds. Player balances are held in segregated accounts, managed by a leading bank, and are not used for operational expenses.

This ensures that PokerStars NJ can fulfill its monetary obligations to players at all times and provides additional reassurance that player funds are secure.

Player Support

PokerStars NJ is dedicated to providing excellent customer support to players. If players have any questions or concerns, they can visit the Help Center or contact the customer support team through email or live chat. The Help Center offers a variety of resources and information on topics such as account management, responsible gaming, and technical support.

PokerStars NJ Safety & Fairness

As a licensed operator in the state of New Jersey, PokerStars NJ takes the security and fairness of its games very seriously. The platform is regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and must follow strict rules and regulations designed to protect players.

PokerStars NJ uses advanced technology, including an independently-tested random number generator, to ensure that every hand dealt on the platform is completely random and fair. The operator has no ability to manipulate the results of games, and players can trust that the games are not rigged.

The PokerStars software uses a random number generator that has been independently verified to produce a shuffle that is completely random and unbiased. The methods used guarantee the complete randomization of cards and complete unpredictability of future cards.

The random number generator employed by PokerStars is highly advanced and based on quantum theory. It utilizes a process involving a single photon being directed at a semi-transparent mirror. The angle at which the photon is reflected or whether it passes through the mirror is completely random and cannot be accurately predicted, replicated, or influenced.

This random number generator has been thoroughly tested and certified by Gaming Labs International (GLI) to meet the standards for highly-regulated jurisdictions.

In addition to ensuring the fairness of its games, PokerStars NJ also takes steps to protect players’ funds and personal information. The platform uses advanced encryption protocols to secure all communication between players and servers, making it impossible for this information to be intercepted or misused.

PokerStars NJ also uses geolocation technology to ensure that all players are physically located within the state of New Jersey. Players must follow these requirements, and any attempt to play from outside the state could result in account closure and potential legal issues.

PokerStars New Jersey FAQ

Is there a PokerStars NJ deposit bonus?

Yes! There are actually two different bonuses available, either bonus play money or a deposit match bonus that are available to players.

Is PokerStars legal in New Jersey?

Yes! PokerStars is fully licensed and regulated in the state of New Jersey. According to local laws, anyone who meets the following criteria can legally play real money online poker in NJ on PokerStars: Must be at least 21 years of age or older, be physically located within the borders of New Jersey state, must have a Social Security Number (SSN) and US postal address.

Is PokerStars NJ safe?

Yes! The state regulators ensure that every operator meets the strictest requirements for safety and security so that you — and all your information — are kept safe.

All operators are also required to provide a suite of responsible gambling tools to help players mitigate potentially harmful gambling behaviors.

Does New Jersey allow operators to combine player pools with other states?

Yes! New Jersey does allow shared liquidity with other regulated US States, as the state is part of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), allowing cross-border liquidity between the states that have joined the agreement.

Currently, only four states — Delaware, Nevada, Michigan, and New Jersey — have entered the agreement. PokerStars NJ was the first operator to take advantage of Michigan joining the MSIGA, combining player pools with PokerStars MI at the start of 2023.

Does PokerStars NJ share liquidity with PokerStars PA or PokerStars MI?

Kind of! PokerStars NJ shares its player pool with PokerStars MI, and players from both states can compete on the same cash game tables and in the same tournaments. As for PokerStars PA, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has yet to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA).

Are there real money online poker tournaments at PokerStars NJ?

Yes. PokerStars is famous the world over for its tournament series. It has been running the New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOOP) now rebranded to USCOOP for many years, with the series regularly features $1,000,000+ in guaranteed prizes spread across a few dozen events.

What kinds of cash games are at PokerStars NJ?

Besides the popular No-Limit Hold’em variant, PokerStars NJ also offers other poker games such as Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO), Omaha Hi/Lo (O8) in both Pot-Limit and Limit formats, Pot Limit 5 Card Omaha, Stud, Razz, Stud Hi/Lo, No-Limit and Limit 5-Card Draw, No Limit 2-7 Single Draw, Limit 2-7 Triple Draw, 8-Game, and Limit Badugi.

Is there a PokerStars NJ mobile app?

Yes, the PokerStars NJ app is available for both Android and Apple/iOS mobile devices. You can download the app by following this link »

How do I cash out at PokerStars NJ?

PokerStars New Jersey supports five different ways to cash out including: Electronic checks, PayPal, Skrill, PokerStars Play+ Card. Players can also collect cash from PokerStars’ local casino partner — Resorts Casino in Atlantic City.

Does PokerStars NJ have slots?

Yes. New Jersey players playing on PokerStars can use their same account to access a vast library of casino games at PokerStars Casino NJ. They may choose between slots, table games (like blackjack and roulette), video poker, and live dealer casino games.