Small Deposit Poker Sites

One of the things that makes online poker great is that players are able to make small deposits and play at smaller limits. They're able to do this because poker sites don't have the overhead that brick and mortar casinos do. So instead of having to take $100+ to the casino and playing 1/2, you can load your account with $10 or $20 and sit down to play .01/.02 hands or .05 tournaments.

Below is our list of the best poker sites for players on a budget. Click the link to visit the poker site of choice to get started now.

Finding the Best (US) Low Deposit Poker Sites

The key to finding the best low deposit site is to focus on the larger sites with traffic. These sites are going to run the largest (budget-friendly) promotions, the most money-added freerolls and offer the lowest stakes. More importantly, they're going to have enough traffic that the smaller stakes games run constantly.

On top of the games and traffic, you want to find a site that is trustworthy, takes care of their players and has a solid support staff. Just because you're a smaller customer doesn't mean you're any less important. Not just that, but if you're depositing all that you can afford to play with, you don't want to deposit into a bad site and potentially lose your bankroll. No promotion or offer is worth that.

Small Deposits and Deposit Bonuses

Even with a small deposit you're eligible for deposit bonuses. The size of your deposit doesn't matter, unless the bonus is specifically for high rollers.

I recommend being careful where you make a small deposit if you're just shopping around. Most sites only let you make one deposit for their bonus offer, so if you plan on making a large deposit later you'll want to map out what sites you're going to check out and how much you're willing to deposit. Or you can just play the free money games.

Before you make your deposit you'll want to make sure the site you're looking at doesn't have any deposit fees. 95% of sites don't, but check anyway. You don't want to make a deposit and lose 10 or 20 percent off the top.

You should also try to find a deposit bonus that has a larger match (percentage), since overall size will matter less to. For example, a 150% match bonus up to $300 is a much better bonus for smaller deposits compared to a 100% match bonus up to $1,000. If you're only going to deposit $25, the max is irrelevant, so try to find a larger match so that you can possible earn more than double your money.

Last, I recommend looking for US sites that have relaxed play through requirements. You want to find a site that requires less points / rake to be spent to earn your bonus. That way your money goes farther in case you don't win. You're more likely to clear the bonus then and take full advantage of your small deposit.

How to Get The Most Out of Your Small USA Poker Deposit

There are a few things you can do to make the most of your small deposit.

Play Lower Stakes - The first thing I would recommend doing is sticking to the lower stake games. That sounds like common sense, but you wouldn't believe the number of people who think it's a good idea to deposit $25 and sit down to play .25/.50 or $5 sit n go's. With a small deposit I wouldn't play higher than .01/.02 or 5nl and $1 sit n go's.

Choose the Right Game - Between cash games and sngs, I would recommend sngs. They're much better for bankroll building, especially if you have a handle on basic strategy. There is less post flop play involved, too, which is ideal for beginners.

VIP Programs - You'll also want to participate in VIP programs, when possible. That way you can take advantage of special freerolls or cash back rewards. Anything you can do to maintain/pad/build your bankroll further.

Bonus Hunt - Another option is to build your bankroll at one site and then visit another for their deposit bonus. This is also known as bonus hunting. Done correctly, bonus hunting can help you build a big bankroll quickly from a small deposit.

Play in Freeroll Tournaments - I would try to find as many freerolls as possible and mix them in with your real money games. Winning $5 or $8 doesn't sound like much, but it's a huge boost when your bankroll is only $25.

Play in Guaranteed Tournaments - Another idea is to sign up to a site that runs guaranteed tournaments, but hardly ever has the number of players needed to pay for the guarantee. This is known as an overlay. There is a lot of value in these as the prize pool is guaranteed, but there are fewer players in the running to earn it. That means you have a higher chance of cashing/winning. This gives your smaller investment more of a chance.