We review the online poker rooms that have the lowest deposit limits from the point of view of the player making a low initial deposit.

These reviews may not be as comprehensive as they could be in overall terms. However, they should highlight any areas of special consideration with regard to making a small first deposit.

No matter the size of your bankroll, most online poker players will have the same general concerns about any site that they intend to play at. However, some other areas need to be looked at when your initial deposit amount is going to be low.

We try to pay particular attention to the deposit bonus aspect of making a small deposit. Also, the table stakes are addressed as they will have an impact on players with small bankrolls.

What we review

Of particular interest to players making a minimal first deposit will be topics such as the amount of initial deposit bonus that their deposit will attract, or even if a low deposit rules out any bonus. Also of interest should be the table stakes that are available at their chosen poker room, and the minimum buy-in to those tables. Tournament entry costs will probably be of interest too.

Another issue low depositors face is the cashout limits. In a poker room where the minimum deposit is, for example, $10, but the minimum withdrawal amount is, for example, $25, then that player has to win 1.5 times what they have deposited in order to withdraw their winnings.

Of course, many players just want to test out a poker room with a small amount of money before committing to a bigger deposit, so some of those items will be non-issues for those players.

Other Areas of Interest

Regardless of the size of your bankroll and your intended deposit amount, all players should be concerned witht he security and general trustworthyness of any site that they want to put their money in, and that applies across the full spectrum of online sites, not just poker rooms, or casino and sportsbooks.

They say that you can never be too careful. And, other than not depositing at all, you will be taking on some risk when you transfer your money on line. However, with a bit of research and some good old fashioned common sense, you can avaoid all but the most unexpected of problems.

Choosing where to play

Playing in a poker room that you have never heard of before now can be a risky proposition. In general, going with a big brand will always be safer than going with an unknown brand, or a newcomer to the market. While there may be very attractive offers available at new sites, you need to be aware that businesses do go bankrupt on the internet, just as in real life.

Startups especially have no guarantee of success, and the online poker business is fairly competitive right now, with many well established players able to dominate the market. These bigger sites do know aht they are doing, and the length of time in business is one good indicator of a trustworthy poker room. Be cautious when considering a new site, therefore, and in the case of a site that does not have a long track record, a small deposit may be the best way to go.

Security

Most of the better sites will have security credentials displayed on their home page, normally down at the bottom. Check for these seals, such as McAfee, or Twaith; if they are present it is somewhat comforting. Bear in mind that you will need to send the site some personal details, and if their site is not secure those details could be compromised. You might have more to lose than your chips if that happens. Again here bigger is better.

Licencing

There are a whole heap of licencing authorities operating in the poker world now, though some are better than others. For example, the licencing authority out of Alderney were the authority that licenced the old Full Tilt poker room, and they happily reissued that license every year, all the while the Full Tilt management was using their players’ funds to operate the poker room. Using player funds like this is a big no-no, and ring-fencing those funds is a criteria of all good licencing authorities, so, therefore, when you see a site licenced by Alderney you can consider that there is effectively no oversight by anyone competent there.

Bodies that do actually oversee their licencees include the UK gambling authority and the Gibraltar Goverment one. Both those take their business very seriously, so if you find a room authorised by either of those then you can actually feel safe in knowing that somebiody who knows what theya re doing has checked out the site you want to play at.

Common Sense

The best defence is to use your own good judgement – if a site looks second rate, either in design or functionality, then that should be a big warning signal to you. Online gambling is big business, and most well run gambling sites will have the mney to operate properly. if a site cannot afford good design or a working platform, can you trust them with your hard earned cash? Probably not.

If in doubt, check the internet. Read some forums, some review sites. You could even send an email to the sites customer support. The speed with which you get a reply, and the quality of that reply, might give you a clue about the professionality of the room.