How do I Get Money off a US Poker Site when I win?
One of the first questions asked by potential online poker players is: “How do I get paid when I win?” While the methods for cashing out vary from site to site, nearly all US poker sites offer paper check withdrawals, generally sent via courier, as well as several other methods that allow you to cash out electronically.
Cashing out via eCheck
PokerStars.com, the world’s largest online poker site, offers payouts via echeck. These take an average of 4-7 business days from the time they are requested to reach your bank account. This method of withdrawal has no cost and eliminates the wait time required for the check to reach you by postal mail and then clear once deposited. If fast payout options are what you look for in a US friendly online poker site, PokerStars is a great choice.
UB.com, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker are other US poker sites that offer withdraw methods similar to PokerStars.com. The only difference is the wait time for funds to reach your account. At Full Tilt it can take up to two weeks for an echeck withdrawal to reach you, and it also takes about the same length of time when requesting a paper check. UB and Absolute (which are both run by the same company) have processing times that vary depending on volume. On certain days players might receive a paper check in 3 days and an echeck in 5, while other times it runs 9-12 days for either option. In any case, we have no complaints as far as cashouts go from these three companies, as, while not the fastest, the payout times are reasonable.
Cashing out via MoneyGram or Western Union
Bodog.com is personally our favorite site for cash outs. If you’ve read other pages on our website, such as our MoneyGram page, you’ll know we are big fans of privacy. While there are fees charged for it, Bodog.com offers very quick transfers through the two largest money transfer services MoneyGram and Western Union. By using this method, you can avoid risking banking relationships, as banks are not keen on gambling transactions, and you can also benefit from a delivery method which puts cash in your hands in under 48 hours of the requested withdrawal.
For those who are not as concerned as we are with the benefits money transfers provide: Bodog also offers free checks by courier which arrive 4-7 business days from request as well as wire transfer withdrawals for a $50 flat fee.
Which US Poker Sites are Difficult to Cash out of?
Pretty much all the ones we haven’t already mentioned are poker sites with at least some issues when it comes to withdrawals. At some sites this might be the lack of methods available to US players, and at other sites this might mean poor cash out speed. One site that falls under the category of not having enough viable options to cash out is Cake Poker. Here you can cash out via paper check, but it takes quite some time to receive. An example of a site with poor payout speeds is the Merge Network (ex: Carbon Poker, Aced Poker, Poker Nordica etc.). While Merge sites offer a plethora of banking options, withdrawal requests often take weeks to process. If you need fast cashouts, stick to PokerStars.com or Bodog as these are truly the best in the industry for getting players their money fast and hassle free.
Note: it is also possible to cash out at most sites via ewallets. To learn about ewallets at US poker sites, read our page on banking options.