The Risks and Rewards of Playing Crypto Poker
The Risks and Rewards of Playing Crypto Poker
The number of poker players worldwide is continually growing, possibly due to the popularization of online poker casinos during the pandemic so more people see that they can participate without having to go to a casino which may be far away and an expense that they don’t want which is completely valid. Though another kind of online poker has turned up and begun gaining more and more traction. We are of course talking about crypto poker. Considering how both poker and cryptocurrencies have become incredibly popular it’s not that big of a surprise that a merger of the two happened. We’ll cover all the ups and downs of playing this new thing and whether we think it will stick around.
What is crypto poker?
Before we can get into the benefits and downsides we first need to cover what exactly crypto or blockchain poker even is. At its core, it’s simply poker played online where all of the transactions, be it deposits or withdrawals, are done using cryptocurrencies of some kind. The specific ones aren’t really important, just the fact that crypto is being used.
This of course means that the core game itself is the same which is what we’re looking for at the end of the day, just to play some poker, not some new thing. But the innovation and improvements all come from the fact that the surrounding systems and payments are improved so much that it becomes a lot less of a hassle to actually get to play the game which cuts down on downtime and tedium.
So what are the benefits?
Of course, now we can get to the important part, the ups and downs. First, let’s cover the benefits that crypto poker has over regular online poker. The first one is incredible privacy. Due to the way the blockchain works you don’t need to divulge almost any personal info or private information when making deposits or withdrawals. This makes it so that you don’t need to worry about your data being wrongly used by the site or simply lost in a data leak and obtained by malicious third parties.
Speaking of transactions they’re also incredibly fast in comparison to using a card on regular poker sites. You don’t need to wait for extensive periods of time just to get the money that you won on the site. This benefit may seem meager but it isn’t always massive boons that carry innovations but rather small quality-of-life changes which don’t do much but make everything less of a pain.
One of the biggest upsides is the fact that it’s possible to play crypto poker in places where gambling is generally strictly regulated or even outlawed as while most poker sites won’t accept credit cards from such locations, crypto poker sites will still take your coins and let you play just as they would any other person. Cryptocurrencies transcend borders which allows everyone to play regardless of where they live, even those in totalitarian regimes can unwind despite poker being outlawed.
What about the risks?
Generally, the risks with crypto poker don’t involve the sites themselves but rather the inherent risks that crypto trading generally has. The market is incredibly volatile which means that prices can be soaring one moment and then experience a sharp drop the next. Considering that you need to trade cryptocurrencies in order to even play poker this means that there is always some level of risk.
Of course, that can also be seen as a benefit if you find taking risks and making gambits with cryptocurrencies to be a fun activity and a draw. Many however don’t so it’s important to be wary of potential price shifts. Of course just because this is the main risk it doesn’t mean that every single crypto poker site is safe to use. You should still do your research and make sure that you find one which is reputable and trusted by the wider community.
Lastly, it's important to watch out for scammers. Crypto is quickly growing which means that their numbers are also increasing rapidly. It would be a good idea to read up on and research some of the more common scams that are being done in regard to cryptocurrencies these days so that you can identify them before you fall into one of their traps.