High-stakes crypto poker is a different beast from conventional gameplay. While you may be used to keeping an eye on your poker chips, betting with BTC and ETH is something wholly different. Lately, there’s been a rapid rise in the popularity of high-stakes poker, especially amongst players with bags of cash to splash on the game. How does high-stakes crypto poker differ from conventional games, though, and what do you need to know to play with the pros? Join Go Spin Casino as we explore the top in our introductory guide.
The Evolution of High-Stakes Poker…Thus Far
High-stakes poker first took root in smoky backrooms, emigrating to the glitz and glamorous tournaments you’ll commonly find in Las Vegas, but things are changing. In the early 2000s, when online poker was in its infancy, the world’s best learned that there was good money to be made in a market where tens of thousands of players could join games simultaneously. They’ve honed their craft ever since, and the influx of new players becoming successes means that there’s no shortage of challengers.
Much like online poker games evolved from land-based action, the most recent evolutionary leap sees crypto poker platforms take a prominent place in the hearts of players worldwide. Of course, where there’s popularity and an influx of players, there will be high-rollers. Given the vast sums involved with trading and investing in cryptocurrency, it won’t surprise you to learn that high-stakes crypto poker is the next natural step in the evolution of the game.
Why Crypto and High-Stakes Poker Go Together
Cryptocurrencies make for the ideal tool to push high-stakes poker action further than ever before. There are added benefits to playing poker with cryptocurrencies that you just don’t get with conventional FIAT action. For instance, high-stakes crypto poker allows players anonymity (to a degree), fast transactions allow you to receive your winnings in no time, while the global availability of cryptocurrencies ensures that whales from across the world can get involved in the action, creating an immense pool of players to choose from.
High-stakes crypto poker games are rising in popularity other reasons. For instance, smart contracts and Provably Fair games allow you to trust that games are fair and transparent. Peer-to-peer platforms also attract high-rollers from across the world, while immense crypto bonuses allow even most players the opportunity to compete with the big spenders.
Three Challenges and Risks in High-Stakes Crypto Poker
High-stakes crypto poker isn’t without its risks, though. Like all gambling games, there’s no guarantee of a win. More than that, though, cryptocurrencies are riskier in their own right. Some challenges and risks are clearly identifiable, and they include:
- Volatility: When you play with cryptocurrencies, you are effectively gambling twice. Firstly, you’re gambling that the cryptocurrency won’t suffer a huge dip in value thanks to crypto market swings. Secondly, going up against anonymous players means you’re not entirely sure how skilful your opponents are until you sit down to play.
- Security Concerns: Cryptocurrencies are a prime target for hackers. You’re never very far away from a crypto hack or blockchain breach, both of which are substantial risks and potential vulnerabilities that you might consider before playing.
- Limited Regulation: Being decentralised and unregulated is often thought of as a perk when playing with cryptos. However, it has its drawbacks, too. For instance, you can’t trust unregulated platforms to offer fair play, modest cuts, and reasonable bonus terms and conditions.
New Tips for High-Stakes Success in Crypto Online Poker
High-stakes crypto poker has risks and rewards. For the bravest and best players, there’s much to win. However, if you’ve not got your wits about you, you can rapidly fall victim to seasoned poker pros. While there’s no guaranteed strategy to winning, Go Spin has some poker strategies to ensure you stand a better shot of success playing crypto poker games online.
Bankroll Management Is Twice as Important
For starters, always consider managing your bankroll. This doesn’t just mean being cautious with your stakes. You’ll also want to regularly convert cryptos to FIAT and back again to ensure that you’re protected from any crypto market swings. Keeping a keen eye on those markets is a must if you’re playing high-stakes poker with cryptocurrencies.
Learn New Techniques to Read Anonymous Players
You probably have all sorts of tricks to read rival players at the poker table and gauge their moves and skills. That doesn’t always count for much in high-stakes crypto poker, where anonymity is a regular part of gameplay. Instead, you’ll want to adopt new techniques to read players and adjust how you play to spot tells when access to the identities of rival players is limited.
Be Picky When It Comes to Rewards
Conventional online poker sites love to reward players with Rakeback and other benefits for playing. While crypto poker rooms do something similar, you need to be more selective about the deals you claim. Because of the value of cryptocurrencies, completing wagering requirements on Rakeback, free chips, and other options can prove to be costlier than you might think. Be picky when choosing the rewards you receive, especially when playing in tournaments.
The Future of High-Stakes Poker and Cryptos
At Go Spin, we’re under no illusion that there’s a wonderful future in place for high-stakes poker and cryptocurrencies. Assuming cryptocurrencies (on the whole) don’t fall by the wayside, or there’s no major crash, then playing high-stakes poker with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other options is likely to continue to prove a hit with players.
As it is an emerging part of the industry, it’s only likely to become more popular. With that in mind, there’s never been a better time to start playing poker with cryptos and hone your skills. You never know – by the time it goes properly mainstream, you could be one of those seasoned high-rollers taking advantage of the influx of new players.
