If you enjoy sweepstakes poker, Stake Poker might have recently caught your interest. It’s a ‘sweepstakes’ version of online poker that you can now play on both the crypto gambling site Stake as well as its US-only sweepstakes casino counterpart, Stake.us. In this guide, we’re going to show you specifically how to play poker on Stake.us, the available prizes, and more.
What is Stake Poker?
✔ Use Gold Coins for fun or Stake Cash to win prizes
✔ Choose from Ring Games, Tournaments, and Sit & Go’s
✔ Pick from NL Hold’em, PL Omaha, and lots of other variations
Launched at the end of 2024, Stake Poker is the exclusive sweepstakes poker game available to play on Stake.us. In a nutshell, players battle it out across different games and tournaments to collect Stake Cash (SC), which can then be redeemed for different prizes. This includes cash transfers, gift cards, t-shirts, and hoodies, so there’s plenty up for grabs.
For those who are not aware, Stake Cash is a virtual type of currency. 1 SC converts to $1, meaning if you won 100 SC in a Stake Poker tournament, you’d be able to redeem $100 worth of prizes. This is what makes sweepstakes poker in general different, as you’re playing with what are essentially virtual tokens instead of real money.
The main variations in Stake Poker are Texas Hold’em and Omaha. The rules, gameplay, and everything in between are exactly the same, with the only difference being you’re playing with either Stake Cash for real prizes or Gold Coins (GC) if you simply want to play for fun.
Now, when you actually tap on Stake Poker for the first time after joining Stake.us, you’re going to see different tabs to choose from, including ‘Tournaments’ and ‘Sit & Go’. Within these categories are then lots of different lobbies, some of which have buy-ins, that you’ll find filled with other Stake.us players. It’s possible to pull up a seat at any table you like, but you’ll need to select specific Gold Coin or Stake Cash lobbies that you like. And those that have buy-ins are only enterable when you cover the entry fee.
How to Start Playing Stake Poker
So, once you’re in a lobby and are seated at the virtual table, the action will then begin just like a regular game of poker.
Most of the time they’ll be between 6 and 9 players at your table, along with a ‘Waiting List’ of other players currently waiting to get a seat once another player leaves.
Each player is represented by their own Stake.us avatar and you’ll see a number representing how many coins they’ve bet in the hand.
Additionally, there’s a green symbol to the side of the poker table showing how much the total pot currently is.
Whichever variation of poker you’re playing, games then follow standard poker rules, with players taking turns to fold, call, or raise until the hand is complete.
Once a game wraps up, any Stake Cash you win will then automatically be credited to your Stake.us account balance, and the good news is that if those coins have met the x3 playthrough requirement, you can redeem them for prizes.
Some of the poker fanatics on Stake.us prefer to save their Stake Cash for future games and tournament entries, while others redeem the coins as soon as they can for prizes, but it’s ultimately down to you whether you do this.
And if you win Gold Coins instead, you’ll be able to progress up through the different competitive Stake.us poker leaderboards, which are a lot of fun and an extra perk for those who decide to play for free.
Stake VIP Club and Rakeback Are Some of the Benefits of Playing Stake Poker
If you opt to play sweepstakes poker on Stake.us rather than one of the other casinos or sweepstakes poker platforms, there are some benefits involved. Outside of free daily coins, there’s also the Stake VIP Club and Rakeback to look forward to. So, what are they all about?
All new players on Stake.us are automatically enrolled into the ‘VIP Club’. As you progress through the Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers, you can then unlock things like monthly bonuses, reload bonuses, special promo codes, and all kinds of other perks. It’s even possible to unlock your own personal VIP host if you reach the end of the platinum tier, so make sure you keep betting Gold Coins and Stake Cash if you want to progress through them faster.
Unlike most other sweepstakes casinos, Stake.us comes with an excellent Rakeback system, too. Whenever you play Stake Poker, you’ll get 3.5% of the edge on every bet you make, essentially allowing you to earn some of your wagering costs back over time if you’re playing with Stake Cash. It might only be a small amount every month, but even getting something as little as 5 SC rakeback is better than nothing.
There’s Also the Stake.us Poker App
For the more die-hard players of Stake Poker, there’s an available mobile app on iOS that you can download. We tested it and concluded that it’s perfect for players who want to play on-the-go instead of through a web or mobile browser. It comes with new daily tournaments and faster table performance as well, so we have it down as one of the best sweepstakes poker dedicated apps you can download on iOS. The app isn’t available on Android yet, but it likely will be in the future.
Final Verdict
You’re officially ready to start playing Stake Poker.
If you want to play using Gold Coins or Stake Cash, which can be redeemed for prizes under the ‘sweepstakes’ model, Stake.us is one of viable options.
Alternatively, there’s also the traditional Stake casino, where players use cryptocurrencies instead.
When you play Stake Poker on Stake.us, there are countless tournaments and lobbies to enter, and you can also benefit from perks like daily chip bonuses, prize opportunities, and smooth gameplay mechanics.
The only catch is that you need to be aged 21 or over to play and can only access Stake.us from eligible states, with around 33 US states that currently allow sweepstakes casinos to operate.
