Now, on top of the five live poker rooms in the state, several online New Mexico poker sites have opened up for business. You can now play your favorite poker games without ever stepping foot outside your house, your hot air balloon at the annual festival, or that retro Route 66 diner with the killer milkshakes. For the officials and police in New Mexico, online poker is the last thing they're thinking about cracking down on. Online poker in New Mexico is a pleasant pastime that won't get you into trouble unless you're attempting to set up an illegal betting ring yourself. Choose a site from among our partner organizations, and then get ready to play some cards without even leaving the house.

New Mexico has domestic land-based physical poker games offered within tribal-run casino establishments. However, NM has yet to authorized online poker gambling offers. Nonetheless, NM players can use licensed offshor online poker sites in the meantime.

We have created this guide to share domestic poker gambling option and explain the legality of licensed offshore online New Mexico poker rooms.

Are Online Poker Sites Legal In New Mexico?

While domestic state-licensed online poker platforms are not authorized through passed legislation, NM gambling laws do not include prohibitions against licensed offshore online poker sites. However, the state does prohibit the operation of domestic NM-based online poker sites.

This state may not have domestic online poker gambling offers due to having the capability to since 2011 when the DOJ revisited the Wire Act and due to the fact that the Navajo Native American tribe in the state successfully lobbied against the legalization of domestic online poker rooms in the past.

Legally Licensed Online Poker Sites Accepting New Mexico Players

The following online poker rooms have been inspected by our team of industry specialists who have taken the liberty to check the locations, licensing, and regulatory bodies of each of these websites -finding them to be in perfect contention with American gambling laws. Each brand below instills strong security protocols, have consistently high customer reviews, boast the latest fair play practices, and offer tournaments, multiple poker game variations, bonuses, and much more.

Other New Mexico Gambling Pages

Land-Based Poker Rooms In New Mexico

Below is a list of some of NM’s available physical poker rooms:

• Route 66 Casino Hotel Poker Room – Albuquerque, NM
• Sky City Casino Poker Room – Acoma, NM
• Buffalo Thunder Casino – Santa Fe, NM
• Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino – Mescalero, NM
• Isleta Casino – Albuquerque, NM
• Sandia Poker Room – Albuquerque, NM

What Games Can I Play At New Mexico Online Poker Rooms?

Texas Hold’em

Texas Holdem is probably the most well-known version of poker that is played all over the world. Players will be dealt their two hole cards before the first round of betting. Players can bet, check, or fold before the flop. Then three cards are dealt on the table in what’s known as the flop, two more rounds of betting will ensue called “the turn” for the fourth card on the table, and “the river” for the fifth. Players will use their two cards with the 5 shown on the table to assemble the best hand they can before showing your cards.

Online Nm Poker Rules

Omaha

In Omaha, players will be dealt 4 hole cards. They are the same betting rounds as in Texas Hold’em, the flop, the turn, and the river. The difference is that at the end of the game the player will use only two of their hole cards and only three of the community cards on the table to make up the best hand that they can.

In “The Showdown, “ when there is more than one player left after the last round of betting. Between the players, the last person to raise, or to bet show their cards first. If there was no bet in the final round, the player immediately clockwise from the dealer, or button, in this case, will show their cards first.

7-card stud

This is the first version of poker that people tend to learn. In this version of poker, there are no community cards. The table will be dealt clockwise until each player has 3 cards. The first two cards are a player’s hole cards and the third is dealt face up on the table. There are five rounds of betting called “Third Street,” “Fourth Street,” “Fifth Street,” “Sixth Street,” and the “Seventh Street” AKA “The River”. Players will be dealt a card with each round of betting and whoever has the best hand at the end wins.

Other Online Poker Variations

NM players will also be able to find various other iterations of poker that are played around the world at licensed offshore New Mexico online poker rooms. The three above are the most popular but players can also find Americana, different types of stud poker that are played with 3 and 5 cards, and each of the versions above in hi/lo formats.

What Tournaments Can I Play In?

Tournaments are where the real money is. These change all over the industry depending on the licensed offshore poker site players are looking at but here are a few of the most popular ones.

Free Roll tournaments are tournaments with no entry fee or requirement and may function almost like a free play version of the tournaments. If players play their hand right they could come out with a profit.

Sit-and-Go tournaments are tournaments which are run at a quick pace so players can get on with their day.

Can I Play For Free At Online Poker Sites?

Free Play is a common option provided at licensed offshore New Mexico online poker rooms. Free play games run exactly the same way the real money games work except they aren’t played with real currency. Instead, these Free Play games are played with a fictional limitless currency which allows players to get a feel for the system and understand where and when to click to place the proper bets according to their hands without risking their hard earned money. Free play is also available for the following licensed offshore services: NM online bingo halls, and NM online casinos.

Are There Online Poker Bonuses For New Mexico Players?

There are many different online bonuses that NM residents can take advantage of from staples like “Welcome bonuses” all the way to game-specific bonuses. Welcome bonuses are match bonuses, and like other match bonuses (Reload Bonus, and Cryptocurrency Deposit Bonus) these reward players will additional funds based on a certain portion of their deposit like a 50% or 100% match bonus. Other bonuses available include referral bonuses, bonuses that offer free tournament entry, free chips, poker bonuses, and much more.

Can I Play Real Money Poker Games From My Mobile Phone?

Yes, through HTML5 technology. HTML5 has allowed online poker providers to host their own games attached to their URL instead of relying on the popular mobile application stores in the past and requiring user’s to download an app. NM players simply must enter their preferred site into their mobile browser’s URL and poker games instantly become available to them on their mobile device no matter what the operating system or device they are usin.

What Are The Banking Options For NM Players?

Banking options for these websites vary from site to site. The most popularly used methods of deposit and withdrawal for international players are major credit and debit cards, Visa and MasterCard. However, New Mexicans cannot use these traditional funding methods due to the UIGEA, which is a federal banking regulation preventing banks from processing gambling transactions. Therefore, major cards tied to banks cannot be used at licensed offshore online poker sites.

Despite the UIGEA, licensed offshore online poker rooms account for these regulations and offer alternative payment acceptance methods like gift cards, cryptocurrency, and money wire transfers. Withdrawals must also cirumvent the UIGEA and can be delivered to NM players via cryptocurrency, money wire transfer, or check by mail or courier.

New Mexico has a storied past with poker, with theproximity of the state to both Texas and Nevada. The game has grown inpopularity over the years, mainly due to the online poker boom of themid-2000s. These days, as the poker industry is in a continual change in theUnited States, we thought it would be good to have a resource where residentsof New Mexico could find everything they wanted to know about poker – the mostup to date status on the online game, the land-based options for playing realmoney poker, and what new products have entered the market that players may notknow about.

Online Poker in New Mexico

There are no state laws regarding online poker in NewMexico. It is for this reason that when the online poker sites from outside thecountry started accepting players from the state (and all the other states)back in the early 2000s, players were only too eager to register for accountsand make deposits. Before long, these sites were generating millions of dollarsa day from players trying to win big pots in cash games or qualify their way tothe World Series of Poker like Chris Moneymaker did in 2003.

The real money online poker sites brought the world muchcloser to New Mexico, which is why it was even more disappointing to thatstate’s residents than most when the federal government stepped in to shut downthese offshore companies. When it was all said and done, the industry wasshuttered in 2011, leaving New Mexico poker players without a home for realmoney online poker.

Land Based Poker in New Mexico

With no real money online poker to play after the sitesleft town in 2011, New Mexico residents turned back to the land-based pokerrooms that were around before people started playing from their computers. Whatthe state lacks in volume of rooms it makes up for the in the quality of play –there have been several large poker tours come to the state over the years,showing the demand and interest in the game from residents.

There are five poker rooms open in New Mexico, and thoserooms offer cash games and tournaments evet day. If players are interested,there are also some rooms in neighboring Arizona, and a quick check on our pageabout that state will provide the location of those rooms as well.

Here is a list of the available poker rooms in New Mexico:

Buffalo Thunder Casino (Santa Fe, NM)
Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino (Mescalero, NM)
Isleta Casino (Albuquerque, NM)
Route 66 Casino (Albuquerque, NM)
Sandia Poker Room (Albuquerque, NM)

Social Poker in New Mexico

When online poker became as popular as it did in theU.S., many companies tried to find a way to profit from the game. While thereal money poker sites left the country unwillingly in 2011, the desire to playremained, and this is when social poker really started to shine. What companieslike Zynga and others realized is that a majority of poker players like to playfor the entertainment value as opposed to wanting to gamble their own money. Withthe rise of Facebook, there was a platform ready and waiting for poker players,and social poker companies took full advantage. Today, you can find thousandsof players on these sites every day, and if you are a more casual poker player,you will find loads of tables to sit at to work on your poker skills.

Sweepstakes Poker in New Mexico

If you are looking to do a little more than play forstatus points at the poker table, and you have a little money to invest in theendeavor, then sweepstakes poker is calling your name. New Mexico residents cantake advantage of sweepstakes laws in the state to play online poker with thechance to win real cash and prizes.

There is a bit of a twist, however, with sweepstakespoker sites. Club WPT, one of the top subscription-based poker sites, givesplayers access to a full schedule of monthly tournaments in return for asubscription fee. The tournaments do not cost anything to enter, so if you don’twant to pay to enter them, you can receive credits by mailing a postcard to thesite, and they will credit your account once a month. The same goes for theother sweepstakes sites like Global Poker, but in those cases, you are payingfor virtual currency instead of a monthly subscription fee. While all of thismay sound convoluted, we promise you it is totally legit, and you can winprizes as large as entries into World Poker Tour events!

Mobile Poker in New Mexico

Mobile apps have changed the way we interact with theworld, and this is true in the world of online poker as well. If you are in theapp store on your device, you can search and find dozens of poker apps todownload. These are not real money poker apps – those are reserved only forstates that have passed legislation – but that doesn’t mean you can’t learnfrom them. The gameplay on a mobile device is slightly different than on acomputer, so it is good to get a sense of how a game looks on a smaller screen.Free play apps are a great way to practice for no cost, and having a poker gamein your pocket means you can play anytime you get the itch.

Online Poker in New Mexico FAQ

Why is online poker legal in some states and not NewMexico?

It has been determined that regulating and managing gamingis something states can do on their own, and when the unregulated poker sitesleft the U.S., some states were ambitious enough to write bills of their own. Today,online poker is legal in six states (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,Nevada, Michigan, and West Virginia), and with sports betting legislationspreading quickly across the states, we should see that number increase in thecoming years.

What about playing with the real money poker sites Isee ads for sometimes?

Online Nm Poker Game

These sites are still operating outside the law – theyjust haven’t been shut down yet. We don’t think the added troubles of trying tomake deposit and withdrawal requests and the potential of a site being shutdown at any time without warning is worth it for our readers – just findanother way to play poker without all the stress.