DraftKings Launches Real Money Online Poker in Michigan

By Jerry Smith Staff Writer Updated: 09/27/2024

Jerry Smith Staff Writer See Full Bio

Jerry’s greatest advantage is his extensive experience on the casino floor. His time as a casino manager taught him everything about what makes a player tick. Besides being a skilled poker player, he has deep knowledge of all live table games and gambling regulations in the US.

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DraftKings Launches Real Money Online Poker

DraftKings has decided to enter the world of online player vs. player poker games. It brushed off the green biaze in August and laid the cards for its first PVP online poker game in Michigan. Electric Poker is the name of this real money online poker game, and for now, it’s only available to players in the Great Lakes State.

Many people are talking about it as one of the most important developments in US online poker in the last decade. It means Michigan has become the sixth state to welcome online poker opportunities to its citizens.  

What is Electric Poker?

You’ll find Electric Poker in the casino lobby, but don’t let that put you off. It’s not a traditional casino game where you play against the house. Instead, it’s a true real-money online poker game in which you play against two other real opponents, competing for a real money cash prize.

Electric Poker is a lottery or “jackpot” sit-and-go game, like PokerStars Spin and Go or WSOP’s Blast. It’s a three-handed, winner-takes-all online poker tournament, and the winning prize is randomized at the start of the tournament.

Buy-in levels are set at $1, $5, $10, and $25, with prize pools ranging from 2x to as much as 10,000x players’ origins buy-in based on what the number generator says.

This type of online poker game has become very popular in recent years. What’s most attractive is that the games are fast, fun, and great for mobile play. There’s also the obvious attraction of the chance to win a big prize. The games are no-limit Hold ’em tournaments raked at 7%.  

How to Play Electric Poker

Once you’ve found Electric Poker in the DraftKings casino lobby and chosen your buy-in level, you’ll sit at a table against two other real opponents. At this point, a random prize is determined. Around 50% of the time, you can expect this to be 2x the buy-in. Around a third of the time, it’ll be 3x the buy-in. Higher prizes appear less often.

The game is a fast-paced sit-and-go that has you competing for the prize. For multipliers up to 4x, it’s winner-takes-all. With higher multipliers, second —and sometimes even third-place players get a consolation prize.

Blinds go up every minute, meaning games last only a short time. There is a twist to the game, which is that it goes into Electric Mode after just a few blind levels. In this mode, all players are forced all-in every hand until one player is left standing. The maximum play times are six minutes for low prize pool games, going up to 12 minutes for the higher multiplier games.

Is an Expansion Imminent?

When DraftKings announced the launch of Electric Poker, no further expansion plans were mentioned. However, that doesn’t mean it’ll never be available in other jurisdictions. The brand’s online casino is available in five states, its online sports betting platform is available in 25 states, and the fantasy gaming platform is available in 44 states.

DraftKings is a prominent household name, and its favorable standing in regulated markets gives me hope that it will expand the product to the rest of its online casino markets. If Electric Poker proves popular, the company will have a solid claim for expanding its product and footprint to new states. Fingers crossed, this is just the beginning.