Responsible gambling: limits that work, and help that is real
Poker is a game you can lose money at, and for some people it stops being a game. This page is not a disclaimer bolted to the bottom of a site — it is the practical version: what actually limits play, what the warning signs look like, and where to get help that is free and independent of anyone selling you anything.
Our interest is not neutral here. Deep Poker earns a share of the rake generated at the tables, so we make more money when people play more. Read this page — and every other operator's version of it — with that in mind. It is the reason everything below points at services we have no control over.
The warning signs worth taking seriously
None of these on its own means you have a problem. Several of them, or one of them repeatedly, is worth stopping to think about.
- You are playing longer or for more than you planned, and it keeps happening.
- You are chasing losses — moving up in stakes, or playing on, to get back to even.
- You are borrowing to play, or playing with money that was for something else.
- You are hiding how much you play, or how much you have lost.
- You feel anxious, restless or irritable when you try to stop.
- Poker is affecting your sleep, work, relationships or finances and you are playing anyway.
The one that matters most is borrowing to play. It appears on every clinical screening tool there is, and it is the point at which losses stop being bounded by what you have.
What actually limits play
Ranked by how hard they are to undo in the moment, which is the only ranking that matters. A control you can switch off while tilted is not a control.
- Bank and card gambling blocks. Offered by many banks and card issuers, usually with a cooling-off period before they can be lifted. The hardest to reverse, and they work regardless of where a site is licensed.
- Device-level blocking software. Gamban, BetBlocker and similar block gambling sites and apps across your devices. BetBlocker is free. These reach club apps and offshore sites that no self-exclusion scheme covers.
- Regulator self-exclusion schemes. GAMSTOP in Great Britain, and state schemes in regulated US markets. Powerful where they apply — but see the limits below.
- Platform deposit and session limits. Useful only in proportion to how long an increase takes to apply. Instant increases make the limit decorative.
- Bankroll rules. Genuinely useful for managing variance — see our bankroll management guide— but they answer “how much can I lose without going broke”, not “can I afford to lose this”. Only the second question protects you.
The limit nobody tells you about
Self-exclusion schemes are tied to licensing. GAMSTOP covers operators licensed in Great Britain; US state schemes cover operators licensed in that state. Club poker apps — ClubGG, PPPoker, PokerBros — and offshore rooms sit outside all of them. Registering with GAMSTOP does not block a club app, and no equivalent central scheme exists for them.
That is a genuine gap in player protection across this entire category, ours included, and it is better to know it now than to discover it after relying on a scheme that never covered you. If you need to stop and you play on club apps, the two controls that work are the bank block and the device block — the first two on the list above, and neither of them is something an operator can quietly reverse.
Where to get help
All free, all independent of us. Each was checked on August 27, 2026.
Gambling Therapy
Anyone, anywhere — a global service run by the UK charity Gordon Moody
Free advice and emotional support through moderated forums, in 39 languages including Arabic, Urdu, Russian and Turkish. The most useful option if English is not your first language or you are outside the UK and US.
National Problem Gambling Helpline (US)
United States
Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), or chat online. Free, confidential, 24/7. Note the number changed — a lot of sites still publish the old one.
GambleAware
Great Britain
Free treatment and support via the National Gambling Support Network, plus self-assessment tools.
GAMSTOP
Great Britain
Free self-exclusion covering every GB-licensed online operator at once, for six months, one year or five years. It does not cover offshore or club-app sites — see the limits section below.
Gamblers Anonymous
International
Peer fellowship meetings, in person and online. Free, no membership requirement beyond wanting to stop.
If you are in immediate crisis, contact your local emergency services rather than a gambling helpline.
What Deep Poker does and does not offer
Checked against the live product on August 27, 2026, because a page like this should not describe features from memory.
We do not currently offer deposit limits, session limits, loss limits, cool-off periods, reality checks or in-app self-exclusion. No such controls exist in the product today. We would rather say that than imply otherwise — if you need a limit, the bank block and the device block at the top of this page are the ones that will actually hold, and neither of them depends on us.
The credit line, since this page names borrowing as a warning sign
Deep Poker offers a credit facility. It appears in the app as “Credit”, described there as “use your credit line and repay from your main balance”. Receiving credit adds funds to your main balance — which you can play with or withdraw — and creates an outstanding amount you owe back. Repayment comes from your balance, or can be deducted automatically from commission.
How the limit is set is the part that matters for this page. The app states that your credit limit is a percentage of your net profit, subject to a cap, and that it is based on net profit and repayment history. A player who is down does not have a credit line to draw on: the facility advances against money already made, rather than lending against money that might be lost.
We are stating this plainly because this page calls borrowing to play the most serious warning sign there is, and it would be dishonest to say that while not mentioning that we run a credit product. The net-profit cap is a real structural limit and it is why we do not think the two are in conflict — but you should judge that for yourself. If you find yourself drawing credit to keep playing after a losing run, the existence of a limit is not the reassuring part.
If you want to stop playing with us
Message the team on Telegram and say so plainly. You do not owe anyone an explanation, and you will not be offered a bonus to stay.
Do the bank block and the device block as well. A request to an operator depends on that operator honouring it; the other two do not depend on anyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does self-exclusion work on club poker apps?
Not the way it does on licensed sites. GAMSTOP covers every operator licensed in Great Britain in one step, and US state regulators run their own schemes — but none of them reaches club apps like ClubGG, PPPoker or PokerBros, or offshore rooms. On those you are relying on the club or agent to honour a request, and on your own device-level controls. That is a real gap and you should know about it before you rely on it rather than after.
What can I do if there is no self-exclusion scheme where I play?
Blocking software is the closest equivalent and it works regardless of licence: Gamban, BetBlocker and similar tools block gambling apps and sites across your devices, and BetBlocker is free. Bank-level gambling blocks are available from many banks and card issuers and are harder to reverse in the moment than an app setting. Combining a device block with a bank block removes the two easiest routes back in.
Is a deposit limit useful if I can just raise it?
It depends entirely on the delay. A limit you can raise instantly is a suggestion. A limit that takes 24 hours or more to increase is a real control, because it puts time between the impulse and the deposit — and the impulse is usually the problem, not the intention. Where a platform offers limits, check how long an increase takes before you rely on one. Deep Poker does not currently offer deposit limits at all, which is why this page leads with controls that sit outside any operator.
How much should I have in a poker bankroll?
The conventional guidance is 20–30 buy-ins for cash games and 100+ for tournaments, and our bankroll guide covers the reasoning. But bankroll rules are about surviving variance, not about whether you should be playing at all. They answer 'how much can I lose without going broke', not 'can I afford to lose this' — and only the second question protects you.
Does Deep Poker lend money to players?
There is a credit facility in the product, described in the app as a credit line you repay from your main balance. Its limit is set as a percentage of your net profit with a cap, and is based on net profit and repayment history — so it advances against money you have already made rather than lending against money you might lose, and a player who is down has nothing to draw on. Funds received go to your main balance and can be played or withdrawn. We mention it here rather than leaving it out, because this page treats borrowing to play as a serious warning sign and it would be inconsistent to say so silently.
Does Deep Poker profit if I play more?
Yes, and you should factor that in when reading anything we write about this. Deep Poker's revenue is a share of the rake generated at the tables, so more play means more revenue for us. That is exactly why this page points you at independent services rather than offering to counsel you ourselves, and why the tools that actually protect people — device blocks, bank blocks, external self-exclusion — are ones we do not control.