This guide is divided into two sections. In the first half, you’ll find poker rooms for players who want to generate real income. In the second half, there are rooms that offer the best experience for recreational players.
There’s a difference between these types of poker sites. Some rooms are better for “grinders” and players who spend more time at the tables, while others are built to create a fun poker experience with lots of perks.
Check the full review for each poker site to get more details on the application, device compatibility, games offered, and everything else you need to know.
Best Sites For Players to Earn Income From Poker
These sites cater to experienced players who regularly play the same stakes and need a wide range of tables to choose from. The other thing that grinders need is a rake structure and rakeback program that suit their high volume of play. Trusted sites with long histories are also ideal, as experienced players are transacting more funds than casual players.
Best Overall Poker Site Based on Player Reviews + Software
Partypoker is one of the best sites based on GipsyTeam player reviews, and it’s not tough to see why. They have every box ticked; high player traffic, fantastic rakeback, lots of poker formats, plus a solid reputation. After over 20 years involved in poker, partypoker is trustworthy for players around the world.
They’ve significantly updated their software over the past few years, bringing it to the standard set by other sites like GGPoker and PokerStars.
Whatever time zone you’re in, you’ll be able to sign up with partypoker and find busy cash games and tournaments right away. Their rakeback is a poker fan-favorite, with up to 60% back using the loyalty program. Players who play at higher stakes may even be invited to participate in the Elite VIP rakeback program with higher returns.
Best Poker Site for Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin
The best sites are starting to offer BTC and cryptocurrency transactions at their cashiers, but it’s not an option on all sites. TigerGaming is one of the top poker sites to offer these modern payment options for deposits and withdrawals. The company is part of the Chico Poker Network and caters to American and Canadian players who can’t access other poker rooms.
TigerGaming also guarantees a 24-hour withdrawal time during business days, something that’s almost unheard of in the poker industry. Players might get a double payout if TigerGaming if the withdrawal is late, another thing that is rarely seen in the online poker world.
Players who make a deposit of $10 or more on TigerGaming can snag a Welcome Bonus. Any amount of $10 or more is matched, with a limit of $1000. There’s also a $10,000 First Depositor Freeroll waiting for anybody who’s added money to their bankroll for the first time.
Poker Skin With One of the Largest Player Bases
As the name suggests, America’s Cardroom on the Winning Poker Network has accepted US players for a long time, since 2001. Players in North America can have a hard time logging onto poker sites due to restrictions. For peace of mind, it’s best to find a site like ACR that has a history of accepting US and Canadian withdrawal and deposit options. They offer Bitcoin, along with traditional methods like Visa and Mastercard.
Black Chip Poker and Poker King are two rooms on the Winning Poker Network that accept players from around the world. The room shares its player base with America’s Cardroom and other WPN skins. Each skin is individually owned but uses the same software. This means you can register for multiple accounts on the Winning Poker Network.
All players on the Winning Poker Network get to compete in huge rake races, like The Beast. If you regularly play at a certain stake level, these rake races can generate a decent amount of rakeback. Leaderboards are divided by stake level and format (hold ‘em, Omaha, etc).
ACR became part of the iPoker Network in 2011, connecting their site with other skins on the network. Over 50% of the player traffic can be found at the no-limit Texas hold ‘em tables. The rest of the players are spread between the fast-folding Blitz format and the pot-limit Omaha tables.
America’s Cardroom tournaments usually have a good buy-in to prize pool ratio, especially on Sundays. For example, the $10.50 Sunday Squeeze has a guaranteed prize pool of $50,000.
Some US states may block ACR due to the state’s regulations.
Best Soft Sites For Players Who Want Fun and Benefits
If you’re seeking fun poker formats and micro and low stakes, the following three rooms are great options. These sites also have some of the best software in the online poker world, with tons of social features and options to play privately with friends.
Sites with the biggest bonuses are usually the best place if you’re looking for casual online poker games. Promotions, especially for first-time depositors, attract lots of recreational players to poker rooms.
Don’t forget to take advantage of the poker room’s bonuses as you make your first deposit.
Biggest No-Deposit Bonus Poker Site
888poker has offered their $88 No-Deposit Bonus to eligible players for several years now. No other online poker site has come close to this large of a bonus, just for registering an account. Eligible players can follow the emailed instructions after signing up on 888poker and unlock chunks of the bonus as they play poker.
They also offer a 100% Matched Deposit Bonus for players, with a limit of $1000 matched.
This awesome bonus isn’t the only reason to play on 888poker. After over 20 years in business, they’ve earned the trust of poker players. Their poker software for Mac, Windows, and mobile devices is very well-designed and easy to use too.
Best Poker Software On All Devices
GGPoker has arguably the best software in the online poker industry. They’ve made a clear effort to add lots of social and interactive features to gamify the poker experience. That’s not to say the cash game selection or tournament lineup is lacking in any way. GGPoker is one of the largest sites in the world, with a fantastic spread of games.
The GGPoker software runs flawlessly on all devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. They run lots of great promotions, like the 30-Day Honeymoon and the $100,000 Daily Flipouts. When you're running extremely hot (GGCheer) or get dealt a very bad beat (GGCares), you’ll automatically enter into these huge Daily Flipouts.
Best Poker Site to Set Up Home Games With Friends
A lot of poker players don’t know that you can host private cash games and tournaments on PokerStars. You can use software from one of the top sites in the world, with complete control of the stakes, table size, and other settings for over 17 different formats of poker.
You can select Play Money or Real Money, making this one of the best sites to host your private games. If you or your friends aren’t ready to deposit yet, that won’t stop you from playing poker all night with them.
After you create an account with PokerStars, proceed to the Home Games tab of the menu. For players who just want to try free poker with friends, follow our instructions to set up tournaments or cash games. If real money poker is more your style, make sure to collect the $30 Freeplay Bonus with any deposit of $10 or more.
