Stake.com Poker: Full Review of New Crypto Option
Stake.com is a popular sports betting site that dominates the market but also offers real money online poker, plus casino games. Stake.com poker is a branch of the Stake brand, which is the crypto-friendly official betting partner of the UFC, partner of Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant podcast, and the main partner of the Everton Football Club. All of this exposure is great for poker players because Stake has a massive pool of hundreds of thousands of regular users. Stake.com is licensed out of Curaçao and it legally provides services wherever online gambling is allowed.
9-player cash games and multi-table tournaments are on offer, mostly aimed at micro and low-stakes bankrolls. In this guide, we’ll get much more in-depth about the games, and tell you exactly how to play in poker on Stake.com.
What is Stake.com Poker?
Stake was founded in 2017 and has become a major player in the crypto betting and casino space. Their portfolio of games is impressive and even features live dealers, but not for their online poker games. Just like many of the largest poker rooms, Stake partners with other huge brands and major celebrities, including Drake. Stake is mainly known as a bookmaker, but they also offer real money tournaments and cash games.
In May 2024, poker was added to Stake.com. Things are kept simple, with only No-Limit Holdem and Pot-Limit Omaha on Stake poker. Because of the traffic flowing over from other places on the site, they manage to attract several hundred players at peak times. It appears that the player base is most focused on Texas Holdem cash games.
There’s no download needed, since Stake.com is a website and offers all of their games in your browser.
Stake.com Poker App
One of the conveniences of playing on Stake.com is that everything appears in your browser. With no download and using a browser like Google Chrome, you’ll have instant load times and can reach the action quickly. It’s very easy to play on mobile devices too, like iOS or Android smartphones.
There are only a few poker formats (Texas Holdem, Omaha, and Pineapple), which is a trend many other poker rooms are following. Instead of offering a dozen different formats, they specialize in a handful.
Navigating to the poker games is simple from the Stake.com homepage. First click on the Casino button in the top left of the screen, then look down the left side until you see Stake Poker. Next, you’ll have to register, which you can also complete with Facebook, Google, Line, or Twitch.
Once you get to the tables, you’ll see a simple and easy on the eyes design. The animations are smooth, yet basic, and there aren’t many throwable items or reactions - just poker.
You can also multi-table as much as your heart desires, with no limitations on how many tables you join.
Table features:
- Custom bet buttons for preflop and postflop
- Game chat
- Auto rebuy and add-on settings
- Customize the sounds that are played or muted
- Hand replayer
- Live stats to track profitability
- Run it twice
- Straddling (even auto-straddling)
- Several deck, table, and background designs
- Display stacks as BB or dollar amounts
There’s even a feature that will confirm a fold, if you press fold when a check is available. All in all, Stake Poker has a solid poker setup, with meaningful features and a clutter-free display.
Data mining and HUDs are prohibited while playing on Stake Poker.
How is the Player Traffic on Stake.com Poker?
During our testing, Stake.com poker had around 250-400 players online during American evening times. The player traffic seems to be almost completely playing cash games.
In peak times, we saw around eight nine-handed tables of No-Limit Holdem at the highest stakes on the site ($0.50/$1). Essentially, all of the stakes for NL have a similar amount of traffic, all the way down to $0.05/$0.10.
Omaha has far less traffic, with only a couple of tables at each stake level. The PLO tables go from $0.01/$0.02 to $0.25/$0.50.
If you want to discover the hotspots for your favorite poker format, use our free traffic checker tool and filter by games and sites. We update this constantly so that you can see what peak
times are and what everyone’s playing.
Cash Games on Stake.com Poker
By selecting the Ring Games, you’ll see the cash game lobby at Stake Poker.
No Limit Texas Holdem Stakes:
| Stakes | Min/Max Buy-In | Estimated % of Room Traffic |
|---|---|---|
| $0.05/$0.10 | $4 to $10 | ~30% |
| $0.10/$0.20 | $8 to $20 | ~20% |
| $0.25/$0.50 | $20 to $50 | ~10% |
| $0.50/$1 | $40 to $100 | ~30% |
Pot Limit Omaha Stakes:
| Stakes | Min/Max Buy-In | Estimated % of Room Traffic |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01/$0.02 | $0.80 to $2 | ~1% |
| $0.05/$0.10 | $4 to $10 | ~1% |
| $0.10/$0.20 | $8 to $20 | ~1% |
| $0.25/$0.50 | $20 to $50 | ~1% |
Multi-table Tournaments on Stake Poker (MTTs)
Stake is making an effort to keep a healthy daily tournament lobby and events start a couple times an hour. There’s activity here, but not very much compared to the cash game side of Stake Poker.
Most of the tournaments are Texas Holdem, with about two PLO tournaments each day, and a few Pineapple Holdem events.
You will also see a couple of $500 freerolls running on a daily basic. This doesn’t compare to partypoker (which runs hourly freerolls, 24 per day) but nevertheless, entry is free and a zero investment shot at real money is welcomed.
Offering a juicy prize pool requires a dedicated player base. It makes it worthwhile for poker rooms to offer bigger rewards. At Stake.com, the prize pools are somewhat lower than they are on other major poker rooms. Check our reviews to learn more.
Bonuses for Stake Poker Players
Unfortunately, Stake.com does not have a bonus structure for poker players - but they do for the casino and sports betting. However, situations change, and it’s not impossible that poker bonuses might come in the future.
If boosting your bankroll is a priority, there are plenty of poker rooms that will match your deposit or give you a valuable freeplay bonus.
However, there is a loyalty program for poker players on Stake.com, known as the Stake VIP Club. The wagering requirements are a little steep for recreational poker players, but high-volume regs might be able to hit those numbers, at least for Bronze and Silver tiers.
Hitting Bronze Tier means you unlock rakeback and a couple of other bonus packages.
You can get bonuses for crypto deposits or other payment methods on other sites. 888poker has their one-of-a-kind no-deposit $88 bonus, PokerKing has the largest matched bonus in online poker, and that’s only two. Our list of poker promotions will show you whats on offer right now.
How to Play Stake Poker
Before playing, you must register a Stake Poker account.
- Look in the top right corner of the Stake.com website. There, you will see Sign In and Register.
- You will now see a form with several fields to fill out, but you can also register faster using Facebook, Google, Line, or Twitch.
- Follow the steps to finishing registering your Stake Poker account.
Rake and Rakeback
For tournaments, the rake at Stake Poker is 10%. Even though this is a standard MTT rake for many poker rooms, it’s going to feel much higher, because the prize pools at Stake Poker are generally lower than on other rooms.
This table will show the rake at Stake Poker for the cash games.
| Blinds | Rake % | 2 Player Cap | 3+ Player Cap | 5+ Player Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01/$0.02 | 5% | 0.25 | $0.5 | $0.75 |
| $0.05/$0.10 | 5% | 0.75 | $1 | $1.5 |
| $0.10/$0.20 | 5% | 0.75 | $1.25 | $2 |
| $0.25/$0.50 | 5% | 1 | $2.5 | $3 |
| $0.50/$1 | 5% | 1 | $2.5 | $3.5 |
At Stake Poker, you recieve 5% of the rake you paid as rakeback. The downside is that rakeback never increases, and on top of that, you have to reach the Bonze Tier of the loyalty program before you get any rakeback at all. It will be accumulating from the first games you play, but you can’t claim it until reaching Bronze.
Compared to almost every poker site we have done reviews for, Stake Poker has one of the lowest rakeback payouts and it’s very difficult to attain.
Deposits and Withdrawals on Stake.com Poker
Stake Poker is crypto-only, meaning that you need to have one of their many crypto coins to make deposits. This is fairly simple if you understand crypto exchanges or have coins already. The major ones are all accepted, but here are some we saw at the time of writing:
- BTC
- ETH
- USDT
- DOGE
- SOL
- BCH
- LTC
- XRP
- TRX
- EOS
- BNB
- USDC
- SHIB
Stake.com also allows you to buy crypto directly using a service called MoonPay.
To deposit, While the coins on the cashier may change from time to time, the method is the same. Once you select a crypto coin you want to use, copy the address and deposit the amount there. This is also a good time to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
Deposit Limits and Fees: There are no fees, no minimums, and no maximums set by Stake.
To Withdraw, choose the crypto-currency you want to use, then the netowrk, and enter your destination address. Finally, key in the amount you want to withdraw as well as your 2FA code (or another verification code).
Withdrawal Limits and Fees:
There are minimum withdrawal amounts, but no maximum withdrawal. If you have any amount above the minimum withdrawal amount, you can extract everything in one go if you choose. Withdrawals also come with a small fee, which differs for each coin.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Stake.com Poker
| Stake.com Poker Advantages | Stake.com Poker Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Fast sign-up and easy account verification with ID | Only one poker format with cash game traffic. |
| Fast deposits and withdrawls using crypto | Fiat users must convert to crypto to deposit. |
| Well-designed and modern style | No Heads-Up tables (1-on-1) |
| Decent No-Limit Holdem cash game traffic | Very few Omaha cash games |
| $500 freerolls | No certified RNG. |
| Software runs smoothly with no load times. | Using a HUD is against the rules. |
| Browser games run smoothly | MTT schedule will not satisfy high-volume players or specialists. |
| Fast support response | Extremely disadvantageous rakeback structure. |
Stake Poker Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When did Stake start offering poker?
A: Stake.com started offering poker in May of 2024.
Q: How long do deposits and withdrawals take to process on Stake Poker?
A: Crypto is the only currency used on Stake.com and it processes very quickly, usually beating all traditional methods.
Q: Can I use a HUD on Stake Poker?
A: Using a HUD or other programs that could assit you during play are against the rules of Stake Poker, as outlined in the terms and conditions.
Q: Do I need to deposit to Stake.com or Stake Poker?
A: By depositing to Stake.com, you can use your funds to play poker.
Q: How can I contact Stake Poker directly?
A: You can email support@stake.com, read helpful articles on the support site, or chat live with a Stake.com representative. If you need help with anything else, GipsyTeam is here 24/7.
