Poker Poker site reviews
Poker rooms compared across a dozen categories.

Online Poker

Interest in online poker has grown immensely over the early years of the 21st century. Today, millions of people all over the world regularly play poker on the Internet, and hundreds of millions of dollars are exchanged on a daily basis. There are several reasons for this growth. Poker hit mainstream television in the US in 2003 when the World Poker Tour (WPT) started airing on the Travel Channel, and the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) got a lot of coverage on the sports network ESPN. In that year, online qualifier Chris Moneymaker became world champion of poker winning $2,500,000. The notion that any player could get lucky and win life changing amounts of money in major poker tournaments, like the WSOP, made a lot of people aware of online poker. The wide availability of cheap Internet access and improved technology for secure online money transactions were also important factors in this development.

In online poker, the function of the dealer is performed by a computer server. As a player you need to connect to the server from your own computer over the Internet, and you can then play with others who are connected to the same server. On your computer screen you see what you would see in a face to face game: your own cards, the community cards and any face up cards belonging to other players, and the bets made by the other players. On the basis of this you make your betting decisions. Compared to a live poker game, some of the atmosphere is lost since the other players are not physically present. In compensation there is the convenience of being able to play at any time, day or night, without having to travel. Also games progress quickly and smoothly with the server managing the cards and chips and to some extent ensuring that the game is played fairly.

In order to take part, you need to join an online poker room. Most provide the facility to play for real or virtual money. If you want to play for real money you will first need to buy some chips using your credit card or some other online payment system. While some online poker rooms are independent, many are grouped into poker networks. You enter a game by logging into a poker room, but the game itself is provided by the network. All players on a particular network will generally have access to the same games and facilities. The different rooms belonging to the network will each have their own branding and may provide their own special incentives or help for their players.

Factors that may influence your choice of where to play include:

  • Player volume. A large player volume usually means a good selection of games.
  • Player strength. Beginners should look for weak competition. Experienced players, however, want games that suit their playing style.
  • The software. Inexperienced players need software that is clear and easy to understand. Skilled players my look for advanced functionality - for example the facility to play at several sites and tables simultaneously.
  • The rake. It is reasonable for the poker room to make a small charge to pay for providing the service, normally as a percentage or fixed amount taken from each pot, but these charges can vary significantly from room to room.
  • Bonuses/Promotions. Sign-up bonuses and other promotions provide a useful cushion against early losses for inexperienced players. For those who play at the same poker room for a longer period of time, some offer loyalty programs.

This page has links to a selection of online poker rooms, with brief descriptions. This site has other pages with general information about poker and details of its rules and variants. There is also page listing poker portals providing poker room reviews and other resources, and a further page of links to online poker sites.

Mark Madner has written a useful overview of Online Poker and its history.

Legalize U.S. Poker Online

In October 2006 the US government passed legislation restricting banks from dealing with online gambling sites. As a result several major online poker rooms have stopped accepting deposits from US players. Anthony Von Ducci is organising an online petition to legalize online poker in the USA.

OwnTheCards.com is a free server on which you can play Texas Hold'em with friends over the Internet. Play is for chips - it is up to the players whether to play for fun or to settle up in real money afterwards. There is no charge to download and use the software and no rake.

An older and less user friendly application that also allows live Poker play with other players over the Internet is the IRC Poker Dealer. Further information about this service can be found on the IRC poker page of the rec.gambling.poker FAQ.

If you want to play online for money with strangers, you will need an onlinepoker room that handles the money transactions for you as well as just the play. Below are some of the many commercial rooms that provide this service. They normally take a small amount, the rake, out of each pot to finance their operations.

Everest Poker is an on line poker room whose interface is available in 15 languages: Danish, Dutch, English, French, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. Everest Poker offers the widest selection of satellites to the WSOP, WPT, and EPT main events. With their international focus, they also run satellites to many of the local European tournaments. Since Everest is a growing room, there are fewer players and a better chance to win your buy-in to these events. The Everest Poker School, established in 2005, provides a tutorial and a training room for beginners.

Bwin poker is the poker room of the Austrian-based Bwin online gaming company. It is available as a downloadable Windows of Mac program or as a Java client, so users of Macintosh and Linux computers are welcome. Formerly known as Betandwin.com, Bwin was founded in 1999, and in 2006 they completed the acquistion of the Ongame poker network, which was founded in 1999 by professional Swedish poker players Oskar Hörnell and Claes Lidell. This network has offered real money poker games since 2001 under various brand names including PokerRoom.com, EuroPoker.com and HoldemPoker.com. The interface is available in 22 European languages including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Polish and Russian, enabling players from many countires to play Texas Hold'em, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Draw or Omaha together, at any time of day or night.

A member of the Everleaf network, Yoy Poker offers Texas Hold'em, Omaha High, Omaha Hi-Lo and 7 Card Stud.

PartyPoker.com, launched in 2001 was for a while the world's fastest growing online poker site. It offers a variety of games and tournaments. There is a "party points" loyalty scheme: these points are awarded per real money deal played, and are used to qualify for tournament entry and to access various promotions. As a bonus for new members, Party Poker will match your cash deposit up to a maximum of $500 - this bonus money is released as you earn party points by playing.
Note: to comply with French gaming law, real money players players in France should use the separate French site PartyPoker.fr.

BetFair Poker offers online Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Stud and Draw poker games, and is compatible with Windows and Mac computers. New players can select a level of introductory bonus up to $2500 to be released as they play. BetFair has been in business as a betting exchange since 2000. Their poker room was started in 2004 and from 2005 to 2010 they ran an independent network based on the former Poker Champs software. They joined OnGame in July 2010, enabling them to offer a wider range of games and tournaments, a larger prize pool, superior graphics and support for playing multiple games.

Licensed in Panama, Poker Host offers Texas Holdem and Omaha. They accept US players and offer to host private tournaments for afilliates.

Walker Poker offers 12 online poker games: Texas Hold'em, Badugi, 2-7 Lowball, A-5, 5-card stud, 5-card draw, Razz, 7-card stud, 7-card stud hi-lo, H.O.R.S.E, Omaha, Omaha hi-lo.

Noxwin Poker features Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or better, Soko (5-card stud with 4-flushes and 4-straights), 7-card stud, 7-card stud hi-lo, 5-card draw, 2-7 triple draw, Americana and Telesina. It offers torunaments, cash rewards for regular players and a bad beat jackpot.

Virgin Poker is a member of the International Poker Network using BossMedia software. It was set up in 2004 and is licensed in Malta. Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha HiLo, 5 and 7 card Stud, and 5 card draw with a 52-card or 32-card deck are offered. There are regular Freerolls and other tournaments, and players can earn V*POINTS which are exchangable for airmiles, shopping vouchers, etc.

Bet365 Poker is a member of the iPoker network offering Texas Hold'em Stud Poker and Omaha. There are regular freeroll tournaments as well as the regular iPoker tournaments and promotions. Customer support is available in 25 languages. Players from the bet365 poker room also can wager in the sportsbook, casino and bingo room by use of the bet365 common wallet. bet365 will match 100% up to $500 in free cash for all new depositors, and new players will automatically earn points towards the VIP program based on every hand dealt.

Tiger Gaming provides on line Texas Holdem, 7-Card Stud and Guts games. Also Pan, Chinese Poker and Big Two.

Chili Poker is a successful member of the iPoker network, online since 2004, offering Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo. It features Chiliconnect, a toolbar that helps players to keep in touch through social networks, publish results, issue challenges and so on.

Titan Poker is the leading poker room in the PlayTech 'iPoker network', and provides interfaces in English, French, German and Italian.

Poker4Ever, licensed in Malta, offers Texas Holdem, Omaha and 7 Card Stud.

Launched in 2004, Noble Poker offers Texas Hold'em and Omaha games at various levels and limits. It is part of the iPoker network, using PlayTech software. Guaranteed prize pools of $200, $500 and even $2500 with low buy-ins are offered daily, plus satellite tournaments, giving winners the chance to participate in major poker events worldwide.

At Bamba Poker you can play a wide selection of Poker games for Euros: Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Ohama Hi-Lo, Soko (5-card stud with 4-flushes and 4-straights), 7-Card-Stud, 7-Card-Stud Hi-Lo, 5-Card-Draw and Deuce to Seven Triple-Draw. Also two stud variations using a 32-card deck: Americana and Telesina. Most players are from Scandinavia but players from all over the world can take part. The interface is available in English, Danish and Swedish, and soon in Italian, Russian, German and Finnish as well. There is a progressive Bad Beat Jackpot that is often larger than EUR 5,000, and a VIP point shop where you can buy books, Ipods, casino trips, etc. for VIP points. Bamba Poker is a member of the Entraction Network, formerly known as the 24H network and as B2B poker and now owned by IGT.

24h Poker is also a member of the Entraction network offering Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Ohama Hi-Lo, Soko (5-card stud with 4-flushes and 4-straights), 7-Card-Stud, 7-Card-Stud Hi-Lo, 5-Card-Draw, Deuce to Seven Triple-Draw, Americana and Telesina. The interface is available in nine languages.

Founded in 2009, Winner Poker is a member of the iPoker network, offering online Texas Hold'em, Omaha and Stud Poker games.

At the UK-based Ladbrokes Poker you can play Texas Hold'Em, Omaha or Stud poker on line at cash tables or in tournaments. Ladbrokes Poker joined the Microgaming network in February 2009.

At Circus Poker you can play Texas Hold'em, Omaha and 7-card and 5-card Stud online. Daily beginners' freerolls are held. It is a member of the iPoker network, licensed in Alderney and run by Genting Casinos Ltd, a large UK casino operator owned by the Malaysian multi-national company Genting Berhad.

Celeb Poker offers the opportunity to play online poker and chat with celebrities from around the world.

Royal Vegas Poker is an online poker room hosted by Lou Krieger, joint author of Poker for Dummies. It is also the platform at which the College Poker Championship is played.

Carbon Poker offers an unusually wide range of online poker games for money, including Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi or Hi/Lo, 5-card Draw, 5-card Stud, 7-card Stud Hi or Hi/Lo, Razz, H.O.R.S.E., A-5 or 2-7 Lowball and Badugi - also non-poker games, including Euchre.

Sun Poker joined the popular iPoker network at the beginning of 2009. As well as ring games of Texas Hold'em, 7 Card Stud and Omaha, they offers a range of tournaments, including a guaranteed payout of $400,000 every weekend, and can arrange private tournaments.

Doyles Room is managed by Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson (World Champion of Poker 1976 and 1977) together with Mike Caro. Games offered include Texas Holdem, Omaha and Badugi (four-card three-draw low poker).

A member of the iPoker network using Playtech software, CD Poker offers Texas Hold'em (No Limit, Pot Limit, and Limit), Omaha and Omaha Hi Lo. All games can be played for fun or for money in US Dollars, Euro or Sterling, and there are regular tournaments and freerolls.

Real Money Online Texas Hold'em Tournaments: Tower Gaming Win real money, play online hold'em. Play poker tournaments at Tower Gaming.

At RedKings your can play Texas Hold'em, Stud, Omaha and Draw poker.

Based in Malta, A-Winning-Hand.com is an online poker room offering Texas Hold'em, Omaha and Stud games and tournaments.

Now owned by Sporting Bet and a member of the International Poker Network, Paradise Poker is a well established online Poker room offering Texas Hold'em, Omaha High, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Stud Hi/Lo and Hold'em Tournaments.

Poker770.com is a French language online poker room with betting in Euros. An English language version is available at Poker770.co.uk and a Spanish version at poker770.es.

Bodog offers online poker for free or for real money, including multitable, freeroll tournaments and qualifying tournaments for the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tournament.

Cara de Poker is a Spanish language poker room belonging to the Entraction Network.

Unibet offers an online poker room based on Microgaming software, where you can play Texas Hold'Em, Five Card Draw Poker, Five Card Stud, Seven Card Stud and Omaha.

A member of the Digital Gaming Network, PokerEon offers Texas Holdem, Omaha, 7 Card stud and 5 Card Draw poker, plus a range of tournaments.

At Hollywood Poker you can play on-line poker with Hollywood celebrities.

Triple Jack Poker is an online poker room that claims to be safe for the whole family. The game is Texas Hold'em for play money only, with animated cartoon players, side bets, and the opportunity to throw tomatoes and pies at your opponents.

Planet Poker offers an on-line game of Texas Hold'em at set stakes.

Backgammon Masters - Poker offers an online poker game and a collection of brief articles about poker.

Get Minted Poker, run by the Cashcade group based in Alderney, Channel Islands, offers a UK-oriented on line poker room, using Pounds Sterling as the currency.

Casino Software India can provide custom-written poker software for running a range of online poker games, and offers features such as a webcam interface and voice chat.

Multi-player Texas Hold'em and Omaha Hi games for fun only are included in the Favorite Games Ltd. package.

Goodgame Poker is a browser-based multi-player Texas Hold'em game for play money only.

Games.com offers multi-player online Poker (several versions) for play money only.

Net Poker, from NetIntellGames, allows you to play against a computer opponent or with a human opponent over the Internet, LAN, modem or direct connection.

The following sites also offer on-line poker games:


Online Poker
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