Best Online Poker Sites

Poker is not like blackjack, slots or video poker. You can’t play by yourself. Poker sites need to have a steady player base to keep tables full, let alone labeled the best.

When we played at PokerStars, they had more than 100,000-150,000 players at any time. Even late at night in the USA. On Sundays they had more than 250-300,000 players.
No one could come close to this.

Full Tilt came the closest. We can’t remember exactly, but we want to say they hovered around 100,000 players, depending on day and time.

Not only is traffic important just for games to run, but we think it’s a symbol for popularity. Why else would everyone play at a site if not because it’s worth playing at?

Do they have the poker games you want to play? The variations? And stakes?

Every poker site is different here. And few have options for all players.

Some of this comes down to software. But the rest of it comes down to traffic. Any poker site can offer any game, but do they have the players to fill those tables?

Does the site have guaranteed tourneys? Most sites do, so you’ll want to see how big they are, how much they cost to buy in, and if they have satellites or qualifiers so players on a smaller budget can get it.

These tournaments are great because on less popular sites there might be an overlay. This is where there aren’t enough players to fulfill the guarantee, so the poker site covers the rest.

This is great for all players because the field’s smaller and the prize pool isn’t spread (nearly) as thin.

Guaranteed tourneys can be a great way to make money for pros, or for extended forms of entertainment for recreational players.

Another thing the best poker sites have is great offers and promotions. It starts with a solid welcome match bonus with fair clearing requirements.

We also suggest looking for a site that offers reload bonuses. This is a great way to keep your bankroll afloat or flush with cash. Or to freeroll so you can practice playing that new game or tournament you’ve been eying.

Last, the best poker sites offer a VIP program. This is great as a variance buffer for all players. Cash back or other perks can keep losing players afloat. It can also add more to a winning player’s bottom line (especially if the majority of their winnings comes from rakeback).

The best sites are on top of payment processing. They have lots of options. They keep fees to a minimum. And they process payments (especially withdrawals) fast. Most important of all, they actually pay their players. Imagine that.

This includes downloads for PC and Macs, as well as mobile versions for people who prefer to play on their phone or tablet. Most pros won’t, because they’d rather multi-table and be able to use their HUDs. But ask any pro and they’ll tell you about a time they wish they could’ve played on their phone to at least salvage a session because nature called and they had to spend 20 minutes in the bathroom.

This includes all the stuff that should be normal anyway. The poker room should be licensed (as much as possible, in the case of US players), regulated, and have their software (RNGs) tested for fairness. They should have a good rep and be known to pay players within a reasonable time frame.

Offhand we know of one site that offers anonymity, and that’s Bovada. What this means is screen names aren’t used at the tables. You’re identified in some other way, like maybe a color or avatar.

The reason they do this is so that (pro) players can’t track non-pro (weaker) players and pick on them whenever they log in to play. This gives them a fair shake at playing/winning.

Other sites might not offer full anonymity, but may let you change your screen name every so often instead. Back in the day Cake Poker used to let you do this.

Instead of anonymity, some sites have sections exclusive to new players. Many, if not most of these are available to anyone who just signed up. And you can usually stick around these tables for so many hands, games or hours. Once you put in your time, they assume you’re good enough to play with the sharks. In which case you’ll be released to the general population.

What it says on the tin. Many sites, especially those primarily catering to recreational players, do not allow anyone to use tools (calculators), software (HUDs), or anything else to give you an edge over the other players (like data mining). In fact, some rooms, like Bovada, don’t even let you tag or take notes on players.

This isn’t nearly as serious or as important, but some of the more entertaining sites would have 3D avatars or web cam tables. One site that comes to mind, that’s apparently no longer around, is PKR. Their poker platform was like playing a video game. You could make your avatar do tricks and talk trash to other players. And you could use your money or points earned to buy new tricks, clothes, and so on. Just like a modern day video game.

None of these qualities are important, and they won’t make or break a site for most people reading this. But they will definitely offer a unique experience that will earn them the right to call themselves the best site for recreational players.

Unlike options for recreational players, the best sites for (aspiring) pros are sites that let you use HUDs, take notes on players, data mine or use calculators. You need every edge you can get on your opponents. The best poker sites let you find and exploit them.

Rec-player-friendly poker sites, like Bovada, limit the number of tables you can play. Last we checked they limit you to 4. Four tables is not enough to keep most pros entertained, let alone their balances flush with cash. But it’s usually more than enough to keep recreational players busy. So the best tables will not cap you, but instead let you play all the tables you can handle.