If you're trying to find an online poker site to join, this is the page for you. We've compiled a list of the best cardrooms on the Internet, ranked them, and listed them here. These are the websites we recommend when our personal friends or family members ask us where they should play poker games on the Web.
Official Free Texas Hold'em Game of the World Poker Tour® Travel the WPT and Play Online Poker Around the World Free Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments Every Hour Special Avatars to Show Off Your Online Poker Skills. Free Texas Holdem Poker the way YOU want to play! Join the world's most popular online Poker game with more tables, more Poker tournaments, and more people to challenge. To start playing free casino games online, simply click on your chosen game and it will then load up in your browser. Alternatively, head to an online casino and select the 'Play for Free' option.
When choosing which cardrooms qualify as the 'best online poker sites', we paid particular attention to safety and trust. How the player interface works, the games available, and the level of competition also played a role in our rankings.
| Rank | Gambling Site | Deposit Bonus | Get Started |
| #1 | 100% Up To €400 | Visit Site |
Of course, you shouldn't just blindly follow recommendations from strangers online, either. Here's some background about us:
- We have a combined 20+ years' experience with online gambling.
- All of us play Texas holdem and other poker games.
- We have experience on both sides of the business, as both players and as marketers.
A Quick Online Poker History Lesson and How It Affects U.S. Players
The online poker boom was fun while it lasted, but the legal implications caused significant changes in where you can play from the United States. At one time, Party Poker was the #1 choice in the USA, but they left the market in 2006 to focus on international poker.
PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Absolute Poker, and Ultimate Bet wasted no time trying to fill Party's shoes. They were all forced to leave the U.S. market, too, in 2011. Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet both shut down completely. PokerStars acquired Full Tilt Poker and renewed their commitment to poker throughout the world, sans the United States.
That's what the rest of this page covers.
Choosing the Right Online Poker Site
You want to choose an online poker site that's going to provide you with a great customer experience. How do we define that in terms of Internet poker?
- A great customer experience means being able to play the poker games you want. This includes more than just Texas holdem for many players.
- A great customer experience means being able to deposit and withdraw your funds quickly and easily. The sites we list have been vetted for customer-friendly banking options.
- A great customer experience means being able to enjoy the interface. Clunky, outdated software won't do.
Even though a lot of poker sites have left the United States market, you'll still find a bewildering number of choices. That's why we've put together this comprehensive guide to your options. We're confident you'll be satisfied with almost every aspect of the player experience at all the sites we've listed.
Top Online Poker Sites by Category
Different poker players have different needs. If you're looking for a 5-card stud game, an online cardroom which only offers Texas holdem and Omaha is a bad choice — even if it scores well among all our other criteria. When you're shopping around, keep in mind what preferences you have.
In fact, we recommend putting together a list of what you're looking for from a poker room.
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- Are you just looking for low-stakes Texas holdem games?
- Do you want to play in a lot of freerolls?
- Are you a sit-n-go specialist?
- Do you also want to be able to bet on sports or play casino games some of the time?
- Are you going to be playing primarily from a mobile device?
Here are some of the categories we use when ranking online poker sites:
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For the poker fan with a taste for the Orient, Pai Gow Poker offers an interesting twist on the century's old gambling game from China. Rather than utilizing the distinctive Chinese tiles of the traditional game with poker cards for a relaxed gambling experience. Generally speaking, for people who already know how to play poker, Pai Gow poker is a quick and easy transition, which allows you to sit down with confidence at your nearest land based casino or online format. As with most free casino games, the player will place their bet prior to getting their 7-card hand, and the fun begins from there in a contest best described as a double-handed poker game.
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Playing Pai Gow Poker
Generally speaking, a good Pai Gow Poker game will have six players and a dealer with each being dealt seven cards from the 53-card deck including the joker that can be used to substitute in the making of a straight, or any suit to complete a flush. If it can't be used for either of those purposes, the joker will not only be an always be an ace, but in the two-card hand a joker is always an ace, which can have strategic implications when assembling your hands.
Your primary objective when playing Pai Gow poker is create two separate poker hands out of the seven cards you are dealt. The two hands must be comprised of a larger 5-card hand, also known as the 'In front,' 'behind,' or 'on top.' Conversely, the second hand you need to assembly will be created from the remaining two cards. That second hand is variously styled 'small,' 'little,' or 'low' hand. When assembling your two hands, the only requirement that you must adhere to is that the larger poker hand must outrank the smaller one with a higher poker value.
To begin, the five-card hand is ranked according to conventional poker rules, whereas the only possible poker hand in the two-card hand is a pair or no pair, after which the individual cards determine the value. Once you have set your hand to your satisfaction, the dealer will turn over their cards and divide the hand in the same manner, according to specified rules known as the 'house way'
Once completed, the two high hands are contrasted, and the two low hands, the hand with the higher poker value winnings. Should the comparison result in a tie, say for example that both small hands are ace/king, then the tie has go to the 'banker.'
Unlike most casino games, the player may bet against the dealer, and other players in Pai Gow poker. In a process known as 'banking,' the banker function rotates around the table, but at some casinos the banking role zig-zags between the dealer and each player in turn giving everyone at the table the chance to participate. The player may always decline to bank, which is typically what happens, in which case the banker option will slip back to the next player, or dealer.
