Best Online Poker Sites

Quick Overview

Poker players looking for loose games, big and frequent promotions and tons of options often find themselves at 888Poker. Initially known as Pacific Poker, 888Poker was one of the first real quality poker sites in the industry and remains that way, although it did take a hit traffic-wise when the U.S. passed the UIGEA in 2006. Still, it's bounced back substantially and the software has changed so much that it's definitely worth another look if you haven’t visited in awhile.

The new POKER 6 software now offers over 100 new features and is one of the best in the industry. The graphics are excellent and the lobby offers some of the best search functions for both beginners or more experienced players. There's also a cool 3D gadget feature if you're into that kind of thing. Aside from the innovative software, 888Poker is also known for running a large number of tournaments with good structures and for running a ton of freerolls for players looking to build their bankroll from scratch.

Quick Overview

PokerStars is the largest poker site in the world and offers an awesome variety of games, from the super high-limits to some of the rarest mixed games. Many of the world’s most famous poker players are PokerStars pros, including Canadian star Daniel Negreanu and WSOP Main Event winners Chris Moneymaker, Joe Hachem and Pius Heinz. The site is home to players of all skill levels from many countries around the world and offers a massive, diverse player pool.

With slick graphics and outstanding reliability, the PokerStars software is among the best in the world with innovative functions, lightning-fast game play and great multi-table options. It's also fully customizable and very stable. Tables can also be cascaded and tiled, and all visual and audio options can be turned on and off. Even as the world’s largest poker site, it's still growing with real-money player statistics as of May 2012 showing 22500 ring-game players and 155000 tournament players at peak hours.

Quick Overview

Tired of grinding out hand after hand at the big sites without ever developing a big edge on your opponents? You might want to look into Bet-at-Home poker.

A member of the lesser-known International Poker Network (Boss Media), Bet-at-Home started out as a Sportsbook but has since expanded into poker. As such, the site is now known for having an abundance of non-poker players in their games.

IPN is one of the smaller networks but a lot of players rave about the experience. Sites on the network have access to a full assortment of games including No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha as well as some unusual ones like Five-Card Draw and SOKO.

The software itself is somewhat simple and rarely updated but that has done nothing to deter players from logging on and fishing for soft games.

Quick Overview

bwin Poker is one of Europe’s oldest and most popular bookmakers, and through the acquisition of the Ongame network in 2005 they also became Europe’s largest poker network. The game volume at bwin Poker and across the Ongame network is very good, providing good action on any level at most hours of the day. bwin Poker offers relatively juicy games, good game variety, great promotions and very good software, making it a first-rate poker room for most players.

A recent upgrade in July 2009 has added even more features, including direct seating from the lobby, resizable tables and a downloadable Mac client, putting bwin up near the top of the industry as far as software and design go. The software is fast and stable and offers a very nice playing experience, although it may be a bit resource intensive for multi-tabling on slow computers. Real-money player statistics as of May 2012 show 5500 ring-game players and 15000 tournament players at peak hours.

Quick Overview

Party Poker is one of the leading online poker rooms in the world and has been for the better part of the 2000s, with great player volume in both cash games and tournaments. Party Poker has been able to maintain loose and juicy games over time thanks to a constant influx of beginners and gamblers from the casino looking for action. Party Poker also offers great promotions and very reliable software, making it a very good all-around poker room.

Party Poker was once the world's largest poker site and although it has been surpassed by PokerStars, it still maintains a very solid player base. Because of its phenomenal growth in the early days, Party Poker can also handle over 100,000 players at a time with no server issues. The software is highly functional, fast and very reliable. In terms of big events, it hosts the flagship "Party Poker Million" and offers plenty of guaranteed tournaments and satellites. Real-money player statistics as of May 2012 show 9500 ring-game players and 60000 tournament players during peak hours.