Lauren Lister, writer, NewsDirect.com | Fact Checked By: Sarah Lunness, NewsDirect.com

One of the most famous forms of online gambling is online poker, offering a fresh and unique experience compared to the in-person game. However, your poker experience will be made or broken by the quality of the poker site you choose to play at. You can find many top-notch poker sites in Canada, and our experts have compiled a list of their favourites, with GGPoker sitting at the top of the list. 

Top Poker Sites for Canadian Players 2024

The Best Poker Sites in Canada Reviewed

1. GGPoker – Top Choice for Live Dealer Poker Among Canadian Players

At the top of our recommendations, we have GGPoker. It’s the self-acclaimed ‘world’s biggest poker room’ and offers dozens of excellent poker rooms to choose from. We’re especially impressed by the huge range of tournaments held at GGPoker, offering huge chances to win every day. You can also find plenty of types of poker on offer here, including Omaha, Flip and Go and Short Deck variants. Although, it doesn’t support browser play, so playing at GGPoker requires you to download software onto your device. 

2. PokerStars – Best Poker Site in Canada Overall

Pokerstars is the best-known poker site in the world, with users all across the globe. It hosts the largest variety of poker games and has new tournaments to join all the time! Pokerstars also prides itself on a top-tier user experience, offering a well-designed site and quick withdrawals. One of the most unique features of Pokerstars is its social media presence, offering poker live streams for fans and players looking to learn from the best. 

3. 888 Poker – Widest Payment Option Variety Of Any CA Poker Site

888 is a well-regarded comprehensive gambling site, with a casino, sportsbook and, of course, poker! 888 doesn’t host as many poker variants as some of the poker-dedicated websites but the standard of poker here is fantastic. You can play in the web app or through your browser, and you can even choose to play through the dedicated mobile apps instead! The site holds multiple strong gambling licenses and supports many payment options!

4. Party Poker – The most Solid Loyalty Program Of Any CA Poker Site

Party Poker offers a worldwide, bombastic poker experience with plenty of exciting promotions to claim and excellent poker to play. Party Poker is a site that rewards returning customers well, with a loyalty scheme anyone can take part in and regular bonuses to claim which keep the fun going for longer. Party Poker also hosts all the popular poker types, with many rules variations on the most popular games. If you’re looking for a reliable, exciting poker experience to share with players all over the world, Party Poker is for you.

Comparison of the Best Poker Sites for Canadian Players

How to Choose the Best Poker Site for You

There are many poker sites available to Canadian players, and finding the best one for you can be tricky. To help with this, we’ve put together some of our experts’ judging standards so you know what qualities to look for in a top poker site!

Reputation and Reviews

One of the more obvious things you can look out for is a site’s reputation and customer reviews. While we advise reading through customer reviews with a pinch of salt, an overall consensus can tell you a lot about a site’s true quality. While we do provide the expert opinion, it’s based on the experiences of just a handful of people. Customer reviews account for the anomalies and the people who aren’t quite so savvy when it comes to casino sites. So take a look through reviews — especially if the site has an app — and consider what you find when making a decision. 

Selection of Poker Games

Of course, the poker games are what we come for! So we expect to see some good ones. Most importantly, we want a good variety of different poker variations. Not everyone wants to play the standard Texas Hold’em every time, we want to flex our skills and try our hands at many games. This might include Ohama, Stud, Hi-lo variants and more. The best online poker sites not only offer a wide range of poker games, but also plenty of rules variations for each one.

Amount of Traffic

A poker site can have every game you could dream of, and it would be pointless if there was no one to play with. A site needs a good amount of traffic to provide a consistent poker-playing experience where we aren’t subject to long wait times as we hang around for someone else to show up. As such, we want to know that the best Canadian poker sites have thriving userbases and maybe even regular tournaments to prove that people are actively participating. 

Software Providers

When it comes to poker, talking about the software is a little different than other gambling sites. By this, we mean that the software the site runs on needs to be high quality and run smoothly. Most online poker sites will get this through their network, which connects multiple poker sites together — the biggest advantage is that you can play with users from any of the sites on the network, so you’ll never run out of opponents. A good network also ensures a strong financial foundation, a well-built and designed website and usually a reliable customer support too. 

Mobile Compatibility 

While it won’t be a priority for every player, as reviewers we prefer to see a site that offers high-grade mobile compatibility. This offers players the option of playing however and wherever they want. Not everyone uses a computer, after all, and the option to play through your phone or a tablet is valuable. However, it’s not enough to simply have an app, it needs to function well with short load times and all the functionality we expect from the desktop website. 

If you’re interested in finding out more about the best online casinos that are available on mobile, click here.

Payment Methods

It’s always a bonus when an online poker site supports a large range of payment methods. We all handle our finances in different ways and have different payment methods available to us, so the more options there are available the more convenient our online gambling experience will be. Crucially, there needs to be a decent ratio of withdrawal to deposit methods — we know there are always fewer ways to cash out, but just one or two is unacceptable. It makes withdrawing winnings that much harder, which can sour any poker experience.

Bonuses and Promotions

One of the greatest appeals online gambling has over its brick-and-mortar cousins is the easy distribution of bonuses and attractive promotions. Users love to claim them, and poker websites love that they bring in and retain new users! So we expect to see the best online poker sites taking full advantage of this. This will include a generous welcome bonus and various ongoing bonuses to reward returning players for their loyalty. 

Safety and Security

Last but far from least is a site’s security and licensing. Any online gambling site needs to exercise the highest level of security possible to protect its users’ data, especially their financial information. Additionally, we wouldn’t dream of recommending an online poker site that didn’t have a reputable gambling license behind it, like the MGA, GBGA or iGaming Ontario.

Poker Hands and Rankings

What unites all poker games, regardless of their variants, is the ranking of poker hands. Whether you’re playing for the best or worst hand, you’ll be judging your cards against the same heirarchy. Complete beginners are probably already familiar with some of the following terms, but here’s a detaled ranking of all the poker hands from strongest to weakest:

• High Card — if all other combinations aren’t met, the highest card in your hand is counted (depending on the game the highest could be Ace or King)
• Royal Flush — A, K, Q, J and 10 of the same suit
• Straight Flush — five cards in sequence of the same suit
• Four of a Kind — all four suits of one card rank (ie. four 10s)
• Full House — A three of a kind and a pair
• Flush — five cards of the same suit
• Straight — five cards in a sequence, regardless of suit
• Three of a Kind — three cards of the same rank (ie, three 7s)
• Two Pairs — two different pairs
• Pair — two cards of the same rank

Check out the image below to learn the poker hand rankings!

What are the Best Poker Sites for Beginners?

Let’s assume for a moment that you’re a complete beginner with a new interest in poker. Maybe you played it with some friends and thought you were pretty okay, or you’ve been meaning to get back into the game but see online gaming as a way to find other players. Where do you start? What should you look for?

Of our recommendations, we think sites like 888 Poker are good choices for complete newbies. These sites are both smaller poker applications — as side offerings on well established gambling sites — which means beginners have less to contend with out the gate and can start playing with less fuss. And with a huge gambling brand behind both sites, you can be confident in the the service. 

Other tips for new online poker players includes looking for low-stakes, beginner friendly tables and free play options. Online poker has a steep skill curve and you can be floundering for a long time before you’re confident enough to walk up to any old table have fun. You can use free play games or bonus funds for some risk-free pracitse, or enter freeroll tournaments. We also recommend being careful about which poker game you play — texas hold’em is the popular game, but the average skill level is very high as a direct result. Choosing a less popular game like Omaha Hi lowers the barrier to entry.

What are the Best Poker Sites for Experienced Players?

If you’re a poker veteran who’s been playing at various sites for a while, you’ll be on the hunt for different qualities in your online poker experience. This will come down to more options, better rewards and larger playerbases. 

From our top five Canadian poker sites, we recommend experienced players check out GGPoker or Pokerstars if they haven’t already. Both sites are dedicated to poker first and foremost, even if they do have other gambling services. This means you’ll find many different poker varieties to try your hand at, which can shake up the experience to make it fresh. There’s also a much larger playerbase at these better established sites and frequent tournements so you never run out of something to partake in. 

We also recommend experienced players keep a look out for high-quality ongoing bonuses and rewarding VIP schemes. If you’re planning to play regularly and at a high level, you should receive perks for that committment. 

Real Money Poker vs Free Play Poker

There is a lot of discourse in the online poker world about whether you should play poker for real money or as free play. If you aren’t aware, free play poker is a tactic from poker sites to encourage new players to engage with poker in a risk-free environment in the hopes they’ll convert into real money players down the road. Free play poker is thus played with ‘phoney money,’ or fake chips that hold no monetary value. You can play and play, but never win any cash prizes. However this can help you gain confidence playing poker if you’re just starting out. 

However, many experienced players caution against engaging in free play, or at least for doing it for too long. Experts recommend playing with tiny bets, at a $1 or less every hand. When you’re playing for even a little money, it changes the way you think about the game and the tone of the table. Some people even claim that playing free play for too long can hinder your poker skills in the long run. 

There are many reasons for and against playing both real money poker and free play. Below is a table with some of the differences between the two. Consider these and make an informed decision on how you’ll play from here on:

Top Tips to Make the Most of Your Poker Game

If you’re a complete beginner to online poker, we have some top tips of how to make the most of your shiny, new online poker account. Online play is quite different from in-person poker, espeically if you’re used to playing with friends, so these tips can be useful for anyone:

• Take advantage of free play games — if you’re brand new to online poker, playing risk-free, freeplay poker will give you the opporunity to acquaint yourself with the interface and even the game rules. 
• Move into real money play quickly — even if you’re only making bets of a few cents, experts all agree that you should move on from free play so you don’t fall into bad habits.
• Always be on the lookout for quality bonuses — one of online gambling’s greatest strengths is the promotional offers and VIP schemes available, so use these to get your hands on free play funds and extra rewards.
• Play at tables that match your budget and skill — don’t aim for the high buy-in tables if you’re still a new player, it can lead to irresponsible money loss and heartbreak. Don’t feel the need to climb the ranks quickly, lower-stakes tables will be full of players at a similar skill level as yourself. 
• Try out many poker varieties — you might think you need to default to the ever popular Texas Hold’em, but we recommend shopping around. You might find you enjoy the strategy of a less popular varient more, and the skill barrier will be lower to boot.

Poker Bonuses

We’ve already mentioned how much we love the promotional offers at Canada’s best online poker sites, but what kinds of bonuses are available? Here’s a look at some of the deals you might come across at the top poker sites:

• Welcome bonuses — awarded for signing up for a new account, usually the most generous bonus a poker site will ever offer
• Match bonuses — rewards you bonus funds directly proportional to how much you deposit. Usually found as a part of a welcome bonus.
• No deposit bonuses — a bonus that can be claimed without having to put down any money. Frequently found as regular or daily bonuses, but have high wagering requirements to match their low-risk.
• Tournament tickets — free entry to certain tournaments, usually set at a fixed value. 
• Reload bonuses — rewards you for making regular deposits at a poker site. Will return a small amount of bonus funds proportional to your deposit.
• VIP bonuses — bonuses claimed through loyalty programs. Can vary a lot in value depending on your memebership tier.
• Refer-a-friend — if a friend signs up for a new account using a referral code attached to your account, both of you can receive a bonus!

Conclusion

There are many excellent online poker sites in Canada, and you can expect top-tier games no matter how you prefer to play. Beginners can benefit from freeplay games and low-stakes tables while getting used to playing online, and experienced players can benefit from excellent promotional offers, international player bases and regular tournaments. Check out our top five Canadian poker sites for some industry leading recommendations and always remember to gamble safely.

Best Online Poker Sites in Canada – FAQs

DISCLAIMER: We would like to emphasize that gambling is risky and shouldn’t be used to resolve financial difficulties.

The saying “the house always wins” is worth keeping in mind. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, we firmly advise you to call the Gamblers Anonymous at 1-626-960-3500 to speak with an expert about getting assistance and making gambling safer for you or your friends and loved ones.

Remember that all gaming websites and instructions are intended for people aged 19 and above. Some of the casino sites featured on our site may not be available in your location. Check your local regulations to see if internet gambling is permitted in your area. Check out the following organizations for free gambling addiction resources:

Lauren Lister

Lauren Lister brings 5 years of expertise to the online casino industry, with a strong background in game creation, player experience, and market insights. Recently, she has delved into online sportsbooks, swiftly making a name for herself in the sports betting sector. Her knowledge is regularly featured in industry articles and at gaming events.