How We Evaluate Online Poker Casinos
To be honest, this top is the most difficult thing for us, because we don’t know what exactly our readers are searching for: player vs player games, or casino poker (vs dealer). We decided to form the top of online poker casinos with the following criteria.
To be sure you’ll find what you need, we gave the first places to the sites which have not only tables with dealers as opponents, but also a poker room for the games between players. An additional advantage of this is that a multiplayer room usually has its own special bonuses.
It’s often a problem to find a good choice of this game. Many houses have only about 3-5 tables. You can’t even find all popular games; not to mention different kinds of the same game, which you can always have in the Blackjack or Baccarat sections. That’s why the diversity of casino poker tables is so important for our reviews.
Talking about the casino variant of this game, you may want to play on the go, so it’s great if a gambling site has a mobile application. If you’re a fan of poker rooms, nothing to worry about — they always have separate apps.
Smooth navigation is always an advantage, but for poker rooms, it matters even more than usual. There, you will have dozens and hundreds of tournaments: freezeouts, events with rebuys and re-entries, satellites, quick games, Rush poker, etc. And this is only about tourneys; there are also many tables for cash games. It all should be well-structured; otherwise, you’ll find yourself inside a big mess.
Online Freeroll Poker vs Real Money Poker
Freeroll is a tournament that a room runs for free (there’s no such thing for casino poker). Some of them are for new players only, but there are also many freerolls for everybody. This is a promotional thing: players can try a game without spending money. The prize pool in freerolls is tiny, but there are usually a lot of paying places, and many players can win a little and bet it later in usual events or cash games.
However, do not consider it as a training before a real money game: in freerolls, participants typically play loose and irresponsibly. For real money, there will be a different kind of play. So, start free, or go to the real money table right away?
- Free
- There are plenty of freerolls in poker rooms
- You can win real money
- You can try any tactics, cause there’s nothing to lose
- Prizes are small
- Usually only for Texas Hold’em
- Reckless game, which doesn’t help you learn
- Hundreds or thousands of players
The Most Popular Types of Poker
In this paragraph, we’re going to tell you about the types of casino poker games, along with the room options. Let’s start with the latter.
Texas Hold 'em
The best online poker game is Texas Hold’em today, according to the number of players are in. The objective is classic: to form the best 5-card hand: a pair or two, set, straight, flush, quad, or straight-flush — usual combinations since its oldest versions, like 5-card draw. There are 52 cards in the deck, no jokers. Four rounds of bets: pre-flop, flop, turn, and river.
The reasons for this game's popularity are:
- More interesting and complex gameplay with 2 hole and 5 community cards you can use to complete the hand;
- Unlimited betting (there is a limited version of Texas Hold’em too, but it’s not as playable as No-limit Hold’em);
- The best bluff opportunities.
Omaha Hold 'em
This Hold’em variant is for those who want to get more opportunities to complete the perfect hand. Players have 4 pocket cards instead of 2, and community cards are the same as in the Texas version. The differences in gameplay are:
- In Omaha, you're obliged to play exactly 2 cards from your pocket and 3 community ones, while in Texas, you can use any number of community cards;
- The most popular variant of Omaha is Pot-Limit (if you have £10 in the pot, you can bet £10 maximum; in Texas, you can bet as much as you want). It means, this game will limit the sizing of your bets.
Seven-Card Stud
An older variant of poker, an ancestor of Texas Hold’em. Players try to get the best combination using 7 cards, but nothing is common in this game. Each player has 2 hole cards, then takes 4 open cards one by one, and the final 7th is a hole again. Bets are limited in amount and number: 4 raises per street are your maximum action in Stud.
Razz
This is the same game as Stud, but instead of trying to collect the best hand, you need the lowest. Straights and flushes are ignored, Ace is the lowest card. Thus, the best hand is 5-4-3-2-A of any suit.
HORSE
This is an abbreviation for five games: Hold’em (Texas), Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo. All games are played in limited versions. The last letter “E” here because of the second name for Hi-Lo poker games — “eight or better”. In split games, where the pot can be divided between two players, you should have the weak hand from 8 and lower to be able to get the low part of the pot. And to make the abbreviation look better, sure.
6+ Hold’em
A stripped-down version of Texas Hold'em. You play with only 36 cards instead of the usual 52. The name “6+” (also known as “Short deck”) is because the lowest card is 6. There are only two differences in the rules of classic Texas Hold’em and this game:
- In 6+, flush is better than full-house;
- Wheel-straight is A-6-7-8-9 (in classic version, it’s A-2-3-4-5).
Five-Card Draw
One of the oldest poker games, born in XIX century. There are no open cards. Players have 5 hole cards, then they can change some of them and take new ones from the deck to improve their hand. The winning combinations are the same as in Stud and Texas Hold’em.
You have only two rounds of betting: before and after the draw. In the old versions, players could enter the game only if they had at least a pair of Jacks in their hole cards before the draw. Later, this rule was cancelled, and now you can play any hand you want. Still, you can find a lot of video poker games in casinos, which are called “Jacks or Better” as a reminder of this old game.
Video Poker
It’s like 5-card draw, but you don’t play against anyone. In Videopoker at a casino, the goal is to form a hand. Each one has a value in money. In one of the popular versions, Jacks or Better, JJ is the weakest hand that pays. The better combination you have, the bigger the multiplier for your bet. There are several variations of this game. Another popular kind — Deuces Wild, where every deuce works as a Joker.
Casino Hold’em
This one looks like Texas Hold’em, but the gameplay is very different because you’re playing against a dealer. Your bets are limited, and you can’t bluff, because the dealer can’t fold his hand. The feature that makes a casino’s edge is the qualifying hand (for the dealer). If he has a hand that is too weak to qualify, this round doesn’t count, and all the bets count 1:1. It means you will win nothing even if you have a Royal Flush. The typical qualifying hand is 44, but it may differ.
The game is simpler than Texas Hold’em and requires much less skill and training.
Caribbean Stud
Both the player and the dealer receive five cards each. One of the dealer's cards is revealed. The player can choose to make an additional call bet, typically twice the ante (a mandatory bet at the start of the game), or fold and forfeit the ante.
For the dealer to qualify, they must have at least an Ace and a King. Caribbean Stud often features additional bonus bets that can yield significant payouts for certain poker hands, regardless of the dealer's hand.
Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow Poker is a unique variant that combines elements of the ancient Chinese game Pai Gow with traditional poker. You play with a standard 52-card deck plus one joker. Players are dealt seven cards and must split them into two hands: a five-card "high" hand and a two-card "low" hand.
The objective of Pai Gow Poker is to create two hands that are both higher in rank than the dealer's corresponding hands. If only one hand wins and the other loses, it's a push, and the bet is returned. If both hands are worse, the player loses the bet. One of the distinctive features of Pai Gow Poker is its relatively slow pace and the frequent occurrence of pushes, making it a more relaxed and less risky compared to other variants.
A Detailed Review of Poker Casinos
Here are three sites which can offer you the widest choice of poker games, including both casino and poker room options.
- A separate poker room
- Good choice of live casino poker
- The bet range is displayed on the game label
- Poker games contribute only 20% to the wagering requirements
- Decent choice of poker tables, both RNG-driven and with live dealers
- Detailed info in the game preview
- Live casino welcome bonus is available for poker players
- No multiplayer room
- There are other games in the poker tabs which aren’t poker and not similar in rules
- About 10 live poker tables
- Live casino bonus with possible wagering in Poker games
- Jackpot amounts on the side cards
- You can find RNG-poker only through the search bar
- Welcome bonus can’t be used in poker games
- Not enough information about games in previews
Poker Bonus
This is not the most promoted game in online casinos, and usually there are no special bonuses for it, except those in poker rooms. However, some houses’ offers can be used for poker games as well as for any others. If you're searching for the best poker sign up bonus in the UK, look at the types of bonuses you can occasionally find in UK casinos.
Welcome Bonus
Most welcome bonuses are designed for slots, and other games are either excluded completely or contribute to the wagering requirements only 10% or 20%. However, you can use some of the offers for new customers playing poker. Examples:
Live Casino Welcome Bonus
Sometimes, gambling sites may offer to the new players a Live casino welcome bonus. In this case, you can use it fully in poker with live dealers.
Cashback
Casinos may offer you a cashback, which can be used in poker games. The casino gives you for example 10% of your weekly losses and you can use this cash in any games, including poker.
Poker Room Bonuses
Finally, there are some special bonuses. You have to come to the poker room and select the “Special offers” tab. You could find a deposit and a no deposit welcome bonus, referral, and VIP programmes.
Legalcasino's Opinion
Picking a poker game depends on your mood and the level of energy that left at the end of the day. If you’re ready to think hard and want a serious fight of minds, a multiplayer room with other gamblers is what you need. You can download it on 888. If you want to relax and just challenge your luck, pick some casino poker games, such as 3 card poker, Caribbean Stud, Casino Hold’em, or even Videopoker — a cocktail of 5 card draw and slots.
FAQ
Special bonuses for poker playing are offered only by 888Poker, a multiplayer room, separated from their casino. But some gambling sites have bonuses which not specifically designed for poker, but you can use them in this game. For example, Casushi, Quinnbet, PlayToro, 10Bet and few others.
Among the UK casinos, 888 offers such an opportunity. You should download their special app 888Poker. After that, you can play against other players for cash or participate in tournaments, including freerolls.