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Join the action at the best poker sites, where 100,000+ players log in daily and create massive prize pools, unlock high-value welcome bonuses, and access tournaments running 24/7. Our top four Canadian poker sites offer daily freerolls, rakebacks up to 60%, and multi-million dollar prizes. These sites also prioritize game integrity with 24/7 monitoring and player incentives for reporting concerns.
🏆 Best overall online poker | WPT Global |
🃏 Best online poker app | GG Poker |
📱 Best online poker platform | 888poker |
💰 Best for online poker bonuses | Party Poker |
WPT Global has the world’s largest pool of cash game players, with around 40,000 users logging in to play every day. This Canadian poker site is ideal for beginners thanks to its modern, user-friendly software. Pro entries are limited to two players per game, ensuring tables of varied skillsets to help novices develop their strategy in less challenging environments. Like free casino games, daily $10,000 freeroll tournaments allow you to develop your strategy and gain valuable experience before putting your hard-earned cash on the table.
Best for: Poker novices who want to learn in varied player pools
GGPoker caters to both recreational and professional poker players. It’s backed by major names, including Daniel Negreanu, and has a huge international player pool. The poker site drops over $18 million in monthly rewards through cash game giveaways and tournament ticket drops. It also offers a range of GGPoker Originals like Spin & Gold and Mystery Battle Royale. Access WSOP-branded events and use tools like Smart HUD to analyze your play style.
Best for: Players looking to develop their skills using new technology
888poker is a great choice if you’re a casual poker player. The site has a soft player pool and offers tournament buy-ins from just $0.01. Founded in 2002, it has 20+ years of experience in building user-friendly and exciting poker gameplay. The site hosts events like 888poker LIVE throughout the year, with the opportunity to qualify for tournaments online. Cash games are available around the clock and can be played on the site’s mobile app or on desktop.
Best for: Casual players looking for low buy-ins and classic games
PartyPoker is perfect for mid-stake players. The site offers a range of Texas Hold'em and Pot-limit Omaha cash games, with micro stakes starting from $0.01. Enjoy regular tournaments, including access to events like PartyPoker MILLIONS Online. The poker site’s loyalty program rewards rakebacks up to 40% and you can participate in leaderboard races for the chance to unlock additional prizes. PartyPoker isn’t the flashiest platform on this list, but it offers a secure environment and solid gameplay.
Best for: Players who prefer reliable, solid gameplay with extra features and tools
Learn the basics of playing hold ’em poker in our guide and begin refining your poker strategy with our simple steps:
The deal: The small blind and big blind are paid. Two cards are dealt to each player. The game starts with the UTG, three seats left of the dealer.
The preflop: Betting moves clockwise around the table. You can call, fold, or raise.
The flop: Three community cards are revealed. The player to the dealer’s left can check or bet, then all the following players can call, fold, or raise.
The turn: An additional community card is revealed, and another clockwise betting round begins.
The river: The final community card is revealed. The last betting round takes place.
The showdown: The final player to bet reveals their cards. The player with the best hand wins.
In Texas Hold'em, every position at the poker table has a name. These will vary slightly based on the number of players.
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Dealer: | The dealer hosting the game, left of the Cutoff and right of the Small Blind. |
Small Blind: | Seated to the left of the dealer. This player pays the small blind before the preflop round. |
Big Blind: | Seated to the left of the Small Blind. This player pays the big blind before the preflop round. |
UTG: | Sitting left of the Big Blind, the UTG or Under the Gun is the first player to act in the preflop round. This player is under pressure to act on little information. |
Early position: | The UTG and the one or two seats directly to their left. These players act earlier in each betting round. |
Middle position: | The two players acting after the early position seats. |
Hijack: | The player to the Cutoff’s right, two seats right of the dealer. As one of the last to act, the HJ can manipulate the pot size based on information collected earlier in the betting round. |
Cutoff: | The player immediately to the dealer’s right. This player can get a final preflop raise into the pot. |
Once you’ve got the basics, it’s time to learn about each Texas Hold'em betting round. We’ve explained the preflop, the flop, the turn, the river, and the showdown in detail below.
Every Texas Hold'em hand starts with the preflop. The small blind and big blind are paid. If antes are in play, they are paid by everyone at the table. One face-down card is then dealt to each player in a clockwise direction, followed by a second face-down card. The UTG then acts. They can choose to fold or play their hand by calling or raising. If the UTG folds or calls, the player to the left can also fold, call, or raise. If the UTG raises, the next player can call to match their amount or raise again. This is continued until every player has acted.
If two or more players still have hole cards by the end of the preflop, the game continues to the flop. Three community cards are revealed here. The player to the dealer’s left can check or bet, then following players can fold, call, or raise. A new hand is dealt if only one player remains.
If two or more players remain, the game progresses to the turn, or fourth street. Here, another community card is revealed and a betting round identical to the flop will begin. Again, a new hand is dealt if only one player remains.
If two or more players remain, the game continues to the river. The final community card is now revealed, and the betting round begins once more in a clockwise direction. If only one player remains, they win the game.
The showdown begins if two or more players remain after the river. The player who was last to bet or raise will then reveal their cards. If players choose to “check” and decline to bet on the final card, the player closest to the dealer’s left reveals their hand first. The player with the best five-card hand wins. You don’t need to reveal your hand to the other players if you cannot beat the hand shown.
You should familarize yourself with all poker hands before taking a seat at your first live table game. However, you don’t have to memorize them. Refer back to our poker hands guide whenever needed.
Royal Flush: | Five cards of the same suit. |
Straight Flush: | Five consecutive cards of the same suit. Aces can be counted as high or low, but not high and low at the same time. |
Four of a Kind: | Four cards of the same rank with an extra fifth card, known as the kicker. |
Full House: | Three cards of the same rank and two cards of another rank. |
Flush: | Five cards of the same suit. |
Straight: | Five cards of consecutive ranks and different suits. Ace can be counted as high or low, but not within the middle of a straight. |
Three of a Kind: | Three cards of the same rank and two cards of different ranks. |
Two Pair: | Two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, plus a kicker. |
One Pair: | Two cards of one rank and three cards of different ranks. |
High Card: | If you don’t have any hands listed above, you have a high card. This would be the highest-ranking card you hold. If all players only have a high card, the player with the highest rank wins. |
There are many poker variations you can explore as you become confident in your strategy. Many of these are available at both online poker sites and online casinos. Here are the most popular options you’re likely to see at large cash games and freeroll tournaments.
This is the most popular poker variant. Two hold cards are dealt face down to each player, then five community cards are dealt over three betting rounds. Once the final community card is dealt and all bets are settled, the showdown directs all players to reveal their cards to determine the winner. Texas Hold'em is perfect if you’re looking for fast gameplay and simple rules.
Omaha is often described as high-action poker. The basics of this variant are similar to Texas Hold'em, with two sub-variants: Pot-limit Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo. When playing Omaha rules, your final hand must use at least two hole cards. Betting rounds also work differently. In Pot-limit Omaha, as the name would suggest, the maximum bet can only be as big as the pot size.
In Seven Card Stud, players receive seven cards. Players take turns betting, raising, and calling. Cards are dealt one at a time to build the best five-card hand from the seven available to you or force all players to fold before the showdown. There are no community cards in this poker variation. Seven Card Stud uses an ante, which means you must pay a small amount before your first cards are dealt.
Five Card Draw is often referred to as a “bluffer’s paradise.” You’ll be dealt five hole cards only you can see, allowing you to bluff in every hand. You can discard as many cards as you like and replace them with new cards. There are only two betting rounds, and the game is played without limits, so gameplay is often aggressive and overbetting is common.
Online poker games are based on high levels of skill and a small amount of luck. Develop your strategy using tips from our experts.
Play a tight game: Only play cards that have the potential to win the game.
Be real with yourself: Don’t raise if you can’t back the raise up with an impressive hand.
Analyze everything: You’ll see many Canadian online casino poker tournament players wearing glasses or giving off blank stares. They are not only analyzing other players, but also trying to avoid being analyzed. It’s an important part of the game - look at the hands being played, observe how the competition is approaching the game, and seek out patterns.
Study: If you really want to win at poker online, you must keep learning. We recommend taking notes and analyzing previous hands - sites like GGPoker have great tools like Smart HUD that do this automatically. Like anything, the more you practice, the better you’ll become.
Utilize demo games: Use our free video poker games to familiarize yourself with basic poker gameplay before joining a live table.
We’ve scoured the web to find the best online poker bonuses in Canada. Our experts have reviewed sites like GG Poker in search of low minimum deposits of $10 and under, the option to use verified payment methods like Interac, fast withdrawals, and low tournament buy-ins to maximize your bonus. To support our rankings, we dug through poker forums to find real community experiences with our top four.
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Onlike poker site | Welcome bonus | Best for | Payout speed |
---|---|---|---|
WPT Global | 100% cashback up to $3,580 | Modern, user friendly software and advanced security systems to monitor gameplay | 0-1 days |
888poker | 100% match up to $1,000 + $20 bonus | Great tournaments with buy-ins from $0.01, no deposit bonus for new players | 1-2 days |
GG Poker | 100% match up to $600 | Over $18 million in monthly rewards and unique poker games like Mystery Battle Royale | 1-2 days |
PartyPoker | 100% match up to $700 + $40 bonus | Free poker tournaments every hour and super-fast 8-hour withdrawals with selected e-wallets | 0-1 days |
Poker freerolls are tournaments with no buy-in where players can compete for real payouts. Some freerolls are open to everyone, while others require a certain VIP tier or a recent deposit to enter. The format runs like any standard event, with blinds, level progressions, and payout structures.
Fields are usually huge and full of new players, but that gives you a great opportunity to work on your strategy and potentially build a bankroll. You can also turn small wins into entries for satellites, which can land you a seat at huge professional poker events if you’re successful.
Poker freerolls draw hundreds of players. While you aren’t guaranteed a win, there’s plenty you can do to tilt the odds in your favour. Here are five expert tips to maximize the value of freeroll tournaments at online poker sites:
Playing online casino poker from your phone gives you the flexibility to jump into tournaments or multi-table cash games no matter where you are. Even if a site has a set registration window, you don’t have to be stuck at home on a PC to enter. You also get the perk of push notifications for bonuses and simple touch controls that make it faster to act at the table.
Here are the top mobile apps in Canada to play poker online:
The 888poker app is a great choice if you’re looking for a practical option that runs smoothly on any modern phone or tablet. Reviews on iOS and Android rate it highly, scoring 4.3 out of 8,000+ reviews from Apple users. Much of the praise is tied to how easy the app is to navigate. Action buttons sit right under your thumb, which help you to make quicker decisions in fast-moving pots. The tiled layout also keeps it simple to switch between cash tables, sit-and-gos, and multi-table tournaments.
PartyPoker’s app gives you the full poker setup on mobile without losing the features found on desktop. The layout is built for speed, so hopping between cash games, sit-and-gos, freerolls, or tournaments only takes a couple of taps. We found dark mode helps a lot with battery life during long grinds, and the simplified lobbies make it straightforward for beginners to find the format they’re after.
Signing up at online poker sites in Canada is extremely quick. While the steps might differ slightly to real money casinos, you can usually play within three to five minutes.
Every platform listed here is backed with strong security, from strict data policies to TLS encryption and AI detection systems. Here's how to register at a Canadian poker site for the first time:
Playing online poker in Ontario isn’t quite the same as the rest of Canada. Since April 2022, the market has been ring-fenced under its own rules.
Ontarians can only use locally licensed sites and play against opponents within the province, which means Ontario is home to one of the biggest closed player pools in North America. Oversight comes from iGaming Ontario and the AGCO, guaranteeing safety, fairness, responsible gaming.
The best online poker sites give you plenty of options for depositing and withdrawing funds. Deposits usually hit right away unless you’re using crypto, which can take a few minutes to confirm on the blockchain. For withdrawals, transaction speeds, limits, and privacy levels all depend on your chosen poker casino payment method.
Here are the methods we recommend at the top poker sites:
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All our recommended online poker sites have been carefully reviewed by our expert team and rated against high standards for safety, fairness, and quality. For more information, check out our How we rate page.
We always check each poker site holds a valid licence from a recognized authority like the Malta Gaming Authority, the UK Gambling Commission, or Curaçao. We want you to have a safe experience online, which is why we also check that TLS encryption runs across each platform and independent firms like eCOGRA regularly audit the algorithms and tech in use.
The best poker sites let you deposit from as little as $10, with options like Visa, Mastercard, Interac, Skrill, PayPal, and Bitcoin. Our top-rated sites clear withdrawals within three days, and have little to no fees attached. Our team analyzes the ease of the process and runs stress tests on customer support to see if they handle payment questions well.
Online casinos offering multiple poker formats such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and Sit & Gos, along with daily multi-table tournaments and weekly majors, rank the highest. Prize guarantees must be published and honoured, with clear data on average field sizes and blind structures shown in the lobby. We also value platforms that run cash games at flexible buy-in levels, include fast-fold tables, and display detailed tracking of average pot size and players per flop.
You need to be 18 or older to play online poker. Always play responsibly and use our strategy guides to help sharpen your game and familiarize yourself with hand rankings.
Above all, only put in what you can afford to lose. Avoid chasing losses or reloading with borrowed money. For more information, visit our responsible gaming page or reach out to one of the support groups listed below:
Gamblers Anonymous - Peer support meetings and recovery community across Canada. Call (909) 931-9056 or email isomain@gamblersanonymous.org.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) - Canada’s largest mental health hospital offering gambling addiction treatment. Call 1 800 463-2338.
Yes, you can play poker online in Canada through licensed offshore casinos that accept Canadian players, such as GG Poker and 888poker. These platforms offer cash games, tournaments, freerolls, and accept deposits in both Canadian dollars and cryptocurrency.
Yes, you can play online poker in Ontario through locally licensed sites regulated by iGaming Ontario, which manages and oversees all forms of online gambling in the province. You can only compete against other players within the province.
The best Canadian poker site is WPT Global, which attracts one of the world’s largest cash game recreational player pools. It also provides strong gameplay monitoring using AI detection tools, secure transactions, quick withdrawals within 48 hours, and daily tournament action.
All the poker sites we feature are legitimate, including WPT Global, 888poker, and GG Poker. Our team reviews each for security and safety, and vets hundreds of player reviews on third-party platforms for credibility.
No, online poker is not all luck. The cards can swing either way, but in the long run, skill and decision-making separate consistent winners from everyone else.
Yes, GG Poker is available in Canada. The site runs as GGPoker.ca under iGaming Ontario. Players outside of the province should use the global site.