Best Poker Sites UK

11 Ways We Rank the Best Poker Sites in the UK

We use 11 important criteria to rank the best poker sites in the UK.

The best poker sites in the UK go above and beyond to provide all these features. They have a large number of poker rooms to keep players entertained. Their software is user-friendly and easy to understand.

These poker sites accept a wide variety of payment methods in the UK. They have easy deposit and fast withdrawal processes, simplifying poker play and saving time. The best poker sites are also fair in terms of RTP. You won’t get ripped off by the poker sites we suggest. And this goes for poker bonuses too – we make sure you get the best deals available in the UK, every time.

If anything ever goes wrong, we want to make sure you can get in touch with someone who can help players in the UK. These top poker sites offer an excellent level of customer service.

The best poker sites provide a reliable service you can trust. All the poker sites we list at JohnSlots are secure when it comes to your money and personal information, and hold a legitimate licence from the UK Gambling Commission.

3 Ways to Play Poker Online for Free in the UK

There are three key ways to play poker online for free in the UK.

1. No deposit bonus
2. Freeroll tournaments
3. Free-to-play poker sites

Want to learn how to play poker without putting your own money at risk? If you haven’t played poker online before, try registering at a poker website and getting a no deposit bonus there.

You can also play poker in the UK for free in freeroll tournaments. These larger-scale poker games cost nothing to enter and are hosted by the best online poker sites in the UK.

Some sites exclusively offer free-to-play poker. However, the amount of money you can win on a free-to-play poker site is usually limited.

Poker Bonuses and Promotions

As well as free games, you can secure poker bonuses from top poker sites in the UK.

The most common online poker bonuses are cash bonus deals. These increase your poker deposit up to a certain amount, such as 100% up to £100. You can often double your money up to that figure.

If this is your first time playing poker, these poker bonuses can give you a head start and you can also use them to top up your account after playing on one poker site for a while.

Always read the T&Cs before committing to a poker bonus. You don’t want to be disappointed if you find out that it can’t be used on a particular game of poker.

Poker Sites Payment and Withdrawal Methods

These are the main payment and withdrawal methods offered by poker sites.

1. Debit card – VISA and MasterCard
2. Direct bank transfer
3. eWallet – e.g., PayPal
4. PaySafeCards
5. Pay by phone
6. ApplePay, Google Pay, Revolut, Trustly

To pay for poker sites in the UK, you can use debit cards, direct bank transfers, eWallets, and more. Credit cards cannot be used for poker sites in the UK.

What Are the Poker Rake and Fee Structures in the UK?

These are the poker rake and fee structures in the UK.

A rake is a percentage fee taken from poker players to cover poker site costs. They range from 2.5%-20% fees on your poker pot (although poker tournaments charge as a percentage of the tournament fee).

If you’re lucky, you can find rake-free poker games in the UK. These are incredibly rare, as many poker casinos lose too much money and cannot keep running once they offer these.

Then, there’s rakeback poker, where a poker site or one of their partners offers some or all of your money back. It’s based on how much you contribute to the poker pot.

Top 3 Online Poker Sites with the Most Players

The three online poker sites in the UK with the most players are PokerStars, GGPoker and 888poker.

PokerStars

• 15,000+ daily players (average)

PokerStars is the largest real money poker site in the UK, and in the world. It averages more than 15,000 poker players in a single day. PokerStars is partly responsible for the great 21st-century poker boom that took off in 2003.

PokerStars offers many of the top UK poker variations, such as Texas hold ‘em, Razz and five-card draw. PokerStars also has mixed games for those who want a bit of variety in their poker.

There’s also Zoom Poker, a fast-fold version exclusive to PokerStars. Players change after every single hand, offering everyone more hands overall.

GGPoker

• 10,000 daily players (average)

The latest stats suggest that GGPoker has 10,000 daily players on average.

GGPoker offers Texas hold ‘em, Omaha hold ‘em, and all of their variations. Although they offer fewer variants than PokerStars, this poker site has other casino games for players in the UK to choose from, including slots.

GGPoker Tournaments

Starting in 2020, GGPoker has hosted the World Series of Poker Online Bracelet Series. The debut event secured GGPoker a Guinness World Record for having the largest prize pool in a single tournament!

888poker

• 10 million registered members

888poker is owned by Evoke in the UK, which is also the parent company of William Hill and Mr Green. They host free poker tournaments with great prize pools totalling £233,700 every month.

Games on 888poker include 7-Card Stud, Omaha and Texas hold ‘em. They’re also famous for offering live poker tournaments such as 888poker Live, and sponsoring many others, including Super High Roller Bowl and World Series of Poker.

But their incredibly popular 888poker App is where they excel ahead of PokerStars and GGPoker. This mobile poker experience has a 4.4-star rating on the UK App Store, based on almost 20k reviews.

14 Types of Games on Poker Sites in the UK

There are 14 key types of games on poker sites in the UK.

Texas Hold ’em

• The dealer gives out two cards at the start of the poker game.
• Five more community cards are dealt over the course of the game.
• The winner is the player who makes the strongest hand out of his two cards and the community cards.

Omaha Hi

• The dealer gives each player four cards.
• Players then have to make the strongest hand possible.
• Players must use at least two of the four starting cards in their hand.

Omaha Hi/Lo

• The dealer gives out four cards to each player.
• Players must try to create the highest and/ or lowest hand possible.

Seven-card Stud

• The dealer gives out seven cards to each player over several betting rounds, either face up or face down.
• There are no community cards.
• Players have to make the best hand possible.

Seven-card Stud Hi/Lo

• The dealer hands out seven cards to every player over the course of the game.
• There are no community cards.
• Players have to make the highest/ lowest hand possible.

Razz

• The dealer gives out seven cards to each player over time, either face up or face down.
• Players then attempt to make the lowest five-card hand.
• The lowest hand always wins.
• Flushes and straights don’t have as much power in this poker variant.

Draw Poker

• The dealer gives out a complete hand.
• Players switch cards out over betting rounds to improve that first hand.
• This can take the form of many different poker games.

Chinese Poker

• Players start with two five-card hands and one three-card hand.
• The player with the best three hands at the end of the poker game wins.
• Points are the currency in this game as opposed to cash.

2-7 Triple Draw

• The dealer gives out five cards to each player.
• Players trade out cards over the course of the poker game.
• The goal is to make the lowest hand possible.

Five-card Draw

• The dealer gives out five cards to each player.
• Players switch out their cards as the poker game progresses.
• Players need to make the best hand possible.

Casino Stud Poker

• Players play against the dealer.
• The dealer gives out five cards to each player, and five to themself.
• The dealer shows players one of their cards.
• Players decide whether to play or fold.
• The dealer only joins in the poker game if they have an ace AND a king, OR a pair or higher.
• If players have a better hand than the dealer, they win.

Casino Hold ’em Poker

• Players play against the dealer.
• The dealer gives out two cards to each player.
• Players must then make use of the cards that are turned over a few rounds of poker.
• The dealer only plays if they have an ace AND a king, OR a pair or higher.
• If players have a better hand than the dealer, they win.

Video Poker

• Video Poker is the term used for games played against a computer, as opposed to players or a dealer.
• These are usually five-card draw games but with different rules.

Pai Gow Poker

• Players play against the banker (usually the dealer or a fellow player).
• The banker uses a 52-card deck with one joker.

Types of Poker Tournaments

The three best online poker tournaments in the UK are freeze out, freerolls, and Sit and Go.

1. Freezeout – There’s a set number of chips that you have to buy to enter. Once these chips are gone, you are out of the poker game!
2. Freerolls – Free games of any version of poker, tournament style. You may need to qualify to enter. At some casinos, these poker tournaments take place on a near-daily basis.
3. Sit and Go – You can spend as much or as little as you want. But once all the players have been eliminated, the poker game is over. It normally takes about an hour.

What are the biggest poker tournaments in the world?

The biggest poker tournament is the WSOP (the World Series of Poker). This event attracts the most famous and talented poker players in the UK, and in the world. The tournament happens over the course of a month, with varying buy-ins and a final prize of $1,000,000 (approx. £775,725).

Thousands of participants enter the World Series of Poker every year. Many of the contestants are big in poker but it is often possible to qualify by doing well on online poker sites.

The second most-well-known tournament is the World Poker Tour. This is a higher-stakes event. The cost of buy-in is around £2,700-£19,400. Poker players in the UK can enter by winning qualifying tournaments, or by paying a $25,000 (approx. £19,400) fee. They can also play in satellite poker tournaments, as prepayment for the entry fee.

You can often win tickets to these poker tournaments via competitions at online casinos, such as iPoker, GGPoker and PokerStars.

Play Online Poker vs. Computer

These are the best sites to play poker vs. a computer in the UK:

• PokerAlfie

• Slumbot.com

• Poker Patio

These poker sites allow you to knowingly play against a computer.

However, computer poker players, otherwise known as poker bots, are against the T&Cs of most poker sites with players in the UK.

This is because, since 2019, computers have been able to defeat any human poker player.

Poker bots can become a part of gameplay when operated by either cheating players or the poker sites themselves (‘house bots’).

Play Online Poker with Friends

These are the best sites for playing online poker with friends in the UK:

• Poker Patio

• Pokernow.club

Poker Patio and Pokernow.club allow you to set up a private poker room and invite friends from the UK and elsewhere. These poker games use play money, but you can settle up afterwards with your friends if you want to involve cash.

Who are the biggest poker software developers?

There are a few large poker software developers who run the poker software for the majority of the best poker sites in the UK, including PokerStars and GGPoker.

Here are the five main developers:

• Playtech
• MPN
• SDLC
• Maticz
• Bettoblock

Poker Software to Help You Win

There is also poker software out there to help you win. It’s called Poker HUD (heads-up display).

These are the top Poker HUDs available to players in the UK:

1. PokerTracker
2. Poker Copilot
3. Holdem Manager
4. Hand2Note

UK Mobile Poker Apps

Most of the best online poker sites in the UK have their own poker apps for improved user experience.

This makes on-the-go poker site access easier for smartphone users.

Best Mobile Poker App in the UK

There are four online poker apps that we’d recommend to players in the UK:

• PokerStars
• 888 Poker app
• Party Poker app
• Unibet

Security and Safety while using Poker Sites

The best poker sites in the UK use the following tools for security and safety:

• Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption software
• Firewalls
• Licences

SSL encryption software is designed to safeguard data. Meanwhile, firewalls protect poker sites from hackers looking to gain access. Legitimate poker sites hold licences from the UK Gambling Commission, ensuring that play is safe and regulated.