• Top Online Poker Sites Canada
• Best Online Poker Sites Canada

Best Poker Sites for Canadians

Canadian online poker rooms have gained the confidence of players around the country. Operating on advanced software, playing these poker games has never been as straightforward or easy. Online poker sites like 888poker use their own proprietary software to provide easy-to-stream gameplay. Online you will find plenty of poker sites Canada, but the best ones will offer a service that goes above and beyond. Many of the best Canadian poker sites in Canada and reviews of their services can be found on our site, and you should always read reviews before you commit to any poker site so you know they have all the services you need. Best Online Poker Sites in Canada 2020 There are many grey areas when it comes to gambling in Canada, and online gambling is no exception. However, online casinos do exist in Canada since there are very few laws that relate to online gambling.

If you've been playing online poker long, you know that a good poker site can make all the difference.

A busy, easy to use, fun and reliable poker site can make all of the difference between a profitable, enjoyable night at the tables, and an annoying and frustrating night on hold with support.

What is the Best Poker Site to Play Online Poker in Canada?

The best poker site to play poker online in Canada for real money or for free is 888 Poker. 888 Poker is a legal regulated online poker site that is Canadian friendly with high traffic, weak players, great game variety and free bonuses.

You can read more about 888 Poker and learn why it is the best poker site for Canadians by clicking here - 888 Poker Canada Review & Download

Top 5 Canadian Poker Sites Online - 2020 Edition

My picks for the best online poker sites to play in Canada:

How to Play Poker Online in Canada - 7 Easy Steps

Start playing in no time:

1. Pick your poker site.

   Don't just pick our top recommended poker site because its easy, you may have certain preferences such as a site that is better for easy cash games or tournaments with huge prize pools. For a more detailed breakdown of site features and comparisons, I have my recommendation page on the best online poker sites for Canadians to play at.

2. Select the poker download or app for your device.

   This is usually super easy as the poker site's software automatically detects your device and prompts you to download the software for that device. Sometimes the website is a 'catch all' and you have the task of selecting the button that matches your device. Downloads for Windows based PC's, both Desktop and laptop are the default, you may want to get more information on Mac poker sites to play on your iMac & Macbook or Mobile poker sites for Android or iOS devices (iPhone & iPad).

3. Download the poker software or mobile app and install it.

   Just click the download link and accept the installation on your device. This is super fast and most of the time is done in under a minute. If it doesn't download right away, check that you don't have a firewall or app store pop - up asking you to confirm the installation - this is normal.

4. Create your new user account.

   This is where you fill in your personal information and create your cool poker username and avatar. If your lucky autofill will enter most of the information for you, the avatar you can pick later, but the username is important. You can pick a username that is legendary like 'Kid Poker', 'Johnny World' or the 'Poker Brat'; be a poker shark with 'Just Fishing', 'Pay Me Cash' or 'I Call Rivers'; or completely unassuming like 'Durrr', 'Isildur1' or 'ElkY'.

5. Choose to play for real money or for free.

   You are now all set to play poker for free just select a play money table or tournament and choose a seat. Even better join a freeroll where you can play poker for free and win real money.

6. Real money poker players can select their bonus.

   Canadian poker bonuses for new players include deposit matches of up to 200%, Freeroll entries, satellite tickets and even a no deposit bonus that gives you free poker cash. For listings of the different poker bonuses and bonus codes for new players, some of which surprised me as to how good they are, go to my page on the best Canadian poker bonuses.

7. Make your first deposit and play poker online.

   Choose your preferred deposit method and make your first deposit, credit cards are the most popular and even if you don't have one you can get a pre-paid VISA at your local store. NEVER deposit too much on your first deposit, just put down what your comfortable with, you can always deposit more later. For more information real money play and deposit methods look at my page on real money poker sites for Canadians.

Check List - Playing Real Money Poker in Canada.

Canadians are lucky, unlike our neighbors in the United States, it is super easy and safe to play the best real money poker sites in Canada. When you are playing for real money there are several concerns that you need to deal with:

• Are my funds going to be safe?

  These a the issues that concern me when playing at a new poker site. All real money sites that I recommend must be safe in that they are licensed, regulated by the government, third party audited, hold segregated players funds and use Bank level encrypted software.

• Can I deposit quickly with a deposit method that is available to me?

  The best deposit options are the ones that you can easily use. The most popular deposit methods for Canadians are credit cards like VISA and MasterCard, Instadebit, INTERAC, eChecks and crypto. Credit cards are super fast but so are Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum.

• Is the traffic high enough?

  I only play at the best sites with high traffic and thats what you will find here. Sites that are small skins for poker networks and ones with low player numbers are risky and time wasters.

• Which is better cash games or tournaments?

  This is all your preference - both are profitable, the biggest difference is how bad the players are. Cash games are the best to play 5pm - 12pm Eastern Time when all the fish come in. Tournament traffic is much more variable with the sites offering the biggest prizes attracting the most players, Sunday afternoons are best.

• Getting money out of the poker site quickly and easily.

  Quick withdrawals are one on the hallmarks of a great operator - all poker sites know this is important and are actively competing with each other to provide better service. Withdrawal speed does vary by payment type more than by operator with crypto being the fastest usually within a few hours and bank wires being slower but often used for paying you large amounts.

• Do I have to pay Canadian income taxes on my winnings?

  You have to pay if you play full time and poker is your main source of income. Otherwise, NO you do not need to pay income tax on poker winnings in Canada.

While this was a quick stab at answering some of the most common questions on real money poker sites, I may have not answered yours here or you may want some more in depth information so check out The real money poker site guide for Canadians that I created.

Where NOT to Play Online?

Blacklisted poker sites are sites that have participated in rigged games, outright scams, and low traffic / undercapitalized companies. Current blacklisted sites are different then those that are already shut down like Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet, Lock Poker, Cake Poker and Card Spike. These low quality sites have issues that include: low traffic, lack of licensing, closing affiliate programs (a huge red flag) to outright scamming players - but for those most part there are payment issues with these sites.

Blacklisted Poker Sites 2020

• Odds Poker - accusations of scamming players funds
• Carbon Poker - Erratic payments, closed affiliate program
• Pay No Rake - Late Payments
• SWC Poker (Seals With Clubs) - Unlicensed
• UPN Poker - Super Low Traffic, Questionable License

Rigged poker games happened in 2007 with Absolute Poker and UB having large cash games hacked by insiders who could see the hole cards of opponents. These rigged games happened between 2004 and 2009. Because of this 3rd party auditors eCOGRA and regulators monitor online poker games for unusual activity and claims of cheating by players. Legitimate poker sites want nothing to do with cheating because running a great poker site is way more profitable and reputation matters.

Safe poker sites are those that are Canadian friendly and are have a license in a qualified gaming jurisdiction like Malta, Gibraltar, Isle of Mann Alderney, Cyprus or Costa Rica. My recommendations on this poker website are only for licensed poker rooms that are safe for Canadians.

Warning - free poker sites that scam you in a few ways. First they get you to spend real money to get fake money poker chips to play with by offering booby prizes. Second they can flood you with pop-ups and other annoying advertisements to try and get you to play at real sites or make money from advertisements Third is the malware scam - you download the software onto your computer or mobile phone and viruses use your hardware to mine for cryptocurrency, have pop-up adds so they can make advertising revenue or out-right nasty things like stealing your personal information including passwords for things like online banking.

Software - Download vs No Download

No Download Benefits.

No download online poker software is great for when you don't want the software on your computer, cannot install it like on some chromebooks, Macbooks and Microsoft surface laptops, or when you are playing on somebody else's computer. Get the no-download version if you have a crappy computer, the server will do the heavy lifting for you and your experience will be better. If you have Linux on your PC it is best practice to run the no-download online poker software.

Downloading Software is Best - If You Can.

Downloaded poker software is best when its on your own computer, want all of the poker room's software features, and if you have a slow internet connection. To make some poker games run more smoothly the no-download software often looses features because it needs to run just in your internet browser and there are less programing features available.

With slow internet connections, running the poker game on your computer is better as there is less information to travel back and forth. Now if you live in a rural area, anywhere in the world with crappy internet you will want to get Space X's Starlink system, it will get you the proper speed to play poker anywhere.

Windows PC's

Get the default online poker download for Windows PC's and Desktops just by clicking the 'Download' button on the poker website. The majority of players at PokerStars use windows PC's because of their low cost and maximum comparability.

PC's are the most popular computer systems in Canada with Windows 10 the most popular operating system. Now you might have a Linux PC and for you the best option is the instant play - no download software.

Mac Poker

There are mac poker sites that have specialized software for iMac desktops and Macbook laptops. You can play either the no-download in browser or the download version on your mac. You can also play Windows PC poker games on your Mac with a Windows emulator. Macs are hugely popular in Canada and you are a smart cookie for owning one as they are the most reliable computer you can buy and have very stable connections with the poker room and fewer disconnections. The Mac poker software is nearly identical to PC software but sometimes there are minor features that are left out due to the differences in the way the operating system and the software interact.

The Best Mobile Poker Apps for Android and iOS.

You don't want to download just any mobile poker app on your android phone or iPhone, it could cause a problem or even be malware. So how can you be sure that the software is safe? With licensed and regulated poker companies the software is continuously monitored by government and 3rd party auditors to ensure the software is safe and that the games are fair.

Never would you want verified software that is buggy and has low to no traffic either, there is nothing worse that when you get frozen out of a made hand. Great mobile apps have smooth running software with easy to use interfaces for actions (raise, check fold) while playing the hand and especially bet sizing.

There is basically only 2 options for playing mobile poker and they are Android and iPhone. If you are unfortunate enough to have a Windows phone or an old Blackberry, then your best option is to play the no-download instant poker games.

Can you Play Mobile Poker for Real Money in Canada?

Absolutely. Real money poker apps in Canada are outpaceing the number of computer users and will soon become the dominant platform online. That many that the poker companies are devoting a lot of resources to make sure their online poker apps are top notch. You have the same great bonuses, deposit and withdrawal options as regular poker downloads do. You also have access to play all tournaments, sit n gos and cash games that other players can.

Android Apps

Android is the most popular mobile poker app in Canada with 2X the number of users as iPhone. Make sure that you are using a safe device: Samsung Galaxy & Note, LG G, Motorola Moto, Sony Xperia, Blackberry Key, Google Pixel are safe devices, however devices from Huawei are likely to have malware and spyware installed by the Chinese Communist Party and are not recommended.

You are more likely to find crappy apps in the Google Play Store than on the iOS app store as they are less vigilant about who they let in. What Canadian Android Poker Apps are best for 2020? I recommend Party Poker because of its great Fast Forward cash games that is a blast to play on your Android phone or tablet, its just a better user experience.

iPhone Apps

You can't get all of the best real money poker iphone apps in the App store, but that is not an issue because you can download them directly from licensed and regulated poker sites. The main question is what is the best iOS poker app, but that could vary depending on your preference between things like soft cash games or big money tournaments.

There are just a few poker apps that are worth playing, that are both safe to play and offer great user experience for real money poker games. Iphone apps are different than Mac software because the user interface is for a mobile poker game and mobile usability is most important. The Android poker apps and iPhone are different poker apps with the same features.

Poker in Canada

Online poker is not the only game in town, Canadians can play local tournaments and cash games at poker clubs and casino poker rooms across the country. Calgary poker rooms are the best in Canada with tons of tournaments and cash games with weak players from the oil patch. Poker rooms in Toronto are usually illegal and are not for the faint of heart, underground games are common and violence is not uncommon, its like the wild west of poker in Canada.

Where do Most Canadians Play Online?

The most popular online poker site for Canadians is 888 Poker, you can see by the graph below that it is far outpaceing Party Poker for the last 12 months. This is a live chart from Google Trends and you can see changes as they happen, bookmark this page to keep updated on Canada's most popular online poker sites.

Where do the Pros Play Online?

The poker pros play online only at a few online poker sites where there are both high stakes and the traffic to play at. Only 3 sites regularly host the majority of online pro players: PokerStars, Party Poker and 888 Poker.

Before Black Friday, top online pros including Phil Ivey, Patrick Antonious, Durrr, and Victor Bloom (isildur1) played online at Full Tilt Poker. Doyle Brunson played online at his poker room Doylesroom, which is now Americas Cardroom. Americas Cardroom has the biggest online prize pot for first place in the Venom tournament for over $1 million. You can bet that a lot of pros are playing in that tournament especially in the United States.

The most well known Canadian pro, Daniel Negraneu from Toronto Ontario, is not part of Team PokerStars anymore, he likes to be stealthy online and play at the highest stakes online at a variety of sites, that way you cant target him.

Learn How to Play Poker Games Online.

While you can play free poker games, I think they are junk. It changes the dynamic of the game and makes people play all kinds of garbage hands which looses the true nature of competition. In the true spirit of poker there is something at stake and a freeroll is a great way to play poker for free and win real money online.

Play low stakes at first and only when you are profitable and comfortable move up to higher stakes. There are swings in your luck but over 200 games you should be profitable at the stakes you are playing.

Poker Strategy

The best way to learn how to play poker is trial by fire, find a table, grab a seat and just start playing. You can use my free poker strategy card which is a quick reference starting hand guide.

There is an absolute ton of poker strategy books and videos from the best poker pros that you can learn from, some of my favorite pros are Daniel Negraneu, Phil Helmuth, Annie Duke and Doyle Brunson. One book that is easy for beginners to get started with a short book 'Online Ace' by Scott Fischman.

One of the first online poker strategies to learn is the amount of time somebody takes to check or make a bet, you will notice variations in the time it takes a player to make a bet and this is often one of the best tells online. A fast check often shows weakness, while a long pause before a check is faking strength. An instant check from the button is a weak play and deserves a bet. Very quick raises are signs of strength - be careful.

Learn directly from the best poker sites, PokerStars, 888poker and Party Poker all have great resources on learning how to play poker. There you can use training software and get free texas holdem practice that will increase your skill level which will give you the skills to win more money.

Texas Holdem is by FAR the Most Popular.

Top Online Poker Sites Canada

No other poker game has become as nearly as popular as Texas Holdem since the start of online poker. Texas Holdem is the most popular poker game in Canada with 81% of search traffic. In the online poker rooms you will notice this too -there are vastly fewer players playing Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw compared to Holdem. Omaha is the most popular of these exotic poker games with most sites hosting several tables at any given time.

Texas Holdem poker comes in 3 flavors: Limit Holdem, Pot-Limit and No-Limit Holdem. While No-Limit Texas Holdem takes all the glory in the big TV moments and in the WSOP Main Event (you know with those really freaking exciting 'ALL-IN' moments), there are still many tables of limit holdem and pot-limit holdem to be played and make up as much as half of the action.

No question that you must learn how to play texas holdem online to be successful, but how do you get started?

Start by learning the texas holdem poker rules which include: blinds and antes, betting structures, how to play hands and finally hand values in showdowns. Now that you have the mechanics of the game you need learn strategy. Texas holdem strategy involves choosing starting hands, bet sizing, calculating odds, reading players tells and bluffing. Holdem strategy varies based on whether you are playing a cash game or a tournament, if there are multiple players or heads-up, and if you are in early, middle or late position. - for quick reference on texas holdem rules and basic strategy, I put it here.

Free Poker Games Online

Canadians can play poker online for free with no money at a wide variety of free poker sites. Websites for fun that have free poker offer great action and you can be playing them in a minute or less. They are super easy to play many are no-download which is great if you are playing on somebody else's computer, like at work. Free online poker training games are a great way to learn texas holdem and other popular poker variations.

Freerolls at real poker sites like 888poker and Party Poker allow you to play for free and win real money. The frequency of these free tournaments can be hourly, daily or weekly with the biggest free money poker prizes for the weekly freeroll tournaments.

No deposit poker bonuses give you free poker money to play real money cash games and tournaments with instant bonuses. A warning though, you will need to sign up and in order to claim your winnings and you must make a deposit at a later date. The only site that is currently giving Canadians free poker cash is 888 poker with a no-deposit bonus of $88

9 Best Free Poker Sites

1. 888 Poker- Free $88 no-deposit bonus.
2. Governor of Poker 3 - No money, no download & no sign-up (My free game page).
3. PokerStars - lots of freerolls.
4. Party Poker - play for free - win real money.
5. World Series of Poker (WSOP)
6. 24/7 Free Poker
7. World Poker Tour (WPT)
8. Zynga Poker
9. Replay Poker

Be careful if you truly don't want to be hassled by free poker scams to get you to pay money to play for fun. These scams include using real money to buy play money chips with which you can play with fake money to win cheap prizes, a free poker game to flood you with advertising and pop-ups to play real money games, and of course the scam where you play for free but you sign up with all your personal information and sell it to the highest bidder. Your better off with a regulated real poker site that is licensed and by law must protect your privacy.

FAQ's about online poker in Canada

Absolutely. Online poker is legit to play in Canada. There are no Canadian laws that outlaw online gambling including online poker. Quite the contrary, provincial governments like in BC, Ontario and Quebec are online gaming operators offering well known internet gambling including: Sport Select, Pro Line and BC's Pay Now. These sites offer low traffic and poor odds compared to other online poker and gaming options.
source

With dozens of offshore internet poker companies, there has never been a case brought against an offshore gaming operator by the RCMP or other government agency. The Canadian Criminal Code has no laws against online poker or gambling, only programs to help gamblers.
source

There are many online poker sites that are NOT safe: these include small poker sites that are underfunded, those operating without a license, those operating outside of government over site and those that have malicious software. All of the poker sites recommended on this website are safe and regularly tested by gaming control boards to hold a gaming license.

Licensed gaming sites keep your information private, have secure software free of malware, customer funds must be segregated from company funds and have on-going monitoring to ensure that the poker site is providing a safe environment for its customers.
source

No poker site can have a gaming license unless it is a fair site that does not have any sort of rigging or signs of collusion. Gaming auditors complete regular and ongoing checks to ensure random number generators are truly random and poker games are monitored by specialized software checking for patterns of player collusion or insider manipulation which if it were to occur, the poker room would not be allowed to operate.

Third party monitoring of online poker sites is also done by eCOGRA (e Commerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), which is a grassroots organization formed by poker players, bettors and gamblers to monitor online gaming and ensure poker sites are fair. Regular independent testing is done and on its website and its audits are published. Any signs of rigging would show up here and a non-compliant site would be red-flagged as a rigged poker site.
source

Yes its super easy to get started playing real money poker online for Canadian poker players. All the top poker sites accept Canadians and offer a wide variety of fast deposit options including Instadebit, INTERAC, Credit Cards (VISA & MasterCard), Bitcoin and other Crypto like Ethereum, but NOT PayPal.

All poker sites I recommend have separate player fund accounts that are monitored by the Gaming Control Board and are fully licensed The payment software uses 256 bit AES encryption which is the same that your bank uses to keep your funds safe.

Super fast withdrawals can be made with Instadebit and VISA, but on sites that accept Bitcoin (crypto) - this is the fastest poker payout method available to Canadians. The largest withdrawals (think winning a major tournament) often require a bank wire transfer.

Poker sites monitor for signs of cheating and when players collude the monitoring software flags it. Don't do it if you are looking to collude with your friends to make a score, you will be banned and risk losing your bankroll.

Playing from the same IP address (same house) is not allowed on most poker sites, and can get you in trouble.

That being said you can play against your friends online, some sites even set up home games where you can use their software to enable an easy to set up home game with your friends. You can also play regular online games with friends in the same poker room, just like home but online, its really great for those -30 nights with a snowstorm.

There is no problem with Americans playing online in Canada, in fact the ban on some poker sites is not on US players but on the state or country that they are in. Not to mention that there are several great ways for US players to play online without moving to Canada.

There are fantastic online sites that are USA friendly as well, these include: Ignition, Bovada, BetOnline and my personal favorite - Americas Cardroom

The easiest way for US players to play online in Canada is to use a VPN, you don't even have to move, you just set your geo-location to Canada and viola!

A great independent viewpoint when looking for the best poker sites to play at in Canada is to turn to Reddit. There is a large poker community on Reddit which can be quite valuable when looking for mainly unbiased opinions.

The latest posts on Reddit deal with the best poker sites for Canadians in 2019, with the recommendations being 888 Poker, PokerStars, Party Poker and Bodog. Play Now which is a BC operated site is recommended too but is only open to BC players and has low traffic.

Using a VPN has several advantages and disadvantages for Canadian players and there are times when its not worth the hassle and others when it is a good idea. Their main purpose is to mask your geographic area and make it look as if you are in another country. This is great for US players trying to access sites that are banned in the USA.

VPN's add additional complexity and cost, they slow down connection times with the additional hops that are made, resulting in higher lag times and slower software performance. If you play at home, I would not bother.

For sure you want a VPN if you travel internationally and wish to play online. Many sites are banned in the United States and China but you can still play them while your there if you use one. If you play over a public network, a VPN does offer protection against snooping or if you want an additional layer of anonymity.

Nord VPNis a popular choice.

What's the Best Online Poker Site in Canada for Real Money?

For most Canadians the best online poker site in Canada for real money is 888 Poker because the competition is weak and you will win more. Get other benefits by playing at 888 Poker too, like the no-deposit $88 bonus - but don't just take my word for it - lets look at some data and compare the top poker sites.

There are also other reasons to play at other top sites like bigger tournaments (Americas Cardroom), best for beginners (PokerStars) and best loyalty program (Party Poker).

How to Pick the Top Online Poker Site?

• Safe Online Poker Sites -Selecting the right site to play at during these uncertain times your first concern for a Canadian player is whether your money is safe on that site. First we recommend staying away from online poker sites that have us exposure - the top 5 sites that we list do not have any. The problems with the Full Tilt Poker Shut Down as well as the inability of players to withdraw money off of Ultimate Bet (UB) and Absolute Poker was due to difficulties arising from processing payments from US players. This has lead to the US DOJ calling Full Tilt a Ponzi Scheme. The best online poker sites to play at are publicly traded so that the public can see their books and they are transparent. Not like the privately held Full Tilt and Absolute Poker. In our editors choice of the top 5 poker sites the first qualification is that they must be financially safe.
• Poker site quality - This takes into account a poker sites software quality, ease of use, support and fun to play at. You want smooth running software that is easy to use, feature rich and enjoyable to play.
• Level of competition - The weaker the competition the better. To make money online it is better to play against weak players than strong ones.
• Traffic and growth - Finding the game that you are looking for is important this requires good numbers of players and rules out most smaller sites. Positive traffic growth is important to find new weaker players and to insure that there are enough players to give you action when you want.
• Deposit and withdrawal options- Moving your money should not be a hassle, it should be straight forward and quick and secure with a variety of ways to do it.
• Game variety- The more gaming options the better - for poker (Hold em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, H.O.R.S.E, H.O.S.E). Additional gaming options make for a more complete site this includes blackjack, online casino games and sports betting. Its always a plus to be able to get the best online odds to bet on hockey, football and other sports as well as play poker all in one place.
• Poker Tournaments - having a good selection of tournaments and large prize pools are important as is satellite entry tournaments to the WSOP and other real world tournaments. The more profitable tournaments are the ones with weaker competition, you will make more money if you avoid Phil Ivey.
• Bonuses and Promotions - Bigger and more frequent is better

Best Online Poker Sites Canada

Poker Sites For Canadians

The best Canadian poker sites are safe fro real money poker games, have great software and a ton of action with lots of players and a variety of stakes to play at. Canada has a lot of great poker players: Daniel Negraneu, Evelyn Ng, Gavin Smith, Isabelle Mercier and of Course Jonathan Duhamel winner of the 2010 WSOP. One thing that sets Canadians apart from US players is that we have access the best online poker sites. Canadians are winning more big titles and more money online and bringing the cash and titles back home. Poker Games available include Texas Hold em Limit and No Limit, variations of Omaha, Stud and mixed games.

Making money with online poker is how most of these pro players got their start and for good reasons. Playing online poker you can play far more hands that in a real world poker room, the rake is lower and swings in profits are far quicker giving players a couple of bad days instead of a couple of bad weeks. The smart players don't go charging after the pros - they go for the weak players - its far more profitable. We have played at and evaluated the best Canadian poker sites to play poker online in Canada. These sites are not only of the highest quality but also the most profitable we have included the good and the bad for each room so that you get a more complete picture.

Never play poker online in Canada at just any random site, it may cost you your bankroll! A great poker site must be trustworthy with a long track record of keeping your money safe.

Poker Site Traffic

The highest poker site traffic in Canada is at PokerStars with about 4X the traffic of the number 2 site Party Poker. Below are the total number of cash game players based on a recent 7 day average from Poker Scout:

Poker Site Popularity in Canada

Although PokerStars has the most traffic internationally, 888 poker and party poker are more popular in Canada. The reason they are more popular is tough competition at PokerStars and better loyalty programs like cash back to name but two.

How I Pick The Best Poker Sites for Canadians

To find the best Canadian poker sites for October 2020 you must consider not only what rooms accept Canadians but also traffic volumes and that you get the fastest deposits and Withdrawals and more. Those factors are a must - you do not want to play at a site that leaves you hanging like whenblacklisted sites shut down. Quality websites that are properly run, that's the starting point in finding the right site to play for money online. That's where we come in to review and rate the best online poker sites in Canada and offer you exclusive promotions and bonuses.

Factors used in choosing the best sites include: poker site quality, level of competition, traffic and growth, deposit and withdrawal options, game variety, reputation, financial security, US exposure, tournaments and more. By ranking the sites we make it easy for you to pick the best online poker site to play at.

Real Money Poker Sites

Picking a profitable poker site with weak competition is one of the key factors to being successful at online poker. Weaker competition gives good players an edge and the ability to be profitable in the long term at real money poker sites.

The best real money poker sites for Canadians have: high quality software that is easy to use, excellent customer support, weak competition, a multitude of safe secure deposit and withdrawal options, good poker game variety, poker tournaments running 24/7 at a variety of stakes, a great sign up bonus and high player traffic.

Our editors have rated the top real money online poker sites and have come up with their top picks for Canadians to play poker online for real money at. 888 poker is the #1 real money poker site for Canadians with its long standing reputation, award winning software - high traffic levels, the fastest growth amongst online poker sites in the last 12 months, quick highly reliable withdrawals and deposits, a great sign up bonus for new players, VIP rewards program and lots of fishy players.

Real Money Poker Canada

Playing poker online for real money in Canada is legal, super easy and if you are half decent you can even make a living from it. Bankroll management is key to being an effective real money poker player so never bring more than 1/20th of your bankroll into any one poker game.

Playing poker online for real money in Canada is legal, super easy and if you are half decent you can even make a living from it. Bankroll management is key to being an effective real money poker player so never bring more than 1/20th of your bankroll into any one poker game.

Deposit Options

Signing up to play for real money at an online poker room you have several deposits depending on your preference:

• VISA
• Prepaid VISA
• MasterCard
• Prepaid MasterCard
• PayPal
• Instadebit
• Ukash
• Wire Transfer
• Click and Pay
• Entropay

Our Recommendation is to Use a Credit Card VISA /M/C or Prepaid VISA / M/C. The reason is that your funds will be available immediately and no fee added for making the deposit. Its also safe - if you are really worried about putting your credit card information online (unjustly paranoid) then go to your local shop and get a prepaid one.

Poker Bonuses

Online poker rooms offer sign up bonuses and deposit bonuses - free money some times - initial deposit match bonuses will match you dollar for dollar or better like at Bodog poker where you can get $2 in bonus money for every dollar you deposit. You can even get free money with no deposit required. 888 poker offers Canadians $8 free with no deposit required - just download the software and sign up. Now for the real exciting part. Playing online the number of hands that you play per hour is 3-5 times greater than at a real world casino - and you can play at any stakes that you wish - from just pennies right up to thousand dollar blinds. This increased hand count makes for a much quicker transition through the inevitable dips in your cash roll that all poker players go through, as well as the increased earnings by playing more hands.

Best Low Rake Poker Sites

The low rake poker sites do very in percentage rake for different No Limit Texas Holdem stakes. PokerStars does have lower rakes but it has a weaker rewards progam than the other sites. The only rakeback poker site is Americas Cardroom at 27%, but the cash back rewards at Party Poker in Canada is even better at 20%-40%. Most tournaments online are priced in at 5.00% with the very highest buy-ins being reduced. The maximum rake per pot also does differ between different sites. Check the table below for low rake poker site comparisons for No Limit Texas Holdem games for 6-9 players.

The different poker sites have nearly identical poker rakes at 5% at all stakes with PokerStars, Americas Cardroom and Party Poker having the lowest caps. Overall PokerStars has the Lowest rake for most No-Limit Holdem cash games online, just don't play the $3.00 / $6.00 game with its higher cap.

Cash Rewards

Cash Rewards programs give players a percentage of the rake that they pay back up to 40% through cash back rewards programs and gives the bankroll of frequent players a large boost that can turn an average break even player into a net winner.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Poker Site

Do They Accept Canadian Players? - Not all sites accept Canadian Players. All the online rooms we list do accept Canadian Players. For the top Canadian friendly poker rooms.

What Operating System is on Your Computer? - Some sites do not have Mac versions available and not all Mac software runs as well as Windows software. All of the 5 poker sites recommended here are Mac compatible. But if you run Linux you need no-download software like at 888 poker.

Traffic Levels For Canadian Hours - Many poker sites have good traffic but they are mainly from European countries and traffic levels in the evenings in Canada are very low. Rooms with higher traffic levels for Canadian prime time hours are Americas Cardroom and Bodog..

Is The Competition Weak? - If you play at some sites the rooms are filled with sharks trying to take your money, you will be much more profitable and have a better time playing against weak players that are looking just to gamble or have fun. The fishiest poker sites are 888 poker, Americas Cardroom and Bodog.

Company Reputation, Financial Security and Support - Online poker and gambling has been around for a while now and the places where you play for real money should have rock solid a reputation, be more than adequately financially secure and offers fast cash outs. Support should be quick and responsive with multiple ways to access it. These companies treat customers fairly because they are in it for the long haul - only the safest sites get selected for our top 5.

Software Quality and Reliability - Poker software not only needs to look nice with sharp graphics high quality software has tested random number generators, is functional and easy to use and is up and running almost all the time with few disconnects.

What Promotions and Bonuses are Available? A great sign up bonus for new players plus frequent promotions where you can get free cash and prizes need to be of interest to you and truly rewarding. While many promotions are ongoing some of the best ones are offered for only a limited time.

If your not sure what online poker site to play at or weather its safe to play at for real money - those are very common concerns and the reason for us to create this website to give you only the best options of the most popular sites. Choose from one of our top sites and give it a try, change the skins for the table and avatar options to get a better feel for the site - that often makes a big difference on your enjoyment level. Now go flop that set and make your move on the unsuspecting online world.

New Poker Sites 2020

There are no new poker sites in 2020 that are worth your time in 2020. You are much better off sticking with large established sites and only try a new one once it has been deemed credible.

New sites need to prove that they are financially stable and can pay back your money. New sites that are also able to show consistent growth and popularity as well as financial stability, Licensing, and credible individuals in charge.

The benefits of playing on a new online poker site include better sign up bonuses and bigger player promotions. In order to gain players attention the sign up bonus may be double or more when compared to established poker sites. Though these sites are new we have evaluated them to ensure that they are reliable, safe, secure and financially sound. No site meet this criteria this year.

The Fishiest Poker Sites

The fishiest online poker site is 888 Poker, the next two easiest places are Bodog and Americas Cardroom. Party Poker is tougher and PokerStars is by far the toughest poker site.

We have ranked the fishiest poker sites after careful examination of all the top poker sites that accept Canadian players. The poker sites with the most fish have high growth with a lot of new players, more gamblers, less poker pros, few prop players and a lot of recreational players that like to play because of cool software and features.

Finding the easiest poker sites with a lot of fish and few sharks is where its at to help you win more money online. Weak players give a lot more action and play with almost any hand. They like to call a lot and will often show down to the river with nothing.

Free Poker Sites

Play poker online for free with no download in Canada - Governor of Poker 3 plus get my top picks and reviews of the best free online poker sites in Canada. Here you can even find out which sites let you play poker for free with no download and get free poker money or how to win real money in free poker tournaments - freerolls.

Compare Online Poker Sites

Comparing online poker sites is the best way to pick the right site for you to play at. A great online poker site a game at the stakes you want when you want and a lot of fish with few sharks and a rich sign up bonus to get you started. Top notch security, software, support and fast cash-outs are a must. Sites with no US exposure are more financially secure and less risky to play at - all of these factors and more have gone into our extensive rankings. Additionally sites on poker networks including 888.com, Party Poker, Bodog, Winner, and PokerStars are the best online poker sites for Canadians to play poker online.

Online Poker Site FAQ's

Online poker is legal to play in Canada both for free or for real money. There is no laws against playing poker online in any of the provinces or territories and you are legal to play at 888 Poker, Party Poker, Bodog, Americas Cardroom and PokerStars.

There are some online poker sites that have been rigged in the past, they include Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. The poker sites for Canadians that I list here are not rigged and are safe to play online poker at.

Safe poker sites are licensed and regulated by the government in the jurisdiction of their license. Third party audit sites like eCOGRA audit and verify that there is no rigging or scamming going on - if there is it will show up there or on Reddit forums first.

The safest online poker sites in Canada are those that you find on this website, they have a long track record (15 years or more) of fair games and have a strong reputation with high traffic levels. The safest 5 sites are: 888 Poker, Party Poker, Americas Cardroom, Bodog, and PokerStars.

Licensing and third party audits monitor poker sites for random number generators and segregated players funds is another factor that needs to be verified to ensure the safety of your real money accounts.

You can play real money poker games online in Canada in Canadian, US dollars or cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Many deposit options are available such as credit Cards like VISA and MasterCard but NO PayPal.

Real money poker sites offer deposit bonuses on your first deposit of up to $1000, additionally there is often free poker money or no-deposit bonuses.

Crypto withdrawals are the fastest, but other options like bank wire or check by mail might be more to your preference.

PokerStars has the most players over all and is number 1 in traffic worldwide. Party Poker is number 2 and 888 is third. 888 poker has the most Canadians followed by PokerStars then Party Poker.

Its super easy to get an online poker bonus: first follow one of the links from this site to the poker room of your choice, second create your new player account, third make a real money deposit and your bonus will be linked to your account, fourth and finally you must complete the play through requirement in order to have the bonus cash released into your account.

The best poker sites on Reddit for Canadians are a mixed bag of the 5 that I recommend on this website with either Party Poker or 888 Poker being recommended the most. You have to watch however that it is not just a poker site trying to pump itself in a well know forum.

Online poker players go from huge losses to huge winnings, but if you are a decent player with good bankroll management and you put in 6+ hours a day 5+ days a week, you should be able to make $100 000 plus per year. This is playing at middle stakes where the competition is not too tough and you need to be ready for the swings.

The most profitable players have accounts at multiple online poker rooms and specialize in either cash games, sit n gos, heads up or tournaments to make their living. Sit n gos and cash games have the lowest swings while tournament wins are less frequent.