Top Canadian Poker Sites for Real Money (2021)

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Welcome to Pokers.ca, a brand new website dedicated to the best online poker sites in Canada. By browsing through our pages and reading our reviews, you will learn everything you need to know about top Canadian poker websites and their offers.

We also have information about the most rewarding online poker bonuses, freeroll tournaments, best poker apps, Canadian-friendly payment methods, and more. If you’re new to online poker, you can feel free to read our detailed guides for games such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, where we explain the rules and walk you through playing each game step by step.

In other words, if you are from Canada and you want to start your online poker campaign the right way, this is the only website you will ever need!

Best Poker Sites in Canada Right Now

Canadians can enjoy dozens of quality poker websites. While all of these sites are good in their own right, there are still some that separate themselves from the pack and represent the best of the best.

After thorough research and countless hours of work, we have determined that these are the best poker operators for Canadian players:

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How We Review Canadian Poker Sites

Here at pokers.ca, we like keeping our information correct and up to date. All the offers you can read about in our reviews will match the offers you can find on the listed poker sites, and if any changes occur in the meantime, we will make sure to update the page or write a new review from scratch.

But how do we review Canadian poker sites in the first place?

We understand that players may be skeptical of review sites such as this. Many are afraid that our lists are biased and do not truly consist of the best online poker sites. In order to instil trust in our readers’ minds, we will now talk about our process of selecting and reviewing poker websites for the Canadian market.

Legality and Safety

The internet has provided poker players with a much more convenient way of playing their favourite card game. However, it has also opened the field for many illegal websites to go under the radar and trick thousands of players into giving them money.

Spotting an illegal gambling site is harder than it seems. On the surface, these sites might look fairly legit, which is why it’s so easy to fall into their trap. That’s why we always thoroughly check every website’s licensing information to see whether they were given the proper validation from a reputable online gambling jurisdiction.

Any given poker site can have great games and many rewarding bonuses, but it won’t have a chance of being included on our list unless it holds a valid license.

A quality poker site also needs to be considered safe. To confirm the website’s safety, we look into the encryption technology that it uses, as well as various other online security systems that can guarantee that your money and personal data are safe.

Poker Bonuses

We understand that a lot of people select poker sites based on their promotions, and while bonuses are not the most important aspect you should be looking at, they can come in handy. That’s why a significant portion of every review we write concerns poker bonuses.

Every player should be rewarded when creating a new account on a Canadian poker site, so the websites you can read about in our reviews will have sizable welcome bonuses that will extend your bankroll. The best of these are poker sites with a no deposit bonus, as they basically allow you to start playing for free.

Another popular promotion found on Canadian poker sites is the rakeback promotion. The rake you must pay to the operator for every game you play can be really costly and nullify your profits. With rakeback, players get the opportunity to get a portion of their rake back, usually between 30% and 40%, which is quite significant if you’re a high-roller.

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Poker Software

The online game of poker is experienced through poker software, which is the backbone of every successful poker site. While most websites these days allow you to play the game directly in the browser, many players still prefer to download the software, as it runs faster, provides a much cleaner interface, and is easier to navigate.

Poker Tournaments

Cash games are great for making small profits, but tournaments are where the money is. The selection of tournaments on a given poker site can tell you a lot about that site’s reputation and how well it rewards its best players.

There are plenty of different types of tournaments that you can run into on Canadian poker sites, like freezeouts, multi-buys, rebuys, GTD’s, live satellites, and others. If you’re a beginner player that has yet to establish a sizable bankroll, you should be aiming at poker sites with freerolls. As the name suggests, freerolls are tournaments in which you are not required to pay an entry fee.

Poker Sites Traffic

Player traffic is often an overlooked aspect of choosing a poker site. Beginner players usually don’t realize how important player traffic can be to their overall experience. 

Namely, sites with low player traffic will have fewer tables, and it will sometimes be difficult for you to even find enough opponents to start the game. That’s why it’s best if you choose a site with high player traffic. Sites like PokerStars have tens of thousands of players online at any given moment, so finding a suitable opponent and taking part in rewarding tournaments is easier.

Of course, this creates another issue. If there are more players on a given poker site, the competition is naturally stronger, so you might find yourself facing some very tough competition. Therefore, always choose a poker site with traffic that matches your skill level.

Mobile Poker

Canadians are no strangers to playing casino games on mobile, which is why we also take a deep look at the mobile sites and apps of every operator we review. A majority of top-rated Canadian poker sites have apps that you can download and install on your iOS or Android device. If not, you can always rely on the operator’s mobile site and play directly from the browser.

The quality of mobile poker sites and apps is reflected in their design, loading time, and functionality, among other things.

Payment Methods

Poker sites leave plenty of options to players when it comes to deposits and withdrawals. We always give praise to operators who offer several different payment methods Of course, almost every poker website will allow you to use credit and debit cards like Visa and Mastercard. 

However, more and more Canadians are starting to use e-wallets as they are faster and more convenient for doing online transactions. There are more poker sites accepting PayPal than ever, and they usually include a few other popular e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill. Several poker sites have even started to accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and others.

Of course, since we do our reviews for the Canadian player base, we make sure to look for sites that also accept Canadian-friendly banking options like Interac and iDebit.

Customer Support

A big part of the information we share in our reviews comes from us talking to poker sites’ customer support agents. Apart from checking and confirming various facts about the website in question, talking with customer support can also tell us a lot about how their agents are handling communication with their clients.

Great customer support on a Canadian poker site should be available at any time of the day or night, preferably speak both English and French, have multiple modes of contact, and be as responsive as possible while providing accurate information.

Different Types of Bonuses on Canadian Poker Sites

One of the biggest advantages of playing online poker as opposed to land-based poker is the fact that poker websites allow you to use bonuses with which you can extend your bankroll. These bonuses come in many shapes and forms, and below are some of the most common ones you can find.

Deposit Bonuses

The deposit bonus is the most common type of bonus on poker sites and gambling sites in general. Poker deposit bonuses are usually reserved for new players, which is why they are also called first deposit bonuses or welcome offers. However, some deposit bonuses can be used by regular customers as well, and they are often referred to as reload bonuses.

The way these promotions work is that after you complete your initial deposit on the site, the operator will match that deposit and give you some extra money to play with in the form of bonus credits. For example, the operator might give you a 100% match on your first deposit up to C$500. If you decide to deposit C$350, you will get an additional C$350 in bonus credits.

Once you use the bonus, you will need to play it over a few times, which is also known as meeting wagering requirements.

No Deposit Bonuses

Poker sites with a no deposit bonus are hard to find, but there are several operators through which you can take advantage of this offer, some of which we mention in our reviews.

No deposit bonuses are great because they give you the opportunity to test the poker site out without having to put down any of your own money. Of course, since they give you a chance to play for free, no deposit promotions are rather small and will only grant you access to some low-risk tables.

Freerolls

Freerolls are promotions that allow players on poker sites to enter tournaments for free. There are plenty of poker sites with freerolls that you can run across, and while the reward for winning such a tournament is not that high, you’re still not risking anything by participating.

Freerolls can sometimes be exclusive to new players on the website, but they are usually available to all users of the poker site. Apart from cash prizes, the rewards for winning freeroll tournaments can include other bonuses or free tickets for other tournaments.

The thing you need to know about freerolls is that, because they are free to play, they attract many players. Therefore, winning a freeroll might even be harder than winning a tournament with an entry fee, as it can have tougher competition.

Tournament Tickets

Many poker sites give out free tournament tickets to their players, either as part of a bigger promotion or when a certain loyalty status is reached. Tournament tickets are basically the same as freerolls, but while freerolls allow everyone to play in the tournament for free, free tournament tickets are released to only a handful of participants.

Rakeback

Rakeback bonuses are one of the most popular online poker promotions. In order for this kind of a bonus to pay out, you will need to be hitting the tables at a regular pace. Namely, every game you play will come with a rake, which is a fee that you pay to the operator. While these ranks might seem insignificant individually, they can stack up over time and make a big dent in your profits.

With a rakeback bonus, you will be getting a percentage of that rake back. Rakeback rates vary from one poker site to another, but they are around 40% on average. So, if you paid a C$200 rake over a given period, taking part in rakeback promotions can get you up to C$80 back.

VIP and Frequent Player Points

A common practice among Canadian poker sites is to give frequent player points (FPPs) to all of their customers. How many points you collect will depend on how often you play, as well as the height of the stakes you’re putting down.

You can convert FPPs into various prizes, like free tournament entries, cash, and other bonuses. While you’re collecting these points, you will also get a chance to unlock different VIP levels, if the site offers a VIP program. With each level you unlock, you will get special benefits like bonuses, access to VIP tables, higher rakebacks, higher limits for deposits and withdrawals, and other useful stuff.

Refer-A-Friend Bonus

If you know someone who would like to join you on a poker site, you should look for operators that offer refer-a-friend bonuses. By inviting another person to the website (sending them a special link through which they need to register and place a deposit), you will get a reward, usually in the form of a cash bonus. Some poker sites will even give a reward to the person you invited.

Different Types of Poker You Can Play Online

Poker is a game with plenty of variants. You can find websites that offer five different poker types, but in most cases, they offer just two — Texas Hold’em and Omaha.

Texas Hold’em

This by far the most popular poker variant today. It’s a community game, meaning that apart from your own cards, you will also be using several community cards in order to make the best possible hand combination.

Texas Hold’em is present on almost every poker website out there. Learning to play the game is very easy, and if you need any help, feel free to read one of our guides.

Omaha

Omaha is often divided into Omaha Hi and Omaha Hi-Lo. Omaha Hi plays very similarly to Texas Hold’em, with slight differences to the rules on how you combine your hole cards with community cards. Omaha Hi-Lo forces players to create two separate hands, one for high, and one for low.

Omaha is the second most popular poker variant behind Texas Hold’em and can be found on a majority of Canadian poker sites.

7-Card Stud

Stud poker used to dominate the world poker scene before Texas Hold’em and Omaha took over. However, one variation of Stud poker called 7-Card Stud is still relatively popular today.

In this game, players do not use community cards, and instead, make hands based solely on the cards they were dealt. Some of the cards are hidden, while the others are revealed to the rest of the players. Although rare, you will sometimes see 7-Card Stud in online tournaments.

5-Card Draw

5-Card Draw is really popular among casual poker players, but not so much on real-money poker sites. Nevertheless, you should play this variation of the game if you are completely new to poker, as it is really easy to learn and will give you a chance to practice before switching to more complex games.

5-Card Omaha

This game is very similar to Omaha Hi, with the only difference being that instead of four hole cards, each player receives five. This gives you a chance to create stronger combinations, making for a very dynamic game with powerful hands. 5-Card Omaha is commonly played online in cash games.

Razz

Razz can be described as upside-down poker. It basically plays like a typical Stud game, but the goal is to create the lowest hand possible, with aces counting as low. Also, there are straights and flushes.

Razz is a rather interesting game, but it hasn’t really been that popular lately. You can usually find it as part of mixed games like HORSE.

FAQ

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