Online poker is available throughout Canada and you can join the tables within minutes. We provide a complete guide that shows you where you can find soft cash games, the biggest tournaments, and much more.
We also take a closer look at the laws and regulations throughout the country and how your location can affect the available platforms. From Vancouver to St. John’s, our guide has you covered. Start today with the best Canadian online poker sites.
150% Deposit Bonus up to $2,000
- Get 33% online poker rakeback every Monday
- Fully anonymous, instant withdrawal crypto poker
- Free from deposit and withdrawal fees if you use crypto
WPT Global First Deposit Match up to $1500
- Best place to qualify online for live WPT events
- Great promotions like leaderboards, tournament & more
- Design your own live poker experience with WPT Passport
100% Bonus up to $1,000 + 8 days of Tournament Tickets
- Tourney series - Sunday Majors & Progressive Bounties
- Modern client with 3D visuals, straddle, odds & features
- New Bad Beat Jackpot 2.0 can exceed $30,000 online
100% Bonus up to $500
- Zone Poker and anonymous tables for casual play
- $2 million in weekly poker tournament guarantees
- Mobile poker client with up to four tables at one time
New: No Limit Texas and Omaha
- All in or Fold tables available
- Most traffic on Texas tables
- MTT's added with good prize pools
Our Favourite Poker Site in Canada
Our favourite online poker site in Canada is CoinPoker. We first joined the online poker room at the end of 2023, and it’s become the go-to site on CardPlayer Canada for Hold’em and Omaha cash games for a variety of reasons.
Before we go into detail, you’ll notice that we said cash games. The tournament schedule is also strong, but the biggest guarantees lay elsewhere. Specifically, we recommend ACR or Black Chip Poker for tournaments because there’s over $1 million to play for on a weekly basis. What’s more, the annual Venom series has hosted main events with guarantees of over $12.5m.
This point aside, CoinPoker bonuses help make it a rewarding platform, with a generous welcome offer and industry-leading rakeback for players in Canada. Moreover, the site does the basics well and the fancy stuff better than everyone else.
The key basics are:
- Table design – It might be slightly more streamlined than some, but the table design is easy to understand and navigate.
- Betting limits – Cash games start at $0.01/$0.02 and go up to a heady $1,000/$2,000. Throw some daily freerolls into the mix and MTTs costing as little as $1, and everyone has access to real money poker games.
- Payment options – The benefit of cryptocurrencies is that they’re universal currencies everyone can use, regardless of where they live. What’s more, because transactions are decentralized, withdrawals are processed in a matter of minutes.
- Promotions – With a 150% welcome bonus up to $2,000, regular reload offers, and 33% rakeback for players who stake CHP (the native crypto), it’s hard not to give CoinPoker Canada top marks here.
Beyond the basics, it gets our vote as the best place to play online poker in Canada because of what’s under the hood. The site is based on a blockchain.
This means the result and ‘randomness’ of every hand can be verified by anyone. That’s something you don’t get with other Canadian poker sites and another great reason to give this platform a try.
Best Online Poker Sites in Canada Compared
What are the top online poker sites in Canada? Based on countless hours of testing and feedback from other Canadian poker players, the sites below are the country’s finest:
| Canada Poker Site | Best for | Welcome Bonus | Bonus Code | Poker Network | Poker Games |
| CoinPoker | Complete package for online poker | 150% deposit bonus up to $2,000 | CPLAYER | Independent | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 5-Card Omaha |
| WPT Global | Renowned poker brand | 100% deposit bonus up to $1,500 | N/A – Join Here | Independent | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Short Deck |
| BetOnline | Soft online poker cash games | 100% deposit bonus up to $1,000 + tournament tickets | NEWBOL | Chico | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 5-Card Omaha, 6-Card Omaha, Open Face Chinese Poker, Fast-Fold Poker |
| Bovada | Casual play with anonymous tables | 100% up to $500 | CardPlayer | PaiWangLuo | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Fast-Fold Poker |
| BC.Game | New poker site in Canada | Daily freerolls | N/A – Join Here | Independent | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 5-Card Omaha, Short Deck Poker |
Best Canada Poker Bonuses
This is a message to all Canadian poker players: don’t sleep on bonuses. It’s easy to assume deposit offers and loyalty rewards are inconvenient because they have wagering requirements attached to them.
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Poker bonuses can provide great value. Having to play in order to receive the funds is a necessary part of the process and the reason sites can give you free cash and tournament tickets. We will explain what bonus wagering requirements are and how to clear them a bit later on in this guide.
Moreover, poker is unpredictable. Even the best players experience downswings, which is why it’s handy to have a helping hand. But which type of poker bonus should you go for in Canada?
Canada Poker Formats
We found that poker for Canadian players comes in different formats and finding the right one can depend on your personal preferences. While it is good to try out more options, we strongly recommend that you learn the basics before putting money on the table.
The main game formats available at Canadian online poker sites are:
Cash Games
Cash games are an on-demand form of entertainment. They don’t have start and end points. You can sit down in an open seat, play poker online, and leave whenever you want. That’s because the chips in play have an equivalent value. A $1 chip can be cashed out for $1 at any point.
This free-flowing dynamic makes cash games interesting because new people (and challenges) pop up constantly. Blinds stay the same and players typically sit down with 100 big blinds or more, giving the game a consistent flow.
In cash games, you’ve got more scope to be creative, get reads, and extract value from opponents. This is because the stacks are usually deeper than they are in tournaments, and there are no table redraws.
Check out our poker strategy guide for tips on how to be creative and get value from the hands you play.
Multi-Table Tournaments
Multi-table tournaments (MTTs) have specific start times and continue until one player has all of the chips in play.
You have to pay an entry fee to play in tournaments. This fee goes into the prizepool. It also gets you a spot in the game and a set amount of chips.
Unlike cash games, these chips don’t have an equivalent value. Instead, they’re simply tokens that keep you in the event. That means poker tournaments are a balancing act between preservation and accumulation. You’re trying to protect your chips while simultaneously taking them from other players.
The players who do this better than others make it “into the money,” which means they outlast approximately 85% of the starting field and receive a prize for their efforts.
Payouts are top-heavy, which means you win more the longer you survive. The outright winner takes the lion’s share of the prizepool.
SNGs
Sit and Go events, aka SNGs, are mini tournaments that run on-demand. Games start when the quota of players is filled. That can be anywhere from two players to hundreds, although single-table SNGs are most common.
This distinguishes them from MTTs that begin at a certain time, regardless of the number of players.
The top poker websites in Canada offer a mix of normal speed, turbo, and hyper-turbo SNGs. They also run fast-paced jackpot SNGs, which award random prizes worth upwards of 1,000x the buy-in.
Poker Games in Canada
Most players know all about Texas Hold’em, but there are loads of different versions of poker. You can use our guide to learn how to play poker in all of its forms.
For now, here’s an overview of the main variants available at the leading online poker sites in Canada.
Texas Hold’em Poker
Texas Hold’em is the most popular way to play online poker in Canada. The game dynamics are as follows:
- Number of hole cards = 2
- Community cards = 5
- Betting formats: Limit, Pot Limit, No Limit
You can use one, both, or none of your hole cards in combination with the community cards.
The aim is to have the strongest five-card hand at showdown. Our Texas Hold’em odds calculator can help you practice hands and learn the ropes. Alternatively, you can win pots by making everyone else fold.
Omaha Poker
Omaha is an extreme version of Hold’em, and we’ll explain why in a moment.
- Number of hole cards = 4
- Community cards = 5
- Betting formats: Limit, Pot Limit, No Limit (post-flop)
Everyone has four hole cards instead of two. That doubles the number of hands you can make.
Additionally, you have to use two hole cards in combination with three community cards. Add in the fact you can’t move all-in at will (because it’s a pot-limit game), and you’re forced to play across multiple streets.
That means you’ll face more decisions and variance. Ultimately, these dynamics make Pot Limit Omaha a fun game format. For even more excitement when you play online poker for real money in Canada, try 5-Card Omaha. Here, you have five hole cards and must only use two for your final hand.
Seven Card Stud Poker
Poker isn’t always played with community cards. Of the non-community card variants, Stud is the main one you’ll find at online poker sites in Canada:
- Number of hole cards = Up to 3
- Community cards = None
- Betting formats: Limit, Pot Limit
How do you make five-card hands when you play stud? Simple, you use the cards you’re dealt. The most popular Stud variant involves seven cards.
You get these cards over the course of five betting rounds. Four cards are dealt face-up and three are dealt face-down.
As well as making hands with your own hole cards, you can look at your opponents’ face-up cards to inform your decisions.
Short Deck Poker
Short Deck is also known as 6+ Hold’em because it’s a stripped deck version of Texas Hold’em. We’ll break that down in a moment, but here are the facts:
- Number of hole cards = 2
- Community cards = 5
- Betting formats: No Limit
Short Deck is almost identical to Texas Hold’em in every way except for the following:
- All cards worth 2, 3, 4, and 5 have been removed from the deck.
- Flushes rank higher than full houses because of the cards that have been removed.
- Games typically use a single blind or ante-only structure rather than small and big blinds.
A 6+ Hold’em hand plays out in much the same way as a Texas Hold’em hand. What’s neat about this variant, however, is the fact that removing cards alters the hand rankings and generates more action on account of hand equities running closer in value.
In other words, it’s an all-action version of poker.
Is it Legal to Play at Canadian Poker Rooms?
Yes, you can play online poker in Canada. However, the current laws and regulations don’t make it clear across the board. Some provinces and territories can have different legislation in place that can affect what platforms are available.
The Criminal Code of Canada doesn’t ban poker online and gives provinces the power to pass their own legislation and license operators.
Overall, it is safe to say that poker, and online gambling as a whole, falls into a legal grey area.
The main thing to know is that it’s legal to play online poker for real money in Canada, but location makes a difference.
Specifically, Ontario has separate poker laws from elsewhere in the country. That’s why there’s often some confusion surrounding Canada’s online poker laws.
Online Poker in Ontario
Ontario broke from the rest of Canada in 2022 when it introduced its own online gambling laws. Specifically, the province created its own licensing system.
This means any operator wanting to offer its services in the province needs approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. The common advice for players in the province is to use a locally licensed poker room.
Outside of Ontario, online poker sites are also legal, but they don’t need to be licensed by provincial authorities.
This creates a dual dynamic where some of the best networks in Canada aren’t available in Ontario, but they are available elsewhere.
Tax on Canada Poker Winnings
Poker earnings are classified as income and taxed as such in Canada if you’re a professional. Most users aren’t professional poker players. What’s more, it’s tricky to define what constitutes a professional player.
By the letter of the law, recreational players won’t have to pay tax on their online poker winnings in Canada.
Additionally, many Canadian poker sites are based outside of the country. Therefore, they’re not regulated by local authorities or required to submit reports about players to the Canada Revenue Agency. This also applies to winnings on new Canadian online casinos.
Crypto Poker in Canada
Crypto online poker sites in Canada give you access to instant withdrawals and decentralized gaming.
Getting your winnings without having to wait days is great, but the real benefit of using crypto poker websites in Canada is decentralization – creating a borderless poker ecosystem in terms of games, technology, and payments. Essentially, you can play from anywhere in the world because you’re depositing and withdrawing cryptocurrencies that aren’t tied to specific countries.
How We Rate Canada’s Best Poker Sites
We have our favorites when it comes to poker sites in Canada. However, objectivity is important, which is why we rate platforms according to these metrics:
Safety
It doesn’t matter how weak the players are or how much rakeback you get; we won’t recommend online poker platforms in Canada if they’re not safe.
Online safety starts with a gambling licence from a reputable regulator such as the Curaçao Gaming Control Board. After that, we want to see encrypted software, random number generators that are certified as fair, and clear terms and conditions.
Player Pools
The waters of an online poker site need to be deep. That means there should be a steady stream of players throughout the day and night.
Within this stream of players should be plenty of fish, aka weak players. The more fish within the player pool, the easier games will be. This, in turn, should give you a better shot at winning and also makes for a fun experience when you play online poker for real money in Canada.
Special Bonuses
We don’t need to talk about the value of bonuses again, but we will tell you what constitutes a generous offer on the best poker websites.
The top-end value of a cash-based bonus matters. Put simply, the more you can get, the better. For ticket-based bonuses, access to tournaments with large prizepools is preferable.
The other wagering condition we assess is the playthrough, i.e. the amount you need to pay in rake to release a bonus. Safe poker sites in Canada have realistic wagering requirements, which you can get through without playing 24/7.
The ratio of rake-to-rewards can’t be weighted too heavily in favor of the former. This means you shouldn’t have to bet hundreds of dollars just to get a small return.
Payment Options
Moving money around is a major component of playing online poker in Canada. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Tether (USDT) are the safest and most efficient options.
If you prefer using CAD, traditional banking methods, such as credit and debit cards, are great. However, if possible, we recommend options such as Interac and cash vouchers, as they’re faster and offer you more flexibility.
Real money poker sites in Canada offer these payment methods and, importantly, low minimum deposit and withdrawal limits.
Mobile Apps
Playing poker on the go is a great way to jump into juicy cash games and seize bonus opportunities.
You can occasionally play via mobile websites, but most of the featured sites require you to download native apps for iOS and Android.
We tested the mobile poker apps in addition to any desktop software, as they can often produce two very different experiences.
Live Poker in Canada
We know online poker in Ontario is legal, as it is elsewhere in Canada. For all of the great Canadian poker sites, there are some equally impressive card rooms. Casino Niagara and Playground Poker Club play host to some of the poker’s biggest tournaments, including WPT Montreal and the WPT Playground.
Best Canadian Poker Players
Who are the best poker players in Canada? There are a lot of contenders, some huge poker stars, and plenty of player favourites. Kristen Foxen, for example, has blown up in recent years, claiming WSOP titles, dominating PokerGO events, and recently joining the Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF).
Other notable names on the Canadian online poker scene include original OGs Peter Jetten, Sorel Mizzi, and Micheal McDonald. Quite a few other players from the North make our poker news by taking down big tournaments.
However, we’re going to rank Canadian poker players based on lifetime tournament earnings:
Daniel Negreanu is more than Canada’s biggest winner; he’s an ambassador for poker players around the world and a former Global Poker Index Player of the Decade.
Kid Poker has won just about everything there is to win in poker. He’s worked harder on his game than most “old school” pros and that’s helped him win more than $54 million as well as WSOP, WPT, PokerGO, and EPT titles.
Timothy Adams was one of Canada’s original online poker superstars. Winning $2.5 million under the screenname Tim0thee, Adams successfully took his online skills to the live arena at his first WSOP in 2007.
Five years later, he won his first WSOP bracelet and almost $400,000 in the $2,500 Four-Handed event. Today, after more than 15 years in the game, Adams has over 20 titles and more than $38 million in live earnings.
Daniel Dvoress picked up poker in 2006 and soon found his calling in MTTs. His $400,000 score in the 2014 Spring Championship of Online Poker signalled his move into the big time.
Despite preferring the relative anonymity of online poker, Dvoress has taken down a number of notable live events, including the 2019 Super High Roller Bowl Bahamas, for $4 million. That win helped take his career earnings to over $35 million.
Best Online Poker Sites Canada – Our Verdict
The poker sites Canada offers are among the world’s finest in terms of games, software, and promotions. CoinPoker, for example, uses innovative blockchain technology to ensure its games are 100% safe and fair, has high-end free poker apps, and awards bonus prizes every day.
ACR and Black Chip host MTTs with $12 million+ prizepools, while BetOnline has created a platform that perfectly combines fiat and crypto gaming. All in all, Canada has a vibrant online poker scene that’s got something for everyone.
With this in mind, here are three things to remember as you set off on your Canadian online poker adventure:
- It’s legal to play online poker in Canada, but you should only use licensed and regulated sites.
- The recommended platforms have safe software, fair games, and plenty of promotions for players at all levels.
- Always play responsibly. You’ll never be short of action, but that doesn’t mean you should play every game. Be conservative with your bankroll, and only play if it’s enjoyable.
FAQs
What is the best online poker site in Canada?
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Resources
- https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/ (Criminal Code of Canada)
- https://www.playground.ca/ (Playground Poker Club)
- https://casinoniagara.com/playing/poker.html (Casino Niagara)
- https://builtin.com/blockchain (Blockchain Technology)
- https://www.curacao-egaming.com/ (Curaçao eGaming)