Best Online Poker Sites in Canada December 2024

Looking for the best online poker sites in Canada? This guide to online poker in Canada will show you where you can access the best cash games and tourneys at poker rooms which are 100% safe.

I’ve been in the game for more than a decade and am going to share how I find the best Canadian online poker sites, covering features such as bonuses, game types, player pools and more.

Best Online Poker Sites in Canada Compared

What are the top online poker sites in Canada? Based on my experience and feedback from Canadian poker players, the sites below are the country’s finest:

Our Favorite Poker Site in Canada

My favorite online poker site in Canada is CoinPoker. I created an account at the end of 2023, and it’s become my go-to site for Hold’em and Omaha cash games for a variety of reasons.

Before I go into detail, you’ll notice that I said cash games. CoinPoker’s tournament schedule is also strong, but the biggest guarantees lay elsewhere. Specifically, I tend to use 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 is one of the best online poker sites around because it does the basics well and the fancy stuff better than everyone else.

For me, the basics are:

Beyond the basics, CoinPoker gets my 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 CA poker sites and another great reason to give CoinPoker a try.

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. Having to wager X to receive Y is a necessary part of the process and the reason CA poker sites can give you free cash and tournament tickets.

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

Finding the right poker for CA players means figuring out the most suitable game formats and variants.

The main game formats available at my favorite Canadian online poker sites are:

Cash Games

I always find myself drawn to cash games because they’re an on-demand form of entertainment. Cash games don’t have start and end points. You can sit down in an open seat and leave whenever you want.

That’s because the chips in play have an equivalent value. This means a $1 chip can be cashed out for $1 at any point (I’ll explain why that’s important in the next section).

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.

MTTs

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 poker 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 tournament.

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.

Tournament 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 tournaments, 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 sites 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.

There are other ways to play poker, such as Draw. However, at my recommended Canadian poker sites, these are the main variants you can play:

Texas Hold’em Poker

Texas Hold’em is the most popular way to play online poker in Canada. The game dynamics are as follows:

You can use one, both, or none of your hole cards in combination with the community cards.

The aim is to have the best five-card hand at showdown. Alternatively, you can win pots by making everyone else fold.

Omaha Poker

Omaha is, in my opinion, an extreme version of Hold’em, and I’ll explain why in a moment.

Omaha is more extreme than Hold’em because hands can be counterfeited much more easily. That’s because 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 poker across multiple streets.

That means you’ll face more decisions and variance. Ultimately, these dynamics make Pot Limit Omaha an exciting poker format. For even more excitement when you play online poker for real money in Canada, try 5-Card Omaha.

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 the best online poker sites in Canada:

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 of which are dealt face-up and three of which 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. I’ll break that down in a moment, but here are the facts:

Short Deck is almost identical to Texas Hold’em in every way except for the following:

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, you might not get a clear answer if you use Google (or any other search engine) to search the term “poker Canada online.”

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 Ontario 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 online poker sites Canada has to offer aren’t available in Ontario, but they are available elsewhere.

Additionally, because CoinPoker is a decentralized crypto site, it doesn’t occupy the same space within the gambling world as other poker sites. I’ll explain why in a moment, but this ultimately means that you should be able to use CoinPoker in Ontario.

Tax on Canada Poker Winnings

Poker earnings are classified as income and taxed as such in Canada if you’re a professional. Most of us aren’t professional poker players. What’s more, it’s tricky to define what constitutes a professional poker player.

By the letter of the law, recreational players won’t have to pay tax on their online poker winnings in Canada.

Additionally, many top Canadian poker sites are based outside of the country. Therefore, they’re not regulated by local authorities or required to submit reports about Canadian poker players to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Crypto Poker in Canada

Crypto online poker sites in Canada give you access to instant withdrawals and decentralized gaming. These days, crypto-friendly sites host some of the best online poker in Canada.

Getting your winnings without having to wait days is great, but the real benefit of using crypto poker sites in Canada is decentralization.

Decentralization is 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.

Better yet, CoinPoker’s software runs on a blockchain. That means its games are transparent and publicly verifiable. Therefore, you get fair games that everyone can enjoy.

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.

Overall, the best online poker sites in Canada have more to offer than their live counterparts. That being said, 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, and I have a few favorites. 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. However, I’m going to rank the best Canadian poker players based on tournament earnings:

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.

ACR and Black Chip host MTTs with $12 million+ prizepools, while BetOnline has created a platform that perfectly combines fiat and crypto gaming. 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:

FAQs

What is the best online poker site in Canada?

The best online poker site in Canada right now is CoinPoker. A generous welcome bonus and 33% rakeback give this Canadian poker site the wow factor. However, for those who care more about fast withdrawals, accessibility, and game integrity, CoinPoker’s blockchain foundations are the true reasons it stands out.

Can I play online poker for money in Canada?

Yes, it’s possible to play poker in Canada via computers and mobile devices. Do an internet search for “poker sites Canada,” and you’ll be presented with dozens of options. However, if you want legal, safe, and high-quality games, you must use licensed CA poker sites such as CoinPoker, BetOnline, and ACR.

Is poker tax-free in Canada?

Yes, poker for CA players is a tax-free pursuit if you’re not classed as a professional. The definition of a professional is somewhat unclear, but it’s basically someone who derives 100% of their income from poker. If you’re a recreational player using Canadian poker sites that don’t report to the Canada Revenue Agency, you shouldn’t need to worry about tax.

What is Canada’s most trusted online poker site?

CoinPoker is Canada’s most trusted poker site right now because it uses publicly verifiable random number generators. They’re based on a blockchain which, by its very nature, is open to the public. This creates a completely safe and fair gaming environment.

Resources

• https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency.html (Canada Revenue Agency)
• 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)

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