Want to learn more about online poker in Singapore? We’ll explain the Lion City’s gambling laws and reveal how to find the best poker sites. In addition, you’ll discover the most popular poker games in SG and top tips for beginners.
But first, let’s check out the best online poker sites in Singapore.
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The following reviews will help you to make an informed choice about where to play.
Our top pick for online poker in Singapore is CoinPoker, a cryptocurrency site which launched in 2017. The brand has become synonymous with prompt payouts and sleek software.
Aside from popular tokens like BTC, ETH and USDT, CoinPoker boasts its own unique cryptocurrency – Chips (CHP). Not only do these coins facilitate same-day withdrawals, they offer a useful layer of anonymity and security.
In addition, playing with CHP nets you an impressive 33% rakeback. Coupled with a generous welcome bonus and other ongoing rewards, not many poker sites in Singapore can compete.
CoinPoker hosted the biggest ever pot in online poker history when Tony G won an Omaha hand worth 7.75 million USD. Other famous names seen frequenting the high-stakes tables include Charlie Carrel and Olga Iermolcheva.
Formerly known as Americas Cardroom, ACR is one of the most well-known brands for online poker in Singapore, and indeed the world.
Launched in 2001, it’s the flagship brand of Winning Poker Network (WPN), one of the busier networks. As such, you’ll have access to bustling cash games at pretty much all times of day.
In terms of tournaments, ACR Poker is arguably the best choice for players in SG. The Sunday Moneymaker guarantees a weekly 300,000 USD prize pool, while seasonal events like the Online Super Series (OSS) offer millions of dollars.
The most famous tournament held on ACR Poker is the Venom. This tournament continues to break records with its guarantees, boasting a 12.5 million USD prize pool in April 2024.
Another fine choice for those of you who want to play poker using crypto, Betplay is a great choice if you’re looking for less-experienced opponents and some events with very affordable buy-ins.
BetPlay are consistently upping their game, and introduced a number of new weekend guarantees in November 2024. This includes tournaments with buy-ins as low as 0.10 USD, which all but guarantees a very low quality of skill. This is ideal if you’re new to the game or want to play one of the most low-risk real-money poker games around.
On the other end of the spectrum, you can get lightning-fast action in series such as the Betplay Poker Adrenaline Series, which has a mixture of satellites, freerolls and plenty of cash guarantees.
In general, freerolls run every day, with guarantees ranging from 100-500 USD.
Black Chip Poker offers one of the best Android poker apps in the business. It looks fantastic, it’s easy to use, and is packed with features. Unfortunately, there’s no iOS version at the moment.
Another site on the WPN, expect busy cash tables at Black Chip Poker. But this is also one of the few remaining Singapore poker rooms online that offers Seven Card Stud and its variants.
Kick things off with the industry’s biggest online poker bonus, which is backed up by the Elite Benefits program. Alternatively, speak to support and opt out of the rewards scheme, taking a flat 27% rakeback instead.
As a WPN brand, players at Black Chip Poker can also take part in the Venom tournaments.
BetOnline rounds off the top five sites for online poker in SG. Play all of the most popular games, including Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo, at a variety of stakes.
Although there are high-limit games, the site is ideal for low to mid-stakes players. You won’t find many tournaments with buy-ins above 300 USD, for instance. And the cash tables are relatively soft, especially Hold’em, due to the influx of sports bettors.
BetOnline began life as a sportsbook, but has since developed into one of the most complete all-round gambling destinations. There’s a live casino, horse racing and even virtual sports betting, alongside one of the best online poker sites in Singapore.
Finally, BetOnline is one of the few poker sites offering 24/7 live chat support.
The best online poker sites in Singapore offer generous bonuses. Let’s take a closer look at the various promotions and rewards up for grabs.
Regardless of whether you’re playing Hold’em, Omaha or Seven Card Stud, there are two different ways to compete: cash games and tournaments.
In a cash game, every chip on the table has a real-world value. If you buy into the game for 100 USD, your chips are actually worth 100 USD.
The good thing about cash games is that you can dip in and out. It’s possible to just play for 20 or 30 minutes if you like – perfect if you don’t have hours to dedicate to a tournament.
If you bust, you can always buy back into the game and continue playing. That means the optimal strategy is often a little more loose than in a tournament.
Chips in a tournament have nominal values. Everyone pays the exact same buy-in to receive an identical chip stack.
Once you lose those chips, you’re out of the competition. As such, tournament poker strategy tends to focus on tighter play, conserving chips during certain stages of the game.
Buy-ins are collected into a prize pool, which is later shared among the highest-finishing players. The winner is the player left with all of the chips, and they bank the biggest share of the fund.
Short for “multi-table tournament”, an MTT is simply any kind of tournament involving more than one table.
That could be as few as 12 people, if it’s two six-max tables. But equally, it could involve thousands, like the record-breaking 2024 WSOP Main Event, which featured 10,112 players.
A Sit and Go, or Sit ‘N Go, is a type of tournament that starts on demand.
Many events are scheduled to begin at a fixed time, regardless of the number of entrants. But SNGs only start once the required number of participants is met.
If it’s a 10-seater STT (single-table tournament) things will get underway once the tenth player joins. But some SNGs are MTTs for dozens, if not hundreds of players.
A satellite is a tournament where the prize is entry to a bigger competition.
For example, the WSOP Main Event costs 10,000 USD to enter, far beyond the budget of your average amateur. However, it’s possible to win your way into the competition via satellites.
You can play in 215 USD WSOP Main Event satellites, for example, where the winner earns a seat in the big Vegas showpiece.
These tournaments are free to enter, but with real money prizes up for grabs.
You’re not going to become a millionaire playing freerolls, as prize pools tend to be small – often less than 100 USD.
Nevertheless, they’re a great way for newcomers to build up a bankroll. Not to mention practicing playing in a competitive environment.
More than ever, people are playing online poker in Singapore through phones and tablets. In this part of our guide, we’ll focus on a couple of the leading poker apps for poker players.
In our expert opinion, this is the best app for online poker in Singapore. It looks stylish, but it’s actually very easy to use.
More importantly, there’s a good selection of cash games and tournaments for the most popular forms of poker.
The CoinPoker app is pretty light in terms of download size and installation. Plus you won’t have to update it every time you try to log in.
Another notable example of a high-quality app is ACR Poker. Although there’s no native app for iOS devices yet, the Android software is first-class.
It looks incredibly sleek and offers a bigger game selection than most, including 5-Card Omaha and Seven Stud Eight Or Better.
However, you’ll need to run regular updates, which can sometimes be quite chunky.
It’s time to learn more about the different forms of online poker in Singapore. Of course, there are dozens of variants out there, but these are the most common games you’ll find online.
Hold’em can use a Fixed Limit betting structure, but it’s more commonly played as a big bet game, meaning Pot or No Limit. The latter offers the toughest test, requiring confidence and bravery, along with strong mathematical knowledge.
Each player is dealt two cards face-down before an initial round of betting. It’s then possible to receive a maximum of five community cards – so called because all players can use them – spread across three extra betting rounds.
If someone says they know how to play poker, the chances are it’s Hold’em they’re referring to. After all, it’s the most popular form of the game in the world, not just Asia.
Another game that can be played with Fixed, Pot and No Limit betting structures, Omaha is related to Hold’em.
It uses the exact same rules as its Texan cousin, in terms of the number of community cards and betting rounds. However, all players receive four hole cards instead of two. In addition, you must use precisely two when making your five-card hand.
Due to the additional cards in play, Omaha hands are never as strong as new players think they are. The likelihood of someone having a sizable draw is great, so it’s important to be disciplined in your hand selection and betting.
All players start with three cards each, two of which are turned face-down. As a stud game, there are no community cards at all.
Although it’s possible to play No Limit and Pot Limit Seven Stud, it’s rare to see. Usually, the game uses a fixed limit structure.
Sadly, Seven Stud seems to be dying out, and only a few of the best online poker sites spread such games. You’re more likely to see it in a mixed games tournament, such as HORSE.
Each player receives five cards which remain hidden at all times. You’ll have three opportunities to exchange some, all or none of these for new cards from the top of the deck.
In total, there are four betting rounds in 2-7 Triple Draw, which is usually played using a Fixed Limit structure. However, No Limit and Pot Limit games are not unheard of.
As a lowball game, the aim is to make what would normally be the weakest hand. Straights and flushes play in 2-7 Triple Draw, and aces are high. That means the best possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2.
Open-face Chinese poker, or OFC, is a variation of Chinese poker where the cards are all turned face-up. All players are dealt a 13-card hand, before taking turns to place their cards one at a time.
Like regular Chinese poker, you must form three hands – two of five cards and one of three – in order. The back hand must be the strongest, followed by the middle and the front hands.
Point scoring is based on the final hand values. Whoever secures the most is paid according to whatever stakes were agreed at the start of the game.
Yes, in theory. According to the two most recent pieces of gambling legislation, it’s legal to gamble at licensed premises.
It’s extremely hard to obtain a gambling license, due to the country’s strict laws. But despite this, there are two fully operational casinos in Singapore – Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.
The latter has a card room with four tables, making it the only legal place to play live poker in Singapore. As far as we know, there are no plans to open a poker room within Marina Bay Sands.
The country’s gambling laws were updated in August 2022, with the passage of the Gambling Control Act and the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act. These overrode the contents of 2014’s Remote Gambling Act.
This legislation states in no uncertain terms that you can only play at licensed sites. Since the country hasn’t granted any licenses to online poker rooms, there’s no way to play legally from within the Lion City.
Your only option, therefore, is to look overseas. Many offshore poker sites will accept Singaporeans, but you run the risk of getting into trouble if you’re caught.
If you’re going to play online poker in Singapore, it’s a good idea to stick to crypto and bitcoin poker sites.
Many players prefer not to leave a paper trail with their banks, for various reasons. Cryptocurrency payments are anonymous.
What’s more, cryptocurrency is by far the quickest way to receive a payout when playing poker online. While a card payment can take anywhere from 48 hours to a week, crypto tokens like bitcoin, ethereum and ripple are usually processed nearly instantly.
Some sites, such as CoinPoker, even have their own personal tokens which come loaded with benefits. Playing with CHP (Chips) also means you’ll receive 33% rakeback.
The country’s gambling rules may be strict, but the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore takes a softer position.
Any profits made from gambling are considered as windfalls, so there’s no need to pay any tax.
New to playing poker online in Singapore? Follow these simple pieces of advice and start off the right way.
When searching for the best online poker sites in Singapore, there are dozens of criteria to think about. The good news is that our expert researchers have done the hard work for you.
Here’s a run through the most important factors we take into consideration when reviewing the best online poker sites in Singapore.
Ensuring that your site is safe and secure is the number one priority. After all, if we’re going to send our hard-earned money to someone, we need to know they’re not going to cheat us.
That involves making sure the site is regulated, and that the software is independently tested by a reputable third-party lab like GLI. In addition, we look into its security technology, such as SSL encryption and two-factor authentication.
Finally, we want to see a selection of trustworthy payment processors, and run deposit and withdrawal tests firsthand to ensure everything is smooth.
Next on the list of key criteria is the pool of opponents. You can’t play online poker in Singapore if there’s nobody to compete against, so the volume of traffic is a top priority.
We check the cash tables of all poker formats throughout the day to see how busy they are. In addition, we keep our eyes on the average number of tournament players.
Although this is not a dealbreaker, we do tend to favor sites where the standard is below average. Naturally, this gives us the best chance of winning.
Another hugely important factor in a top poker site is the bonuses.
A generous rakeback rate, such as the 33% at CoinPoker, is an excellent excuse to stick around. In addition, a plentiful supply of reload bonuses, friend referral rewards and other promotions goes a long way.
Of course, it’s equally important that our recommended sites offer attractive signup bonuses. If we’re going to make the effort to register, there should be some kind of reward for doing so.
The best online poker sites in Singapore understand that they don’t have a business without real-money payments. That’s why they make every effort to supply a wide variety of secure and reliable payment options.
We lean towards poker sites with cryptocurrency, as it’s the fastest way to receive withdrawals. The anonymity offered by tokens like BTC, ETH and USDT is also helpful.
Not everyone understands cryptocurrency, of course. So it’s just as important to have access to traditional payment methods, like debit cards, bank wires and ewallets.
All of the top sites nowadays understand the desire for access to mobile games. As such, the options for playing Singapore poker online have never been more convenient.
Most brands offer some kind of app, whether it’s a native download for Android and iOS, or a PWA (Progressive Web App). But even if they don’t, it’s rare to see a site without some way to get involved on mobile.
One of our favorite ways to play can be found at BetOnline. There’s no need to download anything all – simply log into your account and access Instant Play mode in any up-to-date mobile browser.
A relatively small city state, Singapore isn’t as well-known for producing talented poker players as nearby Asian countries. However, that’s not to say there aren’t any success stories. Here are some notable names from the Lion City.
Since turning professional in 2013, Kenneth Kee has reached the top of Singapore’s all-time money list. He’s banked over 4.3 million USD from live tournaments, including a 1.3 million USD score in South Korea back in 2018.
With 1.4 million USD worth of live tournament earnings, Wayne Yap lies in fourth place on the country’s all-time money list. He’s all but retired these days, having elected to concentrate on running his businesses instead.
A former Team Pokerstars Pro, Bryan Huang is another successful player who’s chosen to focus on his entrepreneurial endeavours in recent years. Despite this, only two players from Singapore have made more from live poker tournaments.
There’s a lot to remember about the top Singapore poker sites, so let’s sum up with the key things you need to know.
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