- Easy to Beat Poker Sites
- Real Money Poker Sites
- Texas Holdem Poker Sites
- Most Popular Poker Sites
- USA Poker Sites
- Credit Card Poker Sites
- 888 Poker
- Bovada Poker
- BetOnline Poker
- Party Poker
- Cake Poker
- BWIN Poker
- Intertops Poker
- Winner Poker
- William Hill Poker
- Sit and Go Strategy
- "How To" Poker Articles
- NL Hold'em Strategy
- PL Omaha Strategy
- Tournament Strategy
- General Poker Advice
- Heads Up Poker Strategy
- Online Poker Training
- Online Poker Bonus Guide
- Online Poker by Country
- Poker Game Types
- Online Poker Currencies
- Poker Deposit Methods
- Best Online Casinos
The Most Popular Online Poker Sites
The biggest poker sites in terms of player traffic have thousands and thousands of players logged in around the clock. Poker sites with lots of players offer several key advantages, such as tables that are full at all stakes, poker tournaments with massive prize pools and easy to use deposit methods. Large poker sites are also the safest places to play because they spare no expenses on security and customer support.
Lists the Biggest Poker Sites in 2012
| Rank | Poker Site | USA | Sign Up Bonus | Bonus Code | Play Now! |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  888
Poker |
100% up to $600 | n/a - use links | » www.888.com | |
| 2 |  BetOnline
Poker |
 |
25% Instant Cash | n/a - use links | » www.BetOnline.com |
| 3 |  PokerStars |
100% to $600 | MIK500 | » www.PokerStars.com | |
| 4 |  Lock
Poker |
|
150% up to $750 | n/a - use links | » www.LockPoker.com |
| 5 |  Party Poker |
100% up to $500 | 500PS | » www.PartyPoker.com | |
| 6 |  BWIN Poker |
100% up to $200 | n/a - use links | » www.BWIN.com | |
| 7 |  Bovada Poker |
|
100% up to $1,000 | n/a - use link | » www.Bovada.com |
| 8 |  Intertops
Poker |
|
110% up to $600 | n/a - use links | » www.Intertops.com |
| 9 |  Winner
Poker |
250% up to $2000 | TOPBONUS | » www.Winner.com | |
| 10 |  Cake Poker |
|
110% up to $1,100 | CAKEPS | » www.CakePoker.com |
Reviewing the Popular Online Poker Sites
If you like to play multiple tables at a time or you are interested in games besides Texas Hold'em, large poker sites are perfect. The big poker sites have so many players that you’re bound to find games of all types at all stakes. UPDATE - this page has been revised to include the biggest US poker sites. Look for the US icon or the USA friendly flag.
- Location: UK
- Established: 1999
- Bonus Code: n/a - use links
- Traffic: 32,864 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
888 Poker was an easy choice as the internet’s best 3D poker site. No other poker sites have even come close to offering the same 3D experience as 888. The graphics are rich, the games are good and the level of play is very soft. The 888 software is compatible with both PCs and Mac computers.
Plus, as an added bonus, 888 Poker is giving a free no deposit bonus just to take the software for a test drive.
Join 888 Poker here and receive a free $8 cash bonus and an additional 100% to $600 when you make your first deposit.
- Location: Antigua
- Established: 2012
- Promo Code: n/a
- Traffic: 4,129 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
Bet Online is a new poker site, however, they’ve quickly become one of the fastest growing US poker sites catering to both Hold’em and Omaha players. The poker room is operates on the Hero Poker Network and supports both a Windows and a Mac download. Bet Online also provides access to the BetOnline.com sportsbook as well as casino, both of which have been operating for a number of years. The poker room features a $750 signup bonus, has no problems accepting USA players or processing payments and provides 25/7 fast and friendly customer support.
- Location: Canada
- Established: 2007
- Ref. Code: BPSORG
- Traffic: 3,236 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
Lock Poker is a fairly new poker room on the Merge Network that offers PC and Mac-friendly poker software. The traffic at the room is relatively high for a USA-facing poker site, as Lock has around 3,000 players online during peak hours. Lock still accepts USA poker players post-Black Friday. The Merge network contains quite a few other poker sites, so Lock offers good player traffic and you can find cash games, SNGs, or MTTs around the clock.
If you sign up at Lock Poker with bonus code BPSORG you will automatically receive a special 150% up to $750 bonus on your first deposit.
- Location: Gibraltar
- Established: 2001
- Bonus Code: 500PS
- Traffic: 23,132 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
Party Poker is one of the largest poker sites, catering to more than 60,000 players during peak hours. This is an impressive feat since PartyPoker.com is unable to accept USA players. The poker room is packed full of promotions and tournaments ranging from the $1 buy-ins to a few hundred. They are also one of the leading poker rooms for European and Canadian tournaments. If you want to qualify online, Party Poker is your one stop shop.
When you join Party Poker using our PartyPoker bonus code PS500, you qualify for a 100% bonus up to $500 with your first deposit. The bonuses are extremely easy to clear here and often players will receive instant cash bonuses directly deposited into their accounts. As a new player, you're automatically enrolled into Party Poker's VIP rewards program, which is equal to or better than receiving rakeback.
- Location: Gibraltar
- Established: 1999
- Bonus Code: use links
- Traffic: 22,542 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
Bwin Poker is the #1 room on the OnGame Network. The poker room offers casino, sports betting and poker in one, with a $500 bonus for new players. Join Bwin Poker through our site using the links below and receive a 100% match bonus on your first deposit.
Bwin Poker has implemented a brand new rewards system for regular players. Want to check out a live sporting event, or take part in a tournament? Redeem your player points for free tickets.
- Location: Antigua
- Established: 1994
- Promo Code: n/a
- Traffic: 12,129 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
Bovada Poker is one of our top rated poker rooms, and is currently the biggest online poker site that still accepts USA players. Bovada has been in business for over fifteen years, and in that time has built up their player base through online and traditional media advertising.
Although several USA poker sites were shut down by the FBI on April 15th, 2012, Bovada continues to service the USA poker market and plans to continue doing so. You can find cash games, SNGs, and MTTs running around the clock at Bovada.
Plus, Bovada is currently running a special promotion for all BestPokerSites.org visitors - sign up through any of the Bovada.com links on this page, and automatically receive a 110% up to $1,100 bonus on your first deposit.
- Location: Canada
- Established: 1996
- Code: n/a - use links
- Mac Friendly: No
While Cake Poker may not be one of the largest poker sites on the market, it is one of the top three for American players, which is why we've listed it on this page. The poker room provides a unique rewards program with cash incentives, free tournaments and easy to clear bonuses.
Cake Poker uses it's own software, which was recently upgraded and offers better features, crisp graphics along with user-friendly options. The poker room attracts upwards of 5000 players during peak hours, and provides some of the easiest to beat cash games in the industry. Join Cake Poker through our site and receive a 110% deposit bonus up to $600.
- Location: Gibraltar
- Established: 2009
- Bonus Code: TOPBONUS
- Traffic: 33,132 Players
- Mac Friendly: Yes
Winner Poker is one of the few sites that offers multiple currency options. Play poker in Euros, Pounds, CDN Dollar or USD. The software is compatible with Macs and Windows operating systems, features around the clock tournaments and includes progressive jackpot sit n go tournaments.
When you sign up at Winner Poker through our site, you will receive a huge 250% deposit bonus up to $2000. You must use our Winner Poker coupon code "TOPBONUS" to receive this offer. The bonuses are easy to clear, released in $5 increments and its stackable.
- Location: Canada
- Established: 1997
- Ref. Code: n/a
- Traffic: 5,236 Players
- Mac Friendly: No
Intertops Poker is an old, established poker room on the Cake Poker network that offers smooth payment processing and a good sign up bonus. The traffic at the room is relatively high for a USA-facing poker site, as Intertops has around 5,000 players online during peak hours. Intertops still accepts USA poker players post-Black Friday, and you will never have trouble finding a game regardless of time/day.
If you sign up at Intertops Poker with the links on this page you will automatically receive a special 100% up to $600 bonus on your first deposit.
What Do We Consider a "Popular" Poker Site?
In case you are wondering how we defined the "popular" poker sites, here are the criteria:
- 50,000+ Players Online, Around the Clock. This was the first qualifier, and it knocked out all but the three poker sites listed here. We didn't consider a site to be one of the most popular poker sites if it didn't have at least 50,000 players logged in around the clock. Party Poker was close, but Full Tilt and Stars blew this number out of the water (even during off-peak hours).
- TV Commercials. All of the poker sites on this page run TV commercials all the time in the world's biggest TV markets. This enables them to bring in boat-loads of players everyday (many of which are fishy rookies!).
- Live Tournament/Player Sponsorship. Another way that we found out about the most popular poker sites is because they sponsor major live tournaments (like the European Poker Tour circuit, sponsored by PokerStars) and the biggest-name poker pros (like Phil Ivey, sponsored by Full Tilt Poker).
Advantages of Big Poker Sites
The most obvious advantage of big poker sites is their large selection of games at all stakes. When a poker site manages to have tens of thousands of players logged in at all hours, the chances of finding games at all levels are very high. You can also find a wide variety of games other than Texas Hold'em.
In addition to that, big poker sites make a lot of money and can afford to provide their players with rewarding loyalty programs and large deposit bonuses. This extra money also allows poker sites to host large guaranteed tournaments. The PokerStars $1,500,000 guarantee, for example, is larger than most major live tournaments.
Large poker sites also have the best poker software in the industry. All the money they make allows them to constantly update and improve their software. You’ll notice frequent software updates at big poker sites such as Full Tilt and PokerStars. Smaller sites rarely have software that can compete with what's offered by the biggest poker sites.
Disadvantages of Big Poker Sites
The only disadvantage of playing at the more popular poker sites is that the competition is usually a little bit tougher than what you'd find at a smaller site. If you'd prefer to play at a smaller poker site that has a little bit easier to beat competition, check out these soft poker sites.
