Picking a room is the one decision that changes how much you win before you've played a hand.
Two things decide whether a site is good for a new player: how strong the average opponent is, and
whether the regulars are allowed to use software that tracks you. Everything else — bonuses, app
design, tournament series — is secondary. I've played on every room below for years; here is where I'd
send a friend who's just starting, and why.
The biggest site in the world, built around fast, casual formats (Rush & Cash, Spin & Go, All-in or Fold) and a strict ban on tracking software and solver tools. That ban is the reason the games stay softer than most: the regulars can't lean on a HUD against you. Rake is on the higher side, which matters less at the stakes you'll start at.
A casual, promotion-heavy player pool on 888's own platform. Fewer professionals than the shared networks, a lot of bonus-driven traffic, and a wide game selection at small stakes.
The lowest rake caps of any major room at micro and low stakes (see the rake comparison), every format under one roof, and the most polished software. Tracking software is permitted within its rules, so the low-stakes regulars are a bit sharper than on GG — but the sheer number of recreational players keeps the games playable.
Regulated real money exists in NJ, PA, MI, NV and WV — WSOP.com and BetMGM have weak regulars and plenty of recreational traffic. Elsewhere, the sweepstakes sites (ClubWPT Gold, Global Poker) are the legal route.
Italian recreational players are famous for gambling hard. PokerStars.it and iPoker.it run deep, action-heavy games; PeoplesPoker runs everything 4-handed.
Winamax has a recreational-leaning French-only pool; PokerStars.fr and .pt share liquidity with Spain, which keeps the low stakes busy.
What I'd avoid at first
Grinder-heavy networks
WPN (ACR and its skins) has excellent rakeback and round-the-clock traffic,
but its field is full of regulars playing for that rakeback. It's a good second room once you have a
few months behind you, not a first one.
Club-based apps
PPPoker, ClubGG, X-Poker and the like have the softest games and the highest rakeback in poker — and
no licensed operator behind them. You deposit with an agent and trust them to pay. I play on several
and can introduce you to agents who've paid me for years, but learn the game somewhere regulated
first. Details on the apps page.
Chasing the biggest bonus
Deposit bonuses release as you pay rake, so a big bonus mostly rewards you for playing a lot at a
room you may not like. Pick the room for its games, then take whatever bonus it offers. Rakeback,
unlike a bonus, keeps paying for as long as you play.
Starting without rakeback
Every hand you play is raked whether you know it or not. Signing up through a tracked link gets part
of that back for the whole life of the account — and it's nearly impossible to add afterwards. It
takes two minutes to do it right the first time. What rakeback is, and
how to get set up.
★ Not sure which one fits you? Tell me your country, the stakes you have in mind and whether you prefer cash games or tournaments, and I'll point you at one room — not five. Contact.