PokerStars

PokerStars (.com / .eu)

World's Largest Room Recreational-Friendly

New to rakeback? Here's what this means for you

You're already paying a small fee (called rake) every hand you play, whether you notice it or not. Signing up through the link below gets a portion of that paid back to you — same games, same odds, just less left on the table. Read the full explainer →

PokerStars was the biggest poker room in the world for most of its history since launching in 2001, and while GG Network has overtaken it on raw traffic in recent years, it remains the deepest single brand in the game. Rather than running a network of third-party skins like most operators on this page, PokerStars operates its own regionally licensed instances of a single brand, with shared liquidity between some of them where regulation allows.

That scale advantage shows up everywhere: the deepest overall liquidity of any room, the widest spread of stakes and formats, an enormous tournament calendar (including flagship series like the Sunday Million and SCOOP), and a live tour presence (the PokerStars Live / EPT circuit) that keeps recreational players cycling through year-round.

The scale of PokerStars' recreational marketing — driven for years by sheer brand recognition and constant new-player promotions — tends to make it one of the softer fields among the major rooms, despite also being the deepest.

📷 Software screenshots coming soon — check back for a look at the client.

Deposits & Withdrawals

✓ Bank cards, e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller), and standard regional payment options
✓ First three deposits within 60 days matched under the welcome offer

Rake & Rakeback

Cash game rake caps by stake & table size (NL Hold'em / PLO)
Stakes	2p	3p	4p	5–9p
$0.01/0.02 – $0.05/0.10	$0.25	$0.50	$0.75	$1.00
$0.10/0.25 – $1/2	$0.50	$1.00	$1.50	$2.00
$2/4+	$1.00	$1.50	$2.00	$3.00

✓ Weighted contributed rake model — you're only raked in proportion to what you put in the pot, capped per hand as above
✓ Roughly 5% rake in most cash games, among the lowest of any major room
✓ Tournament fee typically around 9%, scaling down at higher buy-ins
✓ Stars Rewards: 100 Reward Points earned per $1 of cash game rake or tournament fees paid
✓ Points convert into Chests (Bronze up through Black), worth roughly 15%–60% effective rakeback depending on tier and volume
✓ Select Plus membership (100,000+ annual rake): 50% base rakeback, up to 60% in Zoom games and Spin & Go's
✓ Opt-in required — Stars Rewards isn't automatic

★ + Additional VIP rakeback from TableFinder — on top of PokerStars's own program, players who sign up through me get extra negotiated rakeback that isn't available by registering directly.

Promotions

✓ 100% first deposit match, up to a combined $600 across the first three deposits within 60 days
✓ Regular tournament series with major guarantees (Sunday Million, SCOOP)

Support

✓ Live chat and email support
✓ Extensive self-service help centre

From My Own Play

PokerStars was the first site I ever deposited money on. I was playing there even before Black Friday happened. I haven't played there for several years, mostly because I've lived in countries where PokerStars is prohibited. It's still one of the largest sites in the world, even though it's not as big as it used to be back in the day. It has the lowest rake and the most beautiful design out there. Peak hours are during European evenings.

There are two types of tables: Zoom and regular. You can play up to four Zoom tables at once, and those are known to be some of the toughest games online. The upside is you can play a huge number of hands per hour — on four Zoom tables you can realistically hit 1,000 hands an hour, which lets you compensate for the tough field with sheer volume. If you want to improve fast by playing against tough regulars, this is the quickest way to do it.

You can also stick to regular tables and be more table-selective. The rakeback is lower that way, but the rake itself is still low and the rakeback is still decent.