Play Poker Online at The Best Casinos in Canada – Develop Your Online Poker Skills
There’s so much to love when it comes to playing online poker because of the complexity of the game and its variety. Here you will find some basic rules, strategies and tips to help you out. We’ve also done all the dirty work for you, searching for the best poker online rooms in Canada to make it even easier for you. You can be sure that our comprehensive guide will navigate you if you’re a beginner, and if you’re a pro – head up directly to our top picks where you can prove your skills!
Online Poker Canada – Top 5 Casinos
Here are our favourite online poker Canada operators, updated daily, where you can play against real opponents:
- Poker Site
- Min. deposit: $10
- Matched Deposit
- Min. deposit: $10
- Weekly Tournaments
- Min. deposit: $25
- 25 Free Spins
- Min. deposit: $25
- Weekly Tournaments
- Min. deposit: $25
How to Play Poker Online
The rules of online poker are pretty straightforward and easy to remember. However, with hand rankings you might find it difficult but don’t worry, with time and experience you will learn them and poker online gambling will seem like child’s play.
The objective of Texas Hold’em (the most popular poker game) is to create the best possible five-card poker hand using your two hole cards and the community cards on the table. At the start of each game, players are dealt two cards face down, known as ‘hole cards.’
Throughout several betting rounds, five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. These community cards are shared by all players, and you can combine them with your hole cards to form your hand. The five community cards are revealed in three stages:
- The Flop – the first three community cards.
- The Turn – the fourth community card.
- The River – the fifth and final community card.
Your task is to form the best five-card hand using any combination of your hole cards and the community cards. You can use both hole cards with three community cards, one hole card with four community cards, or even rely entirely on the community cards if they provide a stronger hand than using your hole cards.
Poker Online Hands Explained
Nearly all variations of online poker are played with the standard 52-card deck. The value ranking of each card goes in descending order: Ace >King > Queen > Jack > 10 > 9, etc.
It is important to note that Ace can be used as either high or low in straights. For example: you could have a five-card straight that runs A-2-3-4-5, or 10-J-Q-K-A.
The following table will show poker hand variations, ranked from best to worst:
| Poker Hand Name | Cards | Example Hand |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | A, K, Q, J, 10 – same suit | 
|
| Straight Flush | Five sequential cards – same suit | 
|
| Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same value, one of each suit – fifth card doesn’t matter | 
|
| Full House | Three cards of the same value, and a pair of an additional value | 
|
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit – any order | 
|
| Straight | Five sequential cards – any suit | 
|
| Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same value – other two cards don’t matter | 
|
| Two Pair | Two cards of the same value and two cards of a different value – fifth card doesn’t matter | 
|
| One Pair | Two cards of the same value – other three cards don’t matter | 
|
| No Pair | All five cards of different values and not all the same suit |
Types of Poker Online Games You Should Try
Though you can certainly run across additional types, these are the most popular variations of online poker in Canada:
Five-Card Draw Poker
The easiest variation of online poker, Five-Card Draw is the basis of video poker.
Other Online Poker Variations
- Razz Poker – Rather than playing for the usual high hands, players attempt to get a hand from Ace to 5.
- Omaha Hi/Lo Poker – Like regular Omaha, but with the pot split between the best high hand and the best low hand.
- HORSE Poker – A variant that combines Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud High, and Eights or Better poker into one game.
- Pai Gow Poker – Play against the dealer with multiple hands in this social, “us against them” poker variant.
Recommended Strategy When You Play Online Poker
Know the Rules and Stick to What You Know
Online poker’s many variations can get complicated – stick to the variations that you understand you get some experience.
Stay Calm, Cool and Collected
In most variations of online poker, you’re wagering against real people. Maintain your composure, stick to your strategy, and don’t get baited into betting on a hand you don’t like.
Don’t be Afraid to Fold
Folding is not the same as losing. Great online poker players aren’t afraid to walk away from a hand if they feel they’re beaten. Live to fight another day.
Types of Online Poker Tournaments
Note: these game types are not the same as the game variations we listed above. Game types refer to the gameplay type itself, rather than differences in rules. At any reputable Canadian online poker room, you’ll have no trouble finding different game types for each of the above variations.
With that said, there are five main types of poker that Canadian players will find online:
Cash Games
Cash games of online poker have no fixed time to finish and are played for real money. Players can leave the casino game at their leisure.
Poker Tournaments
In a poker tournament, players commit to playing until the tournament ends and cannot cash out before then. You play until you’re out of chips, and receive a certain payout amount depending on where you finished.
Sit N Goes
Also known as SnGs, the tournament begins as soon as your table is full and often wraps up in under an hour. If you lose all your chips, you’re done.
Fast-Fold Poker
A variation of online poker in which, if you fold quickly, you can move to a new table to play again right away. This is a great game type for playing quickly.
Lottery Sit N Goes
An even faster version of fast-fold poker, with games often finished in less than ten minutes.
Our Tips When Choosing Where to Play Online Poker
Regardless of your experience level, finding a great online poker room can be challenging. When playing poker for real money, you need to factor in deposit methods as well as your safety and security.
If safety is your biggest concern, check out our list of safest online poker platforms. If you’re looking for other features (which you can do without worry since all of our recommended sites are 100% safe), here’s what to look for when choosing where to play online poker:
Player Traffic
“Player traffic” is a fancy way of saying how many players typically visit a poker operator. If there is a high amount of player traffic, that site must be popular among players, and typically a site is popular for a reason. The more players there are, the better the prize pools will be.
Game Software
New players often don’t realize just how important a role the software plays in the enjoyment of online poker. By reading through our poker sites reviews, you’ll quickly learn just how valuable a good software provider can be.
A great way of separating a good poker room from a bad one is by the features offered by the client. Another is the smoothness of the gameplay – online poker games should be fast to load and run flawlessly without any interference.
Keep in mind, Gamble Online has done this work for you, but if you’re skeptical and want to truly do your homework, we would recommend looking into the software provider at your site of choice. Good navigation, design, graphics, features, and available tools play a bigger role than you might think.
Bonuses and Promotions
We’re going to come right out and say it: you shouldn’t play at an online poker platform that doesn’t offer bonuses. Promotions are increasingly common at good gambling sites, with the majority of solid brands offering an initial deposit bonus, matching your initial deposit up to a certain amount – for example, if you deposit $100, the site will give you $100 to play with.
Beyond the welcome bonus, poker bonuses are usually released in increments based on the stakes and number of hands you play.
Other promotions to look for include bad beat jackpots, loyalty programs, rakeback, and giveaways to major tournaments like the WSOP. Be sure to do your homework on bonuses before signing up for a new online casino account.
Variety of Games and Tournaments
We also recommend checking out the cash game and tournament varieties at a prospective site, as some poker operators don’t offer a very large choice.
Since enjoying the competition and playing great poker are presumably your main reason for joining an online poker room, make sure you know about the different competitions offered – whether that’s high stakes, small buy-in, or something in between – before you deposit.
Play Poker Online at Our Recommended Casinos in Canada
To help you choose where to play poker online, we’ve broken down the top five online poker casinos in Canada, along with some key information:
| Operator | Bonus | Min. Deposit | Payout Speed | Accepts Bitcoin | Mobile Play | Play Poker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bodog | $1,000 | $20 | 15 minutes – 2 days | Yes | Browser and App | Bodog |
| 2. BetOnline | $1,000 | $20 | 15 minutes – 15 days | Yes | Browser and App | BetOnline |
| 3. Sports Betting | $1,000 | $20 | 1 – 14 days | Yes | Browser and App | Sportsbetting.ag |
| 4. America’s Cardroom | $1,000 | $20 | 1 – 15 days | Yes | Browser only | Americas Cardroom |
