Player from Spain? Please visit our Spanish review of Poker Stars by clicking here.
Player from Belgium? Please visit Poker Star’s Belgian site by clicking here.
Player from Italy? Please visit Poker Star’s Italian site by clicking here.
PokerStars
If you ask most poker players to name a poker site, nearly everyone, from seasoned pros to wet-behind the ears beginners will come up with one name first: PokerStars.
PokerStars is the king of online poker, the site where more people have played than any other. Catapulted to the top of the heap after Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker through a PokerStars satellite in 2025, they have constantly been defining what an online poker room is for more than twelve years. And they have earned their place at the top.
Top professionals like Daniel Negraunu and Barry Greenstein play there, along with hundreds of thousands of other players of varying levels every single day. On the day this was written, there were more than 144,000 players at the tables. The high traffic means that there are always games open; though this has also led PokerStars to being the most difficult and competitive of all poker sites.
The client and poker software is smooth and superb, the customer service and banking top-notch, and the selection of fun games and tournaments fantastic. With their 2025 acquisition of chief rival Full Tilt Poker, it seems like there is no stopping the PokerStars behemoth from continuing its dominance of the world of online poker.
Poker Sign-up Bonus
PokerStars has been running the same sign-up bonus for years, so it must be working. They offer a very good 100% first deposit bonus for up to $600. As a new player to the site, it's a great way to get rewarded as you enjoy the superb poker client.
One of the best things about this bonus is the relatively low amount you need to clear the bonus. The play-through rate is 17x, which is better than many sites. Also, the bonus amount is released in $10 increments, which is great for the casual player who will never play enough to get the full bonus amount, but can still take advantage of a portion of that amount in these small chunks.
Poker Promotions
PokerStars is busy; satellites to live tournaments, online poker championships, huge Sunday tournaments, freerolls, trips, poker leagues and more are constantly running. Their size gives them an advantage to offer huge prizes, including WSOP packages and millions in guaranteed winnings from their World Championship of Online Poker.
As with every other poker site worth its salt, they have a tiered VIP program which can earn players PokerStars gear so they can look like their favorite poker pros, as well as cash awards and even live tournament tickets. A nice advantage of this system is that at micro-stakes VIP points are awarded in fractions of a point, so it is open even to the smallest of players.
One of the few downsides of the site is the rarity of deposit bonuses for existing players. Every now and then they might offer a 20% reload bonus, or a free online tournament ticket with your next deposit. But for the most part they don't offer anything, likely because they know that you'll love their site so much you will be happy to deposit more for free.
Software
As the industry leader, PokerStars has also taken the time to make sure that their software is hit for a champion. It is not only beautiful and full of every single feature you could possibly want, but it nearly always runs smoothly and without a hiccup.
The lobby is gorgeous, and they make it incredibly easy to find just the right game you are looking for with a comprehensive filter and great table stats. The tables themselves also allow customizable themes and have all kinds of features, from player notes to auto-rebuy to player notes that make playing easier. There really is nothing that the client lacks, and other sites look pretty dull comparatively.
Games
One of the great advantages of having tens of thousands of players all on the site at once is that there is always a game you want to play available. Not only do they have Hold'em at every limit and every table size, you will also always be able to find a game of Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo, Razz, 5-Card Draw, and even Badugi. They have a wide variety of different tournaments from HORSE tourneys to million-dollar deep-stacks tournaments. Any game that even resembles poker can be found here, and you can always find someone to play it with.
The competition there is fierce, despite the fact they don't accept US players (or maybe because of it). There are more good players on PokerStars than anywhere else. It can be hard to win for players who are just starting out, though the sheer volume of players also means that there are still plenty of fish to be found.
Customer Service
As befitting a poker site of their size, they have a great customer service and support system in place to deal with any questions or concerns you might have. You can contact support through the poker client, as well as through email in dozens of different languages and get a response in a very reasonable amount of time. They are always quite friendly and knowledgeable, as well.
Banking
PokerStars accepts most of the standard banking methods. They are well-known for having one of the most secure and safe banking clients in the industry and players trust them and take for granted the fact that they always properly process payments and withdrawals.
They accept all major payment methods including Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Mobile Phone Payments, Local Bank Transfers, Skrill (Moneybookers), uKash, TrustPay, ClickandBuy, and PaySafeCard.
