Best Online Poker Sites UK

Poker Variants and How to Play

How you play poker depends on the variation you’re playing, but the aim is always to make the strongest possible hand. Let’s take a look at how some of the most popular variants work.

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em is the most widely played poker variant in the world. Here’s how it works:

1. At the start of each hand, blinds (equivalent to the minimum bet) are added to the pot to ensure there is something to win in every hand. Blinds rotate clockwise around the table and are collected automatically. 
2. Each player is dealt two cards face down (downcards). Players must then decide whether to take part in the hand, and can either bet, raise the blind, or fold. 
3. Once all bets have been placed, three community cards, known as ‘the flop’, are dealt face up (upcards). The flop is followed by the next round of betting – players have the option to check, call, raise, re-raise, and fold.
4. The next community card, known as ‘the turn’, is dealt face up, followed by another round of betting.
5. The final community card, known as ‘the river’, is dealt face up, followed by a final round of betting. The player with the strongest hand wins the pot.

Although each player has seven cards in play (their two hole cards plus the five community cards) a hand is only ever comprised of five cards. In the event of equal hands, the pot is split between the winning players.

Omaha

In Omaha, the dealing and betting rounds are identical to Hold’em. The difference is that each player is dealt four hole cards instead of two, and must make up a five-card hand consisting exactly of two hole cards and three community cards.

Omaha/8

Also known as hi-low split, Omaha/8 involves playing for two different hands––one high and one low––at the same time. Dealing and betting is as above, but here’s how it works:

1. Each player attempts to make a separate five-card high hand and a five-card low hand through a combination of hole cards and community cards.
2. A low hand consists of cards eight or under – aces can be both low and high. 
3. Players can use any two of their four hole cards to make a high hand, and any two of their hole cards to make a low hand. The same hole cards can be used in both hands.
4. If there is no qualifying low hand, the high hand wins the entire pot; if there’s a low hand in play, the pot is split between the holders of the highest and lowest hands.

7 Card Stud

Card stud variants of poker originated in the American Civil War, and were the most widely played variants until the popularisation of Hold’em. It’s an entirely different game to the ones described above, involving no community cards. Here’s how it works:

1. Each player is initially dealt two downcards and one upcard.
2. The player with the lowest ranking upcard pays the bring-in (or blind). Betting then proceeds clockwise.
3. After the first round of betting, another upcard is dealt. 
4. The second round of betting starts at the player with the best poker hand based on their two upcards only. This is repeated until four upcards have been dealt to each player.
5. A fifth downcard is then dealt, followed by a final round of betting. 

7 Card Stud can therefore be neatly summarised as ‘two down, four up, one down’.

5 Card Stud

5 card stud is identical to the seven-card variant, just on a smaller scale. Each player is dealt one downcard and one upcard, before a second, third and fourth upcard is dealt.

Poker Hand Rankings

Although there are many different poker variants, the hand rankings are the same across all formats. The aim is to make the best five-card hand with the cards you’ve been dealt (known as hole cards) and, depending on the poker variant, the cards on the table (known as community cards). Here’s how poker hands rank, from highest to lowest. 

Here’s how poker hands rank, from strongest to weakest:

• Royal flush: 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, all of the same suit.
• Straight flush: Five cards in a sequence, all of the same suit.
• Four of a kind: Four cards of equal rank.
• Full house: Three cards of equal rank and two other cards of equal rank.
• Flush: Any five cards of the same suit but not in a sequence.
• Straight: Five cards in a sequence but not of the same suit.
• Three of a kind: Three cards of equal rank.
• Two pair: Two cards of the same rank plus another different two cards of equal rank.
• Pair: Two cards of the same rank.
• High card: The highest card in your hand. This comes into play if you don’t have any other hands.

Gaming Options

There’s a range of different ways to play online poker at the best poker sites. Let’s take a look.

Cash Games

Cash games are the most common table type at online UK poker sites and are where the chips on the table represent their cash value. You can join any table where there’s an empty seat right away and you can re-buy in at any time if you lose too many chips.

Sit and Go Tournaments

These are small, single table tournaments that run constantly at the best poker sites. These tournaments start as soon as the table is full and generally have low buy-ins. All players buy-in for the same amount and receive an equal number of chips, playing until one winner remains.

Multi Table Tournaments

Multi Table tournaments are larger scale tournaments which can have almost an unlimited number of players. Each player pays the same buy-in and has the same number of chips, with players split randomly across tables. The number of tables decreases as players become eliminated until there is just one table left where the winner is determined.

Satellites

At some of the UK’s best online poker sites you can enter satellites, which are qualifying tournaments for big poker tours. Winning satellites can potentially get you entry to major events such as the Microgaming Poker Network Tour and even the World Series of Poker Tour!

Live Poker

Live poker aims to bring the casino into your home. When you enter a live poker game, you’ll see a real croupier at a real table. In these games, you’re not betting against other players, but against the dealer, whose hand you must beat in order to win. Although the pace is much slower than at an online casino, players are drawn to the realism of the live poker environment, preferring the excitement of a croupier turning over the flop, turn and river cards, as opposed to a computer animation. Evolution is the outstanding developer in live online gaming, but other notables include Extreme Live Gaming and Playtech, which owns the popular online poker network, iPoker. 

Freerolls

Freerolls are available at many of the best poker sites and let you play for real money without putting your own cash on the line. Poker freerolls are even single table games or tournaments that let you play for free but have the chance to land real money returns if you win. These are ideal if you’re a beginner looking to practice and work on your poker strategy, and they can also be an excellent way to build up a bankroll which you can then potentially use to play at other tables and tournaments.

As well as freerolls, many of the top UK casinos and poker sites offer free poker demo games. These are instant play games that are ideal for learning the rules and practicing your strategy before you put your cash on the line.

Freeroll Tournaments

The best UK poker sites in 2023 will offer players the opportunity to play at freeroll tournaments, where entry may be granted based on a points system, following a deposit into an online casino account, or offered as a casino bonus. In a freeroll tournament, players tend to compete for a player pool of online gaming points, invitations to other tournaments, play money, or real cash prizes. Freeroll tournaments can be a good place for beginners to pit themselves up against more experienced players, learning the game without being exposed to high-stake tables.

Poker Promotions

As well as new player welcome bonuses, the top poker sites have plenty of promotions available to existing players. From reload bonuses and cashback deals to free tickets, tournament chips and special competitions and giveaways, there are plenty of promos available to claim on a regular basis.

Many of the best online poker sites also have loyalty and VIP schemes which can give you something every time you play real money poker. VIP schemes reward you points each time you bet, and when you have enough you can exchange for rewards. Most schemes have a series of different levels, and the higher the level, the better the rewards and perks.

New Poker Sites

New poker sites don’t appear as much as new casinos or betting sites, due to the fact that it takes more to develop a downloaded poker client and that online poker is more of a niche. However, new poker sites do pop up now again, and you can be sure that we review every new site as they come up. If we deem them good enough, we’ll add them to our list alongside the more established brands so you can take your pick of the bunch.

Mobile Poker Sites

The best online poker sites offer both downloadable desktop software and native mobile apps for iPhone and Android, meaning you can enjoy playing at real money poker tables and tournaments from the palm of your hand. Most mobile poker apps, such as 888 Poker, PokerStars, and GGPoker, are free to download and come with all the functionality and features of their desktop equivalents, so they’re perfect for poker players on the move.

At TopRatedCasinos, we always recommend downloading native apps when they’re available. Not only do they provide a fully-optimised mobile poker experience, but their push notifications also represent the best way to keep up with all the latest offers and bonuses.