Every poker room we review goes through the same checks, so a score of 8 means the same thing on every page. This page explains the process, so you can judge our reviews by how they were made.
You can see the result in our example review, which follows this method.
Step one: the licence check
A room must be licensed to take players from your country before we score anything else. In Great Britain, you can look up any operator on the Gambling Commission's public register. Rooms that fail this check are not reviewed or listed, however good their games.
Rooms licensed in Great Britain must also offer deposit limits, time-outs and self-exclusion, and every online operator licensed there has to take part in the GAMSTOP self-exclusion scheme. We check that these tools are easy to find.
What we score
| Category | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic | 20% | How many players are in the games at the stakes and times our readers play |
| Rake and rewards | 25% | Rake percentage and caps at each stake, tournament fees, and what the rewards scheme returns in cash |
| Software and security | 15% | Stability, mobile play, multi-tabling, hand histories, rules on tracking and real-time assistance tools, and action against bots and collusion |
| Game selection | 15% | Hold'em and Omaha stakes, sit & gos and the tournament schedule across the day |
| Payments | 15% | Deposit methods, fees, identity checks and how long a withdrawal took in our test |
| Support | 10% | How fast live chat and email answered a real question, and whether the answer was right |
Rake and rewards carry the most weight because they decide what a regular pays over a year. Traffic comes next: poker is played against other players, so a room with great software and empty tables is no use to anyone.
How we test
- Open a real account and complete the identity checks.
- Deposit with a common method and note how long it takes to arrive.
- Play cash games and tournaments at micro and low stakes on several days, at peak and off-peak times, counting the players in the lobby.
- Read the rake page, rewards terms and software rules, then check them against what we see at the tables.
- Ask support a real question, then request a withdrawal and time it.
- Recheck rake, rewards and traffic every few months, and update the date on the review.
New to how rooms charge? Read rake and rakeback explained first.
What we will never do
We will never rank a room by the commission it pays us, hide that we may earn commission when you sign up through our links, or suggest that poker is a way to make money you need. Rooms take rake from pots and fees from tournaments, so players as a group lose money to the rooms over time. Only play with money you can afford to lose.
FAQs
How can I tell if an online poker site is safe?
Check that it is licensed for your country first: in Great Britain, search for the operator on the Gambling Commission's public register. Then look for independently tested shuffling software, two-factor authentication, clear rules against bots and collusion, and a record of paying withdrawals on time.
Why does traffic matter when choosing a poker site?
Poker is played against other players, not the house, so traffic decides whether you can find a game. More players means more tables at your stake at the hours you play, bigger tournament fields and sit & gos that start quickly. A quiet room can leave you waiting.
Can a poker site pay for a better review?
No. We may earn commission when you sign up through our links, and we say so, but no room can buy a score. Every room is scored on the same weighted checks, and a room that fails the licence check is not listed at all.