Best online poker sites in India

The game of poker has gained a lot of interest in India during the last five years due to a number of factors. Young Indians have realized that they can make a full time living playing online poker and do really well for themselves financially when they play poker well.

The demand for online poker has resulted in an influx of both domestic and international online poker rooms, which gives Indian players loads of options when it comes to finding the best Indian poker sites. However, it can be difficult for poker players to find a poker room that best suits their style of play.

The team at CasinoWings gives you a detailed breakdown of what factors you need to consider when you start looking for an online poker site. Our expert team consists of a veteran group of poker aficionados who spend a lot of time reviewing and shortlisting the top poker rooms in India. We give you a list of our recommended poker websites in India.

Table of contents

Recommended poker sites

Top Indian poker sites reviewed

If you decide to look for online poker websites via a Google search, you are going to come upon a number of Indian poker sites which claim to be the absolute best poker site in India. However, this is not based on any facts. This is why CasinoWings does not just list and recommend any poker room based on their marketing and advertising practices.

Our team of poker experts takes the time to review each poker room in-depth, spend time playing and testing out different online poker variants, going through the deposit and withdrawal process, interacting with customer support and only then decides whether a poker site is good enough to feature on our list of top poker sites in India.

When CasinoWings carries out an online poker India review, we subject the poker room to a key checklist. Some of the key factors that we look for are listed below:

  • Check if the online poker room is licensed
  • Which gambling regulator has licensed the poker operator
  • Welcome bonus offer for new players
  • Number of poker variants on offer
  • Size and scope of poker tournaments
  • Quality of online poker software
  • Mobile poker options
  • Deposit and withdrawal methods
  • Cryptocurrency support
  • Quality of customer service

If the online poker site falls short of these key standards, we do not feature it on our recommended list of poker rooms.

How to play poker online

The online poker market in India right now is fiercely competitive because poker operators are battling it out to gain an edge over each other and capture more market share. This is beneficial to poker players as each poker room is trying to outdo the other by making it very simple for players to sign-up and learn how to play poker online.

These are the steps you need to follow to start playing online poker from the comfort of your home or while on the go.

Get started

  • 1

    Choose a site

    You first need to find a genuine online poker site that works for you. We suggest you review our featured list of online poker rooms and pick one that you like the best.

  • 2

    Register

    The next step is to register an account. The account registration process should not take more than a couple of minutes.

    Create a username/ password, enter your personal details and click complete.

  • 3

    Banking

    The next step is to go to the banking options and set up your deposit and cash-out options. There are a number of banking methods that work well in India. Choose any one.

    You can then make a deposit and the funds should reflect in your account immediately.

  • 4

    Choose a game

    Then check on the different poker variants and tournaments on offer. Select the one you want to play, buy-in to the tournament and start playing.

  • 5

    Withdrawal

    If you end up winning and decide to withdraw your funds, go to the banking options, click on withdraw funds. It is as easy as that!

Make the most of poker offers and bonuses

One of the main ways the latest poker sites in India try to outdo each other is by offering impressive poker bonus options for new players. The poker signup bonuses in India often allow players the option to claim a poker bonus in the form of a no deposit bonus or a match deposit bonus. You should always look for poker sites with signup bonuses as they basically give away ‘cash’ that you can use to play poker games without having to dip into your own wallet.

The no deposit bonus is when an online poker room gives away cash without requiring you to make a real money deposit of your own. This is why the no deposit bonus continues to be the most popular poker bonus with Indian players.

The match deposit bonus is where the poker operator is willing to match a player’s deposit by a certain percentage. If a poker room is offering a 100 percent match deposit bonus and you deposit ₹500, then the poker room will credit ₹500 to your account as part of your match deposit bonus. Some Indian poker websites offer a first deposit match bonus while others offer match deposit bonuses that are spread across the first two to three deposits.

CasinoWings knows how important the welcome bonus is to Indian poker players and this is why we are always looking for online poker rooms that have the most attractive poker bonuses. You can be sure that all of our recommended poker rooms have fantastic poker offers and bonuses.

Playing online poker for real money

The majority of poker players in India are looking for real money poker games. This is because only when you play online poker for real money, do you have the option of winning real cash. There are free to play poker games in India but if you win a game, the wins are not real money.

The first thing you need to do to play online poker with real money is to make sure you sign up at Indian poker sites where you play real cash poker. You then need to go through the account registration process and deposit your money based on the steps that we listed above.

Once you have completed that, take your time to browse through the different poker variants on offer and the ongoing poker events and upcoming poker tournaments and make a note of which events and tournaments you would like to play.

Always make note of the buy-ins associated with each event along with the date and start time. This is important to ensure that you do not miss out on any of your favorite poker events. Keep in mind that there will be different buy-in levels such as low stakes, mid-stakes and high stake poker action.

You can play any poker game on offer as long as you can afford the buy-in and start playing when the event starts. If you end up losing your chips, you can buy more. When you end up winning, you can cash-out your real money poker winnings by going to the cashier section.

The pros of playing real money poker is that the action is definitely more exciting, you play against real and tough competition and most importantly you get to win real money. The cons of playing real money poker is that you have to use your own money and losing can take the fun out of poker.

Free online poker games

If you have never played poker before or are relatively new to the game of poker, the best option for you is to make use of poker sites that offer free online poker games. Most Indian facing poker rooms give players the opportunity to learn and improve their poker skills by playing free to play poker.

The biggest pros to play poker online for free in India is that you do not have to deposit any real cash of your own. When you make a mistake and lose a hand, you are not going to lose anything as this is a free to play game. There is no pressure on you and you can improve your poker skills and gain a better understanding of the game by using free poker sites.

The biggest disadvantage of playing free poker is that you can never win any real money and can only play poker for fun. If you are new to the game of poker, we suggest that you get some experience and confidence playing at free poker sites before switching over to real money poker games.

Is online poker legal in India?

The online poker legal situation in India is very interesting right now as some states are looking at legalizing online poker officially, while some states are contemplating legislation that will classify online poker as gambling and as a result ban all forms of online poker.

Online gambling is banned in most states in India but archaic gaming laws has made it possible for poker operators to offer legal poker sites in India. The age old debate as to whether poker is a game of chance or a game of skill continues to be debated in state legislature.

Indian poker players can play at the most trusted poker online sites in India because these poker rooms are licensed by reputed gaming regulators and offer legal Indian online poker games. However, do keep in mind that there are quite a few unlicensed poker sites in India that try to pass off as genuine and trusted poker rooms.

Make sure you always register at a trusted and licensed poker room. This is because most unlicensed poker sites are not legit and often exploit players and making it difficult for them to withdraw their winnings or, worse still, disappear with their money. If you play on any of the sites recommended here at CasinoWings, you can be sure you are playing at a legal poker site.

Online poker tournaments – including freerolls

One of the main ways online poker operators in India create a buzz in the poker community is to host big poker tournaments that come with big guaranteed prize pools. The poker operators tend to run these poker tournaments for two to three weeks and feature events that have a range of different buy-ins.

The online poker tournaments in India have events with low buy-ins, mid-stakes and high stakes buy-ins to allow poker players with different bankrolls to take part. A lot of times, poker operators also schedule freeroll tournaments to get more poker players to participate.

Freeroll tournaments are poker tournaments that require no buy-in. This means poker players can enter the tournament for free and have a crack at winning the pot and getting paid without spending any real money of their own.

Serious poker players are always looking out for the best poker tournaments in the Indian market. This is why CasinoWings makes it a point to look for poker sites that regularly host attractive poker tournaments. CasinoWings also features the best poker sites with freerolls.

Online poker on the mobile

Poker has grown exponentially in India over the last few years because of the popularity of mobile poker apps that allow players to play poker while on the move. All of our featured poker sites offer a real money poker app or have their online poker sites optimized for mobile play.

The biggest advantage of playing mobile poker is that it allows players to turn their smartphones and tablets into a mobile poker room and play while on the go. Mobile poker allows players the opportunity to take part in poker events and tournaments no matter where they are in India as long as they can access the internet.

The best online poker apps in India provide players with a seamless mobile poker experience. Players can register an account, make deposits, player different poker variants and cash-out their winnings with convenience from a real money poker app. Check out CasinoWings’ recommended mobile poker apps to play poker on the go.

Start playing online poker now

It is important to understand that the quality of your poker experience is determined by which poker website you decide to play at, and the results of your poker game will be determined by the quality of your poker play.

CasinoWings helps you enjoy a quality poker experience by carefully shortlisting the best poker rooms in India that are licensed, trustworthy, offer you a good welcome bonus, great variety of poker variants, easy cash-outs and quality customer support. Choose any of our recommended, genuine poker sites in India to start playing poker today!

FAQ

  • Yes, you can win real money playing online poker provided you are playing real money poker games and not free to play poker games. You also need to make sure that you will be able to cash-out your winnings easily when you want to. This is why you should always play at a reputed and licensed real money poker room.

  • Yes – if you are playing at a licensed and trustworthy poker room. No – if you are playing at an unlicensed and shady poker room. We recommend that all players signup at a licensed online poker site and suggest you choose a poker room that is featured on CasinoWings’ recommended list.

  • The answer to this question depends on which poker site you have registered with and what their terms and conditions are. Some poker rooms in India do not offer a rakeback while others do. If you are very keen on a rakeback offer, then we suggest you check our list of recommended poker rooms as we highlight the bonus offers and promotions in detail.

    We also suggest you check the different sites that offer a rakeback option and compare different rakeback percentages that are on offer.

  • You can definitely practice your poker skills online and gain confidence by playing free to play poker games. You can register at a free to play poker site in India and boost your confidence levels by learning from your mistakes and playing pressure free games as no real money of your own is on the line. These free to play games don’t involve real people and allow you to play at your own pace.

  • The main difference is that you can play online poker from the comfort of your home and on the go by using your smartphone which cannot be done when you play at a land based poker table. Online poker also allows you to play at multi-table tournaments and you don’t need to reveal your identity to other players unlike real poker tournaments.

Updated:

Author:

Avatar for Daniel Tafvelin
Daniel Tafvelin
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Daniel is the content manager at CasinoWings. With 10 years of involvement in customer service, he is keen on guiding you to the best possible casino experience. Read more