The Top Poker Site in Canada for 2018-2019 is 888 Poker, which we review here.

• There are several types of tournaments you will find at Canadian poker sites, but below you see the most common. ♥️ Multi-Table Tournament This is a long-running poker tournament, where you play in a series of games on a series of tables, where the winners stay on until you get to a final table.
• The best Canadian poker rooms offer special qualifying tournaments and promotions specifically designed for you and other players in your region. For example, a site like PokerStars, Party Poker or 888 Poker Canada will offer a freeroll qualifying tournament to play in a live WPT tournament nearby.

Is Poker Legal in Canada?

Playing poker is legal in Canada be it online poker or live poker. The thing is though, if you are in Canada, you are not likely playing at a poker site licenced by the Government of Canada because, currently, Canada doesn’t issue gambling licences.

The exception here however involves Indian Reservations. Many online poker sites and other gambling entities online are licenced and legally operating under a licence issued by the Kahnawake Mohawk Indian tribe which is located in Canada just out of Montreal.

If you’re looking to keep your money local online poker sites licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission are your best shot.

How is Poker Taxed in Canada?

A casual poker player in Canada doesn’t pay income tax on poker winnings. According to Canadian poker law, casual poker and other gambling revenue isn’t taxable. You went in with already taxed money, spent it on entertainment, everything is fine.

Later on though, when you begin to learn the game things change. You then start making responsible choices, you chart your winnings versus your losses, you create a system for managing your bankroll, you enter smart tournaments, play at cash game levels you can beat and before you know it you’re grinding out a steady income.

Guess what just happened? . . . You just stopped being a casual player and became a small business. You’re now in the business of paying poker and it is time to hire an accountant that specifically knows about poker and gambling related taxes in Canada.

Poker Popularity in Canada

Recent articles on businesswire.com show that poker has actually become more popular in Canada than it is in America. In fact , the article says that Canadians are twice as likely to participate in poker games than United States poker players. The article does state however that, since Black Friday occurrences, players are leaning more and more toward Canadian poker sites that are publicly traded on open stock exchanges.

Peak Poker Time at Canadian Poker Sites

Peak poker playing time at most poker sites for Canadian players begin during the later portion of the afternoon and goes on until about 10pm. After that there’s a bit of a late night rush that doesn’t compare to the daytime peak but opens up some tables and allows for a lot of looser games that pay very well for the more experienced, or more patient, poker player.

Safety and Security on Canadian Poker Sites

Most online poker sites, all over the world, are legally operating licenced and regulated. The majority are also monitored by neutral companies that exist solely to monitor random number generators and algorithms for randomness and fairness in addition to monitoring the integrity and maintenance of security systems.

Now, as you probably already know has happened in the past, it’s not impossible for a card room’s security to be breached but it’s rare and nearly impossible. However, whether it be by an inside job, a dirty coding company or whatever it was that happened with Absolute Poker years ago, it is possible.

Best Canadian Poker Sites

For that reason, it’s safest to stick to well known, well reputed and publicly traded card rooms, and as luck would have it, we are familiar with most every card room online, we know which offer the best customer service, which are above reproach and which have records as rouge rooms.

The safest way to find a secure poker site that welcomes Canadian poker players with open tables is to press ctrl d on your computers keyboard right now and bookmark this page. We prescreen every poker room listed on this website, using a dozen + years of industry knowledge for your peace of mind.

Preferred Currencies for Canadian Poker Players

The preferred currency for most Canadian poker players is of course going to be the Canadian Dollar. Not every casino online offers play with Canadian dollars however there are some, such as Pokerstars, that do. In most cases if you cannot find a poker room that will let you play with CAD, you can at least find an online poker deposit method that will accept your Canadian funds and deposit them to a poker room. During that process you can decide which is more financially sound, exchanging currency through a payment processor or at the poker site itself, we’ve found most poker sites have exchange rates that are very competitive – they don’t want to put anyone off.

If you live in Canada and are looking for somewhere to play online poker then the good news is that you have plenty of places to choose from. Most of the major poker sites, and indeed the majority of all sites, welcome Canadian players at their tables. With so much choice you stand a much better chance of finding a poker room that is ideal for your own personal needs. In fact, you have so many options that it can be something of a challenge to decide which one you should be playing at.

It is fair to say that most poker websites are of a perfectly good standard and, as long as you avoid the small percentage of pretty bad sites, you will probably have a positive experience wherever you play. However, it is also true that there are a handful of poker rooms that really stand out as being particularly high quality and these are the type of places that you should ideally be playing at. Below you will see a list of the best Canadian poker sites that have the most to offer and we can happily recommend any one of them. They are ranked according to a number of different factors, and we have explained more about exactly how we go about ranking them further down this page.

Ranking Factors for Canadian Poker Sites

The above list represents what we believe to be the very best places for Canadians to play online poker. Ultimately, of course, this could be considered a matter of opinion, but we do genuinely believe that these are the top sites around. We have lots of online poker experience and we know what most of the poker sites have to offer. As we’ve already pointed out, most places you can play are decent enough and there are very few truly bad sites out there. We just feel that the rooms we have listed here are particularly player friendly and are the best places to play.

When it comes to determining which sites we should list here, and in what order we should rank them, we take a look at a wide range of different factors. Some of these are obviously important, while others may seem less so, but they all have an impact on the quality of the site. By comparing our own experiences and carrying out additional research, we can measure how each site performs in all these areas and then decide which ones should be ranked the highest.

One of the key factors that we look at is the quality of the software. Poker software has come on in leaps and bounds since the early days of online poker and the overall standard has improved dramatically. Sites that keep up with all the advances and ensure that they regularly upgrade their software to keep it at the highest possible level are clearly a better option than those that continue to use outdated software that lacks functionality. Top quality software greatly improves the online playing experience which is why it is such an important ranking factor for us.

Also important are the variety of games on offer and the range of available stakes. Texas Holdem very much remains the most commonly played format but other games, such as Omaha for example, are becoming increasingly popular. Playing different games is a great way to broaden your poker playing skills and can provide additional opportunities for making money, which is why we prefer sites that have a varied selection of games. We also believe that a wide range of stakes is important so that players of all standards and budgets are catered for.

Top Canadian Online Poker Sites

The level of traffic at a poker room is very significant too. One of the biggest advantages of playing poker online is the ability to play a game whenever you feel like it. This is only really possible if you are playing somewhere that has a lot of traffic with plenty of active tables. It can be very frustrating to log in looking forward to playing, only to find that there are hardly any other players and you cannot find any action at your preferred game and stakes. The top sites are very busy during peak times and typically have a good number of players online right around the clock.

Other ranking factors we look at include the range of deposit options available, processing times for withdrawals, the quality of the customer service and the value of any bonuses and rewards offered. There are more too, but the ones that we have mentioned carry the most weight when it comes to our rankings. We should also point out that we only ever recommend sites that have good track records and have proved themselves to be reliable and trustworthy.

Best Canadian Poker Sites

Playing Online Poker in Canada

The legality of playing online poker is not as clear as it might be in some parts of the world, and this can often put players off wanting to play. The United States is a great example of this, and indeed many poker sites do not accept players from the US. This is largely due to confusion about the relevant legislation.

While things are not as clear cut as they could be in Canada, as there is not actually a specific law that states online poker is legal, there does seem to be a general consensus that Canadians are absolutely fine to play poker online. This is somewhat reflected in the fact that Canadian players are welcomed at the vast majority of the top poker sites.