Best Online Poker To Play With Friends

Ed. Note: This article was originally published on March 20, 2020, and has now been updated to include the brand new partypoker private home games offering as well as recent updates by PokerStars and 888poker.

During these difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people are following orders to practice social distancing, be it out of necessity or as a preventive measure many of our daily routines have been affected. Playing poker with friends online may not be high on the list of priorities but it sure is a good way to pass some time and get away from heavy thoughts for at least a couple of hours.

Since gathering a number of people in a small room is pretty much out of question, you ought to perhaps think about moving your home game online. Thankfully, there are some great options out there to make this happen and with a bit of creativity, you can make it just as fun as if you were all gathered around the actual table.

Setting Up Your First Online Home Game

The good news is that you don’t need any special technical knowledge to get an online poker game with friends set up just the way you like. While there are a few online casino and poker sites out there offering this option, my own personal experience has been limited to PokerStars. They allow anyone to create private cash games and tournaments with many parameters you can tailor to your needs.

Play Texas Hold 'Em poker with anyone on the internet. Place virtual chips on the table, and try to outsmart the other players and the dealer. Meet new friends online over casual poker games.

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2. For multiplayer poker online with friends, and especially for tournaments and different game variations, PokerStars Home Games is the best option available. Players have numerous options and it’s easy for.
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To get the ball rolling, you’ll need to follow a few simple steps:

• Download and install the PokerStars client (if you don’t have it already)
• Go to the ‘Home Games’ tab
• Create your Poker Club with unique name and invitation code
• Invite your friends to join using the code

You can set up your private poker club in a matter of minutes and you don’t have to pay anything for it. The Home Game feature is completely free and gives you an opportunity to create games that are open only to the players you invite. No one can join the club unless they have the invitation code so you won’t have to deal with random players jumping in and spoiling the fun.

As far as the options go, you’ll have a lot of flexibility. You can configure MTTs to suit your needs (level durations, starting stacks, etc.), cash game tables, and sit & gos. The best part is, you can configure buy-ins to be in real cash or play money, so your friends don’t need to have any real cash in their accounts. You can play online poker with friends with almost no limitations, from anywhere in the world.

Run your own private poker club, with PokerStars Home Games. @spraggy explains how. 🏠
ℹ️ https://t.co/iDUgXWPtqR

Please play responsibly. pic.twitter.com/9yWNcoCj3s

— PokerStars (@PokerStars) May 8, 2020

In the past, Home Games had only been available on PokerStars’ desktop client, but they’re now available on mobile as well.

If you’re a Home Games player on @PokerStars, or always wanted to set up your own, what follows is going to be of interest to you.

🏠 Our new look Home Games are now live…

🆕 Check out all the new features (including on mobile 📱 if you prefer).https://t.co/2G5hMoJY08pic.twitter.com/OQ37UfGzEv

— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) June 16, 2020

Unibet Poker also offers the ability to facilitate online home games, according to a recent Tweet from company ambassador David Lappin. I haven’t tried them yet, but they’re worth looking into as well.

Several people have asked me about HOME GAMES on @UnibetPoker and I am delighted to say that what I can do is organise PRIVATE PASSWORD PROTECTED MTTS for you.

If anybody would like me to do this for them, slide into my DMs. (If I don’t follow you, reply here and I will.) pic.twitter.com/Rx9NAMozQ2

— David K Lappin (@dklappin) March 20, 2020

UPDATE:Seeing the increasing competition in this niche, 888poker and partypoker also recently developed the ability for their players to create private home games online. Below you’ll see the former’s ambassador, Chris Moorman, explain 888poker private games (also available on mobile) while the latter’s ambassador Jaime Staples explains partypoker’s club games.

Here’s @jaimestaples of @PPTeamOnline with details of our recent software updates including new Club Games and the introduction of Run it twice

For more details see https://t.co/OKb896KeTPpic.twitter.com/Y7WgOnILmM

— partypoker (@partypoker) June 1, 2020

Make It Really Count with Enhanced Online Communication

Most people who run regular home games know that it’s not just about playing poker. It’s also about getting together for some good banter, having a few drinks, and getting rid of some stress. This part can be a bit hard to replicate online but if you put some effort into it, it’s doable.

While most online poker rooms do have inbuilt chat functionality, it probably won’t cut it. Instead, you could all jump into a Zoom meeting (or you can use similar software) so that everyone can see each other while playing and actually talk. It may feel weird at first, especially if you’ve never tried it before, but give it a bit of time. Once you’re a couple of beers in and when things get heated up at the table, it’ll be almost as if you were all in the same room.

It’s Okay to Have Some Fun

Recent events have affected the world at large. We’ve found ourselves in a situation that we aren’t really prepared for and people are uncertain as to what they should and shouldn’t be doing. Even so, rest assured that having some fun and taking your mind off of things for a little while is perfectly fine and very much needed right now.

If you want to play poker with friends online, go for it! You have the tools to do it and (likely) a lot of spare time on your hands. Give it a go and see if it works for you. At the very least, you’ll have a few laughs along the way and maybe come up with ideas on how to make things even better for the next time.

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We're deep into lockdown and we don't know when it it's going to end. There's a chance this might be going on for a long time, so it's best to make contingency plans. One of the best ways to make Saturday night really feel like Saturday night is to play online poker with friends online.

You would think in the age of 3-D printers and instant communication that playing poker with friends over the internet would be easy. But it is surprisingly difficult, thanks in large part to America shutting down the bulk of the online poker industry a few years ago. We've just about hacked it, and here's our tips on playing online poker with your friends.

Before we get into it, let us just establish that this post is intended for casual players looking for a bit of poker and a bit of conversation, who want to play in the easiest and quickest format. We're pointing you towards online poker options that are free and next to no cash outlay. Poker is fun game when played amongst friends and we don't at all advise getting involved in the murky world on 'online poker'. All of these games are perfect with Zoom/Skype/Google Hangouts on a second screen.

Poker Stars

Game notes: Poker Stars is one of the biggest online poker sites in the world. After downloading their software, you set up a 'home game' via a league that can host your private game and invite mates. Here's a step-by-step guide to that process.

Set up difficulty: Easy to medium. You'll have to install the PokerStars software in order to play, and that involves creating logins, verifying emails etc. I know people have had varying degrees of success creating the home game/private game. Many Balls.ie readers recommend it, this humble writer and his friends couldn't get it to work. If you do get it working, it's brilliant online poker software.

PokerNow.Club

Game notes: The perfect resource for casual players. This is no frills poker. Game play is easy and minimal and there's a chat function.

Set up difficulty: Piss easy. Nothing is required to get this off the ground. You don't have to download anything. You get a table and send an invite link to friends and the game takes care of itself. Because of its simplicity the game has seen a massive spike in popularity over the last month, to the point that it can be very hard to get a table on a weekend evening. Make this your first port of call.

Blockchain.Poker

Game notes: Basically a crypto version of the Pokernow game. You start with some crytpo coinage and have the option to play at private tables or with strangers.

Set up difficulty: Easy to medium. There's nothing to download, which is great. However, the front design isn't mindblowing and connecting via the private table proved tricky for me and my mates. Maybe you'll have better luck. It definitely doesn't have the popularity issues of PokerNow. If you do spend your free money, you'll have to purchase crypto currency to top up again.

Poker Face

Game notes: This is a fun app that mixes video and poker in the one place.

Set up difficulty: Easy to medium. It's a tablet or app version, which takes the desktop element out of it.

Prominence Poker

Game notes: Prominence Poker is an old Xbox game that you can download for free over the gaming network Steam. You create a character and can play with your friends in private games. To play with friends, just set up a private game and invite your Steam buddies.

Set up difficulty: Medium to hard. First you need to download Steam, then you need to download the game, then you need to create you character and do a few demos to build cash. You'd want to really enjoy gaming to opt for this set-up. While the graphics are cool and the poker venues are enjoyable, it's perhaps needlessly complicated for a casual Saturday night game. Also, you need to put €5 in your Steam account to connect to friends and this game is not compliant with Macs, which might rule your cool friends out.

Poker Game Online With Friends

Pokrrrr/Zynga/Pokerbros/etc

Game notes: There are hundreds of online poker apps run by gambling companies that claim to let you play poker with friends. In our experience, these were all painful to navigate and involved a cash outlay at some stage

Best Free Online Poker Site To Play With Friends

Set up difficulty: Hard to impossible.