Poker in 2026 isn’t about finding the best site. It’s about finding the site that’s best for you. Best for tournament grinders, best for cash game regs, best for recreational players, best for rakeback hunters, or best purely for software and game quality. Some players just want soft games and don’t care about fancy features.

Today, I’m breaking down the best poker sites in 2026 for real-money games: GG Poker, CoinPoker, PokerStars, ACR, and WPT Global.

I’ll focus strictly on tournaments and cash games. No sit and gos and no spin formats.

GGPoker

GGPoker in 2026 is, in terms of traffic and schedule, the biggest poker site in the world.

But the real question is whether it provides the best value for the stakes and formats you intend to play. There’s no doubt GG has the most traffic, the biggest guarantees, the strongest marketing machine, and the biggest flagship events. If you open the GG lobby at almost any time of day, something is running, and that matters.

✅ GGPoker's Advantages in 2026

  1. Tournaments: GG has the best tournament schedule on the market. The most games, the biggest guarantees, and the largest daily prize pools. Their flagship series like the WSOP Online and the Spring Series are number one. They’ve fully integrated online poker with live poker through WSOP branding, satellites, packages, and prestige. You can win bracelets. If your dream is to play live WSOP events, GG is the most direct pipeline in online poker.
  2. Marketing & Recreational Traffic: GG understands one thing very clearly: marketing brings recreational players, and recreational players bring money. Streamers, ambassadors, content, promotions, giveaways, GG invests heavily in marketing and attracts a constant flow of new and casual players. That’s extremely important for a healthy ecosystem. That said, there is one site that, in my opinion, does an even better job when it comes to pure softness, but I’ll get to that later.
  3. Rewards: GG is rolling out a revamped reward structure called Ocean Rewards. Initially, I criticized GG’s rakeback system because it was unclear and not transparent. You never really knew how much rakeback you were getting because it depended heavily on your player profile. Ocean Rewards is GG’s next-generation loyalty system, replacing the Fish Buffet with something far more predictable. Once you reach a tier, you keep it for the entire year. That said, I still think the cashback on the lower tiers is a bit on the low side, especially for recreational players or low-volume grinders. For high-volume grinders, the potential rewards are significant.
  4. Software: GG’s software is one of the best, if not the best, on the market right now. It’s clean, innovative, and constantly evolving. They introduced features like integrated staking, on-table cameras, emotes, final table clocks, and final table seat selection. Extras like GGCare and Bad Beat Jackpots add entertainment value, especially for recreational players. These features matter more than people think because they help keep casual players engaged.
4.9
GGPoker is a Hold’em and Omaha focused site on the Good Game Network. Offering a broad range of playing formats such as Randomised Sit & Gos, All-in or Fold, and 6+ Short Deck as well as fast cash games, and a plethora of tournament series including: GGMasters, GGMillions and Bounty Hunters.
Overview of GGPoker Registration

❌ GGPoker's Disadvantages in 2026

  1. Preflop Rake: This is a big one. GG is the only site, at least to my knowledge, that charges rake on preflop three-bet pots. This absolutely kills win rates for many winning players and makes a lot of their cash games very unattractive. On paper, GG charges 5% rake, which seems standard. But once you factor in the preflop rake on three-bet pots, the games become extremely difficult, and for some players outright unbeatable. GG has also increased rake in the past in ways that felt questionable. When it comes to rake, GG is simply not the best option.
  2. Usernames: Another negative is the real-name versus nickname system. It’s inconsistent. Some players can play under anonymous nicknames, while others are forced to use their real names. If you make a deep run or reach a big final table, your real name might suddenly be revealed permanently. You never really know who’s behind the anonymous nicknames. It could be a strong regular, a known high-stakes pro, or anyone else. This is especially problematic at midstakes and high stakes and, in my opinion, it’s simply not fair.
  3. Rakeback: Finally, while Ocean Rewards is an improvement, I still think rakeback for low-volume players could be better. Starting at 16% to 25% feels low for a market leader. Other sites offer more value at the lower end. GG also seems to be moving more toward invite-only ecosystems at the very top end, which matters if you’re a high-stakes regular.

PokerStars

PokerStars is an old empire. In 2026, though, the momentum feels different. For transparency, I was also a PokerStars ambassador in the past.

✅ PokerStars Advantages in 2026

  1. Software: PokerStars still has some of the cleanest and most stable software in online poker. Multitabling is smooth, the client is reliable, and for many grinders it simply feels right.
  2. Flagship Series & Branding: SCOOP and WCOOP are still huge. The guarantees have come down over the years, but they’re still significant. The structures are good, and the prestige remains.
  3. Security: PokerStars is one of the strongest sites when it comes to game integrity. Scandals involving botting, multi-accounting, or RTA usage feel relatively rare. From my experience working with PokerStars, they invest heavily in security. Not everything was perfect, and we didn’t always agree on everything, but they deserve credit here. When you look at the scandals across the industry over the last few years, PokerStars has largely stayed out of the headlines.
  4. Rake: PokerStars offers slightly lower rake than some competitors. It’s still 5% at low and midstakes, but drops to around 4.5% at higher stakes, and crucially, there is no preflop rake on three-bet pots. They also have some of the best rake caps from NL25 up to NL200. Overall, that’s fair and reasonably good value.
4.9
Established as one of the most traditional poker sites in the world, PokerStars brings together players from all over the world to battle in cash games across the market’s main formats, such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, H.O.R.S.E., and less popular online poker variants.
Overview of PokerStars Registration

❌ PokerStars Disadvantages in 2026

  1. Rake: My biggest issue here is the $1 rake cap at NL2, NL5, and NL10. This is very bad. Technically, that’s a 50 big blind cap at NL2, a 20 big blind cap at NL5, and a 10 big blind cap at NL10. That’s outrageously high, and you really need to factor that in. For example, if you’re playing a $20 pot at NL10 on PokerStars, you pay $1 in rake, which is 5%. On other sites with lower rake caps, you might only pay 50 cents, meaning your effective rake drops to 2.5%. In some larger pots, it can even drop to 1% or lower. On PokerStars, those same pots are still raked at 5%, while on other sites you might be paying 2%, 1%, or even 0.5%. That difference is massive.
  2. Rakeback: PokerStars uses a tier-based rewards system, not flat rakeback. You earn rewards based on how much rake or tournament fees you pay over a 28-day period, which moves you up tiers. For most players, this translates to roughly 15% to 40% effective rakeback, paid through cash rewards called Chests.

    The more you play, the higher your tier, and the better your rewards. That said, considering the PokerStars brand and its position in the market, this rakeback is disappointing. Especially when you compare it to GG offering 50% or more for high-volume grinders, or CoinPoker offering 33% from day one. If you’re a very high-volume grinder, you can qualify for PokerStars Select, which switches you to direct cash rakeback of around 50%, sometimes higher depending on the format. But this is only available to the very top tier of rakers.

    PokerStars is not great for low-volume grinders. It’s okay for mid-volume grinders and decent for very high-volume grinders, but reaching those top tiers requires huge volume. And with that volume comes tougher games.
  3. Skill Level: This is based on my experience and a lot of feedback from others, PokerStars is tougher than other sites at higher buy-ins, both in cash games and tournaments.
  4. The Brand Direction: PokerStars feels like it’s in decline. It feels carried more by its brand than by innovation. Some decisions are genuinely strange, like running two-day tournaments such as the Mini Sunday Million with relatively low guarantees. The target audience for those events is recreational players, yet they’re expected to sacrifice Monday and potentially Tuesday for a tournament with a modest prize pool. That just doesn’t line up. In general, guarantees are decreasing while almost every other site is investing more and more into guarantees. Guarantees attract players. Either PokerStars doesn’t care about poker as much anymore, or someone with too much decision-making power doesn’t understand the ecosystem. Even daily guarantees feel low and underwhelming for a brand of this size. This decline over the past few years is honestly a bit sad to see.
  5. Lex Veldhuis' Departure: Lex leaving PokerStars was also a signal. Lex wasn’t just a streamer, he was the face of PokerStars. I don’t know exactly what happened internally, but when someone like that leaves, it says something about direction and priorities. It doesn’t kill the site overnight, but it’s a meaningful sign.
  6. Cash Games: Cash game offerings are also shrinking. Zoom 500 barely runs. Zoom 200 and Zoom 100 often have player pools of only 40 to 100 players even during peak European hours. PokerStars is still a solid option, the games are beatable, and the brand carries weight. But compared to other sites, the rakeback isn’t great, micro-stakes rake caps are harsh, and other platforms offer more value through promotions.

In 2026, PokerStars feels more like a premium legacy brand than the industry leader. That’s just the reality.

CoinPoker in 2026

Now let’s talk about the most underrated site going into 2026. Yes, I’m biased, but CoinPoker is quietly doing a lot of things right, and I’ll still try to stay as objective as possible.

✅ CoinPoker Advantages in 2026

  1. Rake: CoinPoker offers very strong overall value, arguably one of the best packages on the market. Let’s look at the numbers. For low-stakes tournaments from $1 to $50, CoinPoker charges 8% rake, which is very good. Most major sites charge between 8% and 12% in that range. For comparison, PokerStars charges roughly 9% to 11% from $0.55 up to $75 tournaments, and WPT Global is around 9%.
  2. High Stakes Rake & Rakeback: I also want to address something important. CoinPoker recently increased its high-stakes rake structure, and the professional community pushed back hard. There was a lot of discussion between the players and the site. Things have settled somewhat, and the new structure has both pros and cons. The downside for pros is that rake is higher when a VIP is at the table. However, there are several positives. Tables have been changed from seven-handed to six-handed across all high-stakes games, which increases win rates for professionals. In addition, when pros play against other pros, such as in heads-up or short-handed games, the rake is actually lower than it was before. VIPs are now rewarded based on the rake generated by the entire table, not just their individual contribution. The idea is that the game wouldn’t even exist without the VIP present, so rewarding them at the table level makes sense.

    If you’re wondering whether these changes are justified, ask yourself this: why do many poker networks no longer allow heads-up tables? Why did GG Poker shut down its most active high-stakes games? Why doesn’t PokerStars provide a profitable environment for ultra-high-stakes games anymore?

    We’re not talking about NL100 or NL200. We’re talking about NL5,000, NL10,000, NL20,000, and above. These games are simply not profitable to run under traditional rake models. A new solution is required, and CoinPoker is actively working on one. They increased rake, listened to feedback, adjusted the structure, and continue to monitor and tweak things. These numbers aren’t set in stone. The goal is a healthy, sustainable ecosystem that works for pros, VIPs, and the site itself.
  3. Low Stakes Rake: CoinPoker also offers very solid rake for low-stakes cash games from NL5 up to NL100. CoinPoker stands out with a low cap and a flat 5% rake, only beaten by WPT’s 4% rake. But CoinPoker strikes back with better cap structures at NL100 and higher, and the caps get significantly better as you move up. Only PokerStars consistently beats CoinPoker on mid- and high-stakes rake caps. ACR also has a better rake cap from NL25 up to NL10.
  4. Promotions: CoinPoker just ran a $10 million guaranteed Winter Festival from late December 2025 into January 2026. That’s not a small crypto promo. That’s a serious schedule for a relatively new poker site. They’re also adding leaderboards, including $100,000 leaderboards, which creates value for lower-volume grinders too. A lot of people hear “$100K leaderboard” and assume it’s only for mega-volume players, but if only your top eight or top ten scores count, lower volume players can still compete. That’s a great structure because it doesn’t automatically turn into a pure volume race.

    Then there’s the Cash Game World Championship across all stakes, which reduces rake to 0% for several weeks, with added value on top. That’s insane. They’re also building serious brands like CoinMasters, and I hope they keep investing in it until it becomes a true flagship series like SCOOP or WCOOP, where guarantees keep growing. From what I’m seeing, they want it to be a recurring thing, which is exactly what you want.
  5. Rakeback: Now, if you’re new or a low-volume grinder, or even a high-volume grinder playing low stakes, CoinPoker offers 33% rakeback from day one. That’s extremely strong when combined with reasonable rake and decent rake caps. You don’t have to grind your way up a ladder. You get meaningful rakeback immediately. That’s a huge plus because you get it immediately. Generate rake, get paid weekly. The standard number is 33%, paid through CHP holdings, which is the token. No chests, no mystery boxes. The only downside is that you have to convert some USD into CHP, which can be confusing. But it’s generous, and it’s worth understanding.
  6. Soft Field: Crypto ecosystems attract a different player pool, including more gamblers. CoinPoker has also added the option to deposit via traditional fiat methods, which helps traffic and brings in more casuals. You also get less obsessive table selection and less bum hunting relative to some legacy pools, which is better for the ecosystem. They released their mobile version too, which brings in more casual phone players sitting on the couch. For many stakes, CoinPoker feels noticeably softer than traditional poker sites. From my experience, I can confirm that. CoinPoker has crazy soft micro and low-stakes tournaments, but even at high stakes, they’re very soft. The $1Ks, $2Ks, and $5Ks are softer than on any other site. For cash games, considering their overall player pool size, CoinPoker offers a wide selection from micro stakes to nosebleeds, with one of the best overall rake structures.
4.8
CoinPoker is the first truly successful crypto poker room to stand the test of time. Players trust the site: in 2022 some of the biggest pots in online poker history were played here, and in 2024 and 2025 CoinPoker hosted high-stakes cash game championships.
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❌ CoinPoker Disadvantages in 2026

  1. Traffic: Especially compared to GG, CoinPoker is obviously behind. They’re trying to close the gap. Compared to PokerStars, Stars is still ahead too, but the gap is closing there as well. CoinPoker is growing, but it’s not there yet. CoinPoker doesn’t reach flagship levels like the Sunday Million or GGMillions, and it doesn’t hit prize pools like SCOOP or WCOOP main events, but it’s growing, and it looks like a matter of time until they at least catch up with PokerStars.
  2. Crypto: Even though they’ve implemented fiat deposits and more traditional transaction options, crypto still isn’t built for everybody. And I understand crypto has a bad image for some people, which can scare players off, understandably.
  3. CHP Mechanics: Even if rakeback is simple, some players don’t want to think about tokens at all. It’s just one extra step, but that extra step of converting your USDT to CHP to guarantee the 33% rakeback, especially at low and mid stakes, is super valuable and unmatched on most sites. Still, it feels complicated to some people. Yes, it’s an extra step, but you also get more value than on most other sites, especially right from the start.
  4. Software: The software still needs some work. It’s not as clean as PokerStars or GG, but I know CoinPoker is planning a big software rework.

Americas Cardroom (ACR Poker)

I’ve played some tournaments on ACR, so I have a bit of experience there. Big guarantees, big fields, big variance.

✅ ACR Poker Advantages in 2026

  1. Tournaments: Venom is still a major brand. ACR knows how to run massive-field events that attract volume players, and they offer good value in guaranteed tournaments.
  2. Cash Game Promotions: Rake races like The Beast reward raw volume. If you play a lot, ACR will pay you.
  3. Cash Game Rake & Rake Caps: Solid 5% flat rake, and arguably the best rake caps from NL50c up to NL10. From 50 cents to $1.25, the rake cap is one of the best for those stakes.
  4. Rewards: Even if it’s a bit neutral, to be fair, the flat 27% weekly deal is an advantage compared to PokerStars or even GG, because you get it from the start. You can choose either the flat 27% weekly deal, or you can sign up for the Elite Benefits VIP system. There, you can grind your way up to 60% to 65%. If you’re a high-volume grinder, that may be a little worse than GG, but if you’re low volume and new, it’s much better than Stars and often better than GG. It’s definitely not bad. It’s on the better side, but it’s not better than CoinPoker. And as I mentioned, The Beast adds roughly 2% to 8% extra effective rakeback. So there’s a lot of value there too.

❌ ACR Poker Disadvantages in 2026

  1. Reputation: This is probably the biggest problem. RTA allegations have followed ACR for years. Public challenges, community drama, and constant debates have damaged trust in the brand, in my opinion. Even when ACR takes action, the perception remains. And botting and security are crucial, and it seems like ACR has had real issues there.
  2. Software: Compared to GG and PokerStars, it needs improvement and doesn’t feel as clean.
  3. Tournament Rake: It’s not outrageous, but it’s on the higher side. Around 9% from $0.11 to $88 tournaments. High stakes from $600 to $2,600 can be around 4.7% to 5% rake.

WPT Global

WPT Global is the recreational-first platform. They’re doing something very specific: openly designing the ecosystem for recreational players. And spoiler: I’ve never played on WPT, so this is based on research, information, and talking to friends and other poker players.

✅ WPT Global Advantages in 2026

  1. Table Composition Rules: They limit the number of strong players at cash tables, which creates softer environments intentionally.
  2. Added-Value Promotions: WPT Global has run promos that add money directly to guarantees instead of redistributing rake, which is attractive for casual players. The site also seems incredibly soft, which is obviously great.
4.5
WPT Global is one of the most popular poker sites across Asia and Latin America today. After years of experience in the international live tournament market, in 2022 the WPT company decided to expand its influence to online platforms — and you can benefit from their welcome bonus.
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❌ WPT Global Disadvantages in 2026

  1. Rakeback: No classic VIP or lifetime rakeback. WPT Global doesn’t use a PokerStars-style VIP ladder or a flat lifetime deal. There’s no permanent percentage that increases just because you grind more. Instead, rakeback is delivered through mechanics tied to behavior and format, not volume alone. For example, the Table Starter Boost is the core system. If you open a cash game table early, usually when there are 0 or 1 players seated, you earn session-based rakeback, around 20% at lower stakes up to 40% at higher stakes. So if you start tables, you get rakeback. But it only applies for that session and that table. It’s paid weekly. If you don’t open tables, you can end up with close to 0% rakeback on standard tables, and I think that’s pretty bad. It rewards ecosystem builders, not grinders who sit last.
  2. Segmented Winning and Losing Players: This affects affiliate revenue sharing. That isn’t visible in the client, but it means winning players are often excluded from affiliate percentages. So affiliates may receive little or nothing for long-term winners. This doesn’t reduce your in-client rakeback directly, but it limits how much extra rakeback an affiliate can offer you. If someone promises extra rakeback via an affiliate deal, it often won’t apply to proven winning regs.

Bottom line: WPT Global rewards how you play, not how much you play. The best value comes from opening tables, playing PLO, and timing their promos. Their promos can be pretty good, so timing matters. Winning regs should not expect fair boosted rakeback, and recreational players often get more value because games are softer and they’re more protected.

Bencbs Final Verdict: Which Games to Play on Which Sites

But before we do, if you want to beat online poker in 2026 and you don’t have the budget for premium study programs, then check out my free tournament course. It will help you get on the winning side of poker. It’s entirely free, no catch.

Final ranking, my verdict:

Number 1: GGPoker

Best tournament schedule. Soft, not the softest in my opinion. Great marketing, lots of innovation, great software. Rake is decent. Rewards are okay, but historically not transparent, and we need to see how Ocean Rewards plays out once fully launched. For tournaments, GG is a must-add.

But for cash games, there are better options. Preflop rake makes it unprofitable for players who would normally be winners. Micro and low stakes can still be reasonable with fair caps, but preflop rake still hits hard in three-bet pots. So above $0.25/$0.50, there are often better cash game options.

Number 2: PokerStars

Definitely not recommended for micro-stakes cash games due to the insane rake cap. You can still make money if you’re a decent player, but compared to other sites, it’s not where I’d send micro and low-stakes cash grinders. Low and mid-stakes tournaments have slightly higher rake than some competitors, but guarantees still make it viable. Don’t expect much rakeback.

If software matters, it’s a must-pick. If you prefer pure value, other sites should be added. CoinPoker is a much better cash game option when you factor in rake, rakeback, and softness. If you don’t mind the crypto aspect and weaker software, CoinPoker should be picked over PokerStars for cash games.

Number 3: CoinPoker

The site shines through unbelievable value for low and mid-stakes tournaments, wide promo variety, and unique high-stakes action. 33% rakeback from day one, relatively low rake, and noticeably softer pools make it a must-add.

Even beginners get a ton of value: rake-free $0.50 hyper turbo tournaments, freerolls, and with code Bencb a chance at $5K to $10K freerolls that can add 100%+ effective rakeback. That value is insane.

Number 4: ACR

Solid option for tournaments. I recommend adding some of the soft, big-field, high-guarantee events to your schedule. Rake is solid, fields can be soft, guarantees are big. Rakeback is okay. Nothing amazing, nothing that’s a dealbreaker. But you have to consider security and botting concerns, so keep an eye on that. I’ve played there myself, and it can be quite soft. Cash game promos add value too.

I would choose ACR cash games over GG given GG’s rake structure. ACR also invests heavily in marketing, streamers, and big promos. They’ve given Triton packages worth around $100K to streamers like Jeff Boski, and Visa, who even won a Triton event. That kind of marketing is good for the ecosystem.

Number 5: WPT Global

If you’re a recreational player, you may find very soft games where you lose less than on other sites because you’re more protected. And players who are losing players elsewhere might become slightly winning players on WPT. But if you become a winning player there, you can run into the issue that you’re not getting rakeback unless you table start, and you might drift into tougher lineups. That’s the trade-off.

The softness is real, but it’s also very soft on GG and CoinPoker.

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