I decided to spend some time and create a tier list for the Poker sites I have played on or considered playing on since the government took over and introduced their 'igaming'. One thing to note is that I am a cash game player who very rarely plays tournaments while hovering around the $25-$100 tables.

My hope is this list will help people get the best value for their money and enable them to have the best chance of success at the tables. If anyone disagrees with something I said or sees something I overlooked, feel free to speak your mind.

--A Tier --

WSOP

=good rakeback (starts you at 50% for a year)
-reasonable rake caps (better than average if you play PLO)
-very good welcome bonus (probably got $150 from the Rush and Cash Tickets + 'Honey Moon' rewards on top of the standard 20% extra rake back)
-weak player pool
-leaderboards are a good source of extra income for grinders
-the software has great presentation and legitimately makes the game more fun to play
-the people who click the 'go all in without looking option' should increase your EV significantly
-players will straddle 100% of hands which sets you up to profit heavily from their inevitable spews

--B Tier--

PokerStars - **ONLY FOR THE FIRST 600 HANDS PER DAY/STAKE FOR THE LEADERBOARD**

-their bizarro leaderboard has been paying out decently for me,
-rakeback through chests is better than nothing
- your allowed to use HUDs to maximize the pain you can deal out on recreational players
-they have these little promos which can add a few bucks here and there
-the software has pretty good presentation
- the player pool is reasonably healthy
-offers a decent welcome bonus with a few free spin and go tickets which for me I believe were worth $40 (I deposited the max $600)

--C Tier--

Americas Card Room

-27% flat cash back
-allows HUD's
-player pool is a bit tough but if you figure out what times the fish get home from work not too bad
-can get some extra money back from the Beast Leaderboard (was getting about 50% rake back including the 27% flat rake)
-software can be spotty at times and you risk them closing up shop and leaving with your money
-playing on the bomb pot tables is basically required and I'm not sure how I feel about them (this is where the fish tend to hang out)

--D Tier--

Pokerstars -**AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE FIRST 600 HANDS PER DAY/STAKE FOR THE LEADERBOARD**

- rakeback through chests is pretty weak sauce (15% cashback for most people)
-the players on the site tend to take the game more seriously for whatever reason and play lower VPIP making it pretty hard to overcome the sites rake scheme
-the rakecaps are on the high side of things
-not much point in playing here after you have done the 600 hands for the leader board

PartyPoker

-rakecaps are not great
-cashback can be anywhere from pretty poor too pretty good but for most people it's gonna be not great (you are probably going to be getting between 15-20%)
-there just isn't enough players from what I've seen to even consider getting close to the 50% max rakeback that is advertised
-promotions can boost your rake back temporarily but still nothing to write home about
-they don't allow HUD's
-overall the site is just pretty piss poor

--TRASH TIER--

888 - This site is complete garbage. I've heard people like it for tournaments, and I have seen some promotions that seem decent regarding this as of recently. But for everything else this site is complete trash. Their rake back is basically non-existent, there software is dated and hard on the eyes, nobody plays there, the rake caps are some of the highest I've seen. As of recent they have reduced their rake from there 6.5%(ish) down to 5%, but it's still garbage. Thanks but no thanks.

MGM - This site is somehow probably worse than 888. Rake is the highest out of all the sites, 5.5%. The rakeback like 888 is almost non-existent. They have some new grinder promo going right but I can almost guarantee you that it's garbage (they have how it works hidden so that is a clear sign to me that it's probably a joke). This site is trash.

Wanted to update and say that the tournaments of 50% off that 888 is advertising that I mentioned in my mind has made me think they deserve a new tier category just for them.

--SCAM TIER--

888 - Claming that they have 50% off tournaments when in reality these are just tournaments that are double the size is obviously misleading and in my mind is a SCAM. (100$ tournament with 1.1k players at 100$ each turns into a 50$ tournament with 2.2k players).

This is not 50% off, and if the tournament ever had a turn out of like 1.1k players paying 50$ they would just cancel the tourney before it launched and not lose 50 grand like all the other sites do when their are not enough sign ups to satisfy the guarantee.

Sad.

How is that a 'scam'?

Many sites hold similar promos... ie. 'Half-Priced Sunday' on Pokerstars. Not sure how many times per year they do this but it's a couple for sure. Gives players the opportunity to play a $109 for $55 (or an $11 for $5.50) Maybe there'll be 3x as many entrants. So how is that a 'scam'?

Makes ZERO sense imo... "Yo Adrian... YO ADRIANNNNN!!!"

If they doubled the guarantee of a $50 tournament, would that also be a scam?

I would say even after 600 hands Stars still stays as a B tier.
- Reload bonuses
- Ongoing promotions
- Consistently high traffic

If you play PLO on stars the field is very weak, pretty much at all levels.


For PLO peak times 8pm to midnight EST
GGPoker
- consistent traffic at $2, $25, $100, $200, $1000 tables
Stars
- consistent traffic at $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $200 tables

no ggpoker? rarely heard about wsop.

I haven't played in like a decade.

Are there no sites with global pools for Ontario players now?

Can somebody explain to me why a poker site named after the WSOP has only 2 poker games; NLH and PLO?

If people actually played interesting games, they'd probably spread them. But people don't, so they don't.

As a tourney player, Stars is way ahead of the others. WSOP is way worse than when it was GG - not enough tourneys below the $50 price point and their special series' have been weak.

888 is garbage.

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Smaller player pool and you only offer a few games to ensure that the tables stay fuller.

They have NLH, PLO, PLO5 and AoF.

Spin n Gos

Tourneys

Its only Ontario, but if you are looking for the standard games of NL and PLO there is plenty of action.