How we rate poker sites
Every room on this site is scored the same way, by the same team, against the same four measures. Here's exactly how our rankings are built, and how we stay independent.
Who we are
Best Poker Sites is an independent editorial team that has played online poker across dozens of rooms. We don't run a poker room and we're not owned by one. Our job is to test the rooms so you don't have to, and to explain the trade-offs in plain language, so a beginner can find soft games and a grinder can chase the best rake deal.
Our scope is real-money online poker specifically: the rooms, their bonuses and rakeback, the games and payout speeds, plus the free tools and guides that help you play better. We do not cover casino or sports betting except where a poker room happens to offer them alongside its tables. Every verdict draws on hands-on account testing, each operator's own published terms, and recognised industry traffic and licensing sources, and it is reviewed by a second member of the team before it goes live.
Our four scoring criteria
Each room is scored on the same four measures, weighted for the kind of player a given ranking serves:
- Rake: what each pot and tournament actually costs you to play, after any rakeback. Lower effective rake means more of the money stays with the players.
- Player traffic: whether there are live games at the stakes and hours you play. A great room with empty tables is no use to you.
- Game softness: how beatable the average field is. Softer games mean a bigger edge for a competent player.
- Payout speed: how long withdrawals really take, tested across methods rather than taken from the marketing page.
How we test
We create real accounts, deposit real money, play across formats and stakes, and make withdrawals using each available method. We record cashout times, note friction in verification, and re-check licensing. Bonus and rakeback offers are read in full (headline numbers matter far less than clearance terms), and we flag anything a player should know before depositing.
How the four scores combine
No single number tells the whole story, so we don't just average the four criteria; we weight them for the audience each page serves. On our best for beginners list, game softness and low-stakes availability carry the most weight; on a crypto ranking, payout speed and coin support matter more. Safety and licensing are a gate, not a score: a room that fails our trust checks doesn't rank at all, however good its games or bonus. That's how two honest rankings can order the same rooms differently: they're answering different questions.
Keeping our rankings current
A poker room is not a fixed thing. Traffic rises and falls, promotions change, networks merge, and payout performance can slip or improve from one month to the next. Because of that, a review is never finished: we revisit each room on a regular cycle, re-run our payout and licensing checks, and update the score and the write-up whenever something material changes. The date shown on each page tells you when it was last refreshed, so you always know how current the verdict is before you act on it.
Our independence
We keep the money and the ratings separate. When you sign up through a link on our site we may earn a commission, and that's how we fund the testing, but it never buys a higher score or ranking position. A room's placement is decided only by the four criteria above. If a room's payouts or conduct deteriorate, its ranking drops, commission or not.
Play responsibly
Poker should be fun. We only feature licensed rooms, and every page carries our responsible gambling reminder. If gambling stops being enjoyable, please take a break and use the support tools every reputable room provides.
Questions about our methodology? Get in touch.