888poker Review: Play Online Poker Tournaments in Canada Now!

For poker tournaments with tons of full seats, nobody beats 888poker. And with a fantastic mobile app and exclusive poker variants, there’s endless fun to be had!

Launched in 2002, 888poker has been connecting Canadian poker players to lively online poker games for decades. With over 10 million registered accounts, 888poker is an industry juggernaut.

Curious about what games, bonuses, tournaments, and banking options are available? Dive into our expert 888 poker review to hear our thoughts!

888poker is a very popular poker site, with lots of ongoing games to continually deliver on fun. Ontarians play on a dedicated Ontario site, while the rest of Canada enjoys the 888poker international site. To play, you download a desktop application for 888poker and from there launch into live poker games!

I believe 888poker is a great site for players who stick to one or two classic poker variants, and particularly those who enjoy jumping into tournaments. Big prize pools, new and exciting tourney structures, and a steady stream of opponents make for rewarding play sessions.

For these reasons, and more to come, 888poker is perfect for old-school veteran gamblers or for brand new gamblers learning the basics.

There are three major poker variants at 888poker: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, and an exclusive variant called Blast. Omaha comes in two flavours, classic rules and Hi/Lo with a pot split between the best and worst hands.

If you’d like to try your hand in a tournament, you’ll have the choice of basic tournaments, Progressive Knockout tournaments, or Mystery Bounty tournaments.

As you can see, 888poker’s game variety is rather lacking. Having more options can cater to players of different skill levels, or those who want less or more strategy to their gambling. And 888poker doesn’t even deliver variety in limits, with Omaha being pot limit only and Hold’em being no limit only.

888poker’s unique selling point is Blast, exclusively offered at 888. The foundation of Blast is three-handed Texas Hold’em. Player buy-in to the pot in a Sit & Go tourney alongside two competitors, then a timer begins! You’ll have a set time limit to knock out your opponents—when the timer hits zero, everyone is forced to go all-in to settle the tourney.

Blast is also special because of its prize structure. When the tourney starts, a prize pool is randomly selected, scaled to the buy-ins. Once a winner is decided, the prize is revealed and awarded. Lucky players could win up to x200,000 their buy-in!

Tournament Availability and Formats

Tournaments seem to be the lifeblood of 888poker. Their tournaments always have great traffic, and I always saw about a dozen tournaments running at any given time, with dozens more scheduled in the near future. Many of these are Multi Table Tournaments (MTTs) which run 24/7 at 888poker.

There’s a solid mix of buy-in ranges (including freeroll), poker variants, and tournament structures on the site. 888poker prides itself on its Progressive Knockout tournaments, flavouring these tourneys as “God of the Arena” where you win a set bounty whenever you knock out other players.

Similarly, 888poker’s unique Mystery Bounty tournaments combines classic tourney with bounties. The tournaments feature a typical prize pool that the top players can split, but the final few rounds add in randomized secret bounties awarded for knock outs!

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by 888poker’s robust tournament scene. And aside from online tournaments, some players may win invitations to live tournaments that 888poker hosts in person around once per year.

You might have guessed it from the name, but 888poker is part of the 888 Network, also running a casino and sportsbook. The network has been around since 1997 and is well-received in the industry with over 50 awards to show for their work.

A site’s network is important because it helps back up the site’s reliability and funnels in new players to keep site traffic high. If the network also operates several poker sites, sometimes cross-site tournaments can be run to get you in touch with even more players.

The 888 Network doesn’t have other poker sites, but it is a big enough industry name to help push some new innovations in online poker. For example, 888poker’s “Blast” poker game is a site exclusive developed by the big-brains at the 888 Network.

If you’re interested in trying sports betting, slots, or casino table games like Blackjack or Roulette, 888poker’s sister sites are both standout options!

I wasn’t blown away by 888poker’s bonuses. But I’m happy to say there is a no-deposit bonus, which always promises fabulous value. At 888poker, you can get a free $20.00 in credit just for signing up!

On to the bad news. The welcome bonus is decent, offering 100% deposit matching up to $1,000.00, however your credit is handed out $10.00 at a time, so you won’t see the full bonus reward anytime soon. As well, aside from some free prize drops, there simply aren’t any more regular bonuses available.

However, all that is greatly compensated for by 888poker’s VIP program. Structured in a number of challenges for you to complete, you earn reward points to level up in the program. Every time you level up, you’ll receive gold tokens for 888poker’s shop to buy exclusive tournament tickets, free spins, bonus credit, or cold hard cash!

Like any online poker site, 888poker rakes each pot after a betting round to claim a commission. On average at 888poker, the rake is 5.00%. Sadly, the casino doesn’t offer rakeback bonuses to pay out a portion of the rake.

As mobile poker continues to skyrocket in popularity, it’s wonderful to see 888poker has joined the trend and launched their own app. With a simple download, you can play even when away from your computer!

The app also puts 888 poker’s sister ventures at your fingertips—the casino and sportsbook mentioned earlier in this review.

Accessibility and Compatibility

The button to download 888 poker’s app is placed right in front of you when you visit the casino’s mobile site. From there you’re redirected to the app store to complete the download! It’s always a good sign of legitimacy when a gambling app is featured in the official store.

This process is the same for Android or Apple users, and the app is fully compatible with either OS. You can play from the app on phones, tablets, or other mobile devices.

User Interface and Design

The layout of 888poker’s app is perfectly intuitive, clearly displaying all the major types of poker you might like to play. You scroll between the different rule variants, with a page dedicated to tournaments, and each tier of buy-in is listed so you can join a game with just a tap. 

I wasn’t blown away by the aesthetic design, but I’m happy to overlook that detail. A colour scheme of blues and blacks makes for a sporty look, but it doesn’t add anything memorable or stylish to the experience.

Game Variety and Features

The games selection is the same on the mobile app as on the desktop version, with all the rules variants and tournament you could hope for. 

I found the app’s performance to be phenomenal. Every table I joined ran fast and smooth without lag. And the app itself ran well with quick load times, although I did find several glitches that I had to restart the app to resolve.

One feature that drove me up the wall was that the app logged me out whenever my phone went into sleep mode. This meant I was constantly slogging through the log-in process while exploring the app.

Overall Experience

Having a mobile app shows how big 888poker is within the industry. Typically, only the biggest casinos can afford to launch their own apps. Having the opportunity to play from anywhere on whatever device is most convenient is a big boon to players.

If you’re an avid poker player and are interested in the extra flexibility offered by playing on mobile, I’d encourage you to try 888poker’s app!

The available payment methods at 888poker vary wildly depending on where you’re playing from. In Canada, your options are limited though you’ll still find key banking options available.

Interac is, as ever, Canada’s best online payment option thanks to its flexibility and lack of transaction fees. Unfortunately, across the board, withdrawals at 888poker are much slower than I’d like to see. The casino is at least upfront with this information, but that doesn’t make up for long wait times.

There’s not as many banking options as I might have hoped for, but at least minimum deposits are quite low and a handful of reliable payment methods are featured.

The design of 888poker’s site is dominated by electric blues on black and white backgrounds. There’s not much to say, since there’s not much design to it. The blues create a consistent style, but nothing is eye-catching. In some places the site feels more like a corporate landing page than a poker casino.

As for content, 888poker is a treasure trove of information, very clearly trying to offer as much info as possible. This covers both the company, their gaming policies and promotions, as well as the rules, strategies, and variants of poker. Navigating these pages is also straightforward, making it especially handy for newer players who need to read up before playing.

The user interface when you actually hop into 888poker’s application to play a hand is sufficient. Graphically, it’s kind of outdated, but the layout and usability are both quite good. Playing at multiple tables at once is entirely possible, with the option to resize and tile your active tables.

Speaking of customization, you can make basic changes like resizing the screen, disabling animations, or turning off chat. 888poker does allow you to add notes to each opponent, tracking their strategy, which is fantastic. You’ll also be given the choice of three different themes to reskin the poker table.

To summarize, 888poker’s site and application are both intuitive to use. However, neither have any design flair. The result is a bland-but-serviceable poker experience, perfectly fine if you just want to play and don’t care about aesthetics, but adding nothing special.

Customer Support

Support chat is available around the clock, 24/7. There’s a reasonably thorough FAQ that can help clarify many basic questions, but all the answers are quite curt. You can also submit questions to a support email.

The main form of support is the live chat with service reps. A chatbot will connect you with the relevant department, then you’re handed off to a real rep. I found the reps very knowledgeable and eager to help.

However, I’m baffled by how hard it can be to access the chat. Sometimes an icon appears in the browser corner for the chat, other times not, though thankfully chat is always available on mobile.

Playing in licensed, secure online casinos is essential to keeping your personal and banking information safe. 888poker is licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and also possesses a Gibraltar Remote Gambling License (GRGL), which vets the casino to ensure fair practices. Additionally, the operator company, 888 Holdings, is publicly traded, which adds an extra level of accountability.

As part of upholding the license regulations, 888poker offers several responsible gaming tools so vulnerable players can self-exclude, and even includes the option to set deposit limits during sign-up.

888poker has stated their commitment to adhering to all relevant privacy and security laws. Their game software also holds the seal-of-approval from McAfee and GameCare for fairness and safety.

With all this in mind, it’s no surprise 888poker has a longstanding reputation as a secure, trusted platform. While there are negative user reviews, most focus on the poor customer support and outdated aesthetics. But overall, the casino excels at protecting players.

Finding the right poker site for you can take some trial-and-error, but by reading up on expert reviews, checking user feedback, and testing out some sites using no-deposit bonuses, you can quickly find the best poker sites available!

888poker may not excel in customer experience or offer high-value bonuses, but it offers a reliable experience thanks to its high traffic and steady tournaments. If your only goal is to play poker, and play often, 888poker will be a strong contender for your new favourite site.