Poker is a lot of fun, especially when friends are involved. Even if you play poker for play money instead of real money, meeting for one day in a week to play poker will serve your interests well. However, with busy schedules, that is not always possible. Online poker provides a similar realistic experience, allowing you to play poker with your real or virtual friends while keeping most of the offline features the same. Read this concise guide to get the basics of the game and an idea about the best poker options available.
What Types of Online Poker Are Available?
Playing poker is your intended goal. But, before you get all your friends together to engage in a bout of online poker, it is important to know the varieties of online poker available. They are as follows:
1. Texas Hold’em: Each player is given two private “hole” cards and then 5 community cards form a ‘board’. The players have to make their best five-card poker hand as soon as possible.
2. Seven Card Stud: Stud poker provides you 7 cards, two facedown and one face-up in Round 1. There are 3 rounds and one final showdown in all, interspersed with betting in all rounds. You have to get your best five-card poker hand.
3. Omaha: Omaha is similar to a game of Texas Hold’em. The only difference is that there are four “hole” cards instead of two.
4. 5-card Omaha: 5-card Omaha enables you to make your best 5-card poker hand with just 2 of the 5 “hole” cards dealt in the beginning round of the game.
Some other popular online poker variants include HORSE, Badugi and 2-7 Lowball.
Real Money vs. Play Money Poker
Setting up an online poker tournament with your friends is a fun initiative. The one who sets up gets to choose the game speed, increase the speed of the blinds and provide the opportunity to re-buy. You can also set the date, time, buy-in features and the number of seats.
You can create a friendly tournament with your friends where you can get all competitive using only play or fake money. You could alternatively also go for a cash or real money game. Usually, cash games are more appealing for beginner poker players because it lets them buy in when they go bust.
Where Can I Play Free Online Poker with Friends?
You can play free online poker with friends via the safe and trustworthy platforms mentioned below. These include online casinos which have been cross-verified as secure. These also ensure that the gameplay is fair and fun. There are also bonuses available if you register and become a regular.
Play Money Online Poker with Friends
The following are a couple of poker platforms that will allow you to engage in a free poker championship with your friends. Since you can always play poker without any financial risk attached to it (using play money), it is advisable to check out the websites mentioned below and choose what suits you best.
Poker Now
Poker Now has a user-friendly interface and hassle-free poker gaming handle. You do not need to download an app to play poker here. You can play poker for free here by sharing a room link. You can opt for a private friends-only room where you can use play money, connect via video and voice chat and have fun. You can slow down the gameplay at Poker Now if you want, pause if required and seamlessly play a game of poker without any real money involved.
Easy Poker
Rated #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt in July 2020, Easy Poker is a free application that needs to be installed. You can create a poker table easily and share a 4-digit code with your friends who want to join. In order to create more than one table, you will need to buy the Plus feature. From newbie to professional, everyone can enjoy a smooth poker experience here.
LiPoker
LiPoker does not need any downloads. All you need to do is share the game link and invite your friends who want to play. More than 5,47,000 games have been played at LiPoker!
Real Money Online Poker with Friends
The previous list gave an idea about the platforms where you could engage in a social game of poker with your friends. The list below has been carefully-curated to let you know where you can play cash games or real money poker with friends.
888poker
888poker was awarded the Best for Beginners Award in 2020 for welcoming all newbies into the real money poker industry. For a cash game, the host gets to select the name of the game, the password, date and time, stakes, number of seats, action time and the highest buy-in allowed. With almost all the varieties of online poker available, 888poker is worth a try.
Betfair Poker
Although the platform does not have any free play poker services, Betfair Poker is a well-known name in the poker industry today. You will need to install the necessary software and register at Betfair Poker to play here. There are all the essential selections that the host can make, along with additional options that can be requested.
Partypoker
Similar to Betfair, Partypoker also requests that you download their free software in order to begin. The advantage of Partypoker is that you get all the details about any upcoming poker tournaments with a ribbon-like feature. You can create your own club here as well as join an infinite number of poker clubs.
PokerStars
You can play via PokerStars on your PC, iOS and Android devices. It has all the varieties of online poker that you might want to try, private gaming rooms with friends and play as well as real money gaming as part of the experience. You can also join public poker cash games to win big.
FAQs
Can You Play Poker Online with Friends?
Yes, you can play poker online with friends (with play as well as real money). You just have to create a game or club at one of the sites (mentioned above) and send the code or link to the friends who want to join.
What Poker Game Can You Play with Friends?
You can play all sorts of poker games with friends. Texas Hold’em is the most popular version, followed by Omaha.
Can You Play PokerStars with Friends for Free?
Yes, you can play at PokerStars with friends for free as it supports both play money and real money gameplay.
What Poker App Can I Play with Friends?
Betfair Poker and PartyPoker are two poker apps where you can play a game with friends.