Frequently asked questions

Straight answers about chips, clubs, fairness and your account. For the rules of the games themselves, see how to play.

About PokerClub

What is PokerClub?

PokerClub is a place to play poker online with people you know. You create a private club, invite your friends with a code, and play Texas Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Pineapple OFC and tournaments together on any phone, tablet or computer. There are also Free Play tables open to everyone.

Is PokerClub gambling?

No. PokerClub uses virtual chips only. Chips have no cash value and can never be cashed out, sold, or exchanged for money, goods or prizes. Nobody can buy chips either. You play for the game and the bragging rights.

What does it cost?

Nothing. Signing in, creating a club, joining clubs and playing are all free, for club owners and members alike.

How old do I need to be?

You must be 18 or older to use PokerClub. By signing in you confirm that you are.

Chips

Can I buy chips?

No. There is nothing for sale on PokerClub. Free Play chips are handed out for free, and chips inside a private club come from that club's owner.

Can I cash out, sell or trade my chips?

No. Chips have no cash value and cannot be cashed out. Trading chips for money or anything of value, inside or outside the app, is against the Terms and leads to a ban.

How do I get chips in a private club?

The club owner runs the club's chip bank. They send virtual chips to members so they can buy in at the club's tables, and decide when to top people up.

What happens when I run out of Free Play chips?

Nothing to do: whenever your Free Play wallet drops below 1,000 chips and you are not seated at a Free Play table, it is automatically topped up to 1,000. You start with 2,500 the first time you sign in.

Can I move Free Play chips into my club?

No. Free Play chips are only for Free Play tables, and club chips stay in their club. The two never mix.

Clubs

How do I create a club?

Sign in, tap Create club and give it a name. You become the owner and get an eight-character invite code to send to your friends.

How do I join a friend's club?

Ask the owner for the club's invite code, tap Join with a code and enter it. The club appears in your list as waiting for approval until the owner lets you in.

Can I be in more than one club?

Yes. Every club you belong to appears in your club list, and you can switch between them at any time.

What can a club owner change?

Who joins, the blinds, antes and buy-ins of every table, the game and format, turn time and time bank, whether rabbit hunt is on, the rake, and how many chips each member receives.

Games and tables

Which games can I play?

No-Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha, as cash tables or as tournaments: Sit & Go games that start when the seats fill, and multi-table tournaments that run on a schedule, with rebuys, add-ons and late registration when the organiser enables them. Clubs and Free Play also run Pineapple Open-Face Chinese poker (OFC) tables for two or three players; see how to play Pineapple OFC.

How many tables can I play at once?

Up to four. Each table has its own chat, and the table waiting on you is highlighted so you never miss your turn.

What is rabbit hunt?

When a hand ends before all five board cards are dealt, rabbit hunt shows the cards that would have come next. It has no effect on the result; it just settles the argument. Club owners can switch it off.

Are there bots?

Free Play tables may include automated players, so there is always a game running. Tables inside a private club seat only that club's members, except that a club can run practice tables of every game and practice tournaments, where automated players fill empty seats and the field; at a practice table everyone gets back exactly the chips they brought when they leave, and in a practice tournament everyone gets back exactly what they paid in (buy-in, rebuys and add-on) when it ends for them, with no prizes.

Fairness and privacy

How can I tell the shuffle is fair?

Before each hand a cryptographic fingerprint of the whole deck order is published. Every card that is later revealed, from the board to hole cards at showdown, comes with a proof you can check against that fingerprint, so the deck cannot be changed during the hand. Cards nobody saw are never published.

Who can see my cards?

Your hole cards are private from the other players, including the club owner.

What data does PokerClub keep?

Your sign-in identity and display name, the IP address and device of each sign-in for security, and the history of the hands you play, which may be reviewed to prevent cheating. Visits to the site are counted without cookies. Your data is never sold.

Account and devices

How do I sign in?

With your Telegram account, in one tap. There is no separate PokerClub password to create or to leak.

Which devices and browsers work?

Any recent version of Safari, Chrome, Edge or Firefox on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac or Linux.

Do I need to download an app?

No. PokerClub runs in the browser. If you want an app icon, install it to your home screen: on iPhone open it in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen; on Android open it in Chrome and tap Install app; on a computer use the install button in the Chrome or Edge address bar.

Guides

• How to play Texas Hold'em and Omaha: blinds, betting rounds and showdown.
• Poker hand rankings: all ten hands, their odds, kickers and ties.
• Pot-Limit Omaha for beginners: the use-two rule and pot-sized bets.
• How to run a home poker tournament: stacks, blind levels and payouts.
• Private poker room online: how invite-only play works.
• Host a private poker game: setting up your club step by step.
• Poker night with friends online: stakes, etiquette and fair play.
• Free poker: how Free Play and its free chips work.

Read more: host a private poker club, Free Play explained, the Terms and the Privacy notes.