Features of CoinPoker: Why Play Poker Online in South Africa with Us?
At CoinPoker we have thrilling tournaments, echt geld prizes, and a big welcome bonus. As a cryptocurrency website, you can build your stack using Rand and get into the action instantly. Sign up and start collecting your rakeback from every game you play. We keep things simple to ensure you get the best online poker experience. Here’s what you can expect from us.
- Crypto-friendly poker: Play with your South African Rand by buying cryptocurrency and adding it to your bankroll. This lets you control how much and when you make deposits without going through the bank. Once you have an e-wallet you can deposit and withdraw instantly, we accept Ethereum, Bitcoin, Matic, Sol, UDST & UDST_Tron.
- Welcome Bonus: When you make your first deposit, you will automatically receive a 150% welcome bonus (up to $2,000). The way it works is simple – you will get a bonus on your rakeback every week until you collect all your 150% deposit back.
- Promotions and tournaments: Exciting tournaments, bounty hunts, and gtd prizes run every week. Hit satellites to play for big prizes or top the weekly leaderboards for extra prizes.
- 33% Rakeback: With our Community Contributions we can give you a whopping 33% rakeback every Monday. To qualify, you need to have our CHP currency in your account and get CHP back each week.
- Play anywhere: Enjoy your online poker anywhere in South Africa. With our mobile platform, you can enjoy a quick cash game on the go. Fast seamless action in the palm of your hand.
- Safe & Secure Payments: Using the latest blockchain technology and rigorous protocols your transactions are secure. With thousands of daily players and a host of e-wallets, you can rest assured that we will keep your money safe.
Online Poker Games at CoinPoker
Delivering the best online poker in South Africa is as important to us as it is to you. You will find a range of Texas Hold ’Em games, Pot Limit Omaha, and 5-PLO games. Sit down for a few quick hands at a cash table with blinds from $0.02 to $2,000, or hit a tournament. Play satellites for free and win tickets or head to the top tables for buy-ins of $5,000 for gtd prizes of $150,000. By keeping our poker selection simple, we can bring you classic, enjoyable poker all year round.
Texas Hold ’Em
When you are thinking about whether you can play online poker in South Africa, this style remains the most popular online real-money poker game around today. Starting with 2 cards, you need to make the best hand you can with the community cards, 3 in the flop, and then 1 more card river and turn. We have a comprehensive Hold ’Em guide packed with info if you are new to poker. With some tactical thinking, some strategy, and a little luck, you can set yourself up for a win.
Omaha Hold ‘Em
In Omaha games, you start with 4 cards dealt face down, and you must use two to make your final hand. This intriguing gameplay gives you more options for your final winning hand, once the five community cards drop. These games often come with a limit on the bets, and the most popular form is Pot Limit Omaha known as PLO. This is a more tactical version of poker, and weaker hands like a pair or two pairs often won’t be enough to win as there is a lot more range than when you play Texas Hold ‘Em poker online.
5-Card Omaha
In 5-Card Omaha, you begin to play with your hand of cards, and then try to make the best hand using two of your cards. In this instance, you get five face-down cards, not four. This adds even more complexity to your decisions and gives you a better chance at a strong hand. Remember that you MUST use two cards from hand, so if you have 9, 10, and Jack of Hearts, you won’t make a flush because you can only use two of the three. Once again, this version of poker is played with a limit on bets equal to the total pot in play.
Online Poker in South Africa: Popularity, Trends & Market Size
With around 40 land-based casinos in the country, there is an ongoing demand for poker and gambling in general. According to the National Gambling Board’s annual report, gambling generated over R47.2 billion ($2.35B) in revenue in the 2022/23 financial year. This figure includes sports and casino betting, showing how popular these are.
While these numbers dwarf in comparison to the poker market in the UK, for instance, this trend is set to continue and there is a predicted growth of over 6% during the next 3 years.
With a variety of poker rooms available in land-based casinos such as Montecasino in Jo’burg or the Emperors Palace Resort, there are plenty of places to play. Coupled with world-class events from World Seris of Poker (WSOP) Africa, World Poker Tour (WPT) Deepstaks tournaments, and the Dakar Poker Tour you can see a growing appetite for the game. While not all casinos will have tables available, some spots like the Rio Casino in Klerksdorp have games running 24/7.
The most popular variant you’ll find is Texas Hold ‘Em, sometimes with no limit in bigger venues. Many pot-limited games can be found in the smaller places with limit ranges up to R1,000, though it varies between casinos. With its limited number of land-based casinos, finding the best poker sites in South Africa is a little more complicated—often coming down to a matter of preference, and how far you need to travel to find a table.
Also, remember that legally gambling on games of chance or sports is only available in land-based venues.
Can You Play Online Poker in South Africa?
Specifically, is online poker legal in South Africa? Unfortunately, the answer falls into a grey area. Playing poker gratis is perfectly legal, but the complications lie in the National Gambling Act 7 of 2004. This is currently the only law surrounding gambling in SA and you can find more information on the government page.
One of the first points to note is that land-based casinos can not offer you any poker online in South Africa, it must all be kept inside their premises. While this is the case inside the country, there is no law prohibiting websites from operators outside the country. Research has also shown that there have been no prosecutions for players of online poker SA.
You need to be aware of the risks when you try to find SA poker online, and you may want to be picky with your provider. When you play with us at CoinPoker where you can sign up and play with Rand using your favorite cryptocurrency.
So, can you play online poker in South Africa? The question is now being debated in parliament, and a new law, The Remote Gambling Act, has been presented. While not yet in force, it would allow players to play poker online in South Africa. This is good news for the future, when you can enjoy playing, knowing it’s both legal and, with the right website like ours, your money would be safe.
Taxation of Poker Winnings in South Africa
While online poker in South Africa for real money is not technically legal, no tax is taken away from your winnings. There are rules, for instance, you still need to declare what you win and these prizes can’t be your main source of income. This means you get to keep what you win but remember, online gambling is still a grey area.
There may also be rules about the amounts you win, and what counts as a main source of income; as with other areas of the gambling laws there is little clarity. These rules also apply to lottery wins and sports betting.
Though we pulled together the facts we could find, we still recommend that you check with your accountant or chat with a local office that can properly advise you. Keep track of your wins and losses should you ever need to prove what income from poker you have.
How CoinPoker Compares to Other Online Poker Sites in South Africa?
When you’re looking for real money online poker in South Africa there are a few options available. At CoinPoker we offer a unique opportunity to play anonymously. Other operators will ask for your details while with us, you can play immediately.
We also give you the chance to play with your Rand because we are a 100% cryptocurrency website. You create an e-wallet and choose your crypto of choice, while avoiding the need to change to dollars. When you get into the action, our hand-picked selection of poker games gives you a seat for as little as $0.02. There is no confusing lobby or an overwhelming number of styles, just simple poker ready to play.
With our generous welcome offer, fast deposits, and easy withdrawals you get a speedy service you can trust. Simple poker to suit your stack, whenever and wherever you want to play.
Cryptocurrencies in South Africa: Can you Buy Cryptos in SA?
Simply, yes, you can. Several different blockchain providers can trade your Rand for any crypto you want. This gives the flexibility to choose your currency and control how much you trade. Top providers such as Easy Crypto and Luno are available for all your currency needs and can work directly with your bank.
To deposit or withdraw with any crypto you will need to set up an e-wallet, there are different options available online for you to choose from. When you have one, you can then use a variety of websites to change your Rand into crypto, just make sure you use a trusted and well-reviewed site. With CoinPoker, you have the option to play with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Matic, Sol, USDT, and USDT_Tron.
How to Play Poker Online in South Africa?
At CoinPoker we have made it easy for you to enjoy poker online in SA. Once you sign up, simply download the app, deposit your crypto, and play. It’s a simple process and you can enjoy our range of tournaments and cash games on the go wherever you want.
Once you have your crypto in your account, you can enter a table to suit your stack. We have Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, 5-card Omaha games, and big prize tournaments. If you are new to poker or need a refresher on how you can win, we have all you need to start right here.
The Objective of a Poker Game
In poker, your goal is to win the ‘pot’, which is all the money wagered in a hand. You can do that by having the best cards in a showdown or bluffing and having all your opponents fold. Bluffing is when you have a weak hand, but convince the other players you have a strong hand, either through aggressive bets or how you chat at the table.
A showdown is when all the betting rounds have finished and the remaining players show their hands. This is where the best combo of 5 cards wins. In any single game, you may win both ways. This is the same for the three variants of Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, and 5-card Omaha.
Blinds & Stakes: How Betting Works in Online Poker?
When sitting at a poker table, there is always something to play for as 2 two players put in a stake called a blind. The blind is divided into two parts, the big and small blinds, and they guarantee a prize for the winning hand. This blind is set by the host or casino, for cash games, it can go as low as $0.02.
If you want to play in a hand, you must wager at least the big blind, or match a bet if another player raises. This first round of betting sets the tone, and depending on where you sit, you could fold your hand or keep playing to try and win the pot.
Order of Play
The starting position around a table is the dealer, also known as the button. The order of play goes clockwise, starting with the big blind, then the small blind, and then moving around the table.
Once you receive your two, four, or five hole cards, the first round of betting takes place. If you did not put in a blind, you can choose to bet or fold depending on your cards. Once everyone is either in or out, the community cards are dealt.
First comes the ‘flop’ where three cards are placed face up. Another round of betting follows and players can either bet, raise, or fold depending on their hand. A fourth card is dealt, called the ‘turn’ followed by more betting.
The last card is called the ‘river’ and it’s the last chance for players to bet or fold. Once this round is done, all the remaining players go into a showdown, where they each reveal their hands, and the winner is decided.
Hand Rankings
When deciding who has the best hand, there are a specific set of hand rankings that apply to all poker online in South Africa and the world. It’s known as hand rankings and winning depends on your best 5 cards.
From the best to the worst, here are the poker hands.
- Royal Flush – The highest Straight Flush – A♠️ K♠️ Q♠️ J♠️ 10♠️
- Straight Flush – Five cards in a row, the same suit – 5♥️ 6♥️ 7♥️ 8♥️ 9♥️
- Four-of-a-kind – 9♠️ 9♥️ 9♣️ 9♦️ 4♥️
- Full House – Three of a kind, with a pair – K♥️ K♦️ 8♣️ 8♥️ 8♠️
- Flush – five cards of the same suit, any order – 2♠️ 5♦️ 9♦️ 10♠️ K♠️
- Straight – five cards in a row, any suit – 5♥️ 6♣️ 7♦️ 8♦️ 9♠️
- Three-of-a-kind – 9♠️ 9♥️ 9♣️ A♦️ 4♥️
- Two Pair – K♥️ K♦️ 8♣️ 8♥️ 2♠️
- One Pair – 8♣️ 8♥️ K♦️ J♦️ 2♠️
- High Card – the highest card(s) in your hand – A♣️ 10♠️ 6♦️ 5♥️ 2♥️
For a more in-depth look, we have a detailed guide that can help you on your way to victory at the table.
Play Online Poker in South Africa
Online poker in South Africa seems to be alive and well, even though the law is a little grey. Good luck! Join our global community of poker fans, and enjoy echt geld poker, generous rakeback, and guaranteed tournament prizes. When you are ready to jump into the action, sign up, deposit, and hit the tables.