Features of CoinPoker: Why Play Poker Online in the UK with Us?
If you’re looking to play online poker in the UK you’ve got a lot of options to choose from, with all of the legacy poker platforms available to you, but there are a whole host of reasons why CoinPoker is now one of the best online poker sites the UK has to offer.
The No. 1 Crypto-Friendly Poker Site
CoinPoker is one of the first UK online poker sites where you can play for real money using cryptocurrency. Not only are we one of the few poker sites where you can do so, but we were also named the number one crypto poker site in the world by CryptoNews.com in 2024.
At CoinPoker you can sit down at the tables with our own dedicated cryptocurrency, CHP, which you can acquire by first depositing with the major coins: BTC, ETH and USDT.
So if you’ve been longing to find some exciting online poker tournaments and cash games where you can boost your cryptocurrency holdings, then look no further than CoinPoker.
Contribute to Deck Shuffling with our Decentralised RNG
Whenever you play poker online in the UK with the legacy providers, do you feel like the deck is rigged against you? Maybe your nut flushes always seem to get cracked by full houses, while whenever you’re dealt pocket Kings, someone else has been dealt pocket Aces.
It can be super frustrating, and the fact the legacy providers’ random number generators (RNGs) are kept so secret doesn’t help that feeling something is off.
However, when you play poker online in the UK with CoinPoker, you can actually contribute to the deck shuffling. That’s because we use a fully decentralised RNG—the first of its kind.
Our decentralised RNG works using a one-way cryptographic function, with a secret ‘shake factor’ that’s sent to all other players as well as CoinPoker, before we use all the values to create the final shake value and shuffle the final deck.
Exciting Online Poker Tournaments
Every day at CoinPoker we offer dozens of exciting online poker tournaments, with a wide range of buy-ins, guaranteed prize pools and game variants. This includes tournaments with Regular, Turbo and Hyper blind structures across our Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and 5-card Pot Limit Omaha (5-card PLO) games.
We also have regular special tournament series and promotions, as well as monthly tournament leaderboards, giving you the chance to win your share of ₮15,000 every month. Leaderboard points are calculated based on buy-ins paid, where you place in the tournament and how many players participated, with cash and tournament tickets available for top 150 ranking players.
Bonuses, Rakeback & Promotions
Here at CoinPoker we value our players above all else, which is why we offer some of the best special offers and promotions available to UK online poker players.
First of all, you can claim a 150% welcome bonus on your first deposit, up to the value of $2,000. This is rewarded to you in installments as you play, with the amount of rake you need to pay dependent on how much you deposit.
However, although you need to pay rake (also known as Community Contributions) to earn your welcome bonus, we also offer an incredibly competitive rakeback promotion. Every week you can earn back 33% of the rake you paid the previous week for tournaments and cash games, meaning it’s even more lucrative to play online poker with CoinPoker. To benefit from this offer all you need to do is have CHP in your account, as the rakeback will be automatically credited in CHP every Monday.
Want to check out what other exciting promotions we’ve got running on CoinPoker right now? Click here.
Mobile Poker On-the-Go
Looking to play poker online for real money in the UK, but don’t want to be tied to your computer? We’ve got you covered, as the CoinPoker mobile app is available for both Android and Apple mobile devices, including tablets.
Our mobile poker app offers all of the same great tournaments and cash games you’ll find on our desktop app, while the smooth and fast interface makes playing poker on-the-go simple. The app can also be downloaded on Android and Apple vertical tablet devices—simply click here to get started.
Play Classic Poker Games Online for Real Money in UK
Unlike the legacy online poker providers, at CoinPoker we offer three classic poker variants that you already know and love: Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and 5-card Pot Limit Omaha. This means you don’t have to sift through hundreds of tournament and cash game variants you’ve never heard of, like HORSE, Badugi or 7-card Stud Hi/Lo.
Instead, you just get to focus on what you do best.
However, that doesn’t mean there’s not loads of different options for you to enjoy, including a wide range of starting stakes and tournament buy-ins, blind structures and number of participants. We’ve even got dedicated heads-up cash game tables, one of the few UK online poker sites to offer them.
Texas Hold ‘Em
Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variant in the world, and it’s no different for UK poker players.
Each player is dealt two ‘hold cards’ which they keep hidden, and you’ll have to make the best five card poker hand from the two hole cards and five community cards (available for everyone). There are four rounds of betting—pre-Flop, on the Flop, on the Turn, and finally on the River—and there’s no limit to the amount of money you can bet or raise at any point.
Pot Limit Omaha
Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is differnet to Texas Hold’em in two key ways: firstly, you’re dealt four hold cards instead of just two (although you must use exactly two of them in your final five-card poker hand, along with three community cards), and the betting/raising is capped at the current size of the pot. Like in Hold’em, there are four betting rounds and five community cards.
The strategy behind PLO is very different to Texas Hold’em however, so just because you’re great at Hold’em, doesn’t mean you’ll immediately win playing PLO, so it’s worth doing some reading first before hitting the tables.
5-Card Pot Limit Omaha
5-card PLO is exactly the same as PLO, except you’re dealt an additional hole card. Again, you must use exactly two of your hole cards to form your five-card poker hand.
Again, the strategy for 5-card PLO is slightly different to regular PLO, as that additional hole card significantly increases the chances of you—and your opponents—making a strong hand. That can mean hands like medium flushes are nowhere near as powerful compared to Texas Hold’em, so you’ll need to adjust your betting accordingly.
Poker in UK: Trends & Market Size
The limited access to online poker in the US means that Europe dominates the online poker market, with the UK a key contributor to that. The Gambling Act 2005, implemented by the UK Gambing Commission, has helped the game explode in the last 20 years, while online poker in the UK is now one of the most popular online gambling activities.
This popularity is in no small part thanks to the success enjoyed by British poker players, particularly thanks to the huge success of televised poker, with the likes of Stephen Chidwick, Ben Heath and Sam Trickett featuring in the poker all time money list.
Poker’s popularity in the UK isn’t limited to online though, with most of the major casino operators running cash games or tournaments on a weekly basis. There is also the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour, which is the country’s longest running poker tour. The GUKPT has events running all year, with Main Event buy-ins ranging from £900+£100 to £1,800+£200, although the GUKPT Goliath event can be entered for just £160+£40.
The future of poker in the UK, as well as being able to play poker online for money in the UK, looks bright, with an increasing number of online poker sites available and more and more casinos making space for the game.
UK Online Poker Legislation Explained
The UK’s Gambling Act fully regulated online gambling, including poker, back in 2005, and to this day online poker remains fully legal in the country. Indeed, online poker legislation in the UK is some of the most liberal in the whole of Europe, with no restrictions on the number of players participating in a game, and with no limit on potential prize money. The legal age for all gambling activities in the UK is 18.
There is currently an ongoing review of the UK’s online gambling legislation, and the UK’s Gambling Act White Paper—which contains proposed changes to the 2005 Gambling Act—was released in April 2023, with many of the main measures expected to be in effect from the summer of 2024. However, it’s important to note that any changes are likely to focus on online casino games rather than poker.
Do I have to pay tax on my poker winnings in the UK?
There is no requirement to declare gambling winnings to His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), while no tax is levied on gambling winnings in the UK, which means that whatever you win at the CoinPoker tables is yours to keep. This is true no matter how much money you win, as there is no threshold at which gambling winnings become taxable.
If you spend some of your time in the UK but you’re a resident of another country you should check your tax obligations in that country.
UK Cryptocurrency Legislation Explained
It is completely legal to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency in the UK. In 2023 a landmark financial markets bill was passed that laid the foundations for stablecoins and crypto to be treated as regulated financial activities. This means prospective CoinPoker players can easily buy their preferred cryptos to play poker.
How to buy Cryptocurrencies in the UK
It’s easy to buy cryptocurrency in the UK, including the coins we accept here at CoinPoker: BTC, ETH, USDT and CHP. Some of the most popular and well trusted exchanges for BTC, ETH and USDT include eToro, Coinbase and CoinJar, while if you want to buy CHP directly, you can do so via KuCoin, YoBit and HitBTC.
Different exchanges charge different fees for buying and trading coins, so make sure you shop around for the best price first. Once you’ve identified the best exchange for the cryptocurrency you’re looking for, you’ll need to set up an account with them and have a crypto wallet to store it in.
Play Real Money Online Poker in UK Today
So if you’re looking to play poker online in the UK for real money, get started with CoinPoker today. You’ll be joining thousands of poker players who are already taking advantage of our incredible promotions and welcome bonuses, as well as taking part in our exciting range of online poker tournaments and cash games.
We can’t wait to see you at the tables, so register today and make your first deposit to enjoy our large welcome bonus and promos!