10:43
20 May

Poker Sites with the Most Traffic – Who Are The Big 4? While PokerStars are the dominant room, there is a lot of rivalry between the 2nd tier of higher traffic sites. These are 888 Poker, Full Tilt Poker and the iPoker Network – who are a group of sites sharing a common back end including big brand names like William Hill and Bet 365.

Online Poker Room Traffic Breakdown Published on January 30th, 2009 11:08 am EST It shouldn't be tough for you to guess who the largest online poker room in the world is. The answer is PokerStars, and it's really not even close. According to PokerScout.com (link below), Pokerstars is at least TWICE as big as their closet competitor, Full Tilt. The more traffic a poker room has, the more players there will be at the tables throughout the day. In addition to this, the higher traffic rooms will play host to a greater volume of poor players for you to take advantage of.

Ring game traffic throughout the online poker industry dropped 2% last week, making five weeks in a row that less players logged on and were dealt into the action than in preceding weeks.

The decrease is typical for this time of year, according to PokerScout, as the weather heats up and online poker activity cools down. Semester breaks also contribute to the decline, as college kids tend to break up their time while the semester is in full swing by playing online poker when not studying (or partying) - but avoid the game more often when breaks arrive.

In mid-May 2014, cash game traffic was 17% higher than it is now. Reversing those negative numbers and achieving positive territory when comparing year-over-year statistics seems a difficult task at this point. It may not occur until the majority of the U.S. is regulated, and God only knows if and/or when that will happen.

Top ten tumblers

PokerStars made some new millionaires last week, but saw its cash traffic fall to 16,000. Two weeks ago, that average stood at 17,000 players. But the industry giant still enjoys more players than the rest of the top ten poker rooms and networks - combined.

Second-ranked 888poker is down to a seven-day average of 2,100 ring game players, 100 less than in mid-April. But its hold on runner-up to the big dog seems firm with a 400-player lead on third place Bodog/Bovada (1,700).

Bodog's traffic numbers remained the same over the past two weeks, as did the iPoker Network (1,600). The latter is ensconced in fourth place among poker sites worldwide.

Full Tilt (1,250) lost 50 players since early May, but still managed to remain in the top five. Remember before the site relaunched in November 2012 and some were speculating that the Full Tilt name was mud and would never recover from the bad press that resulted from the mismanagement of the site by Howard Lederer and Ray Bitar, et al? Full Tilt lives on, perhaps stronger than ever under the reins of Amaya.

Top five wannabes

Partypoker (1,200, ranked 6th) is challenging Full Tilt for fifth place worldwide and managed to move up a spot over the past month. PokerStars.it (1,150) sits in seventh currently after being within the top five just one month ago. The Italy-facing site hosted by PokerStars lost 23% of its cash game action over that period of time.

Winamax (1,050) is 100 players off the pace of the poker room directly ahead in the global rankings and remained in the eighth slot by neither gaining nor losing traffic. PokerStars.es also held down its place in ninth, but did so despite losing 100 players in the last 30 days to arrive at an average of 900.

A recent protest by Spanish players was put into play last Thursday. Or perhaps better phrasing is in order because a number of players chose May 14 to sit out and not play (#14mayosinpokeronline). Protesting the high rate of taxation and lack of liquidity in the ring-fenced market, players in Spain said 'no mas' and took action. Kudos to them for making their voices heard!

The top ten's final entry, PokerStars.fr, hosts cash games for an average of 850 players. The French site remained stable over the past month, but continues to lag behind Winamax for supremacy of that ring-fenced market.

U.S. non-regulated

As of this moment, there is a three-way tie for second place among U.S.-friendly poker networks. While far behind Bovada (1,700) - the leader in the unregulated U.S. category - the Merge, Chico and Winning Poker Networks are all averaging 475 ring game players.

Both WPN and Chico gained players since May began, an upswing of 25 for the former and 50 for the latter, to arrive at 475. As for Merge, the network had been untracked by PokerScout for several weeks without explanation, but is now back on the grid.

However, Merge's top skin, Carbon Poker, has decided to put an end to its affiliate program come June 1. Affiliates are often instrumental in steering players to poker sites, so Merge's traffic may be adversely affected once June arrives and beyond.

Among other unregulated U.S. poker rooms worth mentioning are the Equity Poker Network and the Revolution Network. EPN held firm with 150 players, while Revolution saw a modest gain from 85 to 90 since the beginning of this month.

Bitcoin poker

There is a new industry leader among poker sites that accept only virtual currency. While Seals With Clubs held that distinction for quite some time until being forced offline by Nevada gaming regulators, Betcoin Poker now rules the roost. Incidentally, Betcoin Poker also accepts Litecoin.

Betcoin averages an estimated 45 cash players, not quite half that of Seals With Clubs during its heyday. Of course, SWC relaunched from Antigua as SWCPoker after the run-in with authorities in the Silver State. The current ring game traffic at SWCPoker is 18 players.

U.S. regulated

Player traffic pointed upward for the most part in the regulated states. The Multi State Poker Network between Delaware and Nevada saw action increase on the cash tables from 160 to 170 players. Ditto that in New Jersey where the WSOP.com/888poker alliance also went from 160 to 170 over the past two weeks.

The other New Jersey tandem - Partypoker and Borgata - experienced no change. Its seven-day average remained at 120.

Hopefully, future player traffic updates will include other states in which lawmakers see their way clear to passing online poker legislation. Pennsylvania remains the frontrunner, with California a distant second. A new online poker bill was recently introduced in New York, but going from introduction to passage is a long, time-consuming process.

High traffic poker sites cannot be beaten when it comes to options. You can play in anything from the lowest of low stakes games to the nosebleed high stakes games and find active tables day or night. Whether you’re a classic Texas Holdem player or like to mix it up with the most obscure forms of poker, high traffic sites have what you need.

With bigger tournaments, more money to win and more ring games to choose from, popular poker sites do an excellent job at providing something for everyone. Low traffic sites do have their charm, but it is my opinion that every serious poker player should keep an account open with at least one of the following poker sites.

As you can see here, PokerStars is the undisputed leader in terms of traffic. No other poker site even comes close at this point. If all you want is the absolute largest, most trafficked poker site in the world, PokerStars should be your first stop. If you’ve already tried PokerStars and didn’t find it to be your cup of tea, 888Poker is on the next tier down also boast very healthy traffic numbers.

I have ranked the online poker rooms on this page in order according to their average traffic numbers and the “24 hour peak,” which is the largest number of ring game players that have been online at once over the past 24 hours. These numbers all come from the ever-useful PokerScout.com.

Why You Should Play on a High Traffic Poker Site

Large poker sites offer several distinct advantages over their smaller, lesser-trafficked competitors.

  • Table Selection
  • Bigger and Better Tournaments
  • High Stakes Action
  • Obscure Forms of Poker
  • Stability

Table Selection

With more players online at any given time, you have the advantage of table selection. If you find yourself at a tight table full of skilled players, you’re just a few clicks away from a new, looser table. Being selective in which tables you play at is the single simplest thing you can do to increase your win rate.

It’s always faster to find the tables you want at the busiest poker sites. If you have a specific game in mind, there’s no wait for tables to fill and games to run. It can sometimes be a long wait to get a good game going at a smaller site. Sometimes, the game you want never even gets going at a really small site.

Multi-tabling is also more feasible at the most popular sites. Do you need to have 4+ tables running at a time just to stay interested in the game? Well, a high traffic site is what you need. You won’t have any problems finding multiple tables at any stakes when you play at a big-name provider.

Bigger and Better Tournaments

High traffic poker sites are home to the biggest tournaments where even a small buyin can return thousands of dollars in winnings. Large poker sites are home to six and seven-figure guaranteed tournaments that don’t cost an arm and a leg. If you want to play for the big money, you need to visit a big poker site.

Popular poker sites are also home to the best satellites that send you to major live events around the world. Big sites like PokerStars have the resources and traffic numbers to support cheap satellites that send you to major tournaments like the World Series of Poker, WPT events and EPT events. The biggest poker sites are home to the best satellites.

The same concept also applies to sit-n-go tournaments. Bigger sites have such a huge selection of SNGs that a new game is starting all the time. You’ll find low level SNGs, high stakes SNGs and even multi-table SNGs that start as soon as 18, 45, 90 or 180 players take a seat. Rarely is there a significant delay as you wait for a tournament to fill.

High Stakes Action

The biggest cash games happen at the biggest poker sites. Whether you just like to railbird the big games or want to give it a shot for yourself, high traffic poker rooms have the player base to support the biggest games on the internet. It’s nothing for a major site to spread no-limit tables with stakes as high as €50/€100 with a €10,000 buyin and even $500/$1,000 games with $100,000 buyins.

A few low traffic sites also host high stakes tables, but it’s rare to find active tables at those levels. Only the busiest poker rooms actually have active tables at all stakes. The biggest players congregate at the biggest poker sites.

Obscure Forms of Poker

By “obscure forms of poker,” I mean pretty much anything other than Texas Holdem. Games like Pot Limit Omaha, 7-Card Stud, Razz and HORSE are generally pretty dead at smaller sites. You need to visit a busy poker room to find action in the more obscure formats.

It’s a simple matter of numbers; any game other than Texas Holdem has way fewer players. Smaller poker sites have enough trouble keeping the regular Texas Holdem games running at all levels. Bigger sites have so many more players that even when just a small percentage of those people are into other games, there are enough people to keep these less-popular games running.

Stability

High traffic poker sites are the least likely to have cash flow issues and shut down overnight. At a site like PokerStars where there are almost always at least 20,000 people online at any given time rakes in the money day after day. The financial stability afforded by high traffic numbers keeps the biggest sites in business year after year.

Online Poker Room Traffic

It’s not as much a sure thing at smaller poker sites where you’re lucky to find 200 active ring game players at any given time. There’s not as much money coming in and things can get tight if that poker site has any unexpected cash flow issues. The biggest poker sites are almost always the safest sites.

Room

The One Big Disadvantage

Traffico Poker Room Italiane 2020

There is one major, undeniable disadvantage to playing at a high traffic poker site: competition. The best players in the world are drawn to the biggest poker sites because they need those high stakes games and ability to multi-table all day long. Thus, you’re more likely to run into skilled players at the largest sites.

Poker Room Con Piu Traffico 2019

The good news is that with so many people online, you can usually avoid the best players by practicing table selection. However, you need to keep your eyes open and be willing to change tables if you find yourself seated at a table with too many sharks. In general, smaller sites have a smaller percentage of skilled players.

Poker Room Con Piu Traffico

In my opinion, this disadvantage is minor. As long as you’re paying attention and have the presence of mind to leave a table when it takes a turn for the worse, you won’t have too many problems with the sharks. You just need to stay aware and keep an eye on the competition.

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