First of all, you can find tables running 24/7 at almost all stakes and variations, because big. Our research shows that for March 2021, Intertops Poker is the online poker site with the most fish. When you look at online poker stats (and live games for that matter) most players simply do not.

Love and hate are among the strongest emotions and the poker world evokes its fair share of them both. Today it’s the latter we’re going to focus on, with a top 5 countdown of poker’s most hated personalities..
Of course ‘hate’ is a strong word - perhaps you’ll agree with the list but want to replace ‘hate’ with ‘dislike’ or ‘annoying’, or even intensely annoying - which brings us to our first player in the list…

5. William Kassouf

“You’re a bully, it’s rude, it’s mean – it’s not called speech-play, it’s called being a bad person! You should really check yourself, check your privilege!”

Many of you will instantly recognize these words, and if you don’t, the video is below and well worth a watch.

The English ‘motormouth’ is about as jarring a player as you could hope to meet at the tables… Kassouf aiming a never-ending stream of ‘verbals’ at everyone and no-one.

It’s not unusual that someone likes the sound of his own voice, but Kassouf’s “Nine high like a boss!” antics have often crossed the line between banter and bullying, with his 2016 WSOP deep run and exit going viral.

Having already been pulled up several times for his notorious ‘speechplay’, the showdown with Griffin Benger was the final straw.
The infamous “Check your privilege!” hand saw Kassouf exit in a kings vs aces blow-up that has gone down in poker history.

4. Daniel Negreanu

You can’t keep everyone happy all of the time, and Negreanu, as well as our next A-lister poker legend, Phil Hellmuth, it’s a polarising personality that bags them spots on this list.

Both men evoke ‘love’em or loathe’em’ tags to go with their hold’em prowess, but the reasons differ, of course, with DNegs’ politics being the main reason for his haters to go ape. A firm anti-Trumper, Negreanu even took out US citizenship in 2016 to vote against the now-former President.

For a number of poker players, it was DNegs’ PokerStars ambassadorship role that riled them, the infamous ‘more rake is better’ row with Doug Polk, and before that his wavering stance on the SuperNova Elite issue.

For many, of course, Daniel is still their favourite poker player of all time, which can also be said for our next pro on the ‘hate list’…

3. Phil Hellmuth

As with Daniel, so with Phil, the Poker Brat bringing his own special brand to the table – one that is equal parts ego, self-belief, annoyance, and skill.

You don’t get a nickname like Poker Brat without good reason, and his “Honey, did you see what he called me with?” line of disbelief has often descended into anger and insults.

In his ego-filled fashion, he claimed his book, ‘Positivity’, would “help maybe tens of millions of people”, and as the run-up to his highstakes feud match with Negreanu have shown, Phil can never quite believe it when others dismiss or overlook his record.

2. Annie Duke

Deciding on the top two was a bit of a coin-toss, as both (or all) for various reasons give excellent reasons for their detractors to boo them out of town.

So, Annie Duke, the sister of Howard 'The Professor' Lederer who we shall meet shortly, and one of the main players (co-founder and Commissioner) behind the failed Epic Poker League. Duke got paid while the players got short-changed on a $1million freeroll.

Allegedly nicknamed ‘Annie Puke’ by Vegas dealers, and described as a “fucking cunt” by Daniel Negreanu, she was also a spokesperson for Ultimate Bet, which had erupted in scandal in 2008, although Duke walked away unscathed.

What seems to anger the poker community more than even these incidents, however, is her re-invention as a public speaker, with Duke called upon as some kind of poker expert by the mainstream media, completely failing to acknowledge her dodgy and dubious past.

1. Chris Ferguson/Howard Lederer/Ray Bitar/FTP

Taking top spot has to be the trio of worthies behind the Full Tilt Poker scandal, Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson, Howard 'The Professor’ Lederer and CEO of the online poker, Ray Bitar.

Who exactly did what, and who was responsible for what when the site went belly up to the tune of $440million has never been fully clarified, but we do know that the players were the victims.

Once the most successful poker site of all, when Black Friday hit in April of 2011, however, the glory days turned to dust – Full Tilt Poker’s bosses suddenly unable to meet player withdrawals.

It transpired that player funds had not been kept separate, effectively being used to fund the lavish bonuses and lifestyles that the trio had become used to.

The failure to reveal what really happened, and apologise for their parts in it, have seen Ferguson and Lederer held as pariahs by the community.

Business specialist Tom ‘BizDoc’ Ellsworth, put it quite succinctly:

“Founder greed is not unique to online poker…but when you see it, it really makes you sick.”

Well, there you have it, the top 5 rundown of poker’s least loved legends. Did we miss someone? Disagree with our list? Let us know in the comments…

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Best Online Poker Site Reviews 2021

Which Poker Site Has The Most Players Win

It’s important to know where you’re putting your money, that’s why we take time to give you the best detailed online poker reviews.

Online poker is one of the most entertaining ways to spend time on the internet with the potential to make some real-world dollars. Different online poker rooms have different strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to research the best online poker sites by reading as many online poker reviews as possible.

We’ve done our best to create a curated list of the best online poker sites in the world with a detailed look at features such as software, promotions and even average skill level.

Here’s a look at the best online poker sites for US residents. Keep in mind, PokerStars isn’t on this list because it doesn’t accept players in all states. But if you want to play online poker, here’s what you should keep an eye out for.

Top Things to Look for in an Online Poker Site

There are somewhere between 50-60 different online poker sites currently in operation so it can be somewhat overwhelming to try and decide where to play.

Prospective poker players should think about what they want from their playing experience before they throw down their deposit.

Some of the most important factors to consider are as follows:

We’ll go into more detail on all seven of the aforementioned items below.

Safety and Security

The #1 most important factor for most poker players is trust. That’s why it’s first whenever we review a poker site.

If they can’t trust an online poker site to hold their funds safely or offer a platform that operates reliably then they’re probably not going to bother putting money on the site.

Fortunately, online poker sites have come a long ways on this front. Nearly every online poker site uses a third-party audited random number generated. This segregates player funds so there’s never a situation where a player can’t withdraw their money.

Software

It’s going to be difficult to have a good time playing poker on a site where the software is sub-optimal. Bad poker software can mean slow games, unintuitive design, glitches and uninspired aesthetics. Most poker players would rank software as one of the most important attributes for a poker site.

Which Poker Site Has The Worst Players

Software is another element that has been drastically improved since the early days of online poker. Just as phone apps and web apps are significantly better these days so goes online poker software.

One thing to be aware of is that online poker sites tend to have stand-alone software or software that is built into web browsers. Standalone is generally better but there are merits to both.

Quality of Opponent

Poker is a unique game in the regard that most players want to be playing against the worst players available.

Which Poker Site Has The Most Players Declaring

That’s because, quite simply: “Worse players = more money”

This isn’t like a video game where you might enjoy competing against the best players possible. In online poker you can earn significantly more money if you’re playing against worse players. Who doesn’t like earning more money?

There are some exceptions and some poker players just want to learn the game and get better. In those cases it can actually be helpful to compete against elite players.

The vast majority of players prefer playing against weak opponents (sometimes called fish). Some online poker sites are inherently “fishier” than others. It’s an important consideration when picking an online poker site.

Volume of Players

If you’re going to play online poker you’re going to need people to play against.

This is especially important for Sit & Go’s and multi-table tournaments where the number of players correlate to the size of the eventual prize pool.

It’s not quite as important for cash game players so long as there are a few games running at their stakes of choice.

So you don’t need to play on the biggest poker site in the world but player traffic is still an important factor to consider.

Game variety

The vast majority of poker players are all about Texas No-Limit Hold’em, but we always check out all the games in our poker reviews.

It’s the world’s most popular poker game and is what’s played in the WSOP Main Event and every WPT Main Event.

It’s not the only game in town, however. You might remember the old-school 5-Card Draw or Seven-Card Stud. It’s possible to find those games online.

Even more popular than Stud or Draw is Pot-Limit Omaha, which is essentially four-card Hold’em and a fantastic game in its own right.

Some of the other lesser-known games include Razz, 2-7, Omaha Hi-Lo and Badugi. Some sites even have their own proprietary games. It’s something to consider when signing up for a new site.

Promotions

Player acquisition and retention are the two most important metrics for online poker sites.

That’s why online poker sites try to incentivize players with sign-up bonuses (for new players) and rewards programs (for loyal players).

Some sites are willing to give out huge cash bonuses as they attempt to aggressively acquire new players. It’s always worth considering the size of the sign-up bonus and the value of a rewards program when picking an online poker site.

Support

Because there’s actual money on the line you definitely want your online poker site to have a good support team that can help you with any problems that might arise.

Most online poker sites offer a number of support options including live chat, email and phone. There are many players that definitely prefer getting to talk to a real person of an issue pops up.

Some of the support teams are significantly better so it’s another factor that’s worth considering when picking an online poker site.

More Questions About Online Poker Reviews

What are the benefits of online poker compared to a home game with my friends?

By all means play home games with your friends! It’s one of the most enjoyable ways to play poker.

There are some advantages to online poker, however. When you play online poker you don’t have to worry about slowing the game down because everything is automated (including the dealing) and your blinds will be posted for you.

Because you play more hands you’ll tend to learn the poker hand rankings faster and understand the game a bit better.

If you’re looking to improve your game, online is probably the best way to play because you can play a huge number of hands against skilled players.

Plus the huge perk of online poker is that it’s available 24/7 every single day of the year!

How do I get money on online poker sites?

There’s a little bit of nuance to getting money onto online poker sites but it’s not that difficult.

Which Poker Site Has The Most Players

Here are some of the popular methods for depositing:

• Bitcoin
• Credit card
• Wire transfer
• Online wallet

Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are becoming one of the most popular ways to make a deposit thanks to their anonymous nature and the speed that Bitcoin can be processed. If you’ve already got some Bitcoin sitting around then it’s a remarkably simple way to get money onto an online poker site.

Which Poker Site Has The Most Players Played

Credit cards are another popular method but sometimes it takes several tries to actually get the transaction to go through.

Wire transfer is the old reliable but it also takes the longest amount of time for deposits and withdrawals.

Finally some sites allow online wallets like Neteller and PayPal, which can be a great way to get money online.

How much should I deposit?

This is up to the individual player but you don’t have to deposit that much if you exercise proper bankroll management.

Most players like to deposit anywhere from $50 up to $300 but there are some players who simply get bored by small money poker and will choose to make a big deposit.

Anyone who’s ever played live poker will realize that online poker is quite a bargain compared to brick & mortar casinos.

The smallest game in most real-world casinos is generally $1/$2 No-Limit Hold’em ($100 buy-in), which is a sharp contrast to online poker where the stakes scale all the way down to $.01/$.02 ($1 buy-in).

Can I play PokerStars for real money in the USA?

Unfortunately, PokerStars is limited to New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the USA. There’s a chance more states will allow the online poker giant but for now most people are going to have to look at other options.

Poker Sites For Us Players

For many online poker players PokerStars was their first love so not having access to it can be a bitter pill to swallow

Fortunately there are some other great options for online poker in the USA and it’s worth trying them out if you’re looking to get your poker fix. If you don’t like the poker site you’re currently playing there are always alternatives.