PokerStars Review: Still the Tournament Giant, With Rivals Closing In

Poker rooms are judged on three things: who is sitting at the tables, how much of your money the house takes, and whether the software gets out of the way. PokerStars built its name on the first, argued about the second, and is still praised for the third. The question we were handed is whether that is still enough against newer rooms. For tournaments, yes. For cash games, the evidence is muddier than any marketing page will tell you.

This is a desk review. We captured PokerStars' public pages, read ownership history and compared independent traffic reports. We did not sit down and play sessions for this write-up, and we say where that matters.

Who owns it, and why that matters

PokerStars was part of The Stars Group until Flutter Entertainment, the Paddy Power parent, bought it in May 2020. Earlier, in 2014, Amaya agreed to buy it for $4.9 billion in cash. The site's own About page says it is operated by Flutter, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. For a player, a listed parent means audited accounts and regulators who can pull a licence, and it does not mean your play is safe from loss.

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Tournaments are the real draw

The tournament page lists the headline events by name: Sunday Million, Sunday Billion (played for play money), Saturday Line-Up, Spin & Go Max, Bounty Builders and the annual WCOOP and SCOOP series. Reviewers who rank poker rooms keep returning to this schedule as the reason PokerStars still leads for tournaments. We agree, with one reservation: a big guarantee is a prize pool, not a promise that you will cash. In a field of thousands, most players who enter lose their buy-in.

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A long game list, and fast formats

The Games page shows far more than Texas Hold'em. It lists Omaha High, Omaha Hi/Lo, five and six card Omaha, Courchevel, 6+ Hold'em, Seven Card Stud, Razz, Five Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, HORSE, 8-Game, Badugi, Split Hold'em and Showtime Hold'em. If you like mixed games, few rooms come close.

The home navigation also promotes Spin & Go, Power Path, Cash Games, All-In Poker and Zoom. Those exist for the player who has 15 minutes rather than three hours. They also raise the pace of play, which raises how much rake you pay per hour.

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Rake and traffic: the two arguments

Reviewers describe several rake increases, including one in April 2024 at micro stakes and in Kick-Off tournaments. Rake is a fixed cost to the player, and it compounds quickly: at a table where the house takes a few percent of each pot, a break-even player is a long-term loser. Rakeback through PokerStars Rewards softens that, but we could not verify its current percentages.

Traffic is harder. One 2026 report says GGPoker leads PokerStars in observable cash seats, around 36% against 25%. Another from the same publisher claims PokerStars has roughly twice GGPoker's peak cash traffic. Both cannot be right, and neither is an official figure. Our rule: judge by the tables you can see at your stakes, at the times you play.

Learning the game before you risk money

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The site carries a Learn section with rules, strategy, hand rankings, a card room rules page, a dictionary and a guide for each variant. That is useful for a newcomer, since the fastest way to lose money at poker is to sit down without knowing position or pot odds. Read the guide first, then start at the lowest stakes on offer.

Promotions

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The promotions page lists SpinGoal, the Spooky Season Challenge, Power Path, All-In Poker, Leader Boards, a First Deposit Bonus, Ace Chase, PokerStars Rewards and Early Bird. That is a lot to track. Poker bonuses are generally released in small steps as you pay rake, so a headline figure takes real volume to earn. Do the sum before you deposit extra.

Verdict

PokerStars is the room to choose if you play tournaments, enjoy variety and want a mature client. It is not the room to pick for a cheap, certain edge, because no poker site offers one. Set a bankroll you can afford to lose, use the deposit limits, and take breaks. Help is available at 1-800-GAMBLER in the US and 0808 8020 133 in the UK.