The world-renowned World Series of Poker brand has arrived in Ontario. Now, Canadian players can test their chops with live online Texas Hold'em and Omaha cash games, along with a variety of other exclusive poker and gaming options.
Join 6-time WSOP poker champion Daniel Negreanu and other top pros and see why recreational players, skilled cash game players and professional players alike play on WSOP.ca. Cutting-edge technology, action-packed games and even online WSOP events make this one of the top options for playing online poker in Ontario.
With the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas right around the corner, chip in, take a peek at those hole cards and experience some of the thrills of WSOP competition right from your desktop or mobile device.
Signing up for online poker at WSOP Ontario is just about as easy as buying in at a neighborhood game or retail poker room. Follow these simple steps and you'll be playing poker online with no headaches or hassle.
Powered by GGPoker Ontario, the WSOP Poker app puts you in control of the action with industry-leading designs, features, and even analytical tools like an in-game heads-up display. Plus, to some degree, WSOP Canada lets players tailor their online poker experience to their own tastes and tendencies. Let's dig into some of those unique (and helpful) options.
Not all online poker software is created equal, and the freedom to customize your experience helps make WSOP Ontario one of the best online poker sites out there. You're in control of almost everything, from the graphics, visual themes and animations to sounds, alerts, table layouts and more. Choose the avatar that other poker players see, the pattern on the decks of cards and even the décor for the tables.
More functionally, you can also resize any online poker rooms you're in, tile them onscreen to quickly jump between hands, or set up cascading windows for easy access. You can also add notes or observations you want to remember for next time to any poker players you encounter. Anytime you run into them again, you can access your notes by tapping or hovering and clicking on their nameplate. (And don't worry, no one else will have access to this digital scratch pad, of course!) You can also toggle sound effects and animations on or off, based on your preference.
Beyond some of the less gameplay-based options we talked about above, there are also a number of ways that Ontario poker players can actually change the mechanics of how they play online poker. You can choose to enable keyboard shortcuts, hide or show your folded cards throughout the rest of a hand and automatically pop up the game window or play a sound effect when the action is on you.
If you're going to play cash games at an online poker site, you want to be as comfortable and focused as possible, and these options give you the flexibility to enter a poker room feeling more confident and prepared.
Want to get started on your computer or laptop? Follow the links on this page to go to the GGPoker Ontario/WSOP Canada website and download the Ontario WSOP poker software with just a click of a button.
Step 1: Find the crimson-colored button in the top right of the website to download the app.
Step 2: When the installer finishes downloading, click on the file right in your browser or go to your downloads folder.
Step 3: After the app installs, look for the icon on your desktop (or elsewhere if you decided to create or move it) and double-click to launch WSOP Ontario.
Step 4: Just sign in or create your new account, and it's time to play online poker!
A significant amount of recreational and professional players want to play on their phones or tablets, so the quality of mobile play is really important for online poker sites. We're happy to report that everything from the menu system to the actual cash game tables is top-notch for the WSOP Ontario poker app.
The mobile software and interface are actually a bit different than the desktop software, specifically being designed for ease of use with one hand holding your device and one hand making selections onscreen. So you will notice that tables look a bit different, and they're smaller than they are in the desktop version. This really helps with ease of use on the smaller screen, and from the menu system to the poker room listings and the tables themselves, everything is streamlined, simple to understand, and quick to navigate.
Additionally, Ontario players can find all of the same cash games, online poker tournaments and poker action across both the mobile and desktop experience. You can play Texas Hold'em and Omaha cash games, play WSOP events, and go up against tournament players right on your phone or tablet. The only real restriction with playing on the go is that you can only play on up to four tables at a time, even though some devices with larger screens probably could accommodate more games going at once.
Installing the WSOP Canada mobile should only take a minute or two – you'll be chipped in and waiting on the next flop before you know it. Depending on your device, go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search for "WSOP Ontario" or "WSOP Canada." The preview for the app should come up. You can download it from there, or you can go to the store page, where you can read reviews, see details about the developer, and learn more about the app's features and functions. After you've downloaded the app, it'll appear right on your home screen. Give it a tap and sign in once everything loads up.
🗣"Absolutely the best poker app for Ontario. A variety of poker offerings and I see a larger player pool available compared to other Ontario market poker providers."
🗣"I love this site. I have played on Poker Stars for years and this one is 100 times better. Glad I joined."
🗣"The poker room is okay, but avoid the online casino."
🗣"I am impressed with this site's dedication to constantly evolving and becoming better! It is, without a doubt, my favorite online poker app – I've been playing here for quite some time now."
🗣"App is running flawlessly. Overall, great interface with how everything is set up."
🗣"Needs a couple of small adjustments, in my humble opinion. Simple things like private tables, and setting a limit to people just sitting. I often see people going all-in early, and if they win, sitting vacant for dozens of hands while low blinds are playing."
Like many poker sites and mobile apps, WSOP Ontario offers a variety of ways to play Texas Hold'em, including small- and large-scale tournaments. (You can even play WSOP official events from time to time!) This includes all of the following:
For some tournaments, a preestablished, set-in-stone amount will be distributed to winning players, even if the overall buy-ins fall short of that number.
With these events, all player funds are equal at the start of the tournament, and there will be no opportunity to buy back in.
These are the flip side of freezeout tournaments, where players can use multiple buy-ins to nab multiple chances at victory.
Bounty tournaments put a price on each participant's head. Whoever knocks them out receives half the stated bounty, while the other half is added to their own bounty.
These fast-paced events give players less time to act and create a frenetic, exciting atmosphere full of big moves and quick decisions.
With these multi-table tourneys, each table continues play until only one player is left. After that, the table winners are re-seated together for the next round. This continues until an overall winner is decided.
Satellite tournaments give players the chance to win a seat at a higher-level tournament, instead of buying in.
WSOP Ontario takes a percentage of tournament entry fees as payment for running the tournament. All other money collected will go directly to the prize pool. The breakdown of the financials should all be clearly outlined and easily referenced both before and during tournament play.
If you navigate to the tournaments section of the WSOP Ontario website, desktop client or mobile app, you can select any of the available tournament types and see a full list of upcoming events, including the tournament name, timeframe, buy-in amount and prize pool. These calendars will update on an ongoing basis, as there are many regular tournament timeslots, with some being held on a daily or weekly basis. Periodically, you'll be able to find official World Series of Poker events and qualifiers under the label "Road to Vegas."
Home games and online practice tables are entertaining, but testing your mettle against other players at an official WSOP Ontario poker table adds an element of excitement that those options can't quite match. Here's an overview of the types of games you'll find on the platform, along with a quick review of the rules, a bit of the history behind the games and what variants you can play at WSOP online.
Hold'em is probably the game that most people think of when they picture poker in their minds. We won't get into all the intricacies of play here (there are many), but here's a quick overview of the rules and how the game is played. Each player gets two "pocket" or "hole" cards face down before any other cards are dealt. These will be combined with five shared "community" cards (dealt face-up in the center of the table) to make the best possible poker hand. After a round of betting, three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table, known as "the flop." Another round of betting precedes the fourth shared card, known as "the turn," followed by another round of betting and the final card, "the river." Each hand concludes with a final round of betting.
Hold'em is the world's most famous version of poker, and while it's always been a major part of the poker world, it got a huge boost in popularity in the early 2000s. This is when players from early online poker sites saw huge success in World Series of Poker tournaments, including the No-Limit Hold'em Main Event. Time and again, amateur or recreational players showed they could compete for and win WSOP bracelets. And many an online poker champion went from the online poker realm to the WSOP tournament circuit, becoming full-fledged, recognizable pros.
Some of the biggest names in poker are Canadian players, which has only helped the game grow even more nationally. Though he fittingly lives in Las Vegas, Daniel Negreanu hails from Toronto. He's the only person to be named WSOP Player of the Year more than once, and has six of the coveted WSOP gold bracelets, starting with the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em crown in 1998. Online poker champion Jonathan Duhamel of Quebec became the first Canadian player to capture the Main Event title with his victory in 2010. Mike McDonald, Sorel Mizzi, Michael Watson and Kristen Bicknell are other notable tournament players who grew up and got their start in the Canadian market.
WSOP Ontario players can play at No-Limit Hold'em tables around the clock. At any given time, there's usually a good deal of cash players on the platform, ready to play. Most poker rooms in the WSOP app are Hold'em tables, with varying buy-ins to accommodate any size bankroll.
Omaha is widely regarded as the second-most popular poker variant, and it plays a little bit differently to Hold'em. In broad terms, Omaha calls for each player to be dealt four hole cards they can combine with five community cards. Unlike Hold'em, they must use two (and only two) of their hole cards to make the best possible poker hand. We won't get into the nitty-gritty of the odds, but unsurprisingly, winning hands are generally very strong in Omaha.
WSOP Ontario offers Pot-Limit Omaha (sometimes referred to as PLO) cash games, which limits bets to the current size of the pot. Just like their Hold'em offering, there is usually a cash game available around the clock. Clearly, the betting restriction with Pot-Limit Omaha changes the strategy, in addition to the big swings in probabilities mentioned above. Some players like to focus on one game or the other, but there are individuals who've won a WSOP bracelet playing Hold'em and Omaha.
Similar to Hold'em, in Seven Card Stud, each player receives two pocket cards, face down. Unlike Hold'em, they each receive five face-up cards over multiple betting rounds. While it's maintained its status as a poker room and mixed games favorite, Seven Card Stud is not available at WSOP Canada. It's very possible that additional games will be added to the WSOP online poker lineup, but as of right now, Texas Hold'em and Omaha cash games are your only options. You should be able to find seven card stud at other Ontario online casinos.
WSOP Ontario offers plenty of payment options you can use to fund your account or take money out of it. The selection is similar to what you'll find on other sites in the Ontario market, and if you want to play, you should be able to find a payment method you're comfortable with. Deposits should be available to take to the tables immediately, while withdrawals can take somewhere between one and five business days.
Here's a list of available payment methods you can use to fund your account at WSOP Ontario, all of which should put money in your account instantly. Note that a couple of additional options are expected to be added sometime in the next few months.
If possible, a withdrawal will always be processed to your original payment method to help ensure the security of the transaction. As such, all of the methods listed above are (or will be) available for receiving payments out of your account.
There are several ways for players to get in touch with the customer support team, including email, social media and a 24/7 live help option. You can also always access a fairly extensive (and informative) set of FAQs on the website, which features a handy search feature to zero in on the topic you're looking for.
WSOP Ontario is committed to preventing underage gambling, stopping problem gambling and promoting healthy gambling habits. Their team has policies and software in place designed to thoroughly verify that each player is of legal age, located in Ontario and the person they've identified themselves as. They have educational information easily available via the website or app that dispels many common misconceptions about gambling and highlights some of the warning signs for a gambler losing control and playing over their head.
The software also has a built-in option where players can self-impose time away from the app, ranging from a period of a day to three months, during which they will not be able to buy in at any table or tournament. Self-exclusion options may even be extended to up to five years for patrons at high risk. Players may also set daily, weekly or monthly deposit or loss limits to put a cap on how much they can put into their account and play.
If the methods above aren't enough, or if you need more immediate help, you can contact WSOP CA for responsible gaming support 24/7, via email or live chat. A representative will talk to you about your situation and help you set limits. Additionally, you can get in touch with organizations committed to helping with gambling problems through links on the site, including Connex Ontario and the Responsible Gaming Council of Canada.
Yes, online poker is legal. And WSOP Online is fully licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. It is 100% legal for anyone aged 19 or older and located in Ontario to play.
No. As we said in the answer above, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario licenses the platform, and with that comes a full set of fairness standards and regulations. The random element of all games is monitored constantly, with all hands being settled in a fair way for all players involved.
WSOP Online was created out of a partnership between the WSOP brand and GGPoker Ontario, an established online poker destination. The current owner of the World Series of Poker brand is Caesars Entertainment. It was first created and owned by Binion's Horseshoe Casino, then owned and managed by Harrah's for the better part of the last twenty years.
Author
Tom Ober is a professional writer living in New Hampshire. An avid Boston sports fan, he's rooted with his heart (and wallet) for the local teams for many years. When he's not stationed in front of a game on the TV, he's probably playing Gin Rummy or a video game that's roughly 30-40 years old.
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