GGPoker Expert Review

GGPoker has rapidly become the world's largest and busiest online poker room, establishing itself as the premier destination for modern, high-traffic tournament and cash game action. Its flagship feature is its exclusive partnership with the World Series of Poker (WSOP), making it the only global site where players can compete for and win official WSOP gold bracelets online.

What truly sets GGPoker apart is its recreational-player-friendly ecosystem, which is enforced by its most defining rule: a strict ban on all third-party tracking software and Heads-Up Displays (HUDs). To level the playing field, the site provides its own integrated tools like a Smart HUD and the PokerCraft analysis tool. This player-focused environment is packed with unique social and game features, including a built-in Staking Platform (letting you buy or sell a percentage of a player's tournament buy-in), SnapCam (short video reactions at the table), and a roster of exclusive, fast-paced games like Mystery Bounty, Rush & Cash, and Flip & Go.

GGPoker's promotional structure is one of its main attractions, focusing on a mix of upfront rewards for new players, a comprehensive loyalty program, and massive daily and weekly prize pools.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the bonuses and promotions available.

1. New Player Welcome Bonuses

When you make your first deposit, you can choose one of the following two bonuses:

• 100% Matched Deposit Bonus (Up to $600)

  • How it works: GGPoker will match your first deposit dollar-for-dollar up to $600. (Minimum deposit: $10).

  • Unlocking: The bonus money is "locked" and is released into your cash balance in $1 increments for every $5 you pay in net rake or tournament fees. You have 90 days to unlock the full bonus amount.

• $100 in Free Rewards

  • How it works: Make a first deposit of at least $20 to receive $100 in rewards over six days.

  • Unlocking: You receive $52.50 in free tournament tickets automatically. You can unlock the remaining $47.50 in cash by completing simple daily hand challenges in the "All-in or Fold" games.

2. Honeymoon for Newcomers

Separate from the welcome bonus, all new players can start a 30-day "Honeymoon" challenge.

• How it works: For your first 30 days, you receive one new "mission" each day (e.g., "Play 50 hands of Hold'em," "Win a pot with a Full House").

• Rewards: You receive prizes based on the total number of missions you complete. This includes tournament tickets, cash game dollars (C$), and a final cash prize for completing all 30 missions, totaling up to $350 in value.

3. Fish Buffet (Main Loyalty Program)

This is GGPoker's primary rakeback system, rewarding you for all rake paid in poker or casino games.

• How it works: You automatically earn "Fish Points" (FP) as you play. Earning points allows you to climb a ladder of 25 loyalty tiers (from "Plankton" to "Shark").

• Rewards: Each time you level up, you get to spin a wheel for a random cash prize. The higher your level, the higher the potential prize and average rakeback (from ~15% at the lowest level to 60%+ at the highest).

• Platinum "Flat Cashback" Ranks: For players who prefer consistent rewards over random spins, GGPoker offers fixed "Platinum" ranks. These ranks provide a flat weekly cashback paid directly to your account every Monday.

  • Platinum Fish: 20% flat rakeback

  • Platinum Octopus: 35% flat rakeback

  • Platinum Whale: 50% flat rakeback

  • Platinum Shark: 55% flat rakeback

  • GGPlatinum: 60% flat rakeback

4. Daily Leaderboards & Jackpots

GGPoker injects millions of dollars into daily promotions for specific game types.

• Daily Leaderboards: A large prize pool is distributed every day to the top-ranking players in nearly every game format, including:

  • No-Limit Hold'em

  • Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO & PLO-5)

  • Rush & Cash

  • All-In or Fold

  • Spin & Gold

  • Flip & Go

• All-In or Fold Jackpot:

  • How it works: A progressive jackpot is funded by a small fee taken from each All-in or Fold hand.

  • How to win: Hit a Straight Flush (in Hold'em, using both hole cards) or a Royal Flush (in Omaha, using two hole cards) to win a large percentage of the jackpot.

• GGCare & GGCheers:

  • This is a daily $100,000 "Flipout" tournament that automatically registers players who have had bad beats (GGCare) or won big pots (GGCheers). You don't need to do anything; if you qualify, you are automatically registered for the next day's tournament for a chance at free money.

5. Major Tournament Series

GGPoker is famous for its massive, recurring tournament festivals, which are a promotion in themselves.

• World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online: The official online partner of the WSOP, this is the only site where players outside the US can compete for and win official gold bracelets.

• Bounty Hunters Series / APT Online: GGPoker regularly hosts multi-million dollar guaranteed tournament series, often in partnership with major live tours like the Asian Poker Tour (APT).

• GGMasters: A flagship weekly freezeout tournament series with massive guarantees and a Player of the Year leaderboard.

GGPoker's rake and rakeback system is one of its most complex and defining features, built around a program called "Fish Buffet" that is heavily weighted to reward recreational players.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the rake, the VIP program, and the rakeback opportunities.

1. Rake Structure

GGPoker's rake is a common point of criticism among professional players due to its structure, while being standard in its percentages.

• Cash Games: For most No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha tables, the rake is 5% of the pot.

• Rake Cap: The rake is "capped" (will not exceed a certain amount), with the cap varying by the stake being played. At micro-stakes, this can be as low as a few big blinds, while at high-stakes, it can be $1-$5.

• Pre-flop Rake: This is the most controversial part of GGPoker's structure. Unlike most sites (which have a "no flop, no drop" policy), GGPoker charges rake on 3-bet pots that are won pre-flop, as long as the pot is 2.5 big blinds or larger.

• Tournament Rake (Fees): Tournament fees are standard for the industry, typically ranging from 8% to 10% of the buy-in (e.g., in a $100 buy-in tournament, $90 goes to the prize pool and $10 is the fee).

2. "Fish Buffet" VIP Program

The "Fish Buffet" is GGPoker's gamified, multi-tiered loyalty program. All players are automatically enrolled.

• How it Works: You earn "Fish Points" (FP) for every cent of rake you generate in poker or casino games. As you collect points, you climb a ladder of 25 different ranks (e.g., Plankton, Shrimp, Crab, Octopus, Whale, Shark).

• The Reward (Randomized Rakeback): Each time you complete a level, you get to spin a wheel for a random cash prize. The cash prize is based on your level, and the average rakeback percentage increases as you climb.

  • Average Rakeback: The "average" return starts at around 15% for the lowest levels and can go up to 60% at the highest. However, the actual amount you receive is highly variable due to the random spin.

3. Rakeback Opportunities (Platinum Ranks)

For players who prefer stable, predictable rakeback instead of the random "Fish Buffet" spins, GGPoker offers a "Platinum" VIP system. You can switch from the Fish Buffet to a Platinum rank at any time.

• How it Works: Platinum ranks provide a flat, fixed weekly cashback percentage. Your reward is calculated based on the points you've earned that week and paid into your account every Monday.

• Platinum Rank Tiers:

  • Platinum Fish: 20% flat rakeback

  • Platinum Octopus: 35% flat rakeback

  • Platinum Whale: 50% flat rakeback

  • Platinum Shark: 55% flat rakeback

  • GGPlatinum: 60% flat rakeback

An Important Note: The Player Value Index (PVI)

GGPoker's entire rakeback and bonus system is governed by a Player Value Index (PVI), which is crucial to understand.

• What it is: PVI is a secret, internal metric that GGPoker assigns to every player. It is not public, and GGPoker does not reveal its formula.

• How it Works: This index determines the rate at which you earn Fish Points (FP). A player's PVI is believed to be based on their play style, win/loss rate, and deposit/withdrawal history.

• The Consequence:

  • Recreational/Losing Players: These players are assigned a high PVI. This means $1 of rake they pay might count as $2 (or more) for rakeback calculations, allowing them to earn rewards much faster.

  • Winning/Professional Players: These players are assigned a low PVI. This means $1 of rake they pay might only count as $0.50 (or less), significantly slowing down their reward progress and lowering their effective rakeback percentage.

While the advertised rakeback can be as high as 60%, a professional player's effective rakeback will be much lower than a recreational player's due to the PVI system. This is a deliberate "ecosystem-focused" design to keep the games softer by rewarding casual players more heavily.

GGPoker is the largest online poker site in the world by a significant margin. It officially overtook competitors in 2021 and has continued to expand, now boasting a market share of over 50% of all international "dot-com" traffic.

• Cash Games: The site consistently averages over 10,000 concurrent cash game players. In January 2024, it hit a record of over 13,000 concurrent cash game seats.

• Tournament Traffic: Tournament numbers are even more massive. During major series, the platform can handle an incredible volume, having set a record in September 2025 with over 600,000 players logged in simultaneously.

• Overall Volume: The platform's traffic is higher than most of its main competitors (like PokerStars, iPoker, and WPT Global) combined.

Peak Hours

As a global site with a strong presence in both Europe and Asia, GGPoker has 24/7 action. However, its primary peak hours align with evening times for these two massive markets.

• Primary Peak: The busiest time on the network is during European evenings (approximately 18:00 - 23:00 UTC/GMT).

• Secondary Peak: The site also sees a significant surge during Asian evening hours.

• Busiest Day: Like all poker sites, Sunday is by far the busiest day of the week due to the major weekly tournaments like the GGMasters and other Sunday majors.

Game Availability

Due to the immense traffic, you can find a game for almost any format at any stake, 24/7.

• No-Limit Hold'em & Pot-Limit Omaha: Tables are active from micro-stakes ($0.01/$0.02) up to high-stakes ($25/$50 and higher) around the clock.

• Rush & Cash (Fast-Fold): This is one of the most popular formats, with multiple active player pools across various stakes at all times.

• Spin & Gold (Jackpot Sit & Go): These 3-max and 6-max games are extremely popular and start instantly at all buy-in levels.

• Tournaments: A new tournament starts literally every few minutes. Major daily guarantees run constantly, and the flagship weekly tournaments (GGMasters, Sunday majors) attract thousands of players.

• Niche Games: Unique formats like All-In or Fold, Short Deck, and Flip & Go also have consistent traffic, which is rare on other sites.

Table Selection

GGPoker's table selection policy is a key part of its "recreational-friendly" ecosystem.

• No "Bum Hunting": The site actively prohibits "bum hunting" (the practice of professionals sitting at a table and only playing when a weak, recreational player joins).

• Lobby Anonymity: In cash game lobbies, you cannot see the nicknames of the players at the tables until you have sat down and posted a blind.

• Effect on Selection: This policy makes traditional table selection very difficult. You cannot scan lobbies to find specific weak players. The primary method of table selection on GGPoker is to simply join a table at your desired stake and then decide whether to stay based on the "Smart HUD" stats and your own observations. This ensures that tables are more mixed and prevents predatory behavior, which in turn keeps more recreational players in the games.

GGPoker provides a wide range of payment options, but the specific methods available to you depend entirely on your country of residence. The only accurate list of options is what you see in your GGPoker cashier.

Here is a general overview of the available payment types, processing times, and fees.

Deposit Methods

GGPoker offers a variety of instant deposit options to fund your account.

• Credit/Debit Cards: Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in many countries (excluding the UK and other jurisdictions where credit card gambling is banned).

• E-Wallets: This is the most common and popular category, which includes:

  • Skrill

  • Neteller

  • PayPal (availability is highly regional)

• Cryptocurrency: GGPoker has integrated crypto payments, allowing deposits and withdrawals in major coins, including:

  • Bitcoin (BTC)

  • USD Coin (USDC)

• Bank & Local Transfers:

  • Standard Bank Transfers

  • Regional instant banking solutions (e.g., Interac for Canada, Pix for Brazil).

Withdrawal Options

GGPoker operates a "closed-loop" policy, which means you must, whenever possible, withdraw funds back to the same method you used for depositing. After you have withdrawn an amount equal to your initial deposit, other methods may become available.

Common withdrawal methods include:

• Skrill

• Neteller

• Bitcoin (BTC)

• USD Coin (USDC)

• Bank Transfer

Processing Times and Fees

Deposits

• Processing Time: Most deposit methods, including e-wallets and credit cards, are instant. Cryptocurrency deposits are credited to your account after a set number of blockchain confirmations (typically 15-30 minutes).

• Fees: GGPoker does not charge any fees for deposits. However, your payment provider (e.g., your bank or crypto wallet) may charge its own transaction or currency conversion fees.

Withdrawals

• Processing Time: Withdrawals are not instant and have a two-stage timeline:

• 1. Internal Review: All withdrawals are subject to an internal audit. This process generally takes 24 hours but can be extended to 72 hours for security checks.

  2. External Processing: Once your withdrawal is approved by GGPoker, the time it takes to receive your money varies by method:

     • E-Wallets (Skrill, Neteller): Very fast, typically within an hour.

     • Cryptocurrency: Fast, usually processed within an hour.

     • Bank Transfers: Slower, typically taking 3 to 5 business days.

• Fees: GGPoker generally charges a flat $1 fee for most withdrawal methods, including e-wallets and cryptocurrency. This fee is clearly displayed in the cashier when you request a withdrawal. Bank transfers may incur higher fees.

Overall User Experience & Client

The GGPoker client is modern, visually engaging, and highly "gamified." Unlike the minimalist, function-over-form design of older sites, GGPoker's interface is built to be fun and interactive. The lobby is sleek and easy to navigate, with clear tabs for each major game type (Tournaments, Hold'em, Omaha, Rush & Cash, etc.).

At the tables, the software is rich with animations, emojis, and interactive elements. While some professional "grinders" find the constant visual feedback distracting, this approach is central to GGPoker's philosophy of creating a fun, recreational-player-friendly environment. For those who prefer to focus, a "Helmet Mode" is available to disable most of these social distractions.

Key Software Features

GGPoker's software is defined by its powerful, built-in features, which are designed to replace the third-party tools banned by the site.

• No Third-Party HUDs: The single most important software-related policy is the strict ban on all external tracking tools (like PokerTracker or Hold'em Manager). This is done to protect new and recreational players from being targeted by professionals using extensive data.

• Smart HUD: To compensate for the ban, GGPoker provides a built-in "Smart HUD." This feature displays a few basic stats on your opponents (like VPIP, or "Voluntarily Put In Pot"). Crucially, these stats are session-based only; they reset as soon as a player leaves the table, preventing long-term data mining.

• PokerCraft: This is a powerful, integrated hand-tracking tool. Players can access their complete hand history, view their win/loss results over time, analyze their game, and even replay any hand. It's essentially a built-in version of a poker-tracking database.

• Integrated Staking Platform: This is a revolutionary feature. Players can sell a percentage of their own tournament action directly through the client, and other players can "buy a piece" of their favorite players, all handled automatically by the software.

• EV Cashout (All-in Insurance): In all-in cash game pots, the player with the equity advantage is offered the choice to "cash out" their equity. This means they are paid their percentage chance to win the pot immediately, regardless of the river card, removing the variance of a bad beat.

• Social & Interactive Features:

  • SnapCam: Allows you to record and send a 15-second video reaction to the table.

  • Splashes: Lets you throw virtual items (like an egg or a water bucket) at other players after a hand.

  • Animated Emojis: Players can use a variety of animated emojis to react to the action.

Customization & Settings

While GGPoker's client is feature-rich, its customization options are more limited than some of its competitors, particularly for heavy multi-tablers.

• What You Can Customize:

  • Table Themes: You can choose from several different table felts and background graphics.

  • Card Decks: A four-color deck is available, which is essential for many players.

  • Bet Sizing: Players can set up custom bet size hotkeys for pre-flop and post-flop action.

  • Layouts: The client supports saving custom table layouts for multi-tabling, though options are less robust than on other platforms.

• Limitations: The software is not designed to perfectly tile 12+ tables. Its focus is on a clean, primary-table experience rather than mass multi-tabling.

Mobile Client

GGPoker's mobile app is considered one of the best in the industry. It is designed for portrait-mode (one-handed) play, making it incredibly intuitive and easy to use.

• Full Functionality: Unlike some paired-down mobile apps, the GGPoker app gives you access to nearly the entire range of games, including cash games, Rush & Cash, Spin & Gold, and multi-table tournaments.

• Multi-tabling: The app allows for surprisingly effective multi-tabling, letting players join up to four tables at once and easily swipe between them.

• Stability: The app is fast, secure, and stable, with full access to the cashier for deposits and withdrawals.

GGPoker offers a massive selection of games and stakes, catering to both casual players and high rollers. Its schedule is packed 24/7, but its main strength lies in its unique, proprietary game formats.

Available Game Types

• No-Limit Hold'em (NLH): The most popular game, available in 6-max and 9-max tables.

• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO): The second most popular format, with high traffic.

• PLO-5 (Pot-Limit Omaha 5-Card): A high-action variant where players are dealt five hole cards.

• Short Deck (6+ Hold'em): A popular variant played with cards 2 through 5 removed from the deck.

Stakes

GGPoker's stakes range from micro-limits to some of the highest-stakes games available online.

• Cash Games (NLH & PLO): Stakes begin at the micro-limits of $0.01/$0.02 and run consistently up to $25/$50.

• VIP Games: For high rollers, private VIP tables are available with stakes ranging from $100/$200 to $500/$1,000 and even higher.

• Rush & Cash: Fast-fold stakes start at $0.01/$0.02 and are popular up to $1/$2.

• Spin & Gold: Buy-ins for these jackpot sit & go's range from $0.25 to $200.

• Tournaments: Buy-ins start at just $0.25 for satellite events and go up to $10,300 or more for weekly high rollers and major series main events.

Tournament Schedule

GGPoker's tournament schedule is the largest in the world, with massive guarantees running 24/7.

• Daily Tournaments: The "Daily Guarantees" series runs every day, featuring tournaments at all buy-in levels (e.g., Daily Main Events, Speed Racers, Bounties) with new events starting every few minutes.

• Major Weekly Events: Sunday is the biggest day for tournaments, anchored by:

  • GGMasters: A flagship freezeout (no re-entry) series with multiple buy-in tiers, including a $150 Main Event and a $1,050 High Roller.

  • Super MILLION$: The premier weekly high-roller event, with a $10,300 buy-in and a massive multi-million dollar guarantee.

  • Bounty Hunters Series: A full daily schedule of progressive knockout (PKO) tournaments.

• Major Tournament Series:

  • WSOP Online: As the official partner of the World Series of Poker, GGPoker is the only global site where players can compete for and win official WSOP gold bracelets.

  • WSOP Circuit Events: These series run multiple times per year, offering players the chance to win official WSOP Circuit rings.

  • Seasonal Series: GGPoker hosts massive seasonal events like the Bounty Hunters Series and the GGPoker World Festival, with prize pools often reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.

Special Formats

This is where GGPoker truly stands out, with a lineup of unique games you can't find elsewhere.

• Rush & Cash: This is GGPoker's fast-fold poker format. When you fold a hand, you are instantly moved to a new table with new opponents. It also features random "Cash Drops" that add extra money (from 10bb to 600bb) into the pot.

• Spin & Gold: These are 3-max or 6-max (Spin & Gold 6-Max) jackpot-style Sit & Go tournaments. Before the game starts, a prize pool multiplier is spun, offering the chance to play for a prize pool from 2x up to 200,000x the buy-in.

• All-In or Fold (AoF): A high-action cash game where players buy in for a very short stack (8 big blinds for Hold'em, 4 big blinds for PLO). In this game, your only options on every street are to move all-in or fold. This format also features a progressive jackpot.

• Flip & Go: A tournament format designed to skip the long early "grind." All players are put all-in every hand from the start until one player remains from each table. All table winners are instantly "in the money" (ITM) and then proceed to play a normal multi-table tournament.

• Mystery Bounty: A massive-field bounty tournament where the "bounty" value on a player is unknown. In the final phase, when you knock a player out, you receive a random bounty prize, which can be worth thousands of times the buy-in, with some top bounties reaching $1,000,000.

GGPoker's mobile app is widely considered one of the best in the online poker industry. It is not a scaled-down version of the desktop client but rather a fully-featured, standalone platform designed specifically for on-the-go play.

User Interface and Experience

• Portrait-Mode Design: The app is primarily designed to be used with one hand (portrait mode). This makes it incredibly easy to navigate, with all major betting actions (fold, check, bet) easily accessible with your thumb.

• Slick and Modern: The user interface is modern, fast, and visually appealing, with smooth animations. It retains the "gamified" feel of the desktop client, including emojis and social features.

• Easy Navigation: The main lobby is simple, using large, clear icons for each game type (e.g., "Rush & Cash," "Spin & Gold," "Tournaments"), making it easy to find a game and get seated in just a few taps.

Mobile Features

A major strength of the GGPoker app is that it includes nearly all the key features of its desktop counterpart.

• Full Game Availability: You can play all of GGPoker's major game types, including:

  • Cash Games (Hold'em & PLO)

  • Multi-Table Tournaments

  • Rush & Cash

  • Spin & Gold

  • All-In or Fold

  • Flip & Go

• Multi-Table Support: The app allows you to play up to four tables simultaneously. It uses a smart-switching system that automatically brings the table most urgently requiring your action to the front.

• Integrated Tools:

  • Smart HUD: The built-in, session-based HUD is fully functional on mobile.

  • PokerCraft: You can access your entire hand history, track your results, and analyze your game directly from the app.

  • Staking Platform: The revolutionary tournament staking feature is fully integrated, allowing you to buy or sell action from your phone.

• Full Cashier: The app has a complete cashier, allowing you to make deposits and request withdrawals securely without needing to log in to a computer.

Limitations

While the mobile experience is excellent, it has a few minor drawbacks compared to the desktop client:

• Multi-tabling Limit: You are limited to four tables, whereas the desktop client allows for more.

• Screen Real Estate: While the interface is clean, playing four tables at once on a small smartphone screen can feel cramped and may lead to misclicks for some users. The experience is significantly better on a tablet.

• No Mobile Website: GGPoker does not offer a browser-based "instant play" version. You must download the dedicated app for iOS (via the App Store) or Android (via a direct download from the GGPoker website) to play.

GGPoker's customer support is a multi-channel system that relies heavily on email and self-help resources, with mixed feedback from users on its speed and effectiveness.

Support Channels

• Email (Primary Channel): This is the main, most reliable way to get in-touch for account-specific, technical, or financial issues. GGPoker operates numerous regional email addresses (e.g., help@ggpoker.com, help@ggpoker.co.uk, cashier@ggpoker.com) to direct inquiries to the correct department.

• Live Chat: Live chat is not offered globally. It is only available in specific, regulated countries where it is a legal requirement. For the majority of players, live chat is not an option.

• Help Center / FAQ: GGPoker maintains an extensive and detailed online Help Center. This self-service portal contains thousands of articles and is designed to be the first stop for players, answering most common questions about bonuses, game rules, and technical issues.

• Community Support (Reddit & Discord): GGPoker is highly active on social platforms, particularly Reddit. The official GGPoker subreddit (r/GGPoker) has official staff and moderators who regularly respond to player queries, complaints, and suggestions.

Response Times

Response times are a common point of contention among players and appear to be highly variable.

• Email: Responses are not instant. While some simple queries are reportedly answered within a few hours, many users report waiting 24 to 72 hours for a response, especially for complex issues. For account verification (KYC) or security reviews, this process can take several days.

• Community Channels: Responses on Reddit from GGPoker staff are often quicker for public-facing issues, but they will redirect any account-specific queries to the email support team for security reasons.

Helpfulness & User Feedback

Player feedback on GGPoker's support is mixed.

• Positive Feedback: Many players report that for simple, routine issues (like a deposit query or a bonus question), the support team is helpful and provides the correct information. The official staff on Reddit are often praised for their transparency and presence in the community.

• Negative Feedback: The most common complaint is the slow response time for email support, which can be highly frustrating for players with urgent issues, such as an account freeze or a withdrawal problem. Users have also reported that sending multiple emails can reset their place in the queue, further delaying a resolution. Some players feel the support for complex issues can be generic or slow to escalate.

GGPoker's reputation is highly polarized, and it's essential to understand the two very different narratives that surround the site.

On one hand, GGPoker is the undisputed market leader and an officially recognized, legitimate, and award-winning company. On the other, it faces a constant barrage of criticism from a vocal segment of the player base.

Official Reputation & Trustworthiness

From an industry and regulatory standpoint, GGPoker's reputation is stellar.

• Market Leader: It is the largest online poker room in the world by player traffic, by a significant margin.

• Official Partnerships: GGPoker is the official international partner of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), hosting online WSOP bracelet and circuit ring events.

• Licensed & Regulated: The company holds licenses from top-tier regulatory bodies, including the UK Gambling Commission and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission.

• Certified RNG: Its Random Number Generator (RNG) is certified by BMM Testlabs, an independent and accredited testing facility. This confirms that the deal is, from a technical standpoint, fair and random.

• Industry Awards: GGPoker has won the "Poker Operator of the Year" at the prestigious EGR Operator Awards multiple years in a row, including in 2024 and 2025.

From this perspective, GGPoker is a legitimate, secure, and trustworthy company.

Player Feedback: The Great Divide

Player reviews are a complete mix of high praise and intense criticism, which are often two sides of the same coin.

Positive Player Feedback

Players who praise GGPoker almost always focus on three key areas:

1. Massive Player Pool & "Soft" Games: The site is packed with recreational and casual players from all over the world. For serious players, this "soft field" is the single biggest reason to play, as it is widely considered more profitable than other, tougher sites.

2. Unmatched Tournaments: No other site comes close to the scale of GGPoker's tournaments. Players love the massive guarantees and the unique opportunity to win a real WSOP bracelet from home.

3. Modern Software & Features: The mobile app is considered the best in the industry. Features like the integrated Staking Platform, SnapCam, and built-in Smart HUD are innovative and add a level of fun and engagement that older sites lack.

Negative Player Feedback

The negative feedback is just as loud as the positive, with common complaints (especially on forums like Reddit) including:

1. "Rigged" Allegations: This is the most common complaint from losing or frustrated players. They feel the software is "rigged" to create "action" hands (coolers, set-over-set, etc.) and bad beats to generate more rake. While this is a complaint on every poker site, it is particularly prevalent for GGPoker. This is largely a symptom of the "soft" player base—recreational players play more unconventional hands, leading to more unexpected "suckouts" and a feeling that the play is "not normal."

2. Extremely High Rake: This is the most legitimate complaint from experienced players. GGPoker's rake is among the highest in the industry. Critically, it also rakes pre-flop pots (in 3-bet situations), which is a policy most other sites do not have and one that significantly eats into the win rates of professional players.

3. The "PVI" System: This is a major source of distrust among serious players. The "Fish Buffet" rakeback system is governed by a non-transparent "Player Value Index" (PVI). This means winning players have their rakeback contributions secretly slashed, while losing players get a higher effective rakeback. This lack of transparency leads many grinders to feel cheated, as they are not receiving the advertised rakeback rate.

4. Customer Support: Players often report slow customer support, with responses to email inquiries taking 24-72 hours. This is especially frustrating for players who have their accounts locked for security or responsible gaming checks, as it can take days to get a resolution.