Online Poker in the Philippines

Real Money Vs. Free Poker

As a popular table game, you can play many versions of poker for free or for real money at your preferred casinos. The free online poker games come in demo versions that you can select when going through the variants. In the table below, we summarize the difference between the real money and free versions.

How to Play Poker: Basic Terms and Rules

Playing online poker with real money means good familiarity with the rules and lingo of the game. Fortunately, the rules are easy for anyone to learn and apply when playing with the standard 52-card deck. The simple game rule is that you must have a poker hand greater than everyone else at the table or make a wager uncalled by other online poker players. It gets even better as you call the win by “bluffing,” which means getting everyone to think you have the better poker hand. This way, no one else calls the game, and you get to win the pot.

Many more terms, such as “call” and “bluff,” are copious in the game, and we detail them in the following headings. In addition to these terms, we discuss the common poker hands ranking that the average gambler should know. These will help you ease into playing poker online in the Philippines.

Common Poker Terms & Their Definitions

Any poker game has buttons/functionalities with these terms for executing actions. They apply virtually to all poker variants, and you get to use them during live versions too. The first eight terms form the basics and are the most widely used in poker games online.

Action: This stands for any act the gambler performs, which could be any of the following terms. It could be used to express a game where betting and raising are executed many times.

• Bet: This term describes players making their first wagers in the poker game.
• Check: This describes the act of passing a play to another gambler if no bet has been made or raised beforehand. The gambler making the check must also not make a bet with a call or raise option.
• Call: Probably the most popular term you’ll hear in poker gambling, and it means wagering the same amount of another player’s bet.
• Raise: This implies betting more than the previous player’s bet.
• Re-raise: Here, you’ll make a third bet when a gambler has wagered and another has raised.
• Check Raise: With this action, you can drop a few gamblers in the game. It involves checking and raising when a player before you bets.
• Fold: This means you want to throw away your poker hand before or after making a wager.
• Draw: This is another popular term in real money online poker, and it involves taking a card in the hopes of having a good hand with it.
• Bluff: Here, you’d have a bad set of cards, but you’d remain in the game “betting,” “checking,” and “raising” to appear strong. If the other players fall for it and fold, you win the pot.
• Ante: This represents the little bets made at the beginning of a play. It accumulates into a “pot” that sets the poker game in motion.

Common Poker Hands Ranking

As established already, your aim is to have the best card hand of the group, and the higher the value, the better your winning chances. These are the ranking of hands in any poker casino.

• Royal flush: This is the best hand in the game, combining 10, J, Q, K, and A cards. The chance of having this set of cards of the same suit is 1 in 650,000 deals.
• Straight flush: This is the second-best, combining 9, 10, J, Q, and K cards. The cards all have to be the same suit.
• Four-of-a-kind: Out of five cards, if you have four of the same number, you have a good hand.
• Full house: Of five cards, if you have three of the same number or suit, and a pair of another, you’ve got a strong hand in the game.
• Flush: This is when you have five cards of the same suit. If other online poker players have the same hand, the person with the highest value wins.
• Straight: This is the next best hand, and it’s when you have cards of increasing sequence.
• Three-of-a-kind: You only need to have three cards of the same number.
• Two pairs: You must have two pairs of numbers and/or suits.
• One pair: Here, you only need a pair of numbers or suits.
• High card: If none of the above combination forms, Pinoy players can win by the highest single card in their poker hand.

How to Choose the Best Poker Casino

There are many sites where you can play poker online in the Philippines, but you should only select the best. The features and quality of service offered by the online casino Philippines are how you know they’re top-notch, and we’ve detailed what you should look out for in this section. These include safety & security, bonuses, payment methods, website user-friendliness, game variations, and customer support.

Security & Safety

The first things you should look out for on your list of the best online poker sites for Filipinos are the license and security certificates. For local poker sites in the PH, ensure they’re licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, at the very least. Offshore sites can take licenses from reputable commissions, such as the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority, and Curaçao eGaming Authority. In addition, check that your chosen poker site is encrypted by SSL technology.

Bonuses & Promotions

Bonuses and promotions come in handy if you’re playing poker with real money, as they help you maximize wins. These promotions can come in the form of welcome packages, cashback rewards, referrals, and loyalty programs. So, you should only pick gambling sites with good incentives and considerable conditions to play poker.

Payment Methods

To play poker with real money bets and withdraw winnings from this game, you should look for casinos with reliable payment options. These options are generally categorized into credit/debit cards, e-wallets, prepaid cards, mobile payments, and cryptocurrencies. You should check their processing times, fees, and withdrawal limits before selecting. Also, look out for poker casinos with instant withdrawals regardless of the payment option.

Website Friendliness

An important factor that online poker players should consider is the layout, navigation, and design of the site. You want to ensure you have a seamless gambling experience, whether on your desktop/laptop or mobile devices. Check that the games, pages, and services are well-arranged and respond to commands.

Game Variations

Poker has many variations, including Texas Hold’Em, 5-Card, 7-Card, Fast Poker, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha, and Caribbean Stud. These game variants come from different notable providers, and you should check that you’re getting them in your casino of choice.

Customer Support

Another essential feature of the best online poker sites for Filipinos is the customer support service. It’s highly recommended you go for casinos that offer 24/7 customer service across channels such as live chat, phone calls, social media channels, and email addresses. There should also be an established FAQs section where you can get answers to common questions from other players in the PH.

Top Poker Casinos to Play in the Philippines

At Online-Casino.Ph, our team of expert reviewers has meticulously compiled a list of Filipino poker casino sites based on the diverse features mentioned in the above paragraph. We’ve gone the extra mile to personally test the poker games to ensure they meet the standards of fairness, safety, and compatibility with your mobile devices. Rest assured, the gambling sites you’ll find on this list are licensed by either the local authority, PAGCOR, or by foreign authorities for offshore casinos. What’s more, we’ve ensured that these gambling sites come with enticing and lucrative bonuses and promotional offers that you can leverage to maximize your winnings. For players in the Philippines seeking guidance in selecting the best poker sites, these recommendations represent some of the top-notch casinos you should consider for an exceptional gaming experience.

The Best Mobile Poker Sites

As many PH gamblers choose their smartphones & smartwatches as preferred gadgets, it’s only appropriate to have mobile-friendly poker sites. In the list we’ve compiled below, our expert team has tested the different versions of the game to ensure you’re getting a hitch-free experience on your mobile devices. Some of these sites even have dedicated real money poker apps that you can launch and play from anywhere. In addition, these mobile sites were vetted to have features from any top site, including bonuses, 24/7 customer care, security certificates, payment methods, and licenses. Check out our top recommendations for the finest mobile gambling experience below.

Most Popular Types of Poker

You’ll find a number of variants of poker Philippines with slight differences in gameplay but with the same aim – to have the best hand. Some of the most popular game versions are Texas Hold’Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Fast Poker, Caribbean Stud, 7-Card, and 5-card versions. In the following headings, we’ll take a look at each of the versions and what they entail.

🔸 Texas Hold’Em

This version is the most popular among online poker games in the Philippines, featuring as the standard in world tournaments. It uses the standard 52-card deck, and Pinoy players first get two cards to keep to themselves. Then, it proceeds with the dealer laying five “community cards” on the table.

Bets are allowed only four times in this poker game, once after getting the two cards and three more after laying the community cards. Online poker players must use the first two cards they have and the community ones to make the best combination and win the pot.

🔸 Five Card

The five-card game version is probably the simplest, and it involves getting five cards in the beginning from the dealer. You can trade up to three cards from your hand for new ones after the initial bet. The aim is to get the best hand according to the common hands ranking.

🔸 7 Card Stud

In this game variant, PH gamblers receive seven cards from the dealer, with three cards facing down and four facing up. Of these seven cards, the Pinoy players are expected to form the best combination of five, as given by the hands ranking.

🔸 Omaha

The Omaha version of poker online is like a step up from Texas Hold’Em. Instead of two cards to hold, you get four and then five community cards. Out of the four you get, you can only use two and the community cards to form a combination of the five cards to give you the best hand.

🔸 Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi-Lo is also known as “Split pot,” and this game variant entails competing for both high and low portions of the pot. Online poker players are dealt four cards to hold and five community cards, but they’d be required to use two of the holding cards and three of the community cards to make their combinations.

🔸 Caribbean Stud

Caribbean stud differs from other game variants in that you’re playing poker online against the house and not other gamblers. Hence, there’s no option to “bluff” your way into a win.

🔸 Fast Poker

This is common in poker online tournaments, and it’s basically an extended version of Texas Hold’Em. In this game version, online poker players are required to act within 15 seconds or have their poker hand ruled null. Each gambler is entitled to one “30-second time extension” that can be used at any turn.

Bonuses Available on Poker Games Online

Unlike slots and a few other table games, poker doesn’t come with a lot of bonus offers or promotions. If you encounter any bonus at all, it’ll either be a welcome bonus offering a deposit match or a cashback reward.

Payment Methods in the Poker Casinos for Filipinos

With top-rated gambling sites in the Philippines, it’s only right to see some of the most popular payment methods in the online gambling industry. If you’re playing real poker for money, you’ll need these payment methods for fast transactions with zero fees. A few of the payment methods you’ll encounter on these sites include credit/debit cards, cryptocurrencies, prepaid cards, e-wallets, and mobile payments.

Regulation and Licensing of Poker in the Philippines

Poker in the Philippines is legal, as are many other casino games. You can bet and withdraw winning in the country with the backing of the law as long as you play with registered and licensed casinos. In the region, poker sites are licensed by the local authority, known as The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PACGOR). If a casino has the seal, you can report maltreatment or exploitation to the corporation and expect full legal support.

In addition to the local sites, there are offshore casinos where you can play online poker legally. However, you must verify the foreign licenses they hold not to fall for scams. You should look out for licenses from the Malta Gaming Authority, Curaçao eGaming Authority, and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, among others. Read reviews and go the extra mile to ensure these offshore sites are indeed licensed.

Tournaments on Filipino Poker Sites

There are different poker tournaments held by the best poker sites in the Philippines. These tournaments give you a chance to win massive pot prizes and gain a wealth of experience from other Pinoy players. The tournaments are held occasionally, and you generally have to “buy in” to participate. Before you participate in a tournament, the factors you must consider are the buy-in prize, the poker game version, the number of participants, and the pot prize.

The different types of tournaments you may encounter in poker gambling include multi-table, Sit and Go, freerolls, freezeout, satellite, deep stack, and progressive knockouts. In multi-table tournaments, groups compete at different tables, and then champions from each table compete to have a final winner. Sit and Go tournaments involve a single table with already selected players. With freerolls, entry fees are not required.

Freezeouts are competitions where you can’t buy your way to re-enter online poker games in the Philippines. Deepstack gives you a tournament where the size of blinds increases as the tournament progresses. The satellite tournaments are competitions organized across a wide area and typically involve millions of cash prizes. Lastly, the progressive knockout tournaments are in phases where you might only get one chance to go higher in the poker competition.

Useful Tips to Win at Poker

Whether you’re a newbie exploring the world of real money online poker or an experienced gambler, Online-Casino.Ph has some invaluable tips to enhance your gaming experience. While poker relies heavily on chance, and there are no foolproof strategies for guaranteeing the best hand, we’ve compiled a set of practices that can help you maximize your potential in every hand you play. These tips are designed to provide you with an edge in the game and make your poker journey more rewarding.

Quick History of Poker in the Philippines

Poker gambling has been part of the history of Filipinos since the 1970s. In this section, we see the highlights of the country’s gambling history.

• 1976 – The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) was established by President Ferdinand Marcos.
• 1977 – The first legally recognized casino opened in 1977 in Manila Bay, where games, including poker, were played.
• 2007 – PACGCOR was given full control of the best online poker sites for Filipinos till 2032.
• 2017 – Republic Act No. 10927 was enacted to ensure stricter regulations on wagers and cashouts.
• 2007 – to present – Boom of local and foreign casinos in the country and growing interest in gambling.

Conclusion

Poker in the Philippines has firmly established itself and is gaining popularity among gamblers nationwide. At Online-Casino.Ph, our comprehensive guide covers everything that any Filipino player needs to know about playing online poker games in the Philippines. Crucially, it provides detailed insights into what to consider when choosing from the myriad of poker sites available for your investment. We emphasize the importance of gambling only on sites that hold licenses and registrations from trusted authorities like PAGCOR or reputable foreign commissions. Poker is an engaging card game with straightforward rules, and we encourage Filipinos to explore the various versions and compete for enticing pot prizes.

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