Competitive GGPoker Rake
GGPoker rake and loyalty schemes are a little complicated, but you can find all the information you need clearly displayed on the official website.
The amount of rake you’ll pay varies based on game types and formats, but in some instances it can be quite low. For example, the Daily Turbo $10 has just $0.80 of the $10 entry going towards rake, or 8%.
Some players have voiced concerns that GGPoker rake is overinflated. This doesn’t necessarily take into account the promotions, loyalty scheme and jackpot rewards.
For example, in selected cash games where the pot reaches 30bbs, 1bb will be contributed to the Bad Beat Jackpot. That does mean more rake, but it also means there’s a seven-figure jackpot up for grabs when somebody sucks out on you.
On top of that, GGPoker also has an intricate loyalty scheme that awards up to 60% rakeback, or cashback, as GGPoker calls it. You can find out more later in our GGPoker review in our section on the Fish Buffet VIP program.
GGPoker Poker Bonuses
If you’re searching for a GGPoker bonus, you won’t have to look very hard. The site’s whole appeal is to put the fun back into poker, and a large part of that is based around copious GGPoker bonuses.
GGPoker Welcome Bonus
When you first sign up, you can take your pick between two welcome bonuses without the need for a GGPoker bonus code.
$100 in Rewards
The first option is to deposit $20 and get $100 in free tournament tickets and Cash Game Dollars, which are dished out over the course of six days. Once you’ve deposited, you’ll get $52.50 in free tickets without having to lift a finger.
This is particularly lucrative for those of you learning how to play poker because you can 6x your investment for a relatively small deposit. All tournament tickets are for All-In or Fold events, which is a really simplified version of the game. Again, it is ideal for beginners.
The other $47.50 in additional awards can be unlocked by playing All-In or Fold cash games over those first six days. Each day will have a minimum number of hands between 100 and 1,000. Hit that target to unlock your reward.
Bonus Amount: $100 in rewards
Min. Deposit: $20
Max Withdrawal: N/A
Matched Deposit Bonus
The second option is a 100% welcome bonus worth up to $600, with a slightly lower minimum deposit of $10. This is a more traditional poker welcome bonus which will appeal more to higher-stakes and experienced players.
Your first deposit is doubled, and you can then unlock the bonus funds in stages. For every $5 you pay in rake through cash games or tournaments, you’ll unlock $1 in bonus funds.
If you cash out before you unlock the full amount, the rest of your bonus funds will be mucked.
Bonus Amount: Up to $600
Min. Deposit: $10
Max Withdrawal: $600
100% up to $600 Welcome Offer
- $4 million in monthly random drops
- Up to 60% cashback every week
- Leaderboards and regular races
GG Poker Rakeback
The rakeback scheme at GGPoker works like cashback, and is directly tied to the loyalty program.
There are eight stages in the Fish Buffet loyalty program at GGPoker:
- Plankton
- Fish
- Shrimp
- Crab
- Octopus
- Whale
- Shark
- GGPlatinum
The more you play, the more you move up through the ranks – and the bigger rewards you unlock.
Like Google’s algorithms, or the Colonel’s secret recipe of herbs and spices, the magic formula for earning points is a closely guarded secret. But you’ll get roughly 100 Fish Buffet Points, or FP, for every $1 paid in rake and fees.
The bottom line is that the more active you are, and the higher stakes you play, the quicker you’ll progress.
Leveling up earns you a spin on the Reward Wheel, which awards cash prizes of up to $1,200. And you can move out of the Fish Buffet to Platinum if you’ve had enough of the grind. This gives you a year to maintain your position, without weekly targets.
Admittedly, the GGPoker signup bonus isn’t the most straightforward rewards scheme, but it does give you a ton of flexibility and some juicy prizes.
Other GGPoker Promotions
Still with us? Good – because there were actually loads more bonuses and promotions at the time of our GGPoker review.
You’re probably still digesting the Fish Buffet, so we won’t bog you down with the ins and outs. Instead, here’s a taster of the types of GGPoker bonuses you can expect to find:
Daily promotions
Giveaways
Tournament leaderboards
Bad Beat Jackpot
Cash drops
Play the pros
GGPoker Games
One of the things that really stood out during our GGPoker review was the massive variety of games. If you’ve never played there before, the lobby is totally unlike anything you’ll be used to at most of the best real-money poker sites.
Here, we’ll go through the big three game types available at GGPoker, as well as a few specific formats.
GGPoker Tournaments & Series
One of the most appealing things about GGPoker is its elite line-up of tournaments and major series.
Some of the biggest tournaments in online poker are held at GGPoker, including a few record breakers. Here are some of the biggest and most influential events at GG.
GG World Festival
The GG World Festival (GGWF) was introduced in 2023 with a then record-breaking $200 million in guarantees across the online series. That record lasted for about a year, when it was broken by—you guessed it—the next GGWF, this time with $250 million in combined guarantees.
This series usually runs for around one month and has several flagship events. In 2024, the GGWF featured the Global MILLION$ Mystery Bounty Grand Opening, with $1 million up top—plus a $100,000 top bounty—for the insanely small buy-in of $5.
The Main Event had $8 million GTD with a $1,500 buy-in, there was $5 million GTD in the $500 buy-in Global MILLION$ 5 Million, and they also found room for a $10,800-entry event with $10 million GTD—enough to rival the WSOP Main Event.
WSOP
Speaking of the WSOP, you may have heard about their new owners. GGPoker acquired the WSOP brand in a landmark deal worth a staggering $500 million in August 2024.
GG and the WSOP already had a strong relationship, with 54 WSOP bracelet events held online at GG during the pandemic, when the usual Las Vegas event wasn’t possible. But this relatively new partnership has blown the doors open to all possibilities, including GGPoker hosting live poker events in the US in the future and tie-ins with events like the WSOP Main and WSOP Paradise.
For now, GG is taking it slow and steady. Rather than rush in, the current plan is for WSOP to continue using its branding on selected sites and assets. But this deal is great news for GGPoker players, who can definitely expect a bunch of satellites and other cool opportunities.
Tournaments | Games | Buy-ins |
---|---|---|
Freerolls Satellites Progressive Knockouts Mystery Bounty All-In or Fold Spin & Gold Rush & Cash Flip & Go | Hold’em Omaha Short Deck | Freeroll - $10,800 |
Regular Tournaments
Major series aside, GG has a constant flow of high-quality events with big guarantees. Here are some of the fan favorites:
Bounty Hunters – The daily events will earn you a bounty every time you eliminate another player. There’s $1 million guaranteed each day, plus a huge $600k GTD Main Event every Sunday.
Daily Guarantees – These come in all forms. There are standard tournaments, turbos, and hypers, depending on how quickly you want to reach the final table. In total, you’ll find $5 million in weekly guarantees.
High Rollers – Even some of the best online poker sites fall short when it comes to high-roller events, but they’re a hallmark of GGPoker. You can rub elbows with the big stacks for your share of $7 million in high-stakes guarantees each week.
Omaholic – There’s a new tournament every hour for Omaha fans, with a typically innovative GG spin: PLO-NL. This means you play Pot Limit rules pre-flop, then go full No Limit post-flop. It’s a great way to actually see some cards before the chips fly in.
T$ Builder – These events are aimed at less-experienced players who just want to build a bankroll. Opposition is soft, and there are no fees.
100% up to $600 Welcome Offer
- $4 million in monthly random drops
- Up to 60% cashback every week
- Leaderboards and regular races
Playing At GGPoker: Tips and Tricks
The GGPoker network is unique, runs independently, and offers completely different formats to those you’ll find at other top poker rooms. So, if you want to beat the games, you need to come prepared with a top-drawer poker tournament strategy.
Following our GGPoker review, our team put together four straightforward tips to playing (and winning) at this popular poker room.
Dine at the Buffet. When you first look at the Fish Buffet loyalty program, it’s a lot to take in. But if you spend a little time reading through it, you’ll see it offers a lot of value. Knowing how it works is vital to unlocking maximum value, especially as you can manually switch to Platinum when the time is right.
Target obscure formats. Your first thought when you hear about All-In of Fold is probably that it’s a talentless version of poker. But that’s not true. While random chance is greatly increased, you can still employ tactics and hand charts, with special consideration for the straight flush jackpot. This immediately gives you an advantage over the majority of players who aren’t adapting to the format correctly.
Try lower stakes. The GGPoker welcome bonus hands out tournament tickets like they’re going out of fashion, particularly at the lower stakes. The site does a great job of retaining amateur players, and therefore lower-stakes games here are a little easier than they are at, for example, many of the best poker rooms in the US.
Build around promos. There are so many promotions and offers at GGPoker that it makes complete sense to factor these in when you’re deciding which tournaments to play. You can boost your bottom line by focusing on winnable leaderboards or unlocking lucrative free tickets.
Banking at GGPoker
Most options are covered for GGPoker deposits and withdrawals, from debit cards to cryptocurrencies. Everything is fee-free, except for MuchBetter, which adds on a 3% fee. And the standard transfer fees which come attached to any deposit at crypto poker sites.
If crypto deposits are available in your region, you can use BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC. Withdrawals are processed faster than traditional payment methods, although you may experience a slight wait on all deposits, which is normal for crypto.
GGPoker Deposit Options
You’ll have plenty of flexibility when you need to top up at GG. Here are the main details you’ll need:
Deposit Method | Minimum | Maximum | Fee |
---|---|---|---|
Crypto | Varies on coin | Varies on coin | Transfer fees only |
Debit Card | $10 | $750 | Free |
Apple Pay | $10 | $750 | Free |
Luxon Pay | $10 | $750 | Free |
PayPal | $10 | $750 | Free |
Trustly | $10 | $750 | Free |
Skrill | $10 | $750 | Free |
Neteller | $10 | $750 | Free |
MuchBetter | $10 | $750 | 3% |
GGPoker Interface & User Experience
GGPoker is a leader when it comes to poker software. Evidence of this is plastered across all the best poker sites; they’ve followed in the footsteps of GG. It’s why GGPoker won Best Poker Operator at the EGR Operator Awards 2024.
Avatars are nothing new in poker, but the look and feel of GGPoker brought something new to the online scene. They ramped up the emojis, throwables, and player interaction to the point where GGPoker loses a lot of the intensity of other sites. And that’s a good thing.
The lobby has similar vibes. There’s a colorful logo for each game type, massive jackpot amounts in a sliding banner, and cartoon caricatures of Daniel Negreanu at every turn.
It’s obvious the GG team is trying to create an easy-going atmosphere and encourage new players to the game, which is exactly what poker needs.
Looks aside, GGPoker also has some really useful built-in tools. Click on any opponent to launch the Smart HUD, giving you player stats such as VPIP, PFR, and total winnings.
You’ll even see different stats based on the game type. For instance, the All-In or Fold Smart HUD whips up how often they go all in, along with their total jackpot winnings.
GGPoker App
It would be weird for GGPoker to have industry-leading software and then fall flat on the app. Luckily, that’s not the case.
The GGPoker download process is quick and simple. The mobile app is ad-free and has a stripped-back design for the mobile lobby. It’s still vibrant, but has a black backdrop and is a little less in-your-face. This is perfect, as it makes it easier to find what you’re after on the smaller screen.
If you log in from your mobile, you’ll automatically be logged out from desktop. There’s no need to faff around. This is awesome if you’re the type of player who might need to hop onto their phone in a hurry.
When you’re dealt a hand on mobile, you can either tap ‘Open’ or you can use your thumb to peel the cards up and take a peek at your hand. This is about as close as you can get to replicating that feeling of being dealt in at a live table. You can also turn this off using the ‘Squeeze’ tab if you don’t like it.
Once all in, you’ll be able to see your chances of winning the pot as a percentage. Or, if there’s an all in and you fold, you can hit the rabbit icon to see which cards would’ve come out. You can even show your hand when you folded a couple of streets earlier.
Why GGPoker is a Reliable and Safe App
Here’s why the GGPoker app is a really safe way to play online poker:
Turn on Face ID for extra security
Edit betting limits and log-in options directly within the app
‘Smart Focus’ feature ensures you don’t miss a key hand when multi-tabling
Automatically logs you out of desktop software
Represented by world-famous poker pros like Daniel Negreanu
GGPoker Customer Service & Safety
The GGPoker network is independent and widely trusted, with Daniel Negreanu as the frontman. The Poker Hall of Famer is known as one of the greats in poker, and that bring an extra level of trust to the site.
The site is available in 20 languages, from English to Turkish to Vietnamese. The best way to get in touch with the team is to visit GGPoker, click the red ‘Contact Us’ button in the bottom right, and fire them an email.
Where GGPoker is Legal
Unfortunately, GGPoker is currently unavailable to players in the US. But the landscape is constantly changing, so keep an eye out.
Apart from that, it’s legal to play GGPoker in the UK as well as many countries across Europe and beyond.
Is GGPoker Legit?
GGPoker is 100% safe.
Even among the online poker community, where accusations of rigged games can be rife, there is a widely accepted consensus that games at GG are randomized and fair.
We experienced no issues depositing, playing or withdrawing during our GGPoker review. It gets our stamp of approval.
GGPoker Review – Overall Verdict
It’s amazing to see how rapidly GGPoker has shot up the ranks and upset the status quo in the poker world – but it’s also not surprising. When you look at the selection of GGPoker tournaments, guarantees, and cutting-edge in-game software, this was always going to become one of the top online poker sites.
100% up to $600 Welcome Offer
- $4 million in monthly random drops
- Up to 60% cashback every week
- Leaderboards and regular races