TOP-5 best alternatives to PokerStars in 2019

After the death of rakeback by PokerStars in 2017, many players struggled to find alternatives. Two years later, the situation is no better as Stars didn't stop there — the chests began to give even fewer bonuses. Although the traffic at the poker room has fallen (along with profit), there are still hundreds of players trapped in the largest room in the world. Also, during these two years, the list of alternatives to PokerStars has grown not only in size but also quality, so on the eve of the next autumn poker, we share with our players a new TOP-5 with the best alternatives to PokerStars in 2019 with a small bonus track at the end.

PokerOK (GG Poker network)

Recently, we did an in-depth review looking for the best poker room at the GG Poker network, where we described all the advantages of the network, we conducted a traffic and bonus review and concluded that PokerOK is the best skin of the moment. Here we want to draw your attention to the reasons why GG Poker network is currently the best alternative to PokerStars.

Balanced ecosystem between regs and amateurs, supported by monthly promotions;
Incredible traffic, sharing the pool with Asian and European countries;
Action from low to high-stakes up to NL/PLO10k including fast poker;
User-friendly client;
Millions of dollars guaranteed every month in tournament series;
The possibility of choosing a deal among several reliable skins, including those with licenses in countries like the UK, Estonia, Sweden, etc.

On top of that, our players will get a transparent rakeback deal from Worldpokerdeals: 50% fixed PVI rakeback, plus access to technical support and our VIP services and a private cashier for fast withdrawals for NL600+ players.

partypoker

After the poker Black Friday, partypoker has always been recognized as the main competitor of PokerStars, and even despite the HUD prohibition enforced in June 2019, it remains one of the best sites where PokerStars players can migrate. After all, partypoker is still:

A TOP-5 poker room in terms of traffic (after a few months the site returned to the ranking after bypassing the PokerStars europool);
A poker room with a fixed rakeback deal according to a transparent scheme from 20% to 40%, plus a private deal from WPD;
The home of hundreds of fast poker tables (fastforward) up to NL500, now with $75,000 in weekly leaderboards and maximum six simultaneous tables;
A site with fantastic Spin&Go offer with ten stakes up to $250 (three of which have a maximum $1,000,000 prize — $5, $200, $250), only surpassed in traffic by PokerStars;
The organizer of massive tournament series (Powerfest, Monster Series, KO Series, Omaha Series) with millions of dollars guaranteed and some overlays. partypoker is also the home of the largest online poker tournament in history — MILLIONS online with $20,000,000 GTD;
A room where Worldpokerdeals can offer its players not only an exclusive rakeback deal but also a full support package, which includes, among other things a branded layout and access to our VIP club.

PokerKing (Winning Poker Network)

Although Winning Poker Network faced major issues due to an unsuccessful software update, a problem that lasted more than three months, this didn't stop the network from holding the largest tournament in history for an US-facing network (for which WPN also set a Guinness Record) — The Venom $5M GTD. Right now, PokerKing has exciting features:

The largest public poker room open to US citizens, with action up to NL10k (7-Day No Rathole Tables);
TOP rakeback deal — up to 40% from VIP system plus weekly rakes and a private WPD deal;
Almost no restrictions for support software;
Soon, WPN will launch its own version of fast poker — Blitz Poker.
WPD VIP services like a free layout and data mining.

PPPoker and Upoker

In 2019 isn't possible to talk about alternatives to PokerStars without mentioning poker applications. Although this industry has faced bad times recently, mainly due to the closure of PokerMaster and the turning of PokerKing Asia into a private Chinese reservation, there are still safe applications to join with traffic not only from China but also clubs from the US, Australia, Latin America, etc.

We have written articles studying the traffic in both apps, but the set of clubs continually changes, and the best decision is to contact our team to find out our current deal. Nevertheless, there are fixed criteria at PPPoker and Upoker:

Full bankroll guarantee from Worldpokerdeals (we cover all the risks of dishonest alliances);
Fixed high rakeback up to 55%;
Free transfer of chips from any club;
Low withdrawal fees;
HUD support, partial data mining;
Private clubs only for WPD VIP players;
Clubs that actively fight against collusion and cheating;
Great traffic at highest stakes in Hold'em, Omaha, and OFC.

Microgaming Poker Network

The oldest European network, currently in the TOP-20 in terms of traffic, is the last member of our list. In early summer we did a traffic review and a comparison of the three best skins. In general, we can say now about Microgaming:

It combines a very low rake (due to small caps) and high rakeback from 30%;
Good traffic at low and medium stakes;
Just like GG Poker network, is expanding to Asia adding some localized skins;
A balanced field focused on keeping the poker ecology, supported by restrictions to third-party software, but allowing players to request the hand history with a 24h delay;
Spins up to €50 with progressive jackpots and HUD when using the classic client (which will be phased out this year);
Private rakeback deal from WPD which boosts the player's EV, plus all the perks from our site.

In addition to the five main networks, which we surely recommend as the most profitable alternatives to PokerStars in term of rakeback and traffic, we would like to point out some less obvious options, which are essential for players looking for soft reservations.

TigerGaming (Chico)

The second American network also an excellent alternative to PokerStars. Unlike Winning, it cannot boast the same amount of traffic and the same high rakeback (even with the Worldpokerdeals deal), but it still has:

An incredibly soft field, especially for MTT;
More stable and friendly software;
9-max traffic in NLH, PLO, up to $1,000.

IDN Poker

The most ambiguous network on our list, not only for its past but also for several features. It's been three months now since we reopened our deal with IDN Poker (ShenPoker), and we can say:

We have not identified superusers;
Up to NL100, our players mainly have a positive experience playing on the network;
Some case of collusion can be seen at the tables.

Although the network is actively investigating the issues (and unlike Chinese sites, it's answering promptly), we must warn that IDN has not overcome all its problems. At the moment, the main advantages of the network are: