Sometimes you just feel like playing a quick game of Texas Hold’em without worrying about signing up to a new poker site or even opening an existing account. These days many operators offer play money games you can jump into straight away without any registration or downloads. Here’s a small selection of places where you can play free online poker instantly.
The pages linked to here open in new windows so you can navigate back to this list at anytime.
Please note that these instant play options change from time to time and not all of the links above will always work so if you come across one that doesn't work, let us know in the comments and we'll try our best to find an alternative.
Why Do Poker Sites Offer Instant Play Games?
Some of the games on this page may seem too good to be true and you might wonder what’s in it for the poker sites if they offer real money games with no registration or downloads. You can indeed play for small sums of cash but some of the variants are free either in the sense that you play with play money or (in the case of some of the mobile games) you bet points you have already accumulated though playing other games. So what’s the deal?
Best Online Casino Real Money Apps (2023-24)Basically, these are loss leaders to get you in the door, maybe entice you into trying out a new software platform or new devices (like mobiles or tablets), and then convert you to a regular real-money player. It works like this: You stumble upon one of the instant play poker games while surfing the Internet and you start to play. You like the software, it runs smoothly on your device, you like the interface etc. etc.
Maybe you didn’t even know the poker room existed before you started playing this instant play game and now you’re hooked. The next step is obviously to put some real money on the table and there you go, you’ve become a new customer for the poker room. So beware! These instant play games can be addictive and fun to play and the prizes you win might even be worth something on their own. But more often than not, these instant play games are just intended as loss leaders to get you interested in playing for real at the poker room.
75+ Fun Casino Names – Original & Catchy IdeasMore Poker Sites with Instant Play Games
- View More - Poker780 has great play money games which are perfect for practice. There's also a 100% match bonus up to $600 waiting for your first deposit. (UK)
- View More - BlackChip Poker offers a full suite of casino table games including Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps & Roulette that you can play instantly in your web browser. Or choose to play Texas Hold'em poker for free via the Instant Play software. For real-money gaming, Blackchip Poker offers a 100% Welcome Bonus up to $1,000. (Global)
- View More - Americas Cardroom has a cool Instant Play Blackjack game called "Double Attack Blackjack" which you can play for free or for real money. If you decide to make a deposit, there's a 100% bonus up to $1,000 to welcome you to the room. (USA/Brazil)
- View More - GGPoker's Instant Play poker games aren't really poker but they're still lots of fun. We recommend Poker With Friends (a casual poker experience that lets you play with friends and family privately on your terms) and Wheel Of Dice, a simple guessing game where players compete to correctly predict the outcome of three dice rolls. If you do want to play actual poker for real, GGPoker has a huge range of cash-games and tournaments plus new players can receive up to $600 in welcome bonuses. (North America, Europe, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore)
- View More - BetOnline has several free instant play slots games including Hercules Journey and True Illusions. If you fancy a flutter on the horses or other sports, BetOnline also has traditional casinos offering classic card games with live dealers plus plenty of regular and during tournaments to check out. New players are welcomed with a 100% deposit bonus of up to $1,000. (Worldwide)
Is There Online Poker Without Downloading?
Yes. The option of online poker without downloading has been available for years but recently many poker rooms have improved their "instant play" or "flash" version to such an extent that it almost feels like a genuine download client. In fact, it's difficult to say what the future of downloadable clients is as the technology for web-based applications improves exponentially.
Even now it's hard to pin down what exactly is meant by “online poker without downloading.” Many poker rooms offer play money games that you can access and play without ever opening an account. (Warning: These “open” tables usually have extremely wild games so don’t place too much value on your bankroll if you decide to part with any.) Most poker rooms also allow you to access their instant play software with an existing account.
Again, you can’t play for real money but you can probably transfer some play money into your account. And a few poker rooms – as you can see in the list above – allow you to play for real money (although sometimes with very limited betting options) without downloading anything and without having an account.
What Are the Benefits of No-Download Poker Software?
The most obvious advantage is that you can start using it immediately because you don’t have to wait for a download, install the software and then set it up to your liking. No-download software usually supports Mac and P.C. Users alike and since it runs in your Internet browser (Firefox, Chrome, Safari et al.), you don’t have to worry about system requirements. As long as your browser is up to date, the software should run smoothly. Another benefit of no-download software is that you don’t need to set aside valuable hard drive space.
The latest no-download software even features multi tabling – although needless to say you won’t be able to open as many tables as you could on a full download version. Still, two or even three tables are usually possible. Other benefits include better security (since you don’t have a file sitting on your hard drive that could potentially hold sensitive information) and the fact that no-download software automatically updates whenever there’s a new version.
On the downside, no-download software generally doesn’t have all the features of a full download client and – depending on your Internet connection and speed – it may not run quite as flawlessly as the full version. Also, you usually can’t play for real money (though there are exceptions) and tracking systems like the Player Database can’t be used either. Still, the no-download software plays the same (more or less) and you can at least get your fix of online poker anytime, anywhere.
Which Rooms Have the Best No-Download Software?
At the time of writing, PokerStars had the best known and most popular no-download software among . It allows multiple tables and runs fairly smoothly, considering. However, other sites, like Titan Poker, have made impressive improvements to their instant play software and it’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference between the two.
Actually, many professional players use no-download software as their backup option in case their main computer goes down or they want to play on someone else’s computer. If nothing happens today, this will only become more common in the future as software developers continue to improve the capabilities of no-download poker sites.
Play Free Mobile Poker Anywhere!
Mobile poker is another area where no-download software comes in particularly handy. Playing on a smart phone or tablet is definitely different from the full desktop experience but it’s also handier and often just as much fun – especially when you’re on the go and want to play a couple hands here and there.
Virtually all major poker providers nowadays offer some kind of mobile solution. iPoker has launched a new HTML5-client, making their games available for most iOS and Android devices. PokerStars offers iPhone-, iPad- and Android-Apps, which can be downloaded from the respective App Stores. Also the Play Now / Instant Play clients of various providers (for example ) have been optimized for mobile use meanwhile.
Usually you can only play real money poker if you make a deposit, but many providers offer free play money tables and/or generous bonuses for mobile players, for example at . Additionally, almost every provider offers freerolls which you can take part in from everywhere in the world.
No Deposit Bonus List - Top Free Offers in Australia (2023)So if you haven’t done it yet, give it a try and play free mobile poker on your smartphone or tablet. Just make sure you have a decent WiFi connection (3G is okay as well, but consumes your data volume quickly) and some money stored on your account, so you can double up easily.
Play Free Online Poker Everywhere!
Whether it’s on your desktop at work (if your boss isn’t looking), on your smartphone during boring commutes or power outages at home, people love to play free online poker wherever they are. While the action may not be as intense and you have to watch out for slow connections, there’s no doubt that instant play or mobile poker apps offer a unique opportunity to enjoy a quick session or two and possibly even turn things around if you’re on a losing streak.
When poker started online, everyone had to download special software to play. Nowadays, however, technology has advanced to a degree where you can literally play poker in your web browser. Many online poker rooms now feature a fully functional ‘Instant Play’ or 'Flash' client that enables you to log in with your existing account or even play without registering at all.
There are, of course, differences compared to the full-fledged poker client you download and install onto your computer. First of all, not all features are included; for instance, you usually cannot use a poker hud with instant play poker. Furthermore, instant play poker tends to consume more of your bandwidth and putting too much stress on your internet connection may lead to laggy cards or, even worse, being disconnected from the table.
Still, if all you want is a little distraction and some poker action, free online instant play poker is just the thing. And who knows? Maybe you even find your next favorite poker site this way. See for yourself and give one of these rooms a shot!
best casino oddsMore Free Online Poker Options
- View More - Partypoker has a great flash client allowing you to play tournaments and cash games without ever downloading software. Plus, there's a 100% match bonus up to €500 for new players who want to make a deposit. Available in most countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Portugal. (Global - except US, UK, Belgium, Israel, Italy, Turkey, China, Russia and Azerbaijan)
Top Recommended Poker Room
If you're looking for a top rated poker room that requires no download, we recommend 888poker. They offer a sleek Instant Play client accessible from any device with an Internet browser. When you open a new account you also get a $88 bonus (no code required). For even more value, 888poker regularly offers free tournament tickets in their free to enter online tournaments.
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Play Free Online Poker FAQs
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Can I Play Free Online Poker Without Downloading Anything?
Yes, many online poker rooms offer a no-download or Flash version that allows you to play free online poker without downloading anything. Some rooms even allow you to play for real money without downloading anything.
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Can I Win Real Money Without Downloading Anything?
Possible, but not very likely. You can play cash games with very low limits, but the fees for limit and Pot-Limit games are often very high (up to 10%!) Compared to other games like and , where the fees are max. 5%. For that reason, you depend on extremely fishy players to win money on these tables. Your best chance to win money is by playing low buy-in tournament with thousands of players. You can re-buy and/or cash multiple toursnament if needed, but still: This is far from the solid income you can rake in on the typical, download-based poker client. Our recommendation: If you want to play poker to win money, download a good poker app like or the PokerStars Client. If you just want to kill some time and don’t expect to win big money anyway, free online poker is perfectly fine.
Best Slots Casinos (2023 update) -
On What Websites Can I Play Free Online Poker?
You can play free online poker on numerous websites. Check out the list in this article for some suggestions.
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Is There Online Poker Without Downloading?
Yes, many poker rooms offer a so-called Flash version that allows you to play your favorite poker games without downloading anything.
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What Are the Benefits of No-Download Poker Software?
The benefits of no-download software are: Immediate availability (you don’t have to download anything), works with both PC and Mac, runs in your Internet browser, no need to open files, constant automatic updates. Drawbacks include fewer features and lower gaming depth than full clients, and slower performance under bad connections conditions.
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Can I Use a Poker HUD with No-Download Software?
That depends on the software. Usually, no-download software does not support poker HUDs.
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Can I Play Mobile Poker for Free?
Yes, most major poker providers offer free play money tables as well as bonuses for mobile players. Almost every provider features freerolls that you can participate in with your smartphone or tablet. Just make sure to have a decent WiFi connection and some money on your account.
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What are the benefits of mobile poker?
Mobile poker has many benefits nowadays due to the highly developed software. You can play on the go, whenever and whereever you want. If you are waiting for the subway, standing in line or just bored and have some time to spend, mobile poker allows you to instantly open your poker app, find a quickmobile cash game or MTT and start playing right away. Another benefit is that you can play smaller (even single-digit) cash game tables comfortably on your phone whereas on the normal client those would be too small. Last but not least, playing on your mobile device makes it sometimes easier to stick to your bankroll limits, as you cannot buy-in for too large amounts anyways.
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Which is the best mobile poker app?
Nowadays, all major poker providers offer mobile poker apps. currently is the absolute industry leader regarding active players, so their mobile client is definitely worth a try. You can download the iPhone-, iPad- and Android-Apps from the respective App Stores and play cash games, MTTs and even SNGs. Full Tilt also offers great mobile software, IDev games expanded their innovations with richness bars (showing the expected value of a pot) to smart phones and several other useful functions. Finally, also offers mobile poker with a focus on fast fold poker.
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Can I Win Real Money with Mobile Poker?
Mobile poker is certainly a lot of fun but in my opinion it’s hardly possible to establish a serious winning rate from your smartphone or tablet. At the low stakes you encounter rather sloppy play anyways which you might exploit with your full-sized laptop from a cozy chair at home, but with mobile poker you additionally have the drawback of slow internet connection (3G costs you money, WiFi might be slow) and touchscreen buttons instead of a real mouse. All this might sum up to a wash or even a slight loss in the long run – but again: Mobile poker is great fun and if you are winning there as well ... who cares?
