Want to play free no download online poker? You're spoiled for good options these days with free, top-of-the-line software you can play right on your phone or laptop. You don't have to download a thing (or make a deposit) but you can reap the benefits of all the bells and whistles provided for true poker enthusiasts at real online poker sites.
So, how does free no download online poker work? Well, there are a couple of ways you can go about it. If you're a social media enthusiast you've likely seen a few friends bragging about their tournament wins or gigantic chip stacks at free poker apps like Zynga Poker or Appeak Poker.
These can be pretty fun starting points for learning the basics of poker rules and trying out a few random poker strategy techniques. Also to be fair, though, it's not really playing "poker."
Free social poker is its own unique animal and barely resembles the actual game played for money around the world. The order of play and actual poker hand rankings are the same but virtually everything else is on its own planet.
As all the chips are free (or bought and paid for, or hacked, etc), no one *really* plays poker like there's anything to lose. And that dramatically changes basic poker strategy. It's fun, for sure, but it's far from what you'll find on a real online poker site.
And that's where you should turn to for your best experience playing free no download online poker.
PokerStars, 888poker, William Hill Poker ... the brand names may be different but all are well established, trusted "real money" online poker sites where poker players, casual and professional, from all over the world meet online to play real poker for real money.
As they are specifically designed for serious poker players they all offer very sophisticated software packages with fantastic features for the poker enthusiast to take advantage of.
Variable avatars and table customization options, specific bet-size buttons, bet sliders, multi-tabling, four-color card decks, you name it. If it helps make a game of online poker smoother and faster for players, it's likely integrated into the poker site's software.
But not all poker players want to download a full suite of software onto their laptop or computer and play for 12 hours a day. Or even play for real money, however small.
Others want to jump online - much like you - and get a quick 15 or 20 mins of fun, competitive poker in. Or work their way up to playing poker for real money by trying out a variety of free poker games first.
Whatever the reason you're looking for it, free no download online poker is a great way to experience the thrill of online poker without diving in all the way head first. Every real money poker site also offers free no download games you can access right in your Internet browser from either your phone or laptop.
All you need to do is register a new account and all sorts of free online poker games will be at your fingertips - including online poker tournaments.
As mentioned, you'll simply need to pick one of the sites mentioned on our toplist above and create a new account to access all the free no download online poker you desire.
As long as you have an updated Internet browser - Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Explorer, etc - and a relatively recent smartphone or computer (iPhone 3 and up, Android, Macbook, PC) you'll have everything you need.
Signing up and creating an account takes only minutes and you'll be able to jump into a free game momentarily. All you'll need to provide is an email address, home address and proof of age. With no deposit required, the steps are quick and easy and won't require any verification.
Once you've created your account and picked a screenname you can begin accessing the free no download games at any online poker site. You'll find an "instant play" or "quick play" tab in the lobby or on the home screen. Click through and you'll see al the games available to you in both real money and play money form.
Choose the play money option and you can immediately jump in the action at any table or tournament you like.
As you new player at any online poker site you'll be gifted a set number of play-money chips that will get you started in the games. You can then obviously earn a lot more by playing in free games or tournaments and building your play-chip bankroll. You can also head to the poker store and buy play-money chips to add to your account.
As we mentioned at the top there are a few other options for playing free no download poker, including social media games and some free poker game sites but playing on a dedicated online poker site is by far the better option.
Why? Several reasons:
The free no download poker software used by real poker sites is far superior because it was originally developed by poker players for poker players - not by random game designers who may never have held cards in their hands in their life.
Before sites like PokerStars had a dedicated Mac poker client or mobile app, for example, its no download software was how players on a Mac or a smartphone played for real money, so the level of skill and expertise in the software was almost as good.
The free no download poker software doesn't have all of the features as the full software suite (which makes it run faster, btw) but it is pretty close - especially nowadays. And it's especially designed to make the game of poker fast and smooth and easy to play.
Free no download poker on a real poker site is glitch free, secure and trustable and really makes the game of poker optimized for online play. You can't say that about most free poker games and apps you can find online.
We've played on many of the free no download options out there and we can assure you these are BY FAR the best tables and features you can find.
There are a few ways you can go if you want to play poker (free or otherwise) on your phone. You can download an app from the app store and play for free with the other players on that app.
There are a few OK ones but nothing truly special. And, in fact, most of the free poker apps we've tried via the App store or Google Play are pretty crappy.
Appeak Poker is one that stands out as relatively solid and with fun games/tournaments for all levels of players and a good leaderboard challenge.
You can also download the full app from a regular poker site like PokerStars or 888poker. This will give you the best mobile poker experience but it is actually an app you download to your phone or tablet.
Or you can simply create an account at an online poker site and access the no download (instant play) software via your phone's built in web browser. This can be used for either free or real-money play, is fast, has most of the features of the downloadable app and can be accessed in seconds.
If you are playing for real money it's equally secure; if you're playing for free money it's super easy to use on the train, on a plane or anywhere you want to play poker on the go.
Yes, of course you can do that too. If you do want to go the full nine yards and play no download poker for real money you can do that to. You will use the same account name you used to set up your play-money account but you will need to fund it through any one of a variety of methods (Visa, Mastercard, Neteller, Skrill, paysafecard etc).
See our full list of all online poker deposit options and check the cashier at each individual poker site for their specific payment options.
You shouldn't. If you have the latest version of your Internet browser on your phone or tablet it should open and play on demand without having to install anything new.
Most Internet browsers have already accounted for things like Flash or Silverlight or HTML5 which might be required to play in-browser games so you should have no issues. If you use Chrome you may need to go into your settings and enable one of the above but it will all be explained in the browser itself when you start up the game.
You can - and from the same account - but you will need to jump over the the casino side of the poker site software to do so. PokerStars and 888poker, for example, both have integrated casinos in their software where you can access all sorts of table and casino games including video poker.
Follow the links to the casino side and you be able to find the instant play video poker games there. You can either play in demo or free play mode to play them free or you can make a deposit and play them for real money on the no download software as well.
With nothing at risk financially, the only thing possibly at risk with free no download poker is your name and basic personal information but all of that is encrypted and protected by any online poker site.
If you choose to play no download poker for real money the same rules of encryption and security apply as for any online transaction so as long as you keep your passwords and bank details away from prying eyes you will have no concerns.
If you create a new account at an online poker account you will typically be gifted a series of tickets into what are called "freerolls" - free poker tournaments with no cash entry fee but real money prizes for the top finishers.
You don't have to make a deposit to play in these events and your tickets will be immediately accessible in your account. The welcome or entry freerolls usually have fairly small prize pools (say $100 or $500) but that is very real money and if you do make it into the final 10% or so you will get a share of it.
You can then use that money to play in other real-money tournaments or cash games where you can win even greater sums. Several well-known poker pros, in fact, began their entire poker career by winning money in freerolls and never looked back. They never made a deposit and ultimately have gone on to win millions from online poker alone.
You don't need to download any software to play in these freerolls either - they are equally accessible by using the no download software provided at the poker site. For more information on how you can access freerolls and more free poker tournaments, check our freerolls information page:
Truthfully, there aren't too many. If you're a real hardcore poker player or aficionado you will find a couple of things missing from the no download software:
If you're a casual poker player in it to learn a bit more about the game and have some fun and/or bragging rights over your friends, the above things likely aren't an obstacle to you. You might not even know they exist in the first place.
No download poker provides more than enough online poker computing power than the average player needs or wants. The game is fast, streamlined and very easy to play and understand.
If you ever intend to play online poker for real money, large or small - or even if you'd just like to have an "authentic" online poker experience with play that most closely reflects what you would find in a live casino or card room, playing no download poker online at a real poker site is your best option.
Free poker games and apps may offer something that looks similar to poker but it's actually quite far from it. There's very little strategy, effort or sense to it, to be honest. Random plays are the norm and you'll rarely if ever find a community of true poker enthusiasts you can learn and grow with.
Playing free no download poker on a legitimate poker site, however, is the best of both worlds. You don't have to make any deposits, you don't have to download any software to your computer or smartphone nor do you need to buy any play-money chips.
You can try out a variety of different game types, play in tournaments, win actual real money you can use for real play and your experience will most closely mimic what it's like to play real online poker. As you play the free games and build up your bankroll, you'll also gain confidence and understanding of proper poker play and a real shot at becoming a lifelong winning player.
If you then want to take those newfound skills and play online poker for real money, too, you're just a short step away!
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