Please gamble responsibly. GambleAware.org 18+PokerStars began dealing real-money games in December 2001 and grew into the largest online room in the world, helped along by Chris Moneymaker's 2003 World Series win after he qualified through one of its satellites. It is now owned by Flutter Entertainment and runs its own network, so UK players sit in the global player pool rather than a ring-fenced domestic one. The British side is being reorganised in 2026: since August the same software also deals through Betfair as PokerStars on Betfair, with Paddy Power and Sky Poker due to follow.
The poker you will find at PokerStars
The spread is the widest in this list. No-Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha run at every stake, beside Seven-Card Stud, Razz, short-deck and mixed rotations such as HORSE and 8-Game. Zoom is the fast-fold format, launched in 2012 and still one of the busiest anywhere, while Spin & Go supplies the three-handed jackpot sit-and-gos. The client has built-in hand replays and is widely treated as the benchmark for stable, well-built software.
Nothing about the rules is special to PokerStars: a flush still beats a straight and the hand rankings read the same. The differences are practical - Texas Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, Stud and mixed games on the menu, the PokerStars network traffic, and Zoom when you want more hands per hour. The free tables cover the rules part.
What sets PokerStars apart
The tournament calendar is what sets it apart. The Sunday Million has run every week since 2006 as one of the largest regular online events, and the SCOOP and WCOOP festivals each put a long schedule of events across every format and buy-in on the calendar, with the live European Poker Tour and UKIPT beside them. For UK players the room is licensed through Stars Interactive Limited, Gambling Commission account 39108; the Betfair route runs under Betfair's own Commission licences.
New-player offer (for reference): UK offers are being reset while accounts move across to Betfair, where the room launched in August 2026 without a welcome bonus. PokerStars revises its offers regularly, so the wagering and expiry rules on the operator's terms page are the ones that apply.
How to read this profile
This page carries no PokerStars sign-up links. It sets out PokerStars's owner, network and formats as background, so the figures above read as a reviewed snapshot for PokerStars network traffic rather than a live lobby feed. Practice stays on the free tables.