Best Online Poker Sites for Real Money in Malaysia 2024

Although not permitted for muslims in Malaysia, poker is extremely popular, and is by far the most popular playing card game in the country. Malaysia poker players eschew video poker and casino poker and instead head to the best online poker Malaysia sites so they can play Texas Hold’em and Omaha with their fellow sharks and fish.

What follows is your comprehensive guide to online poker Malaysia sites and poker networks that are happy to accept players from Malaysia.

Best Online Poker Real Money Malaysia Sites by Category

Here are what we think are the best online poker Malaysia sites by the most important poker categories.

Best for online poker Malaysia traffic	PokerStars	Best for Texas Hoidem poker online	BetOnline
Top for Omaha poker online	TigerGaming	No. 1 to play online poker with friends	888Casino
Best for poker online free rolls	William Hill	#1 Mobile poker client	888poker
Best for poker fish	Everygame	Top site for poker sharks	PokerStars

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Best Online Poker Malaysia Sites Reviewed

Now that we’ve given you our list of the top 10 best poker sites in Malaysia, let’s take a closer look at the top five.

1. BetOnline – Poker Site with a Big Bonus (100% Deposit Bonus Up To $1,000)

BetOnline is one online poker Malaysia site that has been providing poker-playing opportunities throughout the world for over twenty years. Perhaps better known as a sports betting site, BetOnline added online poker in 2011, twenty years after the site came online in the first place.

This sports betting, casino and poker site operated from Costa Rica in its first years of existence, but moved to Panama in 2002 as a result of its success. It has always operated via an Antigua and Barbuda licence, though. It has looked much the same throughout its history, although in 2016 it was given a major upgrade as a result of changing its software provider.

The BetOnline poker network is ranked third in the world in terms of traffic, so if you do play here you’ll always have plenty of players to play with. It has the main variants of Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Stud, along with some more niche varieties of poker such as Americana, 32 Card Draw and Razz.

2. Tiger Gaming – Twenty Years of Poker (100% up to $1,000 Poker Bonus)

The TigerGaming poker client has a lot in common with our number two pick, BetOnline. Both sites have been online for over twenty years, and both use the same poker client software. Both run on the Chico poker network too, so TigerGaming players will be playing with BetOnline players, meaning there shouid always be enough poker players available to play with.

All the usual suspects are available to be played here including Hold’em and Omaha, with both pot-limit and no-limit versions available. You’ll also find some ‘rarely-seen’ versions at Tigergaming such as Big2 Poker and even Chinese Poker (note: you have to switch back to the old version of the site to play these versions, which only takes a single click).

Freerolls are always available and newbs, on top of their bonus, receive free entry into the site’s monthly $10,000 new player freeroll tourney. That’s right, if you poker skills are up to it you could win $10,000 by paying absolutely nothing!

3. 888poker – Best Mobile Poker Malaysia Site ($88 No Deposit Bonus)

888poker is the first truly global name on our list of the best ten online poker Malaysia sites. This poker game online site accepts players from all corners of the globe, meaning it has a very decent amount of poker traffic at any one time. Of course, it is willing to accept players from countless Asian jurisdictions, including Malaysia.

888 really is a phenomenal online gambling brand with 888sport being the company’s sports and football betting arm, and 888casino bristling with slots and casino games. There is also 888bingo if you like the ‘draw the balls’ game that is not keno!

The one thing that truly stands out about 888poker is the downloadable mobile poker client that is available. It truly is exceptional and is the best poker client to use if you are going to play poker mainly on your phone or tablet. It is worth playing at 88poker for the mobile client alone.

4. PokerStars – Number One for Poker Traffic (150% Deposit Bonus Up To $60)

In terms of poker traffic, there can only be one winner … PokerStars. In fact, it’s not even close – PokerStars has, on average, FIVE TIMES the traffic of its closest traffic rivals, PPPoker. You will never be short of poker players if you play at PokerStars.

You may then be wondering why PokerStars only makes it to number five in our list. Our answer is because PokerStars only really caters for established players. If you are new to online poker Malaysia, then you need to ignore PokerStars completely and head to one of the four sites above it on our list.

If you are a seasoned poker pro then PokerStars should be just what you are looking for. As well as the high volume of traffic it has an outstanding reputation, and was at the forefront of the global poker boom in the early 2000s. It is still a very good site, but if you’re a poker fish you are simply going to get gobbled up with the sharks, so be careful!

5. William Hill – Unmatched Poker Action with $100 Bonus and Free Tourney Entries

Need a poker-friendly online casino? William Hill Casino is a top online poker casino for Malaysian gamers.

Playtech powers William Hill Casino. The William Hill mobile casino, a no-download, immediate-play Flash version, or state-of-the-art software may be downloaded in minutes.

Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven-Card Stud, and more are available at William Hill. William Hill has games for everyone.

William Hill’s poker tournaments are among the biggest and most entertaining. You won’t want to miss these spectacular events with enormous cash prizes and the chance to compete against the world’s finest players.

William Hill also has many poker bonuses and promotions. New players get a big welcome bonus, and there are always promotions and tournaments.

William Hill prioritizes fairness and security. Testing Systems Testing certifies their games as fair, and they use cutting-edge encryption to protect your personal and financial data.

William Hill Casino has a wide range of poker games, interesting tournaments, and big bonuses. Start playing the finest poker games today!

Trusted Online Casinos in Malaysia

What to Consider When Choosing an Online Poker Malaysia Site

There are plenty of aspects of an online poker Malaysia site that you need to think about before you settle for the site that’s most suitable for you. Here are some things that we think you need to consider.

Why Online Poker Malaysia Traffic Matters

Unlike online casinos (and even online live casinos), you can only play in online poker Malaysia rooms if there are people to play with you! The world’s largest poker site PokerStars averages about 20,000 people online at any one time, but that’s an anomoly. Most sites have less than 1,000 and with some sites it’s down to double digits!

When you play at an online poker Malaysia site, there are always going to people better than you. There will be people using software tools too, and bots (automated programs people create to play poker at online poker sites). You want to avoid all three if you want to keep your poker bankroll flowing.

That’s why you should always play at sites with high levels of poker traffic as you are much more likely to be playing against people at your level, and real people at that (as the larger sites tend to take more care over syphoning out bots).

You are also more likely to encounter lower-skilled players than you when playing at sites with high traffic figures, which means if you hone up your poker skills you’re much more likely to win money from them as they are money from you.

Play Online Poker for Free

Poker Bonuses

Poker bonuses are not like casino bonuses, such as deposit bonuses or free spins bonuses, and it is important that you know the difference.

When you acquire a casino deposit bonus, for example, it will come with wagering requirements. Say you obtain a 100% matched bonus worth RM500 that expects 30x wagering. This means before any winnings from your bonus are released, you must perform RM15,000 in wagering, as 30 x RM500 is RM15,000. Your winnings from your bonus will not be released until you have completed your wagering.

Most poker bonuses are deposit bonuses too, but their release is tied to the amount of rake you generate when you play at the online poker site offering the bonus with your own money. For example, say (again) you acquire a poker bonus worth RM500. That bonus is then released in chunks – for example RM5 for every RM50 of rake you generate. This would be similar to a play-through requirement of 10x.

Your bonus money cannot normally be withdrawn until you have generated enough rake to release it all, and if you attempt to withdraw bonus money before you have generated enough rake, you may find that your bonus money is forfeited. You will also have a limited period in which you need to generate sufficient rake, else you will lose your bonus.

Another common poker bonus is limited entry into ‘new player’ freeroll tourneys. These are tourneys where the prizes for the top finishing players are larger than normal freerolls, so they are limited to new players. You may also get tickets in Sit-n-go’s, or low level satellite tournaments.

Poker Software

Very few online poker real money Malaysia sites provide their own software, and indeed their own poker networks. Poker software developers tend to be few and far between though, unlike those companies that fill online casinos with video slots. That means there are not that many variations when it comes to the software used for poker playing.

You may wish to review the poker software a site uses before committing yourself long term. Are the cards easy to see? Are the chips and current bet amounts easy to discern? How configurable is the poker client itself? Is there a chat function and if you can, can you mute it (poker online games can become quite heated so if someone starts getting abusive towards you it is always good if you can simply mute them)? How easy is the interface to use?

Reliability is another key aspect. If your client crashes just as you are about to go all-in with the nuts, then you are going to be extremely annoyed should you load up the software and log back in to find the software took your actions as a decision to fold a pair of aces with another ace on the flop.

The final key aspect is mobile play. It’s far more convenient to play online poker on a mobile device than sat hunched over your laptop, or sat at a desktop like a M&K gamer. Lots of poker clients play perfectly well on mobile devices but again, you should choose poker software that you are comfortable with.

Is it Safe to Play Poker Online for Real Money?

Hundreds of thousands of people all across the world play poker online every day safely and security. If you play at an online poker real money Malaysia site, then it’s unlikely that you’re going to find yourself facing problems. Of course, you need money to play poker online Malaysia, so you do need to take care when transferring money into your poker account. Only use the sites we’ve mentioned on this page and avoid sites with no licensing or a licence from a non-recognisable licence provider.

Some people claim that poker sites are ‘rigged’ so that they steal money off their players but that seems incredibly unlikely to us. There is no need for such sites to steal money as they make money with each hand that is played via rake. Any site found to be rigged would soon lose all their players, and therefore all their rake and all their revenue.

The only thing you need to be wary of perhaps are poker bots. These are programs that automate poker playing; however, they tend not to be very good at playing poker! The best poker players are most definitely human, but if a low stakes table is filled with bots it can cheapen your poker playing experience.

In short, playing real poker online is as safe as any activity online where money is involved from online casino play to online shopping.

What are the Best Poker Sites for Real Money in Malaysia?

It is advisable to play social poker online games or just participate in freerolls before you start putting up your own money to play, with one caveat. With social poker, no one really cares about winning or losing ‘play money’ and will go in for the flop no matter the hole cards they hold. Do not, under ANY circumstances, expect social poker to be in any way similar to real money poker play, as it is not. Can you imagine the difference between playing Monopoly with Monopoly money, and then playing it with real money?

Social poker play is a good way of getting used to the rules of the various poker variants, such as Texas Holdem poker online and Omaha. It’ll get you used to the blinds, the rotation of the button and the four betting stages, but really, it’s good for nothing else.

Freerolls are the way to go if you are new to even the best poker sites for real money in Malaysia. These are tournaments where you enter for free but can win a little bit of money if you’re among the last men standing at the table. People are still a little looser during freerolls than they are with ring games, but they are certainly tighter than with social or free poker.

If you are ready to start with real money ring games perhaps start with smaller tables (6 players is ideal), although you should avoid Heads-Up. The fewer the number of players, the less there is to calculate.

Once you have established yourself among the best short table players on a regular basis, it’s perhaps time to move onto real money ring games with full tables of nine or ten players.

Poker Apps

As we have already mentioned, poker apps are perhaps the best way of playing online poker. The main benefit of poker apps is that you can play them anywhere, as long as you have your mobile device with you and you can establish a resilient internet connection (you must, under no circumstances, use a poker app to play poker if your connection is intermittently dropping out as you could lose out on a significant payout. If you lose connection during play the software may consider that your lack of action means that you wish to fold).

The best real money online poker Malaysia sites have very good poker apps. Most of the time you can download dedicated apps to your device, but some of the time you can use a poker client that runs as a pop-up window from a browser. The experience is practically the same, no matter the option you choose. Apps though do up the convenience in playing at an online poker site.

Summing Up

Poker is massively popular in Malaysia and that situation is unlikely to change any day soon, even if gambling is forbidden for muslim people in the country. Poker’s popularity is likely to increase as more and more people in the country gain internet access and splash out on the devices need to access the best online poker sites.

We hope that the information we have presented to you will help you get the most out of your online poker playing at the best online poker real money Malaysia sites. Remember always to gamble legally, and responsibly.

FAQs

[Q1]Why do I have to ‘bet blind’ during poker online Malaysia games even if I have bad cards?[/Q1] [A1]Because there always has to be something in the pot to win. If there were no blinds, then everyone could simply fold their cards meaning the last player to bet would win, but they would win nothing![/A1] [Q2]Will my poker winnings be taxed in Malaysia?[/Q2] [A2]No, poker winnings are not taxable.[/A2] [Q3]What is the ‘rake’ and why is it important?[/Q3] [A3]The rake is the small percentage of chips the poker online casino hosting the poker game online takes from each hand. Obviously you win more if you play at poker online casino sites with low rakes as opposed to high ones.[/A3] [Q4]What is a ‘fish’ in real poker online?[/Q4] [A4]A ‘fish’ is a term for a new or inexperienced player. Experienced and expert poker players are called ‘sharks’ therefore it makes sense that the sharks often gobble the fish when they meet up![/A4] [Q5]Is it easy to fund my poker playing in Malaysia?[/Q5] [A5]You might find difficulties in linking your bank account to your online poker site, due to Malay restrictions. There are plenty of ways around this though, including eWallets (if available) and cryptocurrencies.[/A5]