888poker Review 2026: Great Software, Soft Games — and High Rake, Tested

888poker launched in 2002 and is one of the longest-running rooms in online poker. It is part of the 888/evoke group — the LSE-listed company (formerly 888 Holdings) that also owns 888sport and, since 2022, William Hill. That gives it real corporate weight and tier-one regulation.

888poker made its name on strong software and a deliberate focus on recreational players, which has kept its games soft even as its raw traffic has slipped behind the newer giants. Its enduring weakness, covered below, is cost: it is one of the more expensive rooms to play.

888poker runs its own 888 network. Historically one of the larger networks, it now sits behind GGPoker and PokerStars on raw traffic (roughly a fifth of PokerStars' volume), but it still offers a healthy pool, with peaks in European and US evening hours. For low and mid stakes cash and tournaments, games run reliably; high-stakes volume is thinner.

888poker's traffic is solid rather than huge, and its defining feature is the composition of the pool: a long-standing recreational focus keeps the games soft and beatable at low stakes. We are precise about the mechanism — the softness comes from who plays here, not from fair-play rules, since 888poker permits HUDs and free table selection. For a competent player, that recreational pool is the main draw.

888poker covers the mainstream formats — No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha cash games, SNAP fast-fold, Sit & Gos including BLAST lottery formats, and a solid tournament schedule with regular series. It is a well-rounded, recreational-friendly menu, strong on Hold'em and the fast and lottery formats.

This is 888poker's clear weak point. Cash-game rake runs roughly 5% to 6.25% — among the highest in online poker — and, worse, the rakeback is low and non-transparent: there is no straightforward flat deal, only an opaque 888poker Club loyalty scheme and periodic promotions that top out around 10%. For a casual player the rake barely registers; for anyone playing volume, the combination of high rake and weak rakeback means you keep far less of your money than at a value-focused room like CoinPoker or GGPoker. Exact caps per stake are not published in a form we can verify, so we do not print a cap we cannot stand behind.

888poker permits HUDs and free table selection, so on a rule basis it is not a protective room — its Recreational Friendliness Index below is low, because the index scores fair-play rules, and 888poker leaves the tools of the trade available. The reason its games are still soft is the player pool, not the rules: a long-standing recreational focus keeps casual players coming. Read the low index as "no rule-based protection," not as "hard games" — the two are different, and here the pool does the work the rules do at partypoker or GGPoker.

Software is 888poker's standout strength. The client and app are fast, stable and clean, widely regarded as among the best in online poker, and — unlike the fair-play rooms — 888poker is HUD-compatible, so grinders keep their overlays and databases. Multi-tabling, the format menu and the mobile experience are all strong. If 888poker's rake matched its software, it would rank far higher; the client alone is a genuine reason some players stay.

Customer support is a recurring complaint about 888poker. Support runs through live chat and email, and for routine queries it is generally fine, but users report slow or unhelpful responses on more complex issues. It is a weak point rather than a dealbreaker, and — as a tier-one-licensed operator — 888poker is at least subject to formal complaint and dispute-resolution processes if something goes seriously wrong.

On safety and integrity, 888poker is on firm ground: part of the LSE-listed, tier-one-licensed 888/evoke group (UKGC, MGA), operating since 2002, with independently tested RNG and standard regulated fund handling. It does not run the aggressive fair-play controls of partypoker or GGPoker — it permits HUDs — but on the fundamentals of fund safety and fair dealing it is a room you can trust with real money.