CoinPoker Review
Jump to:
- Overview
- Game Selection
- Tournaments
- Tournaments & Promotions
- Software & User Experience
- Mobile app
- Payment Methods
- Legality & Security
- Privacy
- Rake & Fees
- Player Traffic & Competition
- Cash games traffic
- Competition level
- Pros and cons of CoinPoker
- User Feedback
- Final Verdict
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CoinPoker Review
Overview
CoinPoker is a crypto-based online poker platform that launched in 2017, aiming to revolutionize online poker by using blockchain technology. It’s a niche site that caters to cryptocurrency enthusiasts and players seeking more anonymity.
Canadian players can access CoinPoker freely (it’s not restricted and even originally had Canadian founders). The platform uses its own token (CHP – CoinPoker token) along with major cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, USDT) for all transactions. Unique selling points include Provably Fair RNG on the blockchain, fast crypto payments, and high rakeback (up to 33%+ for holding tokens).
CoinPoker operates under a Curaçao license (No. 1668/JAZ) and markets itself as an innovator in fair poker. Its reputation in the broader community is mixed. Supporters love the fast withdrawals and transparency, critics point out low traffic and lack of traditional oversight.
But for tech-savvy Canadian players comfortable with crypto, CoinPoker offers a modern alternative. Players can sign up using CoinPoker promo code MAXBET for a bonus of up to USDT 2000.
Game Selection
CoinPoker’s games focus on popular variants but not an extensive variety. They primarily spread No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha (4-card and 5-card) cash games. Stakes are geared towards micro to mid stakes: for instance, NLHE and PLO run up to around $5/10 (in crypto equivalent) at most.
They also offer Open Face Chinese (OFC) Poker, which is a unique draw – few sites offer OFC, and it attracts a niche audience. However, they do not have games like Stud, Razz, or Short Deck; the focus is on the most popular games to concentrate the player pool. Cash tables are 4-handed or 6-handed, aiming for fast action.
Tournaments
CoinPoker hosts tournaments including freerolls and their flagship Crypto Series of Online Poker (CSOP) events a few times a year. These are usually series of tournaments with crypto-denominated prizes. The daily tournament schedule is relatively light compared to major sites; you’ll find some small buy-in events and occasional larger ones especially when a series is on.
Formats include Progressive Knockouts, Freezeouts, Deepstacks, Turbos, etc., mostly Hold’em-based. They often include bounty prizes for knocking out ambassadors (like Poker pros or community figures). If CSOP is too pricey, they have CSOP Mini events as qualifiers. In general, tournament guarantees are modest (since traffic is smaller), but they can be attractive to a dedicated community.
Sit & Gos: CoinPoker has a Jackpot SNG called Cosmic Spins, a 3-handed lottery Sit & Go where the prize pool is random (similar to Spin & Go). These quick games cater to those wanting a shot at a bigger prize in minutes.
CoinPoker also recently introduced “Hart Poker” cash tables – a special format with capped losses per hand and bonus payouts for winning with certain hands (7-2 or hearts combos). This is a creative twist to entice action and something unique to their platform.
No live casino poker or other casino games are in CoinPoker; it’s strictly peer-to-peer poker.
Overall selection: It’s somewhat limited in breadth but covers NLHE/PLO well, adding OFC and quirky modes to stand out. For a Canadian player, if NLHE/PLO and maybe some OFC are all you need, CoinPoker has it – just not the long tail of other variants.
Tournaments & Promotions
CoinPoker’s promotions revolve around its crypto ecosystem. Key features are listed below:
•Welcome Bonus: CoinPoker offers a 150% first deposit bonus up to $2,000, which is quite generous in percentage. It’s credited in their stable token (USDT or CHP) and requires play to unlock. Additionally, new depositors get an extra 20% rakeback for their first week on top of normal rakeback.
•Rakeback: CoinPoker is very rakeback-heavy. They provide 30% weekly rakeback to players who hold their CHP tokens in their account balance. If you don’t hold CHP, you forego this rakeback – so it incentivizes using their token.
Effectively, you accumulate points from play and every week 30% of rake is returned as CHP. Combined with other promos, players can reach up to 50%+ rakeback when including leaderboards and deposit bonuses. For example, while clearing the 150% bonus, every $30 of rake releases $15 (50% rate), plus the base rakeback.
•Leaderboards & Jackpots: CoinPoker frequently runs leaderboards for cash game grind or specific events, awarding extra CHP or crypto to top players. They also have Bad Beat Jackpot promotions and referral bonuses. One notable promo: they offered a 1,000,000 CHP bounty (~$100k value) for anyone who could prove a flaw in their RNG, underscoring their confidence in fairness.
•Freerolls & Giveaways: Being community-driven, CoinPoker often has freerolls, especially around crypto events or community milestones. Also, as the pokerhubcanada snippet suggests, they do a lot of community airdrops and meme contests (like the Meme Million tournament series with crypto airdrops).
•Token Utility: Owning CHP can also give perks like discounts or priority in some events. While not a traditional “promotion,” it’s part of their ecosystem to have value holding their token.
However, unlike mainstream sites, CoinPoker doesn’t have things like huge guaranteed tournament series (the CSOP is their main one, but it’s not on the scale of WPT or GG series). They appeal more through consistent rakeback and the novelty of crypto.
Software & User Experience
CoinPoker’s software is available on desktop (Windows/Mac) and mobile (Android/iOS). The client is downloadable and also has a built-in crypto wallet interface. The user interface is clean and minimalist, focusing on functionality over flash.
It allows personalization like table background color, deck design (4-color deck, etc.). Reviews often compliment the interface for being crisp and the mobile app as aesthetically superior to some web-based apps.
A hallmark of CoinPoker is its Provably Fair technology: after each hand, players can verify the deck shuffle through blockchain information to confirm randomness. This adds transparency but requires some understanding to use. They’ve integrated these fairness proofs in a user-friendly way, and even offer a big bounty for anyone who can find RNG flaws, which boosts confidence.
The hand replayer is a highlight in the app, useful for reviewing hands and strategy. However, the use of HUDs is strictly forbidden, and likely impossible since the software may not output hand histories in real-time accessible format.
The software performance is generally smooth – crypto transactions aside, the games themselves run like any modern poker client. It’s relatively lightweight and loads quickly (the community needed that as earlier crypto sites were clunky).
One downside: because it’s crypto-only, new users have a slight learning curve. You must have or create a crypto wallet, manage deposits via addresses, etc., which is a bit more effort than just using a credit card. But CoinPoker tries to ease this with guides (e.g., recommending Shakepay for Canadians to buy crypto easily and then deposit).
Mobile app
The mobile experience is praised for being robust and user-friendly. You can multi-table up to a limit (maybe 2-4 tables on mobile comfortably). It’s good for playing on the go, with the same games available as on desktop.
Given its niche, the user experience is tailored to crypto users: it’s anonymous (just a username, no heavy KYC upfront unless withdrawals exceed certain amounts, presumably). Transactions (deposits/withdrawals) happen within the app via crypto, which is much faster than traditional banking.
In summary, players who have used CoinPoker often commend its reliability and transparency. If you’re comfortable with crypto, the UX is quite slick. If you’re new to crypto, the UX might have a learning bump at the cashier.
Payment Methods
This is a big differentiator: CoinPoker is a crypto-only platform. You cannot deposit with CAD, credit cards, Interac, etc. Instead, you must deposit using supported cryptocurrencies: USDT (Tether), BTC (Bitcoin), ETH (Ethereum), and their in-house CHP token. They continuously add new coins occasionally, but those three are main.
For Canadians, CoinPoker suggests using services like Shakepay to move from a bank to crypto. Essentially: you’d e-transfer to a crypto exchange or broker, buy USDT/BTC, then send it to your CoinPoker wallet address.
Deposits are typically near-instant once the blockchain confirms (which can range from seconds (for USDT on Tron) to minutes (for BTC)). The CoinPoker app will show a deposit address or QR code, you send funds there, and when confirmed, your in-app balance updates.
Withdrawals are also very fast relative to industry: a request in CoinPoker triggers them sending crypto to your wallet, often within minutes to hours. They note weekly withdrawal limits equivalent to $6,000 (to manage liquidity). That might be a con for big players, but for most, 6k a week is fine. If you win bigger, you might withdraw over multiple weeks, or perhaps contact support to arrange more.
Because it’s all crypto, there are no withdrawal fees from CoinPoker (aside from minor blockchain network fees which are usually a couple of dollars or less). No third-party payment processors to deal with.
CoinPoker requires users to have a crypto wallet; many use MetaMask or exchange wallets. They also integrated Civic for identity verification in-app to add a layer of security for big transactions.
No traditional KYC is required unless suspicious activity – one advantage is more privacy. But for large volume play, they might eventually ask you to do some verification (especially because of their Curacao license KYC rules, albeit they frame their smart contracts as governance).
For a Canadian who isn’t into crypto, this is a big adjustment. For those already using Bitcoin or Ethereum, it’s straightforward. In summary: Payment on CoinPoker is fast, global, and crypto-only – a pro if you like crypto, a con if you wanted to use fiat.
Legality & Security
CoinPoker is accessible in Canada since online poker isn’t prohibited and CoinPoker doesn’t ban Canadian IPs. They had prominent Canadian involvement early on. It’s licensed in Curaçao, which they list to bolster legitimacy, though they also lean on the argument that the decentralized nature and smart contracts “provide safety unmatched by traditional licensed casinos”.
This basically means that while they do have a license, they view the blockchain tech as the trust mechanism rather than a regulator.
Note: There have been some controversies or claims: a CardsChat forum and Reddit posts claimed CoinPoker has no license or that it’s illegal in various places, but as of 2023 they secured the Curaçao license (which is indeed a license but considered more lenient).
So legally, Canadians can play; Ontario doesn’t have specific blocks for it (Ontario focuses on major operators; CoinPoker is too niche to geoblock and likely flies under that radar, though strictly speaking, any unregulated site in Ontario is not allowed, enforcement is light).
Security-wise, CoinPoker’s approach is novel: by using blockchain and smart contracts, the idea is that dealing and randomness are transparent. They claim each shuffle is verifiable by players – adding a layer of trust because it can’t be easily manipulated without detection.
Funds security: Presumably, player funds are crypto held by the company; unclear if they keep a reserve or what, but given crypto volatility, one risk is if their token (CHP) fluctuates, but they mostly deal in stablecoin (USDT) so that helps stability.
They integrated Civic for identity verification which can be used to ensure unique users and to prevent fraud, adding trust in player identity without exposing too much data.
Privacy
If you value anonymity, CoinPoker allows you to play without submitting ID up front and using crypto means no bank statements or credit card bills with gambling charges. It’s quite private.
Fairness & Anti-Cheat: Because of lower traffic, collusion and bots can be monitored; plus, the community often self-polices with the data available.
They forbid HUDs and third-party tools, meaning a level playing field (except one can manually track). They rely on players to report suspicious patterns and claim a fair environment. However, some skeptics on Reddit worry about “house players” or lack of large community oversight.
CoinPoker vehemently denies such practices and cites transparency as defense. TrustPilot reviews apparently were poor (as one Redditor mentioned), but those might be older.
State-by-state restrictions in Canada: There’s no specific mention of any province banning CoinPoker. It’s not officially authorized in any (not even Ontario). So it exists in a grey zone like many offshore sites do. Since it’s crypto, regulators have even less visibility.
But players in Canada have not reported any legal issues from playing. It’s similar to playing on an offshore casino – user’s risk but practically fine.
Rake & Fees
CoinPoker’s rake is competitive, often on par or lower than industry standard, plus offset by high rakeback. They haven’t published a detailed rake table publicly that we saw, but players note:
•Cash games: likely ~5% rake with caps scaled by stake. Given CoinPoker aims to attract players, they probably didn’t hike rake. If anything, it might mimic a standard structure (maybe 5% capped at ~$3 for small stakes, going up for higher stakes). With the 30% rakeback, effective rake is ~3.5%.
•Tournaments: Usually around 10% fee. For example, a CSOP event might be 100 USDT + 10 USDT entry.
•Cosmic Spins: Typically, these have a higher rake (maybe ~7-8%) baked in, but not sure if they specify.
The GipsyTeam review in 2024 didn’t criticize rake, implying it’s not outlandish. Also, because a lot of players are crypto-rich types, rake sensitivity might be lower – but CoinPoker does push their rakeback as a selling point.
If you hold CHP token, you get rakeback; if not, you don’t. So effectively, if someone plays without holding CHP, they pay full rake (not advisable). It’s sort of a loyalty requirement.
No mention of deposit or withdrawal fees from CoinPoker side; only thing to consider is crypto transaction fees, which vary (ETH can be high if the network is busy, but they support Tron USDT which is pennies in fees).
They also sometimes run promotions effectively reducing rake or giving extra points (like leaderboards double counting points etc. which lowers net rake).
Comparatively, one con: “Traffic is quite low”, meaning you might find it hard to get games beyond certain stakes or times – not rake per se, but if traffic is low, the rakeback structure might not get fully utilized if you can’t find enough volume.
Player Traffic & Competition
CoinPoker has a small but loyal player base. Traffic is on the low side – by online rankings, nowhere near top 10. It’s often just a few hundred active at any given time. This means during off-peak hours (North America daytime), you might see only a handful of tables running.
Peak hours likely coincide with evenings in Europe/Russia (as many crypto enthusiasts and early adopters were from Eastern Europe) and also some Asian presence.
For Canadians, peak play might be morning/afternoon since that’s evening in Asia, or late night if Europeans are on.
Cash games traffic
Perhaps the most action is at micro and low stakes (NL10, NL25, NL50 up to maybe NL200) and similarly for PLO. The GipsyTeam review noted traffic is quite low and thus they restrict game selection to keep players pooled. So, you won’t see 20 tables at each limit; maybe a couple tables at popular limits and that’s it. High stakes (above NL/PLO $5/$10) might rarely run unless arranged.
Tournaments traffic: Tournaments likely attract dozens to a couple hundred players each, depending on the event. Freerolls might have larger participation because they attract anyone with an account. The CSOP events, if marketed, could bring in a few hundred.
Competition level
The pool is niche. Many players are there because they love crypto or believe in the project, not necessarily because they’re hardened pros. There are indeed some very good players (crypto high rollers or former pros who like anonymity), but also complete amateurs who stumbled in from the crypto world.
One Reddit comment said: “games aren’t great but easy to deposit/withdraw if you know crypto” and another said “cash games are legit… soft tables… haven’t run into anything weird”. So likely a mix, leaning towards relatively soft at lower stakes, and somewhat reg-heavy at mid stakes simply due to small population (if only 2 tables running, likely each has a couple good players and a couple weaker ones).
Community: CoinPoker has a tight community feel – many players know each other via Telegram/Discord. This can be fun (community events) but also means if you’re new, you might be an outsider at first. They run community promotions to encourage players to engage, which might not directly affect competition but fosters loyalty.
Peak hours: Possibly evening Europe (~ afternoon in Toronto) or early evening NA when Europe is still on and Asia wakes up.
Skill level: Given the heavy rakeback, some grinders might be there purely to grind out the 30% rakeback in crypto. But the low volume means it probably doesn’t attract too many serious volume pros (they’d rather be on bigger sites for more hands/hour).
So, skill level could actually be more polarized – a few very skilled crypto-savvy grinders and a number of casual crypto gamblers who might be better at trading coins than playing poker.
Overall, expect moderate to low traffic and a variable skill environment. If you find a soft table, it can be very profitable, especially with rakeback. But you might have to table-select due to limited options. Also, if you’re primarily a tournament player, the small fields mean lower variance but also smaller prize pools.
Customer Support: CoinPoker offers support primarily via in-app channels and email. From the pokerhubcanada Q&A, they mention you can reach support directly within the poker client (likely a support chat or ticket system when logged in), or email them.
Having two addresses suggests one for general inquiries and one for partnerships. There might not be 24/7 live chat, but responses via email are generally prompt given the smaller user base. Also, their community Telegram is quite active, and sometimes the team addresses issues there.
Quality of support: People have reported that CoinPoker support is fairly helpful, especially with technical issues or questions about crypto deposits. The community aspect means sometimes other players or mods will help out newbies as well.
However, being a smaller operation, don’t expect a large support staff. It might take a day to resolve certain issues.
One thing in their favor: since everything is crypto, you rarely have to contact support about payment issues like you would on fiat sites (no bank declines, etc.). Most support queries are about verification, account access, or game fairness questions.
CoinPoker also has an FAQ on their site which covers many common things (like how to deposit, etc.).
No phone support, obviously. Possibly some social media DMs might get you somewhere but official channel is email.
Pros and cons of CoinPoker
Crypto convenience
High rakeback
Competitive deposit bonus
No deposit fees or withdrawal fees
Low traffic
No CAD or fiat currency
No live support
User Feedback
The feedback on CoinPoker from Canadian players is a bit niche, given it appeals to a subset. On PokerHubCanada, the tone is positive, calling it a “trusted platform for Canadian players” with secure, transparent gameplay.
Users who like it often mention how “refreshing it is to play without usual banking limitations… anonymity factor keeps focus on strategy”. Those who’ve had good experiences love the quick cashouts and the community vibe.
On the other side, broader poker communities have had skepticism. Some Reddit threads label it a “scam site” with serious accusations like house players and rigged games.
They cite things like poor Trustpilot reviews or suspicious patterns. It’s hard to verify those claims; often, such allegations come from players who had bad runs. The fact CoinPoker offered proof and even a bounty for RNG flaws adds credibility to their fairness stance, but not everyone is convinced.
It appears common praise among supporters goes towards fast transactions, high rakeback, nice software, and fairness. Common complaints among detractors: low traffic, doubts about honesty due to lack of mainstream oversight, and inconvenience for those not into crypto.
No large sample of Canadian-specific complaints exists, likely because Canadian players who go to CoinPoker are typically those comfortable with the concept. So the self-selection means many are fans.
Final Verdict
CoinPoker is a unique choice best suited for Canadian poker players who embrace cryptocurrency. We give it 7/10. It scores high in innovation, fairness transparency, and value return to players (rakeback), but loses points for low traffic and being outside the regular banking and regulatory systems.
For a Canadian player who is tech-savvy, values quick payouts and doesn’t mind the smaller community, CoinPoker can be a great secondary poker room – a place to play a few tables while also maybe engaging with the crypto aspect.
If you’re into crypto or want anonymity, CoinPoker is worth trying; if you prefer large player pools and easy deposits in CAD, stick to more traditional sites. We’d suggest it as a complement to, not a replacement for, sites like GGPoker or WPT.
It’s a bit like the “poker frontier” – some gold to be found (in rakeback and soft spots) but with some rugged conditions (low traffic).
Canadian players should ensure they are comfortable with crypto trading (using a platform like Shakepay to go CAD->crypto and back) before diving in. Once set up, CoinPoker offers an experience that truly lives up to “play anywhere, anytime” since all you need is an internet connection and a crypto wallet.
