5 Places to Practice Texas Hold’em Poker for Free

Jumping into the world of poker can be an intimidating task. Online poker games at even the lowest real money stakes still require a decent level of poker skills to beat.

Aspiring poker players looking to learn Texas Hold’em can find several ways to do so at play money poker sites. These sites allow beginning players to play poker with no financial risk, saving their bankrolls until they’re ready to jump into real money Texas Hold’em poker games.

Let’s take a look at some of the best sites that allow you to sharpen your poker skills for free:

Where to Play Texas Hold’em for Free

• PokerStars.bet
• Replay Poker
• PlayWSOP
• Zynga Poker
• Offline Poker – Texas Hold’em

PokerStars.bet and PokerStars Lite

PokerStars operates as one of the world’s biggest real money online poker networks. PokerStars also offers free online poker to US players for both desktop and mobile devices.

You can practice poker for free on your desktop or laptop computer by visiting PokerStars.bet. Once you’ve navigated to the site, click “Download PokerStars” to download the play money poker room to your computer.

PokerStars.bet isn’t to be confused with PokerStars’ real money online poker sites, but it does offer just about all of the same Texas Hold’em games from the real money version of PokerStars.

You’ll find Texas Hold’em cash games, poker tournaments, sit & gos, and Spin & Gos at PokerStars.bet. 

Perhaps the best way to work on your poker skills is by playing the Zoom cash games. PokerStars Zoom games instantly transport you to another poker table every time you fold, and you’ll play more poker hands per hour in the Zoom format versus any other game.

Playing poker on your mobile device is also an option. The PokerStars Lite app offers all of the same features found at PokerStars.bet, and allows you to fine-tune your poker strategy from the comfort of your phone.

PokerStars.bet and PokerStars Lite offer great poker sites that you can play for free. You can download either client for free, and play an unlimited number of hands before you progress to real money poker.

Replay Poker

Replay Poker offers one of the most unique play money poker rooms. You’ll not only find plenty of free poker games at Replay Poker, but you’ll also join one of the world’s largest play money poker communities.

Replay Poker incorporates community forums and a regularly updated blog, which updates the community on player accomplishments and general news about the site. The community aspect of Replay Poker makes it one of the most welcoming places to jump into play money poker.

Replay Poker also scores points by offering its platform as a no-download client. You can sign up with just one click by using an existing Facebook account, or use a valid email and a username to access the site and play poker.

You can find cash games, tournaments, and sit & gos at Replay Poker. The cash games start at 1/2 play money stakes, and go all the way up to high stakes games at 500,000/1,000,000.

Working your way up the cash game stakes requires quite a bit of work, and the players in the high-stakes game are playing poker at a fairly serious skill level for a free online poker site. Replay Poker simulates the real money cash game grind pretty well, and functions as one of the best play-money poker rooms.

PlayWSOP

The World Series of Poker persists as poker’s most famous live tournament series, and the WSOP presents a dedicated free online poker site at PlayWSOP.

If you’re learning how to play poker, PlayWSOP is a great poker site for the start of your poker journey. You don’t have to download anything to start off at PlayWSOP, and you can sign up with your Facebook account or your email address in just seconds.

Practicing your poker skills at PlayWSOP allows you to soak in the iconic imagery of the World Series of Poker while you work on your poker strategy. Once you’re signed in, click on the “Play Now Cash Game” tab to get into a Texas Hold’em poker game. You can also practice Omaha at PlayWSOP.

You can also click on the right arrow on the game menu screen in the main lobby to register for play money poker tournaments. If you’re looking to work on your card game skills for free, PlayWSOP offers one of the more fun sites to do so.

Zynga Poker

Zynga Poker looks and functions a lot like PlayWSOP. The arcade-style graphics and sounds create a fun atmosphere in which to work on your No-Limit Texas Hold’em skills.

You’ll start off with a sizeable bankroll of play money chips at Zynga Poker, and you can use that play money capital to sit in on cash games, sit & gos, and Spin & Wins (spin & gos).

Like PlayWSOP, you don’t have to download anything to get going at Zynga Poker. Once you’re in, you can engage in challenges that unlock play money rewards, and motivate you to put in plenty of poker hands at Zynga Poker.

As you put in volume, you’ll also start leveling up at Zynga Poker. Once you’re at Level 4, you can join play money poker leagues and compete against other players.

Offline Poker – Texas Hold’em

The Offline Poker – Texas Hold’em platform functions as a mobile app, available for both Apple iOS and Android devices. 

The app allows you to work your way up the play money stakes in a series of leagues. Each successive league requires a higher buy-in than the previous stake, so you’ll have to put in the work to reach the high stakes on the Offline Poker app.

This app stands apart from other free poker games, as it pits you against a pool of 142 AI-powered opponents. Each opponent presents a different poker player profile, including tight, drunk aggressive, and everything in between.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, all play is conducted offline. The offline function makes this app a great choice to play poker in just about any setting, even when you don’t have internet access.

The Apple version of the Offline Poker – Texas Hold’em app has an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars over more than 5,000 reviews. The user interface is about as good as it gets for a mobile poker app, and Offline Poker – Texas Hold’em is definitely worth installing on your phone if you want to practice poker.

Conclusion

Prospective poker players can access many different ways to improve their game in 2021. Free poker tips aren’t hard to find, and you can always sign up for a poker training site or pick up a poker book to level up your poker knowledge.

Play money poker sites do offer a great way to get in some reps at the poker table, without risking your bankroll doing so. You’ll be able to see concepts like preflop, the big blind, community cards, and many other in-game aspects of poker as they would play at a real money table.

You won’t become a poker pro playing at free online poker sites, but play money poker is a great way to build your knowledge of the game.