Winamax is raising many eyebrows in the last few years with its focus on juicy tournaments and recreational players.
Every poker room ,nowadays, is targeting recreational traffick, so that in return, they can welcome more regular grinders.
As a rule of a thumb, each poker room promotes itself as “soft” and “recreational” players friendly. Sadly , almost all of the time , this is completely untrue and games are reg infested. This is the reason our team plays exclusively on poker apps for third year in a row.
Back to the topic at hand – is Winamax good poker room ? Well the answer is not so black & white.
Winamax is poker room established back in 2007 in France. As you can guess, the main focus of this online poker room is France, although it expanded surprisingly well to other European regions too. As of July 2021, it was ranked 4th most played poker room in Europe and 1st in France ( surpassing Pokerstars )
While these are impressive stats, let’s see what Winamax offer its players ;
Winamax rakeback
There is not fixed rakeback , per se , but rather a sophisticated loyalty program . As in Nordicbet , you receive 100% bonus up to certain amount ( currently 500 EURO), but clearing it, is no easy task.
These deposit bonuses, are with very tough conditions to unlock. This is something we absolutely do not support. Players are forced to grind a lot, in attempt to earn a bonus, which is not big enough for the volume it requires to be cleared.
Other ways you earn rakeback in Winamax , is by participating in rake races, hand chases and other promotions. You earn Winamax Points , which you can use in in Winamax shop. It feels very grindy and even most consistent players will reach only up to 30% rakeback.
Rake on tables is 6.5% , which is a bit higher than average. Rake caps being between 1.5 and 4 , depending on the game type and stakes.
Winamax poker types and active tables
Peak times in Winamax, understandably, occur during night time in France. Active players can reach 2000 at the same time, which is not a bad number, for poker room , which is unavailable in many countries.
Active tables are more than enough to keep you satisfied, whether you like texas holdem or omaha. Lovers of the PLO5, PLO6 and other less popular poker formats, however, will remain dissapointed. Not only that, omaha tables are almost exclusively micro and low stakes oriented.
NLH traffick on higher stakes is mainly on the obsolete 9 seated format, which means more folding and less sleep.
Winamax Software and Interface
Winamax software and user interface can be described by only three words – piece of art. Detailed , easy on the eye and intuitive. Comfortable, yet at the same time descriptive enough. Nothing is missing, while the visuals are stunning.
The Poker Agent team rating on software is an unanimous 10/10.
The Poker Tracker is supported , but Holdem Manager is not.
Winamax fish/shark ratio
While not shark infested as Nordicbet, winamax is not walk in the park either. Many low stake grinders ( worst people to play with) can be found. TAG players who can be mistaken for nits more often than not.
Regular players aside, there are recreational and even fish players from time to time, but as with every big poker room – they are quickly driven away. Leaving the regulars battling each other for pennies. It is not unbeatable place, but certainly not a very poker room, as described online.
To sum it up, it is much tougher to beat than private clubs on poker apps, but no doubt softer than Nordicbet.
Summary
Winamax is not a perfect poker room, but which are ? The combination of not super tough games, lower bonus deals, higher than average rake and superb software leave us with mixed feelings.
Maybe if we add the juicy tournaments and the effort to bring recreational players – Winamax can be good place for some players, who love to multi table , play full ring games or participate in huge tournaments.
