How to play poker with friends online, free

Updated November 11, 2026

You don't need a casino app, accounts for everyone or a download to play poker with your friends online. A private table in the browser and a group chat are enough. Here's how to set one up, which settings to choose, and how to keep the night fun for everyone.

Set up a game in about a minute

1. Start a table. On the One Room Games home page, type your name, choose blinds, starting stack and a turn timer, and press Start table. You're the host.
2. Share the link. Each table has its own short link. Paste it into your group chat. On a phone, the share button opens your usual share sheet.
3. Friends take a seat. They open the link, enter a name and pick a seat. It works on phones and laptops, in any modern browser.
4. Deal. When at least two people are seated, the host starts the game. Cards, blinds, turn order, side pots and winners are all handled for you.

The table is private by default: only people with the link can find it. If you'd rather meet new players, the host can mark it as an open table and it will be listed in the lobby on the home page.

What you need

• A phone or laptop each. No install. Everyone sees only their own cards.
• A group chat to share the link. The table has its own text chat too.
• Optional: a voice or video call. Poker is a lot more fun when you can hear the groans. Start a call in whatever your group already uses and keep the table open in the browser.

Picking blinds, stacks and timer

These three settings decide how long the game lasts and how wild it gets.

What matters is the stack measured in big blinds, not the size of the numbers. 5/10 blinds with 1,000 chips plays exactly like 50/100 with 10,000. Pick whichever numbers your group finds easiest to read.

The host can change blinds, stack size, timer and rebuys between hands, so you don't have to get it right first time. A common trick: raise the blinds after an hour to bring the night to a finish.

Rebuys: decide before the first hand

With rebuys on, a player who loses all their chips can take a fresh stack and keep playing. That's the right choice for a social game, because nobody ends up watching for two hours. Turn rebuys off if you want a last-player-standing game with a clear winner.

Either way, the table keeps a ledger of how many stacks each player has taken and how many chips they have now, so at the end of the night there's no arguing about who came out on top.

Not enough players? Add bots

Poker is best with five or more at the table. If only two or three of you can make it, the host can add bots to fill seats, when starting the table or later from the table menu. They play a sensible game based on hand strength and pot odds, and they're also a handy way to practise on your own before the group arrives.

Keeping it fun for a mixed group

• Send beginners the rules first. Ten minutes with how to play Texas Hold'em and the hand rankings chart is enough to sit down. The table also shows each player their current hand in words as they play.
• Set an end time. "Last hand at 10:30" keeps tired players from drifting away one by one.
• Use the timer. Without one, a single slow player stretches every hand. If someone steps away, the table checks or folds for them, and they can sit out and come back.
• Play for bragging rights. Chips here are play money. A running leaderboard in the group chat, or loser picks next week's snacks, gives the game stakes without anyone's wallet involved.
• Let people watch. Anyone with the link can spectate, which is a gentle way for a nervous friend to learn before sitting down.

If someone drops out or loses connection

It happens in every online game. Refreshing the page or reopening the link puts a player back in their seat with their chips. While they're gone the table acts for them when the timer runs out, so the hand carries on. If the host leaves and doesn't return, hosting passes to the next person who shows up, and the game isn't stuck.

Why a browser table beats the alternatives

• Versus casino-style apps: no accounts for every player, no installs, no chip store, and no strangers at your table unless you invite them.
• Versus real cards on a video call: nobody has to deal honestly on camera, count chips or work out side pots, and everyone's cards stay private.
• Versus not playing at all: friends in different cities can still make poker night.