The best poker apps to play with friends
There’s no single best poker app for friends — it depends on whether your group wants video at the table, Omaha, a phone app or no sign-ups at all. We compared 8 apps with a real private-game feature on what matters for a home game, using each product’s own site and app-store listing (checked September 2026). FizzPoker is ours, so we list where the others do more.
Poker apps for private games, side by side
| App | Where it runs | Play without installing | Account needed | Players per table | Money | Bots | Hand review | Clubs / leagues | Beyond Hold’em | Voice / video | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FizzPokerour appHold’em tournaments in the browser. | Browser; add to home screen | Yes: Yes | None for 2–4 and one bot; free for 5–9, more bots, leagues | 2–9 | Play chips only | Yes: Levels 1–5 | Yes: Fizz Score, stats, coach’s advice | Yes: Leagues with all-time standings | No: No — Hold’em tournaments only | No: None | Free |
| PokerNowHome games with video, a ledger and Omaha. | Browser | Yes: Yes | None | Up to 10 | Play money | Not confirmed: Not stated | Yes: Replays, logs, ledger | Partly: Clubs (owning one needs a paid plan) | Yes: Pot-Limit Omaha | Yes: Built in (free: 30 min a day) | Free; Plus $9.99/month |
| Poker PatioPrivate lobbies plus public tables. | Browser | Yes: Yes | None for private games | Up to 10 | Play money | Yes: Easy and medium | Partly: Logs in public lobbies | Not confirmed: Public leaderboards; groups not stated | No: No — Hold’em only | Not confirmed: Text chat only mentioned | Free; optional Gold plan |
| LipokerA minimal table with a video call, in beta. | Browser (beta) | Yes: Yes | None | Not confirmed: Not stated (9 seats shown) | Not stated; no cash-out | Not confirmed: Not stated | Partly: Game log | Not confirmed: Not stated (per-game leaderboard) | Not confirmed: Not stated | Yes: Video call | Free (Patreon) |
| Replay PokerPlay-money site with private tables. | Browser (no app) | Yes: Yes | Yes | Up to 9 (free host) | Play money | Not confirmed: Not stated | Yes: Hand replays | Not confirmed: Not stated | Partly: Premium hosts only | Not confirmed: Not stated | Free; optional Premium |
| Pokerrrr 2Mobile app for private games and clubs. | iOS and Android app | No: No — app required | Not stated; join by game code | 2–10 | No real money | Not confirmed: Not stated | Yes: Histories + AI hand review | Yes: Poker clubs | Yes: Omaha, Short Deck, OFC, Stud | Not confirmed: Not stated (text chat) | Hosting costs gold (6/hour) |
| ClubGGGGPoker’s app for private clubs. | Phone and desktop apps | No: No — app required | Yes, plus club approval | Up to 9 | Sweepstakes; no wagering | No: No | Partly: For WSOP+ subscribers | Yes: Clubs | Yes: PLO (4–6 cards), Short Deck | Not confirmed: Not stated (text chat) | Free; paid subscriptions |
| PokerStars Home GamesPrivate clubs in the PokerStars client. | Desktop client | No: No — download required | Yes, plus club invitation | Up to 9 | Real money (some countries, 18+) or play money | Not confirmed: Not stated | Partly: Club stats and leaderboards | Yes: Clubs up to 501 members | Yes: Omaha, Stud, HORSE and more | Not confirmed: Not stated | Free club |
Which one to pick
- Everyone joins in a minute, faces on screenPokerNow: no sign-up for anyone, up to 10 players and built-in video and voice (30 minutes a day on the free tier). Lipoker also has a video call and no sign-up, but calls itself a beta.
- Omaha, Stud or mixed gamesPokerNow for Pot-Limit Omaha in the browser; Pokerrrr 2 or ClubGG for Omaha, Short Deck and more on phones; PokerStars Home Games for Stud and HORSE on desktop.
- A standing club that lives on everyone’s phoneClubGG or Pokerrrr 2 — native apps with clubs, join codes and tournaments. Check the costs: ClubGG sells subscriptions, and Pokerrrr 2 charges the host in-app gold per hour.
- Filling empty seats or practising aloneFizzPoker (bots from Level 1 to Level 5; one needs no account, more need a free one) or Poker Patio (easy and medium bots).
- A tournament night that ends on time, with a review afterwardsFizzPoker: freezeout tournaments with turbo (3-minute) to slow (15-minute) blinds, a one-tap rematch, a shareable recap card with awards, and a post-game Fizz Score for signed-in players. PokerNow and Pokerrrr 2 also run tournaments; bigger ones or extra features cost money there.
- A regular group with season-long standingsFizzPoker leagues are free: an invite link, members-only tables and all-time standings. ClubGG, Pokerrrr 2 and PokerStars Home Games have clubs; owning a club on PokerNow needs a paid plan.
- Real stakes, where that’s legalOf the apps here, only PokerStars Home Games offers real-money private games — in some countries, for adults. The others are play money, and ClubGG runs as a sweepstakes.
If your group is two to four people who want to play in the next five minutes, any of the no-sign-up browser apps (PokerNow, Poker Patio, Lipoker, FizzPoker) will do — try one, and switch if it doesn’t click.
Where FizzPoker fits — and where it doesn’t
FizzPoker does one thing: No-Limit Hold’em tournaments for private groups, in the browser, for free. The host picks 2–9 seats and a blind speed from turbo (3-minute levels) to slow (15-minute), shares a private link — which previews in the group chat with the open seats and blind speed — and everyone plays a freezeout from 10,000 chips until one player has them all. Tables of 2–4 with up to one bot need no account at all; a free account (an email sign-in link, no password or card) lets the host open 5–9 seats and fill every open seat with bots from Level 1 to Level 5.
After the game, one tap on Rematch deals the same table again, and a recap card with the winner and awards is ready to share. Regular groups can run a free league with members-only tables and all-time standings. Signed-in players also get the Fizz Score — an advisory review that labels each graded decision from acceptable to blunder — and a Stats tab with classic numbers (VPIP, PFR, c-bet and more) and ranked coach’s advice.
What it doesn’t do, plainly:
- No other games or cash games. No Omaha, no Stud, and no ring games with rebuys — if your group plays dealer’s choice, PokerNow, Pokerrrr 2 or ClubGG fit better.
- No voice or video. PokerNow and Lipoker have it built in; with FizzPoker you run a call on FaceTime, Zoom or Discord.
- No app-store app. It runs in the browser and can be added to your home screen, but there’s nothing to download from the App Store or Google Play.
- Nine seats, not ten. PokerNow, Poker Patio and Pokerrrr 2 seat ten.
- No real money, ever. Chips have no cash value and there are no buy-ins, prizes or payouts.
If those are fine, it’s a quick way to run a tournament night: see how long a tournament takes, how private tables work, or what the bots are like.
What to look for in a poker app for friends
Many “best poker app” lists focus on real-money sites or casino-style apps full of strangers. For a private game with friends, a different set of questions decides whether game night happens at all:
- How fast can a friend get in? A link that opens in the browser beats an app install plus an account plus a club approval — especially for the friend who is only half sure they’re coming.
- Does it work on everyone’s device? Groups mix iPhones, Android phones and laptops. Browser apps cover all of them; native apps need the right store and a recent phone.
- How many seats? Most private tables top out at 9 or 10. Bigger groups need a tournament across several tables, which PokerNow and the club-based apps (ClubGG, Pokerrrr 2, PokerStars Home Games) offer.
- Where’s the catch? “Free” can mean free with limits: PokerNow caps free video at 30 minutes a day, ClubGG keeps hand histories for subscribers, and Pokerrrr 2 charges the host gold for every hour of hosting.
- Can it run a regular game? A weekly group wants standings that carry over. Club apps (ClubGG, Pokerrrr 2, PokerStars Home Games) and FizzPoker’s leagues keep a group together between nights; one-off browser tables don’t.
- Can you talk? Table talk is half of poker night. Either pick an app with voice built in or plan a call alongside.
- Can you learn from it? Hand histories, replays and reviews turn a fun night into practice. They range from logs and replays (Lipoker, PokerNow, Replay Poker) to decision reviews and player stats (Pokerrrr 2’s AI review, FizzPoker’s Fizz Score and Stats tab).
Planning the rest of the evening? The virtual poker night guide covers the call, the schedule and the house rules.
How we compared
We picked apps that let a host invite specific friends to a private game — not just public tables. For each one we read the product’s own website, help center, terms and App Store or Google Play listing in September 2026, and wrote down only what those pages say. Where they didn’t settle a question, the table says “not stated” rather than guessing. We didn’t buy any paid plans or open real-money accounts, and prices are in US dollars as listed.
FizzPoker is our product. We described it from how it works today, and we put its gaps in the table and in the section above rather than leaving them out. We left out Donkhouse because its site didn’t load while we checked.
Sources we checked
- PokerNow: pokernow.com · Plus and Platinum plans · NOW Coins · Terms of service
- Poker Patio: pokerpatio.com · FAQ · Poker with friends · Membership · Hand logs · Private lobbies
- Lipoker: lipoker.io · Patreon
- Replay Poker: replaypoker.com · Private tables · Phones and tablets · Play money · Premium · Hand replays
- Pokerrrr 2: pokerrrrapp.com · FAQ · App Store · Google Play
- ClubGG: clubgg.com · Terms of service · Public games (sweepstakes) · Clubs · Table fees (8–9 max) · Ring game settings · Hand history (PokerCraft) · App Store
- PokerStars Home Games: Home Games · Setting up a Home Game · Playing with friends · Home Games terms
Questions people ask
What is the best poker app to play with friends?
It depends on what your group needs. For no sign-ups and built-in video, PokerNow fits best in the browser; for a phone-first club, ClubGG or Pokerrrr 2; for Omaha and mixed games, PokerNow, Pokerrrr 2, ClubGG or PokerStars Home Games. FizzPoker suits free Hold’em tournaments with bots, leagues and a post-game review.
What is the best free poker app for playing with friends?
PokerNow, Poker Patio, Lipoker and FizzPoker all let you host a private game for free in the browser. PokerNow and Poker Patio sell optional memberships, and PokerNow limits free video chat to 30 minutes a day. Pokerrrr 2 is a free download, but hosting a game costs in-app gold.
Can you play poker with friends online without downloading anything?
Yes. PokerNow, Poker Patio, Lipoker, Replay Poker and FizzPoker run in a web browser, so friends just open a link. ClubGG, Pokerrrr 2 and PokerStars Home Games need their app or desktop software installed.
Which poker app for friends has video chat?
PokerNow has built-in video and voice (unlimited on its paid Plus plan, 30 minutes a day free), and Lipoker has a built-in video call. FizzPoker has no voice or video, so groups run FaceTime, Zoom or Discord alongside the game.
What is the best mobile poker app to play with friends?
For a native app from the App Store or Google Play, ClubGG and Pokerrrr 2 are built for private clubs. Browser apps such as PokerNow, Poker Patio and FizzPoker also work on phones without installing anything, and FizzPoker can be added to the home screen. Lipoker says it is not yet stable on mobile.
Can I play poker with friends for real money in these apps?
Only PokerStars Home Games in this comparison offers real-money private games, and only in some countries for players 18 and over. PokerNow, Poker Patio, Replay Poker, Pokerrrr 2 and FizzPoker are play money, and ClubGG describes itself as a subscription sweepstakes with no real-money wagering.