Winamax is one of the best poker rooms in the industry and it has a lot of the qualities that almost all other poker sites are lacking. However, they have quite a different approach and mainly focus on the French market. As such Winamax and Paris go hand in hand. So, does the Winamax poker room have what it takes to rank up with the best? Read our review to find out. We will cover all you need to know about their games, promotions, Rakeback, and more.

winamax software lobby

Wianmax Lobby

Winamax Bonus

After signing up and making the first deposit you will receive some competitive bonuses. Just be warned, that you will need to have your identity verified before you can partake in most of what this site has to offer you. Also, the €20 gift that you get has almost no playthrough (wagering requirement), so you can play with it as much as you want to cash out at any time! Awesome!

Winamax welcome bonus:

  • 🎁100% up to €500 deposit welcome bonus
  • 🎁100% up to €100 in Free Sports Bets
  • 🎁€20 for free if using the PokCas link (sometimes even more)

Be sure to read up on the terms and conditions of the welcome offer before you claim it, as it’s best to make sure that they have not changed any of the terms and conditions prior to you playing with it. You will need to cover a rollover requirement which is satisfied over time as you pay rake to the operator when you play poker cash games and tourneys. The 20 Euro gift from us for using our link carries no wagering requirement and can be used to play Winamax poker for free.

Winamax Poker Freerolls

Winamax does a very good job at providing high-value freerolls to players. Some of the tickets for massive freerolls with lots of expensive entries are given to depositors who use a special code (this usually happens during the MTT series). They are also known for running massive freerolls free of charge, especially during the summer season.  Their method for handing out tickets for freerolls is quite smart. Players will receive tickets for verifying their accounts. You will also be able to earn some by meeting milestones or by using your loyalty miles rewards to purchase them.

Winamax Free Roll Poker

Winamax Overview – The Pros and Cons

As with all poker sites, Winamax has its advantages and disadvantages. It is our job to present you with the facts so that you can make a decision without any form of bias manipulation. As such, you can expect that we will provide you with an honest and transparent review of the poker room. To start with, here are some of the positive and negative observations our team had about the Winamax Poker Site.

Pros Cons
Good-looking user interface Concentrates mainly on French players/market
Smooth Software and app Does not cater too well to high rollers
Awesome daily MTT schedule for medium stake players Unavailable to UK
Decent internal promotions Should focus more on catching scripters in spins

Winamax Mobile App and Desktop Software

Winamax has extremely beautiful software, a very attractive lobby, and a smooth functioning interface. Their mobile app is one of the best in the industry and is only lacking a player note function. It has an amazing weekly MTT poker schedule for small/medium limit players with big prize pools, cash, and Winamax Expresso (which is their version of spin and go). There is simply too much going on for you to ever be able to complain about being bored. Various leaderboards run 24/7 and you can exchange your VIP points (miles) for fantastic prizes. The biggest possible Rakeback (cashback) is about 34% and is extremely hard to reach. realistically, you can expect to achieve 20-25% back if you are willing to put in the effort.

Winamax VIP Boutique

Winamax Poker site has a boutique (VIP shop) where you can use Miles (loyalty points) to redeem great prizes. The operator frequently updates this shop so you can expect it to change frequently. You will also find custom-made goodies that are exclusive to the bonus Winamax Boutique. However, some of the merchandise is very expensive and requires many points.

This is a list of some prizes that you can find in Winamax Boutique:

  • Tournament tickets for you or your friend
  • Real Cash
  • Poker Gear: Dealer Buttons, Cards, Poker Chip Sets
  • Poker Clothing: Winamax Gloves, Scarves, T-shirts, Hoodies, Shorts, Hats, Belts, Bags, Shirts, Sweatpants, Jackets
  • Poker Goodies: Travel Bags, Towels, Sunglasses, Bluetooth Speakers
  • Poker Books such as: ”The Mental Game of Poker” and ”Poker Satellite Strategy”
  • Poker Trackers and Software such as Poker Copilot, Holdem Manager, PokerSnowie, PioSolver

Games and Tournaments

Winamax covers all the classic poker games that you would come to expect from a first-class poker room. This includes both PLO and No-Limit Seven Card Poker, Texas Holdem, Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo. There are several cash game and tournament options on the platform. However, there could be more high-stakes poker tournaments (MTTs) with juicy prize pools for High Rollers (just like on PartyPoker, GGPoker, and Natural8).

Winnamax Poker Tournaments

Winamax Expresso – Original to Winamax Paris

Spin & Go Poker is a format that started right here. Winamax was the first to introduce Expresso games to the industry and it’s been an industry changer ever since. After their huge success, PokerStars and later PartyPokerUnibet, and other poker sites introduced games with the same format. Of course, they could not call them Expresso games because of trademark issues, so the term “Spin and Go” stuck instead.

Here are some of the features you can expect from Winamax Expresso games:

  • Spin and Go: 500 chips and 1 minute 30 second blinds
  • Prize pools reaching millions
  • Easy to learn, don’t take too much time
  • Easy to play on mobile

Winamax Expresso truly is one of the simplest tournament formats to play. As such, we definitely recommend it to both beginners and veterans alike. They are extremely popular, so you can expect to have to fight for your rewards, but it’s certainly worth the effort you put in.

Expresso Spins

Winamax has awesome Expresso 3-man spin and go games. The Winamax Expresso Challenge rewards its players well with €5,000 shared out every day. It is a nice added value for active players, but lower-stakes players should be given the opportunity to win more.

The concept is spectacular and you are in with the chance of winning sweet prize pools (up to 1 million euros) on this graphically astute platform. The traffic is, however, mediocre but could be improved if the site would focus on working alongside its international/non-French partners. The poker room should also get a lot stricter on the use of illegal software and HUDs, as it breeds a playing ground for cheaters, which is a great deterrent to most.

Winamax Expresso Poker

Winamax Expresso Nitro

Winamax Expresso Nitro is basically the same thing as a classic ”Spin & Go” but with a small twist. You have 1-minute blinds instead of 1-minute 30-second blinds, and you have only 300 chips instead of 500. So, it’s made for those who like fast-paced games that are over and done quickly, however, it does peak the variance a little. If you are a new player and can push your stack well in these games, then you might want to stay with Winamax Expresso Nitro instead of the classic version. However, if you want to overplay your opponents, hate losing because of variance, and don’t mind slightly longer games, then consider playing the classic version. Some players also choose to play both depending on how they feel or how much time they have.

  • Same as the classic version but quicker (300 chips, 1-minute blinds)
  • Requires a similar strategy, but you have to be less-selective
  • Same massive prize pools
  • Very fun, lots of crazy players
  • High variance, your tilt control will be tested

Go Fast

“Go Fast” is a Zoom Cash Game alternative for Winamax players. These are fast Winamax poker games where you are always seated at a different table once you fold your hand. Only No-Limit Texas Hold’em format is available and the limits are capped at €2/€4 (which is quite good since they used to be way lower in the past). However, if you are playing 1/2 or 2/4 games, you will want to play during peak hours to enjoy higher traffic.

Winamax Series

Around once a season Winamax runs its MTT Poker Tournament Series called ”Winamax Series”. It usually has around 13-15 Million in guaranteed prize pools and this number seems to grow every year. These MTT series are awesome for low and medium-limit players. Sometimes, they will also have a 1,000 Euro buy-in event for High Stakes players, but that does not happen all the time so that’s a bummer. It became a tradition for Winamax to offer special tickets and a bonus to those who use a WSERIES bonus Winamax code during the series. You normally deposit 30 – 120 Euros. The more you deposit, the better freeroll tickets you get. And those are no ordinary freerolls either. Instead, they are entries into a juicy main event (normally three freerolls will contain at least 50,000 euros in tickets). Besides all of this, you also get a reload bonus for extra value. Aside from the Winamax Series, the operator may change things up with a smaller MTT series here and there.

Winamax Series Poker

Winamax Rakeback

By playing on Winamax, players can collect “MILES” and gain status within the Winamax Poker VIP program!  By earning MILES you can gain access to special freerolls, buy merchandise, earn cash prizes, books plus other goodies. This is a list of all VIP status requirements and their multipliers + rakeback.

Level Details
CHROME  20 to 69 miles per month (1x multiplier) 6% Rakeback
ALUMINIUM  70 to 249 miles per month (1x multiplier)  6% Rakeback
BRONZE  250 to 999 miles per month (1.25x multiplier)  7.5% Rakeback
SILVER 1 000 to 2 999 miles per month (1.5x multiplier)  9% Rakeback
GOLD 3 000 to 5 999 miles per month (2x multiplier) 12% Rakeback
PLATINUM  6 000 miles and over per month (2.5x multiplier) 15% Rakeback
DIAMOND I (carat) From 50 000 to 99 999 miles per year (3x multiplier) 18% Rakeback
DIAMOND II (carats) From 100 000 to 249 999 miles per year (3.5x multiplier) 21% Rakeback
DIAMOND III (carats) From 250 000 to 499 999 miles per year (4x multiplier) 24% Rakeback
DIAMOND IV (carats) From 500 000 to 999 999 miles per year (4.5x multiplier) 27% Rakeback
DIAMOND V (carats) From 1,000,000 to 1,999,999 miles per year (5x multiplier) 30% Rakeback
RED DIAMOND I (carat) From 2,000,000 to 3,999,999 Miles (x6 multiplier) 36% Rakeback
RED DIAMOND II (carats) From 4,000,000 to 7,999,999 Miles (x6.25 multiplier) 37.5% Rakeback
RED DIAMOND III (carats) From 8,000,000 to 14,999,999 Miles (x6.5 multiplier) 39% Rakeback
RED DIAMOND IV (carats) From 15,000,000 to 24,999,999 Miles (x6.75 multiplier) 40.5% Rakeback
RED DIAMOND V (carats) Over 25,000,000 Miles (x7 multiplier) 42% Rakeback

Winamax Rake

Winamax has quite a high rake for satellite tournaments (10%) which we don’t like. The last thing you want to do is sacrifice a big portion of the buy-in when trying to turn a small investment into a more expensive tournament ticket or entry. Cash Games have an ”okay” rake, it has a cap so it won’t be too bad. Winamax Expresso Spins could have a slightly better rake, but it is also quite acceptable when compared with other sites.

Current Rake on Winamax:

  • Smaller tournaments and satellites have a 10% rake, while more expensive ones will have a lower rake
  • Cash Games have a 6.5% rake with a Maximum CAP of €1.5 – 4 depending on the limits and the number of players (more players and higher limits means a higher rake CAP)
  • Micro Stakes Cash Game Players have a €1.5 CAP which doesn’t change (up to €0.10/€0.20 limits)
  • Expresso Spins have a 7% rake (except for a €0.50 Limit which has an 8% rake)

Restricted Countries

You are welcome to play on Winamax from any location where the local legislation permits you to play on an online poker site licensed in France.

Winamax requires you to verify an EU Bank Account or a Skrill account as well as your address.

You will need to provide proof of address (Utility Bill, Phone, Bank Statement – whatever has a recent date, your name, and address). You will also receive a code by mail which you will have to enter (if you verify this way, you won’t need to send proof of address).

Winamax VIP Club

Winamax Sports Betting

Winamax also offers online sports betting action. Their betting promotions are value-filled and compete with the stiffest competition in Europe. There are various sports categories available on the site, including Basketball, Golf, Tennis, Ice Hockey, and others. Most of the markets are in the Football section though. So if you are a big football fan, you will love it.

The user interface is clean and easy to use and provides you with the option of staking your wagers on pre-match bets and in-play (live) odds while the game is in progress.

Winamax Sportsbook Homepage

Winamax Sportsbook

Review Summary

Winamax Poker Site has an extremely good MTT schedule and prize pools for low-medium limit players. It is also famous for poker Spin & Go (Winamax Expresso) games. unfortunately, we have it on good authority that Winamax does not focus on eliminating players who use forbidden third-party software to win more. This can make playing on their site rather infuriating for legit card sharks.

Winamax certainly had the opportunity to rank among one of the best poker sites in the market but took a step back to focus mainly on the French market. In our opinion, that has done them a great disservice. If you would like to compare the package we have showcased here with the best poker brands in the business, then feel free to read our GGPoker and Unibet Poker reviews!

Is Winamax available to my country?

For some reason Winamax does not say which countries (besides the obvious ones like France) they accept. This makes it very hard to compile a full and up to date list. Also, some countries are not accepted but can still play if they verify a foreign mailing address (a code is sent by mail to that address).

Why is Winamax always changing their welcome promo?

Winamax usually keeps their welcome bonus more or less the same, but the extra amount that you get from joining with our sign up link changes from time to time. By default it is €20, but it sometimes during special promotions it can go up to €40 and more.

Are there any alternatives to Winamax?

Yes, it depends on your country though. Please get in touch with us so that we could provide you a full list of operators and special promotions available to you.