iGaming Journalist & Crypto Casino Analyst
Online poker traffic is the closest thing the industry has to a public scoreboard. How many people are sitting at real-money cash tables, and how many entries a day flow into scheduled tournaments, determines how soft the games are, how large the guarantees can be, and which networks are gaining or losing ground. This reference compiles the October 2026 online poker traffic data, published on 14 October 2026 from SharkScope Analytics figures via Poker Industry PRO, into one set of tables that you can cite, sort and compare. It covers 30 ranked cash networks, 13 player pools and the five biggest tournament networks.
The central finding is concentration. GGPoker's international room averages 10,143 concurrent cash players over the 30 days to 12 October 2026, which is about 41.0% of the 24,747 cash seats tracked across the 13 reporting pools. The top five networks account for 70.1% of all tracked cash traffic. Everything below that top tier is a long tail of regional, regulated, sweepstakes and offshore rooms, many with fewer than 500 cash players at any given moment.
Key Findings: Online Poker Traffic in October 2026
- GGPoker leads cash games with 10,143 average players (+8.5% month over month), roughly 4.7 times PokerStars' 2,156 (-5.2%).
- The top five cash networks hold 70.1% of tracked cash traffic; the International pool alone is 63.9% (15,815 players).
- Tracked cash traffic totals 24,747 seats, and the seasonal panel of 16 networks rose 5.0% from mid-September to mid-October, against gains of 0.1% to 0.8% in each of the prior four years.
- Tournament entries total 2,065,724 per day; GGPoker alone contributes 786,266 (about 38.1%).
- The five-network US Regulated pool averages just 754 cash players (3.0% share), and US Offshore fell 12.8% month over month.
Methodology: How Poker Traffic Is Measured
Every figure in this article comes from the October 2026 Online Poker Traffic Report published by VIP-Grinders, which draws on SharkScope Analytics data supplied through Poker Industry PRO. The underlying data was exported on 14 October 2026 and covers activity through 12 October 2026. Three rolling windows are used: a 7-day window (6 to 12 October), a 30-day window (13 September to 12 October) and a 90-day window (15 July to 12 October). Unless stated otherwise, the figures here are 30-day averages.
The cash metric is the average number of concurrent real-money seats over a 24-hour day (measured in Pacific time). It is a seat count, not a count of unique people, so one person playing four tables is counted as four seats. The tournament metric is the number of daily entries into real-money scheduled tournaments. It excludes sit-and-gos and lottery-style formats, so it understates the total number of games played.
Poker Industry PRO tracks 86 networks across 20 pools. This report ranks 36 networks and reports on 13 pools, because seven pools publish no data. Six networks report tournament data only: Global Poker, Peoples Network, Canadian Poker Network, Stretch Network, Pokerbet UA and Pokerbet ZA. Pool shares are calculated by dividing a pool's figure by the 24,747 cash total or the 2,065,724 tournament total. Within the report, 19 network operators are tracked and 12 are untracked. The report also notes that WPN's cash data began on 10 October 2026, so its 463 average reflects only three days and has no month-over-month comparison.
Two limits are worth stating. First, traffic is a measure of volume, not profitability or game quality. Second, third-party tracking is an estimate of lobby activity, not an audited operator disclosure, and different trackers can produce different totals for the same network. When you cite these numbers, name the tracking source and the date window.
Cash Game Traffic by Network
The table below lists every network that reported cash data. The share column was calculated for this article by dividing each network's average by the 24,747 cash total. Because the total includes WPN, which only has three days of data, treat the shares as approximate.
| Rank | Network | Pool | Avg. cash players (30-day) | Share of tracked cash | Month over month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GGPoker | International | 10,143 | 41.0% | +8.5% |
| 2 | PokerStars | International | 2,156 | 8.7% | -5.2% |
| 3 | CoinPoker | Crypto | 2,057 | 8.3% | +6.3% |
| 4 | WPT Global | International | 1,793 | 7.2% | -3.0% |
| 5 | Winamax | Southern European | 1,194 | 4.8% | +8.3% |
| 6 | iPoker | International | 1,179 | 4.8% | -4.7% |
| 7 | PokerStars Italy | Italian | 701 | 2.8% | +5.9% |
| 8 | QQPK | Asian | 650 | 2.6% | -4.3% |
| 9 | PokerStars Europe | Southern European | 601 | 2.4% | +2.4% |
| 10 | iPoker Italy | Italian | 541 | 2.2% | +11.3% |
| 11 | WPN | US Offshore | 463 | 1.9% | New (3 days of data) |
| 12 | GGPoker Ontario | Ontarian | 444 | 1.8% | +10.4% |
| 13 | iPoker Austria & Finland | Austrian & Finnish | 398 | 1.6% | +15.4% |
| 14 | iPoker Europe | Southern European | 312 | 1.3% | -1.6% |
| 15 | Stake Poker | International | 280 | 1.1% | +8.9% |
| 16 | Chico Poker Network | US Offshore | 248 | 1.0% | -11.7% |
| 17 | FanDuel Poker | US Regulated | 231 | 0.9% | +3.1% |
| 18 | Stake.us Poker | Sweepstakes | 209 | 0.8% | -6.3% |
| 19 | WSOP Online | US Regulated | 203 | 0.8% | +4.6% |
| 20 | 888poker | International | 194 | 0.8% | +6.6% |
| 21 | BetMGM Poker | US Regulated | 191 | 0.8% | -5.4% |
| 22 | BetRivers Poker | US Regulated | 129 | 0.5% | -0.8% |
| 23 | Clubs Poker | Sweepstakes | 79 | 0.3% | +2.6% |
| 24 | PartyPoker | International | 70 | 0.3% | +14.8% |
| 25 | 888poker Italy | Italian | 68 | 0.3% | +17.2% |
| 26 | PokerStars on FanDuel Ontario | Ontarian | 64 | 0.3% | +1.6% |
| 27 | 888poker Europe | Southern European | 55 | 0.2% | +27.9% |
| 28 | BetMGM Ontario Network | Ontarian | 52 | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| 29 | 888poker Ontario | Ontarian | 24 | 0.1% | +4.3% |
| 30 | PaiWangLuo | US Offshore | 18 | 0.1% | -25.0% |
GGPoker's lead
GGPoker's 10,143 average cash players exceeds the next five networks combined: PokerStars, CoinPoker, WPT Global, Winamax and iPoker total 8,379. GGPoker's lead is therefore not just in rank but in scale. The report also measures operator concentration: the operator behind GGPoker, NSUS, holds 2.82 times Flutter's cash traffic, up from 2.56 times a month earlier. Flutter is the parent of PokerStars. GGPoker's gain of 8.5% in a month, against a 5.2% fall for PokerStars, widened that gap.
Crypto and alternative rooms
CoinPoker is the standout among alternatives. At 2,057 average cash players (+6.3%), it ranks third overall and sits only 99 seats behind PokerStars. The Crypto pool, which spans six networks, holds 8.3% of cash traffic and posted the largest tournament growth of any major pool at +23.4% in daily entries. For readers interested in how crypto-denominated poker works, see our guide to Bitcoin poker. WPT Global, at 1,793 (-3.0%), and Stake Poker, at 280 (+8.9%), round out the international and crypto-adjacent field.
Regional networks
Southern Europe is the second-largest pool by cash with 2,162 players (+5.5%), driven by Winamax (1,194, +8.3%), PokerStars Europe (601, +2.4%), iPoker Europe (312, -1.6%) and 888poker Europe (55, +27.9%). The Italian pool, with five networks, holds 1,309 players (+8.6%). In Asia, QQPK averages 650 (-4.3%). The Austrian and Finnish pool, a single network, grew 15.4% to 398, the fastest rate of any pool with cash data.
Player Pools: Where the Liquidity Sits
Online poker is not one market. Regulation and licensing divide players into ring-fenced pools, and a player in one pool usually cannot sit with players from another. The report groups networks into 13 pools. The International pool, the largest by far, includes 19 networks.
| Player pool | Cash players | Cash share | Cash MoM | Daily MTT entries | MTT MoM | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International | 15,815 | 63.9% | +4.0% | 1,209,464 | +8.9% | 19 |
| Southern European | 2,162 | 8.7% | +5.5% | 466,914 | -13.5% | 7 |
| Crypto | 2,057 | 8.3% | +6.3% | 73,911 | +23.4% | 6 |
| Italian | 1,309 | 5.3% | +8.6% | 102,227 | -1.1% | 5 |
| US Regulated | 754 | 3.0% | +0.5% | 31,363 | +8.2% | 5 |
| US Offshore | 730 | 2.9% | -12.8% | 72,665 | -8.1% | 3 |
| Asian | 650 | 2.6% | -4.3% | 39,352 | +16.1% | 3 |
| Ontarian | 584 | 2.4% | +8.1% | 26,578 | -1.7% | 4 |
| Austrian & Finnish | 398 | 1.6% | +15.4% | 6,950 | +16.6% | 1 |
| Sweepstakes | 288 | 1.2% | -4.0% | 25,355 | +5.2% | 7 |
| Canadian | No cash data | n/a | n/a | 5,489 | -15.2% | 1 |
| Ukrainian | No cash data | n/a | n/a | 4,234 | +6.6% | 1 |
| South African | No cash data | n/a | n/a | 1,222 | -8.1% | 2 |
International: 63.9% of cash, 58.5% of tournaments
The International pool's 1,209,464 daily tournament entries equal about 58.5% of the 2,065,724 total, and it grew 8.9% month over month. Its cash traffic rose 4.0%. That growth is almost entirely GGPoker-driven, since PokerStars, WPT Global and iPoker all fell on the cash side.
Tournament-heavy Southern Europe
Southern Europe shows how cash and tournament traffic can diverge. Its cash players rose 5.5%, but its tournament entries fell 13.5% to 466,914, a period in which the Winamax Series closed on 17 September. The pool is the second largest on both measures.
Tournament Entries: A Different Hierarchy
Tournament traffic is more volatile than cash because it follows the series calendar. The 30-day window to 12 October included 18 of the 25 days of PokerStars' WCOOP (6 to 30 September) and the end of GGPoker's WSOP Online series (16 August to 29 September). Series that began later, such as GGPoker's Bounty Hunters (from 2 October), APT Online (from 11 October), CoinPoker's The One (Day 1s 4 to 12 October) and the ACR Dual Venom PKOs (Day 1s from 4 October), only partly appear in the window.
| Network | Daily MTT entries (30-day avg.) | Share of tracked MTT entries | Month over month |
|---|---|---|---|
| GGPoker | 786,266 | 38.1% | +19.9% |
| Winamax | 355,949 | 17.2% | -17.5% |
| PokerStars | 139,994 | 6.8% | -20.5% |
| WPT Global | 90,321 | 4.4% | +24.2% |
| CoinPoker | 73,911 | 3.6% | +23.4% |
GGPoker's 786,266 daily entries were up 19.9%, while Winamax (-17.5%) and PokerStars (-20.5%) both declined as their flagship series ended or aged out of the window. WPT Global grew 24.2% to 90,321 and CoinPoker 23.4% to 73,911. The top five together account for about 70.0% of the total, almost identical to their 70.1% concentration in cash, although the order differs: Winamax is second in tournaments but fifth in cash.
Series prize figures cited in the report give context for these entries: WCOOP paid about $49 million across 121 events, CoinPoker's GOPC paid $88.44 million across 6,321 tournaments against a $50 million guarantee, and the Winamax Series ran 352 events with a €30 million guarantee. If you want to understand how tournament prize money is split, see our poker strategy hub and the poker glossary for terms such as PKO and guarantee.
The US Market: Regulated, Offshore and Sweepstakes
The US picture is split across three pools with very different trends. The US Regulated pool, which covers five networks, averages 754 cash players and 31,363 daily tournament entries. Its cash traffic rose 0.5% and tournament entries 8.2%. The US Offshore pool, covering three networks, averages 730 cash players but fell 12.8% in cash and 8.1% in tournaments. The Sweepstakes pool has seven networks, 288 cash players (-4.0%) and 25,355 daily entries (+5.2%).
| US regulated network | Avg. cash players | Month over month |
|---|---|---|
| FanDuel Poker | 231 | +3.1% |
| WSOP Online | 203 | +4.6% |
| BetMGM Poker | 191 | -5.4% |
| BetRivers Poker | 129 | -0.8% |
| Total, five-network US Regulated pool | 754 | +0.5% |
Within offshore poker, WPN's 463 players is a new data point, Chico Poker Network fell 11.7% to 248 and PaiWangLuo fell 25.0% to 18. In sweepstakes, Stake.us Poker averages 209 (-6.3%) and Clubs Poker 79 (+2.6%). The report also flags several regulatory events that bear on these pools: PokerStars' US operations moved to FanDuel on 1 April 2026, Michigan cease-and-desist letters were reported on 8 October, and Oklahoma's sweepstakes ban takes effect on 1 November 2026. For a broader view of where players can legally play, see our list of poker sites.
Ontario
The Ontarian pool has four networks and 584 cash players (+8.1%), with GGPoker Ontario at 444 (+10.4%). The Supreme Court of Canada heard a case on Ontario's separated liquidity on 7 October 2026, an outcome that could affect whether the province's pool stays ring-fenced.
Seasonality: Is the Autumn Rise Real?
Poker traffic typically rises as summer ends. The report's constant-membership panels let us compare the same set of networks over time: 16 networks for cash and 24 for tournaments.
| Year | Seasonal cash change (mid-Sep to mid-Oct) | Seasonal tournament change (24-network panel) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +0.7% | -6.1% |
| 2023 | +0.4% | -9.7% |
| 2024 | +0.8% | -9.9% |
| 2025 | +0.1% | -5.1% |
| 2026 | +5.0% | +0.1% |
The cash panel climbed from 16,033 in mid-September to 16,838 in mid-October, a gain of 5.0%. In each of the previous four years, the same window moved between 0.1% and 0.8%. Tournament entries on the 24-network panel were essentially flat (+0.1%), whereas 2022 to 2025 saw drops of 5.1% to 9.9%. Both results differ from the recent pattern. A caution applies: one strong year does not establish a trend, and the 2026 window includes series activity that may have lifted counts.
What the Data Means for Players
Traffic is a proxy for game availability. At GGPoker, a player can find games at nearly any stake at almost any hour. At a regulated US network, with 129 to 231 average players, the number of tables at higher stakes is limited, and games are often thin outside peak hours. Players who value variety usually go where traffic is; players who value regulatory protection or are restricted by location pick from what is licensed locally. If you are new to the game, our beginner's guide to poker explains the formats you will see in these lobbies.
Traffic does not tell you whether games are soft. A busy network attracts strong players and software-assisted regulars as readily as recreational ones. Two caveats follow. A rising network can raise average skill, and a shrinking network can lose recreational players before it loses regulars. Nothing in the traffic series by itself reveals the mix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which online poker site has the most players in October 2026?
GGPoker, with an average of 10,143 concurrent cash players over the 30 days to 12 October 2026, according to SharkScope data via Poker Industry PRO. It also leads tournaments with 786,266 daily entries.
How is online poker traffic measured?
The cash metric is the average number of concurrent real-money seats over 24 hours; the tournament metric is daily entries into real-money scheduled tournaments, excluding sit-and-gos and lottery formats. Both are published as 7-, 30- and 90-day averages.
How many people play online poker cash games worldwide?
The tracked total is 24,747 average concurrent cash seats across 13 pools. This counts seats, not unique players, and only covers networks whose traffic is reported, so the true global total is higher.
How big is regulated US online poker?
The five-network US Regulated pool averages 754 cash players, or 3.0% of tracked cash traffic, plus 31,363 daily tournament entries.
Why did traffic rise in October 2026?
Tracked cash traffic grew 4.2% excluding WPN, and a constant 16-network panel rose 5.0% from mid-September to mid-October versus 0.1% to 0.8% in the prior four years. The source reports the data but not the cause, and series schedules likely contributed.
Sources
Figures are as published on 14 October 2026. Share-of-total percentages and the combined shares in this article were calculated by DeucesCracked from the published figures and are rounded to one decimal place. See also our live network traffic page and our blog for related data pieces.
Cite This Article
If you use data from this article, please link back to https://www.deucescracked.com/blog/online-poker-traffic-by-network-october-2026-data. Suggested citation: DeucesCracked Editorial, "Online Poker Traffic by Network: October 2026 Data," 15 October 2026.
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