Are you curious about the PokerBros app? It seems like everywhere you look at your local card game, people are playing poker on their phones on PokerBros.
But how do you find a club? Who can you trust to handle your chips? How do you learn about all the games and features available on the app?
This guide will answer all those questions and more and have you ready to get in on all that great poker action you've been missing out on.
PokerBros is a social gaming poker application launched in 2019. It is primarily a mobile app, available in native format only for iOs and Android. Similar apps include PPPoker, Upoker and Pokerrrr2.
There are two ways to play on PokerBros: free-to-play gold coin games offered by the app itself and in private clubs. You will not be able to search for or browse through the private clubs - you must get a special invite code from another player or recruiter in order to find them.
So what happens in the private clubs? They can be used to run poker games with your social circle, although PokerBros does not condone playing for real-money and is not involved in the transfer of funds in any way.
It may seem like more trouble than it's worth to play on PokerBros. After all, you can't download the app, make a deposit and start playing. Why should you bother trying to find one of the private clubs?
Trust: It's actually not that hard to get into a private club. If you ask around at your local card room or home game, chances are someone there either plays in a club or even runs one themselves.
So your connection to the club will likely be someone you know personally and that you see around regularly.
Of course that doesn't mean you can automatically trust them, but most people are more comfortable dealing with someone they know.
Variety of games: PokerBros has one of the widest game selections of any online poker site. Period.
No Limit Hold ‘Em is still the most popular game there but they offer many other poker variations if you ever get tired of playing with only two cards.
Action tables: PokerBros offers special tables that require everyone playing at them to play a certain percentage of hands or they are automatically removed from the table.
These tables are perfect for you if you are the type of player who likes to play a lot of hands and hates playing with nits.
Great software: PokerBros has the smoothest poker software with the most features and the fewest problems. They are constantly making improvements and adding new features every week.
Tight Security: PokerBros has a full-time security team looking for all forms of cheating including collusion, chip dumping and multi-accounting. You can read a view of PokerBros security by Highstakesdb.com here.
PokerBros offers the most game types and variants of all the poker apps and certainly more than you will find on traditional online poker sites or any brick and mortar card room. Here's what you will find on PokerBros virtual felt:
Texas Hold 'Em: Hold 'Em is available in no-limit, fixed-limit and short-deck (also known as 6+ hold 'em) variations.
Omaha: Omaha is available in pot-limit and fixed-limit, hi-low and high-only with 4, 5 and 6 card variations.
Open Face Chinese: Open Face Chinese (also known as OFC) is available both two and three handed in several pineapple variations including Ultimate and Joker.
Other Variations: Include pineapple and crazy pineapple hold 'em, double-board games, antes, straddles and more.
Multitable Tourneys: Multitable tourneys (also known as MTTs) with large fields and huge guranteed prize pools.
Sit-N-Goes: Single-table tournaments that start automatically when enough people enter.
Spin-N-Goes: A special type of Sit-N-Go that usually runs three handed with a randomized multiplier that determines the size of the prize pool.
Other Variations: Knock out and bounty tourneys.
Two of the most common objections you hear to playing poker online are:
"You can't win, you are playing against robots" and
"You are playing against a bunch of people all working together"
While both of these are valid concerns, PokerBros has many built-in security features designed to address them. They also have a full-time security time constantly reviewing game data in order to catch more sophisticated forms of cheating.
GPS Restriction: Players may not sit at the same table if they geolocate to the same area.
IP Restriction: Players may not sit at the same table if they are on the same IP address.
Device Restriction: A player with two or more accounts on one device (such as those players using an emulator) may not sit at the same table with those accounts.
In-Game Captcha: Players are occasionally required to rotate a photo to a certain angle while playing. This measure drastically reduces the indicence of automated software (so called "bots") use.
It is easy to think a poker site might be rigged after suffering a few bad beats. But before you swear off online poker to suffer the boredom of playing live, you should ask yourself why would PokerBros rig its games?
Unlike most poker sites, the PokerBros app is simply a platform. They allow regular people just like you to start clubs and host the actual games in those private clubs. PokerBros does not operate the clubs directly and therefore has little interest in the results of the games played there.
Furthermore, club owners and players have no access to the inner working of the PokerBros software. Clubs simply set up games using the user interface provided by the app. Club owners pay PokerBros for diamonds - this is how PokerBros makes money.
Therefore, it is in PokerBros' interest for the games to be as fair as possible since all they want as the app owners is for people to play on the app and to continue to play. If the games were actually rigged, people would find out and stop playing and PokerBros would not make any money.
Downloading PokerBros for mobile is as easy as going to the iPhone App or Google Play store and searching for "PokerBros". Playing on a PC is a little trickier but we'll walk you through it.
PokerBros is not directly available for PC. However, you can download a piece of third-party software called an emulator. Emulators allow you to set up an Android operating environment on your Windows or Mac. Here's how you do it:
Download and install an emulator. There are several emulators to choose from - we recommend BlueStacks.
When BlueStacks starts up on your computer, the screen will look like this:
Click the Play Store icon and you will be prompted to log in on a Google Account. Once you are logged in you will the Google Play store as if you were looking at it on a mobile device:
Click the search bar and enter "PokerBros The app to download looks like this:
Click Install. After the app is done installing you will a PokerBros icon on your desktop. Click that and the app will load. Now you are ready to either log in to your account or set up a new one and play!
One of the advantages to playing on an emulator is that it makes multi-tabling much easier. You can open several instances of the emulator, log in to a different account on each one and view all your tables at once.
It is important to note that some PokerBros tables are not eligible for emulator play. Here's what that looks like:
If you own a Mac powered by Apple Silicon, you can download and play iPhone apps directly on your Mac through the Mac app store. Just search for "PokerBros".
When you first open the PokerBros app after the initial download, follow these steps to create an account.
Click "Register".
Enter your desired username and password. Note, the username you enter here will NOT be the name that appears on the tables when you play. You will select that name next.
Enter your desired nickname. This IS the name you will use at the tables. You may use the given default name if you like.
Now you have an account and you're ready to hit the tables.
Once you are all set up with an account on the PokerBros app, we recommend trying the free-to-play gold lobby games to get a feel for the software. The gold-coin tables have the same interface as the private club tables.
After you get get comfortable with the software, you probably want to find a private club so you can play with friends.
There are many ways to find private clubs on PokerBros. The best way is probably to ask people you know and trust at your local card room or game.
If you are unable to find a PokerBros club through someone you know personally, the next step would be to do some research online. A search for "PokerBros clubs" on Google, Facebook, Instagram or Reddit should return options for you to sort through.
Should you end up contacting some clubs you find online, we recommend exercising caution. There is no barrier to entry for starting a PokerBros club and some clubs are certainly more reputable than others.
Look for reviews and posts on social media and see how long it takes for someone to respond to your inquiry and how they interact with you.
There are a few ways PokerBros clubs can distinguish themselves. The most obvious are different player pools and different game selection. True private clubs will have a totally unique player pool and may offer a unique selection of tables.
However, most of the larger clubs are in a union and each union will share the same player pool and tables. So what exactly is the difference between playing in two clubs that are in the same union?
PokerBros clubs within the same union can compete mostly on service and player policies. Some clubs have reliable 24/7 service and others will leave players waiting for hours to get chips. Clubs will also differ widely with regard to bonuses and rewards.
Therefore, when vetting a potential club you are considering playing in, you should evaluate the responsiveness of their admin or manager and ask about bonuses and rewards.
In order to apply to a private club on the PokerBros app, you will need a club ID number. You may also be given an optional referrer ID number.
Once you have this information, simply hit the magnifying glass in the main app lobby (see below), enter the club and referrer ID (if you have one) in the appropriate fields that pop up and hit the "Next" button. You will have to wait for a club manager or admin to accept you before the club will show up in your lobby.
An agent basically acts as a middle-man between a player and a club. Agents may have personal relationships with many players or they may be good at marketing. Either way, agents refer players to clubs and get a percentage of the fees those players generate while playing.
Some clubs won't take players directly and rely on agents to exchange chips for their players. Other clubs won't with agents at all. Most clubs are happy to work with agents and will also take players directly. So which is better for you as a player?
Generally you should be looking for someone you trust to handle your chip exchanges when you are searching for a PokerBros club. These clubs are all built on trust and interpersonal relationships, which is why many players choose to play on PokerBros in the first place.
If you already know of reputable PokerBros agent, you are probably better off going through them because of the trust factor.
But what if you don't know an agent? If you are just searching around on the internet looking for a PokerBros club to join and play with, you are better off joining a club directly that going through an agent you don't know.
This is because clubs are generally held to a higher standard than agents. It takes quite a bit of work to build up a club and maintain its reputations. Union clubs are held to an especially high standard since they can be removed from their union if they don't treat their players and other clubs with professionalism. On the other hand, just about anyone can start a social media page and call themselves an agent.
You may have heard people mention that they play within a certain union on PokerBros. So what does that mean? A PokerBros union is a group of clubs that join together and share player pools. Each clubs' players have access to the same tables and can play with each other.
Why would a club join a union? Say you have a club with 100 players and you have games twice a week. If you form a union with another 100-player club you would then be able to run games four times a week. So both clubs benefit from sharing player pools by being able to run more games more often!
Does it matter for you as a player if you are playing in a union or not? Generally not, although within unions tend to have many more tables than stand-alone clubs. However, this does not mean you "join a union" as a player. Instead, you would join a club that is a member of a union.
If you are shopping around for a club, you can ask a club representative if their club is in a union and if so, which one. Which are some of the best unions? Read our full post on PokerBros Unions.
PokerBros is a great app with tons of advanced features but they don't do a very good job of explaining where to find everything and how everything works. This chapter will give you a thorough overview of the PokerBros software.
You will see banners for gold lobby Holdem, Six Plus Holdem, Omaha, OFC and Tournaments in the main PokerBros app lobby. These games are open to everyone and are played for PokerBros gold coins, which have zero cash value. When you open a new account on PokerBros, you will start with some gold coins. If you run out, you may buy more directly through the PokerBros app.
Gold coin games are a great way to practice and get familiar with games you may have never played before.
Avatar/Avatar Menu: This is your avatar that will appear at the tables while you are playing. Clicking on the avatar will open a pop-up menu that has several options:
Change Avatar: Click on the edit button next to your avatar to change your avatar. You can do this as many times as you like. Some avatars are free, others will require a certain level VIP card for you to be able to select them. You may also choose to turn off all avatars by switching the “Show Avatars” button to “Off”.
Change Nickname: Click on the edit button next to your nickname to change it. Note, you will only be able to do this once for free. Additional nickname changes will cost diamonds.
Career Playing Stats: This button will show various statistics about your playing history on the PokerBros app.
Hand History: This button will show your hand histories for the previous six days.
Tags: This button will show all the tags and notes you have added to the other players while at the tables.
Nickname: This is your nickname that appears at the tables while you are playing. You may change it using the Avatar menu (see number 1).
Player ID: This is your player ID number. It will not be visible at the tables and will not change, even if you change your nickname.
Main Menu: This is the main app menu that will allow you to do such things as change your password, bind an email address to your account, turn the sound on and off, etc.
VIP Card: If you have a VIP card it will be here and show you how many days you have left on it before it expires.
Gold Coin Balance: You may purchase more gold coins through the app store by pressing the "+" button next to your gold coin balance.
Diamond Balance: Your diamonds are associated with your account and may be used in any clubs in which you are a member. You may purchase diamonds through the app store by hitting the "+" button next to your diamond balance.
Create a New Club: This button will let you found a new club.
Join an Existing Club: This button will let you apply to any club that you have the club ID number for. There is no other way to look up a club than by its ID number.
Clubs: This where all the clubs in which you are a member are displayed. The gold-coin games are also accessed here. Swiping left or right on the club banners will scroll through all the clubs. Clicking on a club icon will take to that club's lobby.
Daily Bonus: Click here to receive your daily gold coin bonus from PokerBros.
Gold Coin Tournaments: Here you will find the daily free-to-play gold coin tournaments.
Daily Draw: Here you can win more gold coins.
Tournament Information: This button will show all the tournaments for which you are currently registered.
Mail Box: Here is where you receive messages from the PokerBros app itself. For example, when you get accepted to a new club you will get a message here.
Gold Coin Challenges: Here are several gold coin milestone challenges. You will receive additional gold coins as prizes for completing the challenges.
PokerBros App Shop: This is where you can purchase gold coins, diamonds, VIP cards and extra time banks and emojis.
Player Account Information: This shows your current avatar, nickname and player ID number.
Diamond Balance: The number of diamonds associated with your account.
Exit to Main App Lobby: Returns to the previous lobby.
Bad Beat Jackpot: If your club or union has a bad beat jackpot, the current prize pool amount will be displayed here. Clicking on the bad beat jackpot icon will bring up a pop up explaining all the rules for the jackpot.
Club Information: This shows the club icon, name and ID number.
Club Join Link: Clicking this will give you an app store url that you can give to friends who are interested in joining the same PokerBros clubs as you. When they download the app using this link, they will automatically be applied to the club.
Chip Balance: This shows how many chips you have available for playing at the tables. Note, if you are in more than one club, you will have a different chip balance in each club. You cannot transfer chips between clubs.
Club Banner: Some clubs may have some information about the club here. Some clubs may have left it blank.
Union Posters: Clicking this will bring up a pop up of any posters your union may have up.
Game Filters: You can use this filter to isolate the games you are most interested in playing. There are three levels of filtering available - the most basic is for the broad game type (Hold 'Em, Omaha, MTT, etc). If you click the yellow triangle of the far right side of the filter, it will bring up the second level filter. This allows filtering by stakes and table status (running, empty and full). Clicking the hamburger icon on the second-level filter brings up an advanced filter.
Game Table List: This is where all the available game tables are displayed. You can scroll through them by swiping up and down. Clicking on a table will either bring you to the table itself or the registration lobby if the table is for a pending tournament. You will not be automatically seated or registered just by clicking at a table.
PokerBros App Messages: These are the same messages from the main app lobby.
Cashier: This will show a record of any chips added to or removed from your account.
Player Admin Section: This is where you can see data for the games you have played, the active union posters and where you can quit the club.
VIP cards give you certain benefits while playing and are available for purchase using diamonds. If you click on the VIP card icon in the main app lobby (next to your avatar), it will show a popup that lists all the benefits associated with each type of VIP card and how much they cost.
Diamonds are used to purchase VIP cards and extra items such as time banks and emojis. You can buy diamonds using by clicking on the plus icon next to the diamond balance in the main app lobby. Your card linked to the app store will be charged for any diamonds you may purchase.
