How to Play Poker Online with Friends: Free and for Real Money (2026)
Your home game doesn’t have to stop when friends move away. Club poker apps were built for exactly this: a private table only your group can join, on phones and computers. Here’s how to set one up for free, how friends join, which settings to choose — and what changes once real money is involved.
Updated: 16 October 2026
Key takeaways
The quickest free option: host a private game in Pokerrrr 2 and share the game code.
For a regular group, create your own club: free in ClubGG (up to 3 per account), paid in diamonds in PPPoker.
Friends join by club ID — there’s no public list of clubs in ClubGG.
Chips in these apps have no official cash value; real-money games mean someone handles the money outside the app — check your local laws first.
2–10seats at a hosted Pokerrrr 2 table
6 digitsin a ClubGG club ID
3clubs you can create on one ClubGG account
0 $to create a club in ClubGG
Three ways to play with friends
One-off private gameHost a table in Pokerrrr 2 and send the code. Ready in a couple of minutes, free on play money.
Your own clubA permanent home for your group in ClubGG or PPPoker: your tables, your rules, your members.
Join a club togetherEveryone joins the same existing club and plays the bigger union tables — but not as a team.
Pokerrrr 2 grew out of home games with friends, and hosting is its signature feature. The app is free and playable without real money. Any player can host a game, and friends join with a unique code.
An OFC hand in Pokerrrr 2 — one of the games you can host for friends
1
Open the app and go to the Friendly & Club tab at the bottom.
2
Pick a game: Texas Hold’em, PLO, R.O.E., Short Deck, 7 Card Stud, OFC, Rummy, SNG or MTT.
3
Set the table: stakes, blinds, buy-in, seats (2–10) and game length.
4
Pick a seat and tap Shuffle & Deal.
5
Share the game code — friends enter it to join.Нужен скриншотPokerrrr 2: host screen with the game code to share
The host doesn’t have to play — you can sit out and just run the table. Hosting is paid in Gold, the in-app currency: cash games are charged per hour, tournaments per game, and richer settings cost more. Without an upgrade you can host up to 2 games at once.
Create a private club in ClubGG
If your group plays every week, a club is better than one-off games: members, tables and history stay in one place. In ClubGG any player can create a club for free, right from the main lobby — up to 3 clubs per account.
1
In the main lobby choose Create Club, set a name and a club avatar.Нужен скриншотClubGG: Create Club form with name and avatar
2
Invite friends: give them your 6-digit club ID or send a direct link with the Share button.
3
Approve requests in Club Menu → Members → Applicants List, or turn on Auto Approve.
4
Create a table: Create New Table → game → format (Ring, SNG or Tournament) → settings → Create.
Your own club in ClubGG: name, ID and members
ClubGG is the best fit if friends play on different devices: there are apps for iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, and one account works everywhere. Full walkthrough: how to create a club in ClubGG and how to create a poker club.
Auto Approve lets anyone with your ID join. For a private group, approve requests manually.
Create a club in PPPoker
PPPoker also lets any player create a club — for home games or a community. Unlike ClubGG, creating and renewing a club is paid with diamonds, PPPoker’s service currency.
1
In the lobby tap Create club, set a name, avatar and description.
2
Pay with diamonds. The club gets a unique ID that friends use to join.
3
Invite players by ID, appoint managers and set permissions.
4
Create tables — each with its own game, stakes, rake and rules.
Customising your own club in PPPoker
PPPoker has clients for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac, and allows up to 3 tables at once.
How friends join
App
What friends need
Where to enter it
Pokerrrr 2
The game code from the host
Friendly & Club tab
ClubGG
The 6-digit club ID (or your Share link)
“Search Club” on the main screen
PPPoker
The club ID
The “+” (add club) button
In ClubGG clubs can’t be found by name — only by ID. The Referrer ID field is for an agent; in a friends’ club with no agents, leave it empty. Step by step with screenshots: how to join a ClubGG club.
Tell your friends
Install the app from the official store or website — never from a random link.
Register their own account and send you their nickname.
One person, one account: second accounts get banned in every club.
Never share a password or the code from a confirmation email.
Table settings for a home game
Setting
What it controls
Tip for friends
Game
NLHE, PLO, PLO5, OFC, Short Deck and more
Start with what everyone knows; add PLO later
Blinds and buy-in
Stakes and minimum/maximum buy-in
Same as your kitchen-table game
Seats
From heads-up to full ring
Match your group size so tables fill up
Ante / straddle
Extra forced bets for action
Great for a loose, social game
Rake and cap
The club’s commission per pot
You decide — keep it as low as the app allows
Time and extras
Time bank, rabbit hunt, run it twice
More time for casual players
Fun formats for friends: bomb pots and run it twice in ClubGG, R.O.E. (a rotation of games) in Pokerrrr 2, and OFC as a points game.
Playing from the same house? ClubGG tables can have a GPS/IP restriction that won’t seat players from one network or location together. It’s anti-collusion protection — for a game among friends in one room, don’t turn it on.
Playing for real money with friends
Officially, chips in club apps are play money: you can’t buy club chips in the app and they have no cash value. Real-money club games work because someone — an agent — takes money outside the app and credits chips. In a friends’ club, that usually means the owner.
Whether real-money poker with friends is legal depends on where you live — in some countries and US states online poker for money is prohibited. Check your local laws before turning chips into cash.
If you do play for money
Agree on the chip rate in writing before the first hand.
Use the club’s chip history to settle up — every transfer is recorded.
Settle regularly instead of letting balances pile up.
Keep the circle small and personal — people you actually know.
Where it goes wrong
The club grows beyond your friends and the owner becomes an unofficial cashier for strangers.
Nobody remembers who owes what because chips were moved without notes.
One player keeps a big unsettled balance for weeks.
Another option: everyone joins the same established club and plays its union tables — fuller tables, more stakes, real rakeback. Join through the same agent so one person handles your group’s deposits and withdrawals. Find a club: how to join a poker club.
Sitting at the same table as your friends against other players and sharing information is collusion. Apps check for shared IP, GPS and devices, and clubs ban colluding players along with their balances. More: bots and collusion in poker apps.
Yes. Pokerrrr 2 lets you host a play-money game and share a code, and in ClubGG you can create a private club for free.
02How do friends join my ClubGG club?
Send them your 6-digit club ID or a Share link. They enter the ID in “Search Club” and you approve the request — or turn on Auto Approve.
03Does the host have to play?
Not in Pokerrrr 2 — the host can sit out and just manage the table.
04Can we play poker with friends for real money?
The apps themselves use play-money chips; real-money settlement happens outside the app. Whether that’s legal depends on your country or state, so check local laws first.
05Can friends sit at the same table in a public club?
They can play in the same club, but cooperating against other players is collusion and gets accounts banned. Some tables also block players from the same network.
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