This post is a comprehensive guide to Pokerbros, the most popular social poker app.
You may have seen people at your local card club playing Pokerbros poker on their phones.
In Pokerbros, you can learn how to find a good club to play and learn about Pokerbros game features.
This guide will answer all your questions and show you how to use Pokerbros.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Pokerbros App Revew
1.1. What is the Pokerbros?
Pokerbros is a poker game released in 2019. It is a mobile app that runs natively on iOS and Android and can also be played on Windows PC or Apple Mac. Pokerbros is a social poker game like Poker Stars, GG Poker, and ClubWPT, with the difference that it offers private club games.
Pokerbros itself does not allow real money play. Pokerbros allows free gold coin games provided within the game, and in private clubs, you can play with real money value. You cannot search for private clubs in-game, and you will need to receive a special invitation code from another player or agent to find one.
Pokerbros is separate from the game development company that develops and maintains the game and the place that runs the private club, and the private club provides a separate method of buying and selling chips depending on the club.
1.2. Why should you play on Pokerbros?
Pokerbros can seem difficult to get started with because the game is run mainly through private clubs. If you don’t know Pokerbros’ private club, you won’t be able to start playing real money games right away. Despite these difficulties, finding a private club to play Pokerbros has some advantages for you over playing other social poker games.
- High Profitability: It’s actually not that difficult for you to get into a private club. You can find a list of our private clubs here and join right away. Private clubs play with fewer members than other social poker games, so you are more likely to play together often over the long term. Also, since there are only a small number of players participating, many of them are relatively easy.
- Variety of Games: Pokerbros has one of the largest selections of online poker games.
In addition to No-Limit Hold’em, multi-table tournaments and cash game tables of various sizes, including Omaha, are operated. - Action Table: Pokerbros offers special tables that play a certain percentage of hands depending on the table and automatically remove players from the table if they do not meet the conditions.
This table is perfect for you if you are the type of player who likes to play with lots of hands and hates playing with nits.
In addition to regular tables, a no-limit hold’em table is provided that combines various options such as insurance, double board, bampot, and pineapple.
If you prefer thrilling games, you can also play on PLO4, PLO5, PLO6, and many tables with a combination of high/low, double board, and bampot. - Excellent software: Pokerbros is the fastest growing social poker game, currently ranked 3rd worldwide, and operates the poker platform with the most features and the fewest problems. They are constantly improving and adding new features every week.
- Tight security: Most importantly, there is a separation between the game developers who develop and operate Pokerbros games and the club owners who run private clubs. As a result, there is no conflict of interest between the Pokerbros game developer and the club, and there is no risk of manipulation by the game developer. This reflects Pokerbros’ philosophy of placing utmost importance on trust and security.
Pokerbros does not condone any form of cheating, including collusion between players, chip dumping, or multiple accounting, and we have a full-time security team that monitors and seeks out such practices.
You can read Highstakesdb.com’s take on Pokerbros security here.
1.3. What games does Pokerbros offer?
Pokerbros offers the largest number of game types and variations among social poker games.
Ring Games
- 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.
Tournaments
- 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.
1.4. Does Pokerbros actively defend against cheating?
Pokerbros actively defends against the issues that most concern you when playing online poker.
- If your opponent is a robot, you cannot win in the long run.
- You cannot win if several people team up at the table you are playing at.
Both of these issues are taken very seriously by Pokerbros and there are many security features in place to address them. Additionally, to catch more sophisticated forms of cheating, Pokerbros has a full-time security team that constantly reviews game data.
Pokerbros’ anti-cheating measures:
- GPS Restrictions: Players cannot sit in the same area, and players in close proximity cannot sit at the same table.
- IP Restrictions: Players cannot sit at the same table if they are on the same IP address.
- Device Restrictions: Players with more than one account on one device (e.g. players using emulators) cannot sit at the same table with those accounts.
- In-game Captcha: Players are sometimes required to rotate photos to a certain angle while playing. This measure defends the use of automated software (so-called “bots”, “robots”, “automated software”).
- Report Suspected Cheating: If you experience play that you suspect may be cheating, you can report it to Pokerbros’ security team.
1.5. Is the Pokerbros app tamperable?
You might think that social poker games could be rigged due to the scandals that have occurred in other social poker games.
Unlike most social poker games (PokerStars, GG Poker, ClubWPT, PPPoker, Upoker, etc.) the Pokerbros app is a simple platform. Regular people like you can create and run private clubs and host games in your club. Pokerbros does not directly run private clubs and therefore has no interest in the results of games played there.
Owners of private clubs, including regular players, do not have access to the inner workings of the Pokerbros software. Private clubs can only operate clubs and create games using the user interface provided by the app. Pokerbros makes money by charging club owners a fee (paid by purchasing diamonds in-game) for running their clubs and providing the ability to open games.
What the developers of Pokerbros want is for people to keep playing in the app, so making the games fair is the most important thing for Pokerbros. If a Pokerbros game is rigged and it is discovered by players, the players will not trust Pokerbros and will stop playing, making Pokerbros unprofitable.
2. Downloading the App
Pokerbros can be installed immediately by searching “Pokerbros” in the App Store or Google Play Store. Depending on the policies of each country, if you cannot search in the App Store or Google Play Store, you can download it by logging in to an account in a country where installation is possible, or you can download the installation file directly and install it.
You can play using an emulator on Windows PC and Apple Mac.
2.1. Downloading for Mobile
2.2. Downloading for Windows
To play Pokerbros on a Windows PC, you need software called an emulator. The emulator allows you to use the Android environment on Windows or Apple Mac (Intel).
Please refer to the post on installing Pokerbros on PC.
2.3. Downloading for Mac
If you own a MAC configured with an Intel CPU, refer to the Downloading for Windows document to install the emulator.
If you own an Apple Silicon-based Mac, you can download and run iPhone apps directly on your Mac through the Mac App Store. Search for “Pokerbros” in the App Store.
If you cannot install through the App Store, you can install Android Studio and use the emulator.
Please refer to the post Installing Pokerbros on Apple Silicon Mac.
2.4. How to create an account
When you first open the Pokerbros app after the initial download, follow these steps to create an account.
1. Click “Register”.
2. Enter the username and password you wish to use to log in.
The username you enter here will not appear on the table when you play.
3. These are the game terms and conditions. Please scroll to the end, check the agreement, and confirm.
4. Enter the nickname you would like to use to play the game. You can use the default name given to you, but you can also change it after your account is created.
5. Please enter your date of birth. Pokerbros is only available to those 18 years of age or older.
6. Account creation has been completed. You can now play Pokerbros’ games.
3. Pokerbros Clubs
Once you’ve set up your Pokerbros account, you can play the free Gold Lobby game to learn how to play. Pokerbros offers a very easy and simple interface, so you can start playing real games right away.
You have to join a private club to play real games.
3.1. How to find a private club
There are several ways to find private clubs in Pokerbros. The easiest way is to join Poker Cashclub’s private club. Read our post on how to join Poker Cashclub’s private club.
If you use an offline card club, you may have a private club operated by a card club, etc., or you may obtain information about the private club they are a member of from players playing at the table together.
If you end up joining some clubs you find online, it’s a good idea to be cautious at first. Because Pokerbros private clubs can be created by anyone, they may not have enough players and games.
Be sure to check how many games are running and how many players are participating.
3.2. What is the difference between private Pokerbros clubs?
Private clubs in Pokerbros may have different characteristics from club to club. The easiest way to choose a good club is to check whether it offers a variety of games and a large player pool.
Private clubs that offer a variety of games and have a large player pool are mostly part of large Unions. Each club in the same Union shares the same games and the same player pool. However, different clubs within the same Union also compete over services and player policies. Some clubs offer reliable 24/7 service, while others do not.
To choose a good club, check the following:
- Do you belong to a large union?
- Do you provide reliable service 24/7?
3.3. How to join a club on the Pokerbros app
To join a private club in the Pokerbros app you will need your club ID number. Some clubs may require a referrer ID number, and services may vary even within the same club depending on the referrer ID.
If you know the Club ID number and Referrer ID number you want to join, press the magnifying glass in the main app lobby, enter your Club and Referrer ID numbers in the corresponding fields that pop up, and press the “Next” button. You will only be able to join a club once the club administrator has accepted your membership. Once you have done so, your club will be displayed in the lobby.
3.4. What is an agent and do I need one?
The agent essentially acts as an intermediary between the player and the club. Agents may have personal relationships with many players and may be good at marketing. Either way, the agent introduces the player to the club and receives a percentage of the commission earned while the player plays.
Some clubs do not communicate directly with players and rely on agents to communicate with players and exchange chips. But some clubs don’t have agents at all.
In general, when searching for a Pokerbros private club, you need to find a trustworthy agent who will handle chip exchanges for you.
If you don’t know a trustworthy agent, we recommend signing up through Poker Cashclub.
Read our post on how to join Poker Cashclub’s private club.
Just as anyone can run a private club in Pokerbros, there are many cases where agents for certain clubs do not have special verification, so you need to be careful when dealing with agents who can be easily found online.
3.5. What is a union and what are some of the best unions?
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.
For example, let’s say Club A has 200 players and can play four nights a week. And Club B can have 100 players and play three nights a week. If these two clubs form a union they would have enough traffic to play games seven nights a week.Players can then play any night they want.
More information about Pokerbros Union can be found in the Pokerbros Unions post.
4. Playing on Pokerbros
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.
4.1. What are the gold lobby games
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.
4.2. Navigating the Main Lobby
- 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: Clicking this button allows you to create 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.
4.3. Navigating the Club Lobbies
- 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.
4.4. What is a VIP card?
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.
4.5. What are diamonds used for and where can I get them?
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.