Pokerbaazi Review

PokerBaazi claims to be India’s most trusted poker website, but is that true? Check our review of PokerBaazi for Indian gamblers to find out if this poker site is the real deal.

We currently recommend that you play poker games on Jeetwin instead, you can sign up here or read or full review of JeetWin here.

Find Out If You Should Trust PokerBaazi in Our In-Depth Review

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Is PokerBaazi Trustworthy?

PokerBaazi claims to be India’s most trusted poker website, but is that true? Check our review of PokerBaazi for Indian gamers to find out if this gaming site is the real deal.

Is PokerBaazi Licensed and Certified in India?

While online casinos in India are illegal, according to the Public Gaming Act of 1867, games that require skill over mere luck are an exception to the rule. The game of poker demands that players draw upon a range of skills including knowledge of psychology, probability, and strategy. Moreover, PokerBaazi is licensed through the Nagaland Online Games of Skill Act, 2016, and their internationally-certified gaming software has security features to protect users’ information.

Residents of Telangana, Assam, Orissa and Gujarat are not able to register with PokerBaazi as games of skill are banned in these regions of India.

When Was PokerBaazi Casino Launched?

PokerBaazi India was established in 2014 by Navkiran Singh, Puneet Singh, Anirudh Chaudhry, Avneet Rana, and Varun Ganjoo under parent company Baazi Games to shake up the emerging online gaming scene in India with an unparalleled online poker playing experience. The idea behind PokerBaazi’s skilled-based games of Texas Hold’em, and Pot-Limit Omaha is to allow players to hone their ability to make quick, critical choices, read into human psychology, and gain confidence in the game and themselves.

Does PokerBaazi Have a Good Reputation?

The reviews on PokerBaazi have mixed extremes. While many tout the user interface, excellent gaming experience, bonus availability, and customer service, there are reviews about issues when withdrawing earnings and possible bot interference that are concerning. There are many reviews that mention fast cashouts, quick customer service, and a good loyalty program, but these must be considered alongside the users who say PokerBaazi blocked their accounts for alleged chip dumping when they tried to withdraw a large win or that before winning a game there was some strange interference that caused them to lose suddenly.

How Popular Is PokerBaazi?

According to Alexa.com data, PokerBaazi’s global internet engagement is 155,191 with users spending an average of 3:56 minutes a day on the site, which isn’t bad considering the site is restricted to Indian users and excludes players from four of the 28 states.

Is PokerBaazi a Listed Company?

PokerBaazi is not currently a listed company, and it is not probable that it will become a publicly traded company anytime soon since they are technically using loopholes in Indian gaming law to operate.

Brands Associated with PokerBaazi

Other brands of Baazi Games include RummyBaazi started in 2019 with hopes of becoming one of the best rummy sites in India and BalleBaazi, a fantasy cricket league.

PokerBaazi’s Responsible Gaming Policies

PokerBaazi communicates its responsible gaming policies, which include age restrictions, self-exclusion, and responsible gaming tips. If users falsify their age on the website, their accounts will be closed, and winnings stripped. If players feel they have lost control over their gaming, they can email the support team, which will close their account within 24 hours. Players can also restrict their deposit limits by emailing the same support team. Responsible playing strategies include moving down in stakes if necessary, avoiding chasing losses, or playing in a negative state of mind.

Creating an Account with PokerBaazi Casino

Signing up for a PokerBaazi account is simple and straightforward for users to register and start playing fast.

Information You’ll Need to Sign Up

To sign up for a PokerBaazi account, you need to have a valid email address and phone number for verification. The online registration form asks for the following: 

• Username
• Password
• Valid e-mail address
• Valid phone number
• Promotional code (if available)

Once you sign up, you will have to verify your contact information with one-time passwords sent via email and phone. After this, you can set up payment details in your account.

Do I Need to Provide Any Documents to Withdraw Earnings from PokerBaazi?

To withdraw earnings from the PokerBaazi account, users must provide a copy of the front and back of their Aadhaar Card, Driving License, Voter ID, Passport, or Bank Passbook. The Aadhaar Card is the preferred form of a valid ID.

How Easy Is It to Create a PokerBaazi Account?

PokerBaazi has made it easy and hassle-free to set up an account quickly to begin playing poker on their website or app immediately, provided users have verified contact information and a valid ID. 

How PokerBaazi Verifies Your Documents

After a user creates their account on PokerBaazi and verifies their phone number and email address, they can fill in their user profile and upload their identification card via an image uploader to set up their payment method. Users can take a picture of their ID card to upload in .jpg or .png format under 5MB in size. All user information and documents are secured through encryption, but if they cannot upload the document through the platform, users can send their documents to the support team via e-mail.

How Quickly Can I Start Playing with Real Cash?

Technically once users register and verify their account, they can start playing immediately. However, it is unclear how long it takes for document verification to set up the account for deposits and withdrawals, and there isn’t much information about how long it takes for deposits to clear for use.

 PokerBaazi Withdrawals and Deposits

It seems that PokerBaazi tries to make it easy for players to deposit and withdraw money from their accounts by providing various methods to deposit money, two options for withdrawal of cash, and fast processing times.

PokerBaazi Casino Deposit Methods

These are the ways users can deposit money in their accounts:

Note that users cannot deposit credits into their accounts with American Express directly, but they can use their Amex card to deposit money in a mobile wallet and add that to their account. For users having issues with Paytm deposit limits, you will have to consult your account limits. Mobile wallets accepted by PokerBaazi include free charge, GPay, RuPay, Paytm, MobiKwik, Cashfree, and Ola money.

How to Withdraw Your Earnings

PokerBaazi claims to make withdrawals quick and simple for users to be in control of their money. Withdrawals are processed by the end of each business day and should be available within 24 hours of the request. There are two methods to withdraw earnings, which are online transfer and cheque. 

It is unclear how quickly cheques will reach users. Additionally, there is a minimum number of hands users must play before withdrawing their deposits, and any withdrawal of INR10,000 or more will be subject to 30% TDS.

Do I Need to Prove my Source of Wealth?

PokerBaazi does not require users to prove their source of wealth but does require a valid ID card and limits the number of times you can change your banking information on your account.

PokerBaazi Casino Bonuses and Campaigns

Compared to other sites, PokerBaazi offers many chances to win bonuses both based on luck and skill. For players who are new to PokerBaazi, there is a bonus for making your first deposit, and there are ongoing campaigns to win cash or credits you can use to enter tournaments. Overall it seems easy for PokerBaazi players to earn and redeem bonuses.

Introducing POKERBAAZI ’s Bonuses

There is at least a daily PokerBaazi bonus plus ongoing opportunities for players to receive a bonus for completing challenges and referring friends or family to sign up.

Current PokerBaazi Campaigns

There are always chances for PokerBaazi users to earn a bonus beginning with the new player bonus of INR100 for the first deposit made. Everyday players are eligible to win a Royal Flush bonus if they score a Royal Flush on a cash table, and the Stack Challenge bonus if they complete a challenge on the cash table. PokerBaazi also offers a Refer a Friend Bonus for players who refer friends and family to join PokerBaazi. 

FAQs on PokerBaazi’s Bonuses

Q: Do players need a PokerBaazi promo code for the new player bonus?
A: All new players are eligible for a PokerBaazi bonus of INR100 with their first deposit using the code WINTER100 for an instant 50% bonus plus a 50% unclaimed bonus. 

Q: How can players redeem the Royal Flush bonus?
A: The Royal Flush is an automatic bonus that will be credited to the account within 24 hours as a Real Cash Bonus that can be used towards tournaments. 

Q: What do players need to submit to claim the Stack Challenge bonus?
A: To claim a Stack Challenge bonus, players should take a screenshot of the table and send the image plus Table Name, Total Stack, and their Hand ID to the support team via email. Once it’s verified, the bonus will be credited within 24 hours. 

Q: How does a player activate the Refer a Friend Bonus?
A: Players must log into their PokerBaazi accounts to visit the Refer a Friend Section to find the pre-assigned link to send to the friend they are referring. The friend must sign up using that link with 48 hours for the player to receive a 10% rake from the friend’s play, valid for up to three months.

What Games Does PokerBaazi Casino Offer?

PokerBaazi is a site dedicated to poker with only a few variants for players to choose from, making it a website that attracts passionate poker players from across India looking to place bets on poker games. PokerBaazi is not for gamblers seeking other types of casino games such as blackjack, roulette, or for players playing online teen patti.

Which Casino Games Can I Play at PokerBaazi?

PokerBaazi offers the following games on its website and app:

• Texas Hold’em
• Pot-Limit Omaha
• Open Face Chinese Poker
• 5 Card PLO 

In addition to these games, PokerBaazi offers daily, weekly, and monthly tournaments with free entry promotions and bonuses often for newcomers. PokerBaazi has hosted some of the largest online poker tournaments in the country thus far and provides ample opportunities for players of all levels of experience to hone their skills. It does not offer casino games for free.

From Where Does PokerBaazi Source Its Games?

PokerBaazi uses in-house software for its games and has a Random Number Generator certified by iTech Labs of Australia for statistical randomness with shuffling tests that found no predictable or repeating card sequences. PokerBaazi’s proprietary software allows users to feel safe knowing their information and identities are protected through their secure gaming platform while providing peace of mind that the games are not rigged against players by any built-in algorithms. Having their own gaming client, PokerBaazi is always current with new software updates and offers many features that give players an improved sense of the game like portrait mode.

How Easy Is It to Use PokerBaazi?

One of PokerBaazi’s strengths is that it has a high-quality user interface and a well-designed website and app that makes it simple for experienced players and newcomers alike to navigate the site and get gaming quickly after registration.

PokerBaazi – Compatible Devices

PokerBaazi is available in any web browser and on Mac and PC desktop versions for full access to all gaming features and a better user experience with a larger screen. Players can also download the PokerBaazi app for iPhone and Android smart devices, which makes it extremely compatible across desktop and mobile devices and convenient to use at home and on the go.

What We Think about the Feel of PokerBaazi?

While many live casino sites use blacks, golds, and reds, PokerBaazi is refreshingly bright, crisp white and blue, which lends it a more respectable and fun feel. We like that we could play games on the site or access our account without people seeing immediately that we are on a gaming site because of the look. The clean colour scheme also makes navigation simpler since the fonts are easy to read and the buttons to download the desktop version and app or to start playing stand out on the white background. The menu items are neat and well-organized, separating the basics of how to play, promotions, rewards, and tournaments into different sections.

PokerBaazi Casino Customer Support Services

PokerBaazi provides multiple options for reaching their customer support team on their website plus a well-organized and detailed FAQs section to answer common concerns of players. Overall, it appears to be a robust support service with the ability to contact representatives via phone, e-mail, and chat.

How Can I Reach Out to PokerBaazi?

PokerBaazi claims to offer 24/7 support via a toll-free phone number, e-mail and chats for customer inquiries and concerns.

• Players can e-mail the support team via support@pokerbaazi.com 24/7.
• The toll-free customer support number 1800 12300 9630 is staffed Monday to Saturday from 1 PM – 9 PM, but we were not able to contact them on this number.
• The Chat service is available Monday to Saturday from 11 AM – 9 PM and Sunday from 12 PM – 9 PM. During off-hours, they allow users to e-mail their inquiry with a promised reply within 24 hours.

Many reviews online commend the customer support services of PokerBaazi, but some people claim they received canned responses or could not elicit any reaction from representatives. 

What Features Make PokerBaazi Unique?

PokerBaazi is unique in its approach to online gaming, setting itself up as a platform where curious and ambitious poker players can learn the game and hone their skills by providing many tips and resources such as a glossary of poker terms and ongoing chances to compete in tournaments of various sizes and stakes. Since gambling is still illegal in India, PokerBaazi has found a loophole by capitalising on the fact that poker has been classified as a mind sport and running with that idea.

How Is PokerBaazi Different to Other Online Casinos?

We should clarify that PokerBaazi is not an online casino in India. What makes PokerBaazi unique is that it is focused exclusively on offering Indian users the chance to play and place bets on poker online with other players in real-time to improve their skills while having the opportunity to win money in the process.

Is PokerBaazi a Good Choice for Indian Players?

The user interface, sign-up process, and bonuses of PokerBaazi lead us to believe that Indian gamers who enjoy the game of poker will like PokerBaazi. The fact that the company has taken time to get licensed and to have its software program verified by iTech Labs Australia suggests that it is trying to be legitimate even though it is difficult since gaming still flies under the radar in India. However, we are hesitant to say that PokerBaazi is a good choice for Indian players because of the nature of the negative user reviews we encountered during our research, which consistently repeated similar problems such as being blocked from wining large sums and possible unfair gaming practices.

PokerBaazi – Our Verdict

Overall, we want to recommend PokerBaazi, but we do have some reservations based on negative reviews we read and the fact that online gaming in India isn’t tightly regulated.

Five Things We Love about PokerBaazi Casino

There are many positive aspects we found reviewing PokerBaazi, which we have broken down into our top five things we love: 

• Educational Approach to Poker
  Although PokerBaazi is not a live casino, what impresses us about it is its unique approach to poker as a game of skill and the dedicated how-to and tutorial sections of the website for teaching players how to hone their skills and improve their game. PokerBaazi is designed for beginners and experienced poker players to have a chance to learn and grow as strategizers and tries to encourage players to recognise how they can incorporate the skills they learn in the game into real-life situations where stakes are high and quick-strategizing can be the key to success.
• Responsible Gaming Policy
  PokerBaazi appears to be committed to responsible gaming with detailed information for users about how to play responsibly and avoid chasing losses, and more importantly, empowering players to set deposit limits and close their accounts as soon as their poker betting becomes problematic or out of control. The responsible gaming information is clearly labeled in two points on the website, showing they want users to access this information readily.
• Simple Sign Up Process
  Signing up for a PokerBaazi account is simple and straightforward with the minimal, basic information needed without sacrificing security. Users do have to verify an e-mail address and phone number, and the submission form for banking documents and identification is encrypted to secure users’ sensitive information.
• Dedication to Transparency and Security
  Unlike many online gaming sites in India, PokerBaazi has worked within its limited means to get licensed by an online gaming authority in India and has had its proprietary software verified for Random Number Generation certified by iTech Australia to ensure that there are no bias or cheating algorithms in the game. They have also taken measures to secure users’ identifying and sensitive information. In the current gaming industry in India, PokerBaazi is doing its best to provide players with a secure and fair platform to play poker online.
• Welfare Commitment
  PokerBaazi stands out because of its commitment to participating in welfare programs in India to improve communities by giving back. They have funded charity efforts through poker tournaments to help girls in India gain access to education, clean plastic from local rivers, and aid in flood disaster relief efforts. They also invite players to donate to their welfare initiatives by requesting to make a donation through their support team. PokerBaazi may set the bar for other online gaming platforms to follow to shed negative stereotypes and promote charitable use of their funds.

How PokerBaazi Could Improve

While there are many things we love, there are some things we found in our review that made us ask, “Is PokerBaazi legit?” These are our top three areas that could be improved:

• Limited Game Options
  Of course, PokerBaazi is focused on poker and cannot offer other types of games because of the online gaming site restrictions in India. However, for now, the fact that they only offer two options for gaming, Texas Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha is a count against them until things change.
• Questionable Deposit/Withdrawal Timing
  While PokerBaazi says that deposits and withdrawals are processed within a day, it is unclear how fast players can get access to their money, especially when they opt for a cheque. There are even FAQs that suggest that sometimes there could be issues that result in delays of up to 72 hours for deposits and withdrawals to process, so this could be improved.
• Concerning Reviews About Fraud
  After reading many reviews from users about PokerBaazi, we noticed that they mostly respond to positive reviews and tend to ignore some concerning reviews that all repeat one of two scenarios: players are unfairly accused of fraud for chip dumping after winning a large hand or players lose to a bad beat at an abnormal rate to players that seem to be affiliated with PokerBaazi. We’d like to see representatives of PokerBaazi address some of these negative reviews to quell our concerns that there could be any truth behind these claims.

Our PokerBaazi Review Rating

It was a tough call when it came to rating PokerBaazi. While the user interface is fantastic and the skills-based approach gives it a unique, educational flair, we have doubts about the fact that they are technically using a loophole in the Indian gaming laws to operate their online gaming enterprise. The limits on regulations and restricted gaming options mean it is lackluster compared to other trustworthy gambling sites, but we do think that once India creates a regulated gambling industry, PokerBaazi will flourish.

In the end, we’ve determined that PokerBaazi deserves a rating of 4 out of 5.