If you're an established poker player in France, it's almost impossible that you've never heard of Winamax. Winamax has been offering fully legal online poker to the French for over 10 years. Today, Winamax is the most popular virtual poker room in France.
In June 2010, Winamax received its licence from the French online gaming regulator, the Autorité de Régulation des Jeux en Ligne (ARJEL), now the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ). This approval gave Winamax the right to legally offer real-money online poker in France.
Winamax is one of the most popular poker rooms among French poker players. There are several reasons for its success, including the stability and fluidity of its constantly evolving software, the quality and diversity of its game offering (several types of tournaments, sit'n'gos, Expresso, cash games, play money and real money tables, challenges, special events, etc.) and its large pool of players. A large player pool means there's action any time of the day or night. Whatever your lifestyle, you'll always have a tournament to sign up for or a cash game to take a seat in at Winamax.
What's more, as the site is approved by the National Gaming Authority, you know your money will be safe at Winamax.
For those who are curious, here is a screenshot of the Winamax website in 2007:
Even back then, there were a lot of players online. The site has never stopped evolving for the better since its very beginnings.
And now, the 2021 version:
Download and install Winamax
There are several ways to play on Winamax:
- On your web browser (Edge, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Brave, Opera), no download required
- On your iPhone or iPad (the application must be downloaded from the Apple App Store)
- On an Android tablet or smartphone
Or, finally, on your desktop computer running Windows, MacOS or Linux. Its platform versatility is another plus.
For this example, we will show you how to download and install Winamax on your Windows desktop or laptop (Windows 10 in this case).
First of all, go to the Winamax site using your favourite browser.
The following page will be displayed:
Now click on « Install Winamax ».
Save the file in the folder of your choice. For this example, we'll download it to the desktop:
Once the download is complete, double-click on the file to begin installation.
Once the file has been launched, press « Next » :
The following window will appear:
Press the « Next ».
Installation is in progress, please wait.
Once the installation has been successfully completed, a new icon will be created on your desktop:
This window will also appear:
Press the « Finish » to complete the installation.
The first launch of the software Winamax
The first time you use the software, you will see this window:
If you already have an account with Winamax, you will be able to enter your details (email, password and date of birth), otherwise you will need to create an account for free. Please note that you must be of legal age to play for money online. The minimum legal age varies from country to country. In France, it is 18.
Create your account on Winamax
To create your account, you'll need an email address and a nickname that will appear at the game table. You'll need to create a password and enter your date of birth.
ATTENTION: It is very important to ensure that your date of birth is correct. This information is used to confirm your identity on the site. You may be asked for proof of your date of birth. So to avoid any future complications, make sure you have this information up to date and accurate. The same applies to the other information requested. Fill in this section as accurately as possible.
Eventually, you may receive the following message:
The supporting documents requested will be :
- Identification showing your full name and age
- An identity document showing your home address
You can provide a photo ID card, photo passport, photo driving licence or photo residence permit (both sides).
Finally, complete the personal details page to finish creating your account.
Note that it is possible to play on Winamax if you are not in France, but as each country has its own specific restrictions on online gambling, if you are not a resident of France, we strongly advise you to do your research. It would be far too tedious to go through each country's case here.
You can then set yourself a deposit limit (as part of a responsible gambling policy) and fund your account as you wish:
If you are not ready to play for real money, you can simply click on this button to play for play money:
Presentation of the Winamax
At the first launch of Winamax, you'll see something similar:
The "Information" box shows current promotions and events on Winamax. In the bottom right-hand corner of the window, you can also see the number of hours you can play during the week. This is the number of hours you decided on when you registered.
Click on "Lobby" to access the main lobby:
The lobby is as intuitive as it gets. Here's a description of some of the sections:
Red box: This is the tab that is currently selected. It allows you to see the current cash games tables. The list of these tables can be seen in the purple box.
Blue box: Click on this tab to see the current tournaments on offer.
Several types of tournament are available. The different icons will tell you what's special about each tournament. Some will be 6-max (shorthanded), some deepstack (deep starting carpet), Monster Stack, KO, turbos, semi-turbos, and so on. The list goes on and on.
Orange box: Click on this tab to see the current sit'n'gos offer
Green box: We are currently on the real money tab. You can click on "Play Money" to filter the tables. That way, you'll only see tables with play money in the purple box.
Yellow box: These are filters for tables. What types of tables are you looking for? What limits? How many players? The choice is yours!
Purple box: This is where the results of your selection are displayed. You'll see the cash games, tournaments or sit'gos based on your selection criteria.
White box: This is the amount of time you will be able to play during the week according to the limit you set yourself when you registered.
Let's take a closer look at the 4 sections at the top of the lobby:
The Tools section
This section gives you some of the options you might find on a tracker, such as PokerTracker 4 or Hold’em Manager 3.
In particular, you can view your hand history. By clicking on the hand you want, you'll get its history, presented as follows:
The "Statistics" section will show you the number of hands played for each variant and your total money won or lost.
The "Friends" option will allow you to add players to follow in this section. These could be your real friends who, like you, play on Winamax or your "friends" (in this case, "fish") who you follow because you think they are profitable.
In the 'Notes' section, you'll see all the notes you've taken about your opponents.
The 'Quick access' section will suggest games that might interest you depending on your playing history.
Finally, it's in the 'Options' section that you can adjust all the software settings.
The section
This section is reserved for your private poker club. You can create a home game with your friends and follow the progress of each player. You can create your own gang or join an existing gang.
The Challenges section
These are daily challenges. There are several variants for which you can qualify. Each day, the biggest grinder will be rewarded with a cash prize. Each variant has its own rules. To find out more about these challenges, you can select the challenge of your choice and then click on 'Overview'. A web page will then open where you can read about the specific features of each challenge in detail.
Sports betting section
Winamax, is not just poker, but also sports betting. You can bet on numerous sports such as tennis, boxing, Formula 1, golf and many others.
The game table
Let's take a look at the game table itself:
Red box: Here you will see your starting hand, the size of your stack and the size of your bet. Here, the starting bet is the required blind. Note that in tournaments, you can indicate the size of your stack in chips or the number of blinds you have, which is a handy tool when the stacks and blinds become huge to read.
Orange box: For beginners, this is the strength of our hand. In this case, height 5.
Yellow box: The total size of the pot, including all bets. If there is a side pot, you will also find the related information.
White box: You can tick the 'Autorebuy' box to automatically rebuy as much as possible on the table. This will save you a lot of steps (in this case, a lot of mouse clicks) when you lose a hand while multitabling.
Blue box: Here you can see your allowed options for the hand. To make a raise bigger than a 0.46 raise, you can use the slider to indicate the exact size of raise you want.
Pink box: If you have to sit out the next blind, you can click on this button.
Green box: You can access the table options to personalise your playing experience. In particular, you can indicate whether you want to muck your losing hand permanently or have the option of showing it.
Pink box: These are betting shortcuts. They can be accessed preflop and postflop. For example, you'll have the option of betting exactly 50% of the pot size on the flop. With a simple click of the mouse, the slider will adjust to the corresponding amount.
Other options will also be available on the table:
You can consult your statistics, add a table similar to the current one or open the replayer by clicking on the R. The replayer will open a new window so that you can review the last hand played step by step.
In a nutshell
Winamax is one of the best places online to play poker if you're French. It's a dynamic place to play with action at any time of day. The play money section will appeal to beginners. What's more, as it has been approved by the National Gaming Authority, you'll have peace of mind about the security of your online funds. It is also legal to use external tools such as PokerTracker 4 or Hold'em Manager 3 to help you at the Winamax tables.
Winamax also offers deposit bonuses for new players. You might want to take a look before you make your first deposit.
You can also play wherever you are, thanks to the iOS and Android applications. So you can play at home, with friends or on the road.
Winamax also has a strong social media presence. You can also watch some highly relevant strategy videos on the YouTube channel of Winamax.
Good luck on the poker tables at Winamax !
