If you're an established poker player in France, it's almost impossible that you've never heard of Winamax. For over 10 years now, Winamax has been offering fully legal online poker to the French. Today, Winamax is the most popular virtual poker room in France.
In June 2010, Winamax received its license from the French online gaming regulator, the Autorité de Régulation des Jeux en Ligne (ARJEL), now the Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ). This 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 many reasons for its success, including the stability and fluidity of its constantly evolving software, the quality and diversity of its game offer (several types of tournaments, sit'n'gos, Expresso, cash games, play money and real money tables, challenges, special events, etc.) and its large player pool. A large player pool means there's action any time of day or night. No matter what your lifestyle, you'll always have a tournament to sign up for or a cash game to take a seat on. Winamax.
What's more, as the site is licensed by the National Gaming Authority, you know your money will be safe on Winamax.
For the curious, here's 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 Windows, MacOS or Linux desktop. Platform versatility is another plus.
For this example, we'll show you how to download and install Winamax on your Windows desktop or laptop (PC) (Windows 10 in this case).
First of all, go to the Winamax site with your favorite browser.
The following page appears:
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 start installation.
Once the file has been launched, press « Next » :
The following window will appear:
Press « Next ».
Installation in progress, please wait.
Once installation has been successfully completed, a new icon will be created on your desktop:
You will also see this window:
Press « Finish » to complete the installation.
The first software launch Winamax
When you use the software for the first time, this window will appear:
If you already have an account with Winamax, you will be able to enter your information (e-mail, password and date of birth), otherwise you will have to create a new account free of charge. 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, the minimum age is 18.
Create your account on Winamax
To create your account, you'll need an e-mail address and a nickname that will be displayed at the gaming 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 to provide proof of your date of birth. Therefore, to avoid future complications, make sure you have this information up to date and accurate. The same applies to all other information requested. Please complete 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
- Identification showing your home address
You can provide a photo ID card, photo passport, photo driver's license or photo residence permit (both sides).
Finally, complete the personal information page to finish creating your account.
Note that it is possible to play on Winamax if you're not in France, but as each country has its own specific restrictions on online gambling, if you're not a resident of France, we strongly advise you to do your research. It would be far too tedious to go into the details of each country.
You can then set a deposit limit (as part of a responsible gaming policy) and fund your account as you wish:
If you're not ready to play for real money, you can simply click on this button to play for play money:
Introduction to the Winamax
During the first launch of Winamax, you'll see something similar:
The "Information" box presents current promotions and events on Winamax. In the bottom right-hand corner of the window, you'll also see the number of hours you can play during the week. This is the number of hours you decided 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 currently selected. It allows you to view the current cash game 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 various icons will tell you what's special about each tournament. Some will be 6-max (shorthanded), some deepstack (deep starting stack), 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. This way, you'll see only the tables with play money in the purple box.
Yellow box: These are filters for tables. What kind of tables are you looking for? What limits? How many players? The choice is yours!
Purple box: This is where you'll see the results of your selection. You'll see cash games, tournaments and sit'gos based on your selection criteria.
White box: This is the amount of time you'll be able to play during the week, according to the time limit you set 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 desired hand, you'll obtain its history, presented as follows:
The "Statistics" section will show you the number of hands played for each variant, as well as your total money won or lost.
The "Friends" option lets you 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") whom you follow because you find them profitable.
In the "Notes" section, you'll see all the notes you've taken on your opponents.
The "Quick access" section will suggest games that may be of interest to you, depending on your playing history.
Finally, it's in the "Options" section that you can adjust all the software's settings.
The section
This section is reserved for your private poker club. You can create a "home game" with your friends and follow each player's progress. You can create your own gang or join an existing one.
Challenges section
These are daily challenges. There are several variants to qualify for. 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, select the challenge of your choice and click on "Overview". A web page will then open, where you can read about the specifics of each challenge in detail.
Sports betting section
Winamax, is not just poker, but also sports betting. You can bet on tennis, boxing, Formula 1, golf and many other sports.
The gaming table
Let's take a look at the game table itself:
Red box: Here you'll see your starting hand, stack size and bet size. Here, the starting bet is the mandatory 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 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: Total pot size including all bets. If there's a side pot, you'll also find information about it.
White box: You can check the "Autorebuy" box to automatically rebuy as much as possible on the table. This will save you a lot of steps (in this case, mouse clicks) when you lose a hand while multitabling.
Blue box: Here you can see your options for the hand. To make a raise larger 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 miss the next blind, you can click on this button.
Green box: You'll be able to access table options to customize your playing experience. In particular, you'll be able to indicate whether you want to muck your losing hand permanently or have the option of showing it.
Pink box: These are bet 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 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's been approved by the French National Gaming Authority, you'll have peace of mind about the security of your online funds. It's also legal to use external tools such as PokerTracker 4 or Hold'em Manager 3 to help you on 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 iOS and Android apps. You can play at home, with friends or on the road.
Winamax is also very active on social media. You can also watch relevant strategy videos on the YouTube channel of Winamax.
Good luck on the poker tables of Winamax !