Top 10 poker trends for 2026

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Tadas Peckaitis

Tadas Peckaitis has been a professional poker player, coach and author for almost a decade. He is a manager and head coach at mypokercoaching.com where he shares his experience, and poker strategy tips. Tadas plays poker, mostly online, but also manages to play live events while travelling through Europe and the U.S. He is a big fan of personal effectiveness and always trying to do more. Tadas regularly shares his knowledge about both of these topics with his students, and deeply enjoys it. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, or visit www.mypokercoaching.com

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Top 10 poker trends for 2026

5 January 2026
By Tadas Peckaitis

2025 is in the rearview mirror and a new year is underway. So, let’s think about the trends we can expect to encounter in 2026.

Poker is a game where trends come and go very fast, and what’s trendy today may not even be acceptable in just a few years.

For that reason, we listed the top 10 poker trends you should look out for in 2026, and our predictions for how the next year will be different or similar to the ones in the near past.

10. Bigger and better poker tournaments
Just when we think tournament poker has reached its peak and is declining, we are proven wrong. After years of stagnation, poker tournaments have been booming and show no signs of slowing down.

The 2025 WSOP, as well as various events across WPT, EPT, Triton Poker Series, and PGT, have had amazing attendance in 2025, and further growth is expected in 2026.

WSOP tournaments, in particular, have been significantly boosted by the introduction of the WSOP+ app, which makes buying into WSOP events and navigating the festival much easier.

Next year, the app will be even more optimized, allowing players to take their seats in record time and with minimal wait, which should lead to even greater numbers and even more impressive prize pools, especially in events like the Colossus and the Millionaire Maker.

Crypto poker sites are becoming the norm rather than the exception.

9. Expansion of crypto poker platforms
Cryptocurrencies have been making a massive impact on the iGaming world as a whole, and crypto poker sites are becoming the norm rather than the exception.

Crypto poker rooms offer greater accessibility than other sites, along with faster, more private banking, provably fair card shuffling, and tons of soft action.

For traditional poker operators, competing with all these perks is already hard, and will only become harder with each passing day.

In 2026, we expect to see further expansion of crypto poker sites as they begin to seriously compete for market share with traditional, well-established online poker rooms.

8. Softer games on some online poker sites
Online poker is much tougher than live games, and that’s no secret. However, poker operators have made some solid moves to soften their games recently.

Some of these moves include limiting the number of “professional” players who can play at a single table, while others focus on cross-selling online poker to casino and sportsbook players.

Players who come from other gambling verticals typically play very loose and gamble it up at the poker tables, instead of trying to mimic the GTO poker solvers.

If you were thinking about playing online poker in 2026, you can expect an influx of recreational poker players who sign up to sites primarily for casino games.

To make sure you capitalize on this trend, make sure to play at online poker sites that feature their online casinos prominently throughout the online poker software.

7. More high-stakes TV cash games
In 2025, we saw a record number of truly high-stakes cash games across various streaming channels, ranging from regular live programming on shows like Hustler Casino Live and Poker at the Lodge to pre-recorded programs like High Stakes Poker and No Gamble, No Future.

Ultra high-stakes games were also streamed on Onyx Poker and Triton Poker channels, with some reaching deep into the millions of dollars stacked on the tables.

In 2026, this trend is absolutely going to continue, with even more high-stakes games made available on popular poker channels on a regular basis.

If you enjoy watching poker heroes and villains like Alan Keating, Nik Airball, or Doug Polk battle it out for seven-figure pots, stay tuned and look out for announcements of massive games coming as early as January 2026.

6. Influencers take center stage in promoting poker
The game of poker has gone through many stages, and in each, the way it was promoted changed significantly.

Back in the early 2000s, poker was a small niche, with all marketing dedicated exclusively to existing poker players. This all changed with the Moneymaker Boom, when professional poker players like Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu became the faces of poker, promoting the game to the wider masses.

In 2026, the game will be represented by poker influencers, poker creators, and vloggers. Players like Andrew Neeme, Brad Owen, Mariano Grandoli, Frenkie C, and Abby Merk will all take on the role of poker’s ambassadors in the mainstream.

Thanks to their reach on social media platforms, these influencers will be able to appeal to many potential players among the younger crowd, which should help poker continue its recent expansion in 2026.

5. More regulation in worldwide markets
For some time now, individual countries and provinces have been regulating poker and creating their own segregated poker markets. Some of these include places like France, Spain, Italy, and various American states, all of which have imposed heavy restrictions on online poker within their jurisdictions.

Starting in 2026, countries such as Finland, Croatia, Ireland, and New Zealand should implement new online gambling laws, including rules governing online poker.

Unfortunately for international players, those rules likely mean they can only play on local poker sites alongside other players from those countries.

Beyond these, various states within the USA might go ahead and introduce new online gambling bills, which could set a foundation for online poker in those territories. If you're playing from that region, it might be worth checking the Americas Cardroom promo code to test the site.

In the meantime, crypto poker sites will continue to allow players from all territories to play together and enjoy online poker like it was back in the good old days.

4. Sweepstakes poker will be in trouble
In late 2025, several states began cracking down on sweepstakes poker sites, pushing such operators out of major markets like New York.

In 2026, this push against sweepstakes poker sites is very likely to continue, with state governments looking to regulate all online gambling and remove any sites working around the rules.

For poker players in the USA, it could mean that many popular sweepstakes poker sites start losing traffic or are completely banned in their region.

Some alternatives to this can be found on crypto poker sites, while operators like Club WPT Gold have been exploring ways to offer online poker without using the traditional sweepstakes model.

3. Influx of new players from Asia
Poker has never really stopped expanding, and most recently, it has been undergoing major growth throughout Asia.

From China to Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, poker fever has come to Asia, meaning millions of players will enter the game with fresh perspectives and, most importantly, fresh bankrolls.

The growth of poker in Asia has been evident, with participation in events like APT and Triton Poker Series constantly increasing, and online poker sites seeing more players from the region sign up for new accounts than ever before.

Asian poker players and influencers like Masato Yokosawa, Sashimi, Peter, and Britney have all been instrumental in the growth of poker in their homelands and will continue to push the game forward in 2026.

2. The drama/reality TV moments continue
Poker is full of big personalities and players who simply can’t help but create drama and draw opinions from left and right, whether they want to or not.

Whether we are talking old-school players like Phil Hellmuth and Mike Mattusow, or younger poker stars like Rampage and Abby Merk, the drama follows wherever they set foot.

In 2026, expect some of the young up-and-comers to ascend to new levels of poker fame and bring new Twitter feuds, gossip, and maybe even a grudge match or two with them.

Meanwhile, make sure to also keep an eye out for what the “old guard” is doing, as they too are not immune to the charms of harmless trash-talking and endless back-and-forth feuds powered by social media platforms.

Expect Triton Poker festivals to regularly break records.

1. Expansion of the Triton Poker Tour
The Triton Poker Tour may be one of the youngest poker tours out there, but it’s also one with a massive potential for growth.

In 2025, Triton Poker introduced Triton One, a new mid-stakes poker tour aimed at a wider range of players than the traditional High Roller Series.

Next year, Triton One should run alongside every Triton Super High Roller Series, meaning hundreds of new players will have the opportunity to join the Tour.

The goal, of course, is to expand the main tour as well by allowing players to build their bankrolls in Triton One before risking the big bucks in the biggest buyin events on the Tour.

In 2026, expect to see Triton Poker festivals regularly break their expected prize pools and set new records and standards worthy of one of the world’s most luxurious poker tours.

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