Anyone else notice traffic has been completely dead lately?

qwertyallah · Jun 5, 2026

I've been grinding online for about 3 years now, mostly 6-max cash NL25-NL50, and I swear the last couple months have felt different. Tables are harder to fill, waiting lists are shorter but also the games just feel tougher when they do run.
Not sure if it's seasonal or if the rec players just dried up after the post-COVID boom finally wore off. Remember 2020-2021? You could sit any table and find at least 2-3 complete fish within the first orbit. Now it feels like everyone has at least a basic idea of what they're doing.
I've been hopping between a couple of sites trying to find softer pools. GGPoker still has decent traffic but the rake is brutal. PokerStars feels like a lab experiment at this point.
Anyone else feeling this or am I just running bad and tilting about it lol. Also curious which sites you guys are currently playing on and finding decent games. Always looking for recommendations before I move my roll somewhere new.

fundiver199 · Jun 5, 2026

The pandemic gave online poker a huge revival, because people were forced to sit home, but that obviously ended a long time ago, and now we are back to normal. There is also a seasonal pattern, since people are more likely to stay home during winter than summer. Most players are in the nothern hemisphere, so in the nothern hemisphere summer games tend to be a bit more reg infested than the rest of the year. There is not much to do about this other than to play less yourself, if you cant find good games, or perhaps try tournaments rather than cash games.

Prophet · Jun 5, 2026

the overall culture is changing... young adults today are more responsible , than past generations due to a better education.
Smoking and drinking less, gambling less than before also due to the tighter laws against gambling , and advertised anti campains.
the gameplay is for sure getting harder ,since all the current poker players are improving lot

bronwen777 · Jun 5, 2026

Might just be that country restrictions have been imposed around online gambling etc. This may have taken many countries and thousands of players out of your regular online platform.. I know in South Africa, they are looking for ways to improve legislation and stuff. if thats the right word for it.

TeUnit · Jun 5, 2026

It seems very slow, have seen a hand full of sites shut down recently.

I think the only thing that would help volume currently would be another economic stimulus.

Lodestone · Jun 5, 2026

The fish are back in the casinos and nearly no one is wearing a mask anymore (a good one prevents severe illness by over 80% btw) because apparently a 6% chance of developing a long term crippling illness isn't that big of a deal for folks.

I host small homegames and don't usually wear a mask but whenever I go out to the grocery store or other busy place its a no brainer.

Sorry for the tangent but it's because I'm frustrated with the same thing AND the followup consequence of said same thing.

Poker Orifice · Jun 7, 2026

Lodestone said:
The fish are back in the casinos and nearly no one is wearing a mask anymore (a good one prevents severe illness by over 80% btw) because apparently a 6% chance of developing a long term crippling illness isn't that big of a deal for folks.

I host small homegames and don't usually wear a mask but whenever I go out to the grocery store or other busy place its a no brainer.

Sorry for the tangent but it's because I'm frustrated with the same thing AND the followup consequence of said same thing.

Where in Canada are you? Can I join your homegame?
There used to be a few homegames going where I live (small community, pop ~7,500) and also some small tournaments at least a few nights per week with a bigger one once per month (~150 entrants, $50 entry). Now, there's maybe 1 game per month.

For online play, I think if you can play where USA players are playing it's a good plan.

Lodestone · Jun 7, 2026

Poker Orifice said:
Where in Canada are you? Can I join your homegame?
There used to be a few homegames going where I live (small community, pop ~7,500) and also some small tournaments at least a few nights per week with a bigger one once per month (~150 entrants, $50 entry). Now, there's maybe 1 game per month.

For online play, I think if you can play where USA players are playing it's a good plan.

I don't want to share too much private location details on here beyond what you already know from my post regarding the changing laws in Alberta. If you're in AB too, feel free to DM me and we can discuss further.

It's a private homegame that maybe 3-5 people come to from a local meetup discord server and I host it in my condo building on the pool table lol

R.Melnyk77 · Jun 7, 2026

qwertyallah said:
I've been grinding online for about 3 years now, mostly 6-max cash NL25-NL50, and I swear the last couple months have felt different. Tables are harder to fill, waiting lists are shorter but also the games just feel tougher when they do run.
Not sure if it's seasonal or if the rec players just dried up after the post-COVID boom finally wore off. Remember 2020-2021? You could sit any table and find at least 2-3 complete fish within the first orbit. Now it feels like everyone has at least a basic idea of what they're doing.
I've been hopping between a couple of sites trying to find softer pools. GGPoker still has decent traffic but the rake is brutal. PokerStars feels like a lab experiment at this point.
Anyone else feeling this or am I just running bad and tilting about it lol. Also curious which sites you guys are currently playing on and finding decent games. Always looking for recommendations before I move my roll somewhere new.

PokerStars is a project that has exhausted itself. There are fewer and fewer players there every year, and this site has no prospects anymore. Forget about PokerStars, it's better to pay attention to 888 or GG.

fundiver199 · Jun 7, 2026

R.Melnyk77 said:
PokerStars is a project that has exhausted itself. There are fewer and fewer players there every year, and this site has no prospects anymore. Forget about PokerStars, it's better to pay attention to 888 or GG.

Why is it better to play on 888 Poker, when they have only a fraction of the traffic, that PokerStars still has? I actually moved away from 888 Poker and back to PokerStars post pandemic for this exact reason. The MTT schedule on 888 Poker has become to thin these days, and they have killed off their SnGs completely. Of course if you only care about freerolls, 888 Poker might be a fine place to play. But in that case why does it even matter, how small or large the overall traffic is?

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