ClubWPT Gold is the most recent addition to the sweepstakes poker world. Backed by one of the largest brands in all of poker and propped up by a massive marketing campaign leading up to the initial launch, the site had a lot of promise.
It was clear that the new operator would have a big player base right from the get-go, which is a very important aspect, but so far, they’ve under-delivered in most other ways, especially when we compare them to similar operators like Clubs Poker.
Despite being fairly new to the scene itself and not having a huge brand behind it, Clubs Poker managed to create a platform that surprised players in a number of good ways. This is not to say that Clubs is without fault, but when looking at important comparison points, it comes out ahead of ClubWPT Gold.
| Clubs Poker | ClubWPT Gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Game variety | PLO, NLHE, mixed games (Stud, Razz, 2-7, and more) | PLO and NLHE only |
| Software quality | Stable, note-taking, player tagging | Bare bones, no note taking or color tagging, shaky connection |
| Special features | Straddles, bomb pots, run it twice, in-game HUD, 12 tables at once | Only straddles, just one table allowed at time |
| Rake | 5% with low rake cap | 4% but with much higher rake cap at higher stakes |
| Player pool & traffic | Decent traffic, fairly soft games | Great traffic and even softer games |
Game Variety
One thing that really makes Clubs Poker stand out from the rest is the variety of games featured on the site. It goes well beyond your standard NLHE and PLO tables.
Clubs Poker features a full scope of mixed game options, including 2-7, Seven Card Stud, Razz, Badugi, Big O, and much more. Clubs has been constantly updating its platform to add more options and variations, recently adding popular mystery bounty tournaments to their MTT schedule.
ClubWPT Gold went with the basic template offering of Hold’em and Omaha only. While this is understandable, seeing how these are by far the most popular variations, it is hard to understand why they wouldn’t have other choices. Even if it is a niche market, why not try to cater to that market?
In this category, Clubs Poker is a clear winner, as the site offers more options than even many traditional online poker operators, and they deserve to be praised for it.
- Generous Welcome Offer
- Daily freerolls & free SC offers
- Hold’em, Omaha and Mixed Games
Overall Software Quality
The ClubWPT Gold software leaves a lot to be desired. It is a web-based platform without a standalone client, which seems to be the direction more on more poker sites are taking (Clubs included), so we can’t fault them for that in particular too much.
However, this only works if it works. In 2025, players have pretty high expectations for these web-based solutions, and ClubWPT Gold doesn’t live up to basic expectations. The platform is pretty bare bones, without note-taking and tagging abilities and a hand replayer that seems pretty glitchy.
Speed and stability are also not the best. The action seems slower than it should be, with unnecessary delays between hands, and the connection stability is shaky. To be fair, it rarely gets to a point where the player is fully disconnected, but it all makes for a poor player experience.
The Clubs Poker software isn’t perfect, but it comes fully equipped with all the features one would expect, including a built-in HUD. You can take notes, preset your bet buttons, and replay your hands without issues.
There is always room for improvement, and Clubs seems to be constantly working on bettering their platform. ClubWPT Gold spent a lot of time in the prelaunch phase, and one would think that the final product would come out looking and working much better, but for whatever reason, that’s not the case.
So, Clubs Poker comes out well ahead in this category as well. ClubWPT Gold certainly has the resources to make its platform better, and it’s fair to say that players deserve better.
Special Features & Capabilities
Clubs Poker has a rather impressive range of special features on the site, such as straddles, bomb pots, run it twice, auto top-up for ring games, and more.
Once again, the site features capabilities that even many mainstream operators that have been around for years have yet to introduce. For some players, these may not be super important, but many love them as they add some variety and excitement.
When it comes to multi-tabling, you can play up to 12 cash game tables at the same time, which is a number that is more than satisfactory for 99% of players.
What does ClubWPT Gold have to offer in terms of special features? Not to sound too harsh, but the answer is very simple: nothing.
First of all, players can only play one table at a time, which is really strange. It’s understandable to set some limits (like four or five) if you’re looking to protect casual players, but there is no real reason to only allow one.
As for other features, they pretty much don’t exist. Players can post straddles, but that’s pretty much where the fun ends. There is no run it twice option, you won’t find any bomb pots, and there isn’t even table chat.
Even if Clubs Poker didn’t have all these special features, they’d still come out ahead, simply because ClubWPT Gold did so little in this department. Right now, their games are very bare bones, which is pretty underwhelming in this day and age.
Rake
Rake at ClubWPT Gold is 4% across the board. At Clubs Poker, the rake percentage is 5%, so, at first glance, ClubWPT Gold could come ahead in this category.
However, the percentage alone doesn’t paint the whole picture. The rake cap is very important. When it comes to this particular number, ClubWPT Gold is friendlier at micros, but as we enter the mid-stakes territory, games on Clubs Poker become much more affordable.
Clubs Poker 5% Rake Breakdown
| Stakes | HU Cap | 5+ Players Cap |
|---|---|---|
| SC 0.01/0.02 | SC 0.25 | SC 0.75 |
| SC 0.05/0.1 | SC 0.75 | SC 1.5 |
| SC 0.1/0.2 | SC 0.75 | SC 2 |
| SC 0.25/0.5 | SC 1 | SC 3 |
| SC 0.5/1 | SC 1 | SC 3.5 |
| SC 1/2 | SC 1 | SC 3.5 |
| SC 2.5/5 | SC 1.25 | SC 4 |
| SC 5/10 | SC 1.5 | SC 4.5 |
| SC 10/20 | SC 1.5 | SC 5.5 |
ClubWPT Gold 4% Rake Breakdown
| Stakes | HU Cap | 5+ Players Cap |
|---|---|---|
| SC 0.02/0.05 | SC 0.15 | SC 0.30 |
| SC 0.05/0.1 | SC 0.30 | SC 0.60 |
| SC 0.1/0.2 | SC 0.60 | SC 1.20 |
| SC 0.2/0.5 | SC 1 | SC 2 |
| SC 0.5/1 | SC 2 | SC 4 |
| SC 1/2 | SC 3 | SC 8 |
| SC 2/4 | SC 3 | SC 8 |
| SC 3/6 | SC 3 | SC 12 |
| SC 5/10 | SC 3 | SC 15 |
Up to NL50, players will actually pay less rake at ClubWPT Gold and about the same at NL100. Beyond that, however, the rake cap at Clubs Poker increases just slightly as you move up the stakes, while ClubWPT Gold has very sharp progression.
For example, the cap at Clubs SC 2.5/5 tables is 1.25 for HU games and SC 4 for 5+ players. At ClubWPT Gold, SC 2/4 games have caps of SC 3 and SC 8.
Neither site currently has a rakeback/loyalty scheme in place, so it boils down to which site takes a bigger slice of the cake, and the answer is: ClubWPT Gold.
It is worth mentioning that ClubWPT Gold actually went ahead and lowered its rake cap for higher stakes games, especially for heads-up tables, following criticism from Doug Polk, but they still remain quite a bit higher than over at Clubs.
If you plan on playing just the lowest stakes, then the lower rake at ClubWPT Gold may be worth it, but if you try to move up the limits, significantly higher rake caps will inevitably cut into your win rate.
Player Traffic & Game Quality
There is one category in which ClubWPT Gold wins, and that’s the player traffic and the overall softness of the games.
Thanks to the big marketing campaign preceding the launch, the operator managed to attract a huge number of players, so it has better liquidity than Clubs Poker. ClubWPT Gold also features regular high stakes games with blinds as high as SC 5/10/20.
Clubs Poker has a decently sized player pool that’s been constantly growing, but it is trailing ClubWPT Gold in this particular category. Additionally, the highest-stakes games that are regularly available are SC 1/2, so those looking to play bigger will have more limited options.
Games are pretty soft on both sites, but it is fair to say that ClubWPT Gold is a fair bit softer, especially when looking at these high stakes games. The quality of play is way below what one would expect at such limits.
So, to sum it up, there is money to be made at ClubWPT Gold, but you’ll have to deal with software glitches, lack of any features, and do what you have to do playing a single table at all times.
Clubs Poker, on the other hand, offers a variety of games, great features, solid software, and games that are still quite soft and beatable. So, unless you are looking to exclusively play NL1,000 and higher, it’s an easy choice!
