Europeans: Play at PokerStars.fr! A how-to guide | Online Poker Bonus

In 2010, the French government regulated the French poker market and introduced a new system in which only French people could play each other in online poker. The rest of the poker world was not happy with these developments, as the French are well-known for their notorious bad play..

No offence Frenchies, but…the French poker players really belong to the worst in the world!

Luckily, European rules forbid this closed-market system which makes it possible for all inhabitants of the European Union to play at French poker sites! They don’t make it easy for you, but it is very well possible to play at France’s largest poker site: Pokerstars.fr. You only need a scan of your passport or driver’s licencse and a recent copy of a bank statement. Already, there are a few non-French playing at Pokerstars.fr but understandably they tried to keep it secret. That’s not MPC Poker style however…

In this how-to-guide, we’ll guide you through the process.

If you don’t need help, you can just download the Pokerstars.fr software right away and start opening your account. New players at Pokerstars.fr receive a 100% bonus on their First deposit with a €500 maximum by clicking one of the links in this article. You don’t need a bonus code to claim this bonus. Don’t be afraid that it doesn’t work, it’s tried and tested and Pokerstars is just obliged to follow European rules.

Now let’s start with the how-to-guide!

Install the software and create an account

1. Download the software

We probably don’t need to tell you how to do this. Go to Pokerstars.fr via this link. The majority of the French Pokerstars website is also available in English. Now click on the big red download button located on the right hand site of the page, and start your download. Mac users can also download the Pokerstars.fr software over here.

2. Install the software

When the install client starts you can choose your language. You can just choose English or any other language. If you choose English here, your hand histories are also saved in English, which makes it possible to work with the Hold’em Manager software. Changing the language in a later stadium is also possible. Now accept the Terms & Conditions and the download will start.

3. Create an account

When the software is finished downloading, first create a Pokerstars.fr account. Click ‘Create New Account’ in the login box. Now you need to come up with a screenname.

4. Upload an avatar

Now it’s time to upload your avatar, which is not mandatory of course. You can also do this later.

5. Fill out your credentials

In the next screen you need to fill out your name, home adress and email adress. Do this carefully to not slow down the whole registration process. Use the exact name that’s on your passport and pay attention to the adress: it needs to be exactly like the one on your bank statement. If your bank account is on another address than where you live, send an email to (you may do this in English). It should be possible, but notify them so your registration procedure is not delayed.

6. Fill out the Pokerstars marketing code

Now that you’ve created your account, you are asked to fill out a marketing code. If you want to play in special MPC freerolls or join the other Pokerstars & MPC promotions you can put the code ‘psp13701’ here.

7. CAPTCHA

After promising you agree with the Terms & Conditions again and promised you are over 18, you’re almost done. Type in the CAPTCHA code to prove ‘you’re not a robot’. Your Pokerstars.fr account is now created.

8. Verify your email adress

A verification email with a 4-digit code is sent to the emailadress you’ve filled out by support. Verify your email address with the code by clicking the link in the e-mail or fill out the code in the Pokerstars Lobby > Account > Validate E-mail Address.

10. Play Money

Now your account is active and you are able to play at the play money tables and participate in the numerous freerolls. Do you want to play for real money (or cash out your freeroll wins), continu with the rest of the procedure.

Open a real money account and make a deposit

1. Open a Real Money Account

Go to Cashier and click ‘Buy Chips’. Before you can make a deposit, verify your address and telephone number again.
When the telephone number is not accepted, try filling out your country code in the area code box with a ‘0’ or ‘+’ before the number.

In the next screen, fill out your place of birth and country, plus your bank account number and bank name where they can ship your profits to. Of course, this has to be the same info as the copy of the bank account you’re going to send them.

2. Verification Policy

In the next screen you will read you can’t cash out untill all documents are verified by Pokerstars. You can however, start making a deposit.

For non-French players Pokerstars created an extra security measure, which means you can’t play at the Real Money tables untill you’ve been through the entire verification procedure including the address verification. This can take up to a few weeks.

3. Making a deposit

After clicking the ‘Finish’ button you’re sent back to the Cashier. When you click ‘Buy Chips’ again, you’ll see a screen with the different deposit methods. The standard options for depositing are also available for Pokerstars.fr: Moneybookers, Neteller, Credit Card etc. The deposit limits are €500 per day, €1.200 per week and €1.550 per week per payment method.

On top of your first deposit you receive a 100% welcome bonus up to €500. You don’t need to fill out a bonus code for this.

4. Send in your documents

Before you jump into the action immediately, it might be a good idea to send Pokerstars France the needed documents, because it can take some time before they processed it. To recall: they need a copy of your passport, identity card or driver’s license and a recent bank statement. Scan these documents and send them to or go to the lobby and choose ‘Upload/Send Documents’.

5. Verify your adress

After Pokerstars received both scans, a letter is sent to your home adress (in a discrete envelope) with an Address Verification Code (AVC). Enter this code in the Pokerstars.fr software by going to Account > Validate AVC. Now you can also cash out. You have 30 days time to enter the code, or else your account is locked.

6. Let’s play some poker!

Now that everything is arranged, nothing stands in your way to make some money out of those Frenchies. Don’t forget the €100 New Depositors Freerolls and the €1.000 Verification Freeroll for players who went through the whole process.

If you have any questions that can’t be answered by the Pokerstars support, just shoot an email at paul AT marawapokerclub.com