GGPoker download: how to install the client on Windows and Mac

The GGPoker download is free and takes a few minutes: you get the installer from the GGPoker site for your country, run it, and the client updates itself on first launch. It runs on Windows 10 or later and on Macs from 2017 onwards with macOS 12 or later, both Intel and Apple Silicon. There’s no Linux version and no browser client listed on GG’s download page.

Most install problems come from two things: grabbing the client from the wrong GG site, and the security checks GG added in October 2026. Both are covered below, along with step-by-step setup for each system.

Download from the right GGPoker site

GGPoker isn’t one website. Alongside the international GGPoker.com, GG runs separately licensed sites in several countries, and each has its own download page. Install the client from the site you’ll actually register and play on.

If a GG page tells you real-money games aren’t offered where you are, you’re on the wrong site for your location, or your country isn’t served at all. Our GGPoker countries guide lists which site covers which country.

Download the installer only from a GGPoker domain. Search results for “GGPoker download” include third-party file sites and repackaged installers, and a modified client is the easiest way to lose your account details.

GGPoker system requirements

The client is light by modern standards. These are GG’s published requirements for computers:

The recommended figures matter more than the minimums if you plan to multi-table. Every extra table adds to memory use, and an older laptop that copes with one table can stutter at four.

GG is ending support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and for macOS 11 Big Sur and older during 2027. If your computer still runs one of those, plan an upgrade before you build your poker routine around it.

How to install GGPoker on Windows

On a Windows PC the whole setup is a standard installer. Step by step:

1. Open the GGPoker site for your country and go to its download page.
2. Click the Windows download. The installer is a small .exe file.
3. Run the file. If Windows asks whether to allow the app to make changes, confirm.
4. Follow the setup screens and choose the install folder, or keep the default.
5. Launch GGPoker. On first start it downloads the latest game files, which can take a few minutes.
6. Log in, or create an account from the client.

Windows may show a blue “Windows protected your PC” screen when you run a freshly downloaded installer. That’s SmartScreen being cautious about a file it hasn’t seen often, not a sign of a problem with the file itself. If the installer came from a GGPoker domain, click More info, then Run anyway. If you’re not sure where the file came from, delete it and download it again from the official site.

New to GG? Our GGPoker sign-up guide covers the registration screens, and the GGPoker bonus guide explains which welcome offer to pick at your first deposit.

Installing GGPoker on a Mac

The Mac client is a native app, so it runs on both Intel Macs and Apple Silicon models (M1 and later) without extra tools. Setup goes like this:

1. Download the Mac version from your GG site. You get a .dmg file.
2. Open the file and drag GGPoker into the Applications folder.
3. Launch it from Applications or Launchpad and let it finish updating.
4. Log in or register.

On first launch macOS sometimes refuses to open an app downloaded from the internet. If you see a message that GGPoker can’t be opened, go to System Settings, then Privacy & Security, scroll down to the note about GGPoker and click Open Anyway. You only need to do this once.

What GGPoker now blocks before you play

In October 2026 GG banned third-party poker software from running alongside its client. Before you launch GGPoker, fully close programs such as:

• PokerTracker 4, Holdem Manager 3, Hand2Note and DriveHUD 2
• Jurojin, Lobbyze and Intuitive Tables
• Equilab and StarsCaption
• AutoHotkey and other automation or hotkey scripts

GG has said the list isn’t complete, so anything that reads tables, tracks hands or automates actions falls under the same rule. “Fully close” means quitting the program, not minimising it: check the Windows system tray or the Mac menu bar for anything still running in the background.

Running banned software alongside the GGPoker client breaks GG’s rules and puts your account at risk. If you used a tracker on other sites, make quitting it part of your routine before every GG session.

The client also has a Security section under Game Settings, split into Protection and Detections tabs. Between them they include Screen Guard, which blocks screenshots and screen recording of your tables, a connection monitor, a check of the processes allowed to run, and a DNS check. If GG flags something on your computer, this is where you’ll see what it is.

You don’t lose stats completely. GG’s own tools stay: the built-in Smart HUD at the table and PokerCraft, which records your hands, results and graphs inside the client.

No Linux, Chromebook or browser version

GG’s download pages list clients for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Nothing else: no Linux build, no Chromebook app, and no browser version.

Some Linux users run the Windows client through Wine or a virtual machine. We don’t recommend it. GG’s security checks expect a normal Windows or Mac setup, and community reports describe accounts being restricted after playing this way. On a Chromebook, the realistic option is a phone or tablet with the GGPoker app instead.

Using a VPN to reach a GG site that doesn’t serve your country. It breaks GG’s terms, and accounts caught doing it can be closed with the balance withheld.

When the GGPoker client won’t install or launch

Most errors have a quick fix. Here are the common ones:

If none of that helps, GG’s support team can be reached from the client and the website. Have your username and operating system version ready, and describe the exact error message: a screenshot of it saves a round of back-and-forth.

One more thing to check if the client installs fine but you can’t play for real money: whether your account has been verified. GG may ask for ID before your first withdrawal or when your details need confirming, and our GGPoker verification guide lists the documents it accepts.

Updating and uninstalling the client

You don’t need to download new versions by hand. The client checks for updates every time it starts and installs them before you reach the lobby, which is why a launch occasionally takes longer than usual.

To remove GGPoker, uninstall it like any other program: on Windows through Settings, then Apps; on a Mac by dragging GGPoker from Applications to the Bin. Your account, balance and hand history stay on GG’s servers, so reinstalling later brings everything back.

Prefer to play on your phone? The same account works in the app, covered in our GGPoker app guide. For the bigger picture on games, rake and rewards, see the full GGPoker review.

GGPoker download FAQ