Taking Advantage of Online Poker Bonuses

If you’re new to online poker, chances are you’ve already seen quite a few ads promoting some pretty impressive bonuses. If you’ve started playing online already and have not taken advantage of these bonuses, then you’re doing your bankroll a big disservice. Online poker bonuses are so prevalent that pretty much every poker room has them, so it only makes sense to take advantage of the benefits of these free promotions.

What Kind of Bonuses Are There

There are three common types of bonuses you can expect to see: money bonuses, match bonuses, and fixed bonuses. Money promotions are usually used as a sign-on bonus. For signing up and creating a member account, you may get $5-10 of free play. Alternately, some sites will give you free entrance to special tournaments. Match bonuses are the preferred promotion for first deposits. With these bonuses, the site agrees to match your first deposit up to a certain dollar amount. Most sites will match 100% of that first deposit, essentially doubling your money, but a rare few offer a 200% match. Finally, fixed bonuses are like match bonuses but are usually offered for future deposits. With a fixed bonus, you may get a fixed percentage (like 50%) or a fixed dollar amount (like $25) for every future deposit of a certain amount. For long-term players, most sites also offer loyalty programs and special monthly promotions to keep their older members coming back.

Terms and Conditions of Online Poker Bonuses

Virtually all online poker bonuses have terms and conditions. For example, with money bonuses you cannot simply cash out the $10 received for signing up. That money is only good for playing cash games. For match and fixed bonuses, you usually have to play a certain amount of raked hands in cash games or buy into a set number of tournaments before that money will be released. Sometimes the money is released in increments as you earn it and other times you must meet the full requirements of the terms and conditions before you can access or “clear” your bonuses.

Bonus Whoring

New players may find it challenging to clear their first bonuses. In the beginning, you’ll be losing more than you win, so clearing your bonus could take more money than it’s actually worth. But as you get better at the game you’ll get better at clearing bonuses too. Many amateur and professional players take full advantage of bonuses by joining several rooms. When players join and play in a room for the specific purpose of clearing a bonus from it, this is called “bonus whoring.” Obvious bonus whoring can get you banned from poker rooms, but done subtly and in conjunction with regular play it can be a great way to make more for your money.