Poker Bonuses
Poker bonuses
If you’re not yet an online poker expert, you’ll probably find this article extremely useful, if you’re a long-time player who knows most of the ‘behind the scene’ subtleties involved, you might find it boring.
We all know that there isn’t a single online poker room these days that doesn’t offer some sort of sign-up reward for its new players. Most of these rewards come in the form of money, usually a sum which is directly proportional with the amount of money one deposits. Remember, even though it is possible nowadays to start a solid poker bankroll on a zero deposit account, it’s still the player deposit that is the life-blood of the online poker industry.
Wherever you see an online poker bonus advertised, you’re likely to be enticed by a generous looking sum of money. They’ll tell you ‘take advantage of our $500 free when you sign up’ and the likes…The situation behind the $500 from the banner is a tad more complicated though. Most probably you will not get $500 upon sign-up but more like a set % match on your deposit up to a maximum of $500. If the match is a 100% one, it’ll cost you exactly $500 to earn the $500 bonus, which is – by no means – free.
Still, let’s consider you only deposit $200, and you get your $200 bonus. That’s still a good bargain, and if you consider that some poker rooms may give you up to 200% on your deposit, things are looking even better.
This takes us to the very first factor you need to consider when hunting for and assessing a bonus offer: the percentage match. The bigger the percentage, the bigger bang you get for your buck. Does this mean that if you get a fabulous % match on your deposit you should jump on the deal right away? Not really. You see, the bonus that you get is just that: bonus money. It is not something you can cash out if you feel like it. Basically, most of the time, you can’t even use it at the tables. Online poker rooms transfer your bonus into a special account called bonus account, from where you need to unlock it, in order to have it transferred to your real money account. The redemption requirements weigh in the heaviest in any bonus assessment: they determine how many raked hands or how much rake it takes you to unlock $1 of your bonus. Poker rooms usually feature some sort of a loyalty points system, one that gives players a measure of how much rake they generate. The fewer such poker points are needed (also keep an eye on how much rake it takes to earn such a point) to unlock a buck, the better the deal is.
Some poker rooms award such points for everyone who was dealt into a hand. Other poker rooms only give them to those who actively participate in the hand (dealt rake and contributed rake). The easier it is for you to generate poker points, again, the better off you are.
Think you finally got an accurate measure of how big an edge a poker bonus gives you? Think again. Some poker rooms only transfer the bonus when the entire sum is unlocked. That means, until you get it all redeemed, you’ll be playing strictly on your own money.
Other rooms transfer the bonus in smaller increments, which is much more advantageous.
Many poker bonuses expire. Some have 30-day validity, others 60 days, still others never expire. Imagine the following: you get a 500% match up to a whooping $1,000 on your deposit at poker room X. The bonus is huge, but it’s very tough to unlock, it only comes in one lump sum and it expires in 30 days. Chances are, you’ll earn exactly zilch on the deal.
When hunting for bonuses, don’t forget about rakeback. It’s just as good as a sign-up bonus with the ‘minor’ difference that it never expires and it keeps on making you money for as long as you play. Directly proportional with the rake you generate, it’ll probably earn you the equivalent of many, possibly thousands of sign-up bonuses if you’re a high-volume player, and it’ll pay you for playing, for as long as you do.
