Poker bonuses and bonuses in general is a well received term. After all it stands for something extra that can be obtained. This is certainly true in the online poker industry, as bonuses will add extra money to your bankroll for doing what you love so much – playing poker. Chances are that you would play without them, but it’s certainly worth it to do a proper research before you join any particular gambling site as you might potentially miss out on thousands of dollars in extra cash. Let’s go through various aspects that you have to take into account before choosing one.
What types of Poker Bonuses are out there?
All bonuses are not the same and they not only differ in basic aspects such as size, but also in their type. Here are some of the common types you’ll find online:
- Standard Deposit Bonuses (Released in Increments) – The most common type. You’ll be offered a particular bonus for making a deposit to the online poker room. The bonus will generally be released in chunks ever time you’ve paid a certain amount of rake or entry fees. For example at BetOnline.ag they release $5 of your bonus every time you earn $50 in rake. That said, if you’re planning to play anyways these rake targets will be hit anyways, so you might as well take the bonus money. This is the best bonus type for players who expect to play a significant amount of poker because you can get the highest bonus amounts.
- Instant Deposit Bonuses – You’ll often receive an offer that will be something along the lines of ”Deposit $100 and we will add $100 to your account instantly”. These bonuses are a great way to instantly boost your bankroll, especially if you’re a low stakes player who has limited amount of money. In long term though, you’ll be missing out on a fair bit of value.
- No Deposit Bonuses – Also a quite popular type. People often don’t believe these offers and view them as too good to be true. However, there are tons of legitimate poker rooms that will award you with the so called free bankroll in hopes that you turn into a winning player and generate rake for them. Most of the time these bonuses will be small amounts of $5 to $20.
How do I know which bonus is the best for me?
This depends on each particular person and the situation he/she is in. Let’s start with understanding your position:
- Do you have any funds to deposit? If so, how much? If it’s a small amount under $20, we would advise you to take a no-deposit bonus instead. You’ll save spending your own cash and will receive the same amount completely free!
- On the other hand, if you have a relatively large amount to deposit ($100+) you should consider between choosing an instant deposit bonus or one of the biggest matching bonus that requires clearing. I’d still go for an instant bonus, if I had between $100-$200 to deposit, but if it’s more, choose the standard deposit bonus as you will benefit way more by doing so in long term.
Aspects that make a bonus great?
So we’ve looked into all the main aspects you should consider before you even start to look at any particular bonuses. Now it’s time to compare the bonuses by the requirements they feature.
- Size – The most obvious one. How large is the bonus? Given the state of this industry, standard is between $200 and $1,000.
- Value – The most important aspect, when searching for a bonus. How much value does it provide? The value relates to the percentage of rake you get back from the bonus. Let’s say you rake $20 and $5 of bonus is released into your account. That would make this bonus worth 25%, which very high for the industry.
- Increments – This relates to the amounts the bonus is released in. There are bonuses that will be lump sump (credited as a one off after clearing the requirements) and there will also be some that will be credited in $1 increments. The smaller the increments are, the better as it means you’ll get a bankroll boost more often.
- Time for clearance – Don’t overlook this one as you might get yourself in trouble. Each bonus features a time limit that is given to clear it. If you aren’t quick enough, it expires and is forfeited, simple as that. Make sure that you are aware of how much time are you given to clear your bonus.
BetOnline offers a great 100% matching bonus up to $1000 for new poker players. This is a large bonus with a great matching percentage and fair clearing requirements ($5 released for every $50 in rake) so it’s a great place to start. Click here to visit BetOnline.ag.
Also, check out our sports betting bonuses article for an in depth look at how sportsbook bonuses work so you can compare them to online poker bonuses.