The Bonus Poker Complete Poker Bonus Guide is here to help you
make the right choices when looking for a new poker room and a new
bonus. This introduction to poker bonuses will provide you with all
the raw information you need to understand how bonuses work and why
there is an art to choosing the right bonus for you.
Why do Poker Rooms give bonuses?
Poker rooms want to encourage new poker players and also to
attract players from other rooms. Bonuses are a great way to do
this as they can offer you hundreds of dollars free. Whilst they
may look like they are being very generous, in fact you are paying
for the bonus through the rake that you generate whilst earning
your bonus.
Rake?
Rake is the small amount of money taken from every pot by the
poker room in cash games or the tournament fee if you play in
SitnGos or multi-table tournaments. This rake pays for the
maintenance of the site and also pays for your bonus. The more you
play and the higher the stakes that you play, the more you will
earn in rake for the poker room.
Poker bonuses and rake
Unless you receive an instant no deposit bonus from a poker room
you will need to earn your bonus by raking significant amounts of
money at a poker room. The amount you will need to rake to release
your bonus changes from room to room. At some poker rooms you will
only need to rake about $100 to receive a bonus of $50 whilst some
rooms you may need to rake $200 for a $50 bonus.
The best poker bonuses
The best poker bonuses irrespective of the room that they are at
will have a long bonus time period, a low rake requirement and at
least a 100% matching amount that is rewarded incrementally.
Redeposit bonuses
Redeposit bonuses are different from an initial first deposit
bonus in that they reward you for adding more money into the poker
ecosystem but if you are break even or winning player then they are
a great way of getting money back from a poker site. Poker bonuses
are a great way of getting some of the money back that you pay in
rake. If a room allows you a redeposit bonus then you should always
look to use this opportunity as otherwise you are simply giving up
money you are earning my playing poker.
Read Part 2 here: Incremental or
Fixed?
Read Part 3 here: Traffic and Bonuses