Anyone who has ever played poker will know what a good game it can be. It’s a classic combination of skill, luck and bravado, as well as a great way to win yourself some cash along the way.
People play it for many reasons. For fun, for profit, and even help out a good cause.
But what everyone is looking for, especially when they sign up to an online poker site, is the very best bonus that they can find – because incentives are what almost every business needs if it’s going to succeed. Of course, best is a very subjective term with a different meaning for many people. But hopefully this guide will help you to choose the right one for you and your playing style, as well as making it last as long as possible.
What is a Poker Bonus, and how Does it Work?
Like the name suggests, a poker bonus is a gift to you from an online operator, generally to welcome you as a new member to their site. These bonuses are offered as there is so much competition between sites that all are fighting to sign up and retain players. Giving away what is effectively free stake money is one of the most effective ways of doing this.
The most common form of online poker bonus is to give you a certain amount of stake money that is linked to your initial deposit. The best sites offer a 100% match, up to a fixed limit, while others just match a proportion of it
To give an example, say you sign up with a poker site that offers a 100% deposit match up to $200. So, you pay in $200 which they then match, giving you an initial bankroll of $400, In the case of a site offering a 50% match, they would give you $100 for your $200 deposit.
In either case, you could have a boosted bankroll to set you on your way.
Making it Last
There are a couple of ways in which you can make your poker bonus last as long as possible. Neither are exactly rocket science, but it’s worth outlining them all the same.
The first of these is to stick to lower stakes games. Obviously, these are going to get through your bankroll slower than high stakes ones. Plus, assuming you’re winning along the way, this will extend the period still further.
The other is to limit yourself to occasional play. Again, this will extend the time that your bonus is working for you.
A couple of Considerations
You probably don’t need us to tell you that when there’s a bonus on offer there are usually a few strings attached.
So, there are two main ones that you need to be aware about.
The first one of these is that there will almost certainly be a time limit to claim your bonus. This may work against you making it last as long as possible, but it should give you a month or longer before it expires.
The second is the wagering requirement that is necessary before you can start to take advantage of your bonus.
In this, online poker sites will generally stipulate that you have to play a certain number of hands to qualify for the bonus. This can take a couple of forms. In the first there is a threshold of a total number of hands needed before claiming all the bonus. The second releases it gradually. So, for example, $1 might be released for each ten hands you play until the bonus is exhausted.
Another method used is by giving you player points linked to the size of the stakes you’re playing for. The higher they are, the more points you amass.
Why do they do this? Simple. Online poker sites need to make money to pay out bonuses in the first place. So, by ensuring that stake money is coming in steadily they can afford to continue to offer them.
But don’t be despondent about actually seeing your bonus. There are a couple of ways that you can ensure that you get full value from it.
Play as many hands as you can to reach the threshold if it’s being measured in this way. If it’s a question of amassing player points, then head for higher stakes games and they’ll soon mount up.
A word about Player Reloads
It can cost as much as 25 times more to get a new player as it does to retain an existing one. So once your initial bonus has been used up or you’re out of the time limit you can probably look forward to what’s known as a reload bonus.
The conditions and mechanics of using it are likely to be the same – so look forward to using it to play.
In terms of finding the best poker bonuses out there, it’s going to be a question of spending a little time searching. Then just look forward to some free stake money to set you on your way.
