For all the times you lose playing poker there’s always next time, right? You can always learn poker, tactics, strategy and put the bad days behind. There’s still lots of money to be made though and it’s very possible to grind out a living playing poker online as long as you know what you’re doing.
There’s one method of gracing yourself with free poker money that you can’t resist – that’s when you find out just how good your poker skills are! If you are really that good, you know that you can make a living off it and poker bonuses are a great way to do that. They give you a welcome bonus and for every amount of money you deposit to your new poker room, you receive a corresponding bonus from the poker room. So when you click on that really cool looking poker bonus offer, you don’t have to worry about pressing the big old ‘add funds’ button in the poker room – you’ll get a little extra credit just for signing up and playing poker with your deposit bonus!
There are three types of poker bonuses you can receive. The first is the standard ‘new customer’ bonus. This is the easiest to explain. You’re always going to get exactly the same amount of money – it’s just a way for the poker room to tell you how much you’ve deposited. This bonus is usually less than 100% of what you deposited. So if you deposited $100, you’ll get $50 free – that’s $50 total. The second type of bonus is the ‘sticky’ bonus. This bonus is a bonus that’s there, no matter what money you exchange, so if you feel like playing every hand, you’ll get the chance to. You, however, don’t get the free money, you get the bonus. And the last type of bonus is the ‘master bonus’. This is the bonus that the poker room offers you if you get a certain amount of playing down. So if you deposit exactly $100, you get a bonus of $100, and if you earn exactly $5000 in tournament play, you get a bonus of $5000.
Most bonuses ‘stick’ to your original deposit, but occasionally you’ll find a bonus that applies to your subsequent deposits. ‘Excluded games’ are games like baccarat, roulette, and craps where the house edge is larger than for other games. Often you can get the first deposit bonus, sometimes the second, and very rarely the third deposit bonus. The fourth deposit bonus, rarer than the others, can be obtained only by playing over a specified amount of time.
The high bonus amounts are popular with players because they can soar far above $500, the high rollers’ deposit bonus, where the bonuses are substantial, and the rare bonus, called the RTG bonus, where the poker room rollsover your deposit bonus and gives you another $10.
Poker rooms who offer first deposit bonuses often have far more tame bonus profiles. On the other hand, casino bonuses that apply to playing times rarely get players excited. The bonuses that apply to the actual play are normally smaller, not as much as the deposit bonuses, and don’t last for ever.
To maximize the size of a first deposit bonus, always read the bonus terms and conditions, and compare them to the terms and conditions of the other bonus offers. The bonus is the most important factor in deciding which poker room to sign up with. diary about bonuses published on websites, or in the online poker guide, give a good idea of the bonus promotions available.
The third important factor in choosing a poker room is the quality of the software. a software company such as Vegas Technology Systems provides an almost unparalleled level of polish and perfection in almost every area of the poker software. texas holdem manager, Microgaming, or Cryptologic, one of the world’s trusted names in online poker software, can really help a player maximize his or her bonus. a room with a serious design or a reputed software developer is a player’s best bet.
In addition to the first deposit bonus, poker rooms often offer reload bonuses and multiple deposit bonuses. For example, some poker rooms will reward a player with a loyalty bonus every time he deposits money into his account. On top of that, many poker sites offer reload bonuses to existing customers, and occasionally to new players. The formulas for calculating the bonuses are often different for reload bonuses, based on the payment method used by the poker room.
Many poker rooms also offer bonuses based on the number of poker players in the room. These bonus amounts are comparative to the room’s other revenues, and generally are smaller, but every little has a purpose. Some of these rooms serve as destination resorts, offering additional hotel rooms and spending time in areas such as the spa and pool area, while other rooms are tailored more toward the business traveler and recreational player.