Online Poker Bonuses

If you are one of the people who has become involved in playing poker online, you know how important online poker bonuses have become and you have no doubt at the very least been tempted to join a game using “real money”. It’s not simply a matter of testing your skills against the other players when it comes time to pony up, though, at least not in the early stages. Instead, it’s important to select a site that will give you the best possible experience, allowing you not only a good range of games with a lot of other players at any time of day or night, but a lot of other options as well. One of the things that you will want to consider before joining and online poker site are the types of online poker bonuses that the site is offering.

Online poker bonuses are a common marketing tool to all online poker sites. A little bit of extra money is a great way to get people in on the action on their site, so you’ll find a wide range of offers that make a nice addition to your membership account. Not all bonuses are created equal when it comes to poker on the web, though, so let’s take a look at both some types of bonuses you’ll come across and what to pay attention to when you are determining which ones are the best for you.

Types of bonuses

Welcome Bonus: These poker bonuses are usually given to players when they sign up to play a real money game for the first time. They may be credited to your account before or after a deposit.

Match Bonus: Match bonuses offer a percentage, and it’s usually 100%, they will add to the amount of your deposit based on that deposit. Say for example you deposit $50 to your account; a 100% match bonus will mean the site adds another $50, and that means you have $100 to play with. Match bonuses always have an upper limit – the site won’t offer any more than $1000, say – and they usually only apply to first time deposits, although some poker rooms on the web will use them as loyalty programs as well.

Loyalty bonus: Online poker sites don’t just want you to come and play a game or two, they want you to stay for a while, so most of them will offer loyalty programs that players can take advantage of for the duration of their play. These may include continued match bonuses on deposits or any other number of structures.

Compensation bonus: My personal favorite, most sites offer players who have had bad luck a percentage of their losses in compensation. That way you don’t have to feel too discouraged, and you still have some money to play with.

What to watch out for

It’s important to keep in mind that nothing is really free, and extra money from a poker site is no exception. Often in order to have the bonus money added to your account you will have to meet certain wagering requirement or apply for the credit, or both. It is these requirements that can mean the difference between a good bonus and great online poker bonuses, so read the fine print carefully to get the most of your poker bonus codes!

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