Bonuses
No online poker rooms works without some kind of sign-up bonus nowadays…It has pretty much become industry-standard, although, you probably won’t find two such bonus offers that are exactly the same.
The differences between one first-deposit bonus and the other are quite essential in determining the kind of advantage that it will provide you, once you sign up.
Most rookies are easily enticed by the amount of the bonus, but that should definitely not be the first factor to consider when signing up to a poker room.
The amount of the bonus is just the fancy wrapping around the actual offer. There is a lot more to it, you should know about.
First of all: all bonuses need to be unlocked before they hit your real money account. While you’re doing your unlocking, you’re basically playing with reduced rake, provided at your bonus does not expire before you unlock it.
In this respect, you should pay attention to the following criteria:
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How much rake do you need to generate / dollar of bonus in order to unlock it?
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How does the poker room calculate the rake generated through real money play.
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How exactly is the bonus unlocked (in smaller chunks, or all at once?)
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How soon does the bonus expire?
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How big a percentage match do you get on your actual deposit?
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How much is the maximum amount of bonus you’ll be eligible for?
The amount of rake you have to generate per bonus dollar will largely determine how fast you can unlock your cash. if the bonus is difficult to unlock, and it expires fairly quickly, you want to be able to unlock chunks of it, otherwise you risk losing all of it.