Best Online Poker Bonuses, September 2024
Understanding online poker bonuses can be key to a new online player’s online poker experience. They are offered by poker sites in order to get new players to sign up and stay on their site. Once you know the details of each bonus at each site you can begin to truly get into the poker site experience and understand online poker offers.
What is an Online Poker Bonus?
If you are new to online poker or have little experience with poker sites, you may be unfamiliar with online poker bonuses. A poker bonus is a sort of perk, benefit, or discount that an online poker site may offer you. These poker bonuses are used to entice new players to join and continue playing on their site. Therefore each online poker site and crypto poker site is competing with the best bonuses and offers that they can muster up.
There are multiple different types of poker bonuses that are offered. Each one varies based on when a player chooses to collect them and based on what the site is offering. There are also different types of requirements and terms for each of the different poker bonuses.
Types of Online Poker Bonuses
As mentioned, there are a wide array of poker bonuses and it is important to know the differences involving each one.
Poker Sign Up Bonus
Sign-up bonuses are just what the name sounds like. They are bonuses given to players as a reward for signing up on the site. Sign-up bonuses are often used as a hook to get the player to sign up in the first place.
No Deposit Poker Bonus
There are some bonuses that do not require any kind of deposit from the player. They are simply called a No Deposit Bonus. There can be some overlap between the types of bonuses as many of the sign-up bonuses as described above would fall into this category of bonus.
They require no investment from the player. The site volunteers to place funds directly into a player’s account.
First Deposit Bonus
A first-deposit bonus often comes with a sign-up bonus. This type of bonus supplements a player’s first deposit. They are usually done in the form of match bonuses; meaning that the player’s first deposit is matched by the site.
Match Bonus
A match bonus is what a first deposit bonus would be classified as but with more varieties also. These bonuses involve the site matching all or a portion of the player’s deposit.
The exact percentage matched varies from bonus to bonus. It can be as high as 100%, which is usually the case in a first deposit bonus.
Bonuses are always limited to some extent and the site will always be clear about what those limits are.
Rakeback Bonus
A rakeback bonus is when a player gets a percentage of the rake that they have paid back as cashback. It is a way to get back some of the rake you pay as a player. Most sites offer rakeback in the form of a certain percentage based on a certain amount of time played.
Reload Bonus
A reload bonus is simply a match bonus given to existing players. Existing players have the option to deposit more money (reload) and receive a match bonus. It is very similar to the first deposit bonus.
Free Tournament Entries
Another bonus that some sites offer is free tournament entry. There is usually a set amount of requirements that a player must fulfill to then receive the free tournament entry bonus to select tournaments. This is often an enticing poker bonus and an exciting way for players to get the chance to play more tournaments.
Loyalty Bonus
Another type of bonus that sites offer is a loyalty bonus. The site will use this as a sort of thank you to players for committing to their site. These bonuses are often achieved either through amount of time on a site or by amount of play.
How to Determine Which Poker Bonus is For You
There are a few things to consider when deciding which of the poker bonuses are best for you as a player. In particular poker in the state of New Jersey. The key is to get the best online poker offers and knowing which bonus is for you is a key aspect of that.
- Do you have to put any money up to redeem the bonus?
- What percentage of your deposit is the site matching?
- What is the maximum amount of deposit or bonus that you can receive?
- How many times must you play through the bonus amount to release it?
- What is the timeframe for the bonus?
No deposit bonuses are usually the easiest ones to make a decision on wince they require no investment from you. But it is still important to look at the percentages and numbers of each one.
Also keep track of how much poker you are actually playing on the site and then determine which bonus milestones you can actually reach based on the amount you typically play. Do not choose a bonus that may seem juicy, but is out of your range of play.
Also avoid choosing a bonus where the maximum amount exceeds your bankroll.
Best Poker Sign Up Bonus – CoinPoker
CoinPoker is a good choice for online poker as they have a good number of poker bonuses. They are easily among the best online sites in the US as well as being one of the best offshore poker sites. They offer a great sign up bonus that we were impressed by.
They are our the choice we made for the sign up bonus for a few reasons.includes a very juicy 150% first deposit bonus up to $2,000 which is more generous than many of the other poker sites in terms of percentage offered.
Pros:
- 150% first deposit bonus
- Bonus goes up to $2,000
- Large number of crypto options for the bonus
- Easy to understand rules to unlock the bonus
Cons:
- Bonus only unlocked in 10% installments
- You must generate 2X the rake to fully redeem
Best No Deposit Poker Bonus – CoinPoker
Just like the sign up bonus, CoinPoker also offers a solid no deposit poker bonus. The sign up bonus is very similar to the no deposit bonus in this case and therefore the same pros and cons apply as well.
Best First Deposit Poker Bonus – Black Chip Poker
Black Chip Poker is a strong and popular online poker site with one of the best poker bonuses. Their first deposit poker bonus ranks among the best out there as it is one of the bonuses Black Chip really looks to heavily promote.
Their first deposit bonus boasts a match of 100% up to $2,000. There are also no bonus codes necessary for this particular bonus on Black Chip poker.
Pros:
- 100% match on first deposit
- Up to $2,000
- No bonus codes necessary
- Clearing the bonus is relatively easy
Cons:
- Award points previously earned do not count toward the bonus requirement
- Crypto currency payments possibly not available in some countries or regions
Best First Deposit Poker Bonus – Black Chip Poker
Black Chip Poker is a strong and popular online poker site with one of the best poker bonuses. Their first deposit poker bonus ranks among the best out there as it is one of the bonuses Black Chip really looks to heavily promote.
Their first deposit bonus boasts a match of 100% up to $2,000. There are also no bonus codes necessary for this particular bonus on Black Chip poker.
Pros:
- 100% match on first deposit
- Up to $2,000
- No bonus codes necessary
- Clearing the bonus is relatively easyCons:
- Award points previously earned do not count toward the bonus requirement
- Crypto currency payments possibly not available in some countries or regions
Best Rakeback Poker Bonus – ACR Poker
ACR Poker is one of the most popular online poker sites out there with huge amounts of players at all moments.
ACR is our choice for the rakeback bonus because they offer a 27% rakeback for new players, which is a fairly standard amount for online poker sites. That is a good number for players who play semi-regularly or for fun. But the real kicker for potential players is that ACR gives a whopping 65% progressively.
So if you become a regular player, the rakeback bonus is a very good deal. ACR promotes their rakeback bonus with a confidence that it is among the best on the market.
Pros:
- Large player base to use the rakeback bonus
- Huge 65% progressive rakeback
- Gives a great incentive for the regular player
- Net rakeback of 41.6%Cons:
- Average % in rakeback from tournaments
- Incrementally paid
Best Poker Reload Bonus – ACR Poker
The reload bonus happens less frequently compared to other poker bonuses and are usually paid out only a few times per year. Players choosing their poker site based just on a reload bonus is pretty rare and therefore it is usually just an extra perk for a site.
ACR has that extra perk to add to their also strong rakeback bonus to add another best poker bonus to their repertoire. Their reload bonus is offered on a weekly basis with their “Hump Day” reload bonus on Wednesdays. That gives them an advantage over other sites which do not offer them as regularly as that.
Pros:
- Offered weekly on Wednesdays. “Hump Day” bonus
- Only requires a $25 or more deposit
- Available for all deposit methods
- 50% up to $100Cons:
- Bonus code must be entered
- Only available at certain times of the year, such as summer in this case
Best Poker Loyalty Bonus – Ignition Poker
Ignition Poker is known for strong bonuses and their loyalty bonus in particular really stood out to us. You earn Ignition Miles as you play, which can be redeemed for bonuses. The bonuses include free spins, poker tournament tickets, and reload bonuses. Players earn 15 Ignition Miles per $1 of rake in cash games, 15 Ignition Miles per $1 of tournament fees, and 1.5 Ignition Miles per $1 of buy-in at Jackpot Sit & Gos.
The more Ignition Miles you accumulate, the higher your status, and the more valuable your Ignition Miles become.
At the lowest status level, 2,500 Ignition Miles are worth $1 in bonuses, but at the highest status level, it only takes 1,000 Ignition Miles to receive $1 in bonuses.
The bonuses accumulate and grow based on your level of miles as well. Ignition Poker offers all chrome level players access to $2,500 poker freeroll tournaments each week. All platinum level players are eligible to receive exclusive birthday bonuses.
Pros:
- Always multiplying loyalty “miles” as you play
- Gain higher status with with more more miles you accumulate
- Exclusive extra bonuses such as the “birthday bonus”Cons:
- Lower rakeback per dollar than some other sites
- The Ignition Miles do not affect the overall playing experience all that much
How to Collect a Poker Bonus
Knowing the best poker bonuses that each site offers is only half the battle. The next step is knowing how to collect them.
The exact requirements for each bonus vary from site to site and based on what type of bonus it is. The general steps for collecting a bonus are as follows;
- Logging into the site
- Proceeding either to the bonus section of the site or the player’s unique account section
- Opting into the desired bonus, and ensuring that it becomes active
- Fulfilling the requirements to release the bonus
Poker Bonus Requirements
Many of the bonuses have a requirement known as “playthrough.” What this means is that the site requires the player to wager some multiple of the bonus amount in order to release the funds. Otherwise the funds sit unused and unredeemed.
An example of this would be when a $100 bonus comes with a 5x playthrough requirement. The player would have to wager the $500 in total before they could collect the bonus money.
The player does not need to lose that many in order to recoup it.
Some bonuses do not have that playthrough requirement. Such as an instant bonus where the funds will hit the player’s account immediately.
A large playthrough requirement may mean that the bonus takes a while to clear, as long as months in some cases. In those situations, the site will typically release portions of the bonus at established milestones. So, the bonus will drip down to the player gradually, rather than coming in one large payout.
Most bonuses come with a time limit and expire when that limit passes. So it is key to stay cognizant of that time limit.
So overall, knowing that difference between immediate and timeframe bonuses is another key factor in understanding online poker bonuses
Do I Need Online Poker Bonus Codes?
One of the aspects of poker bonuses is accessing them and one of the common ones is using poker bonus codes. Many online poker offers have a bonus code with them. Whether or not you absolutely need a code varies by site and type of bonus. Many do offer you a code for the access to poker bonuses while some are just automatically given or accessed in some other ways
The purpose for the site to use poker bonuses is to track where you are coming to their site from. Such as a reference. It is also the way it determines if there is a special bonus that you may be eligible for.
The advantage of using bonus codes is that they can be used very easily. All you have to do is enter a certain code and you will then have access to a bonus. For the most part they are fairly common as many sites will have bonus codes in some form or fashion. There are even cases where regular users also use bonus codes, such as a reload bonus.
Best Poker Bonus Codes Site: BlackChip Poker – BlackChip has several bonus codes and are often cutting edge on responding to your bonus codes effectively.
Advantages of Using Online Poker Promotions
The first step to online poker bonuses is understanding what they are in the first place, which we have covered up to this point. Once you understand what a poker bonus is then you should parse out which sites have the best of each one. And now it is critical to truly grasp what the advantages are of using these online poker bonuses.
1. Poker bonuses and promotions help boost your bankroll and therefore give you more money to deposit. Then use that deposit money to use with more freedom. For example, if you deposit $1,000 at the start, the sign up bonus will give you more money to use which means you can play some more tournaments that you may have not played before. And of course with more play comes more chances of getting a big win.
2. One thing that might go under the radar as you are playing with bonuses is that claiming these bonuses and promotions can help you clear the monetary requirements more quickly. That means you will also be able to withdraw your winnings sooner.
3. Bonuses and promotions also help you have access to VIP programs and take advantage of what they have to offer. Those particular VIP programs make it more likely for you to stick around on a site with loyalty bonuses.
You are able to explore several online poker rooms with online poker bonuses
4. You can test out features at various sites without even risking your own money. This is a great way to dip your feet into the pool before deciding whether to fully plunge in or not.
5. Poker bonuses can actually help you hone your poker strategy as well. You can use bonus funds to play real money and try out some new strategies that you may not want to risk your actual money with. After using some trial and error with bonus money, you can then decide what bits and pieces to add to your poker game out of the experience.
All of the sites that we recommended for the various different types of bonuses have these advantages on their respective sites.
Best Poker Bonuses – Key Takeaways
Let’s take a look at some of the keys we have taken away from our in depth look at online poker bonuses.
1. The world of online poker is rife with poker bonuses. From sign up bonuses to deposit bonuses, loyalty bonuses and more. Really, it’s hard to not take advantage of all the effectively free money that is waiting at your fingertips when you jump into online poker. So don’t be afraid or hesitant to enjoy the cornucopia of online poker bonuses.
2. Poker bonuses give you a plethora of advantages when delving into online poker. From having access to extra funds to even improving your game with the ability to test out different strategies.
3. It is absolutely key to know the different kinds of poker bonuses out there at your disposal. Assessing each one will lead you to the best poker offers and make you savvy around the online felt when it comes to bonuses.