What is a Poker Bonus?

Online gambling is a massive, worldwide industry. The proliferation of high-stakes televised poker tournaments has generated serious interest in the game of poker, and Texas Hold'em poker in particular. Online poker rooms have to find ways to remain competitive, and towards that end, they develop promotional strategies to attract poker players on the Internet.

A poker bonus is basically promotional cash that online poker rooms offer in order to drive traffic to their websites. New players will want to shop around before taking a particular signup offer. First-time members are entitled to free money for opening an account. If you take the time to read the fine print, you can really take advantage of all the poker bonus offers that are out there online.

Poker bonuses come in a few different forms. There are no-deposit bonuses, deposit bonuses, loyalty and re-load bonuses.

Many poker sites offer no deposit bonuses. These online casinos give you bonus cash to play with, even before you've made an initial deposit. It's important that you understand the restrictions that apply to these no-deposit bonuses. Some online poker rooms will only let you apply your no-deposit bonus to certain games. Make sure that the casino game you wish to play is not excluded by the restrictions. Other rules may apply to no deposit bonuses. Some sites require you to play a minimal amount of times in order to collect your promotional money. Online casinos offer no-deposit bonuses as a means of allowing new players to test their site. These places want to make sure that your spending time in their poker rooms, so that's why the time and minimal playing restrictions are applied.

A deposit bonus is extra cash you receive when you fund your account. Deposit bonuses are typically offered when you sign up to an online poker room. Party Poker will give you $100 for depositing $500 into your account when you signup. To earn this bonus, you need to play in at least 500 raked hands. Deposit bonuses pay you to do what you'd normally do, play poker. If you take advantage of the deposit bonuses offered by multiple websites, you could earn a nice bankroll before you know it.

Unlike signup bonuses, reload bonuses are available for new and existing customers. If you've already played at every online poker room on the net, you're not likely to receive another signup bonus. To keep players coming back, poker sites will offer periodic re-load bonuses where you get an extra percentage back for refunding your account. Poker Stars does not offer signup bonuses, but they do have frequent reload promotions.

Players can get credit for staying loyal to a particular site. Frequent player point (FPP) structures and other loyalty bonuses are pretty common. Take some time to shop around for the best bonus deal for your buck. After you've practiced your game and researched the best deal, you'll be ready to use your poker bonus effectively, and earn some serious cash.

Tom Shannahan has been playing poker since he was 16. He grew up watching his father play with friends once a week. He currently writes part time for Pokerlistings.com where you can find more great information about Poker and Poker Rules.