Introduction to Online Poker Bonuses
When playing real money online poker it’s good to have a bonus. If you want to learn about online poker bonuses, you’ve come to the right place.
You’ve also made the right decision, because poker is about getting an edge, and if you don’t take advantage of online poker bonuses, you are giving up a tremendous edge.
Types of Online Poker Bonuses
The most important type of online poker bonuses you need to be aware of is the sign up bonus. You get this for signing up with a new poker site. You must put in your bonus code with your first deposit to get the bonus credit.
Because getting new players is so important, these bonuses can often be 100 percent match bonuses, which means they match your deposit with free additional funds of their own. Some sign up bonuses may be even more than 100 percent, meaning you get more than double your money.
Other types of bonuses include loyalty bonuses for continued play on a given site and referral bonuses for getting someone else to play on the site.
Match vs. Fixed Online Poker Bonus
A match bonus means a percentage of your investment is matched by the site. The higher the match bonus percentage, the more money you get. To limit the amount you can ultimately receive, there may be a maximum deposit.
You can deposit more than this amount, but it won’t be eligible for the bonus. A fixed bonus is a flat amount, like $50 no matter how much you deposit. It’s not as good as a match bonus, but it’s better than nothing.
Clearing the Online Poker Bonus
Remember that at least with a match bonus, you won’t have access to the funds right away. You will need to clear the bonus by playing a number of raked hands or tournaments determined by the size of the deposit or bonus or both.
As long as you have met the requirement by the amount of time established, you will have access to the funds once the requirement is complete.
At that point, you are free to bet with or withdraw the funds as you see fit.

