This dedicated poker site will be offering a Poker Tournament Formula special sign-up bonus shortly of a 150% match up to $300, with excellent terms (200 comp points deliver $1 of bonus). Wait for us to post the bonus code before signing up. That is one of the best bonuses available for value, because it’s easier to earn than the bigger bonuses at some other poker sites. You must clear the bonus within 90 days of your deposit. With your initial deposit, you also get a freeroll into a tournament with a $500 prize pool. Be sure to check comp point values for different games and tournaments. On the $10k guaranteed Sunday tournament, for example, you earn 324 comp points, which pays about 1/3 of your entry fee. The Poker.com $10k guaranteed Sunday rebuy tournament is the single best tournament for skilled players online.
This dedicated poker room has a generous 100% deposit bonus up to $600. In the cash games, you’ll earn one point for any hand you are dealt for every dollar raked, and each point is worth six cents. This is a good bonus site for cash game players who play a lot at the higher levels. You can earn points for entering tournaments at the rate of seven points for each dollar of your tournament entry fees. With a bonus cash-in value of six cents per point, this means the house is paying 42% of your entry fees while you are qualifying for your bonus. You have 120 days from your deposit to earn the bonus. This is an excellent bonus program for tournament players.
There is no initial deposit bonus at Poker Stars, but they have a good “Frequent Player program. With their Frequent Player Point (FPP) system, you can earn points by playing in cash games, with the points based on the rake and type of game. If you play in tournaments, you earn 5 FPPs for each dollar of entry fees. FPPs have no cash value in the sense that you cannot convert them to cash in your cash account. The points do have a cash value insofar as they can be used to enter satellites and multi-table tournaments. For example, with 50 points, you get an entry into a weekly tournament that has a $250 prize pool. 200 points will get you an entry into a monthly tournament with a $1,000 prize pool. I see no way to estimate the dollar value of this system, which would depend on the number of entries (as well as any player’s skill). The tournaments themselves use the same blind structure as all of their regular tournaments. If you have played in any of these events, let me know what the field size was and I’ll report it here.
This dedicated poker site offers a 25% bonus up to $50 for a $200 deposit. Essentially, in cash games, you earn one point for each hand you play in a raked pot, and 100 points equal $10 of bonus. You can also earn points in their tournaments. The points earned in their multi-table tournaments are equal to 10% of the buy-in. If you enter a $100 buy-in tournament, you get 10 points, so these points would have a $1 value. All of their tournaments have a 9% entry fee, so the bonus will cover about 11% of your entry fees.
PartyPoker has one of the best deals for small stakes cash players. Their 20% bonus up to $100 (for a $500 deposit) renews frequently and will pay about 2/3 of your blind costs in $.50/$1 limit games. Keep in mind that the bonus is released in a lump sum after you have earned it all, which you must do within 30 days of your initial deposit. If you play at PartyPoker, you’ll want to join their players club, where you can earn points for both your cash play and tournament play. Player Club Points can only be redeemed for merchandise or special freeroll tournaments that are restricted to players who can buy-in with Player Points. They run eight of these tournaments per day, with prize pools ranging from $250 to $2500. The dollar value of these points can’t be calculated because it would depend on the number of players entered. If you play these Player Point tourneys, your best value will be in the tourneys with the fewest players, because the prize pool does not increase as players are added.
This dedicated poker site has a standard bonus of 25% (or 35% if you use Neteller). You have forever to earn the bonus, but you must earn it in full before you can collect any of it. In other words, you receive it in a lump sum. Action Points can be earned by playing cash games—with the amount of points based on the amount of your bet—or by playing tournaments, based on the tournament entry free. Action points can also be used to buy into special freeroll tournaments.
This dedicated poker site offers a 100% deposit bonus up to $750. In cash games, you earn one point per raked hand played, and 100 points get you $10 of bonus funds. For cash game players, this is a great bonus if you play a lot, but it’s not so great for beginners. For tournaments, you get one point for each $1 of entry fee, which is always set at 9% of the buy-in. Basically, their bonus is paying about 11% of your tourney entry fees. They also have an ongoing reload bonus of 25% up to $250. Both the initial sign-up bonus and any reload bonuses must be cleared within 60 days. They have excellent tournaments for skilled players. See our tournament review page for more info.
They currently have a 100% up to $100 deposit bonus. To collect the bonus, within 60 days, you must earn 7 points for each $1 of bonus. In cash games, you earn points at the rate of .7 points for each $1 of rake. Tournaments deliver 5 points for each $1 of entry fees. That means that on the first deposit bonus, they’re paying better than 70% of your entry fees. That’s a great deal for tournament players. Their reload bonus (50% up to $100) is not quite as generous as the initial deposit bonus, as you must earn 10 points for each dollar of bonus. But that still pays 50% of your tournament entry fees. This is a sister site to PokerRoom.com (below) and HoldemPoker.com (below), and I believe they offer the same tournament structures.
They have a standard 20% bonus up to $100 for a $500 deposit. You earn bonus points by playing in cash games or tournaments. Their tournament rate is the same as EuroPoker (above), and as with EuroPoker, you have 60 days to earn the bonus. Points may also be used at these casinos to buy into special Player Point tournaments.
This is another sister site to EuroPoker and Poker Room (above) and they also have a 20% deposit bonus up to $100. The bonus is released in a lump sum, and must be earned within 60 days. Other terms and conditions appear to be the same as with EuroPoker.
Bodog has a standard 10% bonus on every deposit. In their cash games, you earn one point for each dollar of rake (you must contribute to the pot). In tournaments, you earn 3 points for each dollar of entry fees. Points can only be used for special freeroll tournament buy-ins, however, so I can’t put a dollar value on them. But they have excellent tournaments for skillful players.
This dedicated poker site offers a 100% deposit bonus up to $500. In the cash games, bonus dollars accrue based on your hours of play and in fractional units per raked hand based on the limits. It’s another good bonus if you play at the higher limits. You can earn points in their tournaments at the rate of 6 points per dollar of entry fees, but since 250 points equal $1, those six points only pay about 2.4% of your entry fees. This site has some of the best tournaments on the Net, but their bonus system is really designed to reward cash game players, not tournament players. Play tournaments here if you like the tournaments, but it will take you a long time to earn that $500 bonus if you don’t also play cash games.
They have a 50% first deposit bonus up to $200 for a $400 deposit. You can earn about 10% of your blind costs in bonus dollars. They do pay VIP Points for tournaments also, at the rate of 10 points for each $1 of entry fee. Each 1,000 points you earn are worth $10, so the VIP Points cover about 10% of your tournament entry fees.