Bonus Hunting
Bonus Hunting, AKA Bonus Whoring
Finding the best bonus can be quite complicated on the surface but also quite easy if you know what you are looking for. While some poker websites may offer very seductive initial bonuses, others may offer continuous bonuses that will provide you with more money over the long run. Ultimately, your hunt for decent bonuses will depend on how much research you are willing to do and the amount of money that you are willing or able to invest in your hobby or profession. This article reviews the various things to consider when looking for the best bonus that you can find. The best bonus isn’t always just the biggest bonus, but one that is a fast bonus, or one that you don’t have to play a million hands before they release the bonus. The PokerStars bonus for example, is generally easy to get, it is one of the more reasonable poker bonuses around. Learn more about PokerStars bonus information at the full PokerStars review.
Differences in Investment Amounts
If you have a lot of money to invest on your initial deposit and do not expect to have much more in the near future, finding a very nice initial deposit bonus might be preferable to finding a bonus system that allows for continuing bonuses over multiple deposits. Always review the bonus sequence, however, before making such a decision. For example:
You have $10,000 to invest in online poker and are considering two websites.
One website offers a 400% match bonus up to $2,000.
The other website offers a 100% match bonus on the first deposit, 50% match bonus on the second and a 25% match bonus on the third (all with a maximum of $1,000.
Which would be the best for you?
At first glance, it appears that the 400% match bonus is superior to the total of 175% over three deposits offered on the other website. However, looks can be deceiving. If you spread your $10,000 over three deposits (even during your first three days of play can be enough to award all bonuses) you will get more bonus money.
Let’s look at the math:
400% of $10,000 is $40,000. However, the maximum for this bonus is only $2,000. You would only receive $2,000 on your deposit.
If you were to make three deposits of $1,000, $2,000 and $6,000 for the second website, you would receive $1,000 on the first deposit, $1,000 on the second deposit and $1,500 on the third deposit.
Your third deposit bonus would be reduced to $1,000 because of the deposit limit.
Your total bonus for the second website would be $3,000 ($1,000 or 50% more than the first website).
Obviously the second website is the more lucrative offer.
Promotions and Tournaments
When looking at bonuses offered for multiple websites, you may find that some websites offer promotional offers (Thursday Deposit Bonuses, Texas Hold ‘Em bonuses, etc.) that could make the website far more lucrative than ones that do not offer such bonuses. If you are looking at two different websites and one lacks promotional offers, it is usually better to choose the one that offers promotions. This is far more of a consideration if one website’s bonus stops after your initial deposit.
In addition, websites that hold more regular tournaments are usually more lucrative than others that do not. Even with great bonuses, websites that do not hold regular tournaments are seldom worth your time or money. If you play well at a tournament, you can usually far outweigh the amount of money you can typically make when not playing in a tournament. In this case, tournaments can often be more valuable than bonuses.
Releases Requirements and Fine Print
What many don’t consider when looking at deposit bonuses is something called a release requirement. This is usually a requirement to play a certain amount of qualified raked hands in order to actually receive the bonus. Many sites that offer the largest bonuses have extremely difficult release requirements, which make that $4,000 bonus seem a lot less appealing. After-all, the bonus is only really worth what is reasonably obtainable. Be sure to review the release requirements before getting sucked into too good to be true deposit bonuses.
Related Articles: