Sign Up Bonus and Bet365 Referrer Code
The sign up bonus from Bet365 can be for up to $1000 in extra bonus cash. Visit Bet365 through our link and claim a 200% match bonus on your initial deposit. A deposit of at least $500 would get you the maximum bonus of $1000. You can deposit less if you like, and any deposit will be matched by 200%.

You may also want to have a look at the current Bet365 referrer bonus code. This referrer code can be used to claim extra bonuses that are not available to all players.

Become a Bet365 Star Promotion
We are big fans of the Bet365 sign up bonus, but not so much for the become a star promo. In our opinion it really isn’t a promotion at all. This “promotion” allows you to play in satellite tournaments that can qualify you for larger buy in tournaments at Bet365.

Satellite tournaments like these are offered by pretty much every other online poker room. It would be a good promotion if Bet365 was giving away a large number of free tournament entries, but this isn’t really the case. These satellite tournaments all have buy ins, and the house takes a rake on all the tournament entries. The satellite tournaments are certainly nice to have, but it is a real stretch labeling these as a promotion.

Bet365 VIP Promotion
The VIP promotion at bet365.com provides a good value to players. You accumulate VIP points as you play more hands at the cash game tables, and as you enter more tournaments. You can also improve your status by playing more poker. This rewards players that play more frequently, as they will accumulate VIP points at a faster rate.

You can earn a variety of different things through the Bet365 VIP scheme.  The best thing that you can earn by collecting VIP points is cash. You can earn cash rewards from $50 to $150,000.  You can also earn tournament tickets through the VIP promo.  These tournament tickets can be used for any of the poker tournaments that are held at Bet365.

Jackpot Sit and Go Promotion
The jackpot sit and go promo is a pretty cool idea from Bet365. The jackpot sit and go bonus rewards you for a certain amount of consecutive wins in sit and go tournaments. The prize is in addition to any money that you have won by winning the sit and gos. Some of these sit and go jackpots are listed below.

• Dirty Dozen – Win four 12 man sit and go tournaments in a row and win a $2000 bonus.  The buy ins for each tournament are only $2.40.
• Maui – Win five 10 player games in a row to claim a jackpot of at least $15,000. These tournaments are $6 to enter.
• Rio – Win six consecutive 6 player games and win at least $30,000. These Rio tournaments are $23.50 to enter.
• Fort Knox – Win six consecutive 6 player games and win at least $50,000. It costs $59 to enter these tournaments.

Visit Bet365 to claim your $1000 sign up bonus.

With the current banking situation in the United States it can be difficult to find an online poker site that still accepts credit cards.  Our top two sites both accept credit cards. Though Bodog and Cake Poker both accept credit card deposits, sometimes these deposits can be declined by your bank.  You can usually contact the poker site directly to find an alternative deposit method. For non US players it is fairly easy to make a deposit with your credit card.

Click here to visit Bodog and claim a 110% bonus on your first deposit. Bodog is our top ranked credit card poker site. They accept players from around the world, including the United States. The max bonus at Bodog is $1100.

Click here to visit Cake Poker and claim a 110% bonus. Use the sign up code EZBONUS when creating your account to claim up to $600 free. Cake Poker is our second rated online poker site that accepts credit cards.

What is the Visa Credit Card?
Visa is simply a payments technology company. They don’t actually issue credit cards, set rates and fees, or extend credit. They provide payments technology to approved financial institutions. In return these merchants pay Visa a fee for processing the transactions and for allowing them to use the Visa logo. Visa provides three main types of cards that are listed below.

• Debit Cards
• Credit Cards
• Prepaid Cards

Visa is the dominant credit card around the world.  Their debit card is particularly strong, with an estimated 60% market share. Visa has operations all across the world – not just the United States.

In the early part of the 21st century (2001 to 2006) it was pretty easy to deposit to an online poker site using your Visa card.  You would simply make a purchase at your favorite gambling site in the same fashion that you would make any online purchase.  This changed with the passage of the UIGEA in 2006.

The UIGEA is the acronym for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. It was attached to a safe port bill that preyed on American fears after 911.  It would have been unlikely to pass as a law on it’s on own merit.  Lawmakers attached it to the safe port bill because they were pretty sure this bill would pass, and it did.

The UIGEA had a dramatic affect on online gambling sites that were accepting Visa deposits. In fact, the UIGEA was aimed specifically at financial institutions. It did not make it illegal to gamble online. It made it against the law for them to knowingly process transactions that were going to online gambling companies.  This didn’t stop online gambling companies, including poker sites, from accepting Visa deposits. It just changed the ways that they went about things.

This measure forced the online poker companies to find a work around in order to still accept Visa credit card deposits.  Some online poker sites began to set up shell companies to process their Visa credit card deposits.  They would set up online flower shops, online clothing stores, hardware stores, etc.  This allowed them to work around the US banking restrictions.

Some online poker sites just continued to process Visa credit cards transactions as they did before. Many banks were extremely slow to start blocking transactions to online gaming companies. Despite the UIGEA, there are still banks today that process transactions directly to online poker sites.

What About Mastercard and Online Poker?
Mastercard is pretty much in the same boat as Visa is in. Like Visa above, Mastercard does not extend credit, set rates, or issue credit cards. The services that they offer are the same as the services offered by Visa.

As far as online poker goes, the above time line for Visa holds true for Mastercard. The restrictions set forth in the UIGEA were to restrict Mastercard deposits in the same fashion as Visa deposits. For whatever reason, in 2008-2009 I used to see a lot more people posting on forums about deposit success with a MasterCard than with a Visa.

In 2010 and 2011 I have seen that flip flop, and I have read more about Visa credit cards being accepted. Perhaps it has something to do with the domination of Visa in the debit card market. Many people have always thought it easier to make a deposit with a debit card rather than a credit card.

American Express and Discover for Online Poker
Currently there are no online poker sites accepting American Express deposits. This has been the case for quite awhile, and I don’t expect that to change. American Express has never been fond of processing gambling transactions, even before the UIGEA in 2006. This also holds true for the Discover credit card, as no online poker sites are accepting Discover.

Full Tilt Poker is one of the best online poker sites in the world. Because of their popularity they are able to offer certain partners (like BestPokerBonuses.org) a generous sign up bonus for their visitors. I’m pleased to be able to work with Full Tilt to bring you the best Full Tilt Poker referral code MYRTLE.

Visit Full Tilt Poker Now

With the FullTilt referral code MYRTLE you’ll receive the maximum bonus available – 100% up to $600 on your first deposit. Once you make your first deposit you’ll automatically qualify for all of FullTiltPoker’s other exciting promotions like Happy Hour (Double and Triple Full Tilt Points), Freerolls (free poker tournaments where you can win real cash), and huge guaranteed poker tournaments.

How to Use the Full Tilt Bonus Code

1. First download the Full Tilt Poker software and install it.
2. After you load it first time, you will be able to register as a new user. As you are registering enter MYRTLE in the “Referral Code” field (as shown above).
3. Now, Full Tilt Poker will match any amount you deposit up to $600. They will only do this if you use a Full Tilt Poker referral code.

If you’re looking for both a large bonus and an easy poker bonus, this is one of the best in the industry. I urge to you take advantage of the FullTilt bonuses while you can and start building the large poker bankroll you need to succeed

Full Tilt Poker Happy Hour

During Happy Hour you can earn double or even triple Full Tilt Points by playing in your favorite ring games and tournaments.

Look for daily Happy Hours to be posted while you’re playing daily. You can spot the designated tables by looking for a smiley face to the right of the table listing in the lobby. Play at those tables to begin earning your Full Tilt Points two to three times faster than normal. Your bonus points will automatically be added to your account.

The best part is that the extra points you earn count towards your Full Tilt Poker Bonus! That means you can clear the FullTilt bonus two or three times as fast. Plus you can use those points in the Full Tilt Store to buy gifts including plasma TVs, laptops, iPods or your very own personalized Full Tilt Poker jersey.

Make sure you only use the bonus for FullTiltPoker.com. Their other sites like FullTiltPoker.net and FullTiltPoker.org are only free promotional sites where you cannot use the full tilt poker referral bonus code.  *Update* You can use the referral code on the .net and .org versions as well.

Visit Full Tilt Poker now

If you are looking for an additional bonus, please check out our SportsBook poker bonus page to see how you can claim up to $1100 free.

Other Full Tilt Related Information:
Full Tilt Big Little Tournament
Double Deuce at Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt $100,000 Freeroll
Kitchen Sink Tournament At Full Tilt
Full Tilt Midnight Madness

If you want to get the Party Poker First Deposit Bonus you have a couple of options when you sign up.

1) The best PartyPoker deposit bonus code is DBPOKER. This code gets you a huge 100% up to $500 on your first deposit.

2) The second best PartyPoker bonus code is BESTFREE25. With this deposit bonus, you get $25 free on any deposit of $50 or more. This is good for players who may want to try poker for the first time. *This code should not be used as you get a better bonus using the code DBPOKER.

In addition to these first deposit bonuses, PartyPoker.com also offers a whopping $100,000 in monthly freerolls (free poker tournaments where you can win cash). These include the weekly $1.5K New Player Freeroll and the Daily Rookie $100 Freerolls. You are eligible to start playing these as soon as you deposit using one of the above PartyPoker bonus codes. You can play as many new player freerolls as you’d like in your first 60 days.

At one point in time Partypoker.com was the biggest poker room in the world. This changed when they stopped accepting players from the United States, but they are still one of the top 3 poker rooms in the world.  Unfortunately I live in the United States so I can no longer play at Party Poker.  I really wish that I could because it is still my favorite poker room in the world.

Party was one of the first places online that I played poker, and I pretty much learned how to play in their room.  I love the software on Party Poker, as it is very fast and is easy to navigate.  I still check in on the site from time to time, and they still have a large amount of traffic.  You shouldn’t have any problem finding a game that you like at any hour of the day or night.

On top of the best Party Poker bonuses, Party Poker has an excellent rewards system which they call their Party Points system.  In essence it is one of the best poker rakeback systems, as it provides players with many benefits for playing in their room.  It is somewhat different than rakeback, as you don’t get money sent directly to your account at the end of the month. However, you can sometimes cash in your Party Points for cold hard cash.

In addition, you can use your Party Points for great merchandise and for entries into many of the tournaments that are held on PartyPoker.com.  This Party Points system is automatically given to all players at PartyPoker, and there is no extra signup required.  This PartyPoints system can be used as a great way to increase your balance in the cashier, or to claim some great merchandise.

Visit Party Poker now to claim your bonus.

In addition to poker, the Party Group also offers a full service casino and a sports betting platform.  The casino is called Party Casino, and the sports betting platform is called Party Bets.  You can play all of your favorite casino games at Party Casino, and you can use the Party Casino bonus code BIGMAX to claim a bonus of up to $500 on your first deposit to the casino.

At PartyBets.com you can wager on all of your favorite sports, including but not limited to soccer, tennis, cricket, golf, baseball, and basketball.  The betting client is easy to navigate, and is used by alot of the poker players from Party Poker. Use the bonus code ZZBONUS for the best bonus at PartyBets.

For more than just PartyPoker Deposit Bonuses visit our homepage for the best poker bonuses.

Bodog Poker provides one of the best poker bonuses for American players, as does Cake Poker. In addition to the great poker action, Bodog also provides an excellent sportsbook and casino. We understand that many of our poker players love to bet on sports and play the occasional casino game, and Bodog provides all of these.  The best thing about this is that they are all on a shared wallet system, so you only have to make one deposit to play poker, to play casino games, or to bet on sports.

Please note that your 10% Bodog bonus can be used anywhere, but your extra 100% bonus must be used in the Bodog poker room. These are the best Bodog bonuses that you will find on the internet.

How to Claim Your Bodog Poker Bonus
Step 1: Download and install their poker software
Step 2: Register a real money account
Step 3: Make a deposit and get an instant 10% upfront cash bonus plus a regular bonus of 100% up to $1000
Step 4: Start playing poker, and for every 10 poker points you earn in your first 30 days, you’ll clear an additional $1 in bonus cash

Visit Bodog Now

Bodog Poker Bonus Terms and Conditions

• The bonus is calculated based on your first deposit amount and your poker points earnings during the first 30 days from the date of your first deposit.
• The bonus is issued only after your first 30 days from the date of your initial deposit. This is an automated process and bonus requests put in prior to end of your first 30 days will not be accepted.
• Please allow up to 48 hours for bonus processing.
• Standard bonus rollover rules apply, 3 poker points per dollar in bonus must be earned prior to cashing out. You can also complete rollover by wagering through your bonus amount 3X in the Sportsbook or 15X in the Casino.

How to Earn Bodog Poker Points:

Rake taken is $1.00 – $3.00 you get 1.00 point(s)
Rake taken is $0.50 – $0.95 you get 0.50 point(s)
Rake taken is $0.25 – $0.45 you get 0.25 point(s)
Rake taken is $0.05 – $0.20 you get 0.10 point(s)

1. Rake: You earn up to 1 poker point per raked pot.
2. Tournament Fees: You earn 3 poker points per dollar in tournament fees.
3. Time Spent Playing: You even earn an additional 1 poker point per hour of play!

Here are a few examples to help you better understand the Bodog Poker Bonus

1. Kevin deposits $500 and receives a $50 cash upfront bonus. His starting bankroll is $550. In his first 30 days of play, Kevin earns 5000 poker points and receives an additional $500 cash bonus.
2. Sara deposits $250 and receives a $25 cash upfront bonus. Her starting bankroll is $275. In her first 30 days of play, Sara earns 1000 poker points and receives an additional $100 cash bonus.
3. Jacob deposits $100 and receives a $10 cash upfront bonus. His starting bankroll is $110. In his first 30 days of play, Jacob earns 1000 poker points and receives the maximum $100 additional cash bonus.

Claim your $1100 free from Bodog.

Duplicate Poker in partnership with BestPokerBonuses.org is pleased to bring you the maximum official Duplicate Poker Bonus offer of $3 FREE No Deposit Bonus, plus 100% up to $300 on your first deposit. If you sign up via this link, no Duplicate Poker Bonus Code is needed to claim your bonuses.

Claiming Your FREE $3 Duplicate Poker Bonus
Step 1: Download and install their free poker software
Step 2: Register your account
Step 3: Start playing!

As soon as you finish registering for an account you will be credited with $3. I would suggest playing low buy in tournaments and freerolls while learning Duplicate Poker strategy. Once you get used to the new format you can use the 100% up to $300 deposit bonus to build your poker bankroll even higher.

Duplicate Poker Bonus Policy

Sign-up Bonus – Player Bonus Points

The Duplicate Poker Team offers you a first time deposit bonus of up to $300, daily, weekly and monthly freerolls and a player loyalty program that lets you earn Bonus Points. Here are the details:

$3 FREE No Deposit Bonus Terms and Conditions

• You must be a new player on DuplicatePoker.com (or e-pokerUSA.com, our former name) to qualify.
• To receive your free $3, just create a new account on DuplicatePoker.com. Your $3 will automatically be deposited in your account upon your completion of the registration process.
• You may play any part of your free $3 immediately. You may not cash out any part of the free $3 until you have earned at least 12 Bonus Points.
• Bonus Points are earned at the rate of one point for every $0.10 in fees or rake paid. You can view your Player Points by clicking on “My Account” and then “Cashier” in the DuplicatePoker program, or by clicking here and entering your user name and password.
• You must use your free $3 within 14 days of creating your DuplicatePoker account. If you do not use the $3 within 14 days, it will be removed from your account.
• You may have only one DuplicatePoker account. Any attempt to create additional accounts will result in the closing of your account and may result in impound of funds.

100% Sign Up Bonus Terms and Conditions

• You must be a new player on DuplicatePoker.com (or e-pokerUSA.com, our former name) to qualify.\
• Your bonus is placed in your “pending bonus” account and is released into your cash account once you earn a sufficient number of Player Points. You must earn 20 points for each bonus dollar, so a $10 bonus requires 200 points; a $50 bonus requires 1000 points, and so on.
• Player Points are earned at the rate of one point for every $0.10 in fees or rake paid. You can view your Player Points by clicking on “My Account” and then “Cashier” in the DuplicatePoker program, or by clicking here and entering your user name and password.\
• You must earn your bonus within 180 days of your initial deposit.
• You may have only one DuplicatePoker account. Any attempt to create additional accounts will result in the closing of your account and may result in impound of funds.

How to Earn Bonus Points at Duplicate Poker

• Bonus Points are earned through cash game play
• Players earn one Bonus Point for each $0.10 in fees or rake paid to play in cash games or tournaments.

• If you have $300+ | BIGDOGGY gets you 200% up to $750
• If you have $100-$299 | BEST200 gets you $10 FREE + 200% up to $200
• If you have $25-$99 | MYFREE25 gets you $10 FREE + $25 Instantly
• If you have less than $25 | PUPPY10 gets you a $10 No Deposit Bonus

Pitbull Poker Bonus Code Terms and Conditions

200% Deposit Bonus up to $750

• Minimum Deposit: $50 for the 200% Deposit Bonus
• Bonus is release in $10 Increments at every 100 comp points
• 30 day expiration time frame

$10 FREE + 200% up to $200 on First Deposit

• Player must earn 200 comp point before cashing out
• Must be a new player. Limit of 1 bonus per household
• $10 Sign Up Bonus only valid if registered through BestPokerBonuses.org
• Minimum Deposit: $50 for the 200% Deposit Bonus
• Bonus is released in $10 Increments at every 100 comp points
• 30 day expiration time frame

$10 FREE + $25 Instant Money for First Deposit Bonus

• $10 Sign Up Bonus only valid if registered through BestPokerBonuses.org
• Must Deposit at least $25 to get the $25 bonus in your account
• Player must earn 200 comp point before cashing out
• Must be a new player. Limit of 1 bonus per household

$10 FREE Exclusive for BestPokerBonuses.org Players

• Player must earn 200 comp point before cashing out
• Must be a new player. Limit of 1 bonus per household
• $10 Sign Up Bonus only valid if registered through BestPokerBonuses.org

This year, the folks at Pokerstars decided to increase the first time deposit bonus for new players. As of 2010, this is the best Pokerstars bonus ever offered. For more information on claiming your bonus using the best Pokerstars bonus code, read below.

PokerStars Marketing Bonus Code 2010

BestPokerBonuses.org  in partnership with PokerStars.com, is happy to bring you the best marketing code for Poker Stars: PSP5021.
By entering the above marketing code for PokerStars, along with the 2010 Pokerstars bonus code: STARS600 – you will receive 100% deposit match up to $600.

Details on how to claim your PokerStars.com deposit bonus

Pokerstars bonus code is a good place for new players to start building a bankroll. They cater to both US and Non-US players and have an abundance of great cash games and tournaments. You should use your marketing code PokerStars when creating your account at PokerStars.com.

To claim your Poker Stars Bonus:

• Step 1: Download and Install PokerStars Free Software
• Step 2: Create a PokerStars Account
  • Once installed, load Pokerstars. To Register your PokerStars account, select “Create Account” from the “Account” menu in the PokerStars lobby and fill in the necessary fields on the registration form. Be sure to enter a valid email address for your validation code to be sent.
• Step 3: Enter Marketing Code: PSP5021
• Step 4: Validate Your Account
  • To Validate your account, select “Validate Email Address” from the “Account” menu in the PokerStars lobby, then enter the code that has been sent to the email address entered in Step 2.
• Step 4: Deposit at PokerStars
  As long as you’ve entered the marketing code PSP5021, you will be able to get the PokerStars deposit bonus. If you’re asked for a bonus code during the deposit process, use STARS600 to ensure it’s credited immediately.
  • Click the “Cashier” button located at the bottom left corner of your game lobby.
  • Click “Buy Chips” and choose a funding option, and click “Deposit”.

US & Canadian Players: I recommend eChecks. The money is deducted straight from your checking account. They are free, easy, safe, and best of all, INSTANT!
Non-US Players: I suggest you use Neteller. They are an ewallet service similar to Paypal. I, and millions of others, used them exclusively before they stopped taking US players. It takes a couple of days to verify your bank account, but after that you can move money around online quickly.

PokerStars Bonus FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

This information is from http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/promotions/bonus/first-time-deposit-100/

How Do I Qualify for a Deposit Bonus?
You are eligible for a 100% deposit bonus when you make your first-ever real money deposit at PokerStars during the qualifying period.

If you cash out any amount from your PokerStars account during the Bonus Period, but prior to making a qualifying deposit, you are ineligible for the deposit bonus.

Please remember that some bonus offers expire and that you must earn the required Base Frequent Player Points before the expiration date to earn your bonus. To check whether your bonus expires, click the Cashier button in your PokerStars game software, and then click the button that reads “Check My Bonus Status.”

Where Can I See My Bonus?
Once you make a deposit, you can view your pending bonus in the Cashier window in the PokerStars software. The number of Base Frequent Player Points (Base FPPs) you must earn to collect the bonus can also be found there.

To view these items, click on the “Cashier” button. Once in the Cashier window, simply click the button labeled “Check My Bonus Status.” More information on the FPP program can be obtained at the PokerStars Frequent Player Program page.

How Do I Earn My Bonus?
To earn your deposit bonus you must earn a designated number of Base FPPs. The amount Base FPPs you must earn, and the maximum bonus you may earn, may vary by promotion.

Example – You have a pending 100% bonus with a $50 max and a 10 FPP requirement. If you made a $50 deposit ($50 bonus) you would need to earn 500 Base FPPs (10 x 50) to release the bonus

Base FPPs which count toward the bonus requirement begin with the first hand played after the deposit is made to your account.

FPPs that you win in a satellite do not count towards getting a bonus. For instance, if you enter a 100 FPP satellite, win a seat into a 1000 FPP satellite, and then unregister, you’re credited with 1000 FPPs. Those do *not* count toward cashing in a deposit bonus.

Play Money and Freeroll tournaments do not award FPPs. These tournaments are completely free to play and as such are not part of the PokerStars FPP program.

After the required number of post-deposit Base FPPs have been earned, the bonus will move from “pending status” into your PokerStars cash balance. PokerStars will send you an email confirming that the bonus funds have been moved to your cash account. The transaction will also be noted in your transaction “History” in the Cashier window.

What if PokerStars currently has another Deposit Bonus offer? Can I take advantage of both offers?
If you have never made a deposit before, you can indeed take advantage of both offers! In order to do this, you must first make a deposit using the 100% First Deposit Bonus code. Then, when you make an additional deposit, you can use another active bonus code to make a second eligible deposit. Please make sure that you understand the terms of the other bonus, including making your second deposit during the eligibility period and using the correct bonus code.

Once you have been fully credited the First Deposit Bonus by earning the necessary BaseFPP, any further BaseFPP that you earn will automatically be credited toward earning your second bonus.

Note: Only your Base FPPs will be applied toward releasing your pending bonus. Base FPPs are FPPs earned through cash games and tournaments at the same rate as regular FPPs but do not include the Bonus points earned during the accelerated VIP period. Any bonus FPPs you earn through the VIP Club will not count toward releasing your bonus. Visit the PokerStars Frequent Player Program and learn how to earn Base FPPs.

If you’re brand new to playing online poker for money, you might be nervous about giving out your banking, or credit card information.

This is understandable, as I was the same way in the beginning. The purpose of this article is to help you feel confident about playing online poker for real money. I’ll walk you through your first real money deposit, plus give you advice on the safest poker deposit options and methods.

Beginner Online Poker Tips

• If you plan on playing online poker long term, it’s best to get a seperate bank account to manage your bankroll
• With the right plan, you can easily build a nice bankroll with poker bonuses (in the thousands)
• Always deposit the maximum when getting bonuses (ex. 100% match up to $600 — deposit $600 not $300)

Your First Real Money Poker Deposit

For your first deposit you can choose any poker room you like. But since the majority of you will find this article from the United States, I’ve chosen Full Tilt Poker to use in this tutorial. Full Tilt Poker is a very popular US friendly poker room so it makes sense to start there.

Another reason to sign up at Full Tilt first is because their bonus is extremely small compared to other poker sites. So, for those of you who want to make money with poker bonuses by building a bankroll, this is a good practice site. And for those who don’t want to invest much money to start with, Full Tilt only requires a $50 deposit to get the $50 free bonus. Excited yet? Let’s get started! Please note that Full Tilt does offer a 100 percent bonus up to $600 total, so a $600 deposit would get you the maximum $600 bonus.

Step 1: Install Software
If you haven’t already done so, go to FullTiltPoker.com, download, and install their software

Step 2: Account Setup
Once installed, load Full Tilt. To Register your PokerStars account, select “Create Account” from the “Account” menu in the Full Tilt lobby and fill in the necessary fields on the registration form. Be sure to enter a valid email address for your validation code to be sent.

IMPORTANT POKER BONUS STEP: Be sure to enter the Full Tilt Poker referral code: MYRTLE

Step 3: Validate Your Account
To Validate your account, select “Validate Email Address” from the “Account” menu in the Full Tilt Poker lobby, then enter the code that has been sent to the email address entered in Step 2.

Step 4: Make a Real Money Deposit to Play Online Poker

• Click the “Cashier” button located at the bottom left corner of your game lobby.
• Click “Buy Chips” and choose a funding option, and click “Deposit”.
  • US & Canadian Players: I recommend eChecks. The money is deducted straight from your checking account. They are free, easy, safe, and best of all, INSTANT!
  • Non-US Players: I suggest you use Neteller. They are an ewallet service similar to Paypal. I, and millions of others, used them exclusively before they stopped taking US players. It takes a couple of days to verify your bank account, but after that you can move money around online quickly.

So that’s it. Congrats on your first real money poker deposit! By now, you should feel comfortable going through my list of poker sign up bonuses without difficulty. In my next article, I’ll show you how to build your bankroll with poker bonuses.

If anything in this guide is unclear, or if you have a question or comment about playing online poker for money, please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to answer it ASAP.

Poker bonus strategy is all about finding the best plan of action to cash in on poker bonuses. In previous parts of this poker bonus guide, I’ve talked about poker bonus basics and how to clear poker bonuses. This article will concentrate on actual poker bonus strategies for Fixed Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, and tournament players.

Poker Bonus Strategies

By far the best strategy to clear poker bonuses, while lowering the risk to your bankroll, is to play $1/$2 Fixed Limit Hold’em full ring games. You should learn to play multiple tables and stick to extremely tight hand selection. Since you get credit for raked hands whether you call before the flop or not, there’s no reason to play a lot of speculative hands. By sticking to Sklansky’s hand ranking groups 1-4, and only going past the flop with good made hands (top-pair top-kicker, two pair, three-of-a-kind), or a good draw (open-ended straight draw or flush draw), you will risk less and win more while clearing bonuses.

Here’s a breakdown of strategies and hand selection for Limit Hold’em, No Limit Hold’em, and tournaments.

Full Ring Limit Hold’em Bonus Strategy
Here are the only hands you should play to maximize your bonus winnings and minimize any losses.
Group 1: AA KK QQ JJ AKs
Group 2: TT AQs AJs KQs AK
Group 3: 99 KTs QJs KJs ATs AQ
Group 4: A8s KQ 88 QTs A9s AT AJ JTs

If you’re a No Limit Hold’em player and can’t stand the thought of grinding out bonuses at the Limit Hold’em tables, there’s a different strategy to follow.

Full Ring No Limit Hold’em Bonus Strategy
Playing $0.10/$0.25 No Limit will lower your hourly rate for clearing bonuses, but allow you to make more from bad opponents. I suggest that, as a new player, you only play these hands. All pocket pairs(13 total), AK, and AQ – that’s it!

Again, this hand selection strategy applies to a full table of 9-10 players. Short-handed (6-max) No Limit requires a very different strategy. This group of hands is very restricted, but they should keep you out of many tough spots. Restricting yourself to these hands only will allow you to a) make money or at least b) break even while trying to clear a poker bonus.

The strategy is to play your big hands like AK, AQ, AA, KK, QQ, JJ and 1010, aggressively pre flop (and post flop if the board looks safe). With the rest of the pocket pairs, you should see a flop, even in a raised pot. Your goal is to flop a set and get all your money in the pot. If you don’t hit a set or have at least an over pair to the board, be prepared to fold to any significant action.

Tournament Bonus Strategy
If you are primarily interested in playing poker tournaments while clearing bonuses, you’re in for a long road. Instead of crediting you points for raked hands, poker rooms give you a certain number of points based on tournament fees. For example, PokerStars gives you 5 FPPS for each dollar in tournament fees. With their $50 sign up bonus, this translates to a 50% rebate for your tournament fees.

While I recommend you use cash games to clear poker bonuses rather than tournaments, tournament players can benefit from one poker room in particular. Bodog Poker has a bonus offer where tournament players earn 100% of their tournament fees back. If you’re determined to clear bonuses with tournaments, Bodog should be your first choice.

Conclusion

While you can use any of these poker bonus strategies to clear bonuses, the best and safest way is to play multiple tables of Low Limit Hold’em. No matter which strategy you adopt, a tight preflop hand selection is best. Tournament players should look for sites that give them the best percentage of their tournament fees back. Bodog has the best clearance rate for around for tournament players.

In my next article in this series, I’ll show you how to deposit at online poker sites so you can start cashing in on the best poker bonuses! Or you can sign up at Full Tilt now and use the best Full Tilt referral code MYRTLE when creating your account to get $600 free and exclusive freeroll entries.

Do you have any questions or comments about my poker bonus strategy?