Comparison of Bonuses of Online Poker Sites

Are you looking for which online poker site offers the best sign up bonus? While they all seem to offer $500, there are some differences, explained below.

Here is a table summarizing the different bonuses offered by the poker sites.

Poker Link Poker Name Deposit Bonus Bonus Code Poker Software Details
paf poker Paf Poker 200%
$2500
or $1000
or $500
or $250
or $100
or $50
WELCOME2012
No code required
Boss Media/GtechG2 | OnGame Review
888 poker 888 Poker 100% No code required Random Logic Review
betsson casino Betsson Poker $2000
or $1600
or $1000
or $555
or $150
€1000
or €300
or €100
OPOKER2000
OPOKER1600
OPOKER1000
OPOKER555
OPOKER150
MPOKER1000
MPOKER300
MPOKER100
Microgaming | OnGame Review
betsafe poker Betsafe Poker 1000 (€)
or 500 (€)
or 250 (€)
or 75 (€)
or 25 (€)
2500 ($)
or 1000 ($)
or 250 ($)
or 75 ($)
or 25 ($)
BLACK1000
BLACK500
BLACK250
BLACK75
BLACK25
RED2500
RED1000
RED250
RED75
RED25
Microgaming | OnGame | Relax Gaming Review
betfred poker Betfred Poker 250% POKERWELCOMEBONUS Playtech Review
betway poker Betway Poker 200% No code required Microgaming Review
william hill poker William Hill Poker 200% No code required Playtech Review
ComeOn! Poker ComeOn! Poker 110% No code required Revolution Gaming Review
nordicbet poker NordicBet Poker 100%
or 50%
Poker1000
Poker25
Microgaming Review

Online poker bonuses

When you sign up at an online poker site, the most common and important bonuses are the first deposit bonuses. This is usually doubled up to a maximum of $500.

When we talk about a “100% poker bonus”, this means that the amount of the bonus is equal to the total amount of your first deposit: for example, you receive $100 for every $100 deposited. Except in exceptional cases, they correspond to the table below:

  • STAKE AMOUNT | $5 | $20 | $100 | $500 | $1,000
  • BONUS AWARDS | $10 | $20 | $100 | $500 | $500

How to unlock poker bonuses?

With the exception of the small amounts offered at registration and the Freerolls that allow you to play free poker, the welcome poker bonuses require you to play on the site and accumulate points before hitting them.

In the meantime, they are credited as pending bonuses, i.e. bonuses that you can legitimately claim as long as you unlock the necessary points in cash-game or tournament play.

The amount you receive is actually part of the rake that the room takes from your games. This rake entitles you to points and after a certain number of points you will receive a certain amount of the bonus which will be transferred to your player account (for example, 1$ for 30 points on PartyPoker).

The promised amount will be released within a limited period of time, usually 3 months after registration; only PokerStars makes an exception to this rule, extending this period to 4 months. The real differences are in the way the money is released:

  • most rooms release the money in 10 or 20% increments (e.g. 10% increments at Betway Poker, for every $200 deposited, 10 increments of $20 are released).
  • some release it gradually after only a few cents (Betclic and Everest) or a few euros ($5 at PokerStars)

Tiered payments are less advantageous, because if the amounts collected are more “visible” than a few cents per session, it is not said that a casual player can really go through more than 1 or 2 tiers in 90 days.

What is the best sign-up poker bonus?

To unlock the pending deposit bonus after the 1st deposit on an online poker site, you will need to earn points. The quality of a welcome offer depends on the number of points required (and therefore the amount to be spent) to release the poker bonus.

The less it is, the more competitive the bonus is. Conversely, the more you have to play to get the points needed to release the bonus, the less attractive the offer will be.

Calculation of rakeback

The percentage of the money spent that will be returned to you as part of the welcome offer is called “rakeback”. It is usually around 20%.

Related content  Online Scratch Cards

With a 20% rakeback, you will have to spend $100 to unlock a $20 bonus. The number of points required to release the bonus is included in the calculation. On the other hand, the welcome bonus can be released either at the poker tables or at the sports betting tables.

Conversely, PMU offers the highest payout: 200%! However, the maximum bonus is only $25 ($20 + $5 without deposit). However, to unlock it, you only have to spend $12.5.

Bwin poker bonus: the best on the market today

Bwin is probably not the most popular poker site in UK. And yet, it is indeed he who offers the best welcome bonus. In any case the most balanced.

By registering on Bwin, you can win up to $120. The sum is quite low compared to the $500 promised by Betclic or PartyPoker, but the rakeback is 50%. In order to win the full amount of the contribution, you will only have to spend “only” $240.

Bwin proposes a balanced offer, both in terms of the sum offered and the ease of obtaining it.

Bonus poker: the questions to ask yourself before you choose

The offers at registration are significantly different from each other. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before choosing your poker room:

  • Gambling bonus or cash? Some sites will force you to replay the paid deposit. Others (such as Betclic) will allow you to withdraw it.
  • Do I win game tickets? In addition to the deposit bonus, Betway and Betclic offer tickets to certain Freeroll tournaments reserved for new players. You will therefore be able to practice quietly while avoiding the sharks that regularly hang around on this type of tournament.
  • What are the conditions for obtaining the bonus? On PMU, the bonus is fixed (25 $) and only your game actions are taken into account in the release of the deposit. On the other sites, it is the value of the 1st deposit that determines the maximum amount you can win.

Please note: the points needed to release the bonus are calculated from the rake, i.e. the withdrawals made by the room. The rake is deducted from buy-ins (for MTTs for example) or directly from the pots.

Almost all sites operate in “No Flop No Drop” mode. If you fold before the flop (first 3 open cards) is revealed, no rake will be taken, even if you paid a blind.

One-Time Promotional Offers

In addition to the 500$, other temporary promotions and discount codes can give you the following advantages:

  • Bonuses offered without depositing money (often between 5 and $20 cash)
  • Free tournament tickets

The freerolls

Want to play poker without risking a big loss? All online poker sites allow you to play for free thanks to freerolls. These free poker tournaments are often offered at registration, but some sites like PokerStars regularly offer them to their loyal players.

Without betting a penny, you can try to win sums of up to several thousand dollars.

List of Rogue Online Poker Sites to Avoid

Poker Link Poker Name No Deposit Bonus Deposit Bonus Bonus Code Poker Software Details
whitebet poker Whitebet Poker 1000%
or 1200%
or 800%
or 800%
or 500%
or 250%
PLAY2000
PLAY1200
PLAY800
PLAY400
PLAY100
PLAY50
OnGame Review
heypoker poker Heypoker Poker 500%
or 400%
or 500%
or 200%
or 100%
2500WELCOME
1000WELCOME
500WELCOME
100WELCOME
20WELCOME
OnGame Review
genting poker Genting Poker 400% No code required Playtech Review
bet365 poker bet365 Poker 200% No code required Playtech Review
cool hand poker Cool Hand Poker 200% No code required Microgaming Review
gnuf poker GNUF Poker 200% No code required Microgaming Review
ladbrokes poker Ladbrokes Poker 200% No code required Microgaming Review
paddy power poker Paddy Power Poker 200% PPP2000 Playtech Review
players only poker Players Only Poker 200% FIRST200PK Merge Gaming Review
poker heaven Poker Heaven 200% HEAVEN Boss Media/GtechG2 | OnGame Review
stan james poker Stan James Poker 200% No code required Microgaming Review
vernons poker Vernons Poker 200% No code required Playtech Review
pkr poker PKR 125%
or 100%
or 50%
welcome500
welcome150
welcome5
Proprietary Review
pokerstars PokerStars 100%
or 100%
STARS600
FREE20
Proprietary Review
full tilt poker Full Tilt Poker 100% No code required Proprietary Review
pokertime PokerTime 5 100% No code required Microgaming Review
redbet poker Redbet Poker 200%
100%
or 200%
or 500%
or 400%
or 500%
FirstBossmedia
FIRST20
FIRST50
FIRST100
FIRST250
FIRST500
Boss Media/GtechG2 | OnGame Review