One of the most incredible perks of playing poker online is the ability to cash in on huge bonuses and VIP perks. The top online poker sites compete for your business and loyalty in two ways—offering a superior product and hooking you up with free stuff (cash). While many poker bonuses are easy to get just by signing up for a poker room, there’s an art to getting the best bonuses for the most money.
The Best Online Poker Bonuses Currently Available
Four Facts About These Real Money Poker Bonuses
- These are the best online poker bonus offers currently available. Our team updates this list when needed.
- These bonus links and bonus codes are not expired. Not only does our team look for the biggest online poker bonuses, but they regularly check the existing offers to make sure they’re still working and haven’t expired.
- All of these bonuses are available to everyone. Some online poker bonus codes and links are not actually available to the general public. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’re getting something awesome, only to find out you don’t qualify. These bonuses don’t fall into that category.
- The bonuses come from trusted and reputable online poker sites. A great bonus is worthless if it comes from a shady poker site you can’t trust. Our team has extensively vetted every option for safety, security, industry reputation, proper encryption, and secure banking support.
Types of Online Poker Bonuses
Poker bonuses online come in all shapes and sizes, which is incredible news for players. That being said, it’s important to know the different types of bonuses available, how they work, where to get them, and the things you must do in order to claim your spoils.
Deposit Poker Bonuses
The most popular and widely used poker bonus at online poker sites is the deposit bonus. With this bonus, you’re given extra cash, tournament dollars, bonus dollars, tournament tickets, or freerolls as a reward for making a real money deposit. The most common set up is matching bonus dollars as a percentage of your deposit.
Let’s say an online poker site is offering a 100% deposit bonus up to $400. If you deposit $400 into your account, the poker site will give you an extra $400 for free! This means your total on-site balance will be $800.
Sometimes, the money is given to you as a lump sum, and sometimes, it’s released in smaller increments. If you receive the money as a lump sum, there will be a playthrough requirement before you can withdraw the bonus funds. This means you will need to play a certain amount of poker before you can withdraw the bonus funds. Your on-site money can be withdrawn at any point in time.
If the bonus money is dripped, you’ll receive it in small increments as you complete the playthrough requirements. With this setup, you’re able to withdraw all of the money that has been added to your account at any time. This is the most common industry practice among the sites with the best online poker bonus for US players.
- Deposit bonuses may be available for first-time deposits or as reload bonuses.
- The deposit bonuses listed in this guide are automatically added to your account through a direct link. No bonus code is needed.
- It’s critical that you understand how the deposit bonus works if you’re planning on cashing out quickly from the poker site.
- Make sure you look into deposit bonuses before making an initial deposit. Many bonuses are limited to the first deposit only.
Free Tournament Tickets
You may be awarded a free tournament ticket as part of a deposit bonus by achieving a particular VIP status or by completing another task the poker site sets out for players. Free tournament tickets allow you to play in a real money tournament completely free of charge. In other words, the poker site is covering your buy-in, and you get to keep 100% of what you win in the tournament.
- If you get a tournament ticket, make sure you check for an expiration date. Some tournament tickets are only good for a certain period of time. Others can be used at any point in time.
- Tournament tickets may be redeemable for more tournaments than originally advertised. Some online US poker sites will allow you to use a ticket on any tournament of equal value.
Online Poker Freerolls
One of the most powerful marketing tools the best online poker sites use is freerolls. A freeroll is a tournament that has no entry fee for any of the players playing but has a prize pool. Sometimes, the prize pool is cash, and sometimes, it’s tournament tickets or other prizes. Freerolls are generally available to new players and often without the need for a deposit.
You may also be awarded entries into freerolls as a loyalty reward or for achieving certain status on leaderboards.
- Most top online poker sites allow you to withdraw any winnings from a freeroll without making a real money deposit. You may be required to validate your account, though.
- Many freerolls have extensive value because players may be automatically registered and choose not (or forget) to play.
- All freerolls are not small. Some freerolls might offer things like WSOP travel packages or large amounts of cash. Typically, the higher amounts will be found in loyalty freerolls.
Rakeback Poker Bonus
Rakeback used to be very common in the online poker world but is becoming less common, at least in the traditional sense. Rakeback is where you receive a percentage of the raked money from your hands taken by the poker room back at the end of the day, week, or month. With rakeback, you can break completely even playing and still turn a profit thanks to your rakeback check. Typically, rakeback rates range from a few percentage points upwards of 40% to 50%.
Unfortunately, rakeback (especially at those higher numbers) is quite rare these days unless you are willing to play at a brand new poker site that doesn’t have much of an industry reputation. That being said, you are able to get some form of rakeback through a few trusted US poker sites with the best bonuses still. Rates on these online poker promotions will vary, though.
Additionally, some online poker sites will give players frequent player points that can be converted to cash. While this is not referred to as rakeback, it’s effectively the same thing.
- Online poker sites offering extensive rakeback deals might attract more professional players, which could make it tougher to win.
- Rakeback may be available in other forms, such as FPPs and VIP rewards.
Frequent Player Points/VIP Rewards
Many top online poker sites offer frequent player points (FPPS) or VIP rewards programs. These loyalty programs award players with points based on how much they’ve played and at what stakes. Typically, point calculations and tier status are drawn from a percentage of rake.
FPPs can be used at most poker rooms for a whole host of things. These uses include buying tournament tickets, converting to cash, getting swag, or getting lavish gifts (cars, boats, electronics, vacations, etc.).
- The rate at which you earn FPPs may be different based on whether you play cash games, tournaments, or sit and god.
- Your earning rate might also change as you level-up through the different VIP tiers. Generally, the higher you move up, the quicker you’ll earn FPPs and the better the redemption rates.
No Deposit Poker Bonuses
Some online US poker sites offer bonuses to players who haven’t made a real money deposit. Typically, these come in the form of freeroll entries, tournament tickets, but rarely as cash.
- No deposit bonuses are generally small in nature, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them to build up a substantial bankroll.
- You may be required to make a small deposit before you can cash out to verify the payout method. This ensures the poker site doesn’t send your online poker promotions to the wrong person.
Refer-A-Friend Bonuses
If you have more friends that want to play poker online, you should take advantage of refer-a-friend bonuses. Most online poker sites will kick you free money or tournament tickets in exchange for referring friends who make a real money deposit. Generally, the amount ranges from about $20 to $50.
- Make sure to read the rules about how to refer a friend properly. You may have to send them a dedicated link or contact support before they join. Check on all of this before your friend signs up.
- An incentive for your friends to wait on you to figure out referrals is that they generally get some form of bonus as well.
How to Get the Most out of Online Poker Bonuses
With so many great real money poker bonuses online, it’s important that you have a plan of attack. You need to know how to get the most money, most free stuff, and the biggest bonuses in reward for your online play. Here are some amazing tips from our team of experts on how to do just that.
Shop for the Best Option That Fits Your Game
On the other side of the coin, if you’re solely a tournament player that plays a lower volume, you might not reap many rewards with a deposit bonus. The same is not true for higher volume tournament players.
The takeaway is this—take the time to research and make sure you get the best online poker bonus offers for you.
Fully Read the Terms and Conditions
While it’s not exciting or glamorous, we can’t stress hard enough the importance of understanding all the rules, terms, and conditions with a bonus. Real money online poker sites are not out to take advantage of you, but on the same token, the sites need to protect themselves from being taken advantage of. To do this, they have specific criteria that must be met and completed for a bonus to be valid.
Before you sign up for or try and take advantage of the bonus! Many bonuses have specific steps players must take to activate them. Take the time to read and understand all of the details of a bonus.
Online Poker Bonus Codes vs. Direct Links
If you’re new to online poker or you’re coming back from a hiatus, you may be wondering where all the bonus codes went. For the most part, the best online poker sites for US customers converted to using dedicated direct links instead of codes. By clicking a link to a promotion, the promotion is automatically applied to your account.
The recommended bonuses listed in this guide operate through direct links. You don’t have to worry about finding an active code, figuring out where to input the code, and worrying if you did it all correctly.
Bonus codes do still exist, but they have become much less prevalent in the market and have yielded the majority to direct links.
Customer Service Check-In
What should you do if you don’t understand something about online poker room bonuses? What are your options if you’re not sure if you signed up correctly? Contact the online poker site’s customer service. This is one of the major reasons they are in place. If you have any questions about a current or upcoming promotion, reach out to the customer service team.
Stack Poker Bonuses When Applicable
Not all online real money poker bonuses have to be used exclusively. Look for opportunities to use multiple bonuses at the same time. The most common example of this is deposit bonuses, welcome bonuses, and VIP/FPP programs. Generally, an online poker site offering attractive bonuses will let you use all three of these together. You will want to check the terms of service or confirm any questions with customer service.
Bonus Hunt
Many online poker players take the time to cash in on bonuses when they first open their account. However, after that, many players stop looking at offers at other poker sites. Don’t be scared to regularly shop around for the best online poker bonuses. You can always head over to a new site temporarily to cash in on a bonus and move back to your home site afterward.
Things to Consider With Online Poker Bonuses
- The Release Structure of Bonus Funds
- Withdrawal Limitations
- Reputability of the Poker Site
- Fish vs. Sharks
The Release Structure of Poker Bonus Funds
Not all bonus funds are immediately put into your cashier account and marked cleared for withdrawal. Online United States poker sites have to ensure they’re getting something in return for the bonuses. Generally, the requirement is some level of play to get the funds released.
Take the time to understand how funds will be added to your account. This not only protects you from getting upset later, but it can also help you to find the best plan to get funds released the quickest.
Withdrawal Limitations
Your real money bonus funds may not be eligible for immediate withdrawal. Why? Well, if online poker sites let you cash out immediately after requesting a bonus, people would take advantage of the situation. People would request a bonus and immediately cash out.
Even the top poker sites have limits on how you can withdraw your bonuses to protect against this. In most cases, these limits are fair and well-thought-out. Just make sure you’re aware of them to prevent any headaches or frustration down the road.
Reputability of the Poker Site
A bonus is only as good as the poker site that it comes from. An online poker site could promise you thousands in free money, but if you can’t trust the site, the money is worthless. Make sure that you don’t get bonus-blind and neglect to see the warning signs of a shady poker site trying to draw in action.
What’s the best way to protect yourself from this? Stick with us. All of the best online poker room bonuses recommended here come from websites and poker rooms we’ve fully vetted.
Fish vs. Sharks
Certain types of top poker bonuses online attract certain skill leveled players. You need to ensure the poker site you’re getting a bonus from is not shark-infested. You can get all the free poker money in the world, but if you can’t win, you’ll lose it all back.
Online poker sites that offer rakeback bonuses have a tendency to attract more professionals and grinders. This isn’t always true, but it’s truer more often than it isn’t. Poker rooms with lucrative signup bonuses or bonuses that extend to sports betting and the casino are notorious for attracting weaker players. You can use poker bonuses online to track where the easiest games are!
