New Player Bonuses

Online poker rooms, and in particular new online poker rooms are businesses with one true mission, to draw customers!  As a bonus to players, they almost all offer new player incentive programs and even loyalty bonuses.  The sign up bonuses generally are marked by free chips for the players at the time of their first deposit, or after they have played for a specific period of time.

Although most do, new player incentives do not necessarily have to be free chips.  Some poker sites will offer free tournament entry fees, others offer raffles and still others actually mail a thank you gift to loyal customers.  Depending on the room, the level of play and the variety of poker the incentive gifts may vary and change frequently.

There’s nothing wrong with trying out different poker rooms by taking advantage of the incentives that they offer. It is definitely common for people to play at more than one online poker room, allowing them to utilize the bonuses of several different rooms.

Here are some of the things that you should keep in mind when you are considering taking advantage of incentives offered at online poker rooms:

Terms and Conditions.
There are almost always some terms or conditions attached when you accept an incentive. Otherwise the site owners would lose profits because people would cash out their free chips and never play a single game.  Thus, there are generally no cash out bonus chips and other rules that apply before a player can take advantage of the bonus,

Often, there is a completely separate account for bonus chips - which you actually receive after making a deposit or meeting a number of plays requirement.  This gives the poker room administrators the ability to gain profit from your participation before offering you a gift for choosing their site.

The requirements tend to vary from room to room. The general rule of thumb to follow is that the better the bonus offer, the more requirements you must meet in order to take advantage of it!  For example, if a site offers you a 100% matching bonus on your first deposit there will probably be a long term commitment required prior to your actually getting the bonus.

Getting the Bonus:
As mentioned earlier, the requirements for receiving a bonus will vary from room to room, before you can actually realize the benefits of your incentive bonuses.  Occasionally, the bonus will be credited immediately on sign up although other times you will be required to enter information, play a certain number of hands or make a specific amount of deposit into your account.

Before you accept any bonus offer, we advise you to read all of the small print! Find the area on the website titled Terms and Conditions - and see what will be required before you get the bonus that you anticipate.  If you cannot find this information - or you do not understand the statements provided, please contact the customer support team who can help you.  It is important to understand the rules, before you lock yourself in to a membership without realizing what you have agreed to do. Customer service is generally available through email or telephone.

Incentives are a great deal for new and loyal returning customers, just be certain to know what you are agreeing to prior to accepting the offer.