The iGaming industry has seen a lot of growth in recent years and online poker is a large part of this evolution. With more online card rooms opening up, and poker tournaments offering millions of dollars in cash prizes, recreational and professional poker players have been taking their game online. In this article, we’ll explain some of the free bonuses on poker apps.
However, poker for cash prizes on the internet is restricted in most U.S. states. Only a few states offer poker games for real money, but do not fret as some of the best poker apps are free-to-play and can be enjoyed anywhere. If you really want to play real money games and your state allows it, you will find plenty of different types of bonuses on offer, which a new player might not understand.
1. Sign-up bonus
Most online poker sites are on board with offering players a bonus during the sign-up process, whether with a deposit or not. Of course, the no-deposit bonus is always the ideal way to go because you’ll get a bonus without being required to make a deposit. These sites may say something like, “poker free money no deposit,” which is very attractive to newcomers. Unfortunately, as of 2022, most sites require a deposit to be made in order to receive the sign-up bonus.
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After making a deposit, the sign-up bonus usually doesn’t get added as a one lump sum. Instead, it is usually paid out in portions as the player’s score grows. As an example, a poker site may give a $100 bonus if a player deposits $100, but the bonus will be given out in $5 increments every time the player rakes $25. To receive the entire $100 bonus, the player must rake in a total of $500.
2. Rakeback bonus
The rakeback bonus began in 2004, and is a reward system for players to get back a portion of every wager they make. Poker sites and their affiliates set this type of bonus up as a way to incentivize players to continue playing on their site and to return for more. In many ways, it’s very similar to getting ‘comps’ in physical casinos.
There are two different methods used in calculating the rakeback bonus in cash games. The first is the dealt method in which the same amount of bonus is given to each player that’s been dealt a hand. The second is the contributed method in which bonuses are given to a player based on how much they’ve contributed to the total pot.
3. Unclaimed bonus
If a player does not claim the bonus, regardless of the type (sign-up, rakeback, etc.), all bonuses may be forfeited when trying to withdraw the account. For example, if you have been awarded a $100 bonus and only received $75, and you decided to cash out and shutdown your poker account with the site, the unclaimed $25 will not be added to your account and shall no longer exist.
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Whenever there are bonuses given, there are also terms and conditions that must be met in order for the full bonus amount to be released into your account. If you do not meet the required conditions, then you are not eligible to receive the entire bonus, thus it is forfeited. So make sure you understand the bonus policy of each site or app you play on.
With so many poker apps out there trying to attract new players, bonuses can be confusing. Hopefully, you’ve learned something new about bonuses, and you can go and enjoy playing poker even more as you rack up these bonuses.
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning a bit more about poker bonuses, and for more articles like this one, please check out our guide on how to make $250.