How to Locate the Best Poker Promotions in Online Casinos
1 minute
Last Updated: March 19, 2024
One of the best things about starting your online poker journey is getting to take advantage of all the welcome promotions you get once you sign up to an online casino or online poker room.
A new player can deposit their initial amount and be rewarded with fantastic bonuses that allow you to take part in games and tournaments without risking any of your initial deposit to begin with.
Of course, there are far more promotions than just welcome bonuses, and to be able to locate the best poker promotions in online casinos, you'll need to know what kind of promotions online poker sites offer players.
What online poker promotions can you get?
The type of promotions available to you vary greatly across all online casinos, but there are a few that are pretty much universal, and if you are someone who is well versed in this, then you will already be familiar. Some examples are:
- Welcome Bonuses – Pretty self-explanatory, when you first deposit on a site, you will get an X% bonus of that initial deposit.
- Reload bonuses – These are for existing customers of a particular site to entice people to come back to playing once they have busted. These bonuses vary in size, so be prudent when reading to find out how much you may be entitled to.
- Free Cash – You will receive cash to use as you see fit on a site, usually a very small amount but enough to entice new players into the pool.
- VIP Programs – The most profitable scheme for players if you are playing on a well-regarded site such as 888poker or partypoker.
How to find the best promotions for you
Before you jump onto an online site, create a profile, and take advantage of poker promotions, it is important to know where you can find the best promotions that suit your needs. Checking out a site like Kiwigambler.co.nz can always be a good first step.
The promotions you should focus on are the ones that will benefit you the most, meaning you first have to recognize what type of player you are.
The two categories that poker players tend to fall into are either recreational or professional players in either part-time or full-time capacity.
A recreational player can be defined as someone who plays a couple of online poker cash game sessions or online poker tournaments a week.
If you feel this description best describes you, I would advise you to look at short term poker promotions such as welcome bonuses and free cash bonuses.
This way, you can make your initial deposits, take advantage of the freebies you are given, and then decide if you want to carry on as a player on that site or look towards another online poker vendor to use their new player promotions.
To find the best welcome bonuses, it is imperative to look at:
- Deposit Bonuses
- Cash Offers
- Guaranteed Tournaments and Freerolls
As already said, these are all short term perks. They can offer some great value, but the amounts you can make from these types of promotions vary as there are a plethora of variables to consider.
For example, you will need both luck and skill to turn your tournament tickets into stone cold cash.
If you are a professional player or a veteran of the online felt, the way to find the best promotions is to look at online poker sites’ VIP structures. You can make money back by simply putting in a vast volume of poker hands.
A big hand volume on a particular site will mean you earn points that can be exchanged for cash. There are other factors at play here, too, such as the game type and stakes. The more points you earn, the better the rewards get, and they're usually an improvement over welcome bonuses and similar offers.
It was commonplace during the initial poker boom that people could be break-even players and scoop large amounts of cash back just due to the sheer amount of their play. It is not as simple nowadays, but it is still achievable; you just need to find a VIP program that will net you the most back.
This model has a more long term view. Whereas the recreational player will want to get the most out of their initial deposit as possible, online poker stalwarts look at earnings they can make over months and years by staying loyal to a site and putting in the hours.
Terms and Conditions
Once you have found a promotion you want to make use of, it is crucial to look at the T’s & C’s. You need to find out how your bonuses are paid. Many people often make the mistake of thinking that they are initially rewarded the entirety of their bonus immediately but this is usually not the case!
For most poker sites, you unlock your bonuses and promotions through playing, and you’ll need to earn points to keep unlocking the bonus.
There may also be a time cap on your welcome promotion. For example, it may run out after a certain period, usually around the 30-60 day mark.
Some sites like PokerStars are better than most, giving you around four months to get the most out of their $600 bonus, so keep an eye out for that. It is always better to gamble with the house’s money rather than your own.
Final Thoughts
Poker promotions in online casinos may be less exciting and enticing when compared to casino bonuses, but if you know what you are looking for and understand what kind of a player you are, then you are on a good path to get the most out of these bonuses.
There can be some really good value there for you, and these promotions can add to your bottom line if you manage to obtain and maintain a VIP status. Thanks to these, even players who have a smaller win rate can still turn a profit down the line.