Frequently Asked Questions about Poker Bonuses

Why should I play online poker?

How do third party payment processors (e-wallets) work?

What are bonus terms and can you describe them in more detail?

So, all I have to do is deposit, play the required amount, and collect my bonus? Something I would have done anyways?

After I clear my bonus at my 1st online card room, can I do it again at another card room?

What does 10x mean?

What's the best way to play multiple tables?

Can I get RAF and TAF bonuses in addition to the signup bonuses?

What else does BonusWhores offer me?

A. Online poker is a great way to play and learn the game you love without the hassles of a live casino.
Here are the advantages:

• You do not have to deal with annoying people sitting next to you, if you don't like someone at a online table, you can just mute them.
• The cost of playing is lower. The house charge (or rake) can be up to $5 per pot in a live casino. Across the net $3 per pot is usually the max. Also, there is no tipping required.
• If you are just learning poker, the smallest limit in a live casino may be $3/$6. This can make for an expensive education. Some online rooms have games as small as $.01/$.02.
• Even the biggest card rooms in the biggest cities can't match the awesome selection of games, limits, and tournaments at your fingertips across the Internet.
• And last, but certainly not least, Bonuses! Online card rooms will actually pay you to play at their card rooms while you try their games.

A. To fund your account, it is recommended for non-Americans that you use a 3rd party company, known as an e-wallet. Note: American players can no longer use many e-wallets such as Neteller. The best way for Americans to deposit and withdraw depends on the specific poker site but is often e-checks, money transfers and paper checks. eWallets such as Pic-Club and eWalletxpress are available at some sites that accept Americans. American players can currently examine their options by looking at our Payment Processors page: Payment Processors. In order to check out the specific options for a site, check out the review for the poker site you want information on.

A. Go to the website of the e-wallet where you want to get an account. Most e-wallets operate in a similar way to Paypal. It is a free service (certain fees may apply) that allows you to take funds from your bank account (and sometimes credit card), and store them online in your e-wallet account. For Canadians the best options are Click2pay and Moneybookers. For most of the rest of the world, Neteller and the e-wallets already mentioned are good choices (assuming they are compatible in your country). These e-wallets make playing poker at multiple sites much more convenient than using credit cards or checks.

For most of the e-wallets, you can instantly transfer funds to the online card room of your choice from your account. Then, whenever you wish, you may transfer funds from the card room back to the e-wallet (this usually takes 24-48hrs, but depends on the e-wallet being used) and then from the e-wallet you can go to a different card room, or back to your bank account. These transfers are almost always free. After signing up with the e-wallet, you will need to verify your bank account or credit card that you will use to deposit. Once this has been done, you are usually ready to fund your e-wallet account; however, depending on the method and e-wallet used, the time needed to fund your account can be instant or take up a week or more to show up. Check out the Payment Processors page for more information.

A. With many sites, when you try out their rooms for the first time, they will give you a bonus to be released to your account after you have fulfilled their requirements. For example, Party Poker requires a $500 deposit for a $100 bonus. This bonus is released to your account after earning 400 Party Points. So, for the 1st 400 Party Points you earn at Party, you are essentially getting paid $0.25 per point to play. For existing players, reload bonuses and VIP programs are offered which award frequent play.

A. At BonusWhores users will see a series of "terms" that describe the attributes of each bonus. Usually there are five basic terms: percentage match/ size, bonus code (if applicable), clearance requirements, lump sum/increment information and expiration time. In the case of reloads, an expiration date is also usually included. Additional terms may be listed if they are needed.

Here is an example of the terms of a bonus players may see at BonusWhores:

--100% up to $500.
--Use bonus code BW500.
--Must earn 10 Player Points for each $1 in bonus money.
--Valid until December 8th 2008.
--Bonus releases in $10 increments.
--Bonus expires after 90 days.

Here are the terms explained:

1) Percentage Match and Size- A common bonus you may see is "100% up to $500" or "200% up to $500." This basically refers to the % of your deposit amount that will be matched with a bonus. So in the case of a 100% up to $500 bonus, a deposit of $500 will yield a $500 bonus. In the "200% up to $500" example, the deposit required would be $250 since the bonus amount is 200% (or two times the size) of the deposit.

2) Bonus Code- Most bonuses come with a code that you must submit in order to have the bonus applied. It is usually entered in when depositing, but sometimes is required upon sign-up or registration to the poker site.

3) Clear rate- To many bonus whores, this is the most important part of the bonus. It is the rate of how fast the bonus will "clear" or be redeemed so a withdrawal of the bonus can be made. Using the example above, players must earn 10 Player Points for each $1 of bonus that you receive.

4) Lump sum/increment information- This line details how often the bonus is released. For a $10 bonus increment that requires 10 Player Points per $1, you would have to earn 100 Player Points ($10 multiplied by 10) to receive a $10 increment. Usually increments are paid immediately.

5) Expiration Time- The amount of time that players have before the bonus expires. This is usually from the time of deposit or the time the code was entered.

6) Expiration Date- Usually applicable to reload bonuses, it is the date that players must start to participate in the bonus to be eligible, which is usually initiated by making a deposit or entering in a bonus code. Make sure not to confuse this with expiration time.

A. A raked hand is usually defined as 'a hand where you have been dealt cards, and a rake is taken out of the pot, regardless of whether you did any betting in the hand or not.' Frequently, a different definition is used and where this is the case, BonusWhores.com will make it clear.

Some sites require raked hands to clear a bonus, however the vast majority of the time raked hands are not the clearance method of the bonus you will be earning. Sites will often have their own point system or require players generate a certain amount of rake to earn the bonus. It helps players to get an idea of the clearance method before taking advantage of a bonus. The clearance methods are explained on each site's review (usually on the Bonuses tab) along with links to definitions on the bonus list pages (such as the Bonus Grid page and Custom Bonus Ranks page).

A. Yes, it really is free money for playing just like you would normally.

A. A skin is a site on a network of pokers sites that share the same software and players. For example, Microgaming is a network of many poker sites. Eurolinx, Purple Lounge and Golden Riviera are Microgaming network skins. In most cases, you can have accounts on each site within a network. In order to see if the specific network allows you to have accounts on multiple sites, refer to the area below the summary at the top of the site's review.

A. Yes. It is possible for you to do this at nearly every online card room and make well over $1,000 a month in the process. Some full time whores may not have a problem making $3,000 or more a month just from bonuses. American players may have difficulty earning more than this due to the limited number of sites that currently accept Americans. Obviously, the more tables and higher limits you play, the faster you will clear the bonus and more you can potentially earn. When doing so, make sure that you ready and that it is something that you can handle.

A. A reload bonus works similar to a 1st time deposit bonus, except that it's open to existing players, and often new players as well. The online card rooms offer enough of these periodically that another $500 per month is not out of the question to a dedicated Bonus Whore.

A. Say you see something along the lines of 'Eurolinx Poker offers a 10x raked hand bonus.' What this means is that you must play 10 raked hands for each $1 in bonus money. Say they offer a $200 bonus. This means that you have to play 2,000 raked hands (10*200) to clear the entire bonus. Also note that these raked hands must meet their definition, which is $0.25. Make sure to check the definition of the raked hand or points on the site's review. A "10x bonus" can be very different from site to site.

A. PokerTracker is a program that takes hand histories and yields an enormous wealth of data on both your own play and your opponents' play. If used properly, it will have a dynamic effect on your win rate. For more information, check out PokerTracker's Website.

A. In order to make really good money at bonus whoring, you must eventually be proficient in the art of multi-tabling. A screen that is capable of 1600x1200 resolution is recommended as it will be able to display 4 tables without any overlap of windows on most sites. Monitors such as the Dell 2001FP, Dell 2007FP and Samsung 204b 20.1 inch LCD monitors are popular choices among players.

In addition, many sites are giving players the ability to resize tables to fit whatever screen they may be using. The bottom line though is the higher resolution your monitor supports, the greater flexibility you will have. 

A. This varies from site to site, but the answer is usually yes. Very few sites will actually take the bonus away. In some cases, they may require you wait a certain period of time after depositing, such as 48 hours.

A. Generally, we advise players not to attempt this. First of all, doing the RAF bonus may void the signup bonus. Secondly, it can interfere with tracking. This causes major problems if we offer an exclusive bonus that requires the player to be tracked through us.

A. There is not always a simple answer for this question but at BonusWhores we try to make it easier for you to make the decision. Some players like to play where the most "action" is, meaning sites where the most players are. At BonusWhores, the sites on our "right navigation" (seen to the right of this page) are dynamically organized from most popular to least popular according to the latest traffic data from PokerScout. The lower the sites are on the list, the fewer games that they have available at limits where players can clear bonuses. The sites are also separated according to network, so if you like to play on a specific network it is clearly detailed.

For players that want to earn a bonus at the fastest rate possible, check out the bonus grid. This tool is helpful for those that are looking for the best bonus in terms of hourly rate. We have generated our clear rates by using Party Poker hand histories, and running them through each site's rake structure. Obviously, game conditions (looseness, aggression, and game speed) will be different from site to site, so these numbers may vary from what is actually experienced. Also, the fact that an hourly rate is listed does not mean a game at that limit is always available. The bonus grid is the best tool on BonusWhores for comparing the best bonuses available before any other factors are considered.

For players that want to consider not only clear rate but also game quality and availability of games should check out the Custom Bonus Ranks page. The sites on this list are organized using a formula that combines the hourly rate, game quality (how loose or tight the games are) and availability. This list dynamically changes according to the most up to date game quality and game availability data. Those that want more in depth information about the site and bonuses offered can check out the BonusWhoring 101. The same formula is used for both the Custom Bonus Ranks page and the BonusWhoring 101.

BonusWhores is mostly catered towards cash game players, but we also have useful tools for tournament players as well. Check out the Tournament Clearance grid for a list of the best bonuses available for tournament players.

A. At BonusWhores, we strive to provide you with the most up to date bonus and online poker information available. The site is constantly being updated by our dedicated staff who have an extensive knowledge about the industry and poker bonuses. Each site covered by BW has a review page with all the information you need before you sign-up. Information on review pages includes, but is not limited to: information on site size, bonus, softness of games, software, customer support, player restrictions, game quality information, Poker Tracker compatibility, payment processors and promotions.

On the main page, users can view the top exclusive sign-up, reload and monthly bonuses along with the latest bonus and poker news. Bonus New archives are available here and Poker News archives are available here.

Other miscellaneous features of BonusWhores:

Game Quality Grid: Details the latest game quality information for all sites listed on BonusWhores.
Reload Newsletter: Sign-up for the newsletter and get the most up to date reload and "news and events" information directly to your mailbox.
No Deposit Bonuses: View the current no deposit bonus options offered by poker sites.
Payment Processor Page: Receive information on the most popular online poker funding and payment methods.
Rakeback Page: Information on rakeback available at BonusWhores.com
Bonus Buddy: External tool used to track bonuses offered at BonusWhores.com.
Poker Forum: Discuss bonuses with other users of BonusWhores.

A. The reviews listed on this site should give you an excellent start to finding out site specific information. If you still have questions, you can visit the BonusWhores.com forum or email us at help@bonuswhores.com