Clearing
Poker Bonuses
Online poker rooms offer
deposit bonuses to both new players (sign up
bonuses) and existing players (reload bonuses)
for making new deposits. Most deposit bonuses
are offered as percentage match deals. For
example, a 100% bonus up to $500 means that the
online poker site will match your deposit at a
100% rate for up to $500 in bonus money.
These bonuses are real,
cashable money so they come with clearing
requirements that must be met before you can
withdraw the money. The purpose of those
clearing requirements is to protect poker sites
from people making deposits and then immediately
cashing out the bonus without playing a single
hand of poker. I’m sure you can imagine the
potential for abuse if there were no clearing
requirements.
How to Clear Deposit Bonuses
Poker sites require you to
earn a certain number of frequent player points
(FPPs) before the bonus is released. The terms
of the bonus usually say something like "you
must earn 100 FPPs per $5.00 in bonus money".
Sometimes you will earn the bonus money in small
pieces as you earn FPPs and other times you’ll
earn the bonus money in one big chunk after
you’ve earned the necessary number of FPPs.
You automatically earn FPPs by
playing in real money ring games and
tournaments. The number of points you earn in
real money games varies from one site to the
next so don’t be worried if you see one bonus
that requires 100 FPPs per $5.00 and another
site that requires 1,000 FPPs per $5.00. They
probably just give out FPPs faster at the second
poker site.
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Fastest Way to Clear Poker
Bonuses
The stakes you play greatly
affect how fast you earn FPPs and clear your
bonus. FPPs are linked to the rake you pay, and
the higher your stakes, the more rake you pay.
The thing is, you don’t want to let your bonus
dictate what stakes you play at. No matter what,
you should ALWAYS play within your bankroll.
Ring games tend to clear
bonuses a lot faster than tournaments.
Shorthanded and heads-up ring games are even
faster for clearing poker bonuses because you
see more hands per hour at those tables. After
that, sit-n-go tournaments are the next best
bet, while multi table tournaments are the
slowest.
If you plan to play
tournaments to clear your poker bonus, know that
you will need to put in a good amount of volume
to earn the required FPPs. Multi-tabling
tournaments will make the process go a lot
faster.
There is one other option if
you're intent on clearing your bonus as fast as
possible: pot limit Omaha. Those games are
action packed and generate rake and FPPs very
quickly. Pot limit Omaha Hi-Lo is also great for
clearing bonuses quickly. If you don't know much
about Omaha, read up on a little strategy and
play extra tight. Just be careful – the most
important thing is that you play well and don’t
lose money while clearing your bonus.
Listed here is the list of the
fastest methods for clearing poker deposit
bonuses:
- Heads up cash games
(fastest)
- Pot limit Omaha,
pot limit Omaha Hi-Lo
- Shorthanded cash
games
- Full ring cash
games
- Sit n Go
tournaments
- Multi table
tournaments (slowest)
Don't Sacrifice Poker Skill
for Bonuses
Bonuses are a great way to get
started but they mean very little in the grand
scheme of things. If you’re serious about
becoming a winning poker player, you will one
day make more money every day than what you can
make with any poker bonus.
Remember always that improving
your poker skills is the most important thing of
all. Don’t let bonuses dictate how you play
poker and at what stakes you play. Stick with
your game of choice and play it like it was
meant to be played. You won’t be doing yourself
any favors by going broke trying to clear a $100
bonus by playing at $5/$10 no limit.
Take Full Advantage of
Bonuses
First time sign up bonuses are
good for one time only. Make sure you take full
advantage of those bonuses by depositing enough
to get the maximum bonus. You'll be glad you did
because there are no second chances with initial
deposit bonuses. Every once in a while you'll
find a reload bonus but those are rarely worth
as much as first time deposit bonuses.
