The following questions (and their answers) will help you in your decision about whether or not to pursue a particular bonus. Remember that bigger is not always better when it comes to bonuses.
How many raked hands must I play before obtaining the bonus?
This is the first question that must be answered. You should have a sense of how many hours you play a week and, depending on the site(s) you play, how to translate that into hands per week. You will often see the policy expressed in terms of 7x, 10x, etc. This represents the amount of raked hands per dollar required to earn the bonus (i.e. $100 bonus under a 10x policy would require 1,000 raked hands as defined by the site). Some sites have a policy that you will forfeit the bonus altogether if you withdraw any of your original deposit before the requirements are met, so read the site’s policy very carefully.
If a hand is raked, do I get credit for participating in the hand even if I did not put any money in the pot?
If you only get credit for playing raked hands in which you placed money into the pot, either a) you will be playing many more hands than you expected or b) you will play looser pre-flop in order to achieve your bonus faster. Playing looser will often lead to an erosion of your bankroll, so I do not encourage this style of play unless you just enjoy the gamble and are not serious about maximizing your profits.
The average tight player will see between 18% and 22% of the flops over the course of 200 or more hands. This means it will take that player nearly fives times as long to complete the bonus requirements on a site that only gives credit for a raked hand to players who put money in the pot when compared to a site that credits all players dealt into a hand whether they folded pre-flop on not. Fortunately, this policy is not very common, but keep this in mind when budgeting the amount of time you are willing to play each week.
How long do I have to complete the bonus requirements before the offer is forfeited?
This is especially important to the player who may play only a few hours a week, since, depending on how a raked hand is defined, a large number of hands may need to be played. Thirty days is common at most sites while some go as long as 90 days. Reload bonuses will sometimes have a lifespan even shorter than 30 days.
Is the bonus paid in installments or all at once?
Some sites will pay out your bonus in installments as you play. It may be in dollar increments ($10 at a time, for instance) or as a percentage of the total bonus (20% for example). UltimateBet goes so far as to pay out a portion of your bonus at the end of each session at their tables. Obviously, getting any of your bonus sooner is a positive, but should not be the sole factor in deciding if one bonus is better than another.
Can I play more than one table at a time?
Most of the poker rooms have software that allows this and you will likely want to get proficient playing at least two tables at once in order to expedite the number of raked hands played. If you're a good player, you also should also be able increase your winnings, but be careful of attempting too much, particularly if you have distractions around the house while playing. Read the Poker, Inc. article on multi-tabling to learn more on the potential pitfalls. The CMBP paths listed in the following pages assumes you will be playing 2 tables at once. If you play less or more, adjust the estimates accordingly.
What limits do I need to play?
Some poker rooms have minimum stakes you must play in order to clear your bonus, but these are usually at most $0.50/$1 or $1/$2 fixed limit. Most sites want you to play a raked hand where the rake is at least 25 or 50 cents and you simply are not going to reach that size of rake if you are playing the micro-limit games (0.01/0.02, 0.10/0.20, etc.). More importantly, you should understand what limit you should choose to play in order to more quickly earn the bonus. If you are comfortable playing any low-limit games ($5/$10 and below), make sure to choose the level that clears the bonus the fastest at that site. This does not always mean the highest stakes. A few sites, namely Party Poker and Empire Poker, actually clear the bonuses faster at $1/$2 versus $2/$4 based on the way their rake structure is established. We help you identify the best limits at each site in the following pages.
Should I always deposit the maximum amount necessary to achieve the highest bonus?
For sign-up bonuses, the answer is usually yes. The sign-up bonuses are a one-shot deal, so if you do not max them out, you do not get a second chance to go after them. For that reason, it is best to correctly choose the order of the sites from which you attempt to collect your sign-up bonuses. This is where the CMBP can help. In the sign-up bonus guide, choose the path that is appropriate for your starting bankroll, so that you have an opportunity to maximize the sign-up bonuses available.
There are poker rooms where maxing out the sign-up bonus is not as critical. Absolute Poker, for instance offers reload bonuses literally every week, so you can always find a bonus there. Some sites may only offer a very short timeframe to clear a bonus and they do not pay incrementally. If you do not believe you could clear the maximum bonus within the timeframe required, you should choose to take on a smaller amount.
Do I have to keep track of all my raked hands?
Nearly all of the poker rooms have some means of presenting you with the number of raked hands you have played towards the bonus, but this is not always the case. In addition, it is nice to have a means of reconciling what the poker room says your raked hands have been and the number you think you played. We highly recommend you look at acquiring either POKER TRACKER or POKER OFFICE to assist you with not only tracking your hands, but providing you excellent information on your own play and that of your opponents.
How long does it take the poker room to process a cashout?
This is important if you need to start out by moving your entire bankroll from site to site, since you do not want to wait a week before receiving your cash if another juicy bonus is waiting to be earned. Fortunately, most sites take only a business day to move your money back into your Neteller or Firepay account. It takes a day or two longer if you are moving it directly to your bank, which is another reason to open up a Neteller or Firepay account.
The Cyptologic sites, with the exception of William Hill, do require you to obtain a personal identification number (PIN) that e-Cash will mail (snail mail, not e-mail) you after your first deposit. This can take 1-2 weeks to obtain which is a bit of a pain when you first sign up for a site, but once received, the cashouts are in the 1-2 day range.
