Quick Poker Bonus Guide.

January 7, 2009

“Bonus whoring” or “bonus chasing” as it is sometimes referred to is becoming increasingly popular amongst online poker players. Many online poker rooms in this day and age will offer a sign up bonus to all new players, which will usually result in every new player earning a bonus that is equal to a certain percentage of their first deposit.
 
 This is not strictly “free money” though, as you will have to meet a few wagering requirements before you will be able to withdraw the bonus money. For example, many poker rooms will ask that you accumulate X amount of player points, or play X amount of raked hands to be able to redeem the bonus.
 
 Nonetheless, you are still going to be left with more money than if you did not receive a bonus, which is why taking advantage of these bonus offers can be very profitable. Although its great to recieve these bonuses, it can sometimes be more lucrative to stay loyal to one room if they have a good VIP program. Often loyal players get special offers and promotions when the play reguarly at poker site.
 
 To help you along with these bonuses, here is a quick 101 to bonus whoring for poker players.
 
 Use a bonus code when prompted.
 
 At some poker rooms and casinos, you will be asked to enter a bonus code when you sign up or when you are making a deposit. A lot of the time, these bonus codes or referral codes are not going to make too much of a difference, as the majority of the time you will still receive a bonus anyway, even if you do not enter a code. 

 
 On the other hand, you will not receive a bonus at some rooms unless you enter a bonus code. Although such poker rooms are rare nowadays, it is always a good idea to use a bonus code if you have one at hand, but I wouldn’t fret too much if you haven’t been provided with one.
You can always get a quick overview on the latest deposit bonuses and reload bonuses at poker bonus code blog.

 
 Dabble in casino and sportsbook bonuses.
 
 If you enjoy sportsbetting or online casino games, you should keep an eye out for any attractive bonuses coming from any other online gambling areas. Sometimes you can find some great bonuses outside of poker, so don’t restrict yourself to one type of bonus.
 
 Once again, these sportsbooks and casinos will often ask for bonus codes, so don’t forget to enter them. For example, you will need a bonus code for Bookmaker.com to get the sign up deposit bonus, so make sure you don’t get left out because you forgot to enter a bonus code.
 
 Search around for the best bonuses.
 
 Don’t be fooled by the poker rooms that offer the highest bonus amounts, because the best bonuses are the ones that are easiest to redeem.
 
 For example, one room might offer a $1000 bonus, whereas another might offer a $100 bonus. If the $100 bonus is far easier to redeem, then that will make it a prime bonus to go after instead of the larger $1000 bonus. Therefore, you should get used to shopping around and looking for the kindest bonus requirements before you commit to making a deposit at the room.
 
 All in all, the more time you spend searching for bonuses and working them off, the more experienced you will become in chasing bonuses and profiting from them. Many players make a decent amount of money from bonus whoring, and so if you put the effort in too, there is no reason why you can’t do the same.

Growing your bankroll

December 21, 2008

An example of Growing your bankroll

One of the most popular poker stories of 2007 centered around Full Tilt professional Chris Ferguson who announced that he was going to attempt to build a bankroll of $10,000 without any starting capital.

After a slow start where Ferguson was working his way through a number of freerolls, he managed to complete his challenge nine months later and went on to donate all his winnings to a popular Children’s charity. Chris ferguson is playing at Full Tilt Poker where you can also play the pros.

His success got a lot of poker players talking about whether they might be able to do the same thing, which ultimately led to discussions about the best way to really maximize your bank roll when playing online poker.

A lot of players were of the opinion that the average player would find it very hard to match Ferguson’s achievement based on the fact that he’s a full time professional and one of the best players in the world.

However, I’d like to point out that the average poker player has an advantage that Ferguson didn’t have … and that’s the ability to be able to use poker bonus codes when you first sign up to a room. With so many online poker rooms now offering large amounts of cash to new players, you don’t have to be a full time professional to build up a fair amount of cash from a fairly modest starting position.

The key thing to bare in mind is that you need to be patient when trying to achieve something similar. As Ferguson discovered, you’re going to be spending a fair bit of time at the beginning playing freerolls and low stake games where the cash prizes are relatively small.

You really need to make sure that you’re not tempted to move up to higher levels too soon where one small mistake or just a bit of bad luck can really hurt your bankroll.

Instead, when you’re just starting out make sure you pick your games carefully. Only play at those tables that you feel suit your style and resist paying more than $1 for a game until you’ve added around $50 to the value of your bankroll. Once you’ve reached that point, you can start to think about moving your game up to the $5 tables.

Whatever limits you’re playing at though, make sure you continue to set yourself boundaries. Even when you have moved on from the freerolls and the dollar games, keep an eye on your account balance. Resist the urge to move up to the next level until you’ve at least tripled your bankroll at the level you’re currently playing at.

The reason for this is that you need to make sure that your game grows as your bank balance does. It’s important that you don’t find yourself out of your depth in terms of the players you’re playing against, as that’s a great way to find your hard work being undone very quickly.

Whenever you try to follow a strategy such as this, there are going to be slightly rough times when you find your bankroll going down. It’s hugely important during these times that you stick to your boundaries. For example, if you find yourself dropping below $50 again, then make sure you adjust your game by returning to the dollar games until your bankroll starts to grow again.

However tempted you are though, don’t start using money that you can’t afford to lose. There’s just no reason for it, especially with so many online poker rooms offering such large bonuses. If you feel that luck is deserting, then simply turn off the computer and stop playing. Don’t even think about chasing the cash you’ve lost by getting your credit card out again or by playing at higher-level tables.

Things will change. After all, even Chris Ferguson went through a couple of slow times. He just knew he had to be patient … and that is the main lesson to be learned here!

 I am doing this challenge myself, and you can follow my journey here:
The freeroll challenge

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