ONLINE POKER BONUS OFFERS

Most online poker rooms offer sign-up bonuses, and many offer “reload” bonuses, some automatically, and some only at specified times. Some online poker rooms count poker tournament play as bonus-qualifying play and some do not. In the ones that do not count poker tournament play, you must play in the cash games to earn the bonus.

It may sound easy to make a wise choice about the best bonus, but it's not.

Since I think poker tournament play should count toward bonuses at all online poker rooms, below you will find lists of the online poker rooms that do allow tournament play for bonus qualifying at the top. Other online poker room bonuses are included in the second list. For each online poker room, we provide information about the real value of their sign-up bonus and terms.

In all cases, you should assume that the bonuses you may earn through tournament play will cover only a portion of your tournament entry fees (not your buy-in, but the fee you pay to the house to play). If you're a tournament player, the edge you can get in an online tournament with a great structure (patience factor and skill level) should far outweigh online poker bonus considerations in choosing where to play.

ONLINE POKER BONUS QUICK LIST

* means that tournament play counts toward bonus qualifying

Poker.com* PTF Exclusive Bonus: 150% to $300 with excellent bonus terms, plus freeroll tournament. Go through this link and use bonus code: PTF150	Full Tilt* 100% up to $600 • EPassporte available for U.S. players • MyWebATM available for U.S. players	Absolute Poker* 100% up to $750 • EPassporte available for U.S. players
Bugsy’s Club* 100% up to $600 • EPassporte available for U.S. players • Ewallet Express available for U.S. players	Poker Stars* Frequent Player Points earn you entry into tournaments • EPassporte available for U.S. players	Ultimate Bet* 111% up to $1200 Tournament play counts toward earning bonuses EPassporte accepted
Party Poker* 120% up to $200 bonus A best-bet for new players	Doyle’s Room* Use bonus code: BJF110B 110% up to $550. You have forever to earn the bonus, and tournament play counts! No U.S. players for now	Paradise Poker* 25% up to $50 bonus
Aztec Riches* 50% to $200 bonus	Captain Cook’s 50% up to $200 bonus	Virtual City 50% up to $200 bonus
Golden Tiger 50% up to $200 bonus	Crazy Vegas Poker 40% to $40 bonus	Golden Riviera Poker 100% up to $40 bonus , with excellent terms and a very strong loyalty incentive that we're not allowed to post on our web site. Recommended.
Gaming Club Poker $300 bonus for a $20 deposit, but hard to earn	Poker Metro  25% up to $50 bonus
Riverbelle Poker  50% up to $100 bonus plus $25 Neteller	Spin Palace Poker  1000 welcome points with which you can earn up to $50 bonus	InterPoker  100% up to $100 bonus every month
Golden Palace  25% up to $100 bonus	Poker Time  100% bonus up to $200	Poker Room 20% up to $100 Low rakes No US players
Wild Jack Poker  100% up to $50 bonus	Sun Poker  100% up to $50 bonus	7 Sultans Poker  Earn a freeroll tournament entry

ONLINE POKER SITES WHERE TOURNAMENT PLAY QUALIFIES FOR BONUSES

Poker.com

This dedicated poker site will be offering a Poker Tournament Formula special sign-up bonus shortly of a 150% match up to $300, with excellent terms (200 comp points deliver $1 of bonus). Wait for us to post the bonus code before signing up. That is one of the best bonuses available for value, because it's easier to earn than the bigger bonuses at some other poker sites. You must clear the bonus within 90 days of your deposit. With your initial deposit, you also get a freeroll into a tournament with a $500 prize pool. Be sure to check comp point values for different games and tournaments. On the $10k guaranteed Sunday tournament, for example, you earn 324 comp points, which pays about 1/3 of your entry fee. The Poker.com $10k guaranteed Sunday rebuy tournament is the single best tournament for skilled players online.

Bugsy’s Club

Bugsy's Club is offering a 100% sign-up bonus up to $600. Tournaments count toward earning the bonus, with 5 points earned for every $1 in tournament entry fee. Basically, the bonus will pay half the house fee of any tournament you enter. Cash games pay $10 of bonus for every 100 points earned. You earn points in cash games based on having a hand dealt in a pot that is raked. The rate is 1 point for every 50¢ of rake in 2/4 limit games or lower, and 1 point for every dollar of rake in higher limit games. You don't have to contribute to the pot to earn points.

Full Tilt

This dedicated poker room has a generous 100% deposit bonus up to $600. In the cash games, you’ll earn one point for any hand you are dealt for every dollar raked, and each point is worth six cents. This is a good bonus site for cash game players who play a lot at the higher levels. You can earn points for entering tournaments at the rate of seven points for each dollar of your tournament entry fees. With a bonus cash-in value of six cents per point, this means the house is paying 42% of your entry fees while you are qualifying for your bonus. You have 120 days from your deposit to earn the bonus. This is an excellent bonus program for tournament players.
• EPassporte available for U.S. players
• MyWebATM available for U.S. players

Poker Stars

There is no initial deposit bonus at Poker Stars, but they have a good “Frequent Player program. With their Frequent Player Point (FPP) system, you can earn points by playing in cash games, with the points based on the rake and type of game. If you play in tournaments, you earn 5 FPPs for each dollar of entry fees. FPPs have no cash value in the sense that you cannot convert them to cash in your cash account. The points do have a cash value insofar as they can be used to enter satellites and multi-table tournaments. For example, with 50 points, you get an entry into a weekly tournament that has a $250 prize pool. 200 points will get you an entry into a monthly tournament with a $1,000 prize pool. I see no way to estimate the dollar value of this system, which would depend on the number of entries (as well as any player’s skill). The tournaments themselves use the same blind structure as all of their regular tournaments. If you have played in any of these events, let me know what the field size was and I’ll report it here.
EPassporte available for U.S. players

Paradise Poker

This dedicated poker site offers a 25% bonus up to $50 for a $200 deposit. Essentially, in cash games, you earn one point for each hand you play in a raked pot, and 100 points equal $10 of bonus. You can also earn points in their tournaments. The points earned in their multi-table tournaments are equal to 10% of the buy-in. If you enter a $100 buy-in tournament, you get 10 points, so these points would have a $1 value. All of their tournaments have a 9% entry fee, so the bonus will cover about 11% of your entry fees.

Party Poker

PartyPoker has one of the best deals for small stakes cash players. They are currently offering a sign-up bonus of 120% up to $200. The first part of the bonus, a 20% bonus up to $100 (for a $500 deposit), renews frequently and will pay about 2/3 of your blind costs in $.50/$1 limit games. Keep in mind that the bonus is released in a lump sum after you have earned it all, which you must do within 30 days of your initial deposit. If you play at PartyPoker, you’ll want to join their players club, where you can earn points for both your cash play and tournament play. Player Club Points can only be redeemed for merchandise or special freeroll tournaments that are restricted to players who can buy-in with Player Points. They run eight of these tournaments per day, with prize pools ranging from $250 to $2500. The dollar value of these points can’t be calculated because it would depend on the number of players entered. If you play these Player Point tourneys, your best value will be in the tourneys with the fewest players, because the prize pool does not increase as players are added.
No U.S. players for now.

Doyle’s Room

You can get an excellent 110% bonus up to $550 by using bonus code: BJF110B. You have forever to earn the bonus, but you must earn it in full before you can collect any of it. In other words, you receive it in a lump sum. Action Points can be earned by playing cash games—with the amount of points based on the amount of your bet—or by playing tournaments, based on the tournament entry free. Action points can also be used to buy into special freeroll tournaments.
No U.S. players for now.

Absolute Poker

This dedicated poker site offers a 100% deposit bonus up to $750. In cash games, you earn one point per raked hand played, and 100 points get you $10 of bonus funds. For cash game players, this is a great bonus if you play a lot, but it’s not so great for beginners. For tournaments, you get one point for each $1 of entry fee, which is always set at 9% of the buy-in. Basically, their bonus is paying about 11% of your tourney entry fees. They also have an ongoing reload bonus of 25% up to $250. Both the initial sign-up bonus and any reload bonuses must be cleared within 60 days. They have excellent tournaments for skilled players. See our tournament review page for more info.

Ultimate Bet

This dedicated poker site offers a 111% deposit bonus up to $1200. In the cash games, bonus dollars accrue based on your hours of play and in fractional units per raked hand based on the limits. It’s another good bonus if you play at the higher limits. You can earn points in their tournaments at the rate of 6 points per dollar of entry fees, but since 250 points equal $1, those six points only pay about 2.4% of your entry fees. This site has some of the best tournaments on the Net.
EPassporte available for U.S. players

Aztec Riches

They have a 50% first deposit bonus up to $200 for a $400 deposit. You can earn about 10% of your blind costs in bonus dollars. They do pay VIP Points for tournaments also, at the rate of 10 points for each $1 of entry fee. Each 1,000 points you earn are worth $10, so the VIP Points cover about 10% of your tournament entry fees.

ONLINE POKER ROOMS WHERE TOURNAMENT PLAY DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR BONUSES

Captain Cook’s

Their initial deposit bonus is 50% up to $200. Points accumulate in cash games only, based on the raked hands you play (that means a raked pot in which you have money in the pot). No points are earned for tournament play. This casino is a sister casino to Virtual City (below) and Golden Tiger (below).

Virtual City

Same program as Captain Cook’s (above). Note that points earned at Captain Cook’s, Virtual City and Golden Tiger are all credited to the same account.

Golden Tiger

See Captain Cook’s (above) and Virtual City (above) for details.

Crazy Vegas Poker

This is a Prima Group poker room. Note that if you take a deposit bonus at one Prima poker room, you are ineligible for deposit bonuses at any other Prima group poker rooms. There is a $10 “download” bonus, and a 40% deposit bonus up to $40 for a $100 deposit. So, the total bonus for downloading and depositing $100 is $50. You clear the bonus dollars at the rate of 5 raked hands played for each bonus dollar. Or, you must play 250 raked hands for the full $50 bonus. No points are earned for tournament play.

Golden Riviera Poker

This is another Prima group poker room (see the restrictions under Crazy Vegas Poker). They have a 100% deposit bonus up to $40. They have daily freeroll tournaments, but the tournaments you pay for earn no Golden Points.

Sign-Up Bonus Terms: To receive the bonus, you will need to have money in five times the total bonus in raked hands, on tables with minimum limits of 25c/50c. 

In other words, if a player receives the 10 dollar download bonus, and deposits 40 dollars for the 40 dollars initial match bonus, he or she will need to complete 5 X 50 (40+10), that is, 250 raked hands to receive the 40 dollars initial match bonus.

Golden Riviera also offers a truly outstanding loyalty program for players. For some reason, we are not allowed to advertise it publicly, but it is a good deal. Ask support at the poker room about regular monthly incentives for players.

Gaming Club Poker

This is another Prima group poker room (see restrictions under Crazy Vegas). They offer a bonus of $300 for a $20 deposit. That sounds great until you stop and think that you will be unlikely to earn the full $300 unless you deposit more funds to keep in play. You must earn 350 points for every $20 of bonus, or 5,600 points for the full $300—and you must complete your bonus play within 30 days. Points accrue on every hand dealt, not just raked hands, and you don’t have to contribute to the pot, just be at the table. At a $5/$10 game, you’ll earn 2 points per hand, so if you can play 2,800 hands within 30 days at this level, you’ll earn your $300. You’ll have to be very lucky, however, to do this on a single deposit of $20! You can accrue points in smaller increments in lower stakes games. In a $.50/$1 game, the points earned toward the bonus will pay about 20% of your blind costs. But no points are earned for playing in tournaments.

Poker Metro

This is another Prima group poker room (see restrictions under Crazy Vegas). This site has a 25% deposit bonus up to $50 for a $200 deposit. According to their terms and conditions, players must “generate rake” equal to the bonus amount to earn it. They don’t define exactly what they mean by generating rake, but this would not be a good site for beginners. You cannot earn the bonus with tournament play.

Riverbelle Poker

This is another Prima group poker room (see restrictions under Crazy Vegas). They offer a 50% bonus up to $100 for a $200 deposit. In addition, if you deposit through Neteller, Firepay, eCheck, or just about any other online banking service, you’ll get an additional $25 in bonus. To earn the bonus, you have 30 days to play 9 x the bonus amount in rake hands (minimum rake 25 cents to qualify). Tournament play does not qualify for the bonus.

Spin Palace Poker

This is another Prima group poker room (see restrictions under Crazy Vegas). They offer a $50 sign-up bonus for a minimum deposit of $20. To collect the bonus you must earn 1000 Welcome Points, which you earn at the rate of 1 to 4 points per raked hand played, depending on the limit. $2/$4 games pay the maximum of 4 Welcome Points. Tournament play does not qualify for earning Welcome Points.

InterPoker

They have a 100% deposit bonus up to $100 per month. (The minimum deposit is $25.) You must play five times the bonus amount in raked hands, and you must be dealt cards but you need not contribute to the pot for the hand to count. This means 500 raked hands to clear the full $100 of bonus per month. The rake must be at least $1 ($20 pot), or the hand will not count in full. Smaller rakes count as ¼ hand. You must earn the bonus within 90 days, as it is released in a lump sum. No points are earned for tournament play.

Golden Palace

There’s a 25% initial deposit bonus up to $100 for a $400 deposit. For each 125 Action Points you earn, you clear $1 of the bonus. Points accumulate on the basis of your actual wagering amount, so this is not a great program for beginners. After the initial deposit bonus, action points are redeemable for merchandise only. No points are earned for tournament play.

Poker Time

This poker room will give you a 100% match bonus up to $200. From the time of your first deposit, you have 90 days to earn the points. The bonus is earned at the rate of $20 for each 50 BRPs you acquire. You earn 1, 2, or 3 BRPs per raked hand played, based on the game you are playing. A $4/$8 game pays the top rate, 3 BRPs per raked hand played. You cannot earn BRPs for tournament play.

Wild Jack Poker

They have a $50 sign-up bonus for a minimum deposit of $50. To collect the bonus you must play 250 raked hands (minimum rake of 25 cents). Tournament play does not count toward the bonus.

Sun Poker

They have a 100% sign-up bonus up to $50. You earn the bonus at the rate of 5 raked hands played per bonus dollar (or 250 raked hands for the full $50). The raked hands must have a minimum of $5 in wagering to count. Tournament play does not count toward the bonus.

7 Sultans Poker

They currently have no deposit bonus, but players in cash games who play 2,000 raked hands between now and October will get a freeroll entry into a tournament with a $5,000 prize pool.