Reload bonuses

From time to time, every top online poker site offer “reload bonuses” to existing real-money players. These are marketing promotions aimed at encouraging players who already have real-money accounts to deposit more dough and play more poker. But the offer is good for all players, not just those whose accounts have run dry. The offers always have strings attached before you can claim the bonus. Typically, the bonus is 15-20% of your total deposit amount up to a maximum of $100 or so and you have to play 5 to 10 hands for every dollar of bonus you will receive. This generally covers the rake you'll pay on those hands with some extra left over. If you are going to play these hands anyway, then you are burning money if you don't take advantage of the reload bonus.

The sites don't announce bonus offers with much advance notice, so you need to be ready to pounce on them when they appear. Sometimes the deposit time window may end less than a week after the announcement. If you don't have money in the right place it can be difficult or expensive to transfer the maximum amount. You don't want to pay fees that eat into your bonus. That means you have to use one of the free high-speed transfer mechanisms: either NeTeller or a direct transfer from an already-approved bank account. Be sure to keep enough money in one of these places to get the most out of any reload bonus.