The most common form of deposit bonus at a real money poker room is a simple match bonus. This works for your first deposit. You’ll find 100% up to $500 is the most common. Bigger poker bonuses, both in terms of percentage and size are also available.
You’ll generally have between 30 and 90 days to ‘clear’ your bonus. To do this you need to collect points via real money play. This can be from the rake (small fee for each pot) in cash games, or for the tournament entry fees displayed on MTT lobbies.
Sites usually pay your bonus in increments. For example, you might get $10 for each 100 points collected. Some sites pay in lump sums instead. This can make getting your bonus money difficult if you don’t have time to collect the points – or lose your money before you hit the target.
There are often extras which come with your deposit bonus. The most common of these is entry into one or more tournaments – giving you a shot at some bigger prize money.