Poker is definitely a game of skill. The cards help, but better players can take a lousy hand and make it good with their ability to bluff his/her fellow competitors. In order to be successful at poker you need to practice and improve your game by playing against good competition. Good competition does not mean the best, but rather players that are similar to your skill level. Remember to be patient! Poker is not a sprint – over time you will be able to take advantage of competitor's mistakes. Like all online poker players I care about bonuses, so as a word of advice I'd recommend staying away from the large poker sites. Sites like Poker Stars and Full Tilt use a large portion of their revenue to pay for advertisements all over the world and sponsorships. In order to maintain a reasonable level of profits they stiff you, the customer, by offering little to no loyalty bonuses!
| Gaming Site | Bonus | Reload | Rake Per $1 Bonus |
Loyalty Program |
Network | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower Gaming Poker | 500% up to $2000 | No | $8 | Yes | Ongame | 4.5 |
| Doyle's Room | 110% up to $550 | No | $16.67 | Yes | Cake | 4.5 |
| Full Tilt Poker | 100% up to $600 | No | $16.67 | No | Proprietory | 4 |
| Everest Poker | $200 | No | $10.20 | Yes | CryptoLogic | 4 |
| Paddy Power Poker | $150 up to $600 | No | $30 | Yes | Playtech | 3.5 |
| Prime Poker | 100% up to $500 | No | $10 | Yes | Ongame | 3.5 |
| Pacific Poker (888) | 100% up to $400 | No | $10* | Yes | Proprietory | 3 |
| Bodog Poker | 110% up to $550 | Yes | $10** | Yes | Proprietory | 3 |
| Poker Stars | 100% up to $50 | No | $25 | Yes | Proprietory | 3 |
| Chili Poker | 100% up to $600 | No | $20 | Yes | Playtech | 3 |
| Titan Poker | 50% up to $200 | No | $60 | Yes | Playtech | 2.5 |
| Tiger Poker | $25 up to $100 | No | ?** | No | Playtech | 2.5 |
Note: Every site calculates Player Points to clear bonuses differently, so this is not a fair way to judge how easy a bonus is to clear. The "Rake per $1 Bonus" is a superior way of comparing bonus clearing rates. The worst case approximation (in terms of you, the player) was always used because most sites have multiple rake levels.
*Pacific Poker calculates your Points based ONLY on the amount of rake you contribute to the pot. All other sites listed above (excluding **) distribute Points equally based on the total rake of a deal.
**The Point contribution method is not discloses on the site. It could be either by individual rake contribution or total rake contribution for a deal.