Q.Why should I play online poker? |
A.
Online poker is a great way to play and learn the game you love without the hassles of a live casino.
Here are the advantages:
- You do not have to deal with annoying people sitting next to you, if you don't like someone at a online table, you can just mute them.
- The cost of playing is lower. The house charge (or rake) can be up to $5 per pot in a live casino. Across the net $3 per pot is usually the max. Also, there is no tipping required.
- If you are just learning poker, the smallest limit in a live casino may be $3/$6. This can make for an expensive education. Some online rooms have games as small as $.01/$.02.
- Even the biggest card rooms in the biggest cities can't match the awesome selection of games, limits, and tournaments at your fingertips across the Internet.
- And last, but certainly not least, Bonuses! Online card rooms will actually pay you to play at their card rooms while you try their games.
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Q. Ok, online poker certainly seems like something I'd like to try. How do I get started? |
A. To fund your account, it is recommended for non-Americans that you use a 3rd party company, known as an e-wallet. Note: American players can no longer use many e-wallets such as Neteller. The best way for Americans to deposit and withdraw depends on the specific poker site but is often e-checks, money transfers and paper checks. American players can currently examine their options by looking at our Payment Processors page: Payment Processors. In order to check out the specific options for a site, check out the review for the poker site you want information on. |
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Q.How do third party payment processors (e-wallets) work? |
A. Go to the website of the e-wallet where you want to get an account. Most e-wallets operate in a similar way to Paypal. It is a free service (certain fees may apply) that allows you to take funds from your bank account (and sometimes credit card), and store them online in your e-wallet account. For Canadians the best options are Click2pay and Moneybookers. For most of the rest of the world, Neteller and the e-wallets already mentioned are good choices (assuming they are compatible in your country). These e-wallets make playing poker at multiple sites much more convenient than using credit cards or checks.
For most of the e-wallets, you can instantly transfer funds to the online card room of your choice from your account. Then, whenever you wish, you may transfer funds from the card room back to the e-wallet (this usually takes 24-48hrs, but depends on the e-wallet being used) and then from the e-wallet you can go to a different card room, or back to your bank account. After signing up with the e-wallet, you will need to verify your bank account or credit card that you will use to deposit. Once this has been done, you are usually ready to fund your e-wallet account; however, depending on the method and e-wallet used, the time needed to fund your account can be instant or take up a week or more to show up. Check out the Payment Processors page for more information. |
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Q.Explain this bonus business and how it means that I "get paid to play poker." |
A. With many sites, when you try out their rooms for the first time, they will give you a bonus to be released to your account after you have fulfilled their requirements. For example, Party Poker requires a $500 deposit for a $100 bonus. This bonus is released to your account after earning 400 Party Points. So, for the 1st 1st 400 Party Points you earn at Party, you are essentially getting paid $0.25 per point to play. |
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Q.What is a "network" and "skin"? |
A. A skin is a site on a network of pokers sites that share the same software and players. For example, Microgaming is a network of many poker sites. Poker Time, Purple Lounge and Golden Riviera are Microgaming network skins. In most cases, you can have accounts on each site within a network. In order to see if the specific network allows you to have accounts on multiple sites, refer to the area below the summary at the top of the site's review. |
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Q.What is a raked hand and what are other clearance methods? |
A.
A raked hand is usually defined as 'a hand where you have been dealt cards, and a rake is taken out of the pot, regardless of whether you did any betting in the hand or not.' Frequently, a different definition is used and where this is the case, BonusWhores.com will make it clear.
Some sites require raked hands to clear a bonus, however the vast majority of the time raked hands are not the clearance method of the bonus you will be earning. Sites will often have their own point system or require players generate a certain amount of rake to earn the bonus. It helps players to get an idea of the clearance method before taking advantage of a bonus. The clearance methods are explained on each site's review (usually on the Bonuses tab) along with links to definitions on the bonus list pages (such as the Bonus Grid page and Custom Bonus Ranks page).
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Q.So, all I have to do is deposit, play the required amount, and collect my bonus? Something I would have done anyways? |
A. Yes, it really is free money for playing just like you would normally. |
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Q. After I clear my bonus at my 1st online card room, can I do it again at another card room? |
A. Yes. It is possible for you to do this at nearly every online card room and make well over $1,000 a month in the process. Some full time whores may not have a problem making $3,000 or more a month just from bonuses. American players may have difficulty earning more than this due to the limited number of sites that currently accept Americans. Obviously, the more tables and higher limits you play, the faster you will clear the bonus and more you can potentially earn. When doing so, make sure that you ready and that it is something that you can handle. |
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Q.I hear mention of reload bonuses, what are those? |
A. A reload bonus works similar to a 1st time deposit bonus, except that it's open to existing players, and often new players as well. The online card rooms offer enough of these periodically that another $500 per month is not out of the question to a dedicated Bonus Whore. |
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Q.What does 10x mean? |
A. Say you see something along the lines of 'Eurolinx Poker offers a 10x raked hand bonus.' What this means is that you must play 10 raked hands for each $1 in bonus money. Say they offer a $200 bonus. This means that you have to play 2,000 raked hands (10*200) to clear the entire bonus. Also note that these raked hands must meet their definition, which is $0.25. Make sure to check the definition of the raked hand or points on the site's review. A "10x bonus" can be very different from site to site. |
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Q.What resources are available for me to track my play? |
A. Poker Tracker is a program that takes hand histories and yields an enormous wealth of data on both your own play and your opponents' play. If used properly, it will have a dynamic effect on your win rate. For more information, check out Poker Tracker's Website. |
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Q.What's the best way to play multiple tables? |
A.
In order to make really good money at bonus whoring, you must eventually be proficient in the art of multi-tabling. A screen that is capable of 1600x1200 resolution is recommended as it will be able to display 4 tables without any overlap of windows on most sites. Monitors such as the Dell 2001FP, Dell 2007FP and Samsung 204b 20.1 inch LCD monitors are popular choices among players.
In addition, many sites are giving players the ability to resize tables to fit whatever screen they may be using. The bottom line though is the higher resolution your monitor supports, the greater flexibility you will have.
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Q.Can I withdraw all or part of my deposit without voiding the bonus? |
A. This varies from site to site, but the answer is usually yes. Very few sites will actually take the bonus away. In some cases, they may require you wait a certain period of time after depositing, such as 48 hours. |
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Q.Can I get RAF and TAF bonuses in addition to the signup bonuses? |
A. Generally, we advise players not to attempt this. First of all, doing the RAF bonus may void the signup bonus. Secondly, it can interfere with tracking. This causes major problems if we offer an exclusive bonus that requires the player to be tracked through us. |
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Q.Where can I find more information regarding specific card rooms and answers other questions not listed here? |
A. The reviews listed on this site should give you an excellent start to finding out site specific information. If you still have questions, you can visit the BonusWhores.com forum or email us at help@bonuswhores.com |
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