Poker bonuses are one of the best features of online poker games and of the more unique twists when playing poker online as opposed to in a casino or in a home game. They're based on a really simple idea:online poker sites want your business so badly that they'll pay you to play on their site!

Claiming a poker bonus couldn't be easier. Simply sign up, create an account, and deposit money into your account, and you'll immediately qualify for a new player signup bonus. These bonuses typically match whatever you deposit up to 100%, so you'll basically double your poker bankroll. And all for doing nothing other than what you love to do: playing poker.

In some cases you'll have to enter a valid bonus code or marketing code to be eligible for a bonus, so be sure to check if that's necessary before making your deposit. Once you've claimed a bonus, most sites offer a link within the cashier or software that shows your bonus status. Typically you'll need to fulfill some requirements before a bonus is added to your cash balance and available to play with, but it couldn't be easier to qualify, as you'll earn more and more of your bonus with each hand of online poker you play.

Many bonuses are released in smaller increments as you earn them, so you'll start getting your bonus money quickly, earning $5 or $10 of it at a time until you've received all of the bonus money. You can usually clear bonuses by playing cash games, tournaments, and Sit n Gos, so you have a lot of options as to what poker games you can play. Certain games do clear bonuses faster than others, though, as the clearance is often based on rake paid, so games that rake more money will tend to clear bonuses faster.

The first bonus you get when signing up is called a new player bonus, and you can generally only claim one new player bonus per site. Many sites, though, offering additional bonuses when you deposit more money or take advantage of special promotions, and these are called reload bonuses. While you only get one new player signup bonus, online poker players can cash in on an unlimited number of reload bonuses.