Getting free poker money from an online poker room is an excellent way to start your poker bankroll. It’s great if you’ve never played poker online before as you’re risking someone else’s money - what a great way to learn.
However, if you can afford to deposit your own money it may be financially beneficial to do so.
Online Poker Rooms offer deposit bonuses for all new players. For instance 100% up to $500 is a common offer. What this means is that you will receive a bonus equal to whatever you deposit up to and including $500.
The bonuses are released as you play poker and in effect the poker room is basically paying you back a percentage of what you pay them. So you’re not really getting anything for free - more a discount or a rebate on what you pay the online poker room. However getting $500 of your own money back is ten times better than being given $50 for free.
The best deposit bonuses are those that are the quickest to earn. Deposit bonuses are simply the online poker room paying you back a percentage of what you paid them in rakes and fees. So the quickest to earn are those where you get the highest percentage back.