Once you have registered as a new customer at PokerStars you can enter the PokerStars bonus code PSP7824 and get a stunning PokerStars 100% match bonus of up to $600.
The first thing you should note when you are considering signing up as a new customer at an online poker room is how much poker bonus is being offered to new customers. All online poker sites offer potential customers some form of welcome bonus to attract them to their poker room. This can be in the form of an instant poker bonus or a pending poker bonus. Usually it is a pending poker bonus which means you get paid out when you have fulfilled the requirements of that particular poker room. The size of the poker bonus can vary enormously from one poker room to another as do the requirements set out to free up the bonus. It is extremely important to look carefully at the conditions attached to converting a bonus to cash because they may be almost impossible to achieve.
Currently, one of the best poker bonuses available for new customers is the PokerStars welcome bonus. This is a bonus paid into your pending account as soon as you make your first deposit as a new customer at PokerStars. $10 cash increments are converted from the bonus in the pending account and paid into your PokerStars account to play with, every time you earn 170 VIP player points by participating in cash games and real money tournaments. A very significant difference between PokerStars and other poker rooms is the rules governing the initial deposit made by a new customer and the pending bonus. PokerStars permit the total deposit to be made in 3 payments over 90 days and it still honors its offer to match your total deposit by 100% up to the sum of $600. Other poker sites require you to make a single deposit and the match bonus relates to that amount. PokerStars recognizes the customers’ need to manage finances and allows you to make 3 deposits spread over 90 days. This is clearly an advantage if you’re new to the poker game and want to take the new experience step by step but at the same time don’t want to lose out on the entire $600 match bonus.
Once you’ve made your first deposit you can start playing poker immediately to accumulate VPPs and begin converting your pending bonus. You obtain your PokerStars bonus by playing online poker for real money and earning VIP Player Points (VPPs). You have to earn 170 VPPs in order to get paid $10 of your total PokerStars pending bonus. In this way you earn as you play and get paid exactly what you deserve to receive for your amount of poker activity. There are some poker sites that pay out the entire poker bonus only when all the required player points have been earned within the pre- determined time limit. Unfortunately many new customers never receive their welcome bonus because they are simply unable to earn all the player points before the stipulated deadline. This can feel extremely unfair if you miss your bonus just by a few points.
It may sound a little confusing that you need to earn 170 VPPs in order to get paid $10 of your PokerStars bonus if you don’t know what it takes to earn just 1 VPP, however this is clarified below.
PokerStars have a special rewards system through their VIP program for all customers who play online poker with them for real money. There are different models used for calculating how many VPPs you can earn depending on what kind of poker you play and at what level.
One way you can earn VPPs is by playing in Sit & Go tournaments or in multi table tournaments. Each time you participate in either a Sit & Go tournament or a multi table tournament you pay a part of the total prize pool plus a tournament fee. The tournament fee varies depending on the size of the entry fee however the maximum is 10% of the entry fee. If for example, you play a $5.50 Sit & Go tournament, $5 goes to the prize pool and $0.50 goes for the PokerStars tournament fee. For every $1 you pay in tournament fees you get 5.5 VPPs from PokerStars. This means that when you play a Sit & Go tournament or a multi-table tournament that costs $5.50 you have paid a $0.50 tournament fee and receive 2.75 VPPs.
When playing cash games at PokerStars a different model applies for the allocation of VPPs. In a cash game the whole table shares the VPPs earned from each raked hand. If you sit at a cash game table with seats for 8 players or more regardless of how many players are actually seated at the table then you will receive 6VPPs for each dollar paid in rake for each hand. If there are 4 active players at an 8 seat table the 6 VPPs earned for each dollar of rake will be divided between the 4 players, giving them 1.5 VPPs each per hand.
A cash game table with seats for 7 players or less is awarded 5.5 VPPs for every $1 collected from each raked hand. The total number of VPPs earned is shared among the active players who are at the table and who were dealt cards in that hand.
If you play in microstakes cash games which is the term used for games with stakes up to and including $0.05 to $0.10 there are some different rules that need to be studied at the PokerStars website.
Now you know how VPPs are earned playing poker online at PokerStars you can calculate fairly quickly how long it will take you to play through a PokerStars bonus and convert it to cash to play poker. Much depends on your game preferences and whether you play mostly Sit & Go tournaments and multi table tournaments or if you focus on cash games.
It is important that you do not opt for a big match bonus if you cannot meet the requirements that are attached to it. It may be better for you to aim for a smaller bonus the first time and get a sense of your level and how long you can play poker each day. The next time you make a deposit into your PokerStars pending account you’ll know just how much guaranteed bonus it is possible for you to free up. Remember that you have 6 months to play through your PokerStars 100% match bonus of up to $600 which is awarded in connection with the first 3 deposits made over 90 days. Go now to PokerStars and download the free software then enter the referral code PSP7824 to get your welcome bonus.
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