BONUS.

Why do poker sites give away money? Just like a cell phone company or credit card company, every poker site is desperate for your business. They figure that once you start playing at their site, you'll stick around. And since they earn a few cents for every hand you play, they're willing to pay good money to encourage you to sign up. They'll pay you directly with a sign-up bonus,or deposit bonuses, some even reload bonuses Basically they will credit you a percentage of your deposit or else a fixed amount like $25.

On most sites you will have to play a certain # of *“raked hands*” to even get your bonus money. This means you have to make an initial deposit with your own money.  Only a few sites offer bonus money without requiring an initial deposit. These sites require a first deposit before you can collect the bonus money.

Don't sign up without one. The size of the bonus is, obviously, an important factor. But perhaps even more important is the difficulty in actually collecting and cashing out that bonus. Some poker rooms make it relatively easy to earn that bonus, and others make it painfully difficult. The poker rooms usually release the bonus when a minimum number of hands have been played, or a minimum rake has been collected. The best situation, of course, is finding a poker room that offers a big dollar bonus, that pays out easily and quickly, and offers bonuses throughout the life of the player - not just during the initial sign-up.

Once you have played 250 real money hands at your selected poker room with the software open and in use, your Texas Calculatem license will be fully functional in other pokerooms - and you are ready to start hunting for BONUS money. Please check our POKEROOM section for the best bonus deals available.

* What is a Raked Hand?
The accepted definition is a hand in which you were dealt cards, and the pot was raked (.$25 or more). This means that find'em and fold'em qualifies as playing a raked hand. You do not need to make a bet.
A few rooms require the player to place money into the pot before they consider it as playing a raked hand. So, if you are unfamiliar with the room, read the terms and conditions before making a deposit.