US Poker sites with Best Bonuses

There are dozens of online poker sites servicing the US market, and in order to compete on price US poker sites entice players with sign up bonuses and loyalty promotions. On this page we’ll cover US Poker sites with best bonuses, and also put into perspective why the largest sign up bonus is not always the best valued sign up bonus.
 
In order to understand why the largest bonus is not always the best value, you need to know that poker sites don’t simply give away free cash just for making an initial deposit. What the poker sites do is give players pending bonus cash which they can clear by participating in real money ring games or tournaments. In order to illustrate this, in this guide to US Poker sites with best bonuses we’ll look at the two largest dollar amount poker bonuses offered and then compare them to a smaller bonus offered a PokerStars.com.
 
US Poker Site with largest bonus based on dollar amount
 
Ultimate Bet (UB.com) offers the largest bonus of all US friendly poker sites. This bonus is a whopping 111% initial deposit match up to $1,100 free. Matching them with a similar bonus is Bodog.com who brings the same $1,100 to the table, but bases it on a 110% initial deposit match. As far as which of these two bonuses is actually the best, for most players the Bodog.com bonus will be easier to clear, plus 10% of this bonus is credited instantly as cash (before it is even cleared). However, if you’re a serious player that puts in a large amount of volume (such as 20,000+ hands per month at $100 Max NLHE, or 10,000+ hands at stakes higher than $200 Max NLHE) then UB will be the better choice due to their loyalty program.
 
No matter which site you choose (UB or Bodog) you can’t go wrong, as both are well known for offering some of the softest poker games online. With that said we’ll now look at the bonus we consider to be the all-around best.

US Poker Site with All-Around Best Bonuses
 
PokerStars.com offers new players a 100% up to $600 deposit match. While this is less than the $1,100 offered by both Bodog.com and UB, the PokerStars loyalty rewards more than compensates for this. In order to show the value of the PokerStars bonus, we’ll need to explain a bit how it works.
 
Terms to Understand:
 
VIP Player Points (VPP) – These are PokerStars base points which are used to clear bonuses and progress through the levels of their VIP program. In ring games with 8 seats or more (no matter how many players are actually seated) each dollar paid in rake is worth 6 VPP. For example, if a pot is raked $1.00 and four players are at the table, all players who were dealt cards are considered to have contributed $0.25 to the rake. 0.25 x 6 = 1.5 which is the number of VPP each player earned for that hand.
 
On tables with 7 or less seats 5.5 VPP are generated for each dollar paid in rake, and in tournaments each dollar of buy-in is worth 5.5 VPP.
 
Frequent Player Points (FPP) – Each time a player earns VPP, a corresponding amount of FPP are credited to their account. This amount is based on their VIP level, and FPP can be redeemed for entry into tournaments or for merchandise, bonuses or cash by concierge from the PokerStars VIP Store. The value of these FPP are quite significant because when used properly each FPP is worth between 1.59 and 1.61 cents.
 
Stellar Awards: In addition to the sign up bonus and FPP, PokerStars.com offers milestone bonuses called Stellar Awards. These are based on how many VPP a player has earned during the calendar year. For example there is a $10 bonus when reaching 750 VPP, followed by additional $10 bonuses when reaching 1,500 VPP, 2,250 VPP, 3,000 VPP and 4,000 VPP, followed by $50 bonuses at 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 30,000 etc. VPP. This keeps going and during the calendar year a player can earn up to $1,000 in Stellar Award bonuses.
 
Value of PokerStars Bonus
 
PokerStars.com initial 100% up to $600 bonus clears in increment $10 for each 170 VPP earned. If you’re a semi-regular player who earns Platinum Star during your first month of play (7,500 VPP required) you’ll earn $150 in Stellar Awards and have 18,868 FPP which are valued at $301.89 when used properly in the PokerStars VIP store. This comes to a total of $1051.89 in bonuses.
 
In order to clear this bonus you’ll have paid between $1,700 and $1,854.55 in rake, which means you’ve earned a return of 56.7% to 61.9% on your rake during the initial bonus cash stage.
 
To put this into perspective, this is about double the value of the poker bonuses offered by Bodog.com and UB. Also, the bonuses do not stop here. PokerStars.com offers several reload bonuses throughout the year, has high valued freerolls for VIP members, and also has generous tournament leader board races for both sit n go and multi table tournament players.
 
Best Bonus or Softest Games?
 
We’ve given you a solid introduction to poker bonuses in this article, and as you can see the site advertising the largest poker bonus is not always the one with the highest valued bonus. As important as it is to compare all of what a site offers in terms of bonuses, loyalty programs etc., perhaps far more important to maximizing your value at a US poker site is finding the games you can beat for the most profit.
 
Generally speaking, most poker players will find the games at UB and Bodog quite soft when compared against the games at PokerStars.com. Is it enough to offset the difference in bonus value? That’s something you’ll need to consider yourself. When researching an online poker site, it is a good idea to look at all that site offers, and then get feedback on how soft their poker games are.
 
For more on this closing topic, see our article on US poker sites with the softest games.