As we have already mentioned above, today, there are many online poker rooms offering gambling entertainment to poker lovers. And, they are all competing for a player's attention. The most common incentive designed to attract players to a poker room is a 'Welcome' bonus, also called a 'First Deposit' bonus. This perk is available only to players who are newcomers to a poker room. Welcome bonuses are typically very rich. Additionally,online poker rooms seeking to retain already existing players, i.e. players who have already opened an account with the poker room, also provide a perk called a 'Reload' bonus. Naturally, newcomers are not entitled to a 'Reload' bonus.

Freerolls are a very valuable promotional tool for most online poker rooms. This type of tournaments' greatest attraction lies in the fact that players interested in participating, are not required to invest any money to do so. The poker room just makes an announcement that it will put up a certain amount of cash and invites players to battle for it. This way, players have nothing to lose but only a lot to win. Since many poker rooms usually host freerolls on a daily basis the potential win is virtually endless.

Satellite tournaments are one of online poker rooms' greatest inventions. They are profitable both for the players and for the poker rooms. Satellites are poker tournaments held over the Internet with seats to prestigious live events as first place prizes. Oftentimes, grand events, like the WSOP competition, are off limits for players who can not afford the expensive buy-in. Satellites come to solve this problem. Players interested in taking part in a certain land-based event can secure their seat in the competition of their choice through a satellite tournament where the buy-in is much much lower.

Bad Beat bonuses were invented to prove that online poker room operators seek to encourage not only the winners but the losers as well. The Bad Beat bonus is a consolation prize given to a player, who despite holding a very promising hand, loses nevertheless. A poker room boasting a Bad Beat bonus is certainly worth your shot. After all, what is the worst thing that could happen? You'll lose a hand and receive a bonus?

Refer-a-Friend bonus is an incentive poker rooms offer to players that help them recruit newcomers. To receive such a bonus, no playing skills are required. All a player must do is make sure that a friend of his opens an account with a particular poker room and starts playing there. Both the recruiter and the recruited players receive a nice bonus without making any extra effort.

There are, of course, other criteria a smart poker player should take into account before joining a poker room, but bonuses and other perks should definitely play a major role in such a decision!

"Amanda in an award-winning poker writer for the informative poker portal - http://www.PokerStyle.org"

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