If you’re thinking about signing up to play poker online, you may want to know that not all sites are created equal… and not just in terms of software and compatibility, where the market has pretty much evened out.

When you decide to play poker online or expand your current playing field, you should take some time to shop around and make sure that you’re getting the most out of your time and money by taking advantage of one (or several!) of the bonuses that are offered by online poker sites. After all, in poker, any money that you’re not taking home with you is money that you’ve lost, even money that wasn’t yours to start with, so it’s best to find sites that are offering good bonuses.

Here are a couple of things we look for in a bonus:

In addition to bonuses and match bonuses (both of which are essentially free money for playing on the site), many sites will offer added incentives. These can be free tickets into weekly or monthly tournaments, freerolls, free poker money with no strings attached, or club gear like towels, shirts, bags, or mugs. Here’s why a poker welcome bonus is so important. Whether you're an aspiring pro or a casual, turbo SNG loving recreational player, if you want to have any success playing online, you need to practice good bankroll management. So taking advantage of poker free bonus money is part of that.

• What is the maximum height of the bonus?
• How does the percent match look like?
• Is there a minimum deposit amount?
• Does it clear in one chunk or in increments?
• Is it realistic or is it hard to clear?
• Does it come with other free perks?

People take advantage of poker bonus codes for two main reasons: either they’re new players hoping to stretch a small starting budget, or they’re experienced players who plan to increase their bankroll by taking advantage of what is, essentially, free money. Plenty of professional players have accounts at a number of sites, and it’s not just to diversify their opponent base!

When shopping for bonuses, there are a few things that you should look for.

What is the height of the bonus?

Bonuses are almost-exclusively for first-time players on a site (although sometimes you’ll see them offered for players who return after a long absence). They’re money that the site gives you for choosing to play with them. When you make your initial deposit, you’ll get a bonus, but not all at once! Most bonuses come with certain restrictions.

You’ll want to find out what you have to do to clear the bonus. Typically, you have to win a certain number of rakes, and in what increment the bonus clears. You’ll also want to find out how long of a period of time you have to clear your bonus; on many sites, anything you don’t clear in time is forfeit. While a $1000 bonus sounds better than a $500 bonus, if you have the same amount of time to clear both, and the $500 bonus clears $10 at a time, and the $1000 is all-or-nothing, the $500 bonus might be the best way to go, especially if you’re not sure how often you’re going to be able to play, or if you’re a relatively new player.

The percent match

Most sites offer a match bonus, which means that they’ll match whatever you deposit, up to a certain amount. The percent match can vary, from 50% of what you deposit to 200% or more! Like pure bonuses, you usually have a set time to “unlock” the entirety of this bonus, so make sure you check the details!

Is there anything free?

In addition to bonuses and match bonuses (both of which are essentially free money for playing on the site), many sites will offer added incentives. These can be free tickets into weekly or monthly tournaments, freerolls, free poker money with no strings attached, or club gear like towels, shirts, bags, or mugs. Keep an eye out for the added bonuses, because there’s something for everyone!

The majority of the bonus codes that you’ll find here are unique to Poker For Free. We’ve negotiated some great deals for our readers with some of the biggest poker sites, because we know that getting a good deal is almost as important to you as finding a good game! The bonuses offered by the different sites change from time to time, but you can be sure that the codes on this page will get you the best deals and will always be up-to-date! We’re constantly trying to find better deals for you, and as soon as we’ve struck gold, you can be sure we’ll tell you about it here.

How to get free sweeps at Global Poker

One of the requirements for a site like Global Poker to remain classified as a sweepstakes site is that it must be possible to play for its prizes without paying anything yourself. While there are several ways that you can get free Sweeps Coins on Global (Gold Coin purchase, social media contests, registration), we wanted to explore the most direct method: mailing a request to Global Poker company headquarters.

This method for acquiring Sweeps Coins comes with exceptionally specific instructions. Global Poker’s Sweeps rules lay out exactly what you need to do. Let us be clear: You must follow these instructions to the letter. If you don’t, your request is voided and you won’t receive any free Sweeps.

To start, use this link to join Global Poker and create a new account.

All requests must be handwritten. If you use a computer to produce your request, it will not work, so you’ll need a pen (or two).

Secondly, you have to have stationery that conforms to specific dimensions. Your request card needs to be 4” x 6”, blank, unlined and unfolded. Global recommends a postcard, but you can either buy the proper cards at an office supply store like Office Depot (what we did), or you can cut paper into the proper size.

You will also need to have No. 10 envelopes on hand to contain your request. You can put only one request in each envelope, so don’t try to pack them into one mailing. Finally, you will need some stamps. Neither Global nor any other sweepstakes site will pay for postage.

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Once you have everything together, you’re ready to start the request. As you can see, the elements that Global wants on each card are quite explicit.

On the same side of each card, you will write your full name, your email address and every word of the following statement:

“I wish to receive Sweeps Coins to participate in the sweepstakes promotions offered by Global Poker. By submitting this request, I hereby declare that I have read, understood and agree to be bound by Global Poker’s Terms and Conditions and Sweeps Rules.”

Here’s how we wrote our request. The name and email have been blacked out for privacy reasons.

Please make sure that you only write on one side of the card. If you mark the opposite side, start again.

Once you’ve written your card, you should turn your attention to the envelope. It, too, must be handwritten with both Global Poker’s address and your return address.

Don’t use return labels, even though they would save money. Also, make sure to write the phrase “Sweepstakes Credits” somewhere on the envelope — we wrote it as if it was the person to whom we were sending the request.

Put the request in the envelope, and do not fold it as you do so. The instructions clearly mention that the request must be unfolded. After that, put the stamp on the request, and drop it in a mailbox.

Each successful request will yield 5 free Sweeps Coins into your account. If you want to redeem cash prizes from your account, you will need to verify it, so that’s not a bad thing to do while you’re waiting for the requests to arrive at VGW’s mailing address.

Global Poker player rewards

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Global Poker doesn’t offer a VIP rewards program, which is a major shortcoming even by social gaming standards. On the bright side, the site features leaderboards and challenges that award its most active players with free Sweeps Coins. Furthermore, since the guarantees are relatively high, tournaments hosted on Global Poker can be considered a type of promotion.