How Do New Jersey Online Poker First-Time Deposit Bonuses Work?

Updated on November 18, 2017
Welcome Mat

Contents

Online poker sites in New Jersey function much the same way as NJ’s online casinos, but buy-in bonuses on these sites are much more profitable than buy-in bonuses for other casino-based games.

How do I make money with online poker bonuses?

This is due to the way the house makes money from online poker vs. casino games.

Unlike casino games where there is a small built-in percentage that the house always has, when you play online poker, you are playing against other players. The house takes a small percentage called a “rake” out of each pot.

The casinos couldn’t care less who wins as long as the poker games are being played.

This allows you, as a poker player, to clear buy-in bonuses while actually making money playing the games. At the end of the day, you can clear a 100 percent bonus on your first deposit and make huge profits playing while doing so. That’s not to say you shouldn’t pursue online casino bonuses in NJ, but it’s important to understand the difference between the two.

Example bonus: PokerStars NJ

PokerStarsNJ.com is the leading online poker site in New Jersey and has the lion’s share of players. PokerStarsNJ.com hosts the best poker games New Jersey has to offer and gives you a $600 first deposit bonus when you sign up for the site. Its software is simple to use and comes from a company with an incredible reputation.

So how do you get started with PokerStars’ 100 percent first-time deposit bonus?

When you make your first deposit on PokerStarsNJ, be sure to enter the bonus code “STARS600.” If you do, PokerStars will match your deposit bonus by 100 percent up to $600.

Once you’ve made your deposit, all you need to do is play the real-money games on your PokerStarsNJ account and watch your funds grow. In most games, you receive 5.5 VPPs for every $1 you pay in tournament fees or rake.

Every time you earn 100 VPPs, PokerStars will credit your account with $10 cash. This comes out to be an astounding rebate of at least 50 percent on every dollar you spend. Granted, you have to play a lot to clear a $600 bonus, as you only have four months after the qualifying deposit to earn the VPPs needed to release your funds, but thankfully, PokerStars is never short on cash games and tournaments to play.

Comparison: Opening bonus at WSOP NJ

WSOP.com offers a very similar first-time deposit bonus. It gives you a 100 percent deposit bonus for up to $400 and seven tickets to $100 daily welcome week freerolls. As with PokerStarsNJ, the deposit bonus is placed into a restricted bonus account and released into the players real-money account incrementally as he or she accumulates APPs (which are the same as VPPs).

WSOP.com releases the funds in different chunks however, and depending upon your play style or size of initial deposit, WSOP.com’s first-time deposit bonus may be more or less beneficial to you than PokerStars’ equivalent.

The first $10 of WSOP.com’s first-time deposit bonus is released in $1 chunks. One dollar is added to your real-money balance for every 10 APPs you earn. The next $40 is released in $5 chunks with $5 in bonus funds being transferred from your bonus account into your bankroll for every 50 APPs you earn. Finally, the last $350 is released in $10 chunks with $10 in bonus funds being released into your bankroll for every 100 APPs earned.

As you can see, if you are not planning on playing a lot of poker, but still want to take advantage of the match bonuses that these online poker sites have to offer, you would be better off depositing with WSOP.com than PokerStarsNJ, due to the smaller requirements to release the initial bonus funds.

Regardless which promotion you choose, first-time deposit bonuses on New Jersey online poker sites can be real money makers for players looking to build a bankroll. If you are going to be playing any amount of online poker, be sure to take advantage of these promotions.

Privacy Policy