Bonus Snowballing

As we start off the new year, I'm looking at approaching my miniscule bankroll from a new perspective. Namely, instead of just grinding it out at 2nl and freerolls ad nauseam, I've decided to let my bankroll work for me and take advantage of site deposit bonuses to help get my roll up over $1k and beyond.

I know that each site requires varying requirements to clear bonuses, and in fact the bonuses are more like short-term large rakeback offers. Still, as long as I can at least play break even poker then the bonuses will definitely add to my roll, which I would then be able to take off the site and put on another site to add another layer to my snowballing wad of poker cash. I shall illustrate this "snowballing wad" with some ASCII art, for all to enjoy:


. -> o -> O -> O ->

* Each arrow represents the transfer of funds to a new site


What I would like to know is what sites do you feel have the best and easiest to clear bonus offers? Has anyone else built a bankroll in this manner, and could perhaps suggest a roadmap for clearing increasingly larger bonus amounts?

Try the good first deposit bonuses of the Ongame network, they are equal to 64 % rakeback or more, if you play the sng´s or mtt´s.

"snowballing" wad......c'mon....am I the only deviant that picked up on this?

I'm glad someone noticed. I was actually thinking about posting this graphic:

. -> o -> O -> O -> Peter North


Any other poker room recommendations for deposit bonus snowballing? Or comments from people who have done tried this in the past?

Yeah deposit bonuses build your bankroll but you will have to move up from 2NL if you want to clear one. I cleared a $50 bonus playing 5NL but it took a while. 10NL is better.

Look, it's a plan.

But include in that plan playing for a lot longer than you normally do. If you normally play for a couple of hours, plan on playing 6 or 8 hours a day. Yes, like a job. Or more tables, but only if you can keep your win rate good. Grinding it out at levels within your bankroll and games you can beat. Keep your head clear and keep focussed on the game.

Chasing bonusses is a tried and true way to go broke. (Been there.)

Basically, you need to ignore the bonus aspect, and just play at your proper level, only a ton more. Eventually, you may be able to clear the bonus. If your luck holds.

No site makes it easy to clear bonusses. They want to keep you playing.

Deposit as much as you can and clear as much of the bonus as you can. Assume that, if there is a time limit on the bonus, you won't clear it all -- but you may manage to clear some. Be aware that a bonus that matches your deposit is very hard to clear at the levels you should be playing. A $100 deposit with a $100 bonus is very difficult to clear, for example. You only have the roll for 2NL -- and the rake takes forever to turn into points which turn into bonus. A $600 bonus on a $10,000 deposit -- not so hard.

Thank you for the warning (bonus chasing) and the words of advice. I will definitely keep this in mind not to simply play to clear a bonus -- I think it's probably best to think of the bonus as just extra rakeback.

This is my current plan:

At the end of January, through various free sources and freeroll winnings I am projecting to put my first deposit in of $200 on Full Tilt to make a total bankroll of $300 ($100 previously existing in the account).

Currently, I usually 4-table 2nl and about an hour a day on average. In limited experience and in table observation, I feel fairly comfortable up to 25nl but just have not had a proper roll to justify extended playing at those levels. With a $300 roll, I could probably 4-table 10nl with at least break-even confidence. Doing the calculations, it seems like I would be able to clear the full $200 bonus Full Tilt offers by doing this without deviating from my usual playing habits.

I'm guessing there are other sites with similar or easier bonus clearing requirements than Full Tilt... and would love to know which ones those are.

Im currently clearing a $200 deposit bonus on fulltilt 5 tabling 10NL. You will clear it all playing around 2 hours most days

Ah, I forgot to mention I'm usually playing 6-max -- which might help a bit in the numbers. I just did another more conservative calculation though, and yeah it looks like I'd probably have to up the playing time to 1-2 hours a day, 4-tabling 10nl 6-max to get close to clearing a $200 bonus. I think realistically for me then if I stick to an average of an hour a day would be clearing about a $100-150 bonus then at first.

Good to know guys! This will change my plan and forecast a bit, but I still think bonus snowballing if done properly can be a great way to try out new sites and get awesome "50% rakeback" for the first few months doing so.

My eyes are still open for any good reputable poker sites with great bonus clearing requirements. I've heard Bodog has a pretty decent one.

I just looked into Redkings one -- they apparently match all the way up to $2000. I guess they are trying to target the higher stakes players?

They might be an interesting one to try later on down the road.

Any other good Ongame skins in particular that offer quick bonus clearing?

What you want is a site you can register with rakeback and unlike fulltilt dont deduct it from your deposit bonus.

I know this is the case on some rooms..ill need to look into it soon.

Please do update this thread if you find any rooms like this.