Hi there, well Bonus Dollars are a bit lame, but essentially, if you play real$ games or SNGs you earn points. These add up to unlock any Bonus dollars you may have earned. At the basic level *MEMBER* you receive 1 Bonus dollar for ever 20 points you earn. The catch is that they only release in $5 increments, so you need to earn 100 points at real $tables before you unlock $5 bonus. Once released Bonus Dollars are the same as cash.
Play money games and free rolls are plentiful for both Poker and
blackjack. But if you're planning to play blackjack for real$ I recommend you stick with the Elimination blackjack sit-n-goes. The
odds at the regular table are just plain stupid - don't waste your money on an endless shoe.
As for
real money poker, there have been some shady issues with players and cheating software that have supposedly been addressed, but since I can't afford those high stakes tables, I don't think it would affect me.
They offer some fun sattelites to bigger events like Sniper tourneys which can be pretty fun on the cheap - some are super short stack which is a real trip.
As for Ring games, to me this is the place to earn points to open those Bonus Bucks... I usually break about even (sadly), but the points add up more quickly than in SNGs to unlock the 350 Bonus Bucks still waiting for me... oh, and whatever points you earn in Blackjack son't count toward unlocking Bonus Dollars.
The SNGs are usually pretty entertaining and I seem to hit money more than not at these tourneys - the 6 person, in particular. The limits depend on your
bankroll.
The
freerolls are just plain brutal - just like anywhere else, but they do limit the players to 5000 which helps. If you like this kind of long-haul challege you'll be paid off w/$9 for 1st and sometimes a freeroll entry to weekly tourney.
Since I've only played a little bit at
pokerstars and no other sites, I can't give you a comparison. Hope this helps a little bit though... Good luck