Strategy for first deposit bonus?

From another thread, I gather that it's not that easy to actually collect all of a first deposit bonus. These bonuses are tied to bonus points, which are tied to rakes.

What do you think of the strategy of playing Omaha Hi-Lo, which I am about as good at as Hold 'Em, to get more points? It seems to me that the split pots generate bigger pots and more rake per hour than similar stakes at Hold 'Em.

All depends, how much have you deposited?

If your trying to unlock it all on one deposit then you need to play the highest stakes you can (within reasonable BRM) at the minimum risk.
Capped limit NLHE or Omaha hi are both good options, along with Full Tilt's matrix games (perhaps $5 or $10 if they ever fill?).
How much is the deposit and which site?
I only suggest capped as there is less chance of going broke in one hand...its my personal preferance in Omaha as the pots can really escalate in uncapped games.

It's not at all easy to collect bonus money. Basically, you need to grind (unless, of course, you deposited a couple grand or more -- then you can play at higher stakes and the rake adds up naturally.) I'm going to assume you deposited a hundred or so, so you will be playing at pretty low stakes, so you will have to play a lot. Yes, it's tied to rake, and lower level games generate less rake. You will likely want to not have to re-deposit soon, so be careful.

Yes, Omaha pots get bigger, and more rake is generated. So that's not an awful plan -- if you play tight, stick to premium OHL hands, and fold when you do not hit. Let the others at the table generate the nice rakes. You play smart. You will know soon enough whether OHL is draining your bankroll -- it does that to mine, so I do not play OHL ring, despite the fact that I enjoy it in tourneys.

If it's FT, do the challenges as you are going for the bonus, if you play NLHE.

I lost a lot of money, when I first played online, chasing those bonus bucks. I strongly suggest keeping to BR management rules, and planning on playing a lot.

I didn't find it that difficult. I will say it was a grind, and, I was prepared to play the necessary hands and to maintain a reasonable BR strategy. If you are looking for it quick you will be disappointed.

I have not deposited yet. I've been playing tight and grinding with freeroll money, splitting my time between small stack NLHE and medium stack pot-limit O8. I've been eaking out a tiny profit in .05/.10 cash games. I've made about 500 bonus points each way. So I am looking to continue playing basically break-even poker, and turn a profit from grinding out the bonus.

It looks like bodog and PStars offer the best deals. Bodog gives you 10% up-front and the possibility to earn 100% more over 30 days, and PStars gives 90 days to earn 100%.

I intend to deposit $200 I won in a tournament. I'm torn between $10 buy-ins in the $25 max NLHE games on Carbon, and the .10/.25 O8 on Stars. At HE, I seem to go up and down alot more than at O8, but I play looser at HE. Although I've made more money in tournaments, I've made alot less bonus points. I think this is because in tournaments I'm only getting points from my buy-ins, and in cash games I earn points from folding hands where other people are playing recklessly.

I have found that the lower level stud hi games (.50/.25 .05 ante though .10/.05 ,01 ante) on Full Tilt are particularly soft, with a lot of limp callers. If you play straightforward stud and play 3 to 4 tables, you can grind out a profit while getting your bonus.

It is a pretty big grind at the lower limits, admittedly. Good luck to you.

It depends upon what poker site we're referring to here.
When I first deposited online my intentions were to always just play super micro stakes (but the plan changed..... but not by much, lol). I found the Fulltilt bonus very difficult to obtain at the time (but was playing mostly STT & MTT and all were low buyins).
I deposited on pokerstars at the same time and found their bonus very easy to obtain.
Titan's seemed like it would be pretty easy but not liking that site very much I didn't bother to pursue it.
Not sure about the other sites.

I think you should just play the game you are best at.

The bonus is just that, a bonus. Its going to earn you the equivalent of 100% rakeback. Most promotions dont give you more back in bonus than you would have paid in rake.

So rather than concentrating on clearing the bonus, concentrate on playing your game well and getting your winrate up because whatever you earn in bouns will be less than you win by playing.

Stu_Ungar said:

I think you should just play the game you are best at.

The bonus is just that, a bonus. Its going to earn you the equivalent of 100% rakeback. Most promotions dont give you more back in bonus than you would have paid in rake.

So rather than concentrating on clearing the bonus, concentrate on playing your game well and getting your winrate up because whatever you earn in bouns will be less than you win by playing.

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+10, the bonus is just that, a bonus. FT may take a while to clear, play durng happy hour ( triple points ) and use your points for sats and mtts later.

I read in another thread that FT's bonus is calculated on base points, and that the doubled or tripled points don't count towards it. Anybody know for sure?

if it is on fulltilt and u deopsited for the first time it is about 50 max i think. so use ur 50 wisely, play tight and prem hands and try to play small pots and grow ur bonus. the low limit games are pretty soft and not many people know how to play hilo. u should clear ur bonus quickly with good play, i cleared my first bonus in 2 days just staying away from big pots and playing for antes and small wins.

As far as a strategy goes, deposit bonuses are sort of like playing rake-free. So play whatever game is going to make you the most $ per hour. Unlocking the bonus is secondary.

There is no golden goose for unlocking the bonus quickly, with little risk.

JulieK said:

I read in another thread that FT's bonus is calculated on base points, and that the doubled or tripled points don't count towards it. Anybody know for sure?

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Yes. It's based on earned points (base points), not bonus points.
The double/triple bonuses they have give you points that you can use to buy into tournaments and get things from their store, but do not count to unlocking your deposit bonus.

thats what i tend to do when going for a bonus, play omaha hl as you earn the points quicker.

But depends if the site is contribution rake or not. Alot of site you have to contribute o the pot before you can earn any points which makes it alot harder.

If you just have to be dealt a hand then play ultra tight and let the donkeys earn you the points when they go all in when they know its going to be a split pot. Also check out the time limits, some have 30 days and others have 2 or 3 monts or longer so alot easier to clear.

mig2169 said:

if it is on fulltilt and u deopsited for the first time it is about 50 max i think. .

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This isn't true. Fulltilt's first-time sign-up bonus right now is 100% bonus up to $600 max. When I signed up on Fulltilt it was a 120% bonus, with $600 being the max. It was then released in 10% increments (needing to clear the full 10% before any of it getting credited to your acc't.).
I played a few hundred micro stakes games ($1 - $10) and only cleared 20% of my bonus.

As mentioned above, I wouldn't be concerned with clearing the bonus. Just play your best at games you're most comfortable with and the bonus will take care of itself. (or not).

I think with proper bank roll management, it's near impossible to clear a 100% bonus at micro stakes. Look for bonuses that pay 10% increments, and if you clear 20% you are doing good. Don't sweat it, and don't play above your limits just for the bonus's sake, it's a recipe for going broke.

JulieK,


Ok, from experience on PS, @ 25nl. 4-tabling FR Fast, Will accrue you an average of 30vpps an hour.

You get 100% First Time Deposit Bonus. You need 17 x Initial Deposit to clear full bonus. Every 170vpps release $10 into your account. You will need to accrue 3,400vpps to fully clear your bonus and you have 6 months to achieve this.

FEARFACTOR said:

I think with proper bank roll management, it's near impossible to clear a 100% bonus at micro stakes. Look for bonuses that pay 10% increments, and if you clear 20% you are doing good. Don't sweat it, and don't play above your limits just for the bonus's sake, it's a recipe for going broke.

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^^^
This is very true, don't go bust just to smash bonus. If you play on PS you have 6 months to clear it!!! That's 180 days!!!!! Poker's a marathon not a sprint.

A lot depends on the site's rules for clearing bonus, what they consider a raked hand and how points are calculated.

For example, the Microgaming sites (GNUF, spin palace etc.) count every hand that has $.25 rake as a raked hand, whether you contributed to rake or not. A hand with $.20 rake counts for nothing. Therefore, you have to play at a limit where the average pot size is $5 or more to make any headway clearing a bonus. Most of the tables in the Microgaming sites are now in Euros and you have to play E$5 or more in that case. You can play lower blind levels in PL Omaha, but you can clear these bonuses just as easily playing .50/1 limit holdem in a loose game.

Other sites such as Full Tilt give you a percent of a point for any rake less than $1 and every raked hand counts.

Also consider whether the site awards points for tournament play, including sit-n-goes, if this is what you prefer to play.

Absolute Poker and many other sites require you to be involved in the hand to get points because the raked hand definition requires you to contribute to the pot. It makes it harder to clear if you are generally a tight player in cash games.

The best advice I can give is look for a game and limit where you are making money and let the bonus take care of itself. If the bonus doesn't clear at the game and limit you want to play, pick another site.

Stu_Ungar said:

I think you should just play the game you are best at.

The bonus is just that, a bonus. Its going to earn you the equivalent of 100% rakeback. Most promotions dont give you more back in bonus than you would have paid in rake.

So rather than concentrating on clearing the bonus, concentrate on playing your game well and getting your winrate up because whatever you earn in bouns will be less than you win by playing.

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^^ came in here to say this..

stopped reading at this point since the thread was over