The saying, “The best things in life are free” has never been truer than when it’s applied to poker. While online poker in general can be as free as you want it to be (assuming you don’t aspire to play cash games), there are ways that savvy players can get a piece of the cash game action without fronting any of their own loot. These elusive player perks are known as “no deposit poker bonuses.”
A no deposit poker bonus is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a small cash bonus that is awarded to new members of a poker room, no strings attached. Sizewise the biggest poker bonuses are always deposit bonuses, but you’ve got to give some to get some with those. With a no deposit poker bonus you need only enter the right code, and voila! You’ve got cash!
Why do poker rooms offer no deposit poker bonuses? A lot of new online players are skeptical about a site that claims to offer something for nothing. After all, what’s in it for them? The answer is more obvious than it seems. If a new player enjoys their time at the cash tables and tournaments, then chances are when that first little bit of money is gone they’ll make a deposit so they can keep playing. After all, while the points-only tables are fun they definitely don’t offer the same incentive as cash action, and it’s hard to go back to playing for points after you’ve competed in a tournament with a prize pool in the thousands. In other words, that first no deposit poker bonus is a small investment that usually pays off pretty big for online poker rooms.
Where can you get no deposit poker bonuses? Unfortunately not every poker room offers them, and those that do generally only use them as a short-term promotion to drive new traffic to their tables during slow seasons. If you have a clear preference for one poker room or another, but you’re not ready to fork over your own money just yet, then the easiest way to see if they’re offering a no deposit bonus is to check their promotions page first. If there’s no mention of a no deposit bonus on their own website, hope is still not lost. Do a search of the poker room’s name and “no deposit bonus” and you might find a review or bonus site offering their own exclusive no deposit code for the site. Just be sure to enter that code when you sign up – most poker rooms won’t give no deposit bonuses to pre-existing accounts.