PokerStars.com is the biggest name in the world of online poker. In addition to delivering the most innovative poker downloadadble software, PokerStars.com also has top notch customer support, diligent security, and some of the best poker promotions in the industry, starting with the new player bonus of 100% deposit match up to $600 (€465, £390, or CAD $625).
Cashing out the free $600 is a relatively straight-forward process as long as you are prepared to deposit a total of $600 into your new PokerStars account, and play the required amount of real money cash games or tournaments.
New members qualify for the Poker Stars 100% match bonus as soon as they make their first cash deposit. The PokerStars.com welcome bonus is a 100% match bonus, meaning if you deposit $200, your bonus will be $200. The maximum bonus possible is $600, €465, £390, or CAD $625.
The real money deposit can be of any size, but you will have to deposit a total of $600 within 3 deposits, and within the first 90 days to take full advantage of the maximum bonus of $600. PokerStars has recently included this feature – allowing 3 deposits within a 90 day period – to make it easier for new players to achieve the maximum $600 bonus amount.
Again, be sure to type in the PokerStars bonus code STARS600 upon making your first deposit and any subsequent deposits that count towards this bonus (first 3 deposits).
You can “cash out” the bonus, once you have earned the requisite number of VIP Player Points (VPP’s).
Players earn VPP’s by participating in real money tourneys and games at PokerStars.com. These real money poker games charge a rake or an entry fee that the player pays, and this converts to VPP’s. Players collect more VPP’s by playing in tourneys and ring games with higher rakes. Each $1 spent on the rake earns the player 5.5 VPPs. The rake cost is dependent on the specific game. For example, a $20+2 tournament has a $2 rake. This means you pay $20 dollars to the prize pool and $2 to the house rake. Playing this tournament would award you 11 VPP’s. A $5 dollar tournament has a $0.50 rake fee, so you would earn 2.75 VPP’s.
It isn’t necessary to win the game or tournament to earn the VPP’s, every poker player automatically gets the VPP’s. Click the “Cashier” button and then the “Check My Bonus Status” button to monitor your VPP’s.
You must achieve VPP’s equal to 17 times the bonus amount (based on $USD figure, see table below for VPP clearance rates in other currencies). So to cash out the maximum bonus of $600, you would need to earn 17×600 or 10,200 VPP’s. The cash bonus is released in increments of 10 ($10, £10, €10 etc), each transferred into your account as you clear the needed VPP’ss (e.g. 170 VPPs for every $10 increment). You have 6 months after each qualifying deposit to earn all the VPP’s required to collect your bonus cash, which is plenty of time to get the maximum bonus of $600, €465, £390, or CAD $625!
| Currency | Max Bonus | Clearance Rate |
|---|---|---|
| USD ($) | $600 | 17 VPP's per 1 USD |
| EUR (€) | €465 | 22 VPP's per 1 EUR |
| GBP (£) | £390 | 26 VPP's per 1 GBP |
| CAD ($) | CAD $625 | 16 VPP's per 1 CAD |
The bonus awards will automatically be deposited into your cashier account and you will receive an email from Poker Stars informing you that a bonus has been transferred into your account. Go to your PokerStars account screen to confirm that the bonus is no longer listed as “Pending”, and then check “History” in the “Cashier” section to see that it has been applied to your real money balance.
When you break down the PokerStars welcome bonus in terms of tournament play, you must spend approximately $3 in tournament fees to earn $1 in bonus. This 3:1 ratio is typical among the online poker rooms. But PokerStars offers more flexibility with its welcome bonus by allowing 3 deposits to qualify towards the bonus and 6 months to earn the necessary VPP’s.
As stated earlier, opening your new account with the PokerStars Marketing Code of “PSA7201” unlocks some extra advantages! Use PSA7201 in the Marketing Code field, and qualify to enter in $1,000 worth of freerolls and money added tournaments every month!
Below is a summary of the special events you can play in, every month:
$500 freeroll – You must earn 200 FPP’s the previous month, and you qualify to play for free! This event is held on the 14th of every month!
$500 money added – $5 buy-in and restricted for ONLY those who sign up to play on PokerStars with the marketing code PSA7201 and then register a http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerforum/ account at our partners at FlopTurnRiver.com. The password is published in the FlopTurnRiver.com forums every month!
Not only can you receive $600 of bonus cash, but also compete in events that have $1,000 added to the prize pools every month!
PokerStars offers several other promotions that deliver real value. The VIP Club is one of the best in the industry allowing players to spend their frequent player points on electronics, tournament entries, and even cash. The Multi-Table Tournament Leader Board gives away thousands of dollars in prize money. The leader boards rank the best tourney players each week, month and year, across all buy-in levels. It’s the largest leader board promotion in the online poker world.
Follow these PokerStars download instructions to get started!
