InterPoker is our next stop on the Bonus Hunter trail as we examine one of the most popular bonus sites on the Internet today. The reason for its popularity is the generous bonus terms and monthly reloads which make it a regular stop for bonus hunters around the world. Today we analyze these bonus terms, look at the additional value available and as always we finish with a strategy tip to help improve your poker game at the tables.
InterPoker offers a fantastic 100% to $100 Welcome Bonus which is fairly easy to clear (see clearing rates below). Each month they also offer a massive $600 in reload bonus offers (up to $1000 for Platinum VIP Members)! This is a huge bonus and they offer it EVERY single month! The great thing about their monthly reload bonuses is that you can choose a bonus option to suit your level and budget. So it doesn't matter if you are looking for a small bonus or a large one, they have a range of bonus terms to suit your particular tastes.
Clearing Rates
When playing at InterPoker you will earn MPPs while you play at their cash games, sit & gos or multi-table tournaments. Cash game play is our recommended approach for bonus clearing and will earn you one MPP for every hand raked at least $1, and one quarter of an MPP for hands raked between $0.25-$0.99.
For the welcome bonus you will clear $1 of bonus money for every 5 MPPs that you earn. The bonus is released in one payment so you must clear the entire wagering requirement before the bonus is released into you account.
This translates to an earning rate for a 1/2 Limit bonus hunter of $4.37 per hour at full ring play or $5.48 per hour when short handed. These rates are quite good, but you will notice a significant jump in clearance rates if you play at 2/4 Limit as you will add an extra $8.98 per hour at full ring or $11.23 per hour at 6-max. These rates are excellent value for near break even players.
The monthly reload bonuses, as part of the "Reload Revolution" promotion, offer a range of bonus amounts and clearance rates. You have the option of deposit/non-deposit bonus offers, amounts ranging from $20 to $600, and various clearance rates. In terms of the "best" bonus offer, you will receive better terms for the deposit options than the non-deposit options, with the best clearance rate being "Option 4" which offers a $200 bonus with a 4.75x clearance rate. For more details of the reload bonus offers and codes you should enter at the Cashier, visit the InterPoker page.
You are able to take advantage of the welcome bonus and the reload bonus in the same month. However you must clear the bonus within 3 calendar months of making your deposit and you can not withdraw until you have met the bonus requirements.
Quality of Games
InterPoker's players are typically from European regions as currently they do not support US players. This means that the game quality isn't too bad, but you should still be able to find some soft tables to play at. As part of the Cryptologic network, you'll find some casino and sportsbook punters come across to join the poker games which is good. Low limit players are generally poor, especially at the full ring games. Ideally you should be playing short handed games in order to clear the bonus more quickly, however the standard of the short handed games generally isn't too bad as you'll find some other solid bonus hunters in your games. Traffic is pretty good so you should be able to find plenty of games available at all levels.
Added Value
Besides the plethora of monthly bonus offers, you will find a wide range of additional value that you can extract during your time playing at InterPoker.
Firstly the MPPs that you earn during your game play can be used to enter various MPP tournaments which have some decent overlays. Each month InterPoker also holds a $25,000 freeroll tournament that players can buy into for 10,000 MPPs. In addition, InterPoker regularly runs a league where the biggest MPP earners each month will compete for various holiday packages and cash prizes.
InterPoker also runs a Bad Beat Jackpot which starts at $2,500 and grows by $150 every day until someone wins the lot! You need Four-of-a-Kind Jacks or higher to qualify and both hole cards must be used. The payouts vary depending on your level of play, but everyone at the table receives a payout even if they were not involved in the hand.
If you play a lot of hours then why not stick with InterPoker for the chance to join their exclusive Platinum Club? Earn 8,000 MPPs in a calendar month in order to gain access to this exclusive club. As a member of the Platinum Club you'll be treated like a VIP with features including faster payouts, exclusive enhanced promotions, access to exclusive parties, the chance to represent Interpoker in live events, and special bonuses.
The greatest added value of them all is the opportunity to win a seat to the 2007 World Series of Poker. InterPoker run daily guaranteed satellites of various buy-ins to win your way to Vegas. Take advantage of the overlays and clear your bonus at the same time as you take a shot at the opportunity of a lifetime!
InterPoker are an established poker site with a good range of games and one of the most unique and generous bonus systems available today. The diversity of bonus terms and options give the player the best opportunity to find a bonus suitable for their level of play. InterPoker also has good support and excellent cash out times. Their resource-intensive software has a few annoyances, but you should find the game play enjoyable. One feature worth mentioning is the "no cap" betting on the limit games. When you are heads-up you are able to re-raise the pot as much as you like, as opposed to the normal 4-bet rule used on most sites. Keep this in mind when you are betting the nuts against an overly-aggressive opponent!
If you are looking for a quality monthly reload bonus, with good clearance rates then look no further. InterPoker is a must stop each month for all dedicated bonus hunters out there, no matter what level or amount you play.
Strategy Tip
Controlling your emotions at the poker table is one of the most difficult lessons to learn – most often it is learnt the hard way when you make a stupid bluff because you are on tilt. Often a bonus hunter is roughly a break even player who knows the basics but struggles to turn it into consistent profit at the poker table. There is nothing wrong with making money from bonus hunting, but ultimately you should continue to try and improve your game while you play to maximize your profit. Often the only difference between a winning player and a losing player, is that a winning player knows how to lose!
What does that mean exactly? Well as glamorous as the life of a professional poker player sounds, it's not always chocolates and roses, even for the best in the business. Everyone suffers from bad beats, poor luck, downswings and variance – even the professionals and high limit players. Many professionals will even tell you about some of the big losses they've suffered, with many even going broke at some stage. Hopefully by understanding variance, losing and learning to control your emotions at the table you will be able to learn these valuable lessons without the need to go broke first!
There are many players out there with the basic understanding of poker and its concepts. As an example, take two low limit poker players, Joe and John, who are fundamentally exactly the same. They both have been playing for about 2 years and both understand basic poker principles and are able to grind out a small profit when they have winning sessions. At the end of each month Joe is able to cash out a few dollars to buy his wife a nice gift. In contrast, John scratches his head and can't understand why he doesn't have any money in his account! Only one of them is a long term winner! How does that happen?
Even though both Joe and John are able to have regular winning sessions, John struggles to control his emotions when he loses whereas Joe is disciplined and exercises emotional control techniques. So what affect does this have on the bottom line?
When Joe cops a bad beat, he understands that it's simply variance and he will win it back eventually. Sometimes he might take a break or a walk to freshen up. He limits his losses and doesn't mind going to bed if he is stuck a few dollars. His discipline and control minimizes his losses and ultimately saves him money.
On the other hand, when John cops a bad beat he often goes on tilt, gets upset, abuses his opponents and plays recklessly. When this happens John usually loses even more and escalates the problem. He ends up having a massive losing session and a migraine as he cries about why he is so unlucky and it always happens to him!
Every dollar that you don't lose is worth exactly the same amount as every dollar you win. Every time Joe and John both lose, Joe effectively makes money compared to John. Joe knows that he has excellent self control and his ability to handle losses is superior to his opponents. This gives him an edge over his opponents at the table and since poker is a game of exploiting small edges, Joe knows that over the long term his ability to handle losses will add to his profitability.
As crazy as it sounds, you will actually learn to enjoy losing! You will understand and appreciate that because you handle losing better than you opponents, you will theoretically make money every time you both lose. Learn to control your emotions and you will make more money at the poker table – it's as simple as that!
Here are some quick tips to help improve your discipline, self control, mind set and emotional state:
