PokerStars Bonus Clearing

New Players Welcome Package

All new players will receive a 31-day ticket to PokerStars' exclusive 100K Privilege Freerolls. The tournaments are free to enter and exclusive to new depositors and special VIPs. Play now for your chance to win at least $1,000 four times a day. The best thing is, there's no limit to how many freerolls you can play before your ticket expires, so deposit now and start playing.

100% up to $600 Deposit Bonus

PokerStars also offers all new players a bonus of 100% up to $600 over their first three deposits. You have 90 days to make three qualifying deposits (up to a maximum of $600) in order to unlock your bonus. Deposit $250 now and start working on unlocking your $250 bonus. A week later, deposit another $250 and your bonus amount will increase to $500. A month later, deposit another $100 and maximize your bonus amount to a total of $600.

Use the bonus code STARS600 to claim your bonus and start earning money now!

Clearing the Bonus

To clear the bonus, play real money cash games or tournaments and collect VIP Player Points (VPPs). To earn the bonus, you must collect VPPs equal to 17 times the bonus amount. For example, if you deposit $400, you will need to earn 6,800 VPPs. There is a 6-month limit to earn all the VPPs needed to unlock the full bonus amount.

Releasing the Bonus: Incremental

The bonus is released in $10 increments into your account - every 170 VPPs gains you $10, automatically placed into your account. If you want to collect the full $600 bonus, you must collect 10,200 VPPs (170*60), and receive 60 individual $10 deposits.

Earning VIP Player Points

You can earn VPPs by playing in any game on PokerStars that has a rake or fee. In PokerStars tournaments and Sit & Go's, you earn points based on how much the entry fee costs. For every $1.00 USD in fees paid, you will earn 5.5 VPPs. If, for example, you play a tournament that costs $20+$2 to enter, the entry fee is $2. In this case, you will earn 11 VPP (2 * 5.5).

Note: "Play Money" and "Freeroll" tournaments do not charge a cash fee, and therefore do not award any PPs.

In cash games, VPPs are awarded based on the total rake taken multiplied by the VPP rate. This rate can change depending on the number of players, seats, and stakes. The total amount of VPPs is then divided among players who were involved in the pot, based on the amount each player contributed. For example, in a $2/$4 No-Limit Hold'em Ring Game with 5 players, the total pot is $200, and $6 rake is collected. 33 VPPs (6 * 5.5) is awarded to the table, to be separated between the 5 players.

Clearing Rates

The chart listed above offers estimation of how many hands/tournaments are needed in order to clear the bonus amount. Based on tournaments, the bonus works out to be approximately 32% rakebake, as it takes $1855 to get back $600. On cash games the rakebake works out to be between 30-40%.

The player has 180 days (24 weeks, or 6 months) to collect the entire bonus. Playing $50NL, the average player will have to play approximately 77,000 hands, or 3,200 per week. For the average $100NL player, it will take approximately 48,000 hands, or 1750 hands per week.