Online Poker VIP Programs

Online poker sites come with many benefits which is something which has caused them to see a tremendous growth in recent years. They are very popular with players with varying levels of poker playing experience. On top of offering players a great atmosphere packed with rewards and convenience, the poker rooms take it a step further and offer players VIP programs which add to the overall experience of playing on the Internet. Most poker sites will have their own VIP program in place, so players always want to read up on the VIP program when they go to a new poker site. Here are the basics of how a typical poker site's VIP Program work:

Land Based versus Online Poker

The land based casinos offer their players club cards in which the players accumulate points for playing. Players can then redeem those points for such rewards as free rooms, free buffets, and even show tickets. Online poker rooms can’t offer their players these same rewards, but they can offer them other types. This is where the VIP programs come in to play.

Earning Points

Players will earn points while they are playing in the games. Real money poker sites will have different requirements when it comes to how the players earn those points. This means some of the online poker sites will require players to play in specific games in order to earn points while other poker sites may offer points for any real money game the player participates in. The amount of points earned also varies and some of the poker sites make it easier for players to earn points than other poker sites do. This is why it’s important for a player to read the information on each VIP program.

Most VIP Programs have what are referred to as tiers. The more VIP points a player earns the higher up the tiers they will go. Climbing the tiers is a very good thing because the rewards get better the higher up the players go. The higher the tier also generally means players can earn points much faster.

Joining the VIP club

While the online poker sites generally do a good job of introducing their VIP programs, players should do a little research online in order to get neutral reviews of the VIP program a real money online poker site has available. Luckily, there are many reviews that go in depth about the VIP programs and it is free to read these reviews.

Some of the poker sites allow a player to join the VIP program right away, while others require players to meet certain conditions first. Some of these conditions may include being a player on the site for a certain amount of time, playing in a certain number of games, spending a required amount of money, or meet other requirements.

Redeeming points

Real money online poker sites allow players to exchange their points for merchandise and other rewards. One popular reward many of the VIP programs offer to their players is the chance to use their VIP points in order to enter tournaments. VIP points may also go toward purchasing merchandise located in the poker sites store section. This merchandise can be anything from shirts with the site logo, televisions, iPods, even computers. VIP points may be redeemed for credits or cash; and this variety is very appealing to many players.

There may be a minimum point requirement the players need to meet before they are allowed to redeem their VIP points for any of the rewards. The minimum point requirement will vary from site to site and this information should be clearly stated in the VIP section.

Do Your Research - Not All VIP Programs Are The Same

Some of the real money online poker sites make the VIP program one of the main focuses of their site while others offer it as a little extra benefit of playing at their site. This means players need to have it in their mind already how important a good VIP program is to them before they decide which place they are going to register at.

When it comes to choosing the right online poker site players will have several things to consider along with the VIP program. They also need to choose a poker site which runs off of solid and secure software, has a good selection of poker games, sees a large amount of daily traffic, offers excellent bonuses and other promotions, and has good customer support. By finding a poker site which offers all of these, they can enjoy their time playing online poker much more and will reap many benefits along the way.

By: Peter Smith