PokerStars Welcome Bonus: 100% up to $600

What PokerStars offers new players

The First Deposit Bonus matches your first real-money deposit 100%, capped at $600 (or €500, £400 or C$600 for accounts in other currencies). The minimum qualifying deposit is $10, and only players who have never made a real-money deposit at PokerStars are eligible.

Only one first-deposit offer can be taken across all PokerStars products. The brand also runs casino and sports welcome deals; we only cover the poker one, and choosing it means giving up the others.

We describe the international .com terms as of mid-2026. Regional sites such as the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Ontario and the US states run their own welcome offers.

How the bonus is released, step by step

Step one: deposit in the cashier and enter the bonus code shown on the official promotions page. Forgot it? Contact Support within 7 days; per the terms, a missed code can still be fixed within three months.

Step two: play real-money poker. Every $1 of cash-game rake or tournament fees earns 5 redemption points (5.5 per €1, 6.5 per £1, 4 per C$1). Step three: every 75 points release $5 to your Stars Account; euro accounts need 90 points per €5, pound accounts 100 per £5.

Progress and the expiry date are shown under My Rewards in the client.

The math: how much rake for $600

At 5 points per dollar, 75 points means $15 of rake for every $5 released. While the bonus is active it effectively returns about a third of the rake you pay, on top of what PokerStars Rewards gives you.

Releasing the full $600 takes 120 parts of $5, or roughly $1,800 in rake and tournament fees. A $100 deposit needs about $300, which is realistic for a regular micro-stakes player over a few weeks.

Deadlines and the fine print

You have four months after each qualifying deposit to earn the points, and you must start playing real-money poker within 120 days. Anything not released in time is lost, so size the deposit to the volume you actually play.

To reach the cap you may split it across up to three qualifying deposits made with the code within 60 days of the first one. Be careful with withdrawals: after any cash-out, later deposits no longer qualify, although bonus already earned from earlier deposits stays valid.

How it compares with other rooms

GGPoker also offers 100% up to $600, but releases $1 for every $5 of rake within 90 days, so the full amount takes about $3,000 of rake. At PokerStars the same $600 needs roughly $1,800 and you get four months instead of three.

Other rooms advertise bigger caps: 888poker 100% up to $1,000, ACR 100% up to $2,000 with 60 days to clear, CoinPoker 150% up to $2,000, and WPT Global returns up to $3,000, half of it through the casino. A larger headline figure is worth little if your volume cannot clear it before the deadline.

Who it suits and a few tips

The offer suits recreational players and micro- to low-stakes regulars who will play steadily for a few months. Tournament fees count too, so MTT and Spin & Go players clear it as easily as cash-game grinders.

Terms change from time to time, so check the promotions page or the cashier for the current version before you deposit. Treat the bonus as a rake discount, never as a reason to deposit more than you can comfortably lose, and set deposit limits if you need them.