Your Guide To Making Real-Money Deposits To Pokerstars From Locations Worldwide
And How You Can Claim Up To 3 Separate Welcome Bonuses!
Update - Neat Trick To Get 3 'First' Deposit Bonuses: A lot of readers do not know that you can claim your 100% welcome match up to 3 times at Pokerstars.com - up to a total of $600. In addition to outlining the key deposit methods (along with my opinion of the pros / cons of each), I have outlined the signup / depositing process below (see the big red arrow) to ensure that readers know how to maximize their welcome bonus at the world's biggest and best poker site!
For me, Pokerstars lead the way in payment processing with a huge range of deposit methods (some general, some country or geo-specific) and some of the fastest withdrawals around. They have a dedicated 'Deposit assistance department' (DAD) to help you with any issues or questions you might have before depositing.
US Readers can no longer access Pokerstars - Carbon Poker make a great alternative (albeit on a lot smaller scale) you can check out their deposit methods here or you can check my general overview of what is currently working in the world of US deposit methods here.
I will start with an overview of the key Pokerstars deposit method categories, and then give you instructions on how to ensure you get 3 welcome bonuses and not just 1!!
PokerStars Deposit Methods – Depositing On Pokerstars With Bank Cards And Credit Cards
Visa, MasterCard, Maestro and Diners Club International are all accepted deposit methods at Pokerstars – with local currency deposit options you can even avoid the exchange rate charges that these companies sometimes use. Using your plastic is a very fast and easy way to get your real-money deposit completed for most countries worldwide.
When using either a bank (debit) or credit card to deposit, you will need to withdraw at least that amount back onto the card before other withdrawal options open up. For example if you deposit $200 with your Visa card, and run this up to $2,000 (with the help of the great strategy articles here at SNG Planet!), then want to withdraw via check, Skrill or any other method - then your withdrawal will be split, with the first $200 being returned to your card. This is a minor thing for most - I am only mentioning it so that readers do not get confused!
Pokerstars Deposit Methods – Electronic Wallet Solutions
Methods in this category include Neteller, Skrill, EntroPay and UKash and more local country options. These are 'electronic wallets', which provide a secure medium between your bank account and the poker sites. These are a great idea (I personally love Skrill, which has very low fees), and come with their own cards to allow access to your funds - though you can also withdraw via your bank.
The key advantage os using eWallet deposits is that you can move your funds fast between sites. Pokerstars will offer reload bonuses throughout the year, and if you plan ahead and keep enough cash in Moneybookers or Neteller, you can transfer it back instantly to claim your bonus. These are also great for hiding any poker site transactions from your bank statement... I know that some reader's spouses might not understand that poker is not 'gambling' in the traditional sense!
There are many local variations of eWallet solutions - for example Webmoney in Russia or Abaqoos in Hungary.
Pokerstars Deposit Methods - Bank Wire / Money Transfer Options
You can make bank transfers direct to your Pokerstars account locally from many countries, and use international wire transfers for withdrawals (along with paper checks). Another popular method for depositing where you want to keep you bank out of the picture completely is to use Money Transfer services like Western Union or MoneyGram. These do come with fees, so you need to weigh up the pros and cons before going ahead with these.
Again, you will find country-specific bank transfer options, some in combination with 3rd party cards. This article would end up as 10 pages long if I attempted to list them all, so simply go to the PokerStars site, try deposit options and choose your country, see how many methods you recognize!
Depositing At Pokerstars - Claiming Up To 3 Welcome Bonuses
Here is the process you need to follow to claim up to 3 welcome bonuses. These can be up to a combined total of $600, at 100% match to your first 3 deposits. These will not be the last bonuses you get at Pokerstars - who are famous for their reloads, excellent loyalty scheme and some of the biggest promotions and specials out there!
There are two steps - first registering your account, second depositing through the cashier.
Registering at Pokerstars.com
- If you have not already done so, download the cool software from the Pokerstars.com website!
- Run the software, you will see a login box appear (if not, click the big red 'Login' button on the bottom right). On the login box hit the 'Create New Account' screen.
- Fill in your contact and screen name details, from the drop down list choose 'Affiliate Marketing Code (if available)' as shown in the screenshot below. A new box will then appear for your marketing code, use: PSP3108
- You then confirm your age to complete the registration process - you can now log in to the client.
Depositing at Pokerstars.com
- After you login the button on the bottom right becomes the 'Cashier', click on this.
- Next click the 'Buy Chips' button on the cashier screen, you will then be shown the depositing options for your country.
- Choose your option and follow the instructions, with eWallets you will see a new window to log on to your wallet, with cards you get a secure session for your details, and so on. Underneath the amount you want to deposit, you will see a box for your Pokerstars Bonus Code, here you enter STARS600 for each of those first 3 deposits, you have 60 days to claim them at 100% match up to $600.
This is a simple process and will get you off to the best possible start playing at the world's biggest and best poker site - check out Pokerstars.com for yourself now!
Further Reading on Poker Deposits
-
US Players Deposit Methods Guide
-
Poker Deposit Methods - Main Page, For A Full List Of Payment Articles
- Deposit with Luxon Pay