Today I’d like to talk about an additional incentive to play on PokerStars, one of the best US poker sites. VIP programs are perhaps nothing new to you, but you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised when it comes to the one at PokerStars. As incentive to play several hands, PokerStars gives VIP Player Points (VPPs) and Frequent Player Points (FPPs) to the people that play games with real money on their site. The more you play, the more points you’ll earn, and you will receive more cash and merchandise the more points you have.

Until you use a PokerStars marketing code and play any hands on the site, you will have zero VPPs and FPPs. VPPs are only good for a couple things: keeping track of bonuses as you clear them, and keeping track of your VIP level. FPPs, however, can be redeemed in the VIP store on merchandise, or they can be spent on tournament buy-ins where applicable. In total there are four possible monthly VIP statuses and two special yearly VIP statuses.

As soon as you download PokerStars, you automatically start your account at BronzeStar. It’s true that BronzeStar is the first VIP level possible, but it’s still possible for its members to earn extras and bonuses. This status still gives FPPs for playing at the real money tables, and they can spend the FPPs on standard merchandise in the VIP store. At the first VIP level, people are also eligible for Stellar Rewards, cash bonuses given to players once they reach special VPP totals. Over the course of a year, a player can earn up to $1,000 in Stellar Rewards.

Once you become a SilverStar by earning 750 VPPs in a month, you retain the BronzeStar perks and you get extra SilverStar perks. To start off, you receive an FPP multiplier of 1.5 so that you can receive FPPs 50% faster. This is basically a higher amount of PokerStars rakeback. When you want to redeem your FPPs, you now can buy SilverStar merchandise. Finally, you can participate in VIP tournaments held weekly and monthly. Every week you can play in a $30k VIP tournament, and you now have the option to win your way into the monthly $100k tournament.

The benefits start to get pretty good once you hit 3,000 VPPs and GoldStar. You now receive two times more FPPs via your multiplier, and now you can purchase the special GoldStar merchandise. This VIP level gives you even more chances to play VIP MTTs. You receive a free ticket to the $100k tournament so that you don’t have to satellite in, and for an even larger prize pool, you can play the quarterly $1 million VIP tournaments. These tournaments are hosted four times per year and you must satellite into them.

PlatinumStar requires that you are really dedicated to money poker sites, but the rewards are great. First off, you receive an FPP multiplier of 2.5. You can spend your FPPs on PlatinumStore merchandise, and now you have an extra chance to win a seat into the quarterly $1 million tournaments. These satellites give more seats than the GoldStar satellites and are exclusive to PlatinumStar members.

I’ve finished telling you about the monthly VIP statuses, but there is still plenty to know about the yearly VIP statuses. I’ve already rambled on too much for today, though, so that will be our topic for next time. While you are waiting for part 2 of this topic, get the PokerStars download and start moving up the VIP ladder!

Earlier this month I mentioned that PokerStars is among the best US poker sites because they are providing women with plenty of great chances to participate in Texas Holdem. The latest and greatest promotion is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The PCA has become an annual series that takes place at the start of every new year. There is a Ladies Event, so you can give poker a try and play some qualifiers to the tournament.

The Atlantis Resort and Casino is the venue hosting the PCA. Every year thousands of people take advantage of a PokerStars marketing code with the thought of earning a prize package that will whisk them away to fun in the Bahamas. PCA 2011 has 45 events running between January 7th and 16th. The Main Event is $10,300. The winner for 2010 won $2.2 million and became a millionaire!

Women new to US friendly poker sites won’t feel comfortable competing for $10k buy-ins, so PokerStars also sponsors a Ladies tournament for a $1.1k buy-in. This two day event starts on January 14th.

A minimum of one prize package to this event will be won on Sundays in a $215 satellite that starts at 5:30 ET. One package is awarded for every 16 or 17 people, and each prize is worth $3.28k. If your bankroll for online poker rooms can’t handle $215 buy-ins, there are tons of satellites to this Sunday tournament. Every day there is a $2.20 rebuy, several $11 rebuys, and a $33 freezeout.

If you get a PokerStars download and go on to earn a PCA package, you win more than just the $1,100 buy-in. You get 4 nights accommodation at Atlantis, $700 for travel expenses, and an entry into the Women’s Poker Bootcamp with Vanessa Rousso. These Bootcamp hours are worth $300, and the lessons happen on January 14th. This poker training is way better than any strategy video you could watch! Last year was the first year for the Ladies Event, and Vanessa actually won it.

I think it’s really wonderful that PokerStars is offering women ways to play in such a prestigious series. If you have just started with this popular game, it might be good to read some strategy articles to learn some hand tips. Then play lots of hands on the best online poker sites. Have fun in the sun in January!

In the first entry, I asserted that Full Tilt is one of the best US poker sites available on the Internet partly because they offer Rush Poker. Playing Rush Poker Holdem or Omaha is a good way of utilizing the rewards program at Full Tilt. Playing games for real money at the tables allows you to receive points, and there are special tables that give you the chance to earn these points two to three times faster. You can also show that you are among the best online poker players by participating in the Iron Man Challenge.

The site rewards players Full Tilt Points as they play games at real money tables as thanks for making a Full Tilt Poker download. In cash games, participants earn one Point for every $1 of rake paid in a given hand. As an example, if you play in a hand that ends up raking $2.25, you would obtain 2.25 Points. Each hand gives a maximum of three Points. Perhaps you built your bankroll playing tournaments on Tiger Gaming. MTTs give seven Full Tilt Points per $1 in rake that you pay. For instance, if you were to play in a $200+$16 tournament, you would earn 112 Full Tilt Points. You can check your point total from the lobby’s cashier window.

Maybe you’ve already played a lot of Rush Poker and you’ve earned a bunch of Points. Now what? Now you spend them at the Full Tilt Poker Store on anything you want! The store has several items including Full Tilt apparel such as jerseys and shirts, electronics such as cameras and sound systems, and drinkware such as martini glasses and freezer mugs. You can buy a variety of poker items such as chip sets, you can increase your poker knowledge by buying access to a Cardrunners poker video, or you can choose from a category of miscellaneous items like watches or sunglasses. If you don’t want to buy anything from the store, you have the option to spend your Points on special tournaments and get into some of the big weekly tourneys.

If you’d like to accumulate even more Points, play on your Full Tilt download during special Happy Hour times. When you play on Happy Hour tables, you earn two or even three times more Points than during regular hours. Happy Hour changes daily, so make sure you watch the lobby every day to learn when Happy Hour is.

If you play tons of online poker on poker sites, you might be interested in the Iron Man Challenge. When you receive a certain number of Points for a certain number of days in a month, you receive medals. For example, receiving 50 Points for 20 days or 100 Points for 15 days in a month would earn you bronze medal status on this download free poker site. The most coveted prize is Iron Man medals which are awarded if you earn 200 Points for 25 days out of the month. There is a bronze, silver, gold, and Iron Man status, and reaching a status for multiple months in a row will earn you even more medals. You can spend these medals like Points but this time on exclusive items in the Iron Man Challenge Store. Each status also has a chance to play in a special freeroll where you try to win a $50k or $100k heads-up match with a pro! And for the players that play the highest volume of hands, there is Iron Man Plus going from the regular 200 Points to 500 Points.

VIP programs are springing up at every site in an attempt to get you to play at only one site. Full Tilt is the same, and their points system and extra freerolls are way better than the Roulette bonus you found the other day. It’s a fact that keeping the Iron Man status is a hard thing to do, but the goodies make the extra work worth the trouble.