There are so many online poker rooms these days that it can be difficult to find just where to start. Most players will stay at the first room they ever play at. If that room is one of the better ones then that player might stay playing and have an enjoyable time. Who knows, it could be the start of a whole new career.

If they are unlucky enough to start in a 'bad' room, they might stop playing altogether and the exciting and enjoyable world of internet poker might be lost to them forever.

Fortunately, the proliferation of internet poker rooms has given rise to a wonderful, new phenomenon - the No Deposit Poker Bonus. Free money, in other words. Simply because there are so many competing poker rooms, some rooms offer new players money just to play in their room and try out the software.

It really is a good deal for both sides. The new player gets some free cash - that's never a bad thing - and the poker room gets a shot at converting the player into a long term customer.

Of course, there are always restrictions on the 'free' cash. No poker room is going to give you money that you can simply take and walk away. There would be little point in that; they would soon go broke. So instead, they require you to gamble with the cash at the poker tables. Makes sense, and that is what you want, cash to gamble with. The requirements vary from room to room, but basically you will have to play a certain number of hands at the poker tables before you can 'cash out' your bankroll. If you win the winnings are yours to keep. If you lose, well you started with nothing, so you've lost nothing.

More importantly, you get to see what the poker room is like. You might find that even though you lost, you really enjoyed the poker room. You might find that even though you won, it wasn't a pleasurable experience. Whatever the outcome, you found it out for free.

If you do happen to like the first room you play at with free money, there are so many offers available that you really should open a few more free money accounts just to get a 'feel' for different online poker software. Quite literally you have nothing to lose, and potentially a whole lot to gain.