Rake structure beats bonus by 10× over volume
A typical NL50 cash player generates $400–$800 in rake per 100k hands. A welcome bonus of $600 with 8× rake-clearing = full value, but that is once. Rake structure (capped vs uncapped, weighted contribution method) affects every hand for the lifetime of the account. Check: cap per pot ($3 standard NL100), contribution method (weighted-contributed vs dealt), and whether the rake doubles for heads-up pots.
Cash-game traffic at YOUR hours
PokerStars, GGPoker — biggest pools globally, but ringfenced (PokerStars.eu, .es, .fr, .it). Your pool is the country pool, not the global one. Check traffic at 7–11pm local time on a weekday. PokerScout-style sites (when up) and operator lobbies before deposit are the only honest sources.
Bot and RTA enforcement
Bots eat rake meta and corrupt soft fields. Sites publishing quarterly enforcement transparency reports (PokerStars, partypoker, GGPoker) are materially better than rooms that publish nothing. Site-internal "Smart HUD" features (GGPoker) are convenient for casual play but raise ethical questions for grinders coming from a no-HUD environment.
Withdrawal SLA and KYC
Online cash players cycle balances. A 24h withdrawal SLA at PokerStars vs 4h at GGPoker is a 5× difference in capital efficiency. KYC at signup (PokerStars, 888) vs at first cashout (GGPoker, depending on jurisdiction) decides whether you start with a clean account or fight for documents while losing volume.
Frequently asked
Is a $600 welcome bonus worth picking a worse room?
Almost never for a cash player. Convert the bonus to per-hand value: $600 / 25,000 hands cleared = $0.024/hand. A 10% better rake structure on $0.05/hand average is $0.005/hand — but it lasts forever. Rake compounds; bonus does not.
Are tournament players different?
Yes — for MTT players, field size and tournament guarantees dominate. PokerStars and GGPoker are nearly tied; 888poker has soft fields but small guarantees. Pick based on volume goal vs ROI goal.