Carbon Poker, the flagship room of the Merge Poker Network, offers a first deposit bonus of 100% up to $600.  As always, there’s more to a deposit bonus than meets the eye, so we’re going to take a few minutes and break down the Carbon Poker bonus to determine the true value a player can expect.

Terms
Let’s start with the basics.  The multiplier and the maximum bonus amount are fairly standard, if a bit on the low side.   The bonus applies to a single deposit –  the first deposit you make after you complete the Carbon Poker download and successfully create your account.  The minimum deposit is $10, although some payment methods may have larger minimums. 

Any unearned bonus is canceled if you make a withdrawal or if you make another deposit and use a coupon code on that deposit.  You will also be given a date in the cashier that indicates the expiration date of your remaining bonus; you have 60 days from the start of the bonus to earn the total amount.

Clearing the Bonus
Carbon Poker releases this bonus in $5 increments.  To earn a $5 increment and move the money from your bonus account to your real money account, you need to earn 375 base VIP points (multiplier points, promotional points and bonus points don’t count). 

To earn that number of VIP points, you need to pay $37.50 in rake, as Carbon awards 10 VIP points for every $1 you pay in rake.  That’s a clearance rate of 13%, which is definitely on the low end of the typical clearance rate. 

Carbon does offset this rate somewhat by offering some additional goodies to people who make a deposit; you get two weeks worth of entries into new depositor freerolls, which provides some additional value.  You also get the chance to earn free poker coaching from Drag the Bar with your play at Carbon if you earn a minimum number of points per month, which is worth another few bucks a month.

Finally, Carbon offers a solid VIP program that pays you additional benefits as you’re clearing the bonus.  Those extras help, but many other rooms provide extras as well.  Ultimately, the Carbon Poker deposit bonus represents a solid value, but not necessarily the best absolute value available from first deposit bonuses.