Types of Online Casino Bonuses

The best part of playing an online casino is the bonuses. You can usually earn a free cash bonus just for signing up. And, the account is free. However, there are conditions with nearly ever bonus so read everything before agreeing. In some cases, you may not want to accept a bonus. Read the terms and conditions associated with every bonus very carefully to see if it’s worth your while. Below are the different types of bonuses offered at online gambling sites.

The most common type of bonus at online casinos is the match bonus. The casino matches a certain percentage of your deposit. They are generally offered for your first deposit and can be any percentage. It’s pretty easy to find an online casino with a 100% match on your first deposit so go for that. This type of bonus will only be worth up to a certain amount of money and may apply to certain casino games. Sometimes, you can find a casino that is offering an equal or lessor match on your next few deposits, too. For example, Go Casino is offering a $20,000 bonus over the span of your first 10 deposits. This is the kind of welcome bonus you don’t want to miss out on.

Another type is the cashable bonus, where wager requirements must be met before withdrawing the bonus money. This bonus money is added on to your casino winnings. A sticky bonus may not be withdrawn but any winnings from playing the sticky can. A cash back bonus is the best type of bonus and, not surprisingly, the rarest offered. A cash back bonus is given after a loss. Part of your stake is returned to your account, sometimes as much as 20% each week. In other words, you would get 20% of your losses back for the week. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?

Online Gambling Know How

Know how is practical knowledge of how to get something done and that’s exactly what the point of this post is—what it takes to be a successful Internet gambler. There are three main things you should know before joining an online casino.

First, you should know the games. If you want to stand a chance, you must understand the rules and strategies for each game before you start gambling. Know the house advantage of each game. Play for free to test the online casino before gambling with real money.

Slots are the most popular online casino game because they are easy and effective. The progressive jackpots get substantial and the themes and graphics draw the player in. Payouts range between 95-98%. Behind that, online poker is very popular due to the rise of televised poker events like the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour. The most popular form of poker because of T.V. is Texas Hold’em poker. It is common among the young crowd because it’s easy to play online and they aspire to be like those professionals they see on T.V. There are many different variations to poker and they all require a certain strategy. Video poker is another popular skill game that combines the rules of slots and 5-card poker. Blackjack is another skill game that is simple and exciting. The card game has basic rules but there are many different strategies involved. The last most popular table game is roulette. This is another simple game that is based more on luck than strategy. It’s easy once you understand the betting layout. The Internet casino graphics bring roulette to life just like a real casino. Aside from that there are many other table games online that you would normally find at a land-based casino like craps, baccarat, keno, etc.

The second thing you should know about an online casino before signing up is that it is licensed by a third party organization like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance). Do a little research into the site and make sure it is a reputable company. They may own other trusted online gambling sites. Make sure they have secure banking procedures and use trustworthy software like Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, Playtech, Cryptologic, Rival Gaming, Vegas Technology, etc.

The third know how to Internet gambling is knowing your limits. This is one of the most important parts of being a successful gambler. Set win and loss limits or a duration of time to play and stick to it. Even if you’re in the hole a little bit and think you can make a comeback and break even, stop playing and walk away. There’s a drive inside you that makes you want to keep playing but that drive can lead to more debt and addiction. Come back later with a clear head. Also, know that you’re bound to lose at some point if you keep winning. Don’t get greedy because the house still rules online.

Online Casino Tips for Beginners

Online casinos have all the bells and whistles of a brick and mortar casino, yet none of the distractions and waiting in line. So why not gamble online from the comfort of your home? All the most popular casino games like blackjack, roulette, poker, slot machines, baccarat, craps and more are available. You can practice for free without risking any money. And, you get free bonus money for signing up with an online casino. Sounds easy, right? Well, if you’re a beginner, it can get intimidating. Here are some tips to safeguard yourself.

Know your local laws. Make sure it is legal to gamble online where you live and that you are of legal age to do so. Learn the rules and strategies of each game before playing them. It doesn’t matter if you’ve played and won the game before. There is such a thing as beginner’s luck. Trust me when I say that you need strategy to win a game consistently. Make sure the online casino is licensed and find unbiased reviews of the online gambling site. A simple Internet search can help you find some quality reviews. If the online casino is licensed, your personal information is safe.

Next, see what kind of bonuses and promotions are currently being offered and look up the past ones, usually on the tournament page. There will be strings attached except for certain no-deposit bonuses so read the fine print. Some bonuses may only apply to specific games. While you’re doing that, test the streaming quality of the website. Can you play online or do you have to download their software? Try out some games if a free play option is available. Most online casinos offer that. Find out what they accept as payment options and check the deposit/withdrawal limits. Test the customer support with a simple question to see if it really is 24/7 and if they are courteous and respectful of your needs. Last but not least, remember that gambling is a source of entertainment. If you lose too much and it becomes stressful, it’s time to stop.

Online Slot Betting

Slots, whether they are online or at a brick and mortar casino, are the most common casino game. Though they are popular, they are not without their problems. The main problem is that they have a high house edge and, since there is no strategy involved, there is nothing you can do to change the odds.

While you can’t change the odds of winning on a particular spin, you can impact the amount of money in play and, as a result, control how long your money supply lasts. The first thing you need to know that slots betting is about risk-reward. Most online slots are multi-line games, where you can choose how many paylines to put in play. With those slots, you pay per line, so each spin when playing 25 lines will cost five times as much as each spin playing five lines.

At the same time, the amount of money you win on successful spins is proportionate to your bet. For example, a winning combination when you played 5 lines will be 5 times the amount of that same winning combination if you only bet on a single line. Some people then think that you should bet the maximum to make the most money.

However, you should remember that since slots have a house advantage, you are more likely to lose money on the spin than to win. For that reason, wagering more means losing more and in the long run, it will cause you to run out of money faster. As I said, though, it’s a risk-reward scenario, because if you hit the jackpot you will wish you had bet the maximum.

Progressive slots have that same risk-reward issue. Since the machines are tied together, they carry much larger jackpots. However, another way in which the jackpots are kept higher is that they pay out less often on the smaller wins. For that reason, progressive slots should only be played if you’re going after the massive jackpot, understanding that you probably won’t hit it and will most likely lose all of your money. With that in mind, I recommend that you always bet the maximum with a progressive slot. It may cause you to lose money faster, but the last thing you want to do is hit a massive progressive jackpot and only get a fraction of that payout.

In short, with regular slots, I recommend betting the minimum in order to make your money last longer. Conversely, with progressive slots, I recommend betting the maximum to take advantage of the huge jackpots.

Betting Systems Should Be Avoided

If you have ever been to a casino or listened to stories of people playing at casinos, chances are you know about betting systems. There are countless betting systems out there, each promising a different way of beating the casino. Here is all you need to know about betting systems, though: They don’t work.

There are two types of people who invent or push betting systems: Those who scam people for money and those who are being scammed. Sure, there are people who use betting systems and actually think they are working, but those people are wrong.

Betting systems are supposed to tilt the odds toward the player in games of chance, but nothing you can do with your wagering will help. The odds of a certain outcome are the same no matter what you bet. Take the Martingale system, for example. One of the most popular betting systems, the Martingale simply says to bet a flat amount on winning hands but double the wager after a loss. The thinking is that if you lose money on one bet and then double your money and win, you win that money back.

Such a system doesn’t take into account the possibility of a long losing streak, which can happen in any casino game. If you keep losing and continue doubling your bets, you can quickly run out of money. Most people don’t have an unlimited bankroll, and for the Martingale system to work, you need unlimited funds to make sure you get to have that one win that cancels out the losses.

Casinos also put maximum bet limits on their games specifically to protect against the Martingale strategy. Due to the limit, if on a losing streak, even if you have unlimited funds, by repeatedly doubling your bet you can eventually reach an amount that is above the betting limit before you win. Put simply, the Martingale will cause you to lose money faster than in flat betting.

The D’Alembert system is no better. In this betting system, you increase your bet when you lose and decrease it when you win. Like with the Martingale, this system will have a disastrous effect if you have a limited bankroll and get into a losing streak. The maximum bet limits casinos have in place will curb this system as well.

The Parlay system is another popular betting system and it is basically the opposite of the Martingale and the D’Alembert. If people are pitching two opposite strategies as a way to beat a casino, chances are they don’t work. Such is the case with the Parlay system. With this system, you would “let it ride,” which means to bet part or all of your winnings on the next hand. If you get on a winning streak, this can make you money, but in the long run it has a different effect: You lose your winnings.

Think of it this way. Instead of keeping and protecting your winnings, you are exposing it to the house edge. That means that in the long run, the casino will take a lot of your winnings back. Betting your winnings is the last thing you should do.

The best betting strategy is the simplest strategy of all. Choose the amount of money that you want to spend at the casino and then use a little math and figure out how much money you want to wager each time. Then stick to that amount and bet the same amount every time. Any money you win should be separate and not be wagered. If you do that, you will either win more or lose less money at the casino.

Increasing Your Blackjack Odds

Like in brick and mortar casino, blackjack is one of the most popular online casino games. Blackjack enthusiasts will find not only standard blackjack, but blackjack variations and progressive blackjack games.

Not only that, but players will also find online blackjack tournaments as well. Not every type of online casino game will have tournaments offered at online casinos. The only ones that do are blackjack, slots, roulette and video poker. Naturally there are only poker rooms, but they are a bit different from online casinos.

When it comes to playing blackjack online it is not too much different from playing blackjack in a brick and mortar casino. And just like when playing in a brick and mortar casino, you will want to use strategy to increase your blackjack odds. Increasing your odds through strategy is the best way to increase your winnings.

The first aspect of strategy you want for online blackjack is a basic strategy chart. A basic strategy chart tells you the best statistically play to make for every hand against any dealer up card.

These can be found easily online. Most online blackjack games are played with six to eight decks, although online casinos generally will not tell you how many decks. So make sure you find a basic strategy chart for either a six or eight deck game. There is not too much of a difference between the two so either will do.

Once you have found a chart, leave it open in another window so that you can reference it easily. All you need to do is check the chart for the hand you were dealt against the dealer’s up card, and see what play basic strategy tells you to make. Then make that play. Playing with basic strategy can lower your online blackjack odds to around 0.5%.

Next would normally come the advice on card counting. But there really is no advice for card counting in online blackjack. This is because card counting in online blackjack is not possible.

The way the cards are dealt and discarded in online blackjack can be likened to games in a brick and mortar casino that use a continuous shuffle machine (CSM). When a round is finished, all of the discarded cards are not removed from play. They are fed into the CSM and shuffled back into the deck. Without cards being removed from play, card counting cannot happen.

Because the Random Number Generator (RNG) in online blackjack games pulls all game outcomes, including all cards dealt, all cards are in play at the beginning of each round. With no cards being removed from play in online blackjack, card counting is pointless to try.

Using a blackjack strategy is the best way to increase your online blackjack odds. And increasing your odds is your first step to increasing your winnings.

Payout Percentages at Online Casinos

One of the benefits of playing at an online casino is that they will often have a better payout percentage than a brick and mortar casino. And a better payout percentage is good news for you.

A payout percentage is the percentage that an online casino pays back out of the wagers made there. It is calculated by adding up all of the winnings paid out to players and then divided by the total amount of all the wagers made at that online casino; that number is then multiplied by one hundred, and there you go, you have the payout percentage.

As an example, we will say that an online casino has paid out $90,000 in winnings while it was taken in $100,000 in wagers. This is how its payout percentage is calculated:

90,000 / 100,000 = 0.9 x 100 = 90 or 90%

That means the online casino in the above example has a 90% payout percentage. In real life the amount of winnings and wagers made is a lot higher. And most online casinos have a payout percentage higher than 90%.

The reason that online casinos have higher payout percentages than a brick and mortar casino is because they do not have the overhead that brick and mortar casinos do. Online casinos have smaller staffs so they do not have to pay as much in employee wagers, overtime and benefits. Because they take up less physical space their rent is less and their utilities are less.

They also do not have the upkeep costs that brick and mortar casinos have. They do not need to call in someone to fix a broken slots game since the slots game is virtual rather than an actual machine.

When looking for an online casino, check out the payout percentages of those that are out there. Take those percentages into consideration. The higher the payout percentage the more money that is going back to players either in larger payouts or in more frequent payouts.

A higher payout percentage does not guarantee that you will win more, but it increases your chances of winning more.

Choosing the Right Online Casino

Choosing the right online casino is like choosing a fine wine. It can look good on the outside, but once you get in and taste it, you could be unpleasantly surprised. There are a number of things to consider before signing up so get your pen and paper ready.

First, look at the selection of games available on the website. Do they suit your interests? If you like to play card games, you might not necessarily care that they have 100 different slot machines to play. Instead, look for a wide range of poker games. Test out the streaming quality of the website. Make sure it offers 24/7 customer service. Most websites offer this in case you encounter problems with software loading, payments or withdrawals. Shop around for the best welcome bonuses. Some get up to the thousands depending on how many deposit matches are available. Other types of bonuses may come on your birthday, holidays or participation in tournaments. Most online casino games offer better payouts than land-based casinos so check on those as well. Do they offer free play for practice as well as playing with real money? Are there classes offering free games and tutorials on how to play? These are especially important for beginners who need practice.

Above all else, make sure the online casino is a licensed operator. Check for symbols from third party auditors like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) and TST (Technical Systems Testing). When you make payments and withdrawals, you can link up your bank account to the online casino. Be careful of identity theft by making sure your credit card and banking information is kept on a secured server. If you don’t find anything on the website that says it is licensed, it could be a fraud. Rogue online casinos have become a serious issue. Do an internet search on the casino and get some reviews on it. Some illegitimate casinos share content so copy a paragraph from the website and paste it into an internet search engine. If you find the exact same content on other websites, steer clear. Are the terms and conditions clear? Don’t fall prey to a hidden agenda on bonuses like wagering requirements.