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Beginners Guide – Bonuses |
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Beginners
Guides:- ______________ Main info pages: My
favourite 10 casino’s and why Deal
or No Deal Backgammon, Scratchcards, Rummy & Bingo! |
Why use
bonuses? All of my
profit over the last 6-years has only
been made due to my use of bonuses! Bonuses
are 'cash' incentives offered by the casinos to entice new players (Sign-Up
Bonus (SUB)), and to encourage existing customers to re-deposit over and over
again (Monthly or On-going Bonuses). These days most casinos have
pretty good SUB's, but only a handful have decent ongoing offers which forces
'bonus players' to move from casino to casino just collecting the sign-up
bonus & then moving on. I do not understand the mentality of these
casinos, because I would think they would want to try harder to keep existing
players, but that's the way it is, so that's the way we have to play it. Wagering
Requirements (WR) Now
obviously the casinos do not just hand out cash and let you walk off with it
- you have to 'earn' it by meeting certain Wagering Requirements
(WR). This involves Wagering a set amount of money on specified
games. e.g. If you played 10 hands of BlackJack at $10 per hand, won half
& lost half, your bank balance would be the same as when you started but
you will have wagered $100. Pay
particular attention as to whether the WR is just deposit or bonus xN,
or (deposit+bonus) xN. For
example, the best monthly bonus on the net today at Intercasino is 100% to $250 WR Bx30. This means on a
deposit of $100 you would to have to wager $3,000 on any games which count at
100% before you can cash-out the bonus money. (Many games count at lower %s). The WR or
'Turnover' required can vary from as little as 4 times your Deposit+Bonus (as
at Ladbrokes); up to 60 or even more times D+B. I
rarely, if ever, touch anything over (D+B)x20 as the chances of meeting WR
with ANY money left are very slim. It is
very important that you fully understand what the WR is before
claiming any bonuses, both in terms of how much you need to wager, and which
games you are allowed to play. The casinos carefully set up the WR
conditions so that in the majority of cases you should theoretically lose most
or the entire bonus by the time you complete them. But remember, in any month
if you play 3 casinos and break even (cash out your deposit), and at 3
other casinos you double your deposit, you're quids in! Types:- Cashable, Post-Wager, Sticky, Phantom &
Flexible Always
look very carefully to see what type of bonuses the casino is offering: Cashable: Usually the best deal; the bonus
credit is added to your account balance automatically on deposit, or shortly
after you claim it. As soon as you
complete the WR, the entire account balance is yours to keep. Post-Wager: These are also cashable, but the
bonus is not added to your account until after you have met certain WR with
your own deposited funds. Most of
these bonuses are then instantly withdrawable, but some require further WR
before all the funds are yours to keep. Sticky: Not very common these days, these
bonuses stay in your account and can never be withdrawn. They are very good
because you can withdraw any profits once you’ve met the WR, and then
continue to wager with the bonus chips, win & cash out more profit until
they are all lost! The only casinos I know who use this system are those
using Grand Virtual software, Fruit Winner
and Star Games. (The WR
at Star Games is
only Bonus x 1!) Phantom: So called because the entire bonus
is removed from your account upon your first withdrawal request. These are normally high % bonuses with
relatively low WR. Due to the format, many
bonus players use them in an ‘all or nothing’ way – placing very high wagers
to try to win a lot of profit off the bonus so they still have a significant
sum after the bonus credits are removed on cashing out. The very big risk
with that though is you are likely to get labeled as a ‘bonus abuser’ and
have your winnings confiscated. Flexible: Now introduced by most MG casinos,
this bonus is a mixture of Cashable & Phantom. Unfortunately many casinos
have trouble describing how it works (anyone who has seen Grand Prive’s
‘EZ-Bonus’ rules will know what I mean!)
But it’s actually very simple; The bonus funds are added to your
account and are initially all phantom.
As you wager the bonus credits are converted into real cash reducing
the amount of ‘phantom’ chips. With
some you can cash-out at ANY time without having to complete the full WR, but
from early 2007 many casinos require you to complete the full WR on sign-up
bonuses. When you
do cash-out any remaining bonus chips are removed from your account and lost
forever. This is
great because if you hit a good early streak or big slot win you are not
committed to huge WR! Note: With all types (except
Post-wager, of course), do not start wagering until after the bonus is
credited to your account as these bets may not count towards fulfilling the
WR (unless clearly stated in T&C’s).
Also you are usually deemed to be playing with your deposited funds
first, and the bonus last. Also,
never request a cash-out before you’ve finished WR (except with flexible
type), as this could lead to problems or being called a bonus abuser. Restricted
games You need
to understand what games you are not allowed to play in meeting the
WR. This list will usually start with the low variance games Craps, Sic
Bo, Baccarat & Roulette, on which it is possible to place large amounts
of wagers with very little risk of losing very much. (e.g. betting equally on
Red & Black on Roulette). The next
restricted games will be dependant on how generous the bonus is in terms of %
and WR, and might typically be BlackJack, Video Poker, and some of the 'Table
Poker' games. The only
games that are never restricted are Keno & Slot machines (though a few
casinos do not allow play on the big progressive jackpot slot machines). Prohibited
Games It’s
equally important to check the bonus T&C's vary carefully for prohibited
games. These are games where even if you play just one hand during your
bonus qualification, the casino will confiscate all your bonus &
winnings. This is a common trick among the less reputable places (the
worst rogues may steal your deposit too!). The difference between
prohibited & restricted games is that you are allowed to play restricted
games with your bonus, but any bets you place do not count towards meeting
WR. But prohibited games you must never play if there
is any bonus money in your account. Falling
short of WR When you
accept a bonus you are essentially entering into a contract with the casino,
which commits you to completing the WR. Failure to do so leaves
the casino open to confiscate all your bonus, deposit & winnings related
to the bonus in question. For example, if you are only half way through
the WR, have had a nice win & got your bank up to 10x your deposit,
or are struggling with only half your deposit left, and decide you want to
quit - in the vast majority of places you can't. (The only
exception is if the bonus is the ‘flexible’ type). Bonus
Abuse This is a
catch-all expression ALL casinos have written into their T&C's in one
form or another. In most cases it is not 'black & white' but
subject to ‘management discretion’. Being labeled as a 'Bonus
Abuser' at a casino should be avoided as it will lead to you being refused
any future bonuses at that casino, and at any other casinos in the same
group. The reputable casinos will refund your deposit & tell you
'no more bonuses', the less reputable may withhold all your funds! Among the
most common reasons for being called an abuser are:- · Only depositing when you get a bonus,
playing only the lowest risk game(s) and cashing out the moment you go $1
past the WR. · Trying to claim the same bonus
more than once. · Claiming a bonus & then trying
to cash out before meeting WR. · Claiming a bonus at a sister
casino in a group with a one-bonus per player across the group rule. · Trying to open multiple accounts,
either in your own name, or someone else’s name from one address, e-mail,
computer or IP address. Don’t
want the bonus? Some players
prefer not to take bonuses because they don’t like being tied down with the
WR which prevents them from withdrawing their funds. Most bonuses are automatically added to
your account, so if you don’t want it, make sure you contact the casino to
let them know and wait for their confirmation before depositing or
wagering. If you are one of these
people, you may want to consider using the ‘Flexible Bonus’ type as described
above and get the best of both worlds; a big bonus, but no restriction on
when you withdraw! Recommended next section: Beginners Guide to Card Games |
Casinos by
Software:
______________ All about KK: (See how much profit I made and where, every month since 2001!) (How
I profit online month
after month) ______________ Special
Features:- (Inc. where to
play with chips from 10c) |
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______________________________________________________________________________ Beginners Guides to: Casinos | Software
| Bonuses | Card Games | Slots
| First $100 | Screenshots
| KK’s winning methods | Top tips to winning Kwik Linx:
HOME PAGE | Recommended
Casinos: Page 1, Page 2, MG 1, MG 2, All Rivals, USA OK | Free Money | Monthlies | Sports | Bingo | Poker | Disclaimer Casino Forums: Casinomeister | OCR Forum (KK
mod) | The Gamblers Underground (KK Mod) | Winner Online | Gambling.co.uk | Links to other gaming sites www. SlotBeaters .com – Slots data
& Statistics, MG reel layouts, Slots winning strategies! |
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Page created:
March-2006. Last full review: 26/03/07. Last update: 02/02/11