Top 15 Gambling Tips About Online Casinos
It’s a jungle out there in the world of online casinos. You may think that taking risks and feeling lucky will eventually pay off but that’s not really true, is it? In reality, only gamblers that are prepared will thrive while the rest will simply lose their money. Down below, we’ve gathered 15 quality gambling tips that will help you better prepare for the world of online casinos.
Tip #1 Set up a gambling budget
It really doesn’t matter if you earn $200 or $2,000,000 – you should always set up a gambling budget! If you don’t, you’re more likely to burn through all your money in no time without even noticing. You may think that you have enough and that there’s nothing to worry about but that’s exactly how online casinos want you to feel. They want you to forget about the money and just go with the flow. When you do, you probably won’t even notice that you’re broke until your card gets declined. Sure, most online casinos will have preventions, but not all of them are made equally.
So, set up a budget. The amount doesn’t matter but it should be something that you can afford to lose. Speaking of losing, you should consider your budget “spent” before you actually spend it. That way, you won’t be too disappointed when you, eventually, do run out of money. Remember that online gambling should be entertaining first and lucrative second.
Tip #2 Sticky bonuses are not your friends
Casinos will often try to hide the fact that their bonuses are sticky. In case you don’t know, when you activate an online casino bonus, sometimes the bonus will have you wager both your deposit and bonus amount in order to meet the bonus wagering. This is called a sticky bonus because your real money deposit, literally sticks to the bonus amount and can’t be withdrawn back until you meet the wagering.
Sticky bonuses are generally considered to be a really bad deal and you should do well to steer clear of them. Always go for bonuses that will have you wager only your bonus amount. Otherwise, the casino will have already spent your money without you even realizing it.
Tip #3 Don’t get too excited about VIP programs
Everyone likes being a VIP, right? It’s such a great feeling knowing that you are getting better treatment than an average player. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case with online casinos. Most of the time, VIP benefits suck. They will try to glorify them but in reality, these are nothing but incentives to make you spend even more money at the casino or just useless things. Nobody really gets happy by being offered better customer service, a VIP manager, or faster withdrawals.
Always check what the VIP actually offers before you start accumulating those loyalty points. Don’t just go for the higher loyalty tiers for the sake of getting to the highest level. Make sure you get something in return first.
Tip #4 Resist larger odds
When you play casino games such as Roulette or craps, you’ll have a lot of different bets to place. The less risky ones have low odds while high-risk ones have high odds. Resist the high odds because you will just end up losing all your money. If you watch a live table game, you probably won’t see anyone place high-stakes bets. So why are they there? Simple: they are there so they can temp you with the potential of more money.
Tip #5 Learn what house edge actually means
You’ve probably heard of the term “House edge” or “The house always wins” and it’s very likely that you know what it means. It’s simple to assume that a casino will get about 1-10% of all games played but that really doesn’t mean that you will get the other 90%. Oh, sure, online casinos want you to think that you have such power and they will happily make you believe that for as long as possible (or at least until you run out of money).
The house edge is valid, but it’s only valid in the LONG RUN. The house edge isn’t in every single specific game, so don’t expect it to always be “fair”. You’ll have games where you will lose all the time and a few games where you will actually win. The most basic way I can explain this is: at the end of the day, most players will lose, a few will win but the casino will have made a profit. It’s always been like that.
Tip #6 Learn to crawl before you learn to walk
If you are just starting out with casino games, start from the very beginning. While you don’t need much knowledge to play slots, it’s a little different with table games. In games like roulette, start off with only betting on colors or even/odd numbers. These bets will give you good odds (a little lower than a 50% chance of winning) and they will help you learn the game better. In craps, start off with Pass or Don’t pass bets so you can get the hang of things.
Once you learn the ropes, you can start placing riskier bets or continue this way. Heck, I have friends who have been gambling for years and they still only play red/black in roulette and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Tip #7 Read the terms and conditions (or let someone read them for you)
When it comes to individual casinos (especially online casinos) they all have their own rules. While game rules are always the same, casinos can dictate how bonuses are handled. There’s nothing worse than winning big, only to realize that you haven’t achieved your wagering requirements or that you’ve just voided them because you played a game that isn’t allowed. Online casinos love to do this and they will often find reasons to deny you your winnings. So, be a step ahead of them. Read their terms and conditions and check their “house rules”. These include wagering requirements, max bet, eligible games, and more.
Alternatively, online casino review websites (like ours) will often tell you all of these hidden rules without you having to go look for them, so scan them from time to time if you aren’t sure how exactly games work.
Tip #8 A foolproof betting system doesn’t exist
You might have heard that someone somewhere has discovered a foolproof betting system that can’t possibly lose. When you hear one of these, just ignore it. Nothing good can come out of these.
Online Casinos wouldn’t be profitable if anyone out there had a method to trick the system and rake in the profits. If there is a method that seems foolproof, trust us, the casino has already seen it, learned it, and implemented preventions so that nobody can exploit it. Simply trust your gut and don’t get swindled into these “get-rich-quick” betting systems.
Tip #9 Responsible gambling is there for a reason
If you ask me, you should never play online casino games in any online casino that doesn’t have a responsible gambling affiliation. Responsible gambling is a system of various limitations and preventives that help prevent players from overspending. Even if you aren’t sure what each of them does, you should always have all of them on, just in case.
These things will help you set a limit on your funds, make sure you aren’t playing for too long and will give you reality check tests so you don’t lose yourself while playing. I personally don’t need any of these to keep myself in check but I still keep them on. No matter how disciplined you are, you never know when lady luck is going to try and seduce you.
Tip #10 Before you buy the car, take it for a test drive
This mostly applies to slots. Before you actually start putting money into a slot game, you should always give it a few spins using the demo mode. This way you will familiarize yourself with the slot game, with how wild cards or bonuses work, and just decide for yourself whether the slot is worth it or not. Don’t just dive into a slot game blindly (even if you have bonus free spins), test it out first. You’ll thank us later.
Tip #11 Playing slots is more fun with smaller wagers
Most slots will let you place bets as low as ¢25 or as high as $5. While it may be tempting to go all out with the $5 option, your boy Derrick highly recommends you stick with the smaller ones. Smaller bets will last longer and are probably going to be more profitable. Sure, a $5 bet will earn you more (if you happen to win) but you are more likely to just run out of funds faster.
Tip #12 Skill stops are your friends
If you don’t know what skill stops are, prepare for your mind to be blown. When you play slots, you just hit that “spin” button and wait for the outcome, right? Well, yes… in most cases. There are actually specific slot games that have the “STOP” option. In these slots, you can manually hit a button to make each reel stop. Using this method, you might actually improve your chances of winning. It also makes it easier to accept loss when you know that you are the one who stopped each reel. If you are tired of letting the slot gameplay itself, consider giving skill stop slots a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Tip #13 Resist the high paying Jackpots
Quite often, when you hit up a new online casino, you’ll see jackpots front and center beckoning you to play for a chance to win the huge jackpot amounts. No matter how tempting the offer may seem, you must resist the temptation. Large jackpots are notorious for drawing in new players who happily spend all their money.
Now, your boy Derrick isn’t saying to avoid every single jackpot game but only to avoid the high-paying ones. Instead, open that jackpot section and look for “modest” ones. It will still be a rough ride but you’ll have a slightly better chance of actually winning.
Tip #14 Resist max bets
Unless you want to end your favorite slot game in a matter of minutes, you’ll want to stick with smaller bets. Yes, I get it, max bets are tempting. With a max bet, you could potentially quadruple your winnings but don’t fall for that one.
Ever heard that old “Go big or go broke”? Now, I don’t know who said that but I bet it was a casino owner (just a hunch). Either way, don’t follow that advice. It’s just a way to make you spend all your money even faster.
Make smaller bets, win smaller winnings but have MORE FUN. Also, when you do make a win with a small bet, resist that feeling of “If I had put a larger amount of money, I would have won more”. No, no, just no. That kind of attitude will just make you lose money faster.
Tip #15 Don’t let them “take you for a ride”
Casinos, whether they are online or land-based will always try to make you feel special. They will offer you exclusive bonuses, special promotions, tailored bonuses just to name a few. They just want to take you for a ride (an expensive one, at that). Don’t let casinos manipulate you. There exist laws that prevent casinos from doing certain things but there isn’t a law that prevents them from seducing or sweet-talking you into spending more money than you initially intended to spend. So use your brain. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Conclusion
All of the above advice can be summed up into just one: Use your guts. There is a reason why there are so many online casinos out there and why more are popping out every single day. Owning a casino is a very lucrative business and it certainly wouldn’t be one if too many players won. Be cautious, be vigilant and, most importantly, be prepared. There’s a jungle out there and if you aren’t prepared you might just get eaten. Best of luck!
