Best Online Casino Promotions & Casino Bonus Codes

Archive for February, 2009

You must be sick and tired of articles, blogs and other content related to gambling that exhorts you to read and understand the rules of the game, the gaming website and the gambling laws of the land. Indeed you must have even taken the trouble to converse yourself with these before you started playing. But after a while, regular players tend to neglect reading the fine print. Often, it is found that people who think they know it all are the ones who make mistakes.

You may know how to swim, but it is always advisable to judge the waters. Online gambling rules, conditions and offers often contain catches that are much like underwater currents, unseen but powerful enough to drown you. In one telling example of what over-confidence can cost you, a gambler in Alabama decided to try his luck on a progressive slot. Being a habitual slot player, he did not bother to cross-check the rules. When the three winning “7″ symbols came up, with all the right colors in just the right order, he was ecstatic. He thought he had won the jackpot. Unfortunately, the rules made it clear that the bet amount should be 5 coins. Having bet with 20¢, he got just $500, instead of the $ 100,000 he could have made. Despite being a seasoned player, he had behaved like a novice.

To attract players to open an account and deposit money at an online casino, a first deposit bonus is normally offered. The range of bonuses offered, varies to a great extent. For example, one casino site may offer a 20% match bonus and its competitors may offer a 200% match bonus. The catch is the maximum bonus limit; the site that offers a meager 20% bonus could have the maximum bonus amount set to $1000, while the site that offers a huge 200% match bonus could set the maximum bonus amount at a meager $100.

So do not be carried away by what the banner ads say. Always try to understand what it means.

Gambling should be fun, though you can not separate the risk of losing from gambling. Even Webster defines gambling as “to stake something on a contingency; take a chance.” Tips can prove to be invaluable, not only to navigate your way through this maze of games, but to win too. But only if you know how to interpret and apply them. This is especially true of online gambling, where a new player is flooded with information, which he may not know how to use.

When I started playing Blackjack, I was amazed to find the Internet full of information on the game. There were sites devoted only to the game, with several tips and strategies. I decided I had all I wanted to make it as a successful Blackjack gambler. I had found a basic strategy card and thought I followed it to the letter, expecting to win. I was very disappointed when I lost –not once, not twice but all through the day! I continued thinking that a win should happen at the end, making up for all my losses. But I was sadly mistaken.

That was when I surfed some more and found other Blackjack players in some chat rooms, forums and networking sites. It was only on interaction with them that I discovered that I was a victim of what is widely known as “Gambler’s Fallacy.” I was waiting for a winning hand, on the mistaken notion that it would follow many losing hands in a row. I had misread the strategy card too. One of the players gave me a tip: “Always Stand if your hand total is more than 17.” It was only then that the truth hit me. Of course, if I ‘hit’ and drew another card, I may bust! I felt foolish. I looked at the basic strategy card with new eyes, realizing only then that I should co-relate the Dealer’s hand with my own!

When playing online –especially a game like Blackjack—the lack of interaction turns many a player into a zombie, following tips and strategies without using logic. Let that not happen to you.

Have you ever come across a Marks & Spencers or a Wal-Mart offering you money to shop at their outlets? Never. Of course there may be umpteen discounts and sales. In these recessionary times, even that may not do the trick to attract customers. The only business segment which is gung-ho despite the downturn seems to be the online casino industry.

There is a heavy downpour of sign-up bonuses on the Internet. Those who have been handed out the pink slips, those who are on the bench, those who are going strong at the workplace and the unemployed Joes are seeking solace in gambling. And online casinos are stepping in to give them that extra edge –a sign-up bonus. A sign-up bonus is nothing but money to play with, and mind you every penny counts. You never know which one will win you a fortune!

So if you take a long hard look at this sign-up bonus phenomenon, the online casino industry may well be doing a favor to millions of people, helping them fight their blues without burning a hole in their pockets just to get a taste of gambling. However, if you wish to stay on and earn loads of money, you have to pitch in too.

Sign-up bonuses can also help beginners start their gambling spree. With the sign-up bonus, one can open an account with a particular casino site. On opening an account at the casino site, one gets a user name with a secret password. Every time, you want to play online games, you have to sign in with the username and a password.

With a wide range of offerings from different casino sites, players get an opportunity to choose a site that gives the best sign up bonus with attached benefits. There are two types of sign up bonuses. They are the Deposit Bonus and the No Deposit Bonus.

The deposit bonus can be straight cash bonus or a percentage bonus. Either a flat amount is put into your account or a percentage of your first deposit gets accrued. But hey! This percentage can be as high as 400%, so you had better scour the gaming sites for the best offer.

The No-Deposit bonus is sometimes called a Free Cash Bonus. It is money that can help you play on a site even without a deposit. On your first sign-up you can place a free bet up to the value of the bonus which is considered free. But there is catch, mind you. You cannot cash out your earnings, until you make a payment, greater than the bonus value amount. Meaning, the no-deposit bonus will help you to cross the Rubicon initially. When you eventually play and earn money, you should reinvest with additional wagers, to qualify for the original earnings to be yours.

So learn to look at sign-up bonuses as start-up funds which you need to “earn” at a later stage.

Casino gaming is full of opportunities to earn money. You do not get richer by winning bets alone –thank God for that! Online casinos have come up with delectable offers of bonuses. The common understanding of a bonus is “something given over and above what is due.” Now who would not like something in addition? I did not believe it at first, but do you know these casinos even give you “free” money. That is an oxymoron, if you ask me… how can money be free? Well anything can happen at online casino sites — just signing up at an online casino is enough to get you money to play with, it seems! That’s what it all boils down to. However, they have come up with various pretty names. Here is a ready reckoner.

► Sign Up Bonus:

Online casinos offer sign up bonus to get started. In their attempt to lure maximum players to sign up at their sites, casinos make astounding offers that go up to as high as 200% -400% At times it is just a flat amount. No matter what, the money cannot be cashed out and can only be used for playing at the site.

► Match Bonus:

My favourite is the ‘match’ bonus – it is an amount usually equal or rarely, greater to your initial deposit amount. You get a chance either to withdraw the bonus money or to invest the amount won in the next round of the game. A variation of the deposit bonus which awards an amount equal to 10% to 15% of every deposit you make.

►No Deposit Bonus

In order to prod players to sign up, deposit and play, casinos go one step further and award a ‘No Deposit’ bonus; this is equivalent to starting your account, except that you don’t shell out money yourself. But remember, it is just one step before you open your wallet yourself!

► Referral Bonus:

This is an incremental benefit, if you ask me. The more people you can lure into the gambling circle, the more you earn! You have to turn marketer for the site and get your friends, family or acquaintances to join and sign up to play at a gaming site. You are rewarded with a referral bonus –normally ranging between 30% and 70% for all the trouble you took!

► Renewal or Reload Bonus:

Another bonus is the renewal bonus, which is given if you play for long and renew your account. Whenever you reload your account with some money, a certain amount (often 15% to 20%) of the total funds in your account, gets added on.

Many players throughout the world play Blackjack, Roulette, Poker and other slot games to win big rewards and bonuses. If you are also one of those who are in search of great bonuses, remember to read the terms and conditions of the casino site and make sure that you are allowed to withdraw your bonus amount. Often, free casino bonus is free money that you get to play with, which is not the same as cashing it. On some sites, you need to bet ten times the bonus amount to be eligible to withdraw the free casino bonus.