Ever since gambling was invented, people have been trying to figure out ways to win at it. It has been a constant battle between those running a gambling operation (i.e. casinos) and those on the other side (i.e. the players). And, over the years, many strategies have been invented that should help you beat casinos, but do any of them really work?
With the advent of online gambling, this has become a very heated topic as more people have gained simple and easy access to online casinos. The idea of being able to fire up your computer or even your phone these days and make some easy money certainly sounds appealing.
The problem is, casinos aren’t really in a business of giving money away. Every game out there has been designed with the inherent house edge to it. Simply put, over a long enough period, the casino will make money from every game, be it slots, roulette, or blackjack. Hence the phrase “the house always wins.”
Understanding House Edge & RTP
The most important number you need to know about when gambling online is the Return to Player, or RTP for short. It is the number that defines how much money every game will pay back over a long period of time or large number of games. For example, a slot with the RTP of 96% will give back $96 for every $100 you wager. The remaining $4 is for the casino.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you’ll always lose exactly $4 when you wager $100. If that were the case gambling would be pretty boring and quite pointless. The RTP of a game is calculated over a large sample of millions iterations. On a single night of gambling and across few hundred or even few thousand spins, anything can happen.
So, all of this tells you how casinos make money but still doesn’t explain how you could actually beat the house.
If you’re serious about beating online gambling, though, you need to understand these fundamental principles. They are essential for building your strategy. Once you understand these basics, you’ll understand better why some of these tips actually work.
Turning the Tables
One of the best way to turn tables on the casinos is by utilizing bonuses. With the competition in the iGaming industry growing ever stronger, online casinos have to fight for the players. In order to attract more users, many of them will offer rather generous bonuses, especially for the first few deposits.
For example, you could deposit $200 and get an extra $200 or even $300 to play with. So, now you have double the money (or more) to start with. You’ll be off to a good start to say the least.
Of course, you can’t just withdraw your money to your bank. That would be a very easy and convenient way to beat online casinos but that’s not how things work, unfortunately. Every time you receive a bonus, there’ll be certain wagering requirements attached to it. These define the number of times you’ll need to wager your bonus funds before you can actually withdraw.
For example, you could receive $200 with 30x wagering. This would mean you need to bet a total of $6,000 before you can cash out. So, you still have some work to do but you have a good starting position to do it.
The key here is finding bonuses with good wagering requirements, usually around 30x-35x, and then using them on the games with the best RTP. If you understand how RTP works, you’ll understand why this strategy can actually be profitable. If you can find a game with RTP of 98%, you’ll be losing $2 for every $100 wagered. So, by the time you had wagered $6,000, you’ll still have $80 left from your bonus.
Again, these are averages and there are no guarantees, but that’s the same math casinos are using. So, every time you can have math on your side, you’re actually winning.
We also recommend reading our How to Win at Online Casinos – Ultimate Guide & Tips to Winning
and also tips and tricks on beating online slots
Beyond Casinos
Of course, there are other types of online gambling where you can make profit more consistently. Online poker, for example, is very skill-oriented and if you learn to play well, you’ll be able to regularly make money playing. The game isn’t played against the casino but rather against other players so you don’t really need to beat the house – just your opponents.
With all this being said, you should still remember that online gambling doesn’t come without its risks. Even if you’re very careful and only look for profitable situations, sometimes you’ll have to deal with stretches of bad luck. It is thus very important to be smart about your money management and never risk money you can’t afford to lose. How to Play Responsible