What to do when not hitting the casino bonuses?

[tinga81]

I am rather new to the casino sites, and have just began whoring them with my extra poker money. I was wondering if any of you play at a casino site when they are not offering a bonus to their players?

Does anyone auto-play blackjack, or video poker, or another game possibly?

From what I have gathered, is that many people won't play at a casino while they aren't offering a bonus to their players because in the long run, it's -EV for many of the games, and they're not even worth the time and/or effort.

Is this the proper way to go about playing these sites, or do these sites not serve a purpose outside of whoring the bonuses? (Besides just gambling)

[Iceman]

[ QUOTE ]
I am rather new to the casino sites, and have just began whoring them with my extra poker money. I was wondering if any of you play at a casino site when they are not offering a bonus to their players?

[/ QUOTE ]

I personally don't, since it's usually impossible to have positive EV.

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone auto-play blackjack, or video poker, or another game possibly?

[/ QUOTE ]

Online blackjack is unbeatable - they either shuffle every hand or they have multiple decks and lousy penetration and don't tell you when they shuffle. Video poker pay tables online are never above 100% - some B&M video poker has a 100.1% or 100.2% possible return because casinos know that very few people get anywhere near perfect play in practice.

[ QUOTE ]
From what I have gathered, is that many people won't play at a casino while they aren't offering a bonus to their players because in the long run, it's -EV for many of the games, and they're not even worth the time and/or effort.

Is this the proper way to go about playing these sites, or do these sites not serve a purpose outside of whoring the bonuses? (Besides just gambling)

[/ QUOTE ]

Purely from a financial standpoint, you should avoid them. The only ways to make money off those sites besides bonus whoring are promotions and tournaments. Some sites will have special deals on certain days to promote their sites (2-1 blackjacks, etc.) and those can make the games +EV. I also know of one site (global-player) that has blackjack tournaments and SNGs where you play against other players and the house just takes a tiny cut of the entry fee - those can be +EV if you understand tournament strategy.

[bholdr]

Sometimes, rarely, i play -EV games for fun, mostly dueces wild VP, sometimes a little JOB or even some slots. (reel strike on the viper casions has been my fav lately, i also like 'big kahuna') But, only for small bets (like $5 at a tim) and i am fully aware that it's a losing proposition and i don't mind throwing $40 or so out the window once in a while while drunk, bored, etc (i'd probably lose more playing my normal 3/6 games if i played drunk). and, honestly? slots and VP are just plain FUN.

in fact, i may just hae to play a little bit right now... i figure i've taken several thousand from the casinos, and i should give a little back. concentrate on making all your -EV play on one casino, and they tend to give out some good player specific bonuses.


a little story:

i came home from the bar WASTED one noight, and instead of playing poker, i dropped 40 into spinpalace to play some dueces wild... third hand on a 4-pla machine... ROYAL!!! +$1000, baby!!! yeah!!!

it's easy to understand how people become addicts.

[bholdr]

jesus... i was on the verge of busting out a $50 deposit i made at bet365- they offered me a free $10 with a 5x WR... i was down to $20 and i was tired, so i thought... time to see my old freind dueces wild, and i plunked down $20 on one hand of 4-play DW VP... got dealt trips, made a little, played a couple more hands, then, as i make the bet that will clear my WR and leave me up a whopping $20 if i lose it...

4 dueces!!! jesus, i am a lucky bastard... +$1000... i was literally dancing with myself without music. nothing like a G that you didn't need... time to buy some coke and hookers, i guess. (JOKING.)

(and later that night, a gal i never see just showed up at my door with a bottle of vodka... my lucky day!)

[hogua]

If you're going to play, why not play somewhere that is offering you a bonus (and thus a +EV situation)?

With a little reseach, you'll be able to find a bonus to go after anytime you want. Granted, they may not be 100%, cashable, or have a low WR, but it's still better than playing without a bonus.

There are a very few opportunities for +EV play without bonuses. Many Playtech casinos offer blackjack switch, which has a HA of 0.05%. They give 0.1% of your wagers back as comps, so net is a 0.05% player advantage. That means for every $1000 you bet, you should win 50 cents.

Some casinos also offer single-deck blackjack, which can be beaten without counting by playing optimal strategy. Player advantage is 0.14%. Understandably, the casinos don't offer comps for playing this game.

These aren't really exploitable opportunities, because the edge is so small relative to the variance. I'm sure if you sit down and start grinding it out at single-deck bj for 8 hours a day, or write a bot to do it 24 hours a day, you'll get banned pretty quick.

[PokerCat69]

There is a casino close to me that uses a CSM. Counting is impossible but sometimes for the hell of it I'll play.
I know its long term -EV but sometimes I walk away with 300-400 bucks profit.
I normally flat bet $10, and if things are going well I'll start increasing bets to $15-20.
Just stupid luck, but kinda fun when drunk.

[smoore]

Online casinos are bonus only for anyone serious about gambling for profit. Nearly every game they offer is -EV. I would never play at an online casino unless I had a bonus. The reason they give you a bonus is to get you hooked, they want you to stay after you've worked it off. You're considering falling right into their trap.

[Bulbarainey]

i totally fiend slots, so I regularly transfer money out of eurobet into the club casino, albeit small amounts, to hit up bankbuster with. Also, some of the 0 EV slot bonuses are fun too, just play before you claim the bonus, maybe you will hit, cash that out quickly, then when you receive your cashout and are still within the 72-hour bonus-claiming period, claim the bonus.
also if you are bored, you got all these free 10-15$ promos to do: Colosseum Casino, Vegas Slot Casino, Vegas Joker Casino, Vegas Country Casino, Grand Hotel Casino, Royal vegas 100 Free spins... and there are some others out there. These have kept my slot addiction from costing any real money lately, until I arrive at the klondike for some real slots this weekend.