Turn $100 into $1,000 Through Casino Bonuses

[scurvydog]

Hey gang. I'm mainly a poker poker but I took the plunge in November into casino bonuses, trying to supplement my poker bankroll. I'd stayed away from them for forever, thinking they were -EV, but if you stick with the ones that are good bonuses, it's definitely profitable. I turned an initial investment of $100 into $1,276 last month, with a minimum of work.

I just put up a basic strategy guide at my blog, at the following link:



All you need to get started is there, with long-winded instructions. Worked for me, hopefully it'll work for you. If you find it useful, I'd appreciate it if you signed up for the casinos through my affiliate links. Thanks.

[Charlie Frank]

ScuryDog,

Excellent guide - I'm surprised there aren't more people onto these casino bonuses. If done correctly, they are far more profitable than pokerroom bonuses.

Two points to make - Firstly, I don't agree with your "betting the minimum" rule. Maybe if you are completely freaked out at the prospect of hitting a bad run and losing your buyin, ok - but you'll just waste way too much time betting $1/hand. I bet 3-5 boxes of $10/$20 per hand - clear those babies fast and quick. Hit and run.

Secondly, there are numerous other casinos that are waiting to be cleared which you don't have on your list. Let me know if you are interested, and I'll send you my own list.

CF

[omahilo]

I did actually try the 1st casino on his list awhile back and ended up +50 doing it the way he did... I would increase my bet tho if I was in the positive. like if I deposited 200 and was at 225 I would just bet 25 on one hand and if I lose go back to my initial 200 or if I won then thats great as well.

[Spidey44]

Hey Charlie...how about posting them up here?

[scurvydog]

I've got 300+ bonuses in my own lil' database, a good number of which I've done, some left to do. So I'm probably good to go.

I see your point but I do think it's important for people to get the most out of the good cashable bonuses with low WRs, which is why I recommend they start out slow and bet the absolute minimum. Those are in short supply and you only get one crack at them.

More importantly, though, is that I try to encourage people to start slow so that they have the best shot of building a cushion that lets them ride out variance and get the full value from later bonuses. I was lucky when I started and had some good scores, which provided me with the bankroll to really take advantage of all the bonuses out there, both sticky and non-sticky. If I'd bet $10/hand on Starluck and Planetluck and busted out, I can't say I would have stuck with it. That's pretty tragic as the real value in the casino bonuses are with the later sticky ones, since there are so many more of those available.

So yeah, once you have a solid roll you don't have to bet the minimum, which'll speed up things dramatically and increase your hourly earn. At the start, though (especially if you're nervous about the whole casino bonus thing to begin with), I think it's important to go slow and bet much smaller amounts.

[Charlie Frank]

Did you have much trouble with industry bonus hunter watchlists?

Because I have been prevented from opening accounts at some casinos (mostly the PlayTech ones).

CF

[scurvydog]

It's been really odd, as I expected to, but I've only been banned from depositing at two casinos (both were Playtech but not the higher-profile ones). I didn't do anything sneaky as far as using different email addresses, using cover play, depositing more than the minimum to get the maximum bonus, etc. After the first three or four I was well, well ahead, as far as profits, so it wasn't a case of their allowing me to continue to signup and get bonuses while I was a loser overall or only marginally profitable.

I wish I had some advice as to how to avoid bannings but I really don't know how I did it. Especially with the main Playtech $100 + $200 bonuses, as I cleaned up on those. The only thing I did that might have helped is that I spaced them out over time, doing one or two a week, and spaced out my play over a few days, never depositing and cashing out the same day.

The first part of that (doing one or two a week) is contrary to a lot of the advice you'll see on bonus forums, where most people recommend cramming as many in before you get banned. I can see both sides of that, and, while spacing it out worked for me, your mileage may vary.

[drewjax]

Sounds interesting. Does anyone know if you must only use Neteller? Can you use firepay? Cant get Neteller in MD!

[scurvydog]

Yep, Firepay will work for almost all of them. Two of the best ones (Starluck and Planetluck) also process transactions by IGM-Pay, if you've already hooked that up for Party deposits/withdrawals.

[Windbreaker]

I tried casino whoring for the first time at Star Luck. I think I've done half the wagering requirements at 800 dollars. Basically all $1 dollar bets. I gotta say, if there's any poker players every want a lesson in discipline...play 800 hands all at min bets regardless of how much you're up or down.

Although this is going to be an easy bonus to clear, it's really damn boring...lol. I think I will finish the wagering requirements at min betting here and maybe go a bit nuts and go two bucks next time.

What is the maximum min bet for to ensure that you don't lose more than the bonus money like 90% of the time? Is there a way to find this sort of stuff out?

[Aequitas58]

I heard there was some kind of automatic play. That is, you can somehow set it up so that you constantly bet MIN, and you act automatically, based on the rules of basic strategy ... an automatic pilot, so to speak.

Anyone hear this? Spider?

[Windbreaker]

Finished the Starluck bonus up $100. After doing PlanetLuck, only up $50 (that's after the bonus). I upped the $1 bet at StarLuck to $2 that PlanetLuck. Just seemed like my double downs and splits weren't winning when I need it to.

So overall I'm up $150 for the casino bonuses. And I'm up another $60 from signing up at an affiliate link.

It's not too bad...really simple to do....and it's hard to lose money unless you start wagering really stupid and go on tilt - that means brian pls avoid casino whoring at all cost - j/k =P.

I would say that it is boring...and not too mind engaging...but it's a lot easier to work this off than 4 tabling all the time.

[Spidey44]

Lou, I have heard of the auto play at some casinos. Give me some time and I'll look into it for you.