Monthly Archives: January 2015

How to Avoid Reverse Withdrawal Temptation

As any online casino players knows, when it comes to withdrawing your money after fulfilling the wagering requirements of a bonus, or after hitting a big win, there is a set procedure that most casinos follow. This entails cashing your winnings out, which then places your funds in a holding pattern until they can be processed and transferred back into your bank account.

This holding pattern is a stark contrast in comparison to the instant gratification that you get at land based casinos when you cashout where you end up walking out with your full winning instantly. For this reason – and to entice players into continuing to play instead of withdrawing their funds, online casinos invented the “Reverse Withdrawal” function whereby you are able to reverse the funds you were going to cashout back into your player account. Interestingly, when you do request a reverse withdrawal, the funds are instantly flushed back into your player account with no waiting period.

As you can probably see, this makes reversing your withdrawals, especially when they are for larger amounts, seem rather tempting. However it can also mean that instead of getting your cash out and into your bank account or e-wallet, you’ll inevitably play it back to the casino.

With the advent of casino regulation and licensing agreements in recent years, online casinos have had to adhere to a stricter socially responsible gambling code of ethics which has seen some online casinos allowing players to bypass or at least shorten the withdrawal pending period upon request. So while some online casinos have a 24 to 48 hour withdrawal period, others have cut the time down to 12 hours and others still simply no longer offer the reverse withdrawal option. It all depends where you play and how that property handles these requests and procedures.

While we’re all for playing at online casinos and enjoying your game, if you’re struggling to fight the urge to reverse your withdrawal and play with abandon, here is a great tip on what you can do to fight the urge to do so…

When cashing out at a casino, especially after a big win, most players tend to want to cashout their full player account balance, not taking into account the fact that they might want to continue playing at some point in the near future. In order to avoid the temptation of reversing this withdrawal mid process, the best thing to do is to keep a comfortable balance in your account to play with while you wait for your withdrawal to be processed. That way you won’t be tempted to reverse the whole amount and play it back all at once.

The alternative is to cashout your entire balance and avoid the casino altogether which we all know doesn’t happen easily. So rather engage in some foresight and plan ahead – this will save you time and probably a lot of money too.

Playing Slots? Coin Denominations Matter

One of the distinctive things about slot machines is the fact that the odds change according to the coin denomination that you select when playing. This is unique to slots only as table games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat and craps all offer the same odds on each bet regardless of whether you’re playing at the $5 or $100 tables.

It is a little known fact however that slots with higher denomination wagering options have higher payout percentages. This means that on average, Dollar Slots offer higher payouts than Quarter Slots and the higher the denomination required by any given slot machine, the higher payout it will offer. This is due to the fact that casinos are able to be more generous with payout percentages on higher denomination machines, because even though these slots offer larger payout percentages, they generally earn higher profits per spin over the long term than their lower denomination counterparts.

Here is a list of the common payout percentages across machines with different denominations that you may come across at both land based and online casinos:

  • Nickel Slot Machines: 92.5%
  • Quarter Slot Machines: 94.3%
  • Dollar Slot Machines: 96%
  • Five Dollar Slot Machines: 98.5%

Slots Odds, Mathematics and Payout Rates

When considering why casinos are able to offer higher payout rates for higher denominations slots play is easy to calculate. Let’s take a look at an example of that now:

If an average slots player makes around 500 wagers per hour, in order to calculate the casino’s expectation (the money they expect to make from this player’s slots play), all one has to do is multiply the number of wagers by the value of each of these. This will give you the total amount of money spent playing the game. Next, multiply the house advantage by the total amount of money spent in that hour and you’ll determine what the casino expects to gain from the player.

Let’s break that down according to each denomination:

Nickel Slot: $0.05 x 500 wagers = $25 spent. Then 7.5% (house advantage) X $25 (total bet value) = $1.87 (casino expectation)

Quarter Slots: $0.25 x 500 wagers = $125. Then: 5.7% x $125 = $7.13

Dollar Slots: $1 x 500 wagers = $500. Then: 4% x $500 = $20

$5 Slots: $5 x 500 wagers = $2500. Then: 1.5% of $2500 = $37.50

It is clearly evident from the above calculations that casinos do not have a hard time making higher returns on higher denomination machines even though the payout percentages are considerably higher on these slots than on their lower denomination counterparts. Definitely something to keep in mind next time you play at your favourite online casino, especially if you’re looking to stretch your money when playing online slots!

How to Stretch Your Money at the Casino

If your gambling bankroll seems to disappear before your eyes and you never feel like you get enough game play time at the casinos for your money, then you’re not alone. Most players feel that way and are continuously looking for ways to make their casino budgets last longer.

While familiarising yourself with correct game play strategies and gambling mathematics principles goes a long way to improving your game and returns at the casinos, here we take a look at some simpler, common-sense ideas on stretching your money when gambling.

1. View gambling as entertainment

Of course we all want to win at the casinos, but the reality of the matter is that you’re more likely to lose, so the main reason you should be gambling is for entertainment purposes and being honest with yourself about this will ensure that you don’t ever feel like you have “wasted” your money if you don’t win but had a good time anyway.

The best way to achieve this is to view your bankroll as the cost of entertainment and if you manage to keep some of it or earn more than you started with then that is a great bonus, after all, not many forms of entertainment give you the opportunity to have fun and take home more money than you started with.

2. Select your Gambling Bankroll total

When designating the amount of money you’ll put into your casino bankroll, always choose it from the money you set aside for entertainment each month. Once that is assigned stick to it and play accordingly. This will mean figuring out how many sessions you would like to enjoy in a month and dividing your budget equally between them.

3. Choose a coin denomination and bet size that fits your budget

The easiest way to stretch your money at the casino is to choose the coin denomination and bet size that not only makes most sense with your current budget but also gives you satisfactory game play for your money. By playing lower coin denominations and bet sizes, you’ll not only lose less, but you’ll enjoy longer game play time. Then if you win you can either add extra sessions or increase your bet size.

4. Select your casino game wisely

Once you know what denomination to play, you need to select the casino game that you will play wisely. If you’re playing slots, try to stick to machines where the top jackpots are fixed and smaller than those of progressive slot machines as these slots generally offer more frequent, smaller wins which will keep your bankroll ticking over. If you prefer to play skill based games like video poker and blackjack, then select your machine or game variant wisely, examine the rules before playing and brush up on your basic strategy so that you can win more of the bets you make.

5. Pace yourself

Take frequent breaks between games and when you do play, consciously slow your game play pace. If you’re playing at an online casino, make use of their chat function and take time to connect with people in between games. Not only does this provide you with an enjoyable social aspect, but it helps you to slow your game play.

Another option is to play skill games like blackjack or video poker where you actually have to slow down and think about what you’re doing. You’ll definitely feel like your casino experience lasts a lot longer if you do these things.

These points may seem quite obvious, but for many of us, common sense flies out of the window when we enter a casino and we end up in an excited frenzy where time seems to fly and when our money is spent we often feel disappointed and cheated that we didn’t get enough game play time or that it was over too quickly. By practicing sound casino bankroll management techniques at the casino, you’ll avoid these feelings and maximise your enjoyments. After all, that’s what it’s all about!