Casino Gambling Secrets
1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets Burton, Bill on Amazon.com.FREE. shipping on qualifying offers. 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets. The day the casino industry has no more secrets is the day all players will be on a more equal footing with the gambling industry. Although casinos need to make a profit in order to pay their employees, there’s no reason you should just roll over and let them walk all over you. Although gambling at the casino can be a fun and rewarding time, it’s important to take note of the casino secrets before making your way through the gaming floor. As soon as you enter the large casino doors, everything in your environment is designed to make you gamble and stay for long periods of time.
Online casinos can be a fun place to spend time, offering countless hours of entertainment, and if you're lucky, provide a little extra spending money on the side. We'd all like to think that we know everything there is to know about online casinos, but that's probably not true.
As the X-Files' Fox Mulder would say, 'The truth is out there,' but unfortunately, it's sometimes buried in the fine print or elsewhere. The secrets, at least as far as online casinos are concerned, are better off kept hidden.
Here at Online Bonus Canada, we'll introduce you to a few secrets online casinos won't tell you. We hope that this gives you the edge you need to make your experience more enjoyable.
RTP and House Edge
All games at an operator give the house an edge, or put in layman's terms, an advantage over the player to varying degrees. While this does not imply that it's impossible to win over the short run, it does mean that over the long run, you are more likely to lose. This fact alone is why you should only ever play for recreational purposes and never with a profit motive in mind.
The theoretical return to player (RTP) is the average percentage of your bet that you would win back on every round of play over a considerable number of games. The software provider determines this figure. A game with an RTP of 97% would on average return $97 for every $100 you spend. Of course, anything can happen over the short term. We've all heard the stories of players winning big jackpots on slots like Mega Moolah or Mega Fortune.
So what should you do? If you enjoy playing at an online casino, and hey we do too, you can start by choosing a game with the highest RTP/lowest house edge. If you want to play a slot, then select one with a higher RTP, and low to medium volatility.
Many table games, such as blackjack, craps, baccarat and roulette, can have a lower house edge. Some of these games allow you to use a strategy that can significantly cut down on the house edge. Watch out for table games that offer side bets, which can give the house a higher edge.
Fast Withdrawal Times
Here at Online Bonus Canada, we know that cash out times are important, which is why we look at actual withdrawal times, so you get yours faster!
One of the most common complaints about online casinos surrounds withdrawal times. Beware when an operator claims fast withdrawal times. What they won't tell you is that this can sometimes be exaggerated or misleading.
For example, a casino may state 24-48h withdrawals but might be referring only to the processing (approval) time. The time it takes from your withdrawal request to when the funds reach your account will take longer.
Also, the processing time will take longer if you fail to verify your player account by providing the casino with documents requested. Always verify your account as quickly as possible. A few operators may delay the withdrawal process hoping that you change your mind.
Most online casinos are reputable, but there are a few rogue casinos that will find any excuse not to pay your winnings. They may purposely use ambiguity in their terms and conditions to accuse you of cheating or other violation that void your winnings. These tend to be casinos that are either unlicensed or licensed in jurisdictions with weak or almost non-existent licensing requirements, and you will never find them on our list of recommended casinos.
Online Casino License
If an online casino does not display its license, then it's likely unlicensed or licensed in a jurisdiction that is not much better. These types of casinos are best avoided as they increase the risk of something going wrong. For the record, you can find the license information on each casino that we promote here at Online Bonus Canada, for peace of mind.
Not all licenses are built equally. Fortunately, Canadians can look to Europe, which has a few competent regulators, including the UKGC, MGA, Gibraltar and Spelinspektionen, responsible for ensuring fairness, transparency, and player protection, amongst others. These regulators can be strict, and getting in their bad books can result in warnings, fines, license suspensions or cancellations.
A Curaçao eGaming license is popular because it's easy to obtain, the casinos are less scrutinized, and there are far fewer regulations. A license from Costa Rica is barely worth the paper it's written on as it easy to obtain and involves virtually no regulations. Of course, online casinos won't tell you that the jurisdiction that they there are licensed in may be more of a formality to keep up appearances and tick boxes.
Slot Maximum Payouts
One of the secrets online casinos won't tell you about concerns the maximum stated payout of slot games. You've no doubt seen some of the modern slots boasting maximum payouts of 10,000x bet or more.
While these payouts are eye-popping amounts, what casinos won't tell you is that this figure is theoretical and based on a billion or more rounds of simulated play. You can forget about winning the maximum payout as your chance of coming anywhere near these amounts is virtually nil.
Casino Bonus Terms
When it comes to the famous online bonus, operators won't tell you that they may be too good to be true. Bonuses come with a lot of fine print that makes it difficult for you to arrive at any winnings by the time you've finished satisfying all the bonus terms.
For example, playthrough requirements on a match deposit bonus may require you to wager your deposit + bonus money 30x or more before the bonus money becomes real money. Of course, the higher the playthrough requirement, the more likely you are to lose your money by the end. Not all games will satisfy the bonus wagering rollover requirements in the same way, potentially meaning more extended play necessary.
Some online casinos apply cash out limits so that even if you win a large sum, the allowable withdrawal amount is limited, which can be anticlimactic.
Alternatively, no deposit bonuses sound good in theory. Still, in practice, there may be cash out limits or a requirement to deposit funds before you can withdraw anything you've won.
Despite these warnings, casino bonuses can be an exciting part of your casino gambling experience. At Online Bonus Canada, we take an in-depth look into what you can expect to find, and the bonus terms so you know they're fair.
Closing Thoughts
As you can see, online casinos have a few secrets hidden in the closet that they'd rather you not know about. This doesn't necessarily mean that you shouldn't play at them, but it's just a reminder that at the end of the day, you need to do your homework. Or rather: let us do your homework!
At Online Bonus Canada, we tell it the way it is, while promoting only the best and safest online casinos.
They say 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,' but we uncovered some secrets that may just give players an advantage over the house. Before you place your bets, read on for a jackpot of insider information. ]
Casino design is about the art of seduction
There's a reason casinos feel like an oasis in the middle of the desert (and in the case of Las Vegas, that is literally true): it's a cleverly designed psychological scheme to enhance the mood, seducing you and your wallet with pleasant sights, sounds, and yes, even smells. Most casinos don't have windows or clocks to keep guests blissfully unaware of the time and money they've frittered away, and hotel/casino design goes far beyond altering the laws of time like some Time Lord of Gallifrey.
In Vegas, two different hotel/casino design strategies rule supreme: the classic 'gaming' style and the more modern 'playground' style. Developed by former gambling addict turned casino consultant David Friedman, the classic 'gaming' style design emphasizes gaming decor over everything else, with slot machines right near the hotel entrance, low ceilings, and maze-like floor plans that always somehow lead you right back to the casino. Meanwhile, designer Roger Thomas partnered with Steve Wynn to create the 'playground' style layout at the Bellagio, where spaces are more open, airy, and luxurious. 'People don't want to make bets when they feel trapped or overwhelmed or confused,' Thomas told The New Yorker. 'That's not the mood you want ... People tend to take on the characteristics of a room. They feel glamorous in a glamorous space and rich in a rich space. And who doesn't want to feel rich?' Um, no one.
Then there's sound design, lighting, and smells. Originally, game designers made sure to tune all of their machine sounds to the key of C so no dissonant sounds would distract players around the slot machine area. One study conducted by British psychologist Mark Griffiths found people playing roulette were more likely to bet at a faster pace under red lights and up-tempo music than at tables with brighter lighting and slower music because it made them feel sexier. But casinos also are betting on you following your nose ... straight to the nearest slot machine. One study conducted by Chicago-based researcher Dr. Alan Hirsch found that when casinos pumped a 'pleasant but unidentifiable scent' into the slot machine area on a Saturday night, gambling increased 50 percent because it may have triggered some kind of sexual arousal, or as he put it, 'a more aggressive behavior pattern.' Maybe instead of losing all your dough to feel sexy, just try some Prince albums and lingerie?
Casino Gambling Secrets Movie
'Freebies' aren't really free
1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets
As that old Lew Brown and Buddy DeSylva song says, 'the best things in life are free,' and casinos are notorious for offering guests as many special perks as a celebrity receiving a swag bag at the Oscars. But don't flag down the cocktail waitress to order ANOTHER 'free' flaming alcoholic concoction just yet. You're still going to wind up paying for it in the end one way or another.
'There's always been this unspoken rule that the bartenders decide who gets what,' said Scott Roeben, a Vegas insider and blogger. 'They're watching the play and if you don't play enough, they say you gotta play more. They're automating that system ... so there's a very one-to-one correlation between play and the reward.' Some casinos offer free hotel stays, free parking, tickets to shows, spa packages, and even ringside seats for fights, but only if you hit a certain level of play (aka spend enough money) in their establishment. So, you don't get to drink or live like a high roller if you don't play like a high roller. 'At the very basic level, a computer may decide what you get,' casino consultant Max Rubin told the Baltimore Sun. 'The higher you get, the more people-centric it becomes. You may now have a player host, then you have a VIP host. Then you may get an executive host for an even higher level. And he is required to reach out and touch you. And then there is a player development host for the highest of high rollers.'
But even the low rollers have to spend money to earn rewards, and one of the easiest ways they get you is through the free Player's Card, which acts like a loyalty reward program. Available at every major casino in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the Player's Card gets loaded with discounts and free hotel stays the more you play. Many casinos give you a round of free play or a T-shirt just for signing up. And to reel you in even more, you can use the same card at any casino owned by the same company. For instance, the Player's Card for the MGM/Mirage company works at nine resorts in Las Vegas, making it even more appealing to hit as many as possible to try to earn reward. Oh, and you better use it or lose it. Most of these 'comps' have an expiration date, so you have to redeem them immediately—or risk losing that spa package with a masseuse who looks like John Cena that you earned from blowing $500 on slots. Bummer!
You want to play where no one knows your name
If you sit down at the poker table and the player next to you receives a warm greeting from the dealer like Norm on Cheers, take your money and run. Often, these regulars are professional gamblers or locals looking to make their living off of casual players and tourists. Though most professional gamblers are probably playing in private rooms rather than $5 minimum tables, you still want to look for tables where everyone seems to be on an equal, anonymous footing with the dealer. And keep your eyes and ears peeled for louder, livelier tables too. 'Generally, that means people are winning, drinking, and having a good time,' says Thrillist travel editor Ryan Craggs, 'You're there to have a good time, which will be exponentially increased by a table full of people drinking, yelling, and high-fiving each other. Because this correlates strongly with the table winning money.'
Unfortunately, you're no more likely to win just because you pick a table where people happen to have been doing well. But being the life of the party at least guarantees you a better time.
You're being watched more closely than a Russian spy
If you've seen the celebrity-filled heist comedy Ocean's Eleven, you know casino security is infamously tight. Considering Nevada casinos raked in over $24 billion during the 2015 fiscal year, minimizing cheating, theft, and other losses is a top priority. Gone are the old mafia days where huge guys in double-breasted suits roughed you up for cheating. Now, casino security has gone totally high-tech, with owners spending millions of dollars to ensure their vaults and players stay safe.
Every venue uses state-of-the-art closed-circuit television, which allows security guards to monitor every square inch of the building. According to Casino.org, a larger venue like the MGM Grand has upward of 2,000 cameras connected to 50 monitors, allowing maximum surveillance. So even if you've got a Lady Gaga–worthy poker face, security can still zoom in on your cards and follow you throughout the building to make sure your win wasn't a bluff.
Plus, most establishments now use some form of facial recognition software. This helps casinos identify underage guests and target flagged individuals who have shady records or gambling addictions. Casinos can lose their gaming licenses and suffer major legal and financial troubles if they're caught letting the wrong people play. Sensors around the building can help casinos track guests' movements too. Former casino security expert Jeff Jonas notes, 'Each resort has tens of thousands of sensors, every door lock system, every slot machine, ATM machines, point of sale machines, it just goes on and on. There might be more sensors per square foot than anywhere, possibly other than a battleship.' So unless you're Danny Ocean with a crackpot team of clever criminals, it's not worth it trying to pull one over on the house. They've got their eyes on you.
Tables are a better bet to win money than machines
There's a reason casinos often place slot machines nearest to the entrance: they're guaranteed money-makers for the house. 'Slots are popular because they're easy to play and many have low minimums,' says Vegas gaming expert Anthony Curtis, but because the play is fast and randomized, you're all but certain to lose more money than you win. That's why he suggests playing the tables instead. 'The rule of thumb is, if something is easy to learn and play, the casinos will charge you more to play it,' advises Curtis. 'Pushing buttons on machines is easy. Learning the rules of table games takes effort. Do the work, and you'll get a better gamble.'
Table games are much slower-paced, which means players have more time to strategize and make better, safer bets, especially when there are more players at a table. The house's advantage drops significantly. Gaming expert Basil Nestor says, 'The house edge for blackjack is less than 1 percent when you practice perfect basic strategy. Compare that to the house edge on a typical slot game. It's usually in the range of 7 percent to 10 percent. Of course, you can beat any game if you have a dose of good luck. But it's a lot easier to win when you're bucking a smaller edge.' And if you know your stuff, you stand a better chance still at games against other players, such as poker. If a computer could beat Jeopardy champs, then you should probably stick to betting against humans where you have a higher mathematical chance of winning.
Chips feel less like real money, so you'll bet more
There's something alluring and fun about the colorful little round chips casinos use in place of money, and with good reason. Much like credit cards or even Monopoly money, casino chips reduce feelings of guilt. 'Whether it's chips, tokens, e-cash, or smart cards, they all serve the same psychological function,' says Dr. Mark D. Griffiths in Psychology Today, 'They 'disguise' real money's true value. What's more, chips and tokens are often re-gambled without thought or hesitation, and all the evidence seems to suggest that people gamble far more with virtual forms of money than real cash.'
Plus, using chips keeps games moving more swiftly than if dealers had to wait for players to count out their bets using real dollars. But don't bother trying to pass off counterfeit chips for real ones at the cash out window. Many casinos have started embedding RFID tags (radio frequency tags) into their colorful tokens to crack down on those seeking to illegally add to their winnings. The Bellagio used these RFID tags to track down a burglar who stole $1.5 million in chips at gunpoint from a craps table in 2010. Goodbye, Mr. Chips!
Dealers make most of their money from tips
Like waiters and others in service-related jobs, tips are the main source of income for many dealers, who often only make a minimum wage hourly salary. Much depends on how dealers 'serve' you while you're at their tables, and keeping the customers satisfied is job number one. 'We want a happy player at the game for two reasons,' said Sophie, a former longtime dealer turned professional card counter, 'That's the only way we make money off of tips. And it makes for a really long night if people are pissed off and losing. We want to keep spirits up so players keep playing and keep tipping. '
The dealers themselves have plenty of strategies to lighten players' pockets and line their own. 'As a dealer, it always helps to smile and try to socialize with the customers, since talkative, upbeat and positive dealers make better tips,' notes blackjack dealer Antoniya Hamberg. So don't be surprised if your baccarat dealer flashes you a megawatt Miss America–style smile. It's all part of the job. 'When I was in management,' Sophie recalled, 'we would always say to dealers, 'You are actors and actresses. Put on a show.' But the minute the players walked out, none of us thought twice about them.' If you win big, make sure you treat your dealers like your BFF and show them a little monetary love. The only stiff thing at the table should be the drink in your hand.
Hidden fees also drain your wallets
No matter how careful you are with your money, the house still always wins and not just at the blackjack table. Many resorts have started charging guests with hidden fees labeled as 'resort fees' or 'concession and franchise fees.' While many hotels across the country have been adding surcharges onto bills since 1997 to pay rising utility bill costs and for special amenities like pools and tennis courts, these surcharges are now extending to the most ludicrous items to take more of your hard-earned money.
The minibar is always an enticing if expensive hotel room novelty, but the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas has found a way to ensure you get charged for it even if you don't guzzle down any of the tiny, gleaming liquor bottles in a drunken stupor worthy of The Hangover. Special sensors inside the refrigerator instantly charge guests if an item has been removed for more than 60 seconds. And don't think about using the fridge even just to store your buffet dinner leftovers. The Aria charges an additional $25-a-day 'personal use fee' if you use the provided minibar for storage. But don't worry: for a reasonable $35 a night, you can also rent a mini-fridge from the Aria to keep your stacks of cash and personal liquor stash cold.
And beware the 'concession and franchise' fee often tacked onto bills at restaurants on the Vegas strip like Senor Frogs and the Sugar Factory American Brasserie at Paris. The CNF adds a whopping 4.7 percent tax to your entire bill for everything from 'prime real estate location' to 'live entertainment' and sometimes even tap water. Las Vegas trip adviser Anthony Curtis put it succinctly, 'It's a tax on a tax.' Maybe a trip to the minibar isn't such a bad idea after all.
Beware the 'near-miss'
Wayne Gretzky once said, 'You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take,' and he could just as easily have been talking about casinos as hockey. In fact, casinos are counting on Gretzky's logic and the psychological effects of something called the 'near-miss' to keep players pulling those giant levers or calling out 'hit me' on a hand of blackjack. Scientists at the University of British Columbia and Oxford found that players responded far more strongly to 'near misses'—aka moments where they almost won, like getting two cherries on a slot machine or missing hitting 21 by a single card. A similar study conducted by neuroscientists at the University of Nottingham and University of Cambridge in England found these instances of 'near misses' triggered a huge release of dopamine similar to drug use in their subject's brains, so even if the losses were excruciating, the high of almost winning sent them straight back to the slot machine to try again. Haven't you gamblers ever heard, 'hugs not drugs?'
And it sounds like we may have famous psychologist B.F. Skinner to blame. In the 1930s, Skinner created something called 'the Skinner Box,' which he likened to a slot machine, for perhaps his most famous experiment on Operant Conditioning. Skinner placed pigeons and rats in his box and rewarded them with pellets of food anytime they pressed the lever. But after he altered his experiment to randomly release pellets instead of releasing them every time the lever was pressed, Skinner found the animals pressed the lever more often. In the same way, casinos 'reward' players with near-misses to keep them coming back in hopes of winning, so you may think your chances have improved, but you're just a lab rat in a grand psychological experiment conducted in a flashy hotel and casino. Ick.