At first you might be skeptical about how we can help you to make a profit at casinos; after all you might think about that dreaded word "gambling", and be thinking "I want to make money, not lose it!" However, don't dismiss us quite yet. This page will show you how you really can earn extra cash on a regular basis by simply spending a few hours each month in front of your computer. So we urge you, don't give up, read on, and see how you too like many other casino baggers could be making regular casino profits. This page will literally pay you to read it!
It is a well known fact that Casino games are weighted slightly in favor of the Casino, and as such whilst there may be winners, there are going to be more losers. This is referred to technically as the "house edge" which is mathematically calculated and varies from game to game. It is given as a percentage value, e.g. Casino Game A has a house edge of 2%. What this means is that for every £100 which has been wagered on Game A in the casino you would expect to see a return of £98 ( ( 100 - 2 ) * 100 ), i.e. you would expect to lose £2.
So lets see what would happen over a period of wagering if you were to start with a balance of £100 and played Casino Game A with a house edge of 2%:
£100 wagered balance = £98
£200 wagered balance = £96
£300 wagered balance = £94
£400 wagered balance = £92
£500 wagered balance = £90
As you can see with a house edge of 2% you would expect, to lose £2 of your £100 starting balance for every £100 wagered, and after £500 of wagering you would expect to be £10 down on your starting balance of £100. Of course, you might have a lucky streak of cards, and come out on top, or you may have a terrible run of cards and lose much more; but experience what the average player would and you would lose exactly £10 over £500 of wagering.
So up to now, we have talked about how casinos have a house edge, and have demonstrated that the average player will lose more, the more he wagers. You may think, therefore, that the only way to make a profit is to get lucky! Indeed, many people play at casinos because they find it enjoyable, and there’s nothing wrong with that; some will win, most will lose, but this is not what we are about. This guide concentrates on showing you how to turn the odds in your favor.
The way to turn the odds in your favor is by taking advantage of the many generous sign-up deposit bonuses and ongoing promotions which online casinos use to attract new customers and reward, or hang on to existing ones. Casinos, however, do not like to give you money for free and so attached to these bonuses are wagering or wager requirements (WR). A wagering requirement is an amount which you must wager at the Casino before you can make any withdrawals. The WR frequently limits the games at which the wagering will qualify, and will be either specified as an amount or a multiple which can encapsulate the deposit amount, bonus amount, or both. Some Casinos will give you your bonus before you do any wagering; others will only give you the bonus once you have met the wagering requirement. Either way, take a look at the following examples and you should be able to see how making a profit can be so easy:
Casino A offers you a 100% deposit bonus (max £100) with a post bonus WR of 10 times the bonus (all games allowed):
Deposit= £100
Bonus= £100
Game chosen= Game A with a 2% house edge
WR = £1000
Over the £1000 of wagering on Game A with a house edge of 2% the average player would lose £20 (2% of £1000), leaving a balance of £180 for a profit of £80.
Casino B offers you a 100% deposit bonus (max £100) but in order to be awarded the bonus you must first wager 5 times your deposit (all games allowed). After the bonus is credited you must wager 5 times the bonus (all games allowed).
Deposit= £100
Bonus= £100
Game Chosen = Game A with 2% house edge
WR= £1000 (£500 pre bonus + £500 post bonus)
Over the £500 of wagering on Game A prior to being awarded the bonus the average player would lose £10 (2% of £500), leaving a balance of £90 or £190 after the bonus has been credited. Over the £500 of wagering on Game A required to cash-out the average player would lose a further £10, leaving a balance of £180 for an £80 profit.
We hope after looking at these examples that you realize for yourself how easy it can be to make a profit. No longer is the house edge taking away from your money (the deposit); it is taking away a portion of the casinos money, which they give to you in the form of a casino bonus either as soon as you deposit or or once you have met a pre bonus wager requirement.
In any situation in which a bonus is offered, the average player stands to make a profit if the wager requirement multiplied by the house edge is less than the bonus amount awarded. If it is greater than the bonus amount, than the average player will lose the bonus and a portion of his deposit for an overall loss. There are plenty of generous casino bonuses which offer the opportunity for the average player to retain a high percentage of the bonus amount, but is important that you are able to recognize a bad casino bonus, as there are a few around. See below for an example of a casino bonus where the average player would make a loss.
Casino C offers you a 100% deposit bonus (max £100) with a post bonus WR of 30 times the bonus. The game with the lowest house edge that will count towards wagering (Game B) has a house edge of 5%.
Deposit= £100
Bonus= £100
Game chosen= Game B with a 5% house edge
WR = £3000
Over the £3000 of wagering on Game B with a house edge of 5% the average player would lose £150 (5% of £3000), leaving a balance of £50 for a loss of £50.
Before proceeding it is important that you you understand the principles involved, and can see why the average player stands to make a profit from many casino bonuses. If you are not entirely clear then read through this section one or two more times until you are. If you are still having problems understanding the fundamentals then please contact us with any questions you might have, and we will be only to happy to explain any issues further, until you are perfectly satisfied and wish to proceed.
In order to maximize your profits you want to play a game with the lowest house edge possible, because you want to lose as little of the casino bonus as possible whilst meeting the wager requirement. The game we would recommend is blackjack, as in most instances (subject to rule variations) if you play the perfect strategy, the house edge is as low as 0.4%. A house edge of only 0.4% means that for every £100 wagered the average player would only lose 40p.
So far we have made reference on several occasions to the "average player", but does such a person really exist? With a huge sample you would expect to see results that reflected the house edge in any given game, but its very unlikely that an individual person would experience the house edge everywhere he plays over a realistic period of time. Maybe if you were to play one million hands you might experience something very close to the house edge, but in a relatively short period of time (even a lifetime) you are unlikely to do so. In the short term you are likely to do better or worse; this is known as variance. Variance is unpredictable and it's something we look to minimise as much as possible. As such, we look for games to play which have a low variance, such as roulette, craps, baccarat, etc. Unfortunately, all but blackjack are prohibited from counting towards the wagering requirements at almost all casinos. As such, we turn to blackjack (with its low variance) where allowed and other games with the lowest variance where it is not such as video poker.. Nevertheless, even playing blackjack you will have streaks of good cards and streaks of bad cards; you will not lose one, win one, lose one, win one, etc. You can minimize the effect of these streaks by betting small amounts, as compared to the size of your balance, i.e. if you start playing blackjack with a balance of £50, you should bet £1-£2 a hand. Regardless of the amount you bet a hand your expected profit in the long run would be exactly the same, but you would have a lot more pronounced ups and downs in the process. This is ok when you have a big bank roll available and can take the swings, but when starting out as you will be soon, you want to minimize these swings. The same logic applies to the stakes on any other casino game.
A common game with a high variance which is best to avoid, but in some circumstances (depending on the bonus) can still be profitable is slots.. Whilst the house edge for a slots game may be only 2-3% this can generally be regarded as quite unlike what any individual player would experience, because this figure is calculated from lots of probable losses and several unlikely very big wins; great if you are one of the big winners, but not so good if you are one of those who lose all your money. We would advise that you only play slots bonuses when you have accumulated a large bank roll and so can handle the variance that you will inevitably encounter.
Before you get started for yourself, you are going to need a few useful tools, which will make your life far easier, and maximize your profit.
Blackjack Wager Tracker (DOWNLOAD NOW)
Our Blackjack Wager Tracker application allows you to keep a record of how much you have wagered towards your target wager in a blackjack session, and gives you statistical analysis of each blackjack session and casino. It also provides you with the optimal strategy, telling you what exactly what action you should take, e.g. to hit, split, stand, etc in any given situation to play a mathematically perfect game of blackjack. This is important as it keeps the house edge down to as little as 0.4%. Any deviation from this strategy and you risk your profit, as the house edge will increase.
The Wizard of Odds (VISIT)
The Wizard of Odds is an excellent website which will provide you with the perfect strategy for all casino games that you will encounter. By following the strategies from this website you will minimize the house edge and maximize your profits. Some of the strategy tables for the more commonly encountered versions of blackjack are already included in our Blackjack Wager Tracker; others can be added at your discretion.
Casino Spreadsheet (DOWNLOAD NOW)
This spreadsheet will allow you to keep track of the results at all the casinos you play at. It is is a convenient place to store your usernames and passwords. Believe us, once you have signed up for accounts at a few, it's not always easy to remember.
To make life easier for you we have picked 4 casino bonus offers which will enable you to apply the principles and hopefully make a healthy profit. Each of the casinos below offers a generous bonus with small wager requirements attached, and should not take too long to complete. For each casino we have set out the bonus amount, the wager requirement, the prohibited games, our recommended deposit, our recommended game any any further information which we feel is relevant. All of this information (except for our recommendations) can be found in the Terms and Conditions of the casino bonuses which are viewable on each of the respective casinos sites. It will be important as a bonus bagger to profit from casino bonuses that you familiarize yourself with how to read the Terms and Conditions of offers, as they will tell you how profitable a particular bonus should be; in particular what the bonus is, what the wager requirement is, and what games count towards the wager requirement.
We suggest you work your way through the casinos listed below which total £260 in bonuses, and then once you have accumulated a larger balance, and are more confident in the technique, you can open accounts at the casinos which require larger deposits, but in return offer larger bonuses and the potential for larger profits.
Bonus:£50
Wager Requirement: £400 (£200 pre bonus +£200 post bonus)
Prohibited Games: Roulette
Recommended Deposit: £50-£75
Recommended Game: Blackjack (£5 bets) * Please note that in order for blackjack to count towards the wager requirement your bets must be £5!
Information: Once you have wagered £200 you must claim the £50 bonus using the claim form on the website. Once you have received the bonus you must wager a further £200 to withdraw. We would advise that you reduce the size of you blackjack stakes (e.g. to £2) for this wagering.
Click here to claim your £50 bonus
Bonus:£110
Wager Requirement: £2200
Prohibited Games: Roulette
Recommended Deposit: £110
Recommended Game: Blackjack (£4 bets)
Information: The 100% deposit match £110 bonus will be credited as soon as you deposit. You must then meet the wager requirement before withdrawing.
Click here to claim your £110 bonus
Bonus:£50 * Note that you can get an additional £50 in cashback from Bonus Baggers when playing at Red Lounge Casino! In order to qualify you must be a registered user and go through our cashback menu.
Wager Requirement: £1000
Prohibited Games: Roulette
Recommended Deposit: £50-£75
Recommended Game: Blackjack (£2 bets)
Information: The £50 bonus will be credited to your account but will not be withdrawable until you have wagered £1000.
Click here to claim your £50 bonus
Bonus:£50
Wager Requirement: £550 (£500 before your bonus is credited + a further £50 once it has been credited)
Prohibited Games: Bets on Multiplier, Baccarat, Craps, Blackjack or ANY form of Roulette
Recommended Deposit: £50-£75
Recommended Game: Video Poker
Information: The £50 bonus will automatically appear in your balance once you have wagered £500
Click here to claim your £50 bonus
Casinos are obviously not too fond of players who use their bonuses in the way we have described to make a profit, and don't return to the casino to play with their own money without bonuses. Casinos like to label such people as 'bonus abusers'. After all, the reason they are offering the bonuses is to get new players who they hope will lose lots of money in the casino making them a profit. However, as is the current position, whilst there are more people who open casino accounts with the genuine intention to frequently play with their own money then those who open accounts to use the casino bonuses to make a profit, the casinos will continue to offer the bonuses.
There is a possibility that after taking advantage of a casinos bonuses solely to make a profit as described that you may be banned from receiving future promotions at that casino. This can be quite unfortunate as some casinos offer further recurring bonuses on a monthly basis which can be just as profitable as the initial bonus. Being banned from receiving bonuses is quite rare and avoidable, but is likely to happen if you try to withdraw before meeting wager requirements, make repeated contact with customer services asking how much you have wagered towards a bonus, withdrawing immediately after you have met the minimum wager requirements or failing to comply with any other terms and conditions.
It is our recommendation that you always comply with the terms and conditions of a casino bonus; we do not endorse in any shape or form disobeying/abusing the casinos terms and conditions. We also recommend that in some cases you keep the casinos sweet so they continue to offer you and others generous bonuses, e.g. don't always wager exactly the wagering requirement before withdrawing. If you are doing well then it wont harm to wager a little bit more; not a lot, but a little. Remember there is a fine line between keeping casinos sweet so they continue to offer you and other bonus baggers like you generous bonuses and playing excessively with your own money. That is not what being a bonus bagger is about.
In the end, however, if you are banned from a particular casino, it's not the end of the world, there are plenty more out there.
So where do you go from now? By this point you should have opened accounts at our recommended starter casinos and have hopefully cashed out a healthy profit using the casinos bonuses to turn the odds in your favor. Having done these you should now have a good knowledge of the principals from a practical standpoint, and be confident in your ability to make a profit as a bonus bagger with other casino bonuses.You should also have a sizeable bankroll to take forward which you didn't have before. We suggest you keep this money intact or only spend a little on yourself at this point. Use it as a bankroll in the proper sense of the word, which will enable you to take any swings you may experience without losing any money, as any single losses will only act to reduce your overall winnings; the money which you didn't have in the first place.
BonusBaggers.com has a special online casino bonuses page which lists all the casinos currently offering worthwhile bonuses, including details of what that particular bonus is, and a useful rating system. We suggest that you use this page to find a casino which you have not opened an account at with an attractive bonus, open an account and then use the same technique that you used with our recommended starter casinos to make a profit. Some casinos not only offer bonuses to new casino customers, but also to existing ones either as one offs or on a monthly basis, so keep your eyes open.
Just remember that before opening an account and depositing towards a casino bonus you must always check the terms and conditions of that promotion. In particular you should check:
With these comments in mind we wish you the best of luck, and thank you for taking the time to read this guide. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.
We would also advise that you check out the forum where you can talk to linkminded bonus baggers and discuss various casinos and bonuses.
In this guide we have used several terms which may be new to you now, but will become familiar to you very soon. A glossary of those terms is included below:
Wager Requirement: The amount you must wager before the casino will process a withdrawal, or credit you with a bonus. It can be expressed as a figure (e.g. £500) or a multiple (e.g. 10 times the deposit and bonus amount, i.e. if you were to deposit £50 and get a £50 bonus the wager requirement would be £1000).
Pre Bonus Wager Requirement: The amount you must wager before a bonus is credited to your casino account.
Post Bonus Wager Requirement: The amount you must wager after your bonus has been credited to your casino account before you can make a withdrawal.
House Edge: The advantage the casino has is a casino game.