Playhard Players Club News Letter - April 2005

Welcome to the April edition of the Player's Club newsletter. It has been a while now since the last newsletter. I've been busy on some exciting new projects. More on those below.

In this edition there are some tips on how you can profit from casino bonuses, an update on a training guide that will turn you into a Blackjack expert, and a couple of great new member's offers.

Sorry for the big delay since the last newsletter. I've been very busy writing a new Blackjack strategy guide and that has taken all my free time. It will be time well spent though. The guide is now almost ready so I will be publishing within a fortnight. There are several Blackjack guides out there at the moment but most are either ridiculous , untrustworthy or downright fraudulent.

Its amazing how many "new" strategies there are that guarantee you beat the house edge. Of course the casinos do nothing to discourage these guides. They will always welcome with open arms anyone who wants to try out his new "no-risk" strategy.

I wanted to cut above these guides with an authoritative training guide. It covers basic strategy, blackjack variations such as Super Vegas and Spanish 21, reviews of online gaming software, card-counting, and how to profit consistently from online casinos (but not by claiming to beat the house edge!). The guide draws on theories by Wong and Thorpe, but the simulations are fresh. I've spent considerable time recalculating all odds from scratch and deriving tables. These include risk of busting, average win size, average stake, and win/loss before cash-out. If you would like to be informed when the guide is available reply to this email with "Guide - Inform" in the subject line.

You may know that you can make money from online casinos by "bonus-hunting" (i.e. joining a casino for the bonus and then cashing out once you have met the wagering requirement). The problem is that you often need to play for a long time before you are allowed to withdraw the freebie bonus. The casinos aren't stupid. They know that in this time most people will have lost both the bonus and their original deposit. As far as the casino is concerned that more than makes up for the few people who make money and cash out.

Here are some tips to bear in mind if you want to go "bonus-hunting" and walk away with a good profit.

1. Check the terms and conditions carefully
There is no point in depositing your money, getting the bonus and then finding out that you can't cash out because you didn't meet their exact requirements for games played, amount wagered, or location. All sites show their Terms and Conditions so read them carefully. In particular look for any excluded games (Blackjack, craps and low-risk roulette bets are sometime excluded). Check that you don't live in an excluded country (Danish and Israeli players usually can't claim bonuses).

2. Exceed the minimum wager requirement
When you receive the bonus the casino will require you to wager a total amount before you can withdraw it. They obviously don't want everyone signing up, then withdrawing the free cash without risking any of it. Therefore they usually stipulate you wager the deposit + bonus 15 to 20 times in total before you withdraw it. However it is good practice to exceed their minimum requirement by wagering at least 20% extra. They won't (and can't) refuse to pay out if you don't, but they may see you as a bonus-abuser and not send you any of their future members offers. If you stay on the right side of the casinos they often offer monthly free bonuses just for staying with them.

3. Check the bonus is not "sticky"
Sticky bonuses are bonuses that you can use to wager with but can never cash out (although you can cash out the winnings from them). Sticky bonuses are also sometimes called phantom bonuses. Fortunately sticky bonuses are still not common in European casinos, but they are becoming more popular in American casinos. Sticky bonuses are not necessarily bad, but to profit from them you need to place higher risk, higher reward bets. Check the terms and conditions if you want to stay away from these.

4. Make use of special promotions
Some casinos offer regular monthly top-up bonuses. 888 Casino on Net offers $200 free (cash match) when you join, but also regularly sends you surprise bonuses which they add straight to your account. I've received these several times from 888 and with these extra promotions there is no wagering requirement at all! Other casinos including Intercasino have similar offers.

This week's special offers are from three sites that I have been researching for my book.

1. 888 Casino on Net. Bonus of 100% cash match to $200. Wagering requirement of just 10 times bonus. www.888.com

2. Casino Craze. Bonus 100% cash match to $100 on 1st deposit. Powerful software and very easy to use. www.casinocraze.com

3. Yukon Gold. £50 cash match sign-up bonus. Microgaming software allows autoplay. www.yukongoldcasino.co.uk

That's it for this month's newsletter. As ever, if you have any feedback or problems please let me know.

Happy gaming,
Mike
www.playhard.co.uk

Opt-out: You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up at www.playhard.co.uk. We take privacy very seriously and never sell or give your email address to anyone. Newsletters are sent out a maximum of twice a month and you will receive no other email. If you wish to be removed from the newsletter list please reply to this email with REMOVE in the subject line.