The Piabet Awards: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Things We've Seen

[Keith Terresa]

If you are thinking of signing up with an online casino, make sure you sign with one that has a good sign-up bonus. So many of the best casinos have these that there's no reason to sign with a site that doesn't. Usually, the online casino bonus is a percentage of your initial deposit amount when you set up an account. Some deposit bonuses are as generous as 200%. That means if you deposited $100, the casino would give you a $200 free bonus on top of that initial deposit. Maximum bonuses often reach thousands of dollars. Some no deposit casinos will even offer you a bonus that you can use even if you have no bankroll at all.

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The first question on most people's minds is whether they can set up an account, make a deposit, and then withdraw the bonus. The answer is no, because if you could do this, we'd all have a super easy way to boost our income! All casinos have wagering requirements for cashing out a bonus, and these vary some from one place to the next. Often the rules for being able to cash out your bonus are different from the rules the same casino uses for cashing out regular winnings, so read the bonus playthrough requirements beforehand so you know what you have to do.

There are some strategies to help you get the most from your online casino bonus. First off, if a casino allows hedging bets during your bonus playthrough requirement, take advantage! Bet on both red and black with roulette to maximize your wager and minimize risk. Unfortunately, the vast majority of bonus schemes do not allow you to hedge bets as part of your playthrough requirement.

Your next best strategy for meeting your bonus requirement is to choose a game with a low house edge. Craps and Pai Gow poker are two good choices. Picking games with the lowest house edges makes it more likely you'll come out ahead once you've fulfilled your bonus wagering requirements. Also keep in mind that many sites do not allow certain games to count toward your bonus playthrough, so read the bonus rules to be sure which games count. Unfortunately, a lot of them don't allow you to play blackjack as part of your bonus requirement. Blackjack has some of the lowest house edges.

Some internet casinos have what are called "sticky" bonuses, which become a part of your account balance, but which can't be cashed out separately from your regular funds. What these do is basically prolong your playing time, but that can be a good thing if you have a big win. If you find yourself having lost your entire deposit and are playing with nothing but the sticky money, then you might as well bet big, since it's the house's money you're playing with.

One thing you should never try to do is to sign up under multiple names with a casino in order to try to get multiple bonuses. Casinos are really good at figuring out when people do this, and if they catch you (which is very likely) you will be banned. Bonuses are quite generous at web casinos, so know what the rules are and make the most of them.

For ages, people have indulged in gambling. The erstwhile royals patronized camel races, horse races, elephant races and various other card and board games. In the post industrialized era, gambling on poker, bingo, lottery and slot machines gained in popularity and in this post modern era, online casino gambling has caught the fancy of the young and old alike. Online gambling has seduced everyone from the ninety-year-old grandpa to the barely legal young adults. Gambling is more prevalent and popular today than any other time in human history.

The 1920s saw gambling banned in the United States. This lured even more people Piabet into gambling. Most people find gambling hard to resist as it offers instant gratification and money. Today, there are online casinos that offer jackpots equivalent to 25 years of salary at the click of a mouse, all you need is a credit or debit card.

Earlier, if you had an uncontrollable urge to gamble you would have to take a road trip to Atlantic City or Las Vegas to indulge in gambling. However, today you needn't travel so many miles to play slot or carps - you can do it sitting in your bedroom or living room if you have access to 24-hour online casinos. No more do you have to undertake the arduous trip to Vegas. All you need is a computer, high-speed Internet connection, and a few hundred dollars to blow. However, it is important to note that Las Vegas has not lost its charm and the number of visitors is growing each year. With the right company, a trip to Las Vegas can be a blast and nothing can quite come close to it.

It's prudent to gamble with the money you have, rather than borrow from credit card companies. Play only if you have cash; never play on borrowed money or credit. Countless people have gone bankrupt after borrowing more than their capacity to pay back. Gambling is addictive and controlled studies have shown that gambling makes the human brain react in the same way as drugs and food do. A study conducted by The National Opinion Research Center on the 1998 statistics showed that 49% women and 51% men gamble, proving the point that there is no gender based difference when it comes to gambling. The study also pointed to the fact that people between the age of thirty and sixty gamble with more money than those who are younger or older. The desire to gamble is evenly distributed amongst races, gender or culture. The inherent desire to get more pleasure for little or nothing is the reason why people find gambling so pleasurable.

It is advisable that you treat gambling as an entertainment and a fun activity. Set aside a fixed amount you want to gamble with and if you lose all of it, stop at once, but if you win treat it as a bonus and leave the table.