Online
Casino Blackjack Information
I avoided using Internet casinos during their early years (and turned
down several requests to develop casino software) as I saw no reason to
trust them. However, as more people have told me of their successes using
these casinos and many casinos have seen gains in reputation over time,
I decided it was time to take a look. There are over 1,000 such casinos.
While I would certainly not trust all of them; it appears that there are
many that are acceptable - particularly those that have had enjoyed previous
long experiences as sports books. I played 68 for the purposes of research.
I do not advertise casinos, but will list some of the information gleaned
along the way.
Bonuses
- Bonuses are important. Many casinos provide some sort of sign-on
bonus. A few allow a bonus every month or even every week while most
only the first time that you use the casino. For example, you might
deposit $100 and receive a matching $100. Obviously this is very important
as you have an immediate 100% advantage. However, you must wager a certain
amount to obtain or retain these bonuses. The rules are different for
each casino and I will supply the rules below and try to keep this info
up to date. Note: Some bonus rules are very complex. For example, at
FortuneRoom, you get $10 for downloading the software, $100 matching
your $100 and $10 for using Neteller. So, you get $220 for $100. To
keep the $10 free, you must wager it eight times or $80. To keep the
$100 match, you must bet the $100 match and initial $100 five times
or $1,000. To keep the $10 Neteller bonus, you must wager it five times.
But, you must also wager the initial $100 another five times for $550.
So the total wagering requirement is $1,630.
- Some places have a normal bonus and a high-roller bous. For example,
the normal bonus might be 100% up to $100 and the high-roller bonus
might be 25% up to $250.
- Look for a link at the bottom of promotion pages that says 'terms
and conditions.' This is where you will usually find the wagering requirements.
- Double downs and splits are counted toward fullfilling wagering
requirements.
- Many casinos state that if you attempt to cash in before meeting
requirements your bonus will be forfeited. I did once accidentally and
they did not force a forfeit. But, be careful.
- Baccarat, Roulette and Craps do not count toward wagering requirements
in most casinos. This is because these games allow you to bet against
yourself. In a few casinos, Blackjack doesn't count or requires a higher
wagering requirement.
- Methods of checking how much you have wagered vary by casino, Some
provide PlayCheck logs on their websites. Some provide loyalty programs
that count your wagers. You can contact support. But, the best way is
to track it yourself. Flat bet and make a hash mark every bet you make
or simply count the bets as you play. This is less annoying than it
sounds.
- There are other bonuses. One very common bonus amounts to 0.1%
back on all wagers paid monthly. See each casino's website for details.
Also, many casinos will e-mail additional bonus offers to you after
you play the first time.
- Some casinos ask if you wish to be on their mailing lists. If you
say yes, you will get a lot of junk. But, you may also get more bonus
offers.
Deposits
There are many methods of depositing funds. I have used credit card,
a debit card, ACH transfer, PayPal, Neteller and FirePay as follows:
- Credit Cards - Most credit card companies now decline Internet
casino funding. MasterCard stopped years ago and Citibank (the largest
credit card company) was forced to stop. Some casinos will allow them
if you fax the credit card and an id first.
- Debit Cards - Some of these are still allowed. ATM cards are the
most common and can be used to immediately fund a casino account. The
name on the card must match your name. On a rare occasion there will
be some fussiness about middle initials. If it fails, try adding or
removing your middle initial. The charge will not show up on your bank
statement for several days.
- PayPal - PayPal stopped taking casino business.
- Neteller - In a hurry, Neteller is another payment service. It
is not as good as PayPal in my opinion as they don't pay interest on
deposited funds and charge a service fee for payments. But, you can
fund up to $250 immediately from a credit card and they do not tell
the credit card company that it's for a casino. The number of casinos
using Neteller has grown dramatically since PayPal dropped out.
- FirePay - Yet another payment service much like PayPal. Takes a
few days to get your FirePay account funded from a bank the first time.
After that it is immediate - you type in your banking info and a check
number and they create and cash a check instantly. They accept credit
card funding. But, it is now always turned down since the credit card
companies know it will be used for casinos. Depositing the payment into
a casino is not the same as Neteller. FirePay looks like a credit card
to the casino. You register it as a credit card. Then purchase chips
as you would with a credit card. Like PayPal, FirePay notifies you when
you receive a payment.
- PrePaidATM - A fairly new method. Sign up for an account at www.prepaidatm.com.
Fund with a Visa or MasterCard. Then deposit into the casino from their
normal deposit screen. You can only put $500 into your PrePaidATM account
without credit card approval. To obtain approval for more, you must
FAX an approval form, copies of the card and drivers license.
- DuoCash - A new payment method named DuoCash is available is some
casinos allowing payment via prepaid phone cards. See www.duocash.com
for info.
- Others - ACH Transfer, ECash, Wire Transfer, CompECash, Western
Union, FireCash, Citadel, 900Pay, QuickCash, PayBox, Bank Drafts, ClearChex,
GamingCard. Many of these require a week or two to set up. Some are
by invitation only. Many casinos give a bonus for Western Union; but
there is a hefty fee charged by WU. Some casinos also give a bonus for
ACH Transfer (electronic check) and this is a good method if depositing
a larger amount of money if you're not in a hurry.
Withdrawals
- So far only one casino has failed to pay me (VegasUSA.) They ran
out of money.
- You will need a bit of patience. Most casinos don't process withdrawals
for one to four days. I guess in the hope that you will reverse the
withdrawal and keep playing. Once they do, they then turn it over to
the company that handles the money side of their business (e.g. Pro-Cyber,
ECash.) The process usually takes around 4-8 days but can be longer.
Some are very quick and some are very slow. In general, cash-ins seem
to be getting faster. I have had several casinos pay in one day and
a couple within minutes.
- Withdrawal methods vary by casino. Check and ACH direct-bank deposit
are the most common. ACH is fairly quick but requires that you give
them your account number. If you purchase $100 through Neteller or FirePay
and cash in for $300, they will usually refund the first $100 quickly
and pay the rest by check or ACH. Large wins are often paid more quickly.
I have hit three jackpots playing Video Poker and received a check via
FedEx in all three cases.
- When you have paid via Neteller, withdrawal of your deposit and
winnings often go back to your Neteller account. Although PayPal immediately
e-mailed you when they received a payment, Neteller does not. You need
to check.
- Payment by check is the slowest method. Many casinos mail from
Canada or the UK even if they are located in the Islands. These aren't
too bad. Stanley Acropolis cuts a check in Canada and mails it to Liverpool,
then re-mails it to you. Takes about ten days. A few mail from the Islands
and this can take a month.
- Some casinos will insist on a FAX of your credit card, license
and bank statement or utility bill. (Blank out the financial details
on the statement. They just want to see the account number, address
and bank contact info.) If you have a scanner, you can scan these and
keep them on hand. Most casinos will accept an e-mail of these scans
instead of a FAX. This is all a bit annoying. But, it is easier (and
cheaper) than flying to Vegas, packing, hotel check-in, etc. Note: When
you ask for a withdrawal from some casinos they will automaticaly send
you a form asking you to send documents. But, if you have already sent
these docs to their cash handler (e.g. Pro-Cyber, ECash,) they may realize
this and send the cash anyway. I normally wait a day before responding
to a request for documentation.
Organization
- If you plan on playing many casinos, clean up your disk space first.
The downloads are not small. Yes there are no download casinos. but,
they are not as good.
- You may end up using several casinos. Select an unusual user name
so that you are certain that you can use the same name for every casino.
- Keep good records of the account numbers, pins, etc. for each casino.
You will receive e-mails containing all of this info from each casino.
- If you expect to spend a lot of time at this, get a second e-mail
account. You can use MS Outlook options to guide e-mails from casinos
to a different inbox and you can also organize Internet Explorer Favorites
such that casinos will be in a separate directory. MS Outlook also allows
the setup of separate folders where you can hold old e-mails. A casino
folder would be useful. If people thinks it makes sense, I'll create
explanations of all of these.
- If in the past you have blocked spam from Internet casinos, you
may want to unblock it to avoid missing e-mails tellling you when bonuses
have been applied. In MS Outlook, use the Organize feature.
- If you have Excel, create a spreadsheet with each casino you use,
the deposits, withdrawals and status.
Hints
- Look for game options. Many casinos allow you to turn sound off.
When you do, the game often speeds up considerably. Also some have an
option to display larger cards or to use the full screen. Both are helpful.
- Important: The majority of Blackjack games that you find are European
No Hole Card. Most Americans are not used to this. With this rule you
lose the double down and split bet when the dealer has a BJ. When playing
this rule, do not double down with an eleven against a Ten or Ace and
do not split Aces against an Ace or eights against a ten or an Ace.
- You can find two 'close call' calculators at the bottom of Internet
Casino Calculators that will tell you exactly how to place very
close Blackjack hands and very close Video Poker hands. For example,
16 vs. 10 should take a hit sometimes and stand at other times. You
should hit with 8, 6, 2 and stand with 9, 5, 2 in single deck. The calculators
are more accurate than card counting.
- Many games allow multiple draws after splitting Aces, rather rare
in a normal casino. Sometimes this can be confusing. If you split Aces
and get a ten on the first, it will ask if you want to hit or stand.
It is not clear which hand it is asking about. It is actually asking
about the second hand as the first hand is 21 and obvious.
- Many casinos keep a transaction log of every play. Microgaming
casinos will allow you to see the logs.
- If you are a Video Poker player, be careful when switching casinos.
Some casinos automatically hold no cards, some all paying hands and
some always wild cards. Also, take care not to hit the Double button
that casinos put in different places. A few casinos allow you to hide
the Double button.
- VP players should also carefully note the payoff schedules. Most
games are 9/6; but a few lower the straight-flush & four of a kind
payoffs.
- If you do play Video Poker, do not play wild card games if you
do not know the correct strategies.
- If you are playing very quickly you may find that you have clicked
on a button that you did not want to. If you have not yet lifted your
finger, move the mouse off the button and lift your finger. The button
will usually not click.
- If you use your mouse, clean the ball in your mouse and the rollers
inside of your mouse and use a clean mouse pad to reduce errors.
- Most software has keyboard short-cuts. See the game Help for more
info.
- Don't forget to claim your bonuses. Many casinos require that you
go to their website to get the bonus. There is a time limit, normally
around three days.
- Play substantially more than the wagering requirements call for.
I generally play at least 50% more. 100% if the bonus is generous. If
you are a good BJ player, it costs you little. I also play some Video
Poker. But be sure you know the correct strategy. All of your play is
logged and visible to the casino.
- Be polite when contacting casino personnel. It really helps.
- I believe the below information is correct; but it is not guaranteed.
Send comments to [email protected].
Book
BeatWebCasinos.Com by Bill Haywood discusses Internet casino play in more
detail. The list of casinos is a bit out of date. But the discussions
on play are very useful. Click
here to purchase.
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