Playing with bonuses

[vegetagirl2008]

I want to know if you play with bonuses or not. I try my damnest not to play with a bonus I hate WR and I rather not deal with the extra BS attached with any of them..also if you take one do you make the WR or not. Please be honest with your answers.

 

[rockycatt]

i voted no meaning i dont tie my deposits to a bonus because of w/r, and the confusion and bad feelings that can come from that

a side from that ill do a free chip birth day bonus or loyalty reward's

 

[De Beuker]

I want to know if you play with bonuses or not. I try my damnest not to play with a bonus I hate WR and I rather not deal with the extra BS attached with any of them..also if you take one do you make the WR or not. Please be honest with your answers.

If I have some cash to play with, I like to play for a while, so I may just as wel play with a bonus. Clearing a WR can be a pita if the slots stop paying, I know, but it can also turn out good.
It may sound strange, but I enjoy my play alot more when I play with a bonus.
I mean, if I hit big in the beginning of my session, say after 5 minutes of play, my innervoice tells me to cashout! cashout! But hey, I just started my session, I wanna play some more!
And when I lose my win then, I feel so shitty, damn..
With a WR there's just no doubt, I can just relax, enjoy my play knowing that the win made it alot easier to clear the WR, feel positive and go and try to win some more.

I do play MG without bonus sometimes, but no way I'm going to play Rival or RTG without a bonus.

 

[4 of a kind]

I'm one of the people that don't believe free play is straight up. So, the only time I ever take bonuses is the first deposit and rarely the second time checking out a new casino so I get extra play time to get a feel for site. After I lose half of the deposit with a bonus while checking out the slots, I play video poker knowing its against bonus T&C's. Being a predominately video poker player if I like what I see all future deposits are all straight up with no bonuses.

There are plenty of people here that will only deposit with bonuses and swear by them. I would guess their more concerned with extra play time on the houses dime, and slot junkies.

I'm all about video poker and only visit slots when poker is ice cold. Bonuses will usually exclude video poker, and video poker bonuses will come with some stupid play through like 60x's. Obviously the sites realize where you have a better chance of winning.

 

[Jasminebed]

I've ticked the bonus box, but not all my play is with a bonus. I'm picky about which ones I do take.

I agree with de beuker about wanting to play for a while when I deposit. There are times I have won while playing a bonus, and then had another really good win because I am still playing.

I find that playing with a bonus gives me a very clear cashout point...If I'm up when I've cleared that WR, it's cashout time.

 

[De Beuker]

I'm one of the people that don't believe free play is straight up. So, the only time I ever take bonuses is the first deposit and rarely the second time checking out a new casino so I get extra play time to get a feel for site. After I lose half of the deposit with a bonus while checking out the slots, I play video poker knowing its against bonus T&C's. Being a predominately video poker player if I like what I see all future deposits are all straight up with no bonuses.

There are plenty of people here that will only deposit with bonuses and swear by them. I would guess their more concerned with extra play time on the houses dime, and slot junkies.

I'm all about video poker and only visit slots when poker is ice cold. Bonuses will usually exclude video poker, and video poker bonuses will come with some stupid play through like 60x's. Obviously the sites realize where you have a better chance of winning.

Thats right, I'm a slot junkie.
Don't like videopoker.
I just cant seem to hit the free spins on videopoker.

 

[LaurieJim]

Its very rare that i take a bonus unless its a damn good one and they are getting hard to find at that, 60X and 99 x WR just seems a waste of time and money imo..............laurie

 

[CURTSONLYLOVE10]

I try my damnest not to play with a bonus I hate WR and I rather not deal with the extra BS attached with any of them..

i agree 100% when i win i want my money....with no BS....

also when i play at rtg i am so scared that i have waited so long to hit a rj and to have a bonus with a max amount sucks....also hope i dont hit it on a free chip........

 

[ksech]

I don't, as a rule, play with a bonus. The WR seem to be outrageous lately, 15X, 20X are acceptable IMO, but lately I've noticed the WR are ridiculous. Why should I have to play 30, 40 50X WR, make it through the WR, then have to try to win so I can cashout a small win after the bonus amount is deducted? Then, have to watch because some of the bonuses aren't sticky and they have a max cashout limit. Because my funds are limited now, I can only play once or twice a week. Playing for 10 to 15 minutes is not enjoyable to me, and lately I haven't had a decent run at any platform. If I'm given a freebie now and then I greatly appreciate it as I feel as if the casino cares enough about me as a player to give me a small reward for choosing them. I've read more and more about people being bonus banned, IMO, this is bad "press" for any casino. Why offer bonuses, many which are ludacris in way of t&cs, to only ban players when they win? Are there that many people out there in the cyberworld playing, that the casinos can afford to bonus ban even one player? As in the real world, doesn't word of mouth mean anything anymore? Sure, one player may have a bad experience at a casino once in a while, but when you read where numerous people have complaints at the same casinos, whether it be for a bonus or withdrawal, bad CS or whatever, shouldn't these casinos at least try to figure out a way to fix the problems?
I realize they are a business and out to make money, but when you can make deposit after deposit after deposit, with no playtime and no wins time after time, players will start looking elsewhere to spend their money. That's just my opinion at any rate....

 

[cheetahwind]

It seems the bonuses with the lowest playthrough unfortuently are the ones that are in the 20 to 50% range. Anything where you want a pure match bonus or more they tend to pump up the playthrough just because there giving you more. Even though 9 out of 10 times they take it away from you in the end. Just kind of seems slightly silly if you ask me.

 

[Balky]

I play Videopoker without a bonus because its a restricted game. Highvariance slots from Rival and RTG only with a bonus. I tried it several times with no bonus and always lost in no time.

Balky

 

[KasinoKing]

I think most people here already know that 99% of my deposits are to get a bonus.
As to meeting playthrough & cashing-out - it's about 50% of them.
Regarding making profit; yes, 8 out of every 9 months since May 2001.

I mostly only take decent bonuses though - there are some real garbage ones out there which I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

I love the challenge of trying to meet the WR and beat the casino. Bonuses also give me a definitive stopping point - a time to move on to the next casino, the next bonus.

KK

 

[nisosbar]

I've read more and more about people being bonus banned, IMO, this is bad "press" for any casino. Why offer bonuses, many which are ludacris in way of t&cs, to only ban players when they win?

It makes no sense, esp. with Rival. Because the deposit bonuses are the tools with which they compete against each other for players. So a player wins big on a bonus, you bonus ban them and what does the player do? They go play at another Rival who hasn't bonus-banned them or else a Rival with better non-bonus loyalty features, like weekly-percentage-of-losses cash back.

As in the real world, doesn't word of mouth mean anything anymore? Sure, one player may have a bad experience at a casino once in a while, but when you read where numerous people have complaints at the same casinos, whether it be for a bonus or withdrawal, bad CS or whatever, shouldn't these casinos at least try to figure out a way to fix the problems?

And voila, that is precisely what Casinomeister is all about. My gambling money is very limited, and I will deposit almost exclusively at CM accredited casinos, no matter HOW GOOD a bonus is at a non-accredited casino. I've turned down 400% bonuses at some Rivals because they either were reputed to have lots of problems paying/bad customer service or else were even simply unaccredited. Sorry, but that's the way it has to be.

But most of the casinos just don't get it.

 

[silcnlayc]

lauriejim: Its very rare that i take a bonus unless its a damn good one and they are getting hard to find at that,

I never used to take a bonus before because I actually felt insulted when they offered them ..with their terms and wagering requirements, and actually turned down a free chip last night I was so pissed at the casino , but the casinos know what they are doing...tightening the slots to where it is almost impossible not to have to claim a bonus for more play time and are forcing many of us that have never taken bonuses before to turn to them to just continue to play anymore.

So I am finding that the need to start using them is becoming more pressing but when they have a ridiculous attachment to them, it is even worse.. I am finding myself searching more and more for some decent ones (anywhere between 200%-400% with less than 20x wagering requirements) to add to my play time..I am resenting this very much...because to get any play, it is almost a MUST to take a bonus sometimes anymore and I think casinos are realizing this and are raising the stakes on the players knowing full well, they will bust out eventually...

I played straight up last night with $200 and it lasted me almost 8 minutes with bets between $1-$2.....amazing...I think I will be winding down my playing and limiting it to a very few casinos only any more...I tried RTG again last night to test the waters and that was a very bad bust...

How does one set of casinos continue to claim a bad run of luck when there is no such thing when you continue losing....a run means every once in a while you get a win in there...and that has stopped a long time ago at any RTG...so it can't be a bad run of luck...otherwise..I would have had a blip in there that was a win..that is called....a run.....blip....a run... ya know..

And when it is just a plain old RUN...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................closed account....that is called thievery........................................IMO

.

 

[love2winalot]

Hiya: I voted, "as if anyone cares" No. hehehe

If i was to take a Bonus, it would be under the following conditions.
1. I do not care if i get banned there or not.
2. The Bonus must be as large as possible, and let you cash out as much as possible.
3. It can not be a Slots Only bonus.

If the above is not met, then, to me, whats the point?

 

[Wildfire7]

I voted for take a bonus, usually once a month on a vip match bonus.
If the WR were more than x20 it would put me off. For slots, bonus's are a useful thing to have.

I still think a lot more could be done to make it MUCH CLEARER for the player to know when WR has been completed. Something simple like a % bar above the bankroll for easy reference would be ideal, or a popupbox saying congratulations you have met WR and are now free to enjoy all our games. Much better than using an abacus!

Mike

 

[SkBurner]

I think most people here already know that 99% of my deposits are to get a bonus.
As to meeting playthrough & cashing-out - it's about 50% of them.
Regarding making profit; yes, 8 out of every 9 months since May 2001.

I mostly only take decent bonuses though - there are some real garbage ones out there which I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

I love the challenge of trying to meet the WR and beat the casino. Bonuses also give me a definitive stopping point - a time to move on to the next casino, the next bonus.

KK

What KK said. Although I don't cashout anywhere near 50% of the time

I like the high variance slots though and a bonus gives you a bit more playtime.

 

[vinylweatherman]

I take good bonuses, and even a few poorer ones. I also look for competitions, which usually offer a reward after wagering (often without a bonus at the time). The best are where you compete against other players on a live scoreboard.

I have found the prizes for such competitions much lower than before, and often hardly worthwhile.

To play with the bonuses, you have to be aware of the rules. Many games are excluded, and to play these, I have to deposit without a bonus, or find a casino without the exclusion.

Sometimes, it pays off. Early November, 500 into GoWild without a bonus, played normally excluded games (3 card poker and Video Poker), and walked off with 2000, not having to worry about playing further just because of WR

If I am competing in a wagering contest though, I will take ANY bonus being offered, because the key is to wager the most with the least loss of MY money, and hope I get a decent prize to make it worth the risk. A big win during play is also something I hope for, as I can win with my deposits, withdraw, and still end up with a decent prize.

 

[Nifty29]

I answered no bonus - but the post I just made in another thread earlier explains how I go about things:

https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/threads/i-cant-win-with-a-bonus.34755/

 

[KasinoKing]

I still think a lot more could be done to make it MUCH CLEARER for the player to know when WR has been completed. Something simple like a % bar above the bankroll for easy reference would be ideal, or a popupbox saying congratulations you have met WR and are now free to enjoy all our games. Much better than using an abacus!

Just as a by the way, Crypto casinos (e.g. Intercasino) have the % bar you mention, and some Playtechs have the pop-up box, but I think it's for post-wager bonuses only.
MG's give you a vague clue with the amount of bonus chips left to be converted, and most RTG & WagerWorks casinos tell you on the cashier screen.
I think most other softwares, in particular Rival & Grand Virtual don't give you any info on this at all until the WR is finished.
I agree with you though - they could and should ALL be MUCH better!

KK

 

[vinylweatherman]

Just as a by the way, Crypto casinos (e.g. Intercasino) have the % bar you mention, and some Playtechs have the pop-up box, but I think it's for post-wager bonuses only.
MG's give you a vague clue with the amount of bonus chips left to be converted, and most RTG & WagerWorks casinos tell you on the cashier screen.
I think most other softwares, in particular Rival & Grand Virtual don't give you any info on this at all until the WR is finished.
I agree with you though - they could and should ALL be MUCH better!

KK

The Crypto system is one of the best, it tracks both bonuses and rewards - down to the nearest cent. The MGS system is even better, since you get both this accurate tracking if you enter the withdrawal screen, but get this "bonus balance" display for an instant check on roughly how far you have progressed with WR. The MGS system does not track post wager bonuses, but few MGS casinos offer them.

RTG has the wager counter meter in cashier, and is just as good as the Crypto system, both of which require you to enter a section of the cashier application.

Crypto also has the play log, which along with the detailed view, offers a summary of total wagering and number of bets, along with win/loss per game session - something not available even with the MGS Playcheck, which only allows a spin by spin detailed view. The Crypto logs are even stored locally, so there is no way they can be made to "disappear" by a rogue operator, and they can be kept for as long as the player wants, provided they have enough room.

 

[Wildfire7]

I'm sure what most players are crying out for is an exact countdown meter above the bankroll so that at every spin they know how much there is to meet WR.

RTG's counter is good, problem is you have to go to the cashier to keep monitoring it. Im pretty sure part of the reason is that the casinos like you guessing how much is left, because it plays on your psyche, a bad run and the player may decide he has no chance of meeting playthrough and start betting higher to get where he thinks he should be.

The MG system of cash balance v bonus balance where it converts in play does give you an indication of how much wagering is left. Problem is again its not a countdown meter. If the WR is say 3000, then having this countdown meter above the bankroll figure surely makes things clearer for the player, as all he needs to do is watch it countdown to zero.

Detailed logs and stats should also be easy to print off, all in printer friendly format. Writing the number of spins and results down on scraps of paper then entering them on to a spreadsheet is cumbersome. I read somewhere that KK uses coins on his desk to record his play for WR. If the whole system was much clearer with the countdown meter and simple one click daily print out stats then other methods would not be neccassary.

Mike