Yes I like automatic SUBs. Probably more so now that I have been bonus banned at 32Red and Casino Rewards.
That said, I am starting to veer more towards a "take SUB bonus(es), but then make most/all subsequent deposits without taking a bonus" stance.
To be honest, when I started out on the whole online slotting thing, I never envisaged a time where I would not take a bonus on a fairly regular basis. I always thought that budget constraints, along with my novice/beginner slotter status and a need to get maximum value for money/good playtime would stay true for the long term.
But how things have changed in the past 12 months, even the past 3 months for me. Now that I have learned more about things like variance, smart game selection, what actually constitutes a good bonus offer etc etc (oh the power and the beauty of Casinomeister
:notworthy) , I now find myself actually turning my nose up at deposit bonuses a lot more often. Simply because having "the power to choose at all times" has become so much more important to me. Almost a case of free-dom > free money.
Do I understand why players take bonuses? Absolutely I do. I've been there. I still am there actually (but to a lesser extent). But now that I find myself on this current "less bonuses is more" path in my slotting "career", I don't think I'll ever go back to the way I used to play, where bonuses are concerned. It's taken me a while to realise it, but bonuses are not all they are cracked up to be. They are becoming a minefield, a never-ending negotation of a series of trap doors, a f*cking headache waiting to happen. F*ck that already. We just want to get down to the business/pleasure of playing the games, of hopefully getting some entertaining bang for our buck. We don't want to spend time reading several paragraphs of legalese BS than leaves you thinking "Yay! I just discovered a cure for my insomnia".
And given that more and more casinos are showing a greater willingness to impose yet more and more restrictions on what a player can or cannot do when playing with bonus funds (like playing DOA for example), bonuses will inevitably continue to become more and more unattractive to the player. Even those who find themselves taking bonuses on a regular basis now (because they have to strictly adhere to a limited gambling budget) may just find themselves throwing the head up one day in the future and saying "What's the effing point in these bloody bonuses? They are more trouble than they are worth!"