Hi thread, long time, no see.
Aka, I've thought about it some, and I've decided, I think you got a little bit lucky in your bonus hustling career. But not
ridiculously lucky.
Here's why: I started a couple of months after you. I don't think I played as aggressive early on. And of course, the US closures probably hurt me a little bit more than it hurt you. Anyway, if I add up all my winnings
everywhere (bank account, e-wallet, frozen in neteller, awaiting cashout from casinos) I'm probably looking at about $20,000. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with these results, but you were up to around $35,000 when you stopped counting a while back.
I think I made a few technical errors early in my career:
1) "shorting" myself on large signup bonuses at some places by not depositing the max amount available. I did this early on when I didn't have a very big bankroll, but I should have saved those for later, rather than wimping out on them.
2) not being aggressive enough in play: There were a lot of fairly marginal cashable bonuses that I played through 'straight'. In hindsight, if I had gone with the riskier strategy of trying to double-up or triple-up early, it would have paid off much better over the long run.
3) Being
too aggressive on some play: I had a stupid roulette phase, where I was playing entire deposits on 1 to 3 numbers. That was
too risky to have a reasonable expectation of profit over the medium term.
And also, as mentioned, the whole UIGEA thing really put a damper on things.
But then there's luck, and I think you had a little bit more of it than I did. Just a little.
My own activities are definitely winding down. I seem to be out of casinos that I haven't signed up, and are at least somewhat reputable, that will allow US players. The RTG casinos that I've been milking for their recurring bonuses have gradually been bonus-restricting me. And then there's the occassional offer from places like grand prive, trident, and big dollar.
I don't mind too much, it leaves me with more free time