| Gambling Blog |
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Here is my personal experience. I started bonus hunting almost two years ago and im still doing it. My starting bankroll was just $100. Note that back then some online casinos were offering different bonuses,and also some bonuses are now gone and some wagering requirements different. Here is how i went:
bankroll change: -€130 20th September 2009 It has been almost a year since the last time I played at Betsson Casino. That probably has something to do with their lack of good bonus offers. But just last week they reinstated the good old 30% up to €30 bonus, meaning for the €100 deposit you get €30 bonus. So I made €100 deposit , got €30 bonus and went straight to blackjack table. Immediately stared playing 3x€5 hands, and almost lost all my deposit plus bonus money. But the tables have switched soon for the better, so by the time I met wagering requirements I was looking at €40 profit. Then I decided to play some slots as a cover play and afterwards made the withdrawal. Now the worst thing you can do after winning at casino is to reverse the withdrawal. That is exaclty what I did. And of course , and that's almost aways a rule, I gave it all back including my deposit. Then I made additional deposit of €30 , hoping to recover, but of course I lost that as well. The moral of this story is NEVER , and I mean NEVER, reverse your withdrawal. Here's nice screen shot ( while I was still winning ) 
Golden Riviera Casino - review bankroll change: +$500 4th November 2008 Nearly a month ago I made $80 deposit at Golden Riviera Casino. Since the wagering requirement (WR) for blackjack was 1500 times the bonus amount, I decided not to claim the welcome bonus. Soon enough I lost all my deposit. Now this is not much of a blog story, but the funny thing happened two days ago. I was investigating something for one of our CBG members, so I had to log into my Golden Riviera account. To my great surprise and pleasure I found my account to be credited with $80 welcome bonus (although I never claimed it). Now I started playing 2x$10 hands (blackjack mutlihand). My goal was to try to reach $400 and then grind the rest of the WR playing casino war (120xbouns). At one point I was down to last $20, but soon I recovered. After a while, I was at $225, still half way from the goal I had set. Then I did something that I almost never do, I turned to slots. Yes you are reading right, me the “BJ bonus whore” started playing slots.  Made $127 from those free spins, played some more and then switched to another slot??!! This time it was "The Osborne's", and you wouldn’t believe it, I hit another free spins round, which made me $203. After a while I lost $100, and by then decided to grind my way through the rest of the WR playing casino war. That “grinding” soon turned to playing $10 a hand. To cut the story, after an hour or so I had met the WR and cashed out $500. Two days later the money was deposited on my MoneyBookers account.
bankroll change: +£170 22nd October 2008 The day when Littlewoods switched to 888.com software was my lucky day. Before that I wasn’t allowed to play there since my country was on the restricted list. They offer 100% bonus up to £100. But the bonus is bit different since you 1st receive 25% bonus and when you accumulate enough comp points (see the review) then you receive the rest of it.
Platinum Play - review bankroll change: +$210 20th October 2008 I made $80 deposit, and went straight to the blackjack table. I played Multihand BJ gold, 2 x $2 hands, and soon switched to 2x$5 hands. Lady luck wasn’t on my side that day so I lost it all in matter of minutes.
Casino.com - review bankroll change: +$200 8th September 2008 I made $100 deposit and was instantly granted with $100 bonus. Wagering requirements were 35 times the bonus amount and since blackjack was an excluded game, I decided to give Casino War a try. I started out betting $2 a hand, just to get a feel for the game, and soon switched to $5 a hand. I thought that the Gods of variance weren’t on my side since I started losing hand after hand. Soon I was $100 down, that’s when I decided to risk a bit and started betting $10 hand. After losing seven consecutive hands I was left with only $30 balance, but then things turned and soon enough I recovered. By this time I had cleared 2/3 of the WR, so I started minimizing my bets, and finally grinding $2 a hand. My final balance $300, or $200 profit.
Betfair Casino - review bankroll change: +€35 10th June 2008 This was weird experience. First of all i wans't able to register at this casino/betting exchange from my PC. Every time i tried to open registration tab i would encounter some error in page. I even tried to sign up from 5 different PC's but with same luck. Finally i decided to try to register using my 3G mobile device and believe or not i was sucesfull !! Then i tried to login from my computer and everything was in perfect order. I found their blackjack to be very streaky, although i didn't play by the book, as i wasn't in grinding mood. My bets varied from €1 per hand to 3x€5 hands. I was up to €181 at one point , but finished with +€35 at the end. Of course i played with their 100% sign up bonus. 
Mummys Gold Casino - review bankroll change: +$40 2nd May 2008 This one is Microgaming Casino, i deposited $100, decided not to claim bonus, and went to BJ table.I played Multi-hand Vegas Downtown BJ Gold, 2x$1 hands, then $5 a hand and finally 2x$5 hands. Was down to $17,5, so when i eventually hit $140 i decided its time for me to withdraw. Withdrawal was pending for one day , and it took another day to hit my Moneybookers account. This was pure gambling, as i've played without bonus, and was risking my own money. It turned quite good.
bankroll change: +$45 30th April 2008 That day i made $85 deposit and received welcome bonus. Then i sent email asking customer support to remove the given bonus. I managed to win $45 playing blackjack surrender and then decided to withdraw $130. 3 days later i received email from King Solomons customer support saying i need to comply with promotional terms and conditions , meaning i have to fulfill the wagering requirements. The exact same thing happened to me when i played over Windows Casino ( they are both playtech casinos ). So once again i had to explain that no bonus means no wagering requirements, meaning promotional terms and conditions do not apply to me. Windows casino have validated my claims, so i was hoping King Solomons will do the same. After couple of days and sveral emails sent, they finally realised that my claims are right and i received money soon after.
bankroll change: +$150 17th March 2008 That monday i've made $90 deposit, and then contacted live chat and aksed customer support to remove the sign up bonus ( wagering requirement was 75 x b&d for BJ). 21st March 2008 That day i received email from Windows Casino customer support, saying my withdrawal was declined. I quote:" Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request until you comply with our promotional bonus Terms and Conditions by wagering on appropriate games and/or fulfilling the minimum wagering requirements." At first i thought it was somekind of mistake and the funny thing was that i didnt play with thier bonus, as i previously requested from their support to remove the given bonus. No bonus means No wagering requirement !! 25th March 2008 Finally i received the response saying my withdrawal is to be processed and with an appology for my troubles and for all the inconveniences caused.
Intertops Casino - review bankroll change: -$80 15th March 2008 That day i made $80 deposit and received 100% bonus. Since the WR for BJ was huge (1500x deposit plus bonus) , i asked customer support to remove the bonus. 2x$5 hands was my starting point, and my goal was to try to double up my initial deposit. It started really well for me, and soon i went up to $130, but from there i was only going down. Eventually i lost it all. Again this was pure gambling, was trying either to win big or bust trying.
Europa Casino - review bankroll change: -$80 7th March 2008 Europa Casino offers sticky 100% up to $100 bonus,WR 24xb&d(for BJ).
Sierra Star Casino - review bankroll change: +$60 4th March 2008 Soon after my play at Royal Dice Casino, i decided to give Sierra Star Casino a try. They are sister casinos , hence they have same terms and conditions. Again i played without welcome bonus, and again my goal was to double up my money. Starting point $90, 2x$1 hands, playing blackjack surrender. After 30 or so hands i was up by $10, but then the bad streak came. After loosing $30 or so i decided to spice up a bit and turned to 2x$5 hands, which was good call (read pure luck) as i started to win hand after hand. After 1 hour play i was at $150, and by that time i decided i'm done. Here is a nice screen shot:
Royal Dice Casino - review bankroll change: +$70 24th February 2008 Royal Dice Casino offers sticky ( non cashable bonus ). Since they have huge wagering requirements for blackjack i decided to play without the sing up bonus. So after i have made $70 deposit, i contacted customer support and asked them to remove given bonus. My goal was to try to double my deposit and then cash out. 2x$5 hands was my starting point (playing BJ of course), and i must say i was lucky enough to reach that goal only after playing more or less 30 hands. I played some slots too, went up to $160, but soon i gambled and lost $20. By that point i decided to withdraw $140.
Casino King - review bankroll change: +$300 5th February 2008 Back then , Casino King was offering 125% non cashable bonus up to $125 ( now its 100% up to $100 ). So after consulting my friend Josh, i decided to give it a go. I deposited $100 using my moneybookers account, and instantly received $125 bonus. Starting point $225.The WR for this bonus was 15xb+d or $3375 to wager.As usual my goal was to try to hit $500 and then start grinding.I played single hand BJ ( $25 a hand). I won 1st few hands, but then i run to bad streak and at 1 point i went down to $65. But from there i started to win more and more hands, and slowly got to the $500. At that point i finished almost 90% of WR, so i decied to grind a bit.I have minimized bets at $5, and eventually on $2 a hand.
Casino Las Vegas - review bankroll change: +$270 27th January 2008 I Made $80 deposit using Moneybookers, and received100% bonus plus additional $70 for using MB as deposit option. Starting balance $230. The WR for this bonus was 25x (b+d),or $5750 to wager. I started playing $25 a hand at BJ table, and after few swings, i was soon up to $500. By that time i cleared about 1/5 of the WR. My goal was to try to hit $500, and since i achieved that, i started playing $5 a hand. Soon my bankroll started to increase, and at 1 point i was up to $800. But since i was only at half of the WR, i have continued playing $5 a hand, instead minimizing my bets to $1. Bottom line, after WR was met i was down to $550, and eventually i lost another $50 doing some cover play.. After submiting withdrawal request, i was left with $350,since $150 was sticky bonus. Which means $270 profit for me.The withdrawal was pending for 4 and 1/2 days, and it took another 2 days to hit my MB account.
Enter Casino - review bankroll change: +$195 19th December 2007 This was my very first sticky(non cashable) bonus.And obviously i was very nervous when i started to play. Made $75 deposit using moneybookers, and received 200% sign up bonus, instead of 100%. Bankroll $225. Contacted live chat, they confirmed that the WR is 12X b+d, in all $2700 to wager. I played $25 a hand( single player BJ). After wagering half of WR I was up to $500. As I was approaching the WR, I started minimizing my bets, at $10, $5, and eventually started grinding $1 a hand. By the time i cleared WR I was around $470. Day 2: So feeling quite happy, I decided to play more ( as cover play), played even some slots, Jacks or better, and soon I wagered over $3800. Than I decided to contact live chat to once more confirm the terms, and they told me again that WR is 12xd+b, so being way over WR i decied to withdraw. By that time I lost $50, so my bankroll was at $420, which meant I could withdraw $270. I submitted the request, and the withdrawal was pending. Day 3: That friday morning i received email from enter casino CS, they cancelled my withdrawal,saying i didn’t meet WR, and that I still have to wage some $1750 or so! and that the WR is 25x B+D instead of 12! I was badly surprised, so I sent them a response, saying that I got the different info from their live chat , and I submitted the screen shot of that chat as a proof. At my GREAT pleasure, they validate my claims, and allowed me to withdraw. So 4 days later I got $270 to my MB, which means nice $195 profit.
Sportingbet - review bankroll change: +45 They were once Super Vegas casino, now its Paradise casino.They had nice little bonus 100% up to $50.I played the instant version of the casino,which was a bit slow,but as my result shows i got away with almost whole bonus as profit.Again i was playing $1 a hand.It took about 4 days to get my money to credit card.
Bet365 - review bankroll change: +$200 One of the best cahsable bonuses in the business.I deposited $200 and immidiately got $200 bonus.At $1 a hand it took me about 3 days( playing approximately 4h per day) to meet WR.I ran to huge losing streaks, at one point was down to $290, but things changed quicky to my favour.By the time i met wagering requirements i was at $400,meaning nice $200 profit.Three days later the funds were safely on my credit card account.
Party Casino - review bankroll change: +$150 I wasnt planning to play there.I was aiming for Star luck welcoming bonus. But since Party Casino took over Star luck and Planet luck i really didnt have choice but to play there. So instead of pursuing two welcoming bonuses i had to satisfy with only one, coz only one bonus code was allowed.I made deposit and claimed welcome bonus using Starluck's sign up bonus code.As i recall the WR was way smaller , i think was 20xb. They have call verification, after registration you receive automated phone call , asking you to enter 4 digit code that you already got during registration Since i entered wrong phone number during my registration, i didnt receive that call, and later i found my account to be frozen. But quick email to customer support solved the problem, although i had to send correct phone number, plus passport and back and front side of my credit card.All in all i made +$150
Casino on Net(888.com) - review bankroll change: +$230 Again one of the best bonuses in the business.I deposited $200 via credit card and instantly received $200 bonus(bonus system is bit different now,but still worth doing).At first i played at instant version of casino,which i found to be annoyingly slow, so i decided to download the casino. That speeded up things a bit, but still software speed is something that ppl. from 888.com should work on.I played mostly $1 a hand but i introduced 3x$1 hands to my play,just to speed up things.1st day i was about even,and i completed 1/3 of WR.2nd and 3rd day were more than successful since i managed not only to complete WR without losing bonus but i actually made additional $30 on top of bonus. bankroll change: +$0 My advice is stay away from this one.They offer 20% sign up bonus plus $40 just for downloading.So i made $200 deposit and received $40 bonus.An extra 40$ just for downloading i didnt get.But thats not the issue,the problem was after meeting the WR, i decided to make withdrawal( i won 40$).Then i realized that only way to withdraw money is by using bank transfer or they can send you an check. Since i have deposited by my credit card i sent email to customer support asking if they could send me money directly to my credit card.Since there was no response, i emailed them again.Instead of answering me ,next time i logged in , i found my account DISABLED.I couldnt believe. So i called their customer support, only to be told to call again in few hours, which i did.The operator told me that i have to send scanned pics of my passport,front and back side of my credit c., and credit c. statement.They didnt tell me why my account was frozen. So i sent the asked documents, only not to be answered again.i have sent it again, and they said i have to resend c.c. statement in jpeg format, which i did.Eventually i received email saying my account is still to be frozen, but they did return my deposit to credit card, with no winnings.No explanation what so ever was given to me.All this charade had cost me nearly a month of one way " correspondence" with their customer support, and a few thousand nerves.So my advice is STAY AWAY from linesmaker.
bankroll change: -$50 For this bonus i used moneybookers as payment option.I deposited $50 and received $50 bonus.I lost not only the bonus but my deposit money too.I have to say that was entirely my fault since i wasnt playing by the strategy using small bets.At 1st i played usual $1 a hand, but one losing streak was followed by another,and again by another..so i lost my patience and started betting $5 a hand and eventually lost it all.Note that the higher the bet is the greater is the risk of ruin.I guess it was due to happen since i made nice profit so far.Never the less i was able to get my money back playing 32 reds monthly bonus and to make some profits too in the following months.Lesson learnt,alway bet small.
bankroll change: +€8 ,later change: +€554 They dont have classical signup bonus,instead they offer pretty much regular 30% up to €30 monthly bonus.First time i played there i made only 8 euros.Now since my registration , i made more than €554.The software is fast ,WR pretty much low.Unfortunately this monthly bonus is not available for me anymore, i must have whored too much cash.
Gamebookers - review bankroll change : +€24 The same software as Betssons.They had nice little bonus 50% up to €50.As i remember i wasnt allowed to deposit €100 to get the whole €50 bonus.Max deposit set for my account was €86,so i got €43 bonus.At one point i was at €150,playing 3x€1 hands.And let me tell you i was winning hand after hand.But then came bad streak,so by the time i met WR(i always go little over WR as cover play) i was looking at nice €24 profit for couple of hours of clicking.
Yukon Gold Casino - review bankroll change: +$40 update: bonus is changed They have great bonus promotion.Deposit $50,if you lose all they refund your money.So being risk free,i set my goal to double up my money or to bust and request cashback.I played $5 a hand and fortunately for me i managed to win $40.So feeling quite happy i requested withdrawal and got money after 4 days to my moneybookers account. The easiest $40 in my life, in and out in 20 minutes.
Ladbrokes Casino - review bankroll change: +€100 I singed up,deposited €100.The wagering requirements is one of the lowest,only 4 x bonus.But the trick is your bet size has to be 10% your deposit,meaning i had to play €10 a hand or 2 x €5 hands.This was a bit risky cause you get the bonus after WR is met.I played for about 30 minutes,and luckly broke even.Then i submited bonus request,and had to wait for 48h to be credited.After two days i got the €100 bonus and cashed out.
Blackjack Heaven Casino - review bankroll change: +$150 100% up to $50 sign up bonus.I played there in september .07. Back then the WR was much lower( 25x b+d).And they even had weekly $25 reload. I played BJ( what else), $1 a hand at first, but soon swiched to 2 x$1 hands.After 1st day of play i was $60 good.2nd day was even better as i went up over $300,and even played some slots. As i continued to win hand after hand ,i became more and more greedy.So eventually from 326$ i went donw to $250, and at that point i made withdrawal of $200. With remaining $50 i played next morning and after good start and some extra $10, i blew it all. After all, i made $150 profit , since $50 was my deposit.If i wasnt greedy, my score would have been much better, but all in all i was satisfied.But now im not sure this bonus is worth doing, 100x d+b is huge.
Casino Club - review bankroll change: +€0 They offer great 100% up to €100 bonus.I deposited €80 using moneybookers,but i didnt get the bonus.So i sent couple of emails to customer support asking for explanation, but i got no answer!?This was very strange since they stand for reputable casino.
bankroll change: +$200 After you download casino and register , youll have to choose between various bonuses( when u log in youll see the pop up window with different bonuses to choose).So i chose card games bonus and then went to cashier and made $200 deposit.The $100 bonus was granted instantly.EV for this bonus is around $70.
William Hill - review bankroll change: +$10.50 This was my very first casino.Back then they were offering 100% up to $100 bonus.I remember being so nervous while playing just $1 a hand.At the end i made only $ 10 but i was so happy.As soon as i met the WR i made withdrawal.It took less than 3 days for money to hit my credit card.
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