Introduction

Online casinos allow players to wager from their homes using a computer and an Internet connection. This saves considerable time and expense associated with travelling to land casinos. Wagering from home is also more comfortable because there are no casino employees or other players to worry about. There is a larger variety of casino games available at online casinos and in skill based games players can make use of strategy cards. Therefore they are less likely to make mistakes. But all these benefits increase the temptation of wagering much more than are desirable. Hence players must ensure that they are wagering within reasonable limits.

How to Get Started

The first step that is involved in online wagering is assessing what amounts should be wagered and how much time should be spent at the online casino. Spending more money and time on online wagering than one can afford will disrupt the normal life of the player and put him in difficulty. The player should work out what amount he has left over per month from his income after meeting all expenses and after providing for onetime expenses and emergencies. He should then earmark a portion of that for wagering. He should divide that amount over the weeks and days and arrive at an amount to be wagered per session. This amount should be held sacrosanct. Similarly the player should ensure that the wagering is not affecting his work or his health. He should also ensure that he is devoting sufficient time to family and friends. Online casino wagering should be a source of entertainment and not a source of income.

Choosing an Online Casino

There are agencies that have been authorized by national governments to issue licenses to operators for providing online gaming services after evaluating their applications. These are known as gaming jurisdictions. Other input providers to online casinos are software developers and independent agencies that test the software for fairness and security. Player should choose only those online casinos that have the above services provided by reputed agencies.

There are several online watch dog sites that review and rate online casinos. Potential players should browse through several of these sites and obtain a sense of which online casinos offer better and safer services. Many of these sites have discussion forums where regular players discuss the merits and demerits of online casinos. These forums are an invaluable source of information. After narrowing down the choice to a few reputed online casinos players should check out the web sites of these casinos for the games and promotions offered and then make a considered choice.

Downloading or Playing Instant Play

Online casino software is of two types. The download software has to be installed in the player’s computer whereas the instant play software is played on the player’s browser using the software from the casino’s servers. If the player is using Mac or Linux operating system then he has to use instant play software because download software is compatible only with Windows. Also if the player does not have sufficient storage capacity in his computer for the download software he has to go for the instant play one. Otherwise the download software is better because it offers more games with better features.

Making a Deposit at an Online Casino

In order to make a deposit at an online casino the player has to log in and access the Cashier and select the deposit link. There the player should choose his registered deposit option and proceed as instructed. The most common deposit option is the credit card and players need not worry about security issues at reputed online casinos. If the player already has a credit card he might as well use it. Electronic wallets offer advantages and disadvantages. They have to be separately funded using credit cards, but players can withdraw winnings directly to these wallets. Prepaid vouchers are the third deposit option.

Choosing Games to Play

The different casino games include slots video poker, blackjack, roulette and casino poker games. There can be many different criteria for choosing from the online casino games, the most important being the player’s interest. However, new players should be aware of certain features. Different casino games offer different average returns. Blackjack and video poker games offer returns in excess of 99% but with correct game play. Slot games offer a return of only 95%. However slot games offer larger payouts and lucky players can win larger amounts playing slots games. Ideally the players should play a mix of games so as to draw upon the different benefits.

Making a Withdrawal from Online Casinos

Making a withdrawal is very similar to making a deposit. Players have to access the withdrawals link in the casino Cashier, select the appropriate withdrawal option and follow instructions. Players who have deposited funds using electronic wallets can withdraw into those wallets. Some credit cards allow withdrawals into the card account. For most other deposit options players will have to withdraw by bank transfer or check.

The player’s balance is divided into a cash balance and a bonus balance. Only the cash balance can be withdrawn. Some withdrawal limits are cumulative over a period and hence previous withrawals become important in computing cashable amounts.