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Casino Loopholes Exposed
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Disclaimer
The publisher has aimed to be precise and comprehensive in the formation of this
book. The publisher does not guarantee that the contents within are accurate due to
the fast changing nature of online gambling.
While all efforts have been made to authenticate information included in this
document, the publisher accepts no liability for errors, exclusions, or opposing
interpretation of the subject matter herein.
In gambling strategy books, like everything else in life, there are no guarantees of
income made. The reader is advised to be careful to apply their own judgment about
their personal situation to act accordingly.
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Contents
Disclaimer................................................................................................................................................ 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Chapter 1 Welcome Bonuses ................................................................................................................. 6
Chapter 2 Good and Bad Casino Bonuses .............................................................................................. 9
Chapter 3 The Playthrough Requirements ........................................................................................... 12
Chapter 4 Finding the Most Profitable Game: Expected Loss Percentage .......................................... 15
Chapter 5: The Casino Octopus Playthrough Formula ......................................................................... 18
Chapter 6 The Alternative Bonus ......................................................................................................... 24
Chapter 7 Which Bonus Should You Take? .......................................................................................... 37
Chapter 8 No Deposit Bonuses ............................................................................................................ 41
Chapter 9 Conclusions.......................................................................................................................... 46
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Introduction
Successful gambling requires a clear plan. Your primary aim, if you want to make
money from gambling, is to just bet when the odds are in your favour. Although
the casinos and bookmakers have designed the rules so that they can almost never
lose, there are some loopholes.
The casinos have got the games like roulette, craps, slots, scratchcards and bacarrat
mathematically sewn up. We have heard of black jack players getting banned. This
is because, at least live, it is beatable. In contrast, who has ever heard of a slots
player, roulette player, a craps player or a baccarat player getting banned form a
casino?
The reason for this is that casinos are not in the business of banning players who are
playing a game that is mathematically impossible to beat in the long term. All
profitable gambling systems are based on logic and/or statistical analysis.
Whatever gambling games you play, this book is essential reading
This book provides major loopholes that you can exploit online
You need to be FLEXIBLE as to which games you play
Professional Gambling is about ducking and diving
You look for a loophole or an edge and exploit it
If the casinos take counter measures and close the loophole,
you should quit and look for a new loophole
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Skill games, such as poker and backgammon, take a long time to learn. It takes a lot
of work to get your skills to a level where you can win easy money. Therefore, I will
not be dealing with skill games in this book.
You can just scroll to the end of the book to find out more.
Important
If you don’t want to do the work yourself, we at Casino Octopus
provide this information for FREE
You can take advantage of
loopholes when the odds
favour the punter
There is a significant skill
factor in the game and you
are the better player
Loopholes Skill
I focus on taking advantage of loopholes in this book
You will learn how to bet when the odds are in your favour
The 2 Main Ways of Gaining an Edge at Gambling
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Chapter 1 Welcome Bonuses
Welcome Bonuses
If you are signing up to a new casino or bookmaker, they
usually require that you deposit some money before you can
get a welcome bonus.
This welcome bonus is also known as a “first deposit bonus”. In order to obtain the
welcome bonus, you have to deposit money at the casino. Then the casino matches
your deposit with their money.
The casinos and bookmakers have all their games set, mathematically, so that they
are almost guaranteed to win over time. However, many of their games just give a
small advantage to the casino.
There are 2 very important skills that you need to win at gambling.
Bonuses are extremely important in order to gain an advantage
A good bonus can cancel
out the casino’s or
bookmaker’s mathematical
advantage
You can find situations
where the odds are in your
favour
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Others will look at the percentage match of the bonus compared to your deposit.
EXAMPLE: YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF 3 DIFFERENT CASINO OFFERS:
Imagine the banners are flashing at you with these numbers.
Which of the above casino bonus offers, do you think is the best?
You need to be able to
recognise a bonus that
pushes the odds in your
favour
You need to know what to
do to extract money from
this situation
Recognise Extract Money
Many gamblers are not able to differentiate between the good, bad
and plain ugly bonuses.
The 2 Important Skills
200% match bonus
up to
£1000 + 200 free spins
200% match bonus
up to
£500
100% match bonus
up to
£500
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The answer is that you do NOT have anywhere near enough
information to compare these offers
In the next chapters, we will look at the information that you need
to assess how good or bad a bonus is.
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Chapter 2 Good and Bad Casino Bonuses
The first step in assessing the quality of a bonus is whether it is a cashable bonus or
an uncashable (“sticky”) bonus.
CASHABLE CASINO BONUSES
A cashable casino bonus is also known as a redeemable bonus. All casino bonuses
come with wagering requirements. Cashable bonuses can be good or bad.
Good cashable casino bonuses statistically give the gambler a chance to win money
after the wagering requirements have been met. These bonuses are rare. However,
we have found some and these are reported on the Casino Octopus site.
In contrast, bad cashable bonuses have play through requirements that, statistically,
will result in the gambler losing significant money.
That is, after the wagering requirements have been met and the cashable bonus is
released, the gambler is statistically likely to have lost a substantial amount of
money.
Frequently, casinos have play through requirements will result, on average, in a loss
the deposit and the bonus money and even more money.
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NON-CASHABLE BONUSES AKA “STICKY” BONUSES
These bonuses are also known as “sticky” bonuses. These bonuses are not
redeemable even after the play through requirements have been met.
These bonuses are usually very bad. You will see casino reviews on various sites
saying that these can be good. However, even if you can win with these
mathematically, the majority of casinos have rules that will prevent you exploiting
this.
The surprising thing is that some of the big high street names offer sticky
bonuses.
THE CASINO “IRREGULAR” BETTING PATTERN RULE
The main rule is that an “irregular” betting pattern will result in the bonus and
all your winnings getting forfeited.
The casino decides what an irregular betting pattern is. I have never seen a casino
define “irregular”. If it wasn’t for this rule, some of these bonuses would be
profitable.
Here is the problem. You clear your bonus. However, the bonus money is not
yours. Let’s say that you have lost £200 of your own money and you have cleared a
£600 bonus. There are mathematical ways to make sure you have almost a 50%
chance that you will be in profit. One way is to put the whole bonus on red or black
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on a roulette table. You will either lose the bonus (which wasn’t redeemable
anyway) or you will win £600. You could also put the whole amount on money on a
black jack hand.
However, this will look like an irregular betting pattern to anyone. In addition,
casinos often have a maximum stake while you are clearing your bonus. As such,
you will have a prior history of smaller bets. Therefore, when you suddenly increase
your stake, this bet will look “irregular”.
For these reasons, we do not review
casinos who offer sticky bonuses on
the Casino Octopus website. We feel
that these types of bonuses are too much
in favour of the casino. Remember, that,
if a casino decides that your bet is
irregular, they can take back the bonus
and your winnings.
Therefore, for the remainder of this report, we are only talking
about cashable deposit bonuses
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Chapter 3 The Playthrough Requirements
The playthrough requirements are also known as the “wagering requirements”. You
need 2 pieces of information
In order to figure out how much money that you need to
rollover, you have to look carefully at the terms and
conditions for a bonus offer.
There are several ways that casinos specify the rollover amount. Many casino don’t
make the wagering requirements simple to understand. With some casinos, it can
be difficult to actually find the wagering requirements in their websites.
The amount of money that
you need to rollover
The number times that you
need to wager this money
Amount Rollover #
Many gamblers are not able to differentiate between the good,
bad and plain ugly bonuses.
Playthrough Information
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There are still some odd ones. For example, at MoneyGaming, the 150% bonus (up
to £300) is released for wagering after you have bet a total value of your first deposit
+ the welcome bonus 25 times.
Then you have to bet the bonus amount one more time in order to withdraw it.
The information that you need is the exact amount that you have to bet in total.
On the next page, I will show a simple formula that can be used to calculate how
much you have to bet in total to meet the casino’s playthrough requirements.
The rollover amount is the sum of your deposit and
your bonus. The terms and conditions of a casino
might state that you have to bet your deposit and
bonus amount a certain number of times.
Deposit + Bonus
Rollover Requirements
The rollover amount is the bonus amount. For
example, they will say that you must wager your
bonus amount a specific number of times in order to
complete your wagering requirements.
Bonus
The rollover amount is your deposit amount. The
casino’s terms and conditions might state that you
have to wager your deposit a specific number of
times to complete the playthrough requirements.
Deposit
These are the main 3 ways in which online casinos phrase how
much money that you have to bet in wagers.
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In the case of the MoneyGaming example, your rollover amount would be equal to
the sum of your deposit and your bonus. You would multiply this by 25. However,
because you have to bet the bonus once more, you would have to add the bonus
amount to the result of this equation.
The majority of online casinos do not have the extra bet of your bonus requirement.
Generally, the rollover amount will be specified as the deposit amount, the bonus
amount or the sum of the deposit and the bonus.
CASINO OCTOPUS SAYS:
Now, we have 3 of the 4 variables.
The amount that you deposited
The rollover amount
The number of times that you have to bet this amount
In the next chapter, we will look at the final important variable: the
best game to play when clearing your bonus.
Playthrough Requirements
Rollover Amount X Number of Times you have to Bet this Amount
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Chapter 4 Finding the Most Profitable
Game: Expected Loss Percentage
When assessing a bonus, it is essential to knowing how much you are expected to
lose on average. You have to choose a game that you intend to play.
PAYOUT PERCENTAGE
You should select your game on the basis of the payout percentage. The payout
percentage is also known as the “Return to Player Percentage or the “RTP%”.
You will only get this information at online casinos that publish their payout
percentages for individual games.
There are games, such as roulette,
blackjack and baccarat, where we know
the payout percentage. However, the
casinos often stipulate that such games
count as a very small percentage
towards the wagering requirements.
Usually, this percentage means that it is
not worth playing these games to
release your bonus.
Slots and scratchcards usually contribute 100% towards the wagering requirements.
The payout percentage on the highest paying slots games is usually better than the
payout percentage on the highest paying scratchcards.
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Therefore, we will usually be looking for the best slot game that counts 100%
towards the wagering requirements. There will be exceptions. For example, in my
article on LeoVegas, I recommend playing Blood Suckers, even though it contributes
only 70% towards the wagering requirements.
FINDING THE PAYOUT PERCENTAGES
You should research all of the games. There will be information gaps. For example,
some slots games are given an RTP% that is a range (eg 90-99%) rather than an
exact number (eg 96%).
If a casino does not publish the RTP% of each their individual slots games, you can
do a search on each game on the internet. If the RTP% of a game is the same on a
lot of websites, you can have more confidence that this information is correct.
If the casino hosts Net Entertainment games, you can easily find the payout
information.
Net Entertainment published the payout information for each game. In addition,
many casinos offer the games in practice mode. There is usually a “?” symbol at the
bottom of their games towards the left. If you click on that, the rules pop up and
these will usually include the payout percentage for the game.
This isn’t always an exact science. You just have to make the best of the information
that you can obtain.
Let’s say that you find a slots game that pays out 96%. You calculate your Expected
Loss Percentage by subtracting this number from 100% Therefore, if your game has
an RTP% of 96%, your expected loss will be 4% (ie 100 – 96).
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CASINO OCTOPUS SAYS:
You now have all of the pieces of information that you need to analyse a casino
bonus.
In the next chapter, I will discuss how to put this information
together.
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Chapter 5: The Casino Octopus
Playthrough Formula
We will assume that your game contributes 100%. The Playthrough Formula is:
EXAMPLE: 100% MATCH BONUS UP TO £200
Bonus Offer: You get a 100% match bonus up to £200.
Deposit and Bonus Amount: You deposit £200 and you get a bonus of £200.
Wagering Requirements: The wagering requirements are that you have to bet your
bonus 25 times.
Expected Loss: You find a game that contributes 100% towards your wagering
requirements and has an RTP of 96%. Therefore, your expected loss is 4%.
For the formula, we have the following information:
The Rollover Amount = £200
The Number of times that you have to bet this amount = 25
Your expected loss = 0.04 (ie 4%)
The Casino Octopus Playthrough Formula
Rollover amount X Number of times you have to bet this amount
X Expected Loss Percentage
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Now, we will put these numbers into the Casino Octopus Playthrough Formula,
You will have invested £200 and released a bonus of another £200. You will have
lost £200 by the time that you clear your bonus. Once your bonus is released, you
will still have the equivalent of your deposit money.
As your bonus was £200, you will have broken even. If you hadn’t had the bonus,
you would be down by £200. In addition, if your bonus had been uncashable, you
would have been down by £200. This is why cashable bonuses are so important.
You should be aware that all of these numbers are averages. Some players will lose
more and some will have won.
So, that is the Casino Octopus Playthrough Formula.
ADJUSTING FOR GAMES THAT COUNT LESS THAN 100% TOWARDS THE WAGERING
REQUIREMENTS
If you do play a game that contributes less than 100% towards wagering
requirements, you should make a correction for the Number of times you have to bet
the rollover amount.
The Casino Octopus Playthrough Formula
Rollover amount X Number of times you have to bet this amount
X Expected Loss Percentage
We get
200 X 25 X 0.04 = 200
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USING THE CASINO OCTOPUS PLAYTHROUGH CALCULATOR
At the bottom left on the footer on the Casino Octopus website, you will find the
Casino Octopus Playthrough Calculator. You can just input the information into the
calculator and it will show you your expected win or loss from a bonus.
This calculator determines how much money you will have won or lost on a game of
chance once you are allowed to cash out your bonus.
Adjusting for Games that Count Less than 100%
Divide 100 and divide by the percentage contribution of the game.
Then multiply this by the normal playthrough amount.
(100 ÷ Percentage towards Wagering) X Number of times you
have to bet this amount
Example: You are playing a game that contributes 70% towards
the wagering requirements. The wagering requirement at 100%
is 25 times the bonus amount
You should put the following numbers into the above formula
(100/70) X 25 = 35.71
This means that if you are playing a game that contributes 70
towards wagering, you would have to wager 35.71 times the
bonus amount.
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The calculator assumes that you have to wager your deposit a specific number
of times in order to be able to cashout your bonus.
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Let’s put the numbers into the calculator from the previous example
The Rollover Amount = £200
The Number of times that you have to bet this amount = 25
Your expected loss = 0.04 (ie 4%)
You will see the “Overall Money Won/Lost” is zero. This means that you will have
broken even on your deposit amount, once the playthrough requirements have been
met.
CASINO OCTOPUS SAYS: We do this research into bonuses regularly. We consider the value of a bonus
(taking playthrough and the payout percentages into consideration) as our most
important criterion for rating a casino. There are a lot of other aspects of a casino
that are important.
However, gambling is about money. Hardly anyone would bother playing these
games if there was no money involved, even if the support and the software was
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great. This is why the main criterion that we use when rating an online casinos is
based on how much of a chance they give the player.
In addition, you should note that I am talking about cashable bonuses only here.
Even the bad deposit bonuses are better than uncashable deposit welcome
bonuses. This is because all cashable bonuses effectively reduce the commission
that the casino takes from bets.
In the next Chapter, I look at an alternative bonus that you should
consider.
Valuing a Casino Bonus
The average player
can win money
The bonus money
just cancels out the
casino’s
commission
The average player
will lose their bonus
and their deposit
Excellent Good Bad
This assumes that the gambler has chosen the most profitable game to play
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Chapter 6 The Alternative Bonus
How to get a free £1000 +
When a casino has a sportsbook as well, you should weigh up the value of the
bonus in the sportsbook against the value of the casino bonus. There is a system for
extracting sportsbook bonuses which is called “matched betting”.
This is a potent system of getting
effortless, free money to fund your
gambling career.
Not all players from all countries are
eligible for free money using this
system.
Punters from the UK and Ireland
definitely can get this money.
Furthermore, players from several European countries and Canada are able to get
some of this free money too.
When you are trying to win money, it is essential to be flexible. You should go
to where the money is, rather than just play the games that you enjoy.
Even if you play other casino games, you must read this
You can use this money to fund any game you want
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This Method is NOT Gambling
The method was reviewed in the Guardian newspaper by Jason Shearer 24
July 2010.
This is what Jason Shearer said in this article:
Who Should Use This System?
Most gamblers should use this system. These bonuses are easy pickings. They are
fast to accumulate as well. It shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes per day to cash
out a welcome bonus.
POKER PLAYERS
For example, let’s say you want to play a skill game, such as
poker. You should use this system to get the money to play
poker.
Most players start playing poker at the big poker sites. The sites offer you a bonus
and you have to play a certain number of games, matches or hands to release the
bonus. Some of these bonuses are have a time limit. For example, you might get
something like 90 days to release your bonus. In your efforts to get your bonus, you
“Could I really sit in front of my screen and make money from the bookies for nothing?
The answer, to my surprise, was yes. Over the past month I have researched and used every decent online free bet introductory offer from a bookie. I've taken up 31 offers so far – and I've made in the region of £770.
The money I have made has been absolutely risk free, it's not been about gambling but about playing the system – and it was inspired by Guardian Money. I don't even have to pay tax on my winnings”.
Extract from an article in Guardian newspaper written by Jason Shearer 24 July 2010.
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have probably paid as much or more in rake or commission. If you are just learning
a new game, you may have even lost cash in your efforts to release your bonus.
The result may be that, you obtained your bonus and got yourself into a position
where you can cash out (at least some of it). However, you have still lost money.
CASINO GAMBLERS AT CASINOS THAT HAVE A
SPORTSBOOK
Some casinos have a sportsbook. They will offer a
casino bonus or a sportbook bonus. Some casinos
will only allow you to take one of these bonuses.
Others will allow you to take the sportsbook bonus for
the sportsbook and the casino bonus for the casino.
YOU MIGHT USE THIS METHOD IS AT CASINOS WHO OFFER POOR CASHABLE BONUSES.
These include casinos that offer cashable bonuses but the play through
requirements are giving you bad odds.
ANOTHER SITUATION THAT YOU SHOULD CHOOSE THE SPORTSBOOK BONUS IS AT CASINOS
WHO OFFER UNCASHABLE (“STICKY”) BONUSES.
As already mentioned, sticky bonuses are not worth a lot.
In this chapter, I will explain how players from some countries can have their
favourite game staked without using their own money.
HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU NEED TO USE THIS METHOD?
You will require at least £25 to start obtaining this money. However, this money is
at almost no risk.
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There are a lot of gambling sites that have both a sportsbook and a casino. Virtually
all of them offer bonuses. As I have said before, there are a lot of casinos who offer
bonuses that are not worthwhile to the gambler.
Matched betting
Matched betting (also known as risk free betting) is a mathematical method of
winning money.
Basically, you sign up to a casino or bookmaker via the sportsbook. You will be
offered a welcome bonus. You will learn how to release and withdraw this bonus or,
at least, a part of it. You do this by betting at the bookmaker and betting against
your bet at a betting exchange. These terms will be explained if you are new to
them.
There are more than 100 bookmakers where UK and Ireland residents obtain
welcome bonuses. They might not offer your favourite games. However, there is no
Sign up for bad casino
bonuses
Sign up to these
bookmakers and
casinos through the
sportsbook
Do not Do
Then use matched betting to turn your bonus into cash
When a Casino Bonus is Bad Value
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rule to prevent you from releasing your sportsbook bonus and moving the money to
a bookmaker or casino that does host your favourite games.
WHAT IS MATCHED BETTING?
When you sign up to a bookmaker through the Sportsbook page, you are presented
with an offer of a welcome bonus. Matched betting is a system of almost
guaranteeing that you will be able to withdraw most of the bonus. Once you have
satisfied the withdrawal requirements, you can use this money to play any skill
game. Actually, you can use this money how you wish, including simply putting it
into your bank account.
You will need to open an account at a bookmaker and
a betting exchange. You should sign up to as many
betting exchanges as you can because they also offer
welcome bonuses as well. In the examples in this
chapter, I will use Betfair as the betting exchange.
WHAT IS A LAY BET?
When you place a lay bet you are betting against another customer's stake who
thinks that a particular result will happen. If the result does occur you have to pay the
other client at the odds that you agreed on. In contrast, if the outcome does not
occur, you win the other client‘s stake.
For example, let's suppose that Arsenal playing Real Madrid. We don't think Real
Madrid will win so we lay Real Madrid for £20 on Betfair at odds of 1.80. This means
that we accept a £20 bet from another client of Betfair. If Real Madrid win, we will
have to pay the Betfair customer £16 (in addition, they get to keep their £10 stake).
Conversely, if Real Madrid lose, we keep the £20 stake. By laying Real Madrid, we
win if Arsenal win or draw.
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HOW DOES MATCHED BETTING WORK?
The majority of bookmakers have a requirement that you have to make at least one
bet, before they will release your free bet. At the time of creating this chapter, Coral
is offering a “Bet £5 Get £20 Free Bet”. This means that you have to bet £5 and this
will release a free £20 bet. The original £5 bet is referred to as the “Qualifying Bet”
and the £20 bet is called the “Risk Free Bet”.
The bonuses, offered by bookmakers, and terms and conditions can alter from time
to time. Although the examples that I am using to illustrate matched betting are
accurate at the time of writing, you must always verify the terms and conditions for:
What is the bonus amount?
Is the bonus stake included in the winnings or do you just obtain the winnings
resulting from the free bet?
Is the bonus offered in your country that you live in?
Is there a date of expiry date for your welcome bonus?
What odds, are you permitted to bet at, for the free bet to be released?
What odds, are allowed to bet at, for the free bet to be valid?
What requirements do you have to meet to withdraw your winnings associated
with your welcome bonus?
BETTING EXCHANGES
There are several betting exchanges, such as Betfair Exchange.
The betting exchanges offer welcome bonuses too!!!
Traditional bookmakers differ from betting exchanges. A conventional bookmaker
permits you to bet on a specific outcome. However, they do not allow you to lay a
bet. In contrast, a betting exchange allows you to bet on and outcome and to lay a
bet.
You will now learn how the lay bet helps to extract the bookmakers’ bonuses
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THE QUALIFYING BET RELEASES THE FREE BET
This is how it works. Let’s take an example of Liverpool playing against Tottenham
Hotspur.
You will bet £5 on Liverpool to win at the bookmaker. Next, you will go to a betting
exchange and “lay” Liverpool. A lay bet means that you are accepting a bet from a
punter who wants to bet on Liverpool. This effectively means that you are betting on
Liverpool to win at the bookmaker and Liverpool, while simultaneously betting on
them to lose at the betting exchange. If Liverpool wins the match, you will win your
bet at the bookmaker and you lose your bet at the betting exchange. If Liverpool
loses, you will lose your bet at the bookmaker and you win your bet at the betting
exchange.
The overall result is that you will have a small loss between the 2 bets. However, this
will release of your £20 free bet.
Summary of the Qualifying Bet
Step 1
Place a qualifying bet at the
bookmaker
Step 2
Lay the bet at the Betting
Exchange
Qualifying Bet Lay Bet
This will release the free bet
The plan is to lose the
smallest amount possible of
the £5 qualifying bet.
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At the time of writing, the best place to begin your matched betting career is at
Coral.
The reason for this is that you only need to wager a £5 qualifying bet in order to
release your free bet. You then need to wager your free bet to be able to cashout
your winnings.
We will now look at a worked example of a qualifying bet.
Worked Example of the Qualifying Bet
THE BONUS TERMS: BET £5 AND RECEIVE A £20 FREE BET
THE QUALIFYING BET
Step 1 Place our qualifying bet.
In order to reduce our loss on the qualifying bet we need to find a bet where the odds
at Corals are very close to the odds at Betfair.
This occurs more frequently with shorter priced bets. As such, we will look for a
short priced favorite. You should have all your odds calculated as decimals. If the
odds appear in fractions, all bookmakers and betting exchanges have a link where
you can switch to a decimal format.
At Coral, you should click on the link in the top menu (see the red arrow below).
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We are considering betting on Manchester Utd to win. It doesn’t matter what team
you choose. However, you don’t want the odds to be too large. Otherwise, you will
require more money to cover the bet at the betting exchange when you lay your bet.
For the second step, we will go to Betfair Exchange.
At Betfair, you should make sure you are at the exchange and NOT the sportsbook.
The reason for this is that you can lay Man Utd at the exchange.
We want to place our qualifying bet on Man Utd to win at Coral at 2.5. When
selecting a bet, you should aim to find a bet where the odds at the bookmaker are
close to the odds at the exchange.
In this example, Man Utd is an excellent bet because the odds at Coral are 2.5 and
the best lay odds at the exchange are 2.52.
We now need to calculate how much we need to lay at Betfair Exchange.
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To do this, you should go to the menu at the footer of the Casino Octopus website
and click on the link “Matched Betting Calculators”.
When you scroll down, you will see the Casino Octopus Matched Betting Calculator.
You need to make sure that the “Qualifying Bet” button is clicked.
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Now, you need to insert the information in the top 4 boxes.
1. Your stake at the bookmaker (this is £5 in the present example)
2. The odds at the bookmaker (2.5 in the present example)
3. The odds at the exchange (2.52 in the present example)
4. The commission that you must to pay at the betting exchange (5% in the
current example). You should read the terms and conditions to find out the
commission at the exchange. At the time I am writing, the commission at
Betfair is 5%.
Once you input this information in, the amount you are required to bet at the
exchange will be displayed in the box “Stake at Exchange”. In the lowest 2 boxes,
the amount of money you will lose from this bet is displayed. The result of the 2 bets
is a loss of £0.19 whether you win at the bookmaker or the exchange. This loss is
tiny when you consider that this results in the release of a £20 free bet.
THE FREE BET (STAKE NOT RETURNED)
Step 1 Place our free bet.
As in the qualifying bet, in order to reduce our loss on the qualifying bet we need to
find a bet where the odds at Corals are very close to the odds at Betfair.
As already noted, this occurs more frequently with shorter priced bets. Therefore, we will
look for a short priced favorite. Make sure that you have all your odds calculated as
decimals.
We will start at Coral. The odds on Southampton are 2.45.
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At Betfair, the lay odds are 2.56. This isn’t a great price between the bookmaker and the
betting exchange. I haven’t looked too hard for a great example. This is because, we can
still make a nice profit.
The stake is not returned. You go to the matched bet calculators at Casino Octopus.
Therefore, remember to check the “Free Bet Stake not Returned” button.
You input the stake, odds in decimals and the commission at the Betfair. You bet
your £20 free bet at Coral and £18.02 at Betfair. The result is that you will collect
£10.97 at least. That will be your profit!!!
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This is what happened. You lost £0.19 on your qualifying bet and you gained £10.97
with your free bet. The result is that you have won £10.79.
Most offer even bigger bonuses than Coral. However, Coral offer a great ratio of
deposit: free bet. Your £5 gets you a £20 free bet. I recommend starting at Coral
because you get a good ratio between the qualifying bet and the free bet and
because you don’t need much money to cover your bets.
There are 100 bookmakers that UK and Ireland players have access to. Can you
see how you can make over £1000 using this system?
This is a complete no-brainer. I can’t imagine you will ever find a system, where no
skill is involved, where you can collect so much money and so easily.
CASINO OCTOPUS SAYS:
If you are serious about gambling like a pro, you should collect this money. You can
still play other games. However, this money can often be worth more than
uncashable casino bonuses.
Is Matched Betting too much like hard work?
For 60p/day or even less you can get these bets given to you by
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Chapter 7 Which Bonus Should You Take?
There are a few casinos who offer excellent welcome bonuses. By “excellent”, I
mean bonuses that you can profit on by choosing the right slots game and just
playing this at level stakes.
The bonus has to be cashable (ie redeemable) for this method to work. In order to
identify these casinos, you have to look at:
1. The bonus size
2. The wagering requirements to release the bonus
3. The RTP (return to player) or payout on the games that contribute to
your wagering requirements.
The first and second points have been dealt with earlier. You can just use the
Casino Octopus bonus calculator to determine if you can make a profit. However,
you need the third piece of information.
We work all this out for you at Casino Octopus. However, a few casinos do not
provide any payout information. There are a lot of casinos who provide the average
payout information across all games. However, they do not provide the payout
information for individual games.
A minority of casinos provide the payout information for individual games. At Casino
Octopus, we research casinos. We find the best games with the best payouts at
each casino. Then, we put this information together with the bonus size and
wagering requirements. Then, we work out which bonuses are statistically profitable
and which game that you should play.
Many casinos have a sportsbook. This could be stated the other way around as
well. Many bookmakers have a casino. If you sign up through the casino part of the
site, you will be offered a casino bonus. If you sign up via the sportsbook page, you
will be offered a sportsbook bonus.
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The majority of gambling sites will only allow you to take one of these
bonuses. So, the question arises:
Which Bonus Should you Take?
OR
THE ADVANTAGES OF TAKING THE SPORTSBOOK BONUS
It is fast and easy to turn your sportsbook bonus into withdrawable cash.
You can then use the cash to bet in the casino.
If you stop betting once you have cashed your sportsbook bonus, you are
likely to get offers from the casino or sportsbook to get your business back.
Generally, I advise that you keep the cash that you have obtained from matched
betting. Just move from bookmaker to bookmaker cashing out bonuses.
Eventually, you will find that the bookmakers and casinos, who you placed matched
bets with earlier, will offer you some kind of bonus or enhanced odds to try and get
your business back.
The sportsbook bonus can be better than taking bad cashable casino
bonuses.
These include casinos that offer cashable bonuses but the play through
requirements are giving you bad odds.
The sportsbook bonus can be better than taking uncashable casino bonuses.
As mentioned in previous articles, sticky bonuses are not worth a lot.
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Smaller gamblers can win money over time. If you are a small gambler, you are
virtually guaranteed to win money by matched betting.
WHO SHOULD NOT TAKE THE SPORTSBOOK BONUS?
High rollers will find that the money acquired from matched betting is not enough to
get them excited. If they try matched betting, they might find themselves playing in
the casino.
The problem is that, because they have taken the sportsbook bonus, they probably
won’t be offered a casino bonus. If they are offered a casino bonus, they are likely to
find that it has been downgraded.
High rollers should just focus on getting the big cashable casino bonuses.
CASINO OCTOPUS SAYS:
It is possible to win by gambling online and have the odds in your favour. The way to
do it is to take those small betting opportunities when the odds are in your favour.
You should also take free spins and no deposit bonuses.
If you only ever did matched betting and took all the free stuff, you would be virtually
guaranteed to be a winner. You might not be a huge winner. However, you will
almost definitely be a winner.
The casinos work on small margins. They win a lot because they have a lot of
players betting when the odds are slightly against them.
You should look for situations where the odds are slightly against the casinos. If
they don’t offer you more decent bonuses, don’t go back to the casino. You have a
ton of bookmakers and casinos to choose from. You should play the waiting game
with casinos and bookmakers.
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Make the casinos and the bookmakers work to get your business back. By moving
around from gambling site to gambling site, you make the casinos and bookmakers
fight for your business. They do this by trying to lure you back with offers.
This is how you can keep getting the best casino and bookmaker offers.
In the next Chapter, I will explain the importance of another type of
bonus.
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Chapter 8 No Deposit Bonuses
By the end of this chapter, you will know one big difference
between a “lucky” gambler and an “unlucky” gambler.
Online casinos frequently offer a No Deposit Bonus as a
promotion for new players. No Deposit bonuses enable
the player to play at the casino without the player
depositing their own money.
There is no such thing as a “bad” no deposit bonus. However, some no
deposit bonuses are better than others.
There are two types of no deposit bonuses that are generally offered to new players:
a cashable bonus and an uncashable bonus.
Can be withdrawn once the
playthrough requirements
have been met
Cannot be withdrawn but you
can use the bonus to win
money
Cashable Uncashable
Money
Money
Free Spins
Free Scratchcards
Play for 1 hour with casino’s money
No Deposit Bonuses
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A cashable bonus can be withdrawn once the playthrough requirements have been
met. The required playthrough varies from online casino to casino.
An uncashable bonus (which is also known as a sticky bonus) cannot be
withdrawn.
There are 2 types of uncashable bonuses. The first type comes in the form of
cash that the casino puts into your bonus account.
The second type of uncashable bonus comes in the form of free spins. You can’t
actually turn free spins into money after meeting the wagering requirements.
However, you can turn make money from your free spins.
All types of no deposit bonus, offered by online casinos, are giving
players a risk-free chance to win money.
When weighing up the quality of a no deposit bonus, the playthrough requirements
are the key to determining the value of a no deposit bonus.
PLAYTHROUGH REQUIREMENTS
When considering casino deposit bonuses, I do not usually consider non-cashable
bonuses. This is because, when you deposit money to obtain an uncashable bonus,
you are using your own money to win cash. It is only when you have lost your
deposit that you can try and win money with the bonus.
By contrast, when you accept an uncashable no deposit bonus, you can never lose
your own money. However, you can still win money.
What is interesting is that the big online casinos generally have the toughest
playthrough requirements. By contrast, the less well-known online casinos often
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have wagering requirements that give players a chance of making a profit from their
no deposit bonus.
CASHABLE NO DEPOSIT BONUSES
Cashable No Deposit Bonuses have tough playthrough requirements (eg 40 – 100
times). For this reason, there isn’t much difference between a cashable and an
uncashable no deposit bonus.
As you will see in later sections, uncashable no deposit bonuses can be better than
the cashable ones.
FREE SPINS
Many online casinos offer free spins as a no deposit bonus. The majority have a
wagering requirement that you have to bet your winnings, something like 35 times in
order to withdraw your profits from your free spins.
The one exception that I know of is listed on the Casino Octopus website. Casino
Cruise offers 20 free spins and there is no playthrough requirement. In other words,
whatever you win with your free spins, you get to keep.
UNCASHABLE NO DEPOSIT BONUSES
The best uncashable no deposit bonuses are those where you can play with the
casino’s money for 1 hour. If you have more money than you started with, you can
withdraw the money that is above your bonus. If you lose, you haven’t lost your own
money. You can just move to another casino that has a similar offer and do the
same thing.
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On the Casino Octopus website, you can see a load of these types of offers. Most of
them require that you make at least 20 bets. If you are winning and you have made
your 20 bets, you can quit before your 60 minutes is up and claim your winnings.
In addition, there are few, if any, restrictions as to which games that you are allowed
to play. You can also stop before your hour is up if you have made 20 bets or more.
There is a maximum cap on your winnings of £100 - £150. In addition, you usually
have to make a small deposit if you want to withdraw your winnings. Obviously, if
you haven’t made enough money to make a withdrawal, you don’t need to deposit
money. You can just move onto the next casino and try again.
CASINO OCTOPUS SAYS:
The big difference between a lucky gambler and the unlucky gambler is that
the lucky gambler takes every edge going.
By contrast, the unlucky gambler does not take small edges. He see the small edge
as not enough money. He thinks that he is never lucky and therefore, it is not worth
the hassle of playing.
You hear stories of people making a million dollars with a tiny investment. These are
lucky players. It is very unlikely that it will happen. However, the players that go for
these bonuses give themselves a chance of outlandish luck coming to them.
Let’s say you take a no deposit bonus and you win. That money has the potential to
win you more money.
Even if you never win a jackpot, those small amounts of money add up over
time.
You are not taking any risks with your own money when you take a no deposit
bonus. You could play for an hour with a no deposit bonus instead of playing a
computer game for no money. You could play while watching Eastenders.
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When looking for no deposit bonuses, you can often get better deals by going for
uncashable bonuses. Many of these bonuses allow you to try and win decent sums
of money.
The majority of cashable no deposit bonuses are very small. In addition, they have
lengthy wagering requirements. Always remember, you can’t lose with a no deposit
bonus. So, if you have time, there is nothing wrong with playing these bonuses out.
It is often a good idea to use these bonuses anyway in order to get used to the
software at a new online casino before you wager real money.
Don’t forget that free spins are worth something. This is because they do not require
you to wager your winnings accrued from your free spins.
The other type of no deposit bonus that you should look for are the kind where you
have an hour to win money with the casino’s money. These bonus offers allow you
to try and win £100 or more, in a short space of time. In other words, you could use
a no deposit bonus to win your first deposit. Then, your first deposit will gain you a
first deposit bonus.
It is interesting that the less well-known online casinos tend to make these kinds of
offers.
So, go forth and start claiming your no deposit bonuses.
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Chapter 9 Conclusions
Professional gambling should be seen as an investment. You should generally only
consider going for cashable welcome bonuses from casinos. You should also
calculate how much you will win or lose on average when you have met the
wagering requirements.
There are loopholes, such as matched betting. These are gambling systems that
aren’t really gambling because you can win money simply because you can put the
maths in your favour.
If you are serious about gambling like a pro, you should collect this money.
There will come a point where you run out of bookmakers bonuses. However, you
should plan to use this money to develop your skills in another game.
LOOK AFTER THE PENNIES AND THE POUNDS WILL LOOK AFTER THEMSELVES
Bonuses are an essential consideration to a gambler because every small piece of
money counts when you are trying to become a winner. Many players think that the
gambling is just about winning big. Obviously, this is important. In addition, avoiding
losing large amounts is an essential skill as well.
However, once you appreciate how the games work, you will understand that a lot of
the money is about winning little amounts of money frequently.
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If you want success in gambling, following the motto, “look after the pennies and the
pounds looking after themselves” will get you far.
LOYALTY TO CASINOS AND BOOKMAKERS IS A MUG’S GAME
When a casino site or a casino offers you a bonus, they are hoping on you staying a
loyal customer. While loyalty is an admirable personality feature in normal social life,
it doesn’t make sense to be loyal to a business who really just wants your money.
WHAT TO DO ONCE YOUR BONUS IS CLEARED
Once your bonus is cleared, you should cash out and move onto the next casino site
and get another bonus. The only exception to this rule is if the original casino offers
you a profitable second bonus.
There are so many companies hosting casino that it will take a long time before you
will run out of opportunities to get a bonus.
Very Important
If you are loyal to a casino or bookmaker, you are missing out on
bonus deals.
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Effectively, by staying away from a casino, you are getting the casino to
behave like the gambling addict!
They will search you out and beg you to bet with them. They do this by offering you
new and better deals. You shouldn’t always take the first deal they offer you. It’s a
waiting game. However, if you do the rounds and don’t stop at one casino, it is not
you who is doing the waiting.
If you keep refusing deals, the casino will stop offering you new bonuses. However,
don’t worry. If that happens, you only need to make a small wager and that will set
them off offering you bonuses again.
Last week, I bet on football at a site I haven’t used for a year. They just had the best
odds and this is why I chose the site that day. Within an hour, the site bombarded
my email box with bonus offers on sports, casino and poker.
That’s how it works. When it comes to
betting, you have the choices. The
casino doesn’t have choices.
They just try and get any punter to bet
with them. You should be aware of
these facts and use this cleverly.
Manipulate the Casinos
When you stay away from a casino after your bonus has cleared, they will
frequently offer you another bonus to get you back as a customer
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Good luck at the tables and I hope you enjoyed
reading this ebook!
© Casino Octopus 2015 All Rights Reserved http://www.casinooctopus.com
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