The payouts are usually more interesting than physical casinos, because their operating costs are obviously lower: no need for real dealers, no need for premises, just a website and servers behind it.

What’s in a casino?

If you’ve never been in a real casino or an online casino site, here’s what you can find:

• Poker 
• Blackjack
• Slot machines
• Roulette
• And many others…

However, playing at an online casino can be dangerous for your finances… like all gambling in fact.

To avoid risks and play safely, here are some tips from my own experience

And yes… I tried online casinos about ten years ago… I even won some money for a short period of time… only to lose it all!

Risk #1 – These are games of chance

There are indeed tips and tricks in every game to maximize your winnings: for example, going to a slot machine when it hasn’t hit a jackpot for a super long time.

However, with the exception of poker, these are games of chance (except for poker where with a good strategy you can really win big). Some strategies allow you to increase your winning percentages, but you’ll never manage to win 100% of the games (or probably even 60%).

So keep that in mind and don’t bet all your money.

Risk #2 – Know your opponent

Your opponent is the casino.

And the objective of the casino, of course, is to win. Whether it’s a physical casino or an online casino, they are designed to always win in the long run.

This is called the payout ratio and it is always less than 100%. For example, for online casinos it is between 94 and 99%. This means that if you bet 100 euros, on average you will leave with an amount between 94 and 99 euros – the casino keeps between 1 and 6 euros.

Do you think casinos are stealing from you? They are companies and therefore they have to make a profit. Other games of chance have a much lower payout rate: the lottery, the keno, the euromillions… So the casino is still the most interesting one.

Rest assured, however, these figures are averages: if you do well and if you are lucky, you can play at the online casino and win money.

Risk #3 – False systems 100% winning

On the Internet, you will find many miraculous systems that supposedly allow you to win every time you play roulette or blackjack.

For example, in the case of roulette, there is martingale. This system consists of betting on a color until the thrown ball falls on that color. You have to bet a higher amount on each shot to get back the amount you bet previously.

The problem is that casinos are aware of this technique and limit your possibilities to apply it, for example by limiting your maximum bets or by throwing almost impossible series (see the above example of 15 blacks in a row).

So don’t rely on these miracle solutions.

Risk #4 – Beware of bonuses

Many casinos offer you super tempting bonuses for signing up and depositing money. For example, some of them offer you to double your bonus up to 400$. So if you deposit 400$, the casino will give you 400$ for free.

You think that this 400$ is yours and that you can withdraw it, but it is not. In most cases, you will have to “unlock” these bonuses. Wagering requirements exist, and you must wager 40 times the amount of your deposit to be able to withdraw the bonus. This means that you must wager a total of 16,000$  in order to be able to withdraw your bonus.

Due to the casino’s payout rate, there is little chance that you will reach this 16,000$ wager without going broke first.

Risk #5 – Demo and Real Accounts

At many online casinos you are allowed to use a demo account. The casino lends you money, which you use to practice, whether it’s roulette, slots, blackjack or poker.

The advantage is that this money is virtual, so you don’t lose it and you can practice as much as you want to master the rules of the games you play – this is especially useful for poker and blackjack.

However, be careful. Some dishonest casinos have programmed their demo accounts so that you win very often – and their real accounts so that it is almost impossible for you to win. This way you gain confidence, think you’re good, start betting real money, and then… bam… nothing works anymore and you lose everything.

For example, I’ve had a series of 15 black people at roulette several times. The probability that the ball falls on the black is 50% with each throw. So the probability of having 15 throws falling on black in a row is 1 chance out of 32768. Almost impossible in real life.

If you have a doubt about the reliability of a site, go to this list of sites approved in France by the ARJEL.

Risk #6 – Playing only small amounts at online casinos

This advice is self-evident but is forgotten by many.

When you go to the casino, you bet money. It is therefore an investment, in the hope that you will get your money back and win. As with any investment, there is a risk that you will lose your bet and therefore your money.

Yes, this risk also exists for real estate investments, stock market investments or if you invest in Bitcoin … Imagine tomorrow that an earthquake or a flood completely destroys your property …

That’s why you should only bet what you are willing to lose. If you earn 10,000$ a month, you can probably afford to bet 100 or 500$ and lose them. But if you earn 1000$ a month, that is no longer the case.

Risk #7 – Find out beforehand

Before depositing money, it is important to be well informed so that you can gamble at any time. To see which are the best casinos, the best bonuses… or simply to practice beforehand.

You could use a comparator, on which you will find a lot of information, such as :

• Explanations of each game: roulette, blackjack, poker, bingo and slots.
• No-deposit casino bonuses: you are entitled to “free money” in order to wager.
• A comparison of the best online casinos
• A list of casinos without downloading
• Free slot machines, for your fun.
• Latest news from the online casino world.

Risk #8 – Be patient when you win

Playing at the casino potentially means winning money, but be careful because there is a significant difference between online and land-based casinos when paying out a win. Indeed, physical casinos are required to pay you your winnings quickly, most often by check or bank transfer.

On the Internet, some casinos have procedures in place so that you cannot withdraw all your winnings at once. Therefore, you should always check with the website for information on withdrawal conditions to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Indeed, some casinos apply limits, so you will be allowed to withdraw a few thousand euros per month. In the case of a win of several tens of thousands of euros, you must therefore be prepared to be patient and wait for your winnings to be received over several months.

Conclusion

Here, I hope this article has given you some tips on how to bet on slots and poker and play online casino safely and without any risk. If you want to know more, read this other article with even more tips on how to play at the casino without losing all your money.