What to look for in an online casino

If you're looking to get into online gambling, you should understand that the single biggest factor that will radically impact your financial performance will be the online casino where you choose to invest your money. As a would be online gambler, you've probably heard of the house edge and the house drop already. Those are your biggest enemies in the casino, that's what you'll be up against all the time. The reason why picking the right online casino is so important is that not all online casinos feature similar house edges. Don't get me wrong here. The games themselves all feature the exact same numbers, online as well as offline. The house edges are mostly built into the games, which means there's not much one can do to alter them. Altering the games is obviously not on option. The reason why different online casinos hit you with different house edges is a simple one: they all feature bonuses, rakeback-like loyalty rewards and various promotions that all add extra value for the player, biting right into the house edge at the end of the day. The value delivered through the above listed means depends a lot on the quality of those bonuses, rewards and promotions. This is where the difference is made and that is what you should keep your eyes on. Before you get to that though, you need to clear a pretty significant hurdle. You need to establish whether the casino is eligible as far as your needs and its honesty and fairness are concerned. The best way to get the true rap on an online casino is not to check out its website, where an impressive array of badges attesting its integrity are unmistakably on display. Rather, you should register for an online casino forum and learn about the ins and outs of the operation from people who used to play there. They'll paint a much more accurate picture of what you're likely to find inside, and how you're likely to be treated than any of the review sites which are affiliated with the casinos and as such it is in their best interest to tell you to play there. Once you clear this hurdle, it's time to get down to actual business. The sign up bonus is always the very first thing you should consider about an online casino. Don't fall for the advertised amounts and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty digging deeper. The truth is always in the details when it comes to establishing the true value of a sign-up bonus. The advertised amount is pretty much always the maximum amount and that is not quite relevant for you. What you should be more interested in are the bonus redemption requirements and the percentage match. Just to clue you in on how important the bonus redemption requirements are: most online casinos do not allow players to redeem their bonuses on any game they like. As a matter of fact, because of the red/black and odd/even bets it offers (which make bonus redemption a cinch since they allow players to turn around huge sums without significant risks involved), roulette will almost never be on the accepted list. If you're a roulette player, that's quite a bit of a problem, since by playing the roulette only, you'll never get your bonus cleared, and consequently, you won't ever enjoy the reduction in house edge it's supposed to give you. Also, keep in mind that while sign-up bonuses are nice, they expire rather quickly. The real value is in the loyalty bonuses which keep on giving as you play. Ask any savvy online poker player. He'll tell you that he would never consider playing without a rakeback deal (like the ones offered at rakemeback). Loyalty deals never expire and they carry the advantage of rewarding you in direct proportion with the amount of effort you invest into your gaming.