No Deposit Bonus Casino Strategy: Keep the Upper Hand
When visiting Vegas, one of the most appealing activities is of course playing at the casinos. For many, they are the most iconic part of the Vegas experience and while they are certainly not the be all and end all of the entertainment experience, you’re bound to encounter tables and machines at some point. This will probably start in the very place at which you’re staying and if you’re planning to participate, the same kind of preparation applies as to anything else that you might get up to during your stay!
Indeed, we are big advocates of being prepared and informed when taking a trip to Vegas – that’s what our site is all about, after all – and one part of the experience that you might not know, but should, is that no deposit bonuses are not just something that players look out for online.
A No Deposit Bonus in Las Vegas
The principle behind a no deposit bonus is a pretty simple one, and mainly boils down to a casino giving the player some cash or chips to get them started. As noted, it is an extremely common practice at online casinos and a standard marketing tool, whereby the casino will fund a few bets and get the player into the action. Anything that they win often comes with additional bonus turnover conditions – the part where players can turn their chips back into cash – so strategy is key if you are looking to play seriously rather than just for fun.
In Vegas, things are a little different. For a casino owner, an ideal world involves every seat in the house being filled, with players rolling dice, playing cards and spinning the slots. Anyone in the building that isn’t playing is a lost customer, effectively, and these casinos will go out of their way to get players involved.
Long-time Vegas visitors will be familiar with the concept of comps. They could be free chips, perhaps free food or even your accommodation covered for the duration of the stay. In chip terms, the freebies handed out to valued customers are effectively a kind of no deposit bonus in their own right. Those chips are worth just as much as they would be if you had paid for them, but when you haven’t handed over any cash, there has basically been no deposit required.
These comps are usually reserved for players with either a reputation or a track record, and often a bit of both. When a casino comps a suite to a high roller, they are usually expecting the recipient to spend at least at much at the casino as they would have on their room. However, even newer players can make use of no deposit bonuses. A casino never knows whether a new player is there for the experience, or if that player could become their next long-term customer, and with dozens of casinos to choose from across the city, it can be a good idea to get in early and give them a positive experience so that when they come back, they come back to that casino.
The Strategy
You may indeed be intending to play only for fun. In that case, the casino no deposit bonus is a risk-free means of dabbling in the gaming action offered on the casino floor. However, if you are more of a serious player, that free cash can be used to dilute the traditional house edge. As long as you are careful with the free cash, you can still benefit from the lack of risk but actually turn that cash into something worthwhile.
First, you’ll want to know your game. The ideal scenario is a low volatility casino game where the odds are only slightly in favour of the establishment – blackjack is the perfect example. This has not always been the case, as many no deposit bonuses were basically free chips, without any of the terms and conditions attached to playing online. However, as even the bricks and mortar gaming experience has become more and more electronic, casinos have become increasingly able to monitor a player’s activity, and some will indeed require you to play through anything you win a certain number of times before you can head to the cash desk. This varies from location to location, and part of knowing your game is knowing about any additional requirements attached to your free cash.
Next, we would highly recommend treating your no deposit bonus as real cash. This mentality will allow you to stick to your chosen strategy much more easily. As soon as the thought enters your head that your chips are easily disposable, you can start making bad decisions like betting too big for your bankroll, ignoring best practice on your game of choice or a multitude of other issues that can reduce your winning potential. In the worst case scenario, if you blow your free chips with this mentality, it can creep into your own real money play, and that is not a situation that anyone would want to be in!
As a follow-up to this point, the best way to increase your chips, even if they are free, is to play like they matter. If you are only there for the entertainment and not planning on staying long, then by all means be footloose and fancy free with those chips. However, if you are even a semi-serious player, it can always be a good idea to keep a positive mindset, be well rested and fed, and play games that you are familiar with and enjoy. Forget the words ‘free’ and ‘bonus’ while playing, and you can use your extra chips for cutting down on that house edge without having to concentrate too hard!