How do I escape?

[Jim Morgan]

I deposited money with "All Jackpots Casino" for a promotion. I played it through and found out that their T&C said you MUST play 20x on slots. OUCH! My VP play was both a losing adventure AND useless. Faced with less than $100, I knew playing slots for $5K was pointless. So, I played craps and built it up to $386.

So now my question is this...

How can I play this through slots and give myself the best chance of cashing out something.

I have no way of telling which games have a decent return.
(like say lose 5%) I don't even know if playing them in a practice session would give me an accurate feeling for what kind of return to expect.

Should I play multi-line for pennies (reducing variance), or do those games have such a high HA that I really need to do something else.

Any advice out there?

Thanks

Jim

[SoCalRugger]

You'd probably be better off doing some reading in the BonusWhores casino forum. But from what I can remember, I think the simple three reel slots have a lower HA, but you're also not going to put up any big wins. The crazy video slots have a higher HA, but you've got a better chance at a big score. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though, 'cause I'm just going from memory on this.

And rule #1 of casino whoring - always read every word of the T&Cs.

[bigalt]

all those popular ones like thunderstruck etc. have humongous HAs and variance. Definitely for the gamboolers at heart.

I'd try to do it at cosmic cat or a regular old fruit machine.

You may want to take another look at the T&Cs to see whether you should even bother though. Sometimes when it's slots only they'll void your bonus and winnings if you play a disallowed game.

[chessmaster]

You might want to try and double up again before hitting the slots, if your bankroll allows this.
You will lose at least $200 on average hitting the slots,
leaving you with an EV of $186.
Doubling up has EV of 0.5 * 0 + 0.5 * (772-200) = $ 286
which is 100 bucks more.
These slots bonuses can be treated like stickies, where the $200 bonus wont be deducted at the end, but you will give them on average to the slots, and $386 seems a ridicolous low target for a $50+200 sticky.
And Cosmis Cat at min coinsize is the way to go when you have to hit the slots.

[VinnyTheFish]

Hey Jim. Same story for "someone I know" at another casino. Played Black Jack and made about $400. Thought he cleared the WR and tried to cashout.

They cancel my W/D and told him that I used a "Slots Only" bonus. He went a jackpot slots and played the WR on auto play. It was about 600 hands.

Hand #43, my fiend hit the jack pot for $18,000+. He then turned that into $28,000+.

And remember the moral of the story - all he wanted to do was cash out his small $400 winnings.

[Jim Morgan]

Thanks for the info.

The idea that these slot bonuses are like a sticky is one I had myself, but I was not entirely sure I had the concepts correct, so it is nice to see someone else thinking the same way. I still haven't decided about doubing up again. Betting $200 to become $0 or $600 seems pretty good, but I've already turned $0 into $200, assuming Cosmic Cat will allow me to only bleed off $200.

No matter what happens, this has been interesting. The bonus was 50/200/5000. It seems unbeatable when you must play slots for WR, but simply trying to double up will change all that. Assuming slots cost $200, you will either cash $0 or $300, for an EV of 100.

I just wish I could get over my squeamishness around sticky bonuses (and those that should be played as stickys).

The T&C do allow other games, so my money is legit at this point.

[Howling]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Jim. Same story for "someone I know" at another casino. Played Black Jack and made about $400. Thought he cleared the WR and tried to cashout.

They cancel my W/D and told him that I used a "Slots Only" bonus. He went a jackpot slots and played the WR on auto play. It was about 600 hands.

Hand #43, my fiend hit the jack pot for $18,000+. He then turned that into $28,000+.

And remember the moral of the story - all he wanted to do was cash out his small $400 winnings.

[/ QUOTE ]

And moral #2, the other 20,000 people that tried to cash out and were forced to play on busted out.

[VinnyTheFish]

Yes, I agree. I cannot tell you the number of times I have busted out, as I am sure you can tell me.

I was just trying to give him a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Just play them out with strict discipline. If you want to take a chance, know that ruin is always on the horizon and reward is there too.