As online casino players are undoubtedly aware, the majority of casino bonuses will come with some conditions attached to them. Most notably, there is the concept of “wagering requirements”. In a nutshell, this is a condition that bonus money must be wagered a certain amount of times before it becomes real, withdrawable cash.
Some players might grumble about casinos doing this, but it is logical and fair. After all, if you got a $50 bonus from a $50 deposit, why wouldn’t you just withdraw $100? The online casino would soon be bust.
Nonetheless, wagering requirements exist for deposit bonuses and winnings from casino free spins. Usually, they require the player the bonus amount 20-40 times (depending on the casino) before it becomes real cash. But, if you have a bonus, there is another conundrum to think about: Which games are best to play to make those wagering requirements?
The answer is not always as easy as you think. For a start, different games have different levels of weighting when it comes to wagering. For instance, a wager on a slot might count more than playing a hand of blackjack. So it’s normally the case that players choose the former – slots – to wager a bonus. But which are the best?
Match Your Slot Choice With Your Goals
Often it depends on what your goals are for that bonus money. Some players may simply wish to turn a profit, i.e., ensure that they have at least part of the bonus left over when the requirements have been met.
For them, the answer then lies in low variance slots, i.e., games with a lower ceiling in win pote9ntial (relatively speaking) but which normally bequeath regular small (relatively speaking again) wins. In short, these are games that aren’t considered volatile. Examples include:
- Starburst (NetEnt)
- Star Joker (Play N’Go)
- Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven (Playtech)
- 1429 Uncharted Seas (Thunderkick)
- Jimi Hendrix (NetEnt)
The idea here is that you can maintain your balance long enough to meet the wagering requirements. Games like Jimi Hendrix, which is based on the rock legend, can still “hit” – these are slots, after all – but it’s more of a steadier ride than slots with a higher variance.
So, if your goal is to make a profit – any profit – on your bonus, then you should choose low variance slots. The number of low variance slots will depend on the casino, but some popular providers, particularly NetEnt, have plenty in their libraries.
Of course, not every player’s goal is to simply make a profit. Many prefer to use the bonus for riskier strategies, and they might choose high variance slots. These games tend to have a higher win ceiling, with the trade-off being that they are a lot more volatile. Examples include:
- Buffalo King (Pragmatic Play)
- Deadwood (Nolimit City)
- Extra Juicy (Pragmatic Play)
- Great Blue (Playtech)
- All Megaways games (various providers)
The games listed above are all high variance. In fact, Pragmatic Play goes as far as listing Buffalo King as “Extremely Volatile”. The point, as such, is that you are shooting for the stars, but that comes with the trade-off of volatility. Players can think of it in similar terms to investment strategies.
Playing volatile slots is akin to investing in risky assets like cryptocurrency. Playing low variance games is a little bit more dependable when trying to wager a bonus.
Finally, it’s best to stress that these are just general guidelines. There is nothing to say that using such strategies will work. Slots are, by their very nature, considered the most volatile of all casino games, so there is no guarantee that playing any type of slot will lead to profit from your bonus.
