Bonus Hunting 101
Do you sometimes watch other gamblers streaming on sites like Twitch? If so, you may have witnessed them “bonus hunting.”
Today, we are going to discuss bonus hunting in-depth, as well as the related concepts of “bonus chasing” and “bonus whoring.”
We will let you know which of these activities work and which of them do not, and what else you can be doing to get more from your Online Casino gambling.
Is it worth gearing up to go hunting? Let’s find out!
What is Bonus Hunting?
Bonus hunting usually refers to a specific activity of trying to score free spins from slots.
We sometimes see people refer to “bonus hunting” when they talk about other types of promos as well, such as match deposit bonuses.
But we would normally refer to the pursuit of match bonuses as “bonus whoring” or “bonus chasing.”
While our focus in this article is mainly on bonus hunting, we will discuss bonus whoring as well.
Bonus Hunting Slots
The goal of bonus hunting with slots is to try and rack up as many free spins as possible from Slot Games, and then use them as advantageously as possible.
If you want to hunt for bonuses with slot games, here is how to do it.
- Find a list of slots for bonus hunting. It will include games that sometimes trigger free spins as rewards.
Alternately, you can browse through what your online casino offers to see which games may work.
If you are not sure where to start, you can always reach out to customer service to see if they can suggest any games.
- Once you have picked a game, start playing it.
- Keep playing until you trigger free spins as a reward.
- Quit the game.
- Choose another game that offers free spins.
- Start playing. Continue until you get more free spins.
- Quit that game, and pick another.
Keep going like this for as long as you’d like.
You should end up with a pile of free spins, which you can then use when you are ready.
Is It Worth It?
It’s really just not worth it to spend your time hunting down those free spins!
No, there is not much point to hunting for bonuses in the form of slot game free spins.
Well, why not?
You will have to wager a significant amount of money in many cases just to rack up the free spins. The value of the free spins may already be less than the amount of money you lose getting them.
The free spins you get will likely have rollover requirements you need to meet. So, even if you win money with them, you will still have to take even more before you can withdraw it.
Sometimes though, people like to just hunt bonuses for fun! Having a ton of free spins to use is exciting. If that is the reason you want to hunt for slot bonuses, have at it.
- Key Point:
Hunting slot bonuses means playing with the goal of accumulating free spins. Is it a financially viable strategy? No, but it is a lot of fun.
As for the best places you can play slots in the US, take a look at this article!
Bonus Whoring with Match Deposit Bonuses
Now that you know what bonus hunting for slot free spins is, let’s talk a little about bonus whoring/bonus chasing.
Again, some people call this “bonus hunting,” but it is very different from what we described above with the slots.
Here is how people whore for match bonuses:
- Search for a casino that offers a relatively big match with a relatively low rollover requirement.
- Claim that match on your deposit.
- Gamble until you meet the rollover requirement.
- Withdraw your money.
- Go sign up at a different online casino.
- Claim that casino’s welcome bonus, and do the exact same thing again.
- Keep repeating the steps above.
To understand why this would ever potentially pay off, it helps to give a quick mathematical example.
Imagine that you grab a welcome bonus of $200 and the rollover requirement listed for it is 25x.
You find a slot to play with an RTP of 98%. Since 98% of player funds should, over time, be returned to players, we could say that the house edge of this game is 2%.
The rollover requirement of $200 x 25 = $5,000. That is how much money you need to turn over before you can make a withdrawal.
Assuming (and this is unlikely) you get back exactly 98% of the money you put in and the house receives 2% on the slot you are playing, your total losses should be $100.
You have now met the rollover requirement and can make a withdrawal.
$200 (the amount of the bonus) – $100 (the amount of the losses) = $100 in profit.
So, hypothetically, simply by choosing to accept a bonus and then playing a slot with a high RTP, you would be able to withdraw the money you put in plus $100 extra.
Is It Worth It?
Sure, there’s some Bonus Money out there. Are you willing to live with the Terms and Conditions that will come with it?
While this sounds like it might work, there are various problems:
Casinos set their rollover requirements pretty high. While 25x is fairly typical, we have seen rollover requirements as high as 40x.
The matches on deposits are lower percentage-wise than they were in the past.
Games with super low house edges are typically prohibited. That includes table games like blackjack and often slots with high RTPs.
Even if a slot with a high RTP is eligible, you have to understand that RTP is calculated using a tremendous number of spins. The natural variances you experience when you play that slot game will likely make it impossible for you actually to get back 98% of your funds.
So, no, we do not suggest that you whore bonuses. Trust us on this — the casinos have thought this through. They have done the math, tested out the possibilities, and set things up to ensure that bonuses profit them, not you.
It is true that in the past, casinos seemed to overlook the possibility of bonus whoring. But now that there are a million articles floating around teaching people how to do it, they have wised up and adapted.
Bonuses are worth grabbing if you just want some extra money to play with and are not worried about the rollover requirements, but do not assume they are going to make you some kind of automatic profit.
- Key Point:
Bonus whoring might have sometimes paid off in the past, but it does not work in the modern era of online gambling.
Poker Bonus Hunting
Poker bonus “hunting” is not really “hunting” or “whoring” in a traditional sense, it’s just looking for sites that offer Poker Welcome Bonuses and claiming them.
Actually, poker bonuses are awesome. And because they are for the poker room where you play against other players, they can help you profit.
Here is how it works:
- Sign up at a casino site.
- Enter in the required code and download the poker software (or whatever specific requirements that the site sets).
- Play poker to unlock your bonus. You will receive it incrementally, not in a lump sum.
Why are poker bonuses awesome?
No house edge. Since you are not competing against the house, there is no house edge for you to worry about. You could be profitable if you know what you are doing.
Sometimes no rollover. Depending on the casino site, poker bonuses sometimes have no rollover requirement.
Is It Worth It?
Yes!
Poker bonuses are always worth grabbing. They do not have any drawbacks that we can think of.
- Key Point:
Poker bonus “hunting” is worth your time.
Okay, if you’re going to be playing some Online Poker, you really strong>should be checking out any bonuses that are available to you!
Bonus Abuse
Now, when you hear people talk about bonus hunting, whoring and chasing, they generally are not discussing flat-out bonus abuse.
Online casinos may not really fancy the idea of anyone trying to find loopholes in their bonus programs in order to walk away with a profit, but neither are they setting rules to try to stop you from doing it.
You can bonus whore to your heart’s content, and do as much bonus hunting on slots as you want.
Again, online casinos have already made adjustments to how their bonuses work in order to close the loopholes that people were exploiting in the early days.
But they will take issue if you try to outright break the rules that they have put in place.
The most common example is when somebody opens up more than one account at the same online casino in an effort to repeatedly claim one-time bonus offers.
Is It Worth It?
No! A thousand times, no. It is never worth it to abuse bonuses. If you do this, you will get caught and banned from the casinos where you try it.
Also, it is just a really un-cool thing to do. Quality, trusted online casinos treat you right, so you should be doing the same thing in return.
- Key Point:
Bonus hunting and chasing are not the same things as outright bonus abuse. You should never abuse bonuses.
Alternatives to Bonus Hunting and Whoring
Aside from grabbing poker bonuses, there is not much you can do to try and use online casino bonuses for profit.
One thing we can recommend is participating in slot tournaments, blackjack tournaments, and other contests when your online casinos offer them.
Tournaments! A thousand times, tournaments!
Get in on these any time you can!
The reason we suggest doing so is that contests like these typically offer you a good chance of winning something, but they require low stakes or no stakes at all.
We also recommend that you look for promotions for specific online casino games.
For instance, when a casino introduces a new slot game, it may offer you the chance to earn rewards more rapidly by playing that game within the promotional period.
You can also use bonuses with rollover requirements as they were intended.
In other words, go ahead and claim match deposit bonuses and enjoy your free spins, but know that they are there to entice you to play and not to make you rich.
Of course, there is always the long shot that when you are playing with bonus money, you will be the one who hits a jackpot.
But if that happens, it will be because you lucked out while using bonuses appropriately, and not because you managed to exploit a loophole in the casino’s math.
- Key Point:
Instead of chasing and hunting bonuses, consider participating in tournaments and using bonuses and promotions as they were intended.
Summary
When you see people hunting bonuses on slots on gambling streams, you might wonder if you should be following their example.
Hunting bonuses can be fun, and it is permitted, so long as you are not doing anything abusive. The same is true for bonus whoring.
But ultimately, if you want to profit at the casino, you are going to need to play games that make it possible, like poker, or simply get lucky.
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