Beating the wagering requirements in a Microgaming casino.

Firstly, make sure you check which games are excluded from meeting the wagering requirement. Next you need to work out how much you need to wager. This is normally expressed as a multiplier of the sum of your deposit and bonus. For example, if you deposit £100, and receive a 100% match of £100, your total bankroll is £200. If the terms state a wager requirement of 20x this means 20x200, which is £4000. The big question is 'Is it worth it!'. I can tell you straight away that if you are only allowed to play slots with a low bonus with high WR, then forget it! Ideally, you need to be allowed to play Blackjack, or at least Video Poker. The best Microgaming Blackjack game is 'Vegas Strip', which has a house edge of 0.36%. The 'fancy' Blackjack offerings should be avoided though, as the house edge is larger, much larger if a side bet is involved. My recomendation is to play 'Vegas Strip', preferably with 'Autoplay' and the smallest possible stake. This minimises the fluctuations in bankroll, making ruin much less likely. If only certain Blackjack games are excluded, then play the ones allowed, in this order - Atlantic City, European, Vegas Downtown, Spanish, Classic (Rarely seen). Low stakes Video Poker is also a worthwhile option, or even 3-card poker.

Previously, it had been necessary to 'tune' the strategy tables for Microgaming Blackjack, but with the latest release these have now been fixed, and alteration should not now be necessary. You may get the message 'download latest strategy table' when you enter a Blackjack game. Select 'yes' to get the fixed versions.

To get the best out of this method, you should play at as small a stake as possible. As you play you will probably see some large losing and winning runs, but in the long term it will play pretty much to the house edge. The more hands played, the better. The number of hands to select for autoplay should take into account doubles and splits, so select no more than three quarters of the number of stake units you need to wager for the first run of Autoplay, this should bring you close to, or actually meet, the wager requirement.

Full analysis of Blackjack, and other games from Microgaming can be found on www.wizardofodds.com - (click on software review - Microgaming).

BUT Blackjack is not allowed - what now?

More and More casinos are excluding Blackjack, due mainly to players winning consistently with the above method. Video Poker,with a house edge close to that of Blackjack, is also a good bet - but even this is now getting excluded in more places. Video poker is more volatile as there are a number of large paying combinations, such as the Royal Flush that are unlikely to be dealt that often. A Royal Flush, for example, will appear on exchange, in one in 40000 hands played (on average). Of the Video pokers, Jacks or Better is the best, and Aces and Faces second best - but the wins on this are shifted in favour of paying more for the less likely combinations. Jacks or Better can be used on Autoplay, but you cannot edit the decisions made as you can in Blackjack, and it will play for Royals and Straight Flushes, rather than keeping your bankroll alive by feeding it regular smaller wins. Again, the smaller the stake the better.

What about a slots only bonus?

For you to stand a fighting chance it needs to be well in excess of 100% match, or have a low WR, and you must be able to play a slot with a relatively low jackpot, using a small coin size or one with a good distribution of decent wins lower down the table coming in with reasonable frequency. Some of the video slots seem fairly good on this. A 300% Match for slots may sound fine, but not if the wager requirement is 30x or more! Personally, I have only beaten a 'slots only' promotion Twice, at 777 Dragon & All Jackpots, but this was due to a very lucky run. I have also found the 3 reel slots in the style of 'Double Magic' are worth trying - any with a similar paytable and 2x/4x on wilds. 'Triple Magic' is not quite so good as wilds are worth more, resulting in a larger variance in the payouts. Video slots are also good if a small coin size can be used. Feature slots are more volatile, with reel wins being poor, compensated by larger payouts when features are triggered.

The sacrificial bonus method.

For players who intend to stay with a casino. Look for a generous bonus, even one with high WR. The aim is to play the bonus WR during a casino tournament, in the end you will probably lose part of the deposit as well as the bonus, but the aim is to win ongoing player bonuses and prizes that come with a much easier WR. You need to find casinos with regular tournaments and competitions, and occasionally deposit without claiming a bonus to show a willingness to risk your own funds. These deposits should be wagered a little during a tournament before being withdrawn at the end. Although all casinos say that funds can be left in & played later, I find that a regular 'churning' (withdrawing roughly once a week or fortnight, and re-depositing the money when the next tournament starts) gives you a better rating as an active player, and leads to quicker VIP upgrade offers.