Most people follow a predictable pattern when they go to their favorite casino to play slots. They head straight for their favorites. If you ask why, the answer will almost always be – because I win on those machines.

Without even realizing, those folks are referring to the volatility of the slots. Some people like certain slots because sometimes they win big, others like them because they get to play a long time. In the end, it’s all about the volatility.

What is Slots Volatility

In the most general terms, slots volatility determines how often the player wins large payouts, combined with the overall risk assessed of the slot machine. Or, in other words, what are your chances of winning big when you play that particular video slot. The higher the volatility of a video slot, the better your chances of enjoying a large payout. This could be during regular play, a bonus feature that the slot machine offers, or during free games.

In a nutshell: Expect larger wins, less often, with more risk from the high volatility slots, and smaller wins, more often with the low volatility slots.

One thing you should know, however, is that the volatility also affects your risk of losing. You can think of the volatility of a slot machine as a swinging pendulum. The low volatility slots swing that pendulum a little to the losing side and then a little to the winning side. The higher the volatility, the larger those swings become. Therefore, with a high volatility slot you can catch the slot on the winning side of the “swing” and make out like a bandit, or on the losing side and go through your bankroll in no time with little to show for it. High risk – high reward.

Both at the offline and online casinos, the video slots will be classified into three levels of volatility: low, medium and high. Let’s take a look at each of them, along with some video slots that fall in those categories.

Low volatility slot machines

The low volatility slots are those which often give you a payout of some kind with nearly every spin of the reels. The payouts however are generally small, albeit steady. The bottom of the pay-table will offer payouts much smaller than your original bet, and this is where you will see a large chunk of your wins. Think of the “9s” and “10s” nearly every video slots has as its base payout combination.

As you can see, this video slot is shown as having low volatility.

This is not to say that low volatility slots are bad, guaranteed losers, or not worth playing. They will get you the chance to come out a winner, but it will be at a smaller scale and take a long time to achieve.

When do we recommend low volatility slots:

• If your bankroll is small – if you don’t want to risk a lot of your hard earned money, the low volatility slots are the ones to choose. They will have the lowest wager levels (think penny slots) available for selection, and the fact that they give wins all the time gives you a decent chance of winning some money.
• If you want to stretch your play with least risk – you don’t have to be broke to play the low volatility video slots. As a matter of fact, if you are broke – don’t gamble at all! But if your goal is to get the most gameplay out of your money, always choose low volatility slots. If you are stingy with your money and you just want to play some casino games for fun, this is the way to do it. The low volatility will keep you playing much longer than anything else available out there.
• For progressive jackpots – the slots with progressive jackpots are another excellent candidate for low volatility. Because you get to play much longer with the same amount of money, your chance of winning a progressive jackpot is higher. It’s a great way to give those jackpots a shot, without risking a lot.

Examples of low volatility slots

Here are some examples of low volatility video slots:

• Frog Fortunes
• Mystic Gems
• Plentiful Treasure

High volatility video slots

The high volatility slots are those which don’t pay as often, but when they do, boy, hold on to your hat! This type of slot machines are perfect for the player looking to win as much as possible, but you will also have to be prepared to deal with the fickle nature of the high volatility slot. As we mentioned earlier, with the high volatility slots that win/lose pendulum swings mighty high in each direction. So make sure you understand that while the wins can be sweet, the loses could also pile up in record time.

An example of a high volatility video slot machine.

For example, with a high volatility video slot, you may have 10 spins in a row without winning anything at all. Or if you spin the reels 100 times, at the end of those spins you may have had payouts just enough to barely cover a quarter of the money you put in. But then, all of a sudden you hit that bonus feature and you quadruple your starting bankroll. If you’ve ever heard of people talking about “feeding the machine”, this is the type of slot they had in mind. You have to “feed” the machine with money before you get something worth bragging about. But remember, the high volatility slot machine can always outlast you, so don’t even think about chasing your losses.

Our tips for playing high volatility slots

The number one rule for playing high volatility slots is not to chase your losses. Like we said, the slot machine can last way longer than your bankroll. The huge payouts this type of slots give have to come out of the losses of the people playing them. So our best advice is – don’t find yourself in a situation where you feel you are in too deep. Set a specific budget in mind and stick to it religiously.

Another excellent advice is to be disciplined enough to walk away. Not only from your losses, but from your wins, as well. Always remember the pendulum swinging, so as soon as you hit big, walk away from a high volatility slot machine. Or you will not only lose your winnings, but your bankroll, as well. Even if you just started playing the machine and got a good payout on a bonus feature or free games – just take your winnings and walk away. Find a different slot machine to play, if you want, but don’t stick around thinking it’s just the beginning.

And finally, you can use the “test” strategy with the high volatility video slots. What we mean by that is simply trying a few spins, just testing if that particular slot is ready to pay. Play a few spins and see if the slot will pay the big bucks. For example, if the video slot has a bonus feature, test it if it will give it to you right away, and if not, move on to another slot.

Examples of high volatility slots

• Desert Raider
• Nine Realms
• Paddy’s Lucky Forest

Medium volatility slots

The medium volatility slots fall in between the other two types. They don’t give as large of payouts as the high volatility slots, but they keep you playing longer than them. Sometimes the medium volatility slots could be a good transition for the folks who prefer playing the low volatility but are seeking a bit larger wins than they could provide.

Examples of medium volatility slots

• Fortunate Buddha
• IC Wins
• Witchy Wins

Should I play high or low volatility slots

This question is very hard to answer objectively and it will mostly depend on the level of risk the player is willing to take. The low volatility slots will let you play much longer, although it is very hard to get those top-of-the-payout-table combinations. This doesn’t mean you can’t win a lot, but while the smaller wins are frequent, the large ones occur very rarely.

On the other side, choose high volatility slots if you are risk-tolerant and you are looking for big payouts. It won’t happen as often, but when it does, it is huge. You need to be able to recognize that once you get that payout, it’s over and that you must move on, otherwise you risk losing everything.

Our rule of thumb is that if you are happy with doubling your bankroll and calling it quits, then you should look for low volatility slots. If you are looking for something bigger, the high volatility slots may be your cup of tea.

Payout percentage vs Volatility

A slot’s payout percentage and its volatility are often used interchangeably by some people, but that is incorrect. While they do relate to one another, they are two completely different things. Unlike volatility, which we already explained, the payout percentage indicates how much of the money a slot machine takes as bets is returned to the players as wins.

You may see some people claiming that the lower the payout percentage, sometimes referred to as Return To Player (or RTP), the more volatile a video slot is, but we have fond no evidence for this. Payout percentage, i.e. RTP, is measured over a very long span, some are measured over the course of a year, others based on one million spins (or dollars). And then there are those that are based on the lifetime of the slot machine, which we find ridiculous and completely misleading.

So, it’s not impossible for a video slot or have a high payout percentage, yet also be of the high volatility type. It just means that the slot machine will spend longer time “taking money” than “giving money back”. For instance, out of 10 players, maybe only one will win big, while the rest will walk away with a loss. We advise against assuming that a video slot with high payout percentage is a low volatility slot and vice versa.

How to know if a video slot is high or low volatility

After all this, you may be wondering, how do I know if a video slot is low or high volatility? There are a couple of ways to go about it: you can check to see if the slot’s volatility is published, or you can play it and find out.

Published Volatility

Most online casinos and even the developers of the slots will often publish the volatility of their slot. You can see this on the pictures above – the casino will tell you if the slot machine is high volatility, for example. It’s a good business practice, as it steers the player towards the slots they like to play and the ones they would get the most enjoyment out of. This, in turn, keeps the customers of the casino happy. You can find out if your preferred casino publishes the volatility of their slots by simply visiting the slots section of their website.

Discover through play

If the information is not available either on the casino website or the developer’s website, then the only choice you have left is to simply play the slot and get a feel for it. With the large number of different video slots available at the modern-day casino, players tend to be brand-loyal. So the chances are that you will play many of the casino’s slots and with time you will get the feel for their volatility level, especially the ones you find most enjoyable.

Use the casino bonuses to your advantage

We would like to close this guide with some bonus information. Whether you choose to play high or low volatility slots, you can gain a great advantage by using the casino bonus. Every online casino today will offer a bonus when you fund your account: welcome bonuses for new customers, match bonuses for deposits, even no deposit bonuses, and all of them can be used to your benefit, regardless of the volatility your prefer.

For example, if you want to try some high volatility slots, but don’t feel like shouldering all the high risk that comes with them, using the casino bonuses is the perfect way to unload most of that risk. Take the 400% welcome bonus Las Vegas USA casino is offering to new customers. If you deposit $100, you get another $400 in free money, in essence offloading 80% of the risk back to the casino. This would be the perfect time to try your luck with a high volatility slot.

Or, let’s say that you prefer low volatility slots. As we know, casino bonuses come with wagering requirements that must be met, before you can withdraw your winnings from the bonus chips. A low volatility slot is the best vessel to carry you over those playthrough requirements, since one tends to play longer with lower risk. So regardless of your volatility tolerance, combining it with a bonus offer is an excellent way to improve your chances of leaving the casino a winner.

Established well over a decade ago, the Red Stag online casino has quickly become one of the most popular gambling destinations on the web. With excellent service, tons of games, and most importantly, a cornucopia of bonuses and free offers, there is little surprise that Red Stag is a preferred choice in online casino gambling for many. And as such, we have dedicated this page to bring you the very latest bonus offers and no deposit bonus codes available at the casino, so you can spend your time playing, rather than searching.

Visit the Red Stag Official Website

Latest Red Stag Casino Bonuses and Bonus Codes:

As you can tell, it’s always popping at Red Stag casino when it comes to bonuses and free spins. Red Stag is well known for running a lot of promotions and doing so regularly throughout the month. And unlike many other online casinos, the no deposit bonuses are not just focused on the new customers. While there are those, created to entice the potential customer to choose Red Stag over their competitors, the casino spends a considerable effort to take care of their existing customers. As we always say, long term vision is paramount in order to be one of the best online casinos, and Red Stag has it.

How to claim the Red Stag bonuses

Claiming both the no deposit bonus codes and the match bonuses is a piece of cake. In order to claim a Red Stag casino bonus, all you have to do is enter the bonus code at the Cashier section of the casino. The just click the “claim” button and the bonus is yours. At that point, there are 3 things that could happen, depending on the type of bonus you claimed:

• If you opted for a “free chips” no deposit bonus, it will be instantly added to your account. You can start playing the casino games right away.
• If you claimed a free spins bonus, which is always tied to a specific video slot machine, you’ll have to open that slot and the free spins will be there waiting for you. Most of the time, when you hit the Claim button, Red Stag will show you a pop-up, asking if you’d like to go to that game and play your free spins. But if for some reason it doesn’t, or you’d like to do so at a later time, all you have to do is open the video slot yourself, and the free spins will be ready to use.
• If you’ve chosen the claim a deposit match bonus, then you’ll have to deposit your desired amount, after you’ve claimed the bonus code. Since the exact amount of the bonus correlates to the deposited amount, your bonus will be given to you as soon as your deposit is processed. And now that Red Stag has instant Bitcoin deposits, you won’t have to wait like in the past, but get all your money, deposit and bonus, right away.

Can I use the Red Stag bonus on all casino games?

Some of the no deposit bonuses the Red Stag offers can be used on all casino games, while others are limited to just one particular video slot.

Generally speaking, the bonuses of the “free spins” variety are restricted to just one specific slot machine and oftentimes at a preset bet level. The “free chips” (or free money) bonuses, on the other side, can usually be used on all video slots, maybe with the exception of progressive jackpots, although sometimes those are available, as well.

That said, keep in mind that both the free spins and the free chips types can be limited to just a single game, so make sure you read the bonus information. On our Red Stag bonus list, we strive to bring your attention to the offers which are limited to a specific slot, thus if there is no specific slot machine mentioned in the bonus codes table above, it means they can be played on all casino games.

Naturally, match bonuses, i.e. deposit bonuses, can be played on all the games Red Stag has to offer, unless noted otherwise on very rare occasions.

Can you win real money with the Red Stag bonus?

The answer to this question is a resounding yes! All the Red Stag Casino bonuses we have listed here will let your win real money, even if they don’t require a deposit in order to claim them. The free money bonuses (whether free spins or chips) do have a limit on how much real money you can withdraw, however. We have noted the max cashout for every bonus code on the list, but do know that indeed you can win real money when playing with all Red Stag bonuses.

Do Red Stag bonuses require deposit?

Our aim is to list the latest no deposit bonus codes, which of course don’t require deposit in order to claim. Therefore, the majority of the Red Stag bonuses do not require a deposit in order to play the casino games for free. Since the no deposit bonuses carry a max cashout limit, sometimes we also make a note of one or two Red Stag bonus offers of the deposit match variety, which have unlimited withdrawal size. We do this only if we believe that the bonus is exceptionally generous and it’s worth mentioning for those players that may be interested in the unlimited cashout nature of such promotions.

Do the Red Stag bonuses expire?

Most of the offers at Red Stag Casino do indeed expire. It is often the case that a no deposit bonus would be available for a couple of week to up to a month, which is why we always keep this page up to date and show the latest available bonuses. The match offers could have an expiration date, which will be noted in our description of the promotion. Regardless, the best way to make sure you get the latest unexpired bonus codes from Red Stag is to simply visit this page.

One of the biggest appeals of the online casinos is the player’s ability to get a lot for their money. Whether this is expressed as a wide variety of games, slot machines with excellent graphics and gameplay or as bonus money, there is little doubt that the online casino has a huge edge over its land-based equivalent. And I am certain that if you ask ten people, nine of them will point to the free chips they can get from the casinos as their top reason to gamble online.

Today we will focus exactly onto these options and show you how you can get free chips from the online casinos, oftentimes with no money risked on your part. And sure, it may sound too good to be true, but believe me, it is not a fable. Below you will find legitimate ways you can get free chips at nearly all online casinos.

Free Money Bonuses (a.k.a. Free Chips)

This is the epitome of the “free chips” idea – the free money bonus. Quite a few of the good casinos offer these bonuses regularly, both to new and existing customers. These offers are so popular and yet prolific, we have dedicated a special page on our website which tracks the free chips offers from the best online casinos, listing the very latest free money bonuses. Since these are so important and the easiest way to get free chips from the online casinos with no money needed, let’s dive a bit deeper into this subject.

At first read, it’s only natural that the “too good to be true” mantra would pop up into anyone’s mind. After all, how does it make sense for a casino to give its customers free money, out of the blue and for no apparent reason, right? The land based casino certainly don’t do this.

But the fact is that the online casinos can and do offer a lot of these free chips bonuses. It’s one of their most popular tools of attracting and retaining customers. And since their overhead is quite lower than a traditional casino’s, it’s easier for them to offer these free chips.

How does the free chips offer work?

So how do these free money bonuses work? It’s really simple and anyone can easily claim them when a casino is offering them. They can come in two ways – either as a straight-up offer of free casino chips or as a bonus code. The former is easiest, simply claim the bonus at your favorite casino and the amount of free chips will be instantly credited to your account. For the latter, one would have to enter the bonus code in the Cashier section of the online casino offering the free chips bonus, but after that – it’s right in your bankroll and you can start playing. And we should say it one more time – none of these casino offers require you to deposit any money in order to claim them!

Can you cash out the free chips winnings?

Absolutely! The wins from your free chips bonus are cashable for real money, with a few caveats.

First, there is a limit to how much real money you can cash out. Unlike a traditional match bonus, where the winnings are unlimited, but you have to deposit money to claim the bonus, the free chips have a ceiling on the max cashout amount. This is done so the casinos can protect themselves from big winners, which on first thought may sound a bit sleazy, but let’s not forget that you got free money in the first place, so any winnings you can cash out for real money is, well, a win. In reality, it’s nothing to sneeze at. For example, a casino may offer you $30 in free chips with a max cashout of $180. If you are lucky enough to turn $30 into $180, at the end of the day you are $180 ahead of the game, while having to risk absolutely nothing. If that’s not a great proposition, I don’t know what is.

The second caveat involves the wagering requirements. When a player claims a free chips bonus, they have to wager that money a certain amount of times, before the winnings become eligible for withdrawal. For instance, a free chips offer may require wagering 30x (thirty times) the amount before one can withdraw it for real money; i.e. if the bonus is $30, the player must make $900 worth of wagers. It may sound a lot, but when you think about how long you can play at a video slot machine without losing your bankroll, it’s quite doable. The online casinos put those requirements to protect themselves from bonus fraud. If they did not exist, nothing stops the player from simply claiming the free chips and then cashing them out for real money, without playing for even a second.

The “Free Spins” Alternative

An alternative to the free chips is the free spins bonus. To online gambling beginners they may sound like the same thing, and while there are plenty of similarities, there are differences, as well. Let’s take a more comprehensive look.

The free spins are a number of spins the casino gives the player on a specific video slot. Right off the bat, you can see that the free spins are a tad more restrictive by nature. The free chips can be enjoyed on nearly any of the slots the casino offers, but the free spins are available to play only on a certain slot machine. Another difference is that when you claim a free spins bonus, not only is the slot machine already selected for you, but so is the bet level. You won’t be able to wager higher or lower per spin, but on the bright side, the wagering requirements for the free spins are lower than those for the free chips.

The casinos often run the free spins promotions when a new video slot is published and they use the bonus to introduce that slot machine to their customers. That said, those online casinos which are known for their plentiful bonuses will have at least a couple of the free spins codes every month. It’s a decent alternative to the free chips offer and just like those – no money is required on your part in order to play and possibly cash out some real money in the end.

Other ways to get free chips from the casino

The free chips bonuses are great, but they are not the only way you can get some cash from the casino with no money required on your part. The following alternatives are for existing customers at the online casino, but still provide a way to get some free chips.

Rewards and Points

The easiest way is by taking advantage of the rewards system at your particular casino. Every casino will have a reward program, even the land-based ones, and trust me when I say that the online casinos are, once again, much more generous in this regard.

The exact reward program will depend on the online casino, but the generally follow a similar structure. A player will get reward points for every dollar they wager at the casino and those points can then be converted into free chips and other benefits. Most gaming companies will have a tiered system, where the more the player wagers the higher they climb on the reward ladder, which in turn increases the points they get per dollar wagered.

For example, a player may wager $1,000 and get 1,000 points in return. Those points could be converted at a 10-to-1 ratio, a very common starting point in any reward system, which means that the player can then get $10 in free chips. It may not seem impressive, but keep in mind that the reward points work in the background and accumulate every time you play at the casino. It’s not uncommon for people to just forget about them and all of a sudden, you have quite a bit of points in your account, just waiting to be turned into free chips with a lick of a button. And the best part is that at the reputable casinos, those points behave just like real money, i.e. you can cash them out right away, instead of gambling with them.

Personalized free chips bonus offers

Another alternative option for getting free chips from the casinos for no money deposited is with the personal bonus offers. Some online casinos will send their customers special bonuses, usually every week, which won’t even be advertised to the general public or to review websites like ours. Custom tailored to their players, sometimes even to the individual player, they will take the form of either free chips of free spins, following the scenarios described earlier, but will not be available to just anyone. The rule of thumb is that the same casinos offering free bonus codes are the same casinos with the highest personal bonuses, as well. So if you are a player at one of those online casinos, make sure you check out their emails and keep an eye on those personalized bonus offers.

Do you know of any other ways to get free chips?

As you can see for this sizable guide, there are plenty of ways to get free chips from the online casino without any money on your side. Some of them are better than others, but in the end, they all work the same way to deliver the desired result. If you know of any other way to get free chips with no money, please, let us know and we would be more than happy to include it on our list. We are all after the same goal, and you would be helping everyone wins some extra money while enjoying their time at the casino.

With the excitement surrounding the football games no one would be surprised if you caught some of that betting fever. But for people new to the sports betting scene, some of the terms being used may seem like a foreign language. Even if you’ve heard them, chances are most people don’t really know what they mean. In this guide we will cover what is arguably one of the most popular betting phrases: to cover the spread. We have all heard it on numerous occasions, whether on TV or in real life, but what does it mean to cover the spread?

What is point spread?

To answer what does it mean to cover the spread we first must know what the spread is in the first place. Basically, the point spread is a handicap, i.e. extra, imaginary points, given to one of the teams and taken away from the other by the sportsbooks (also known as bookmakers in some countries). The full term is “point spread”, but most people colloquially shorten it to just “the spread”. Here are a couple of examples of point spread you may see at a sportsbook:

New England Patriots +3 vs. Miami Dolphins -3

or

Kansas City Chiefs -4.5 @ Arizona Cardinals +4.5

The numbers with plus and minus in front are the point spread. The actual signs indicate whether the team will be given extra points or the points would be subtracted from their final score. Following this line of thought, in the above example, the Patriots will be given 3 extra points at the end, while the Chiefs will have 4.5 points subtracted from their score after the conclusion of the game.

Now that you know what is point spread, let’s get to the meat and potatoes, how the point spread works and:

What does it mean to cover the spread?

As mentioned, at the end of the game one of the two teams will be either given extra points or will have those points subtracted from their final score. Once again, this is done purely by the sportsbooks in the course of making wagers. They set the spread before the game and people decide whether to bet one team or the other to win. And this is the basic answer:

To cover the point spread a team must come out a winner, after the point spread is subtracted/added to their final score. If they do – it is said that they “covered the spread”.

To better understand what it means to cover the spread, let’s look at some examples. Let’s use the teams from above and run through a few imaginary scenarios.

Example 1: Taking the Patriots vs. Dolphins game, let’s say that the Dolphins win the game 27 – 29. In this case, the Patriots were given a point spread of +3, which means that even though they lost the game by two points, the covered the spread, since adding the 3 points to their final score of 27, the result now is 30-29, i.e. the Patriots “win” the game. Or more realistically, would have won the game, had they scored 3 extra points.

Example 2: On the flip side of the same game, remember that the Dolphins were listed with a -3 point spread. This is sometimes called “against the spread” or simply “ATS”, so the Dolphins were 3 points against the spread. Following our examples, the Dolphins failed to cover the spread, because once we subtract 3 points from their final score, the outcome turns into 27 – 26, i.e. the Dolphins would’ve lost the game had they scored 3 fewer points in the game.

As you can see, it’s fairly easy to understand what it means to cover the spread. If one of the teams comes out a winner after points are either added or subtracted, it means they covered the spread, while the other team did not.

A little bit of trivia: Soccer games betting also has something similar to the point spread. However, they call it “Asian Handicap”, although it works in much the same way. Now if you find yourself in international company, you can bust out that term at the party.

I bet that at this point you are itching to talk about the Chiefs v. Cardinals game and the point spread in that example, and we will a bit further down. But at this point the real burning question is: how do you bet on all this?

How to bet the spread

Now that you know what it means to cover the spread, let’s see how you actually bet it.

In our imaginary football game we had the Patriots with +3 spread and the Dolphins with -3 points at a sportsbook before the game started. At this point you must decide which side you want to bet. The question you should ask yourself is are the Dolphins more likely to beat the Pats by more than 3 points, or will the Patriots lose the game by less than 3 and maybe even win the game outright? Based on the answer of this question you make your bet one team to cover the spread or the other.

This is important, because most newbies tend to assume that, since the point spread numbers are the same, just with a different sign in front, it doesn’t really matter which side you bet. But it does. A bet on the Dolphins to cover the spread would be a winner only if Miami wins by more than three points. The Patriots, on the other side, would cover the spread if they either win the game or lose by less than 3 points. As you can tell, there is very little room for these outcomes to occur concurrently.

That said, here is the tricky question – what happens if the game ends in such way that the point spread actually turns the final score to a draw? For example, if one of the teams were -2 against the spread and they won the game by two points, let’s say 14 – 12? In this case, after the two points are subtracted from their final score, the score would be 12 to 12. What happens to your bet? In such cases (which are not rare, to be honest) the bet is a “push”, i.e. you neither win nor lose, but rather get the money you wagered back. This question is also the perfect segway to the next topic:

Different kinds of point spread

There are two different kinds of spread you will see at the sportsbooks, the whole-point and the half-point. The whole point spread is simply integer numbers like +3, -1, -7, etc. Those are super simple and we have used them in all but one of the previous examples. Sure, they re easy to calculate, but as noted, they have one drawback – they could tie a game and render your wager a push.

And then you have the half-point spread, just like the second example earlier, in the game Kansas City @ Arizona. If you scroll up to that example, you will see that we gave the Chiefs a -4.5 spread, i.e. not just 4 points, but a half point, as well. So when we calculate, we take away four and a half points from the Chiefs final score. For example, if KC wins the game 23 – 21, we would take the 4.5 points and the score on which your bet is paid would be 18.5 – 21, i.e. a bet on the Chiefs to cover the spread would be a loser.

This type of point spread comes with its own set of pros and cons. On the positive side, since there are no half points in football (or any other sports on which the sportsbooks offer spread betting), your bets will never end up in a push. You will always either win or lose your bet, no in-between here. On the negative side, this opportunity does come with a cost. If you are uncertain, for example, if the Chiefs will win the game by 4 points or by 5+ points, it makes it harder to make a decision, since you lack the safety of the “push”. If the point spread was -4 and the Chiefs won by 4 points, at the very least you’d get your money back, but with a half-point -4.5 spread, you would lose that wager.

The spread vs betting odds (money line)

 For the people new to betting on sports, it’s imperative to make a distinction between the point spread and the money line (or the “odds”). Generally, when people refer to the betting odds on a football game, or any other sport, for that matter, they most likely mean the money line. We talk about the money line in depth in another guide, but the abridged explanation is that the money line, i.e. the odds, refer to the payout the sportsbook will give you for an outright winner of the game, no extra points involved. A brief example would be if you saw the following line: “Steelers -210”. This is the money line on the Steelers to win the game outright, and if you bet on such victory, you’d have to wager $210 to win $100. The minus sign is also a quick indicator that the Steelers are favorite to win the game.

As you can tell, the money line or the betting odds are quite different than the spread. So when you hear someone asking “What’s the line on such-and-such team?”, they would refer to the money line, while, as we already learned, the point spread is simply referred to as “the spread”.

Why do you bet the spread

And finally, you may ask yourself, why bet the spread? It seems like a lot of work and precise guessing (I know, right?), when you could just decide who the winner of the game would be an bet on that team.

Well, if you bet the money line, one of the teams, the favorite, will pay out very little, while the other, the underdog, will pay out a lot, but will have less chance to win. If we use the Steelers example above, you will have to risk $210 for every $100 you want to win.

Meanwhile, most of the payouts of a point spread wager are almost always “-110”, with very, very few exceptions. This means that you have to bet $110 to win $100. You are risking less money to almost double your money. And the sportsbooks try really hard to make either side of a point spread have a fifty-fifty chance of winning. For someone who likes those odds, it’s the best proposition, which is why most people bet the spread, rather than the money line.

At this point, the more perceptive of you are probably wondering, if it’s a 50-50 chance, why do you have to bet $110 to win $100, why not $100 to win $100? Simply said, the extra $10 you risk are what’s called the “vig”, i.e. this is what the sportsbook charges you to take your action. Theoretically, the odds makers try to have equal amount of money on either side of the game. That $10 per hundred is how they make their money. In reality, no sportsbook is that perfect, but the idea of the vig holds true.

In conclusion

As you can see, the point spread is not the mystery it may seem the first time one lays and eye on a betting slip at the sportsbook. In a nutshell, it’s extra points either given or taken away from a team, a handicap of sorts. Not only have you learned what does it mean to cover the spread, by now you should also know how to bet it, what to watch out for and the differences among the most popular sports betting terms. All I’s left to do is place your bet and watch the game!

If you’ve ever watched a movie, you would certainly recall a scene where someone is always trying to double their money. Whether they would be at a casino, race track or something more ordinary – when people talk about winning, it always seems like doubling is what they are after. In this guide we will show you a few easy tricks to achieve exactly that, i.e. how to double your money at the online casino. And we will do this the easy way, without much effort (or risk) required.

Take advantage of the new player bonus

The first and the easiest way you can double (or more) your bankroll is if you have never played at an online casino and you are opening an account for the first time. New customers are always treated to the largest casino bonuses and if there was an easier way to double your money at a casino we haven’t found it yet.

Due to the ever-increasing competition in the online gambling world, the casinos are in a race with one another to attract the most players possible, and the welcome bonus is their strongest tool. Even the Las Vegas casinos, now that many US states have allowed internet gambling, are facing the need to offer welcome bonuses to potential players, something unheard of in the Sin City’s land-based-only days.

So the easiest way to double your money is to take advantage of one of those bonuses for new customers. Oftentimes you will get much more than twice your bankroll in free chips, many casinos today offer 300%, 400% and even higher match on your first deposit. So when you claim a 400% bonus, even if you end up losing more than half of your total bankroll, you’d still have easily doubled your money. All while significantly decreasing your risk, which is the best part of this option.

Existing players options to double your money

While the potential new customers tend to get the best deal at the online casino, as far as free money is concerned, the casinos don’t just shrug away their existing players. On the contrary, a slew of bonuses are available to the current customers of the casino, most of which will let you double your money just by claiming the offer. These bonuses for existing players are not to be underestimated.

Now, we are not going to lie to you, those bonuses will be smaller than the welcome bonus, percentage-wise. You won’t get to start with four or five times you deposit, but plenty of them will be in the 100% to 200% range, which is still a great start. Form there, it’s quite easy to double your money, while meeting the wagering requirements of the bonus.

You may be skeptically wondering if it was so easy to double your money with the bonuses, why isn’t everyone doing it? We will cover this at the end of our article.

Play the right games and skip the wrong ones

 Choosing the correct games to play, especially if you are going with the bonus strategy, is imperative when trying to double your money at the casino.

If you were to ask someone what the best way would be to double your money at the casino, 9 out of 10 times the suggestion would be to simply go to the roulette table and bet on black or red. And at first glance, this advice does make sense, after all, you’d have a fifty-fifty chance of winning, which would double your bet. But many inexperienced gamblers always forget about the zeros, which drops your odds of winning below 50%. Never forget that the house always has a built-in edge in those table games.

Avoid the table games if using bonus

Another reason to shun the table games is if you’ve taken a bonus (as you should). The casinos aren’t stupid, they know that if they gave you 4-5 times your bankroll in bonus money, you could go to the tables and out of 5-6 spins of the roulette wheels or blackjack hands, chances are pretty good you’d win at least once. To avoid having people doubling their money this easily, table games are generally excluded from the wagering requirements of a casino bonus.

And in the rare cases they are not excluded, either the bets you make at the tables would count at a much smaller rate towards satisfying those requirements or the wagering requirements would increase if you are playing the table games with the bonus money. In either case the end result would be the same – harder to double your money. So our advice would be to try and stay away from the table games. Unless your strategy to doubling your money at the casino is to just let it ride on the table and see what happens. Just remember that in this case your chances of winning are less than 50 percent.

The depositing methods matter

Choosing a depositing method wisely is another way to double your money. Most online casinos will have a preferred method for deposits and will offer quite the substantial reward when the player funds their account with it. For example, the Bovada Casino offers a $750 welcome bonus, but if you deposit via Bitcoin or other crypto, that bonus jumps to $3,750 – quite the difference. A lot of the casinos will do the same, which is great for those who want to use this trick to double their money.

Practice money discipline and management

 Remember earlier, when we talked about the bonus, we smirked about how if it was this easy everyone would be doing it? The fact of the matter is that they are. The problem is that once they double their money, a lot of people keep going, chasing the triple, the extra zero, etc. Being disciplined and practicing money management is one of the most crucial parts of the plan to double your money at the casino. You have already set your goal, stick to it and don’t look for excuses to deviate from that plan. If you manage to do this one simple thing – the hardest part is already done!