Monday, January 12, 2009

ThisIs a $15 No-Deposit Bonus, Us Welcome

Here's another great offer from a Rival-powered casino operated by the same folks who brought you both Cocoa Casino and Paradise8 Casino.

Sign up at ThisIsVegas.com and receive the following goodies:

First, claim the $15 no-deposit bonus (slots only, $450 wagering requirement).

Next, try the 200% sign-up bonus (up to $200).

Then enjoy the monthly $200 bonus as well as the 25% party bonuses on all deposits.

If you haven't played a Rival casino lately, you're in for a real treat at ThisIsVegas.com. They've been adding some much better slots including two new progressives and some very impressive new video slots that are among the best online.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Finally, Another Good RTG. 100% Bonus And It's Friendly to Us

Jackpot Capital is a fairly new casino that has been receiving good reviews from players on several well-respected forums. It runs RTG software, so you'll find all your favorite Real-Series Slots as well as table games and video poker. There are convenient deposit options for North Americans as well as Europe, Asia, and elsewhere.

I've played here and found they offer frequent deposit bonuses, usually for a 100% match (take a look at their promotions page, there are three 100% match bonuses in addition to the Welcome Bonus). To be honest, I haven't won anything, but I have read reports that they do payers winners promptly.

100% Welcome Bonus - Enter coupon code WELCOME for a 100% match up to $100. The play through requirement is 20x, and most games other than slots are excluded. Bonus is withdrawable after meeting wagering requirements.

Monday, December 22, 2008

New Rival-Powered Casino is Friendly to Us

SuperiorCasino.com is new and it has some great bonuses including a no-deposit slot bonus, and match bonuses on your first three deposits.

The casino runs on Rival Software, which you might be familiar with (it powers some of our other favorites including Paradise8 Casino and Cocoa Casino). The good news is that Rival has improved its software with the launch of some slick new slots and these guys know how to reward loyal players with free chips, frequent match bonuses, and great customer service.

Start with a $20 free chip - This is a $20 no-deposit bonus good on slots. Claim it in the cashier, or ask about it through live help.

Next, choose your welcome bonus - Select from a 100% Slots Bonus or the 50% Casino Games Bonus. The maximum bonus in either case is $100.

I like the Casino Games bonus because there are only a few restricted games. Shoot for a royal flush on their full-pay video poker machines, or try making some dough at blackjack.

2nd & 3rd deposit bonuses - Redeposit for more opportunities including a 50% match on slots (up to $400) or a 30% match on casino games (up to $300).

Besides all the bonus money, I believe SuperiorCasino.com is really stressing customer satisfaction and loyalty. There is a live online help desk in addition to toll-free phone support, as well as convenient banking options for its worldwide customer base including North Americans.

Friday, December 19, 2008

We're Back! New Casinos! New Bonuses!!!!

It's been a long time coming, but after more than a year away, we're coming back in a big way.

The online playing field in the USA has undergone some big changes, but there are still options including some old standbys who have remained loyal to the American market, as well as some good new operators.

Keep an eye here and on our main site (21Bonuses.com) over the next few weeks. We'll be unveiling opportunities on an almost daily basis. Believe it or not, we'll try to present 21 bonuses from top notch names in the business.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am - All Aces Video Poker Strategy For Fun and Profit

After hitting three Royal Flushes, I was in need of more thrills. But thinking about slogging through dozens of hours of play for that moment of euphoria was giving me a headache. It's just too much foreplay when all I really wanted was a quick score.

That is when I took a serious look at Microgaming's All Aces Video Poker game. All Aces offers the best of both worlds: There are big jackpots and they come relatively fast. What's more, All Aces has the highest return of Microgaming's VP games (over 99.9%).

Let's look at the payout schedules for All Aces versus two other popular video poker games.


Microgaming's Video Poker Pay Tables
HandAll Aces PaysBonus Poker PaysJOB Pays
Royal Flush400040004000
Straight Flush300250250
Four Aces2000400125
Four 2,3,4400200125
Four 5-K200125125
Full House354045
Flush252530
Straight202020
3 of a Kind151515
Two Pair51010
Jacks or Better555
Return99.9195%99.166099.5439%
Variance65.220.919.5


The hit frequency for 4oK-Aces is approximately 1 in 4167 hands. Not bad for a $500 payout! (playing 5 quarters). For comparison, a Royal Flush pays out $1000, but you can only expect one every
40,000 hands.


All Aces Strategy
What follows is not a comprehensive All Aces strategy guide, but rather it is a quick look at rankings of some common starting hands. When I play, I still keep Winpoker active in the background for when I have an issue between different sets of cards to hold. There are probably exceptions to these rules, and I will be adding to the list as I find them.

All Aces Simple Strategy:

  • Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind
  • 4 to a Royal Flush
  • Three Aces
  • Full House, Flush, Straight
  • Three of a Kind, 4 to a Straight Flush
  • Two Aces
  • Two Pair
  • Two Jacks, Kings or Queens
  • 4 to a Flush
  • Pair (other than Aces, Kings, Queens, or Jacks)
  • 4 to a Straight (no gaps)
  • 4 high cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten)
  • 2 suited face cards
  • Ace
  • 2 unsuited face cards

For instance, when dealt an Ace with a face card, you keep only the Ace unless it is the same suit as the Ace. Also, when dealt two Aces with another pair, you keep only the Aces. You would even break up a Full House if it contained three Aces. These are three of the main strategy differences for All Aces (compared to JOB and Bonus Poker) that you need to keep in mind while playing.


Where To Play All Aces

With a return of over 99.9%, we just need a little help from bonuses or comps to turn this game in our favor. I played most of the available sign-up bonuses, so I am left with reload bonuses. The table below details the sites I like to play. If you haven't played all the Microgaming casinos, see 21Bonuses.com for a list of video poker sign-up bonuses.


CasinoComp RateReload BonusesSign-Up Bonus
Miami Paradise0.02%12.5% EZBonus150% up to $45
Roxy Palace0.04%15% Bi-Weekly100% up to $100
Ruby Fortune0.1%By Invite125% up to $100
Spin Palace0.1%By Invite100% up to $75


My Results

I started playing All Aces on May 28th and used every opportunity to claim reload bonuses and comp points as I could. The results thus far
are summarized in the table below.

CasinoDepositBonusEnd Balance
(Cash In)
Net Win (Loss)Cumulative Wins (Losses)
Ruby Fortune$20None$0($20)($20)
Ruby Fortune$50None$0($50)($70)
Roxy Palace$40None$0($40)($110)
Roxy Palace$50$7.50$0($50)($160)
Roxy Palace$70$10.50$0($70)($230)
Miami Paradise$200$25$0($200)($430)
Ruby Fortune$50None$250$200($230)
Miami Paradise$50$6.25$250$200($30)
Spin Palace$20None$0($20)($50)
Roxy Palace$75$11.25$0($75)($125)
Miami Paradise$50$6.25$500$450$325
Roxy Palace$50$7.50$0($50)$275
Ruby Fortune$50$25$0($50)$225
CasinoDepositBonusEnd Balance
(Cash In)
Net Win (Loss)Cumulative Wins (Losses)

As you can see, this game can be a wild ride. I hit a low of ($430) before turning it around with some lucky sessions and finally hit 4-Aces at Miami Paradise Casino.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

How I played 84,299 hands of Video Poker "on the house" (and finally hit a Royal Flush)

Introduction - On January 28th, I signed up and deposited at GoldenPalace.com. There was a $300 sign-up bonus at the time, and I set to work playing 25-cent Jacks or Better video poker with it. I played around 6000 hands that day and my balance dipped by about $100. The next morning I got busy again, and less than an hour into it I hit my first Royal Flush for a $1000 payout.

A week later, I was casually playing Bonus Poker at another casino and ended up hitting another Royal Flush.

That's it - I was hooked! It was too easy, and I was on a lucky streak. I came up with a plan and a mission to keep playing video poker until I hit another Royal Flush using casino bonuses. Even if the luck ran out, the bonuses would give me a chance to ride it out.


The Premise - Video Poker (VP) has a low House Advantage (HA). For example, the return on a Jacks or Better game with the full-pay paytable is about 99.54%, which is about even with blackjack and much better than a slot machine. Unlike blackjack, though, VP players get the excitement of trying for a sizeable jackpot (a $1.25 bet returns $1000 for a Royal Flush, the odds of hitting a Royal Flush are approximately 1 in 40,000).

So I came up with a plan to play video poker as much as possible until I hit another Royal Flush. This was not only going to be fun, but I also hoped to make a little profit when I eventually hit the jackpot. In order to make up for any bad sessions and to extend my play on a very limited bankroll, I decided to use as many casino bonuses as possible. I kept track of various statistics and all of the ups and downs of my bankroll throughout the process.


The Casinos - I ended up playing at 35 different casinos. I researched these casinos on the internet, and avoided any that had received negative reviews. Online casinos typically offer a sign-up bonus for new customers amounting to 50-150% of your initial deposit. Some bonuses were larger, and I played at a few casinos without a bonus too. When I won, I was able to cashout from the casinos without hassles, and the games seemed fair (see results and statistics below).


The Results - It took me over 84,000 hands to land a Royal Flush (RF). The odds for getting a RF are approximately 1 in 40,000, so that was a bit disappointing. But if you count the two I hit before starting the experiment, I actually hit three in just over 90,000 hands, which is very good. I hit 4-of-a-kinds and straight flushes with reasonable frequency as well.

The experiment stretched over 35 days, during which I played at 35 different online casinos. In the end I showed a net profit of $1202.00.

Bonuses played a big part in my success, because the added starting bankrolls extended my playing time considerably. The only downside to accepting the bonuses is that you must fulfill a certain level of play before you are able to withdraw. So for example, when you hit a nice win early, you have to keep risking your winnings until the bonus' wagering requirement has been met. This was not a big concern since I was in it for the long haul, and I had no problems withdrawing at any casino after having met the wagering requirements.

I have summarized the results in the table below. For a more detailed, casino-by-casino account, please see the this table on my website.


Summary of results:

Number of casinos played at: 35

Dates played: February 22nd -> March 28th

Average deposit: $73.30

Total value of bonuses: $2,790.00

Hands played: 84,299

4 of a kinds: 199 (odds: 1/424; actual: 1 per 424)

Straight flushes: 9 (odds: 1/9090; actual 1 per 9367)

Royal flushes: 1

Total profits: $1202


see the full resultsClick here to see casino-by-casino results


Acknowlegements - I would first like to thank the casinos for the great bonus offers, for running fair games, and for prompt payments of winnings. Thanks also to Casinomeister for listing accredited casinos as well as Casinomeister forum members for their straightforward opinions on good and bad online casinos.