Crushing the Internet Casinos
You have no idea how much I was looking forward to reviewing Barry Meadow's book Crushing the Internet Casinos. Over the past three years I had given up my meager 1-2% edge counting through decks of cards using the Hi Opt II card counting system for a REAL money maker, playing blackjack online. There is very little information about being a "Bonus Bandit" in print, so Barry's book fills a void for just such information. I have worked with Barry during the assault of more than one online casino, and hope to continue working with him in this ever-widening endeavor. My review is not from the top of a mahogany desk. It is from the online trenches that we surround the casinos with.
Barry Meadow has spent more than 30 years in the gambling world. He wrote his first book, Success At The Harness Races, in 1967. He's also written Money Secrets At The Racetrack, which has been lauded as the definitive guide to money management at the track. Meadow's eclectic resume includes serving in Vietnam, writing television sitcoms, playing the professional tennis circuit in India, doing standup comedy in California and, of course, playing blackjack at the professional level in his spare time. I enjoyed reviewing his first work on blackjack Blackjack Autumn a few years ago. Soon after that I got into playing online, and the rest is history in the making.
I opened the package and pulled out a velobound report. I was expecting a book something like the Blackjack Forum that had an excerpt from Barry's report in it. Well it IS a report, not a book, so it should look like one. 8" x 11" black and white 63 FULL pages of information. Where it is short on looks it goes long on content.
The forward is done by none other than the Bishop of Blackjack himself, Arnold Snyder. He compares I-gaming to gambling in LV or AC. "Making money by gambling on the Internet is a piece of cake." He further states that the opportunities over these last four years have grown, and that Barry's report is thorough, easy to follow, and honest. I agree.
Here is the list of chapters:
Introduction to Internet Gambling
Getting Started
Analysing Bonuses - Getting Into Action
Playing the Game
Withdrawing Your Money
Pitfalls and Problems
Your Bonus Hunting Career
How to Keep Winning
Barry had played 188 online casinos and estimated that making $50 an hour is not out of the question. "I believe that a reasonable goal for a full time player is $200 a day, which for many people would be a nice income." Damned straight it is! Play blackjack, you don't need to count, just follow the basic strategy cards that are included in the book. Is becoming a Bonus Bandit for you? Barry says "You'll get more of an adrenaline rush from watching a biography of Mister Rogers." This report is honest, and not without humor. The money "will also dull your enthusiasm for land-based action." Amen.
Barry tells you the most important thing for you to do is to keep good records. Begin to haunt the "blacklists" that Barry recommends to give you a feel for where you should not play. He tells you that the Terms and Conditions of the bonus offer are the key to deciding if playing is worth your while or not. He shows you how to analyze the bonus and see how much it will be worth to you on average. "I cannot overstate the importance of analyzing the bonus requirements before playing."
One thing about this report that seems to perplex me is the number of places that Barry has had trouble getting money from. He does say on one hand that camouflage is in order, yet on page 49 says "It is best to make withdrawals as soon as you've finished the playing requirements and your bonus has safely been added to your cash pile." I have found that if you use the "Hit Boot and Scoot" with an online casino, you are asking for trouble, and may end up scooting with just your deposit and wasted your time all together.
Barry tells you if you complain to a casino, to keep your messages polite and that will usually work in your favor. When all else fails, turn to page 55 where Barry shows you how to "go guerilla" on them. Every online casino has SO much more to lose than we do, and by pushing all of the right buttons, you can usually blackmail them into giving you what you deserved before all the peace talks broke down. YOUR WINNINGS.
Barry recommends the following sites for the best monthly bonuses:
Intercasino
Sand of the Caribbean
Omni Casino
Speed Bet
Casino Domain
Cherry Casino
El Casino
Club Gold
I like to call the monthly bonus sites my "Bread and Butter" sites. Lots of players will be happy staying put, and that is what these casinos are looking for, steady players. Barry recommends depositing at the end of one month, then a few days later in the next month so you can play these places 6 times a year, instead of 12 times. Then he mentions Casino Elegance, a site that offers you "a bonus that cannot be withdrawn," and says it isn't worth much. From what I can see, there are no play requirements, and a $30 bonus involved. Barry, we gotta talk bro! You can get in touch with Barry at the LVAGO.com site and ask him questions yourself if you are so inclined.
Barry then lists his ten favorite casinos:
Casino on Net
Be the Dealer
English Harbour
Fortune Room Casinos
Intercasino
Planet Luck
Swiss Casino
Vegas Palms
iNet Bet
Mapau
Click the links above and download the casinos while you read this. Click Fortune Room, then click the 1 button. You will be downloading 8 casinos that offer you weekly bonuses. I was speaking with a fellow online blackjack player and asked him if he had read Barry's book yet.
"Yeah, and I give it THE FINGER!"
Why?
"Because it spills all the beans. I want to keep the beans to myself, so I give it THE FINGER!"
Well! Shocking but true. Barry really doesn't spill all of the beans. On page 29 Barry writes "These type of bonuses make for interesting money-management plans." I can read through those lines and can go for a 300% Almost Certain Death Strategy Bonus anytime.
But things are getting harder by the minute out there. Last week casino X required 10x action, now they require 15x. Casino Y requires 20x for blackjack players. Casino Z doesn't allow blackjack for bonuses PERIOD. I think I just named Bryce Carlson's next book: "Blackjack for Bonuses." No more books on the subject, PLEASE! I think I will cancel writing my book Billion Dollar Blackjack for now. I'll write that as a memoir from my mansion set upon I-Blackjack Hill some day. Barry's book is the best on the subject. Buy it. You'll get your $50 back with your first I-casino strike. Hopefully, it will be the last book on the subject. Buy it before Huntington pulls it off the market. Seriously.