Practice gambling online for free at Bodog

Since my mission is to help the novice gambler, I looked hard for a site that would make it easy for you to practice the games. And I found it with Bodog.

Here's what I mean by easy:

  • Completely free (no catch)
  • No registration required
  • Plays right in your browser (no download required)

I know that some players will want to practice with real money, so I also made sure that the casino I picked is good for real-money play too. Here's why I selected Bodog over the others:

  • Best reputation. Online gambling is largely unregulated and if a casino refuses to pay your winnings you have little recourse. But Bodog's reputation is spotless.
  • I met the staff. I've had the opportunity to meet several of the Bodog staff personally.
  • They allow me to mediate. Bodog promises that if one of my reader clicks over to Bodog and then has a problem they can't resolve with Bodog, I can step in to mediate. I've never had to do this, since I've never received a single complaint from a player.
  • No spam. Lots of casinos sell you out to spammers, but not Bodog. I use a specially-coded email address at each casino I test so I can tell who's naughty and nice in the spam department. Bodog is clean on this one.
  • One account gets you everything. You can wager on casino games, poker, and other stuff, for real or fake money, all on the same account. Some other casinos make you use a different login for each -- ugh.
  • No B.S. Bodog is one of the only casinos without popup or popout windows on its website. They show more respect for you than the other guys.

Bodog also gives you free chips: Every time you make a deposit, they'll add 10% more chips to your account.

Bottom line: I picked Bodog because it was the best one I could find.

Visit Bodog

How Much to Bet Per Hand

(aka, "Bet Sizing")

If you've never gambled before, you'll want to figure how much you can afford to bet on a single round of blackjack, craps, roulette, or slots. Most table games have a $5 minimum, but some are $10, $15, $25, or even $100. Most slots come in nickel, quarter, and dollar flavors. What's right for you?

The anwer is in the table below:

Betting units required for daily play

1 hr.
2 hrs.
4 hrs.

Blackjack

19
27
39

Craps

10
13
20

Baccarat

20
29
42

Roulette

12
18
28

Video Poker

400
650
1050

Slots

600
900
1500
Notes: Blackjack, baccarat, and video poker assume proper strategy. Craps assumes only Pass Line bets. Roulette assumes one even-money bet per spin. Video poker and slots assume typical returns for Vegas machines. Slots assumes a two-coin machine. VP and slot figures were rounded.

Let's say you go to Vegas with $500 and want to play blackjack for four hours. You see that you need 39 units, which means you can afford to bet $500 / 39 = $12.82 per hand. Of course the casino won't let you bet change so you'd round that down to $10. And even though you could afford to bet $10, there's nothing stopping you from betting less. Remember, the more you bet, the more you can lose.

The units required for video poker look outrageously large but that's only because the betting units are smaller. Video poker can be played for only $0.25, unlike blackjack where you need at least $5. Two hours of video poker play requires 650 units, which at the quarter level is 650 x $0.25 = $162.50. If you have at least that much then you're bankrolled to play.

The figures above are designed to give you a 10% risk of ruin, meaning that you have a 90% chance of surviving your play and only a 10% chance of losing your whole bankroll. I came up with these figures through computer simulation.

There's more about all this in my cover story in the Oct. 2005 issue of Casino Player magazine, "Secrets of Money Management". Someday I may get around to reprinting the whole thing here....

If you have any money left at the end of your session, you might want to consider using my Half-Bankroll System.

 

a d v e r t i s e m e n t s

Online Casino Guide
Guide to gambling online features casino reviews, game guides, payout percentage information and a guide to online casino bonus offers
CasinoChecklist.com

Online Slot Games
Best Vegas-style online casino slots. $50 casino bonus with the first deposit, along with a loyalty program that gives you bonuses monthly. Best comps, best reputation, and fast payouts.
HotPepperCasino.com

Online Poker
The complete directory of online poker rooms: detailed reviews, bonus codes, player comments and up to date poker tournaments and freerolls.
Online-Poker-Explorer.com

Online Poker
The complete directory of online poker rooms: detailed reviews, bonus codes, player comments and up to date poker tournaments and freerolls.
Online-Poker-Explorer.com