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Home >> Casino >> Online casino - How to get started
Online casino - How to get started
Downloading and signing up
Once you have decided which online internet casino(s) you want to try out, simply click on a link to that online internet casino at ThePokerOracle.com to get to their website and begin downloading the applicable online internet casino software. You get two advantages using our links. Firstly, we assist all our users if they experience potential future problems with the online internet casino (such as blocked accounts, bad support, not getting correct online internet casino bonus, etc). Secondly, as one of the world's largest online internet poker and online internet casino guides we are always putting pressure on the casinos to offer our online internet casino users the highest special sign-up online internet casino bonus and other special promotions. Often the online internet casino bonus you receive through us is more than twice as high as the standard offer and in addition you get a better deposit match.
Almost all online internet casinos run on a software application that you have to download. The size is typically between 3 and 8 Mega Bytes. Once it is downloaded you can play the games via the application. Playing online internet casino games only requires very limited bandwidth, so you will be able to play without much trouble even on a dial-up connection.
There are only a few online internet casino that offer no-download games. The no download versions are great when you are traveling or want to play at a location (like work or school) where downloads might not be allowed.
In order to sign-up for an online internet casino account, you often just need an email address and you are not required to deposit any real money. You can still watch real money games and participate in " fun money" online internet casino games as soon as you have signed up to an account. This way you can download several online internet casinos to check out where the online internet casino software and related games look the most enjoyable before depositing any money.
Deposits and cash-out options
There are several real money deposit options including; VISA, Mastercard, various UK debit cards (Switch, Delta, Solo), Moneybookers, FirePay, Citadel (US only), SFPay (US only), Western Union, wire transfer, bank drafts and cashier's checks. Once you have deposited real money, the money stays in your player account with the online internet casino, just like in a bank account. When you win your balance increases and when you lose your balance decreases. You are free to cash out at any time, with a few exceptions regarding pending " bonus dollars" where you must play a certain amount of times before you will have normal access to your " bonus dollars". Some of the offered bonus deals may require that you don't cash out at all (including your deposit) within a specific period of time in order to get the online internet casino bonus. However, you always have the right to withdraw all funds and forfeit the online internet casino bonus.
The casinos vary significantly in how quickly and in what way they transfer your cash outs. Many casinos offer transfer of money directly into your bank account (while only a few have an automatic set-up where you do not need to contact the support to do so). Almost all casinos offer checks and online payment solutions like Moneybookers or FirePay also known as "web wallets" . Web wallets, in turn, can be directly connected to your bank account and you can also have a debit card connected to them, for cash out at ATM-machines. Web wallets is the most practical way to withdraw funds at most online internet casino and sometimes also give you a better online internet casino or re-load bonus as the transaction cost is lower for the online internet casino. The lead time when transferring over money to your Moneybookers account from your casino account is maximum 2 days but most of the time quicker. If you plan to play a lot of casino games online, you should strongly consider opening up a paypal / Moneybookers account. It will make life easier for you and likely earn you some extra bonus!
VISA and MasterCard cannot be used for cashing out winnings to US players (and sometimes other online internet casino players as well) and, at the moment, often not even to transfer back the original deposit amount from the credit card itself. The reason is strict policies for online wagering, due to the legal gray zone in the US and also disputed credit card charges from online internet casino players in the US.
The lobby and table selection
Via the online internet casino application you are automatically directed to the casino lobby. The lobby shows all the online internet casino games that you can play. Most experienced online internet casino players use the lobby extensively in order to locate suitable games
Randomization of card distribution
The online internet casinos ensure that their shuffle is fair, random and unprediable by using a a randomization process. The way to do this is through random number generators based on algorithms. These are called Random Number Generators or RNGs. Some of the algorithms used are, MD5 Random Number Generator, Knuth's full shuffle algorithm, and, SHA-1 crypto logical hash algorithm. All the established online internet casino have made sure to have leading randomization process available and are also reviewed by independent auditor firms. The algorithms are protected by advanced systems making them impenetrable for external parties. As a matter of fact, online card distribution is more random than any offline shuffle.
Different rooms use different RNGs and they are also tested by different independent sources. Some of the firms that have been doing these tests are, PricewaterhouseCooper and BMM International.
The customer support service at online internet casinos is still of highly varying quality, but steadily improving. On top of the email support which can be found everywhere, more and more online internet casinos have added telephone support as well as live chat. The problem with a lot of the support staff is that they are not knowledgeable about online internet casino games and are not well informed about the online internet casino's policies for more detailed issues. In particular, the support often lacks exact details regarding current promotions and their respective requirements. When it comes to special online internet casino bonus deals from special affiliates like ourselves we have often encountered online internet casino staff telling customers that our special promotions does not exist even when a promotion has been up and running for several months.
As the highly profitable online internet casino industry is getting more competitive and standardized, the customer support quality will be improving and a lot of the online internet casino networks are starting to put more resources into shared support teams.
If you are treated badly by online internet casino customer support, do not hesitate to put pressure on them. As a paying customer, you should expect great service and support. If your problem involvs money and is not swiftly resolved you should demand communicating to a manager. Remember to save all correspondence you have sent and received. An effective means could also be to inform the support staff that you are taking part in several online internet casino forums and that you will not hesitate to publish your bad experiences there.
Lastly, if you signed up via ThePokerOracle.com links (then you are with 98% certainty tracked to us, unless you use an external bonus code) we will assist you with any serious issues that could not be resolved with the online internet casino. As one of the world's largest online internet casino guides we have a significant leverage.
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