Casinos Explained

About Henry Tamburin

Henry Tamburin, born in 1944, is a gambling author with a doctorate in chemistry and a background in mathematics. He is best known for his book Blackjack Take your Money and Run, where he explains basic Blackjack strategies, side bets, managing your bankrolls and card counting. He has written several other gambling books, and for over 37 years, he has been an advocate for better odds for players while teaching them to play smart. Besides teaching Blackjack, he also teaches Video Poker classes in Vegas.

Gambling and Blackjack

Tamburin knew very little about Blackjack before he attended University, studying for a Doctorate in Organic Chemistry. He had a lecturer in a probability and statistics course who assigned students to analyze a game of their choosing by examining its stats and selecting the best strategies. His classmates chose games like chess and bingo. Tamburin focused on Blackjack and realized players could beat the game following a mathematically devised strategy and card counting, which tells players when to raise their bets.

As time passed, he wrote for a casino advice column for Tom Rivers NJ newspaper, and shortly after that, Tamburin and his wife Linda started their own casino gambling club and taught card counting in the evenings. Linda and Henry devised their team strategy and would join a table separately, giving no clue they knew one another, and when the count was right, he would signal her to increase her bet.

Conclusion

Tamburin is not only a well-known author; he is also known for his prowess as a Blackjack player teaching Blackjack courses throughout the U.S He does not regard himself as a Blackjack expert and only started devoting real time to Blackjack when he retired. Today he has over 1000 published articles on various casino games from Video Poker to Craps, available in Strictly Slots, The Gambler Magazine, Casino Player Magazine and Gaming South Magazine.

 

Not every online casino platform has been created equal, with this detailed Zodiac Casino review offering a relevant case in point.

This contemporary casino platform is focused heavily on virtual slots, for example, whereas others offer access to a wider range of verticals and have more in common with brick-and-mortar venues like Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In this post, we’ll take a look at the Zodiac Casino offering, while asking how it compares to similar entities such as Mr. Mega Casino.

Zodiac Casino – A Brief Overview

We’ll delve into the operator’s current welcome offer a little later in the piece, but we’ll start by taking an overview of precisely what this online casino brand has to offer.

Licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority, this site is safe, secure and home to more than 550 games, the vast majority of which are popular online slots.

Also boasting a live casino (albeit no sports betting vertical), Zodiac Casino is popular amongst both casual gamblers and high-rollers, with a maximum single withdrawal limit of $4,000 and a minimum deposit threshold of just $1 (we’ll definitely touch on this a little later).

The platform is also one of the most generous and rewarding in the Canadian marketplace, with testing having revealed an overall payout and return-to-player (RTP) rate of more than 97%.

In practical terms, this means that punters can expect to recoup a little over $0.97 for every $1 wagered online, creating a competitive proposition that should appeal to casual players and stands in comparison with any operator in the modern marketplace.

In general, these make for impressive numbers, so it’s easy to see why Zodiac Casino offers considerable value at first glance.

The Zodiac Welcome Offer

We spoke earlier about the Zodiac Casinos minimum deposit threshold, with this operator one of the very few in Canada to offer a $1 minimum deposit limit to new players.

So, when you initially credit your account with the minimum qualifying deposit of $1, you’ll be rewarded with a whopping 80 free spins that can be deployed across a select number of games.

This represents excellent value, while it’s also part of a much larger and more complex bonus structure that sees 100% deposit matches up to various values over your next four deposits.

More specifically, you’ll earn 100% matches up to the value of $100, $80, $150 and $150 on your second, third, fourth and fifth deposits respectively. This creates a generous welcome package worth more than $480, while this also rewards new players who like to wager on a regular basis.

OK, we hear you ask, but are there any potential downsides to the bonus? The short answer is yes, with this bonus including some of the largest and most stringent wagering requirements in the marketplace.

Wagering requirements refer to the precise amount that you’ll have to play through in relation to a bonus, before you can withdraw any associated winnings.

For example, let’s say that you make an initial deposit of $1 and receive 80 free spins. Here, your capped winnings will be subject to wagering requirements of 200x their value, creating a playthrough amount that may ultimately be disproportionate to the offer’s value.

The same wagering requirements are applied to your subsequent four deposits, and this can create some significant playthrough demands for players over the course of the bonus offer.

If you make a second deposit of $10 and receive a further $10 with which to play, for example, you’ll have to play through a staggering $2,000 before making a withdrawal.

This may deter casual players from participating, and it makes Zodiac Casino a little less appealing overall.

The Last Word

Despite a slightly problematic bonus, Zodiac Casino is a highly popular and muched loved operator, and one that combines everything from a broad range of games (including progressive jackpots) to responsible gambling initiatives.

It certainly compares well to the Mr. Mega Casino, which offers a similar selection of games and has claimed a viable market share despite being a relative newcomer to the space.

Of course, the bonus may remain the biggest sticking point for casual players or those with smaller bankrolls, but there’s no doubt that Zodiac Casino is ideal for high-rollers with lots of money to wager!

Few online casinos are as popular or diverse as William Hill, with this operator having previously blazed a trail in the iGaming market and become a household name in far-flung markets such as the US.

You can also access the platform as an Irish player, with this borne out during the course of this William Hill Casino review.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the iconic William Hill casino, while asking how it compares to relative newcomers and popular Irish operators such as the Betiton Casino and Sportsbook.

Why Should You Play at William Hill?

In many ways, William Hill’s iGaming platform has a great deal in common with large-scale, brick-and-mortar venues such as Caesars Palace.

The reason for this is simple; as it provides easy access to every conceivable iGaming vertical online, from online slots and table games to live casino experiences and in-play sports betting.

Licensed by both the UK Gambling Authority (UKGC) and Gibraltar Gambling Authority, the William Hill site is inherently secure and safeguarded by advanced 128-bit encryption protocols.

What’s more, its casino platform offers access to well in excess of 500 games from the world’s best software houses and development firms, with a diverse range of online slots perfectly complemented by live casino games and a stunning range of sports betting verticals.

The site also appeals to players of all shapes and sizes, especially when you consider the relatively low minimum deposit threshold of just $5.

As for high-rollers who like to wager and bank large sums of cash, there’s a maximum withdrawal limit of $33,000, which is highly competitive in the marketplace and should suit even the most serious and well-resourced gambler.

The William Hill casino also provides an overall payout and return-to-player (RTP) rate of 96.05%, which is also generally competitive and means that players can bank a little more than $0.96 for every $1 wagered online.

As we can see, there’s plenty to keep players interested at William Hill, with these specifications key to the casino’s widespread popularity across a wide range of mature iGaming markets.

What’s in the Welcome Offer?

Whenever you’re comparing online casino platforms, we’d wager that their respective welcome offers represent your first port of call.

When it comes to William Hill, the site provides a well-structured welcome offer, and one that’s as accessible as it is generous.

More specifically, new players can qualify for a welcome offer that’s $1,000 and includes 120 free spins, with this spread across your first three deposits.

This offer takes the form of various deposit matches over the course of the first three deposits, each of which is subject to competitive wagering requirements of 40x the value of the bonus funds.

So, if you initially credit your account with the minimum qualifying deposit of $10 and receive a further $10 with which to play, you’ll have to play through a total of $400 before making an associated withdrawal.

While this may seem like a great deal of money to some, it’s genuinely competitive in the modern iGaming marketplace, and contributes to a bonus that’s widely accessible to both casual players and high-rollers alike.

Just remember, the maximum value of the bonus is fixed at $1,000, so try to tailor your deposits and stake amounts to ensure that you receive optimal value for your hard-earned bankroll.

The Last Word – How Does William Hill Compare in the Market?

Ultimately, few brands are as iconic or renowned as William Hill, with the company’s rich heritage central to its status in the current marketplace.

Of course, William Hill has also been a pioneer in terms of targeting online and international markets over the course of the last 20 years, while adopting an aggressive acquisition strategy that has seen the procurement of brands such as Mr. Green.

Thanks to these factors, the casino’s welcome offer and its broad range of verticals, William Hill definitely ranks high in the existing marketplace and compares well with relative newcomers like Betiton.

Ultimately, however, you’ll need to compare multiple potential operators before choosing an online casino at which to play, as this will help you to make a more informed decision that optimises your bankroll.