What You’ll Get From Our Online Casino Guide
From choosing the right casino to finding the right game and honing your skills, we’ve got tips and tricks to help you play your best online game.
In our online casino guide, we’ll set you in the right direction from the start so that you can avoid some of the mistakes and missteps that online casino goers often make.
Want to improve your game? Read up on the games’ rules and strategies
This may seem like an obvious tip, but many people simply join a game and hope to learn on the fly. While that may work when playing for fun, when you’re playing for real money, this technique can go very wrong very quickly.
Check out some of our top strategies and the main rules for some of the most popular games in our online casino games guide below:
Roulette
Roulette is one of the most popular games of chance around. The dealer spins the wheel of numbers, drops in the ball, and you hope that it lands in the pocket number you bet on.
The game isn’t that simple, though, and there are betting strategies you can use to improve your odds of winning. You can bet on an exact number, sets of numbers, odds or evens, and black or red in roulette.
Each bet has different odds applied with the 50/50 bets like odds/evens offering even money at a 1:1 payout. We recommend sticking to these types of bets while you are learning the game, and then you can implement more complex strategies like the Martingale, Reverse Martingale or Fibonacci strategies.
Poker
The aim in most types of poker is to gather the strongest hand of cards you can during the dealing rounds and then pit those cards against your opponents.
The strongest poker hand is a Royal Flush – a suited straight of 10, J, Q, K, A, followed by a Straight flush – any sequence of five numbers of the same suit, then four of a kind, a full house, a flush, three of a kind, a pair, and lastly, a high card. The most popular variant of the game is Texas Hold’em, as it offers the best odds for the player.
Baccarat
Baccarat is one of the simplest table games to play. The dealer deals two cards for the player’s hand, two for the dealer’s hand, and the winning hand is the one valued closest to nine.
You have three betting options outside of any side bets – dealer to win, player to win, or a tie. The game carries one of the lowest house edges around, and you’re looking at almost a 50/50 chance of hitting a bet on the banker or player’s hand to win. However, we recommend avoiding the tie bet as it has a horrible house edge of 14.36%.
Blackjack
In this popular card game, you’re looking to gather a hand value of 21. A true blackjack comprises just two cards – a picture card and an ace.
You can continue accepting cards from the dealer to try and build a hand value as close to 21 as possible, but if you go over 21, you’re bust and lose your bet. A common strategy for this game is to stick at 17 or higher as it becomes too risky to continue accepting cards.
Craps
Craps has the most complicated gameplay out of all the table games. In this game, you bet against the casino on the outcome of the roll of a pair of dice. There are many ways to place your bets, each offering different odds and risks.
Our advice when playing craps is to learn all of the different bets and the table layout before you try to play. Start out with a variant like Simplified Craps, which has the easiest rules, and move on to more complicated variants as your game improves.
A great way to grow your skill level for any of these games is to watch the game being played. By watching streamers on Twitch and YouTube, for example, you can pick up great strategies, tips and ideas to improve your own game.
How to Open and Manage Your Account
Opening your account at an online casino is a simple process that you can complete in just minutes. Be prepared to part with personal information like your address, email address and telephone number.
Legitimate online casinos have strict KYC (Know Your Customer) protocols in place to prevent fraudulent activities on your account. To complete the KYC process, you’ll need to supply documentation to verify your information.
You won’t be allowed to withdraw funds unless you have submitted this, so get it done early on to avoid delays later.
Some casinos offer you the opportunity to try the games in demo mode for free. According to our casino guide, this is a great way to practice and hone your skills before playing for real money.
Learn the lingo to keep up with the game
You wouldn’t go into a French restaurant to order French food without some idea of what you were ordering, and the same applies to casino games. If you want to play successfully online, you’ll need to know what’s going on and what’s coming next during a game, and learning the lingo is key to this.
The casino dictionary includes many terms that are foreign to non-casino-goers. Bankroll, buy-ins, comps, high rollers and juice are just some of the words you’ll hear at a casino. Two important terms you’ll come across at an online casino are RNG and house edge.
RNG refers to the Random Number Generator that generates completely random results in online games. The RNG should always be independently tested and certified for fairness.
The house edge is the casino’s mathematical advantage over the players and is where the site’s profits are generated. It’s important to know the house edge of each game so that you can maximize your chances of winning by choosing games with the lowest house edge.
Learn how to manage your casino budget and look after your money
Managing your bankroll effectively is imperative to maintaining a healthy relationship with your money. Planning your budget in advance and only playing with money you can afford to lose will prevent problem gambling habits from forming. You should always gamble responsibly and regularly perform self-checks to make sure you’re still on track.
Recreational gamers in Canada don’t need to pay taxes on their casino winnings as this isn’t viewed as a stable source of income. Be aware that you’ll need to pay tax on any interest you earn on your winnings, though.
Stay up to date with all the latest iGaming industry news
We regularly post articles about the iGaming industry, new players in the online casino market and any other exciting developments that are happening. Please keep checking our site for the latest news and all you need to know about the industry.
Never worry about online casino safety again using our guide to casino licences
The safest way to play online is to ensure that you are playing at a licensed and regulated gambling authority. Licensed casinos must uphold the best practices and rules laid out by the licensing authorities.
These assure you that the casino is fair and legitimate and that you have recourse in the event of a dispute. We only feature online casinos licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Always avoid casinos that have been blacklisted as they could be using rigged games, have poor payment practices or by using false advertising.