What to Expect Your First Time Gambling Online Online Gambling Aug 9, 2001, 10:08 By Michael Caselli http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com

Gambling online is a lot of fun, but it can be confusing. Michael Caselli tells you what to expect the first time you visit an online casino.

Maybe you've been hearing about online casinos from your friends.  Perhaps you've read about online casinos in the newspaper, perhaps you've picked up this magazine while waiting in your doctor's office.  But now that you've heard about online casino gambling and your interest is sparked, find out what to expect.

The first thing you need to do is find an online casino that you feel comfortable with.  You should start your search at a gambling directory like
http://www.0luck.com/  or http://www.wheretogamble.com/. Another handy site is  http://www.1000casinos.com/.  These sites have fantastic resources listing the majority of the casinos online.  Visit more than one online casino because they are ALL slightly different.

Once you've chosen your casino you'll likely follow this process:

The first thing your new online casino will do is ask you to register.  Typically you need to enter your name, address, date of birth and your email address.  The casino uses this information to verify your age and confirm that you are who you say you are.

The next step involves giving the casino your credit card number and expiration date.  Credit cards should only be given over secure connections, which your casino will provide.  Your credit card is the key to your casino account.  Your casino will set up your account by withdrawing money from your card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express) and place it into a personal account set up for you by the casino.  Without a valid credit card it will be impossible to play.

Once you have given the casino your credit card details and filled in the required information, you can begin downloading the casino software.  Casino software is generally about 6 MB in file size and will take about 30 minutes to download on the average home computer. When you have downloaded the software once, you'll never need to download it again, as it will be stored on your computer's hard drive.

Not all casinos require you to download software.  Some casinos work using the Java programming language.  Java casinos require no download  at all.  However, these casinos typically lack the graphics and sounds you'll find using good quality downloadable casino.  The benefit to a JAVA casino is that you can play from any PC without downloading proprietary casino software.  That means you can play from work, play from home and play from your friend's house from the same casino account.

Now that you have the software on your computer's hard drive you are ready to play.  Almost all casinos will offer blackjack, roulette, craps and slot machines.  Others will offer games like baccarat, red dog, caribbean stud poker, keno, and some casinos even offer Asian games like Pai Gow poker.

Once you have registered and retrieved the software you'll only have to worry about gambling.  At this point you can choose your game by clicking on the icon for that game.  Once you've chosen your game, the casino will ask you whether you will be playing for real, or for fun.  If you choose to play for real you'll be playing off the balance in your casino account that you have previously withdrawn from your credit card.  If you choose to play for fun, you won't be gambling real money or have a chance to win real money either.

You now simply have to place your bet to get started.  At most casinos you can click on the casino chip icons to place your bet.  Casino chips are generally in $1, $5, $25, $50, $100 denominations and each chip is denoted by a different color.  Once you click the casino chip, you'll see your casino balance lessen in the amount of that chip.  Be careful, as it easy to click one to many times and bet more than you originally intended.

With your bet on the table you are ready to begin the game.  Action games, such as deal, hit, stand, spin and roll, will be clearly marked on your computer's screen. 

How do I collect my winnings?

Once you've finished gambling, you have a choice of either cashing in your winnings or leaving them in your casino account.  If you leave them in your casino account they will be there, ready for the next time you choose to play at that particular casino.  With a positive balance in your account, you will not be prompted for your credit card information, and you'll not need to re-register any information other than your username and password.

If you choose to cash out, the next time you'll be forced to re-enter some of the information you submitted when you set up your account.  The choice is yours as to withdraw or not, but generally a frequent player will find it easier to leave the money in the casino account even though that account will not normally bear interest.

If you have decided to cash out, then your casino will simply place a reserve charge on your credit card for the amount you have remaining in your casino account.  Casinos will typically achieve payout within one to five days, insuring that you'll hace access to your money relatively quickly.  Your credit card statement will show the reverse charge in the name of the vendor that your casino will have used at signup.

That is a summary of what to expect at your first visit to an online casino.  The entire registration process, excluding the download, will only take you less than five minutes and cashing out is even quicker.  Once you have a casino account it will generally be held open for you for several years.  That means, as long as you have your username and  password, you only need to fill in your credit card details when transferring money into your casino account.

Go Online and Give it a Try