One day while looking for an online video poker game to play, I stumbled onto the world of online gambling. I never knew it, but there were hundreds of online casinos where I could play video poker for real money, over the internet.

      I bounced from site to site, taking in a wide array of welcome bonus offers. Buy so many dollars worth of chips, get so many dollars for free. Getting money for free sounded like one of those offers that was too good to be true. So I checked the Terms & Conditions of the casinos. Then I double checked them.

      Most of the terms stated that before cashing out any of the free bonus monies, you had to wager a certain amount of dollars. That amount varied greatly from casino to casino. Sometimes a casino would offer a small bonus, but only make you wager twice the bonus amount before cashing out. Other times the casino would offer a hundred dollars or more for free, but not allow a player to cash out bonus monies until they wagered 5 times the (bonus money + the deposit).

      The next thing I noticed were the payout charts. Many online casinos have their gaming books audited by a third-party, and that third party is one of the 5 biggest accounting firms on the planet. I trusted the payout charts.

      It struck me that I could purchase the chips, and receive the bonuses. I could then make all the required wagers, and I would probably still have most of the bonus monies and all of the chips I bought left over. So I tried it.

      I found a casino with a small matching welcome bonus. The chips were added to my account instantly. I made all the required wagers, plus some just to be safe. Then I cashed out. Two weeks later a check arrived, with a note thanking me for playing at their casino. I felt like saying, "No, thank YOU for having me".

      Obviously I tried it again, and again. The more I did it, the more comfortable I became. Eventually I was making depsoits of $500 or more, and receiving bonuses of several hundred dollars. Sometimes I would win outright, cashing out my purchased chips, all the bonus chips, and some winnings on top of that.

      Since I started playing, things have changed. Online casinos have changed their terms to make it much more difficult for a player to take their welcome bonuses home with them. I've even seen things like this: "The cash bonus offer is not open to players from Denmark" written in several Welcome Bonus T&C's. Makes me think the Danes have figured out the same thing I had.

      That doesn't mean there are no sweet welcome bonuses to be had. One of my favorite casinos still offers a very friendly welcome bonus. Just visit Prestige Casino and read the terms of their welcome bonus.

      I've always thought a disciplined player had a fair chance at beating the casinos if the wagering requirements were 5x(bonus + deposit). The less wagering required, the friendlier the bonus offer.

      Admittedly, the prospect of taking home some of my welcome bonus moved me from casino to casino. What happened along the way was that I found out a lot about each casino. I tried table games in a lot of different casinos. I played lots of different slot machines, and found the ones I liked best. I also found the casinos that payed fastest, offered better continuing player comps, and put together the best tournaments and weekly specials.

      Now I have accounts at numerous casinos, and know where to go when I want to play a particular game. But, when a new casino comes on the scene, I'm not afraid to test them out. Making use of their welcome bonus of course.