Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Getting Your Own Back

First things first - a belated Season's Greetings and a very Happy New Year to all my readers, and sorry for making you wait so long between posts. A round of overseas travel at short notice has left me without much time up my sleeve.

In the past decade or so, it's become common for businesses, both large and small, to establish or take part in a loyalty program, to encourage repeat business and to give something back to their valued customers. Casinos, both landbased and online, are no different. Every time you play, you will have a percentage of your total action (the amount of money you turn over in bets) returned to you. This is referred to as a complimentary (or comp) program; each casino will have a brand name for theirs, for example, Harrah's Total Rewards or MGM Mirage Players Club.

While a casino in, for instance, Las Vegas, may return your comp dollars to you in the form of free room, food and beverage, this isn't quite so practical when you play online. Hence, you're most likely to receive your comps in the form of cash. That's right - cold, hard cash which is credited back to your casino account, either automatically or upon request. This cash can then either be used to make further wagers, or withdrawn just as you would with your winnings. Most good comp programs allow you to receive your payout any time you like, so long as you have earned a certain nominal value of comp dollars, say $5.

What this means to the player is that a casino game that is already a good bet in terms of player return, such as blackjack, baccarat or the pass line bet in craps, becomes even better. The overall effect of the comp program is that the house edge is reduced by the comp rate that the game you are playing is earning. This rate will generally be higher when playing a game with a larger house edge, too, which is great news for slots players!

When you join a casino in the Fortune Lounge group, you automatically become a member of the Fortune Rewards programme. From your first bet, you start earning comp dollars redeemable for cash. As your earnings increase, you move up through the membership levels - Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each level has unique benefits, such as higher bonus point levels, which give you additional recognition the more frequently you play.

To begin enjoying all the benefits available to you as a player at one of Fortune Lounge's trusted online casinos, why not take advantage of this lucrative offer from Fortune Room? Give your first deposit of up to 50 a 1000% makeover of up to 500! Click below now & get your gaming experience off to a flying start!
Next time, I'll look at some blackjack basics for those who have always wanted to try the world's most popular table game. Until then, best of luck!