Revenge of the Rudolph

Revenge of the Rudolph is one of the more complex video slots that I have encountered. That’s doesn’t surprise my because it is brand new and they are continually trying to add more options and features for regular slots players.

This means if you are relatively new to slots, you will have to pay attention to the rules for Revenge of the Rudolph below or you are likely going to be confused.

Let’s take this screenshot for example. There is just way too much going on without having any instructions. So let’s break this down in manageable pieces:

Winning a Payline

There are 50 paylines that you are betting on when you use Max Bet. Each payline pays when symbols match from left (Reel 1) to right (Reel 5). The majority of symbols will need at least 3 matching on a payline in order to win money on that payline. You will win more if you have 4 or 5 matching symbols on a payline.

The 9 through A are the lowest ranking symbols. The broken toy and elf also need 3 matching and are considered low ranking. The other four symbols (Santa, Mrs Claus, Workshop and Sleigh) are higher ranking symbols and only need 2 matching symbols to win on a payline.

Substitute

If you have played a video slot machine before, you will be familiar with the Substitute which is this game is Rudolph. He can be used to substitute for all other symbols except for the Scatter Thugs symbol. This makes Rudolph a wild card.

The 3rd reel (middle) has 3 Rudolph symbols connected together. If all 3 Rudolphs appear, he will expand on that reel and all prizes will be tripled that include a Substitute.

Scatter

The Scatter is the only symbol that does not need to be on a payline in order to win. In Revenge of the Rudolph, the scatter is the Thugs. You will win a multiple of your total bet if you receive 3 or more Thugs anywhere on the reels.

When you get 3 or 4 Thugs scatters, you will also trigger one of three bonus features:

1) Rudolph’s Revenge Feature

This is the most basic of the bonus features. You will receive 7 free games and all prizes will be doubled. You can receive an additional 7 free games if 3 or 4 Thugs appear again.

If you receive 4 Scatters when you triggered this feature, any Scatter Thugs will be turned into a Substitute Rudolph during the 7 free games.

2) Santa Strikes Back Feature

The Santa Strikes Back feature will give you 7 spins to light up all 5 Stars above each reel. If you light up all 5 stars before the 7 spins are up, you will receive 7 spins and the feature will be reset.

You will receive a Candy Cane in the upper-right corner of the Substitute (Rudolph), Scatter (Thugs) and Santa symbol. When you receive a Candy Cane, the Star will light up on the reel above the Candy Cane.

When you have one remaining Star to light up, the reels will go really fast. You will have the option to manually stop the reel or let the reel stop on its own. If you are going to stop the reel yourself, look for the symbols that have a Square Border because these are the winning symbols.

3) Rudolph’s Rampage

There are 3 Elves hiding in 3 of the 8 hiding spots that are highlighted. When you select a hiding spot, you will either see a No Elf sign or an Elf will appear.

The less picks it takes to reveal the 3 elves, the more free games you will be awarded with. This is between 50 (for getting all 3 perfect) and 5 (for taking 8 turns to get all 3)

If an Elf is holding a Red Present, the Thugs will be changed to Rudolph during the Free Spins. If an Elf is holding a Blue Present, all prizes a 4x during free games. If an Elf is holding a Green Present, Rudolph will expand on reel 3 during all free games.

I received 5 Scatter Thugs

Well congratulations because you just won the jackpot!

Other Christmas Slots at Slots of Vegas

These first two games are the predecessors of Return of the Rudolph. I’m going to go through these rest of these fairly quickly. The three Christmas slots below don’t have nearly as many options and features. This will make these slot machines easier for a beginner to understand.

Santa Strikes Back

Rudolph’s Revenge

Naught or Nice

Slots of Vegas has one of two bonuses to offer you if you make a deposit on Halloween. The first is for Slots and Keno players and the second bonus is for people who like playing other games as well. Both of these bonuses act as your bankroll. The bonus money can not be withdrawn from the account. The bonus acts as additional money that you can use to try to win a big payline.

Slots and Keno Bonus

If you like to play slots, then I would suggest that you take advantage of this first bonus. You can get a 530% bonus on a deposit of $30 or more. If you make a $100 deposit, you will receive a $530 bonus and you will start with $630.

Slots and Keno are traditionally games that have a lower winning percentage. That is why a bonus like this is offered. Having more chances to hit the payline big gives you more entertainment value for your dollar. You will have the chance to win a big payday. While it might not happen, you can certainly have a lot more chances without having risk a whole lot of money.

In order to receive this bonus, you will need to download and install Slots of Vegas, if you haven’t already done so. Create a user account and log in. You will see the Casino Lobby. Click on the Cashier button that is next to your Balance.

Click on the Redeem Coupon section and enter the Coupon Code: BLACKCAT. Alternatively, you can enter the Coupon Code: WITCH and receive a 310% bonus on Slots and Keno. The only difference is that the 530% bonus has a 30x playthrough requirement and a 10x max cash-out. The 310% bonus has no playthrough and no max cash-out, but you must deposit at least $100.

Here is a look at a couple of the Halloween themed slot machines at Slots of Vegas.

190% Casino Games Bonus

There is also a 190% bonus for people who like playing other casino games for a deposit of $30 or more on Halloween. However this bonus does not include the following games: Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Pontoon 21, War, Sic Bo and Pai Gow Poker.

You can play games like Video Poker, Red Dog, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker and Tri Card Poker with this bonus. In order to receive this bonus, enter the Coupon Code: PUMPKIN in the Redeem Coupon tab. There is no playthrough and no max cash-out with this bonus.

After you enter the Bonus Code, you will see the screenshot above. You will need to make your deposit after you enter in the bonus code.

One of my previous top 3 online casinos is shutting their doors after 14 years online. English Harbour and their sister casino sites including Silver Dollar, Slots Galore, Millionaire Casino, Superslots and Caribbean Gold will stop offering their services as of the first of August. That means that all of the online casinos that used Vegas Technology software are no longer accepting bets.

Vegas Tech isn’t the only casino software to pretty much pull out of the US market altogether. Almost all Rival casinos have dropped out of the US market completely. This includes Pantasia, This is Vegas, Davinci’s Gold, Mayan Fortune, Cocoa Casino and Paradise8. However, Black Diamond Casino, Box 24 Casino and Spartan Slots are still available.

The one thing that you will notice about my Top 3 Online Casinos list is that all three internet casino sites use the same software – Real Time Gaming or RTG. There used to be more of a variety as far as online casino software was concerned. However, all of the best casino software creators are in the UK and European markets. Many of the online casinos that use this software must agree not to allow Americans to make real money bets using their software.

RTG doesn’t really have a problem with what the internet casinos do with their gaming software after they license it to them. Unfortunately, that is the reason that there are so many RTG casinos on my online casino blacklist post. However, this list consists of online casinos that currently offer the best options for online gambling aficionados.

Top 3 Online Casinos – 07/2011

1) Bovada Casino – Bodog is one of the oldest and most trusted online casino that you will find on the internet. They have been known for fast and free payouts to customers. They have always offered a fair 10% welcome bonus for new players. This bonus has a low wagering requirements and virtually no gaming restrictions.

However, Bodog Casino has just launched a new and improved version of their casino software and they have changed their name to Bovada. To celebrate, Bovada Casino is offering a 100% match bonus for the first time! Enter the Casino Code: CASINO200 and you will receive a match on your deposit up to $200. You can download this software here.

Install the software on your computer and log into the casino. You will have to create an account if you are new to Bovada.

You will need to click on the Bonuses button on the left side of the casino lobby screen. Then, click on the Casino Code link. You will see “Redeem Casino Bonus Code” in the screen. Use the Bonus Code: CASINO200 and click on the Submit button.

Once you have entered the code, make a deposit by clicking on Purchase Chips. Deposit up to $200 and you will receive a bonus for the same amount. You will receive your bonus money immediately.

Bonus Terms

This is one of the best bonuses that I have seen in a while. The first rarity is that this is a cashable bonus. After you finish the bonus requirements, you can cash out the bonus money. It is not for wagering purposes only. There are a few games that do not count towards this bonus: Baccarat, Sic Bo, Craps, Casino Hold’em, Lucky Wheel and Roulette.

The wagering requirement is very low for a bonus that includes games like blackjack and video poker. You only need to wager 40 times the deposit and bonus amounts combined. That means you would need to bet ($200 + $200) x 40 or $16,000 before you can cash out. You can only claim this bonus one time.

2) Lucky Red Casino – Lucky Red Casino is my number 1 in this list because I have never had any problem with a deposit or withdrawal with this casino. They are always faster than most when it comes to payments.

They will give you a 400% signup bonus worth a maximum bonus of $4000. You must use the coupon code LUCKYRED400 in the Redeem Coupon section of the casino’s Cashier after you make your deposit but before you make a wager on a game. This bonus is for use with Lucky Red’s Slot Machines Only!

If you are looking to play casino games other than slots, you can claim a 55% bonus worth a maximum of $550. You must redeem the coupon code OTHERGAMES55 after you make your deposit. This bonus can be claimed multiple times.

In order to receive the maximum bonus, you must make a deposit of $1000. There is a minimum deposit of $30 will all of Lucky Red Casino’s bonuses. The wagering requirements are 25x for slots and 42x for the other casino games. Excluded games from all bonuses include baccarat, craps, roulette and sic bo.

3) Pure Vegas Casino – Pure Vegas Casino is the best casino to play blackjack and video poker at. This is because they offer a 100% match bonus up to $1000 for each of your first two deposits. Use the Coupon Codes: PUREBLACKJACK and PUREBLACKJACK2 in the Redeem Coupon section.

The wagering requirements for these bonuses is 75x rollover of the bonus and deposit combined. This can be used to play Blackjack, Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker, Video Poker and Multi Hand Video Poker games.

You are still allowed to play most other games with this bonus. The wagering requirements for these games is 25x rollover. The casino games that are excluded from play with any bonus is baccarat, roulette, craps, bingo, and pai gow poker.

In fact, the only casino that currently offers mobile services to U.S. customers is Slotland. As the name suggests, you will not be able to find any casino games that aren’t related to slots. It is, however, a great place to play if you are a slots fan.

Slotland provides its own proprietary software unlike most of the other online casinos that accept Americans. This means that you can play any of the 100+ slots games on your mobile phone. This includes the following mobile devices: iPhone, iPad, Android, other smart phones and even old cell phones that are capable of supporting Java.

You will be able to find unique games found no where else like Slotris. This is a unique combination of slots and tetris. You will spin the reels and be given a tetris piece to place. The object is to get three of the same colored squares in a row in order to win on a line.

All you have to do is register with Slotland and your first deposit will be matched up to $100. The best thing about this bonus is that it is a cashable bonus (unlike most other casino bonuses). Once you are finished with the bonus requirements, you can cash out this bonus money.

Other Flash Mobile Casinos

The rest of the flash mobile casinos listed here will be unavailable for players from America. A lot of UK and European casinos are now beginning to offer a mobile version of their online casinos including the best of the Microgaming and Playtech casinos.

A couple of the best are Jackpot City, Platinum Play and All Slots casino. All three of these are Microgaming casinos and use the Spin 3 software that was developed specifically for mobile devices. The list of mobile phone that are capable of playing the Spin 3 software is large: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, iPad, Nokia, Ericson, T-Mobile, Sagem, BenQ, Palm and Windows Mobile. Basically, if you have a cell phone that is newer then a couple of years old, you will be able to play the mobile casinos that use the Spin 3 software.

Here is a look at a couple of the different games that you can play using Microgaming’s Spin 3 software. There are the traditional casino games such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat as well as slots and keno to name a few.

That’s why most online gamblers that win have some sort of strategy before they start to play. The really good gamblers are the ones that stick to these plans and not let their emotions get the best of them when they run into some bad luck. This is not only true for roulette but when playing just about any real money gambling game.

Betting systems are a good guideline to keep yourself mentally in the game that your are playing against the casino. The people who lose are the ones that don’t recognize a good streak vs a cold streak and makes poor bets because of this. Chasing the losing bets with an ever increasing wager is a good way to lose a lot of money. Ironically enough, this is the topic of the first roulette betting system called the Martingale System.

The Martingale System

This is one of the oldest and most basic betting systems; the Martingale System is a negative progression betting system that is based of the probability of losing a large number of bets in a row.

If you were to bet $1 and lose, you would then bet $2. If you lose that bet, you would bet $4. Then $8, $16, $32 and so on until you have reached the table limit for betting. The theory is that if you lose 4 straight bets and bet $16 on the 5th hand that you win, you will have won $1 overall.

I would tend to stay away from this style of betting. It only works to your advantage if you aggressively betting when you are up overall. Otherwise, this has the potential to win you little while risking a lot. The main drawback of this system is that once you reach the table limit on betting, you have already guaranteed that you will be losing a lot of money.

The Paroli System

This is the opposite of the Martingale system. The Paroli System is a positive progression betting tactic. The idea is that you set a limit to how many times in a row that you will win.

If you bet $2 and win $2, then your next bet will be $4. Win again and you will bet $8 and so on until you decide to start over or lose. Usually doing this more then 4 times is not the wisest decision.

There is also a way to augment this so that you aren’t simply betting to double up each time. This progressive ladder allows you to bet aggressively and double on your first two wagers and still bet high without risking it all afterwards.

The Thirds System

One of the best rules of thumb that I like to use when all else is failing is the rule of betting in thirds. This means that if you are up, bet 1/3 of the amount of money that you are up each time. When you are down, bet 1/3 of the amount of money that you are down each time.

This is of course within reason. If you are only up $9, you don’t need to bet $3 in order to follow the pattern. The idea is that once you are up or down $50 or so, start thinking about betting a third of the difference. This will allow you to keep close without losing all your money quickly, unless you have a really bad run.

A good rule of thumb is to set levels with your bankroll. Once you are up or down X amount of money, alter your wagers to better reflect the amount of chips you are playing with. That means lowering your bets when you are doing poorly.

Too often, gamblers throw good money after bad. They try to make up the losses with higher wagers and will often bust out because they are frustrated or not patient enough to try to bounce back.

Hedging Your Bets

Lets say that you have a number in mind on the roulette wheel. There are several ways to hedge this bet in order to try to maximize your winning potential while trying mitigating your losses.

Here is the scenario: You have $300 and you are planning on betting $5 on a single number, in this case 21 Red. You can hedge this bet by also placing a $5 bet on Red and Odd or any combination of 2 to 1 and 1 to 1 bets that correlate to 21 Red.

The thinking here is that if the ball lands in 21 Red and you do hit your number exactly, you will be getting a large win. If not, you still may have a chance to win on your bet if another number comes up.

There is a chance of a larger than usual lose if you are unlucky. This usually surfaces when the ball falls on the 0 (or 00 in American Roulette). Some people will place a bet on the zero that will cover their overall wager in case the zero comes up.

Other ways of hedging your bet is by betting on the lines between your number and the numbers that it borders on the roulette table. If you were to bet on 15 Black, then you can also bet on the line consisting of 13, 14 and 15 or you can bet on a block of 4 or 6 numbers.

In many places that offer European Roulette, you will also be able to bet on “thirds” of the wheel. This means that you would not bet on a single number or group of numbers on the table, but on a section of the roulette wheel.

The Parlay System

To anyone familiar with sports betting, Parlay is a term that is used quite often. It is often referred to as “let it ride” because once you have won your first bet, you leave the bet and the winnings in play and try to double up quickly.

This is a good system to use when you are already ahead of the casino. By letting it ride, you are trying to win 4 units overall while only risking 1 unit of your own money.

Let’s say that you had bet $10 on a 2 to 1 bet such as the 1st 12. The roulette wheel is spun and the ball lands on 7 Red. You won $20 on the 1st 12 bet; but instead of collecting the $30, you leave that bet on the table and gamble that a 1st 12 number comes up again.

Want to learn more about online roulette? Take a look at a couple of my prior posts: 5 tips for playing online roulette and common false beliefs about online roulette.