High roller, or in other words - whale, is a player who makes large bets in games of chance or online casinos. High rollers usually play dice, roulette, blackjack, slot machines, and poker.
In games with a high limit, there is usually both a minimum and a maximum bet threshold. Often, only high-end casino customers are allowed to play at a high-limit table. Games can take place on a special invitation or be available along with standard board games.
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Only thriving casinos can afford to invite high roller to the game. Small online casinos usually cannot offer such a service because of the size of bets.
High Rollers in the Casino
The number of players is determined by the limit set on each table. In Australia, for example, this applies to players who bet from 50 thousand to 75 thousand Australian dollars. If we are talking about Las Vegas, this range ranges between $150 thousand and $300 thousand. In Macao, this amount can reach $500 thousand.
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High rollers are rarely newbies. Generally, these are people who understand the strategies of games. Therefore, they take part in those games that will give them the best opportunity to get the maximum win.
In the casino, the high rollers prefer a few games:
- Baccarat or its accelerated version of "punto banko". Due to the low advantage of the gambling house (only 1%), it remains the most popular among players at high rates for many decades.
- Dice: complex combinations and excitement make this game the second among the favorites. The chances of winnings are equal and the advantage of the gambling house is also relatively low.
- Blackjack: in many casinos, the maximum limit for this game is $500. In blackjack, the smallest advantage of a gambling house starts at 0.36%. Counting cards can transfer everything to a player's favor, but modern security systems allow calculating such players quickly.
Fact: If a player deposits a Visa card, he has the right to expect the casino to pay a transaction fee. A respected and reliable casino always pays for them.
One of the main difficulties that high rollers can face is how to deposit their funds into a casino account and then withdraw them. One of the best options is a Visa card.
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Another option is the money transfer. This option guarantees a 100% receipt of the money, and the more money will be sent to the casino account, the cheaper this operation will be. Withdrawals can also be made through the transfer of funds.
For online casinos, the definition of a high roller is slightly blurry, although there are privileges anyway. Here, the bulk of the players put small amounts, so almost anyone who makes a bet above $100 can be called a high roller.
High rollers often receive generous bonuses from casinos that seek to lure them to the gambling table. If to talk about land-based facilities, it can be free transfers in a private airplane, limousine, free accommodation in luxury rooms, discounts on visiting the best restaurants, etc.
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Online casinos can offer an extended credit limit for the player, as well as compensation payments for turnover from bets or losses.
Besides:
- Great bonuses, namely bonuses on bets (minimum 50%) from $1000; deposit bonuses that can reach 500%; personal bonuses in the form of cashback
- Drawing up expensive prizes for VIP clients in closed tournaments
- Maximum bets on the spins
- Personal manager
- Loyalty and benefits: birthday gifts, invitations to private parties, etc.
Bets on high limits are usually offered by large operators, which conduct both offline and online operations. The buy-in and bet sizes sway depending on the gambling zone, the popularity of the online casino or the level of the poker tournament.
For example, the buy-in of the No-Limit Hold'em High Roller tournament, which took place on June, 1 at the WSOP 2018, was $100,000 - an impressive amount that not only ordinary poker players, but many WSOP players cannot afford. More than this amount was just buy-in last event in this series - The Big One for One Drop - $1 million No-Limit Hold'em.
Buy-in cash is not often found at high limit tables. Players usually have a kind of loan in the casino, which simplifies a safe game with top bets.
In the history of big bets, there are a few notable names and related stories.
Professional poker player Phil Ivey is known as one of the best players in the world. And although poker is instead an intellectual game, in which it is more important to have knowledge and skills than luck, Ivery is also a lover of excitement and risk. Being an avid dice player, he flew five different casinos within the "mega tour of dice", making bets worth $100 thousand for each game. This made him famous all over the world.
Another vital story with Phillip had occurred in 2012 when he won about $11 million in a baccarat session at the London Crockfords casino. However, the casino refused to pay the winnings, arguing that Ivery used a technique called "edge sorting" to predict which cards will fall on the next hand. Ivery sued the casino, claiming to receive his winnings. The outcome of this situation is still unresolved.
The Sultan of the tiny Asian state of Brunei is one of the wealthiest living people whose fund exceeds $20 billion. He is also considered as one of the most massive "whales" in the world (secretly). Along with the incredible stories of his secret travel to Las Vegas, Macau, and London casinos, where he usually spends about $1 million per night, no one knows exactly how often the Sultan plays and how much he wins or loses.
However, there is no doubt that his family is one of the most massive high rollers in the world. Mariam Aziz, the ex-wife of the Sultan, often visits London casinos, where she asked her bodyguard to bet, and one day she lost £3 million during one weekend. Sultan's brother Prince Jeffrey is known as an avid gambler and he appears regularly at gambling establishments.