Will North

Not long after my 18th birthday, I kicked off a night out one Friday by heading to Genting Casino in Sheffield. This was my first time in a casino and, given my age, I knew very little about strategy, beyond a basic understanding of the rules of roulette, blackjack and poker. Upon joining the casino, I was given a free bet, which I used on roulette. I was playing a lot of FIFA at the time, and Mario Gomez was my star striker, so I decided to place my free bet on 33 red, his shirt number and red because he played for Bayern Munich.

A friend of mine suggested I spread the bet across the table to better my chances of winning, but before I could reconsider, all the bets were called, the wheel was spun, and, surprisingly, the number called was 33 red. I won £75, which more than covered my night out and then some.

As I’m older and wiser now, this isn’t something I’d recommend to new players, but for a relatively broke 18-year-old me, this was momentarily life-changing.

Hot off my best gambling experience, I attempted to replicate my first win using the same strategy, only this time with real money. Needless to say, I learned then and there that lightning rarely strikes twice by losing all the money I’d bet and bearing the brunt of a few remarks and chuckles from more seasoned players around me. Ultimately, this did teach me to use my head more when playing and not rely on luck. Going for an ‘all or nothing’ route is rarely worth it compared to a well-thought-out strategy and an understanding of the game.

Poker will always be my favourite game, as it requires the most strategy to play and therefore is the most rewarding and fun for me. In terms of slots, I’ve really been enjoying Monopoly Megaways recently, particularly at Casumo or The Vic. It’s quite a volatile slot with no fixed paylines, as long as I keep my stake small, I really enjoy the challenge and unpredictability of it.

At the moment, I’m really loving The Vic. Despite actually living in London and having been to the Grosvenor Victoria, I still appreciate an online casino that has a classic feel like this one. That’s not to say The Vic is all style no substance, it actually has a great selection of games I love, with Monopoly Megaways, Big Bass Bonanza, as well as the newer World Eaters currently in rotation.

For me, it's about striking a balance between being informative and understandable. The casino industry can be quite jargon-heavy at times, and content often expects readers to understand all the terminology; this can be intimidating for newcomers. My overall goal is to ensure that these industry terms are used where needed and explained in the simplest terms.