Hey everyone.

Like the weekday shopper says to the familiar staff sighing at their tills, I’m back with another list.

Hitting the App-alachian Trail

Your journey toward hitchless online gaming begins with a simple step, be it games or poker apps: always shop around. Don’t settle for the first app store listing. Find a service you like the look of, peruse all their available information and google before installing.

Helpful hint: Always check past those initial 5 star reviews, less savoury ones may wait below. You can put lipstick on a pig, but don’t try telling me it’s Helen of Troy.

Two cherries on top

Switching over to a new online gaming app provider can be a real treat. New games, bonuses, opportunities, pools and prizes, friends you haven’t met yet, but how can you get more value from switching?

As with internet service providers or gas/electric companies, many businesses offer lucrative incentives for willing transfer.

Contact your gaming operator directly to inquire what extra goodies you can claim. With poker, check for deposit bonuses, sign-up rewards and Twitch partner codes to use while registering.

Paid or free

Paying is not always an issue. Sometimes in order to get the optimal service, money must find new masters. The question is not ‘should I be paying’, it’s ‘what should I be paying for?’

Many services, unwilling to deter entirely the sizable population portion who’ll never pay for anything app-related, offer a free version of the app featuring basic functions with none of the flashy, whirring dials.

When buying paid apps, all the above apply doubly so. Check for reviews and reports from other users or email the site directly for info requests before letting money change hands.

Responsible Gaming

It’s not much talked about. It all happens behind the scenes, mostly thanklessly. Hours of procedures and documents for fringe, niche cases that might never arise, but somebody has to do it.

Occasionally, for one reason or another, things can go awry and when they do, you want the operators of your chosen app putting the ‘responsible’ in RG.

Dependable processors

Certain sites boast they serve innumerable countries, but always ensure you’ve checked which available processors are serving your region before depositing your bankroll.

Better safe than sorry, or stuck in transaction limbo.

Mobile/tablet support

In this rapid-fire age of inseparable connectedness, of morning tweets and long commutes, we need more than ever a way to consume content on the go. For busy go-getters like our players, up at the crow and out like a nightwatchman at dawn, with little time for idling between professional and personal commitments, a mobile option is a must.

Security

Where are your documents being held? Are your funds separated from the pools? Are the server farms safe? How easy would it be to swipe my details? Not necessarily FAQs to pursue and potentially scare away your chances at creating an account on the site, but things to keep an eye out for. Consider your account and passwords, note how staff interact with you during sensitive cases.

Content

Follow trusted brands on social media. See what type of content they’re putting out. We live in the content age. Everyone and their aged parents has a blog, a Youtube channel and a Twitch stream, provided their neknominations didn’t kill them.

With a continuous assault of new clickables arriving like waves on the shore of night, and everybody knowing all the tricks of the trade, how do you know what’s worth your click? So many different companies offer similar services, you can now take your pick choosing a brand voice you enjoy and engage with. Say you want to talk about video games in the evenings. You use Discord all day in work so that won’t suit. Two apps, identical in function, with wildly varying content streams. Bland content from one, arbitrary lists matching those found elsewhere with slightly altered copy. Exciting, engaging videos from the other, fresh from their minds direct to your brain cake, with strong ambassadors besides.

Easy choice? Easy choice.

Closing statements

Pandas, newspaper and Clark Gable films come in black & white. The rest is grey shades. It’s all about finding the perfect balance to suit your needs. Whereas one person might have negative experience using an app or on a site, another freshly-arrived might find it suits perfectly for the tasks in question. Find what works for you.

All of the above can be condensed into two concise notions:

1. Read – read everything they got. Research, research, research. If you get stung with your pants down, the responsibility is partly yours to share
2. Ask – there’s no such thing as stupid question

Choose ‘em wisely