Online Skill Games for Real Money

Games like Poker or Blackjack undoubtedly require skill in order to maximize your profits, but there’s no denying the fact that winning a single hand or a multi-table tournament involves a fair bit of luck. Fortunately, a growing number of sites allow their customers to wager real money on popular games of skill, which tend to minimize the luck factor by relying on fast reactions, knowledge and mental skills instead.

The games offered on skill game sites usually range from classic games like Chess, Sudoku or Solitaire to digital versions of popular sports like pool, snooker, or even darts. As a result, competing on one of those sites has more in common with taking part in a sporting event than with going to a gambling hall, as the outcome of each match isn’t determined by the random number generator software.

Ways to Bet Real Money on Online Skill Games

The specific games available on skill game sites tend to be incredibly varied, but in the end most of them follow a simple formula when it comes to wagering your money against the other players. Each time you enter a contest, you pay for an entry ticket. The lion’s share of this entry fee contributes to the overall prize pool – but keep in mind that most operators will collect about 20% of the amount you paid in order to cover the cost of hosting the games and generate profits. As a result, breaking even or turning profit requires you to win more than half of the one-on-one matches you play.

Betting on Arcade Games

Most arcade games rely on making quick and precise decisions, testing your reflexes and ability to solve complex problems within a very limited timeframe. The games that fall into this category are usually designed from the ground up for the purpose of on-site competition, but some of them can be based on popular sports, puzzle games, or even video games.

Learning how to play those games is usually very simple, but mastering them requires a lot of effort. This simple design philosophy contributes to the massive popularity of arcade skill games, which is reflected in the fact that most sites offer a wide selection of titles of this kind.

Betting on Puzzle Games

Puzzle games like Bejeweled are very similar to arcade games, but don’t require you to make split-second decisions. In this case, you’ll have to act within a set time limit whenever it’s your turn, but the emphasis is placed on designing elegant solutions to logical problems instead of impressing your opponent with your dexterity.

Word games like Scrabble are a separate category of puzzle games, which test your vocabulary instead of abstract thinking. In most word games, your goal is to create words from a set of letters, but there are more than a few titles that stray from this basic formula by introducing the ability to interfere with your opponent’s plans.

Betting on Card Games

As briefly touched on above, the variance in card games tends to be relatively high, at least when compared with most puzzle and strategy games. Nevertheless, many skill game sites allow their customers to play them due to their immense popularity. Consequently, finding a site that offers Rummy or Solitaire shouldn’t be much of an issue – just keep in mind that you’ll probably be required to play more matches in order to maintain a high win ratio due to the fact that you won’t always be getting the right cards. Furthermore, please note that most of the card game-friendly platforms don’t offer traditional casino games such as poker or blackjack in order to avoid being classified as online gambling sites.

Betting on Sport Games

When it comes to basic gameplay, sport games aren’t all that different from puzzle games or arcade games. However, most skill game sites list them under a separate category due to the fact that they are based on popular sport disciplines. As you’ve probably already guessed, sport games tend to be based on individual sports that test your precision and decision-making abilities instead of physical prowess, such as Darts, Pool, Snooker, or Bowling.

Betting on Strategy Games

Strategy games like Chess or Mahjong are often considered to be the ultimate skill games, as they require you to compete against an active opponent who is constantly looking for a way to foil your plans. Consequently, games of this kind are extremely hard to master – even if you turn to casual titles like Plants vs. Zombies, you’ll have to invest some effort in order to triumph over your opponents.

On the other hand, strategy games tend to have the lowest variance, which means that turning them into a steady source of income is considerably easier than in the case of card games or even arcade games.

Making a Deposit and Cashing Out

The vast majority of skill game sites support credit card payments, which means that you should be able to fund your account using a Visa or American Express card as long as it supports international payments.

Another way of making a deposit is to use an e-wallet service like Neteller or Moneybookers. Finally, some sites support Western Union payments and traditional bank wire transfers, but keep in mind that relying on those methods usually involves more waiting and paperwork.

Withdrawals are almost universally handled using e-wallet payments and bank wire transfers, but there are skill game sites that allow you to cash out via a check by courier or even a Western Union money transfer. However, you should keep in mind that the latter option is generally reserved for customers who made a deposit using this method.

Finally, it is worth pointing out that while most site will process your payments instantly, cashing out might take a few days depending on the method you choose. While annoying, this kind of delay is necessary in order to prevent fraud – each request has to be thoroughly verified by the site’s staff in order to ensure the safety of your funds.