Plenty goes into the optimal betting strategy. Throughout our site, punters will have encountered odds, place betting, spread betting and more, all of which can contribute to a positive betting profile.

However, in our humble opinion, strategy extends further than just placing bets that you feel will win or provide good value, and we are going to go way back to the start of any betting session – putting some cash in your account.

Unsurprisingly, any bookmaker or online casino worth its salt will want to make it as easy as possible for members to make a deposit, and a crucial element of this is support for a wide and varied range of deposit options.

If all the man on the street has is a Visa debit card, and the bookies only takes MasterCard, that’s immediately eating into their liquidity.

Even worse, that man on the street will probably head elsewhere, unlikely to ever return once he’s found what he’s looking for.

If your strategy is odds or value-based, then we have to admit that different deposit options are not going to have a massive impact on your profit and loss account.

However, if you take a more holistic view of the betting experience and look to optimise every facet of the process then it can make a real difference.

You might love your trusty debit card and have no plans to change, but there are other options out there that could make life that little bit easier.

Credit Cards
Head to an online bookies, load up the cashier and the chances are that there, at the very top of the list of supported payment options, will be the Visa and MasterCard logos – Amex isn’t too fond of gambling transactions and if you find a bookmakers that takes it, your luck is in and it’s time for a long odds Lucky 15.

They’re quick and they’re convenient, and whether you’re putting on a football accumulator, dabbling in the bingo or planning a few spins in the online casino, the old flexible friend won’t let you down.

However, when looking to bet successfully, the margins are slim. It is one reason why we steer clear of any site that charges a fee on deposits or withdrawals. Even if the site is fee-free, your credit card won’t be and, for the most part, gambling transactions are treated as cash transactions.

It makes sense – multinational conglomerates like Visa and MasterCard aren’t falling for a deposit with the bookies that is then immediately withdrawn to a bank account, that’s for sure.

Those fees are usually a percentage of the deposit amount, and a few quid here and there can soon add up – especially with the interest rates on cash balances typically being higher than on purchases.

If your online gambling is footloose and fancy free, go right ahead, but if you’re focused on the edge, an alternative might make sense.

Connect Cards
You don’t need to be a BookiesBusters hero to know that the companies that have been around longer than I have are the ones that most players use.

Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral and more are usually within a few feet of each other on the high street. Bridging the gap between the world wide web and these glorified FOBT clubs are the connect cards.

The cards are linked directly to an online account and if you’re lucky, they will be used for rewards and bonuses. However, their main use is for moving cash around – and we mean literal cash. Pop into the bookies with your connect card and hand over a crisp £20, and they’ll see to it that it lands in your online account.

Conversely, you can head into the bookies without a £20 in your back pocket, but certainly leave with one if you have it in your online account. We call this the publican card, as it is perfect for catching the televised races before heading to the local, via the bookies, with instant cash in hand.

If we’re not going to the pub on a particular day, then the drawback is clear – in the absence of any alternatives, it means leaving the house on a frosty morning to load up the betting account.

PayPal
You’ve heard of it; the chances are you’ve used it and it’s just as likely that you’ve got a full-blown account in good standing – but you might never have considered using PayPal at the bookies. You probably should, however, as it boasts all the convenience and flexibility of any other method and a few more perks besides.

It can keep things nice and tidy in the bank account, as the deposits and withdrawals are normally confined to the PayPal account until it needs a top up, and it means that your card details are shielded from prying eyes – all the casino receives to process the transactions is your email address.

You can get a connect card of sorts with this too, cannily named the PayPal Connect Card. It’s like the ones the bookies offer, but links to your PayPal account rather than your betting account. On the one hand, there aren’t any PayPal shops to go into to withdraw cash, but that’s offset by the fact that, unlike your William Hill card, it functions perfectly in a cash machine.

It’s not quite as instant, as your bookie will need to send the funds rather than authorise them on demand in the shop, but that only takes a couple of hours. After that, you can do as you please with the money and it never needs to even touch your bank account unless you want it to.

There are plenty of different options out there for the discerning bettor. If you are in a position where you stick with your current deposit method of choice because you’ve always used it, it could be time for a change.

Going from a MasterCard to PayPal won’t get you better odds or bigger bonuses, but it could see you getting your hands on your money in record time, all while keeping your bank account clear of a footprint.

Easy betting is the best betting, and a small change could revolutionise your approach.