Good question, and yeah, coffee-fueled decisions are dangerous. I usually mix boring checks with gut feeling. First, skim independent reviews and compare a few sites side by side, not just bonus size but rules behind it. Then I test support with a dumb question, see how fast humans reply. Game providers matter too, same for payment options in your region. Somewhere in the middle of my research rabbit hole I once landed on which helped me notice patterns instead of hype. After that, small deposits first, always.