Presented for the first time in the industry, the Art Basel Awards honour innovative artists, curators, museums, patrons, cross-disciplinary creators, media, and others shaping contemporary art’s future. There will be 36 Medals awarded by an international jury of experts, who will select individuals and organizations worldwide based on their vanguard vision, skills, and impact. Art Basel will recognize medalists through year-round campaigns and initiatives.
Medalists will pilot a peer-driven process whereby they will vote to select 12 Gold Medalists from among themselves, representing the Art Basel Awards’ highest honour and a new model of recognition in which future changemakers are uniquely elevated by their peers.
The medalists will be announced in May 2025 and honoured during Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland in June. The Art Basel Awards will unveil their Gold Medalists at a special event during Art Basel Miami Beach in December. Immersive experiences will reflect the visionary spirit of these awards.
Assembling carefully chosen members with expertise, influence, and demonstrated commitment to shaping art’s future, the Art Basel Awards International Jury is chaired by de Bellis. They are: Hoor Al-Qasimi, President and Director, Sharjah Art Foundation; Elena Filipovic, Director, Kunstmuseum Basel; Koyo Kouoh, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), Cape Town, and Curator, 61st International Art Exhibition (2026), La Biennale di Venezia; Jessica Morgan, Nathalie de Gunzberg Director, Dia Art Foundation, New York; Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine, London; Adriano Pedrosa, Artistic Director, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP); Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, Hong Kong; Franklin Sirmans, Director, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM); and Philip Tinari, Director and Chief Executive, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing.
With BOSS as their presenting partner, the Art Basel Awards are highlighting connections between contemporary art and global culture. Hugo BOSS Group’s longstanding commitment to fostering discovery and dialogue at the intersection of fashion and art is embodied in the Awards.
The 97th Academy Awards took place last night in Hollywood, California. Anora and its filmmaker Sean Baker were the big winners, winning five of the six Oscars for which it was nominated: Best Picture, Best Director Sean Baker, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editor – all for Baker – and Best Actress for Mikey Madison. In the musical categories, Emilia Pérez, which led this year’s nominations with 13 total, won Best Song for ‘El Mal’, while Daniel Blumberg won Best Original Score for The Brutalist.
Songwriters Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard won their first-ever Academy Award for ‘El Mal’. The Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger presented the award, joking, “The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this. Bob didn’t want to do it because he said the best songs this year were obviously in the movie A Complete Unknown. Bob said, ‘You should find somebody younger.’ I said, ‘Okay! I’m younger! I’m young enough, Bob! I’ll do it!’ So here I am.”
“We hope it speaks to the role music and art can play and continue to play as a force of the good and progress in the world,” Camille said while accepting the award. This year’s other Best Song nominees included ‘Mi Camino’ from Emilia Pérez (which Selena Gomez sang), ‘Never Too Late’ from Elton John: Never Too Late, ‘The Journey’ from The Six Triple Eight, and ‘Like a Bird’ from Sing Sing.
This is was also Blumberg’s first Academy Award win, beating out Volker Bertelmann for Conclave, Clément Ducol and Camille for Emilia Pérez, John Powell and Stephen Schwartz for Wicked, and Kris Bowers for The Wild Robot. Mark Hamill presented the award for Best Original Score.
“Thank you to the Academy and everyone who watched the film and honored the work. It means a lot to be acknowledged like this,” Blumberg said during his acceptance speed. “I’ve been an artist for 20 years now, since I was a teenager. When I met Brady, I found my artistic soulmate. For him to trust me in this work and to grow alongside him has been so special. Thank you, Brady. I love you. I want to thank my collaborators, my co-producer Peter Walsh, and the artists who played on the score. The sounds you hear on The Brutalist are made by a group of hardworking, radical musicians who’ve been making uncompromising music for many years. I’m accepting this award on behalf of them, too.”
The 2025 Academy Awards also featured a performance from Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who sang a number of Wizard of Oz-inspired songs. LISA, Doja Cat, and Raye performed a medley paying tribute to the James Bond franchise: Lisa did ‘Live and Let Die’, Doja Cat performed ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, and Raye sang Adele’s ‘Skyfall’. In a tribute to Quincy Jones, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey indtroduced a performance of The Wiz‘s ‘Ease on Down the Road’. Jones, who died on November 3, 2024, was the first Black composer nominated in the Original Song category in 1967.
Everyone longs for radiant skin that emanates health and vitality. However, factors such as aging, environmental pollutants, and lifestyle choices can dull the natural glow of our skin. Fortunately, various treatments can help restore that luster, enhancing your appearance and boosting your confidence. This guide walks you through different approaches to rejuvenating your skin, focusing on effective treatments that cater to a range of needs.
Understanding Skin Types and Concerns
Identifying your skin type is crucial when considering restoration treatments. Generally, skin types fall into categories such as oily, dry, combination, and sensitive. Each type requires a different approach to care and treatment. For oily skin, treatments often emphasize oil control and tightening pores, while dry skin solutions focus on hydration and nourishment.
Common skin concerns include acne, pigmentation issues, fine lines, and uneven texture. Acne can lead to scarring that affects your skin’s appearance. Pigmentation problems often arise due to sun exposure or hormonal changes, leading to dark spots. Fine lines and an uneven texture reflect the skin’s natural aging process.
Topical Treatments to Enhance Skin Glow
Topical treatments form the foundation of any skincare routine. Antioxidants like vitamins C and E can brighten the skin and protect against environmental damage. Regular use of exfoliants, such as alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), sloughs off dead skin cells, promoting cellular turnover for a fresh appearance. Retinoids are another popular option because they enhance collagen production and improve skin elasticity, leading to smoother and younger-looking skin.
Hydration is vital for maintaining skin glow. Moisturizers, serums, and hydrating masks can replenish moisture levels. Look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid that can hold up to a thousand times its weight in water. Certain natural ingredients, such as aloe vera and honey, can also help soothe and hydrate the skin.
Professional Treatments for Better Results
For those seeking enhanced results beyond the daily routine, professional treatments can provide more dramatic transformations. Chemical peels offer a powerful way to renew the skin by removing layers of dead skin cells, revealing a fresher complexion below. These treatments vary in strength and can address multiple concerns, including acne scars and hyperpigmentation. Microdermabrasion is another popular professional option. This treatment involves exfoliating the skin using fine crystals, promoting circulation, and improving overall skin texture.
Combining treatments can yield even better results—for example, many people follow up microdermabrasion with targeted serums to maximize the benefits gained from the procedure. Non-invasive techniques such as microneedling increase collagen production through controlled skin injuries, leading to tighter and rejuvenated skin. Among the breakthroughs in skin rejuvenation is non-surgical skin tightening, which provides a minimally invasive option that effectively lifts and tightens the skin. This treatment can be particularly appealing for those who wish to avoid traditional surgery while still seeking significant results in maintaining a youthful appearance.
Embracing a Healthy Lifestyle for Radiant Skin
Skin health goes beyond topical treatments and requires attention to lifestyle choices. A balanced diet rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals can support skin health from the inside out. Foods high in omega-3s, such as salmon, improve skin barrier function, while colorful fruits and vegetables provide essential nutrients and enhance skin radiance. Hydration should also be a priority; drinking enough water keeps the skin plump and minimizes the appearance of fine lines.
Regular exercise enhances blood circulation, which can improve skin tone and promote a natural glow. Stress management techniques such as yoga and meditation can be beneficial. Stress often manifests physically, including in the form of breakouts and dull skin, so addressing mental well-being contributes to overall skin health.
Choosing the Right Routine for Your Skin
Developing a personalized skincare routine is crucial to achieving optimal skin health. Assess your skin needs and concerns regularly to adjust your routine accordingly. Begin by identifying the products that work best with your skin type, avoiding irritants or components that may worsen existing conditions.
Consistency is key to success; sticking to a prescribed routine enhances efficacy and supports long-term benefits. Patch tests can prevent adverse reactions, especially when introducing new products. Seek professional guidance when necessary, as dermatologists or estheticians can provide tailored advice that suits your unique skin needs. Ensuring a balance between treatments and lifestyle choices will guide you to achieve that coveted glow.
The Benefits of Professional Treatments
While at-home care is essential, professional treatments can offer distinct advantages. Licensed dermatologists and estheticians have access to advanced technologies and products not available over the counter. Services like facials, chemical peels, and laser treatments deliver targeted results that are harder to achieve at home. Professionals can assess individual skin types and conditions, customizing treatments accordingly.
Consulting with a skincare expert may provide insights into the most effective regimen or treatment best suited for your unique needs. The investment in professional skin care can result in noticeable improvements and boost confidence. Such services significantly complement daily routines, making regular visits worthwhile for maintaining optimal skin health.
Restoring the glow of your skin involves a multi-faceted approach, bringing together various treatments, lifestyle choices, and expert insights. From understanding your skin type to embracing professional procedures and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, each step plays a role in achieving rejuvenation. By staying informed and adapting your routine, you can enhance your appearance and reclaim the vibrant skin you desire.
London-based artist Qi Qi delves deep into the nuanced interplay between technology, nature, and consciousness through her thought-provoking installations. Her works consistently challenge audiences to reconsider the boundaries of life and technology, often presenting machines not merely as tools but as entities capable of introspection, interaction, and emotional resonance, blending immersive experiences with profound philosophical inquiries.
As part of Qi Qi’s Robots Live series, the Mirror Test is a prime example of her ability to evoke deep questions about identity and self-awareness through the medium of interactive installation. Drawing inspiration from the cognitive experiment used on animals to assess self-recognition, this installation presents a robot engaged in what appears to be a moment of self-reflection. As the robot observes itself in a mirror, it occasionally acknowledges passersby before returning to its own reflection, mimicking the contemplative behavior of a living being. This piece blurs the lines between machine and consciousness, encouraging viewers to reflect on their sense of self and the potential for artificial beings to possess a form of awareness. The robot’s seemingly simple act of looking into a mirror becomes a layered exploration of presence and the metaphysical concept of “knowing oneself.” While undeniably compelling, the work raises questions about the depth of machine consciousness—does simulated self-recognition equate to awareness, or is it merely a well-programmed illusion?
Qi Qi Shadows of Grace Kinetic Installation
Qi’s fascination with historical and cultural narratives shines through in Shadows of Grace. This installation marries traditional Chinese aesthetics with contemporary interactive technology, creating a space where time and culture fluidly intertwine. A silhouette of an ancient Chinese figure reacts as viewers walk past a screen, with kinetic mechanisms casting dynamic shadows that seem to breathe life into the past. The piece is inspired by the Chinese idiom Graceful but Late (姗姗来迟) and the historical tale from The Book of Han, where an emperor’s longing for his lost love is expressed through the ethereal vision of a shadow. By employing negative space and subtlety, Shadows of Grace invites the audience to imagine untold stories, demonstrating Qi’s skill in blending tangible mechanisms with intangible stories. Although the work is based heavily on historical stories, that won’t limit the appreciation of a wider audience because it’s visually poetic and ingenious in its principles.
In Rainsonance, created in collaboration with Yinzhe Qu, Qi expands her exploration to environmental and ethical questions. The installation submerges viewers in an interactive audiovisual experience, where water, sound, and motion coalesce to question the fragility of ecological and social harmony. As participants move within the space, their actions alter the soundscape and visual elements, creating a ripple effect that symbolizes humanity’s impact on nature. The work draws inspiration from Fly with Pacha into the Aerocene (2020), highlighting the paradox of ecological innovations that promise redemption yet often perpetuate inequality. Rainsonance not only engages the senses but also prompts introspection on how human ambition shapes, and sometimes distorts, the natural world. Yet, while its environmental message is urgent and relevant, the abstract nature of the piece may leave some audiences uncertain about the artist’s stance or intended message.
With Shadows of Mass, Qi shifts focus to the cosmic scale, using new media art to visualize the principles of relativity. The installation immerses participants in a universe where their movements distort the surrounding stars, offering a tangible representation of mass warping space-time. This work beautifully bridges scientific theory and sensory experience, making abstract concepts accessible while maintaining a sense of awe and mystery. The faster the viewer moves, the more chaotic and colorful the universe becomes, underscoring the dynamic relationship between speed, mass, and the fabric of reality.
Across these works, Qi Qi masterfully balances technological innovation with philosophical depth. Her installations serve as bridges—between the past and the future, the organic and the synthetic, the human and the machine. By creating environments that invite both physical interaction and intellectual engagement, Qi offers audiences not just art to observe, but experiences to live through. She prompts a rethinking of what it means to be alive, to be conscious, and to coexist with technology in an ever-evolving world.
While medical facilities deliver lifesaving care daily, the complex nature of health crises inevitably results in errors. However, patients and family members still deserve forthright disclosure around mistakes. They also deserve appropriate compensation for negligent behavior that leads to loss of life. This is because, in most of these situations, early intervention and appropriate handling could have prevented lethal outcomes.
Key Situations Warranting Legal Action in Fatal Cases
Under certain circumstances, hospitals demonstrate liability through documented actions and oversights tied directly to a patient’s death. Therefore, families should always strongly consider finding a good lawyer and then leaning on their guidance as far as navigating the challenges around accountability is concerned.
Medical Malpractice Committed by Hospital Staff
Any negligent actions or errors in judgment committed by nurses, nurse’s aides, lab technicians, or other hospital employees that result in a patient’s wrongful demise correspond to liability on the hospital’s part. In essence, as hospital employees work collaboratively by nature, dangerous gaps in continuity of care often signal systemic negligence for which facilities must take responsibility.
Failure to Diagnose
While complex illnesses create diagnostic challenges even under ideal circumstances, medical teams still bear responsibility for investigating all reasonable explanations and implementing life-saving interventions promptly based on tangible evidence. When they fail, they can be held responsible.
Deadly Surgical Errors and Procedure-Related Complications
During surgery, even slight oversights can quickly spiral into catastrophic events. Surgical mistakes resulting in fatalities may occur through operating on the incorrect site, anesthesia dosing errors and allowing instruments or sponges to be left inside patients after closure. They may also occur when doctors fail to recognize and address accidental organ damage, and also due to inadequate monitoring for post-operative complications
In many cases, earlier intervention could have prevented the deterioration of surgical complications. Hospitals must implement better oversight mechanisms while also acknowledging the anguish that grievous oversights inflict through legal proceedings.
Medication Errors
Common themes underlying medication fatalities include: inaccurate dosage dispensation, administering combinations known to interact adversely, overlooking patient medication history and allergies, and pushing IV medications too rapidly. They can also take the form of failing to monitor patient reactions.
Facilities can honor patients lost to negligence by implementing barcoded medication administration systems, electronic records with built-in interaction alerts, and more extensive pharmaceutical training programs for nurses. When they fail to, then they can be sued.
Deficiencies in Post-Operative Support and Emergency Response
In medical contexts, complications and crises remain largely unpredictable. Thus, response protocols for stabilizing distressed patients can mean the difference between life and death. When post-operative monitoring gets neglected or emergency signals get ignored, the consequences for patients rapidly escalate.
Far too many preventable fatalities occur when hospitals fail to track post-operative vital signs, overlook signs of shock or decline, delay emergency interventions or prematurely discharge unstable surgery patients.
Hospital-Acquired Infections
Lethal infections manifest most prevalently in medical facilities due to heavy pathogen exposure risks. When poor sanitization practices cause a patient’s death, the victim’s loved ones have reasonable grounds to demand accountability and compensation.
Who Qualifies to File a Lawsuit?
Wrongful death cases demand extensive background documentation and case investigation. In most cases, filing a suit requires identifying appropriate candidates under state statutes along with navigating logistical hurdles.
Categories of Claimants Permitted to Pursue Legal Action
Eligibility specifications around medical wrongful death filings vary somewhat by state. However, potential categories of claimants generally include the living spouse, either the wife or husband of the deceased patient; the children, including biological or legally adopted minor children and, in some cases, financially dependent adult children; the deceased’s parents in cases involving minors, which applies to unmarried and childless patients below the age of adulthood who were still dependents; other documented financial dependents, such as individuals relying substantially on the deceased patient’s support, like a live-in elderly parent or disabled sibling; and close family members, as some states allow siblings or grandparents to qualify for eligibility in certain situations.
Meeting precise specifications around filing depends heavily on case circumstances along with state-specific regulations around wrongful death claimants.
Special Considerations Around the Estate’s Involvement
Beyond the ability to file individually, wrongful death claim options also exist through appointing an estate executor or administrator to handle submissions on the family’s behalf. This approach allows consolidated action, as a single entity handles all proceedings, the appointed estate representative distributes any award to all beneficiaries based on appropriateness and need, and the estate addresses any outstanding asset-related issues, expenses, and taxes.
Since multiple complex factors determine estate planning following unexpected fatalities, securing knowledgeable legal guidance remains vital when pursuing this route.
Overcoming Standpoint Challenges for Rightful Beneficiaries
Despite fitting eligibility parameters, practical obstacles around evidencing the right to file claims still apply. Depending on case specifics and state regulations, complications may include the following.
Verifying legal marriage or dependency status
Producing formal paperwork affirming the relationship to the deceased through birth certificates, tax records, marriage certificates, or sworn statements.
Resolving multiple or competing claims –
Assessing factors like relationship status, age of dependents, financial details, and case merits to prioritize beneficiaries.
Meeting stringent filing deadlines
Statutes of limitations around wrongful death filings demand prompt action from loved ones, even when grappling with crushing grief. Lawyers can obtain extensions in extenuating scenarios.
Contesting questionable living wills or applicability
Seeking court interventions if last testaments fail to adequately provide for minor children or vital financial dependents.
Securing legal counsel early in the aftermath of a wrongful death event helps families thoughtfully weigh options and handle procedural obstacles appropriately. This is because qualified lawyers serve both to inform and properly guide beneficiaries through the multi-faceted process toward securing accountability.
Why Retaining Legal Representation Matters
In an ideal world, honest disclosure, transparency, and willingness to implement meaningful reforms would prevail following medical mistakes culminating in tragedy. The protectionist mentality underlying many insurers along with hospital fears around profit and reputation loss frequently fuels denial, deception, and coverups instead.
The uphill quest to prove negligence means that even families with legitimate wrongful death claims often walk away without meaningful answers or accountability absent professional legal advocacy. Before conceding defeat in despair, consider the following advantages skilled lawyers confer.
Unearthing Answers Through Exhaustive Independent Investigation
Typically, mere surface-level explanations and cursory internal reviews follow wrongful demise cases, leaving grieving families with more unknowns than closure. Skilled attorneys have tools at their disposal to comprehensively investigate why and how medical oversights turned fatal.
By legally compelling transparency, specialized attorneys empower families with details to form a fact-based picture of what went wrong. This serves the dual purpose of securing closure while building a foundation for valid civil claims or criminal complaints.
Maximal Compensation for Irrecoverable Loss
No financial award can ever compensate for losing someone irreplaceably precious. Yet monetary provisions can directly impact surviving families’ ability to cover crushing healthcare costs, funeral expenses, and ongoing living expenses in the provider’s absence.
Lawyers well-versed in evaluating wrongful death damages advocate to help clients secure the maximum possible compensation. For example, if you call the best wrongful death attorneys at Zehl & Associates, you can be assured that they will seek coverage for funeral and burial costs, past and future medical expenses, and lost potential wages and income. In some cases, they can even pursue punitive damages – in cases of gross negligence or misconduct
By securing reasonable provisions, legal teams help prevent spiraling financial chaos that exacerbates the emotional turmoil of grief. They allow families to focus on healing with some measure of stability.
In summary, retaining legal representation following wrongful death at the hands of medical negligence makes seeking accountability possible and failing to take justified action enables patterns of substandard care to continue unchecked.
Assembling Irrefutable Evidence Chains of Causation
Meeting the imposing burden of proof mandating that subpar medical care directly caused a patient’s death depends on building an ironclad evidentiary basis.
Assembling evidence requires legal prowess – timely filings to secure documentation, understanding technical intricacies, skillful expert witness collaboration, and perceptively navigating complex data. Therefore, relying on experienced counsel here remains vital.
Leveraging Litigation Options Through Negotiation or Trial
Fighting hospitals in court demands incredible resilience and mastery of legal intricacies few laypeople possess. Thus, seasoned lawyers handle tasks like pursuing favorable out-of-court legal settlement negotiations, preparing exhaustive briefs and filings, and vetting and preparing expert witnesses for testimony. They also masterfully present arguments in court and are great at requesting reasonable compensation amounts aligned with case specifics.
In summary, optimal wrongful death lawsuit outcomes often hinge on strategic capabilities stemming from extensive case exposure. This is something that victims need on their side. Considering that hospitals usually invest heavily in legal teams carefully selected to secure their interests, it is only right that victims’ families have similar advantages. This is because it is only through compassionate counsel and legal acumen, that the dynamics can shift towards increasing accountability odds and settlement potential.
Fust is a band from Durham, North Carolina that started out as the songwriting project of Aaron Dowdy. Before shifting to a live group, Dowdy home-recorded and self-released several EPs on Bandcamp between 2017 and 2018; they’re no longer available on the platform, but you can revisit that era of the band via Songs of the Rail, a collection of 28 demos recorded during the same time period that came out a year ago. After releasing their sun-kissed, soulful debut Evil Joy in 2021, Fust – now a seven-piece featuring drummer Avery Sullivan, pianist Frank Meadows, guitarist John Wallace, multi-instrumentalist Justin Morris, fiddlist Libby Rodenbough, and bassist Oliver Child-Lanning – decamped to Drop of Sun to record Genevieve with producer Alex Farrar, with whom they reunited for their astounding new album, Big Ugly. Named after an unincorporated area in southern West Virginia, around which Dowdy’s family has deep roots, the record is conflicted yet aspirational: homey while grappling with the mystery of home, hopeful when hope rests between the promise of a new life and relenting in old, slow, ragged ways. As the title may suggest, it wrings beauty out of the most unexpected places, honing in the band’s knack for making small feelings appear monumental – that is, closer to their true experience.
We caught up with Fust’s Aaron Dowdy for the latest edition of our Artist Spotlight series to talk about his relationship to the South, the tension between documentary and fiction, making Big Ugly, and more.
There’s a story in the press release about a placard you saw memorializing a gutter off the streets in Athens, where I live. I’m fascinated by how being away from home or your roots can force you to see them in a different light, and it sounds like that’s something that was happening when you were in Europe a couple of years ago.
Athens was such a special place. I don’t travel well – I’m sort of a homebody. When I travel, I start to get anxious or feel out of my element, like I’ve strayed too far and I’m losing my superpowers that really only exist when I’m at home and comfortable. But Athens was the best traveling experience I ever had. I think maybe what I felt there – I was starting to write towards new music, and just being around such a disparity between the ancient and the modern, visibly everywhere, this kind of tension of time. What I really loved was not just the major monuments, but how everything, with time, becomes important. Obviously, Athens is the center of something the West has inherited, but seeing the gutter was the first moment where I was like, “Wow, everything has value.” Even the forgettable detail, the thing that goes overlooked.
I started to think then about the South. We have mountains and landscapes that are very old, but in terms of the materials – the things people have made that you see around you – you don’t get that kind of historical tension. So you almost have to project into the future the value of things. In my backyard now, there’s a fallen gutter, and it’s nowhere near as beautiful or well-made, but you almost have to see it with that point of view. You can start to make monuments out of your own world and see how the detritus might belong to something at some point, even if it doesn’t feel important now. I wanted to look at my place with that sense of history – not just immediate history, but a big historical weight. I started to imagine some of these images – homes, buildings, trash – and wonder what it would look like if they were taken as valuable.
You mentioned things people make, but people obviously also make art and literature, and there’s definitely a lineage of Southern writers honouring that perspective – seeing the value in things otherwise lost to time.
Yeah, that’s exactly right. I tend to be very interested in people and human relations. I write about conflict, disillusionment, excitement – little feelings. Obviously, those feelings have been had well beyond the South, well beyond Athens. But through Southern music and Southern literature, it becomes clear that part of our monuments are very specific kinds of human relationships – making something, a relation or interaction, that seems so unimportant, something anyone else would pass by, into a source of literary value. If we don’t have that immediate sense of vast history, we nonetheless have history, and a lot of it values human relationships and the poetry or dissonance within them. I’m a big fan of Southern literature and Southern music, and I take those things very seriously. So when I say Athens made me want to rethink the way I view the South, it doesn’t mean we don’t have our own monuments. It just looks different, and you have to change the way you think about what we do have.
Beyond music or other people’s poetry, how do you go about relaying the Southern experience when people ask you in day-to-day life, or when you spend time away from it? Or do songs make up for the lack of language for that kind of thing?
That’s a good question. I’ve always gravitated towards song as the way I engage the world. It’s a form that helps me piece things together and make sense of my own experience. But also, when I hear other Southern music, it feels like it expresses or gets at something, and it’s often very unclear what it’s about – there’s this ambiguiry, which I like and try to maintain in my own work. I lived in New York for a while, I lived in Brooklyn, and I moved away from the South, from North Carolina, in part because I thought other places in the world had a vanguard – it was doing something pressing and forward-thinking. Growing up in the South, I thought, maybe poorly, that there were some backwards, traditional, or conservative ways of life. I was interested in what it would look like to be in a place where everyone was productive, always making things, driven.
But when I was in New York, I immediately started using forms from the South – melodic forms or references. It took me leaving to realize those Southern elements aren’t backwards at all. They might be slower, but they’re actually something missing that is missing elsewhere – a certain waiting, wading patiently. A certain slowness I grew up with and loved, I embraced and embodied it. When I was in the South, I thought, “I have this other thing – I make music, I have this other element that’s not being expressed here.” But the moment I left, I embraced those elements. I loved being slow again, embracing this down-homeness, this dirtiness, this thing I didn’t know was so part of me until I felt it wasn’t around me. When I was in other places, I felt dissonant, and coming back made me want to understand what that was – what draws you back and makes you want to defend it.
But I think a lot of us listening, reading, taking seriously what it means to be from the South – it’s about that tension. It’s not just a full embrace. It’s embracing it because there’s something complicated that makes it valuable. When you read Faulkner or Frank Stanford’s poetry, those tensions are everywhere – there’s harm, hurt, and pain lurking everywhere. It’s not something that’s often said; and if it is, it’s always coded in something else. Saying a nicety that covers over something more painful is part of the language of the South – how do you say something so difficult about a place while saying, “This is the place I choose to live”? That’s a lot of what’s going on in this record – a crisis of language, of being able to express this value.
Speaking of slowness, one of my favorite lines on Big Ugly is from the title track: “Even if sometimes I’m slowing down, I know I’m slowing over you.”
Yeah, thank you. That’s a song, I guess, about commitment. “They’ll have to haul me off,” you know, they’ll have to take me out of here if I’m going to leave. But what am I sticking around for? It’s this relationship to the earth, the place, the people, and its specific way of life – how it compels you and makes you relate to it, and act that way, too. I like that song and that line. It’s an odd one.
I relate it also to the final song and that question of “Have I been okay at living?” The line that really strikes me is the one that comes right after: “Do I have heart when I’m blacking out from living?” I feel like that’s a lot of what the album is ultimately about: the things that compel you to stay, to not indulge in escapist or dissociative behaviour.
Yeah, I think so too. A lot of this stuff is about being overwhelmed, feeling incapable, like the world is moving in the wrong direction. So you shut down – whether through staying home and becoming more insular, drinking culture, or whatever allows you to shut out the world. Obviously, blacking out has a drinking quality, but it’s more than that – it’s a real closing out of the world. A lot of what we see today is, having heart means being open, sensitive, careful. That’s perfect – it’s a good direction and way to be. But how do you do that when you’re born out of almost a repressive way of approaching the world? If that’s your core, having heart seems like the thing you don’t have in that new sense of being open. I love that tension – when the person or character can’t do something, yet it’s that very thing where you expect it not to be that might shine through as important. That’s what I like about Southern literature and themes – the kindnesses are exactly where you don’t expect them.
I feel like that tension is foregrounded in the title, which at first seems like a continuation of the linguistic juxtaposition of Evil Joy, but it’s a real place. When you decided to use the mural depicting the area around Big Ugly Creek as the album cover, what role did it play for you? And more broadly, how does the real lineage, community, and personal history you discovered serve as a backdrop for fiction and songwriting?
I’ve always been drawn to little couplets, two words that, when put together, feel wrong or like they shouldn’t exist. “Evil joy” should be negative, but it’s something people know intuitively, this badness that also gives a kind of pleasure. I think “big ugly” is a more developed version of that. I like starting with something very negative and trying to milk it for its beauty, helpfulness, or sensitivity. Linguistically, it sets me up for the narratives I like to tell: an ugly situation that has a lot of heart. I thought it was a great name for those thematic tensions, but it’s also a great name for the spatial things going on in this record – small towns, an almost documentarian sense of people living their lives. I wanted it to be real, because not everything said on here is real stories about real people, but it should feel real. I wanted it to be a real place that someone could find on a map. That tension between documentary and fiction, historical fact and narrative, is perfectly encapsulated in that name.
It’s not like I have a specific relationship to the small, unincorporated area called Big Ugly, but I have a relationship to West Virginia and the Guyandotte River, where my family is from. Big Ugly is one of those names that sticks with you as a place and as a name. It’s funny that a place like that exists, and it’s funny that the name has lived on. When I started to look into it, I found that it’s actually an incredibly beautiful place. What I found there was this mural and a whole history of people producing music and literature about this area. It’s very aware of itself and inspired by itself, producing all this reflection on itself. For me, outside of my own investments and poetry, that became a real example of expectations being totally undercut.
Similarly, with my family, going to West Virginia, there’s an expectation that it’s not going to be great. But then I went with my grandma, and she showed me all the places she went to, all the love she had, all the experiences and dreams she had. She sees them as being there, and it undercuts it. You think one thing, but then you go there, and it’s filled with dreams and aspirations. All of that together made it such a powerful starting point or image for me to move through.
Can you tell me more about the expectations that were undercut during those trips with your grandma?
Well, my expectation – and this is just from living in the South, even in North Carolina and Virginia, all the places I’ve lived and visited – is that these are places in decline. Places that have suffered economic crises, drug crises. These are places that are hurting, and people are closed off, conservative, wary of outsiders. Even though I’m from here, I anticipate them being rundown, suffering areas. But instead, with my grandma there, walking around, with her energy and talking to people – her personal history is projected onto it, and she sees it come to life. If she’s doing that, if she’s bringing this place to life – it may look rundown and exhausted, but it’s not. It’s filled, through her view, with all these memories and energies. And if she’s doing that, then everyone’s doing that. It takes a reconsideration through the lens of the people who live there, workers, the people who live on the land. Appearances are deceptive. Obviously, there’s a lot of poverty and structural poverty here, but that’s not the end. Restoring or emphasizing the hopes and aspirations there seems to be the inversion needed.
I think these things are also truisms. Every place has its problems, yet people remain. People look past it and think forward. I’m not saying anything totally new, but it was big for me, as someone thinking about personal history, to experience it through my grandmother – to see her looking at the home she grew up in, the steps she played on, or the house she was born in that was torn down. She’s looking at this absent building – a building I can’t see, but she can. It’s that historical memory overlaid with appearances and expectations, rewriting those negative projections with lovely ones – that was so profound for me.
You talked about being fascinated by human conflict, these little feelings, and what I get from Big Ugly is people being on the verge of vulnerability – or people on the other side of that vulnerability, trying to dig it out. Is that interpersonal tension something that appeals to you?
Each of these songs has a character – if not named, then it’s about people, people having feelings, crises, frustrations. It’s classic, in a way: ‘Gateleg’ is kind of a love story, ‘Spangled’ is a repressive, traumatic thing, and ‘Doghole’ is full of excitement. But none of them are so available – it’s not just the pure essence of excitement or love. Everything is up against the world in these songs. Like I said earlier, with the idea of blacking out, a lot of it is about being raised in a culture with a lot of restrictions, and feeling that’s kind of important: a quiet approach to the world, not being vulnerable, blocking things out.
No one’s put it this way, but I think it’s exactly right: this being on the other side of vulnerability, having it break through in tiny ways. Whether it’s through language, being able to talk about something in a certain way, or releasing the stronghold on expressing yourself, like digging a hole – I love that image of a dog bursting out of the house into the yard, digging. That idea of joy, breaking through the barrier, having that be an expression of excitement and love. Or in ‘Bleached’, looking back on how you became what you are when you barely had thoughts, barely could speak. You took up with friends and became a specific way because you were trying to match them, and then realizing it’s kept you from being more vulnerable – or at least capable of receiving new things. I really do think that gets at the core of it. I like to route it through people and interpersonal relations because it happens at the level of people.
In the song ‘Jody’, you’ve got these characters who are in a relationship, and they both grew up in a culture that’s maybe abusive, or about playing hard, having a meanness. And then producing a really healthy relationship out of that. Like with Big Ugly, these expectations – you think it’s this bad thing you’re defined by, but instead, it’s this breaking through that gives it the energy that’s worth listening to or putting into a song or reading. That’s the thing that’s so valuable here.
A lot of that energy and excitement is captured in ‘Mountain Language’. I’m curious about the extent to which it’s something you personally identify with it, or if it wavers for you, that kind of romanticism.
It feels personal. A lot of songs on this record feel more personal in that way. Each verse in ‘Mountain Language’ takes up a problem in each verse I know very well from my life – socioeconomic restrictions or situations that hold you back, making you work a wage job, have relationships that don’t feel exactly right, or have friends and family members in crisis. It’s so hard to think that, despite these situations, there are still these sweet, lived resistances to it all. But if there was some other way – the big utopian question – we’ve got to hold onto that image, however romantic or unviable it is. That song and sentiment are ones I really feel.
I’m someone whose first principle is hope. It doesn’t always feel critical, and sometimes it doesn’t look very political, but my first sentiment is hope. I think hope is a great first philosophy to have – to look back on the hopes of people as something that’s worth remembering, even if they didn’t materialize. Maintaining hope, whatever that means – the thing that’s yet to come – makes the present feel purposeful. It’s a simple wish-fulfillment type song, but I think those sentiments are important.
As you mentioned, there’s characters all throughout the record, but one of its most moving songs is ‘Sister’, which has no names or no signifiers of place. It makes me feel like that’s a song that hits home for you.
It’s one of the only songs I’ve ever written as a kind of elegy – a song about death. I wrote it after the experience of death in my life. I try not to make songs too personal because then, every time you play or listen to them, the personal thing comes up constantly. You grow tired of it, or your position changes, and you don’t want to think about that thing anymore, so the song becomes lost. But this was a rare example of processing something in my life through a song. I wrote it straight through in about 10-15 minutes because I was in a very vulnerable moment in my life.
It’s similar to what’s happening in ‘Spangled’, where something absent still has presence in the world around you. When it comes to death, when someone passes away, you see the remnants of their life, you still see the traces of life. It’s a strange tension of presence and absence – experiencing someone’s loss through what they’ve left behind. But I also think it’s a universal song in a way. I always feel that because it’s particular, someone else can find their thing through it. That’s what a lot of the characters and details do in my songs, or I hope they do. But here, without those things, it’s purely a feeling song, an internal song that maybe does it on a different level. It definitely feels like it’s an exception on this record, but it’s one of my favorite songs and recordings. Libby’s fiddle on it is so harrowing – it’s droning and crying. There’s so much at the musical level that feels like it’s doing the work.
You recorded the album with Alex Farrar, and something that separates you from many artists I’ve talked to who’ve made albums with him is that this is your second full-length collaboration in a row. What was it like working again with him?
Well, when we recorded Genevieve, it happened so fast. I had come out of years of home recording, and it was my first time in a studio. I was always against studio stuff because so many people in my generation expect the sound of home recording – it’s part of our musical DNA. But with Alex, it was immediately gratifying. He had such a sound and touch, and it felt natural. I wanted to do a second record with him because we had more time to work on it together, which he was very happy to do.
When I look back on recording Big Ugly, it was very structured – we worked 10 to 7. Alex has a kid, and his partner, Larkin, is one of my favorite people. They’re the definition of good people. The people at Drop of Sun are all so caring and thoughtful. It was a community effort with Alex. Also, he’s a great reader. He reads so much, and he’s so sensitive to themes and philosophical concepts. We’d record, and then we’d talk about books and movies. He’s so quiet and serious and careful when it comes to recording, but also able to break away and have the most intriguing conversations. It’s not so technical – it’s very fluid. He’s on a wavelength where we’re making music not because there’s this urgency, but because we are friends, and we each have our talents and capacities, and we want to be around each other. And the music feels like a byproduct of that. When I think back on the record, I think of it like that: a document of two weeks spent in close quarters with good, caring, thoughtful people, as opposed to a transaction.
The word we often use to describe how bands work together is “chemistry,” but I wanted to ask what meaning you’ve found in the companionship – a word that feels more apt here – of Fust as a group.
Yeah, I don’t know about chemistry. I think any combination of people would produce a kind of reaction, but I’m not someone who firmly believes in that sense of chemical reaction. I’ll write songs because I’ve been doing it for so long. Luckily, it was the first project where strangers liked it. There’s the question: What’s different? Why do people like this one? Is it because of chemistry between this group of people playing it and Alex? It could be, but those aren’t the questions I’m super interested in.
What made Fust great was that I surrendered to not being the only musician who played everything, to not recording and mixing everything myself. I surrendered to total control and made music not a precious thing that has to be exactly right, but actually a commitment to other people. To Avery, who’s such an incredible and sensitive drummer – a songwriter’s drummer. He plays with phrasing that gives me the momentum and stability I need. Playing with Ollie and Justin, whose voices joining me is something I could never replicate. They’re the perfect choir to sing with. It’s this commitment to other people’s hard-earned ways of performing and being around people. Alex’s hard-earned way of making music. Being very cautious and careful with who I choose to spend time with.
I don’t need to do this – there are other ways of living life. I don’t need to do all of this to put this record in front of people. What makes it all worth it is that it means I get to have more intense relationships with these people, that I get to continue investing in them – not just the music, but these people. I’ve got such a great community – it’s almost embarrassing how good the people I’ve found myself gathered among are. So talented, so special. I love the pivot you made between chemistry as just some kind of symbiosis – this thing where talents come together and it works – and people who love to be together. Could Fust sound differently with a different group? Absolutely. But that’s not what I’m listening for. When I listen back to Big Ugly, I’m hearing my friends, my people doing things I didn’t write, things I didn’t know they were going to do. I’m hearing traces of the people I love, as opposed to the musical idea perfected by a gun-for-hire.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
The video game industry’s reliance on day-one patches has become a hallmark of modern development cycles. It exposes a systemic prioritization of rigid release schedules over polished products. These multi-gigabyte updates, deployed hours before a game’s launch, often address critical bugs, performance issues, or missing content that should have been resolved before shipping. While developers argue that patches reflect post-certification improvements, their growing size and frequency reveal an unsettling trend: games are increasingly released in unfinished states to meet corporate deadlines.
The Cyberpunk 2077 Precedent
One of the most infamous examples is Cyberpunk 2077 (2020), which launched with a 43 GB day-one patch. Despite CD Projekt Red’s claims that the update would resolve “most bugs,” reviewers and players encountered persistent issues, including animation glitches, texture pop-in, and crashes on last-gen consoles. The game’s disastrous state on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One led to its temporary removal from the PlayStation Store and $2 million in FTC settlements. This incident highlighted how day-one patches have evolved from minor fixes to essential band-aids for fundamentally flawed releases.
In the iGaming sector, for example, constant updates are beneficial for maintaining player engagement. iGaming platforms often update to introduce new bonuses and promotions, such as the Hello Millions promo code or game variations based on player feedback.
The Normalization of Unfinished Launches
The practice spans AAA and indie studios alike. EA’s Battlefield 2042 (2021) launched without basic features like voice chat and a scoreboard, relying on months of post-launch updates to address player backlash. Similarly, Fallout 76 (2018) required a 54 GB patch within weeks of release to stabilize its online infrastructure, while No Man’s Sky (2016) spent years updating to match its pre-launch promises. Even recent titles like Monster Hunter Wilds (2025) followed this trend, deploying an 18 GB day-one patch to address performance issues and missing textures noted by reviewers.
Corporate Pressures and Development Realities
The root cause lies in inflexible corporate timelines. Games typically “go gold” (enter production) 4–6 weeks before release, leaving developers to finalize patches during this window. Publishers often prioritize holiday sales or fiscal quarters over developmental readiness, as seen with Cyberpunk 2077’s rushed December 2020 launch. Reddit user analyses note that preorder culture exacerbates this, incentivizing studios to ship incomplete products, knowing patches can be delivered digitally.
Consequences for Players and Preservation
While patches mitigate some issues, they erode consumer trust. A 2022 PCMag survey found that 68% of gamers now wait months post-launch to purchase titles, wary of broken experiences. Preservationists also warn that reliance on patches jeopardizes long-term accessibility; once servers shut down, physical copies of games like Halo: The Master Chief Collection (2014)—which required a 20 GB day-one patch—become unplayable.
Moving Forward
The industry’s patch-first mentality risks normalizing substandard releases. Until publishers face financial repercussions—through reduced preorders or regulatory penalties—the cycle of unfinished launches will persist. As players grow increasingly vocal, studios must realign priorities: quality over arbitrary deadlines.
Game streaming is an integral part of the gaming industry today, transforming the experience, marketing, and production of games. Twitch and YouTube Live have established healthy communities in which players interact, share experiences, and contribute to shaping the overall gaming culture. As the business continues to grow, issues surround the establishment of community, mental well-being, and how it impacts game development and advertising. The proliferation of cloud gaming and esports complicates matters further, offering both a challenge and an opportunity for content creators and game developers.
Online Casinos and iGaming Is A Parallel Universe
Whereas game streaming is primarily focused on traditional video games, online casinos, and iGaming sites are included in the broader digital entertainment industry. These sites are similar to game streaming in that they both depend on community participation and live interaction. However, they have a different regulatory status and cater to the needs of particular audience segments.
The introduction of live dealers and virtual sports betting has brought interactivity and social interaction elements into the world of iGaming, similar to the kind of activity seen in-game streaming. Even when we look at something like social casinos, be it Sweepstakes casinos or other diverse others that offer it, they offer participation without monetary investment. Coming together demonstrates the fluidity of online entertainment, where differences between different interactive experiences are becoming less important.
Community Building and Social Interaction
Game streaming sites have also developed a community between gamblers through the platform to interact with other gamblers of like mind. The social site is crucial in assisting in building loyalty between viewers. It is, however, hard to create a healthy community because problems of toxicity and harassment develop. Streamers are inclined to perform both entertainment and moderation roles, where they need to balance their stream with community moderation. The success of community-driven activities, like charity streams and co-op events, proves that social good can be achieved through game streaming.
Mental Health Consequences in Streaming
Streamers’ and viewers’ mental health has become a growing concern among gamers. The pressure of maintaining a standard streaming routine, coupled with the emotional burden of managing a live crowd, is harmful to one’s mental well-being. Increasingly, people recognize this, and a significant number of streamers now speak on mental health openly through their streams and invite support resources. The shift toward openness and empathy must come so the environment on the stream becomes healthier.
Impact on Game Development and Marketing
Game streaming has also significantly influenced game development and promotion. Game developers nowadays prefer to create games with streaming in mind, with capabilities that can improve the viewer experience, for example, spectator modes or interactive materials. The promotion also seeks to leverage streamers as influencers to promote new releases, recognizing the power of word-of-mouth endorsements among gaming communities. This symbiotic relationship between game development and streaming has made games more immersive and community-driven.
The Rise of Cloud Gaming and Cross-Platform Play
Cloud gaming and cross-platform play are transforming the availability and reach of game streaming. With the introduction of cloud gaming services, players of games can access quality games without needing to buy expensive hardware, expanding the potential audience for streamed content. Cross-platform play extends this to allow gamers from different platforms to play cooperatively, making for a more unified gaming community. These technologies are crucial for future game streaming because they enable more streamlined and universal experiences.
Esports and Competitive Gaming
Esports is a key driver of growth for the game streaming market, with professional competitions drawing massive viewership figures and large prize pools. The competitive aspect of gaming is a further level of engagement, with viewers watching to observe skilled players compete at the highest level. This has driven investment in esports platforms and content creation, further cementing the position of streaming in the gaming ecosystem.
As the era of game streaming is progressing, it is guaranteed that the industry will face challenges and opportunities over the course of the next few years. As cloud gaming is becoming better, cross-platform compatibility becomes more accurate, and integration of AI and VR tech, possibilities for interactive and immersive content are endless. Esports growth and streaming’s role in game development will remain leading drivers in defining the future of gaming. As this occurs, the broader digital entertainment industry, which includes online gambling and iGaming, will continue to converge with game streaming in new terms.
At MelBet, we understand that winning a sports bet is more than simply picking the winner of a match. The skill lies in knowing how to time your bets to give yourself the best chance of success. Live betting offers real-time excitement every second, while pre-match planning equals strategy and control. Both styles have their advantages, and choosing the right one can improve your betting experience. Are you prepared to immerse yourself in a sports betting experience and learn what is best for you? Let us get started.
Understanding the Basics: What is Live Betting vs. Pre-Match Betting?
So, if you have ever made bets, you probably know that nowadays, there are many different options. But in general, all the bets that you will find can be divided into two types: pre-match and live. Each of these types has its own market. Sometimes they are similar, sometimes not, but let’s start with the essence. Live or in-play bets allow you to bet on the game at the time of its implementation. That is, when the match is taking place, you can easily open MelBet MN and immerse yourself in live betting from any part of Mongolia. This platform offers many markets for live betting, and the number of available events will definitely not let you get bored. You can bet on unexpected goals, fouls, sudden changes in dynamics, yellow or red cards, and generally, everything you can imagine.
Conversely, pre-match betting is a method of gambling that requires users to place their bets prior to the event starting. With such a method, the focus is on preparation and research, which includes looking into the performance of the players and the teams, as well as their statistics. Let’s say, hypothetically, one is aware of Rafael Nadal’s remarkable 112-3 record at Roland Garros. Having this kind of knowledge allows one to place a winning, smart pre-match bet. Odds for pre-match betting are usually locked fast because every bettor who plans on checking stats will use them before they shift. So, this technique is most suitable for very methodical analysts.
The Thrill of Live Betting
Live betting is as thrilling as it is a new method of wagering, and here’s why it has vast appeal among MelBet Mongolia users.
With a fast-paced game comes the possibility to change the odds, and let you take full advantage of the game.
Deciding to cash out means you can choose to take a profit or minimize a loss during a match.
It lets you take advantage of a team’s comeback, like Leicester City’s surprise 2016 Premier League run.
You get a chance to change your bet if your initial prediction proves to be wrong.
With live betting, uncertainty means that every second presents a possibility to win big, which in turn keeps your heart racing throughout the entire game or match.
Pre-Match Betting
Bettors have much greater control over their bets and strategies before the match starts. At MelBet, for example, we see many bettors making profits by studying the stats and trends before making their bets. For example, in the American football National Football League (NFL), the New England Patriots covered spreads during their dominant years. This is a fact that bettors who placed wagers before the matches started were able to make money with careful research.
This strategy is particularly beneficial for people who have a reasoned approach when making choices. You have the possibility to place wagers on favorable lines, and you do not have to deal with the emotional stress of making bets during the match. This is for bettors who are looking to use their strategy and analytical skills to plan bets in advance.
Pros and Cons of Live Betting
In-game betting is entertaining and provides agility, but it has its ups and downs. It lets users react to changes in the match as it goes on, allowing last-minute turns of events to be put to use. However, fast-paced action may also make one act rashly. For instance, when a basketball match gets tense, the odds might change for every single play, and you need to remain calm and think fast. At MelBet Mongolia, we suggest live betting to adrenaline lovers and those who are confident in their ability to make difficult decisions quickly.
Advantages and Challenges of Pre-Match Betting
Even though pre-match betting seems favorable, there are pros and cons to everything. Give this a thought:
You can analyze everything and place your bet since the odds are stable.
Informed decisions can be made backed by collected data due to more research opportunities.
Pre-match betting allows for a more relaxed approach compared to the frantic energy surrounding live betting.
If something unexpected arises after a bet has been placed, there is little flexibility to work with.
Unlike live betting, where there is real-time adaptability, pre-match betting is more favorable to people who plan ahead. At MelBet, we are here to help you blend both styles in a way that is most beneficial to you.
Which Betting Style Suits Your Personality and Risk Tolerance?
Your nature and ability to handle risks are important factors when considering a certain style of betting. If your strong points include being good with numbers, waiting, and analyzing data, then bet pre-match, as it gives you the control you need. For instance, knowing how the Golden State Warriors perform in home games may lead to a pre-match bet because of past outcomes.
If you are more of an energetic person who is able to make rational decisions in a short time, then live betting is for you. This type of betting is for those who are able to follow the game and manage the flow as changes happen, like when an underdog starts winning in a tough game. However, you can find everything you need for success using MelBet Mongolia, regardless of your betting style.
Combining Both: How to Balance Live and Pre-Match Bets for Better Results
A lot of seasoned MelBet users like to put together a strategy that uses both live and pre-match betting. For example, if you researched and placed a pre-match bet, then later on, you can use live bets to change your position should the game go in a way you didn’t expect.
With this type of approach, both strategies can be effectively combined. Proper pre-match odds can be used alongside live betting to reduce set risks or take advantage of unforeseen circumstances. The outcome of combining both strategies results in increased flexibility, as well as increased chances of winning while betting.
Final Take: Unleash Your Winning Strategy with MelBet
At MelBet, we know that successful betting comes with a variety of approaches and styles, and we are here to support you no matter what it is you need. Those who enjoy the adrenaline-filled setting of live betting or the more meticulous approach of pre-match bets will have all the help necessary to thrive. When you look at things very intensely, sometimes it is best to just trust your gut feeling. With MelBet Mongolia, we want you to embrace the many possibilities that lie ahead. Your next great win is closer than you think!
Almost everyone has played online games at least once or at least heard about possible options today. This industry is so broad and develops so quickly that there are popular practices that would help you always stay within the framework. In online casinos UK players can use a variety of tools and instruments to create the most comfortable and safe conditions for playing. Thanks to this, pleasure will always remain in the foreground and there will be no problems or complications.
Limits & Controls in UK Casino Sites
Sometimes a strict framework can be very useful and help the gambler always stay in control of his actions. That’s why the most effective way on online platforms is to install various tools for user control – both external and independent. What concrete instruments can be meant here?
Deposit Amount Limits
Here everything is clear from the name. To play UK casino games, users deposit their personal funds into the account and then use them on various titles – from trendy classic slots to roulette and blackjack. However, the important rule here is as follows: a user should not contribute more funds than he is ready to spend on entertainment. It is quite difficult for some to adhere to this on their own, and therefore various frameworks can come to the rescue.
Players themselves can put a cap on how much money it will be possible to top up their personal account – and it can be daily, weekly or even monthly. As soon as this limit is exceeded, you will have to take a break, because further transactions will be blocked.
Loss and Wagering Limits
Even in the best online casino UK players can’t win all the time, and that’s okay. However, it is important that losses remain controllable and do not affect the general level of the user’s life or his emotional state.
In the fight against chasing losses, an important tool will come in handy – the establishment of a maximum amount with which the punter is ready to part within a certain amount of time. For example, it can be £200 per month, and then if you lose more than that, you will have to take a break and come back with new strength in the new month. In the selected UK casino, you can usually also set a wagering limit for yourself. This will be a safe method to avoid excessive betting in a short period of time. For example, if a punter made a bet of £50 in just one day, the system will inform him of the necessary pause until the next day.
Time Limits & Reality Checks
In an online casino UK punter can also limit the duration of the game session, which is actually a very convenient tool. After all, you can lose track of time with an exciting slot or a vivid game of blackjack and lose track of everything.
So the user can set, let’s say, a limit for the session of 2 hours. And then, no matter what happens on the site, after this time everything will be closed, the player will be logged out for the necessary break. Also available are the so-called reality checks – during the game, a pop-up appears on the screen that shows the time spent there.
Self-Exclusion & Breaks on UK Online casinos
Sometimes the small-scale restrictions described above may not be enough. And then more serious tools come into play, which should be available on all licensed platforms for punters.
Firstly, it is a collaboration with the national program known as GAMSTOP. This tool is absolutely free and available to everyone. It blocks access completely on all existing UK casino platforms for quite a long time – from half a year to as many as five years. So this is recognized as the toughest of the existing options for today.
Secondly, you can choose the so-called cooling-off periods. In practically any casino online UK customers can suspend their accounts for a certain period. And here the term can go from one day to several months. It can be very useful for those who spend too much time on the game, because it can be perceived as a vacation. And who doesn’t like a vacation?
UK Casino Gambling History & Transparency
As they say, information is power. Decent resources do everything that anyone who wants to can get all the necessary data that can be useful to him. Customers on solid sites can count on full-scale reports on betting and transaction history.
So, for example, the following moments can be analyzed:
how much the user deposited into his account
sums that he wagered and lost
win/loss patterns over time
the total duration of the gameplay
Top casino UK sites don’t give their customers such opportunities for nothing. You can get all the data, say, once a month and draw conclusions. For example, if the amount of expenses is too large, you can set a new limit for yourself.
Main Tips for Playing Safely at Online UK Casinos
It is important to understand that seeking help is a sign of strength. Gambling should bring satisfaction and pleasant new emotions and in no way negatively affect the life and finances of customers.
Knowledge is the key to responsible gaming. Dozens of thoughtful tools are available to create ideal conditions for yourself so that you never go beyond the limits and always keep control.
If you play UK casino games, the following tips may be useful:
think over the budget – and let it be such sums that you are not sorry to part with
limit your sessions – you should not play for 24 hours in a row, because this is not a pleasure but areal challenge
never chase losses – sometimes there are unsuccessful sessions, and then a good decision would be to stop in time
use special tools – top UK casino sites do not come up with them for nothing, they are really useful things that deserve attention.
The combination of all available tools with these simple recommendations can become an ideal recipe on the way to peaceful games.
