If you’re the kind of player who wants to stick it to the casino, there’s no better game ... more]]>  

If you’re the kind of player who wants to stick it to the casino, there’s no better game to learn than video poker. Not only does video poker offer some of the best odds of any casino game, there are even some video poker machines that let the player have the advantage over the casino! Not only that, but video poker is a game that’s fun, and lets you play at your own pace. When you add it all up, learning how to play video poker is one of the best investments any casino gambler can make.

How to Play Video Poker

Just like with slots, vide poker is played by sitting down at a terminal and putting coins into a machine. The player has the choice to play with between one and five coins; usually, playing with the full five coins gives the player the best return on their money.

Each hand starts with the player being dealt five cards from a standard deck of 52. The goal for the player is to make the best possible five-card poker hand. The player has the option of discarding any of the five cards they were dealt and replacing them with new cards.

After the player has decided which cards to hold and which to discard, the discarded cards are removed and new cards are dealt. The player now has their final five card hand, and will be paid out according to the strength of that hand. How much the player win depends on what game is being played. For instance, here’s a typical pay chart for one of the more common video poker games, Jacks or Better (all payouts listed on a per coin basis):

Royal Flush: 800

Straight Flush: 50

Four of a Kind: 25

Full House: 9

Flush: 6

Straight: 4

Three of a Kind: 3

Two Pair: 2

Pair (Jacks or Higher): 1

Not all video poker machines pay out for the same kinds of hands. For instance, another very common video poker game is called Deuces Wild. As the name suggests, in this game, all twos are considered wild cards. Of course, this makes it much easier to make bigger hands than in Jacks or Better, but it also means that you’ll need a bigger hand to win; the minimum winning hand in Deuces Wild is three of a kind.

Video Poker Strategy

While video poker is a great game for casino gamblers, it’s also one that takes a lot of strategy to play well. Much of this strategy comes in strategy charts that can tell you which cards to hold in any situation you might face when playing on a video poker machine. Of course, these strategies can vary wildly depending on the rules of the video poker game you’re playing. In general, games with wild cards tend to have much more complex strategies than those like Jacks or Better which don’t. Strategy charts are available for all video poker games, and many people have even put together simplified strategies that can get players returns that are very close to the maximum possible on a machine without requiring nearly as much memorization.

However, there is also some general video poker strategy that applies to all games. For instance, it is always worthwhile to play the full five coins on a video poker machine. Usually, you’ll only receive the full payout on a royal flush if you play for the maximum number of coins allowed.

Also, it’s critically important to make sure you play on machines that offer the best pay charts. For instance, while the Jacks or Better pay chart listed above offers players a return of over 99.5%, other machines offer less generous odds that may give returns as low as 94% or less! Similarly, while the best Deuces Wild machines offer payouts over 100% (meaning that the player expects to make a profit if they play optimal strategy), most machines are not set at the full pay table, and give returns of under 100%. Familiarizing yourself with the various pay charts for common video poker machines will help you spot the machines that offer you the best odds, and avoid the ones that are bad deals.

If you are one of the ... more]]> Bingo Wonga – A Great Resource For Free Online Slots & Bingo Games

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The online gambling environment has taken a life of its own over ... more]]> Which type of casino player are you?

The online gambling environment has taken a life of its own over the past few years, when the online casinos, online poker rooms, online sports betting sites and bingo websites have spread like wildfire. People from all over the world started to prefer these venues, rather than their offline counterparts, because of the great advantages that they offer. If you want to get started and play from the comfort of your own home, you’re not alone. You’ll be surprised that millions of players from all over the world have the same hobby, and you just might bump into some of them, if you choose to play something multiplayer.

With this high a number of players getting online and spending as much time as they do inside online casinos, you can be sure that they are not all alike. While outsiders might view them as a whole, they are as different as in any other domain. So, if you want to get started in online casinos, or if you’re already a keen player, you surely fit into one category.

But first, let’s take a small general look on online casinos. Back in the day, when casinos where select venues within a city, there were no more than two or three in an average town, and most didn’t even have any. So gambling was something taboo, people rarely spoke of it and the only ones that got into gambling were the people who didn’t know how to control themselves. This is why gambling got such a bad image before the internet came along.

When it did, though, it changed everything. More and more people started giving it a try out of curiosity, and some liked what they saw and became a bit hooked. Now, gambling was not seen as something bad (and, in all fairness, it’s not), but, in fact, a pastime like any other sport. People witnessed for themselves that there’s nothing to fear in online gambling.

Online casinos nowadays are filled with people. The larger ones have tens of thousands of players logged on at any given time, but, as the number of casinos is itself quite large, the number of players exceeds the capability of any one person to keep track of.

So, as we were saying, there are lots of different types of players, check them out and see if you fall in which category you fall:

The Compulsive Gambler. This type of online casino player has just one thing in mind: winning as much money as possible. He dedicates as much time as possible to playing online casino games, and when he’s not deep into his favorite game, he’s probably checking out a new game, or trying out a new strategy. This type of player likes to observe hundreds of hands at card games, hundreds of rolls at a roulette table, and take a note of each one. He’s sure that sooner or later he is going to find the winning formula that is going to make him a millionaire. But, as he tries to do so by cheating, and online casinos are often operated by the some of the best software developers in the world, he doesn’t stand a chance. He’ll keep it up for as much as he can, but he’ll call it quits and move on to something else eventually.

The Hardcore Gambler. There’s not much difference between this guy and the previous guy. He also spends every waking moment logged on to his favorite online casino, clocking in more hours than he did all day at work. But (and here’s the main difference) he doesn’t study the game, he doesn’t try to beat the system, he knows that, most of the time, there’s no winning, sure fire strategy that will get you from rags to riches in no time. He just has a knack for one of the games and sticks with it. This type of player is usually the most successful, as his investment will pay off, eventually. Or, he won’t know when to stop, and thus become a compulsive gambler. This guy is ‘do or die’.

The Casual Gambler. This type of player has a job somewhere that doesn’t involve him spending his savings in online casinos; he simply enjoys standing around his computer and doing stuff. He probably has tried many different games and pastimes online, and when he found the online casinos he liked them so much that he started playing them on a regular basis. He has a few favorite games, on which he clocks up to a few hours each day, where he unwinds and relaxes while the slot machines spin away, or the dealer deals away at a game of Blackjack. Usually, this type of player doesn’t invest very much into the game, and so the financial benefits aren’t enormous. But he isn’t in it for the win, he’s just having fun – and hey, if he happens to win big along the way, it’s fine by him!

The beginner. This type of player is the guy who has just seen an online casino for the first time in his life, and he’s very excited to try them out. He will either be very shy, and scared to do anything out of fear of becoming a compulsive gambler, or he’ll blindly start playing any game that pops up. This guy has probably just switched from games such as Zuma Deluxe or Luxor, and he’ll clock in more hours in online casinos than anywhere else, at least for the first few days or weeks. Eventually, his rush wears out and he returns to his normal life, which quite possibly means finding a new thing to make him happy.

So these are the largest four categories of online casino players. If you’re involved in online gambling, you’re sure to fall into one of these types. If not, check them out, and check out online casinos – we’re sure you’re not going to regret it.

We recommend the rushmore online casino site for US players and Bet365 online casino for EU players.

Card games have been played, literally, for thousands and thousands of years. Ever since the dawn of civilization ... more]]>  

Card games have been played, literally, for thousands and thousands of years. Ever since the dawn of civilization as we know it, card games have been a form of relaxation. It’s no surprise, then, that when modern casinos first appeared, the main attraction were the different types of card games. Blackjack, the dozens of different poker games and many others were the ones that people gathered to watch, learn and play.

When internet gambling sites first appeared onto the scene, back in the early ‘90s, every gambler wanted to switch to the online, instead of the standard, ‘brick and mortar’ casinos they used to be active in. This new environment worked in the advantage of card players, as the internet meant that people from all over the world could get together without much hassle and sit down at a virtual table and play a game of cards, any game they would like. People quickly turned to these types of casinos instead of old ones, or even their own homes.

Right now, online casinos worldwide rely mainly on card games to attract new players and keep the existing ones as hooked as possible. They have reached such proportions that nearly every online casino has opened a special online poker section, with poker being the most wide spread card game online today.

Here is a bit of information on some of the most famous and the most played card games in online casinos today:

• Blackjack. This is one of the oldest games still in play today. It is also very controversial, with less than legal possibilities for both the dealer and the player. But this strictly the case for real live casinos. In online casinos, the game is generated by millions of line of code, so the player can’t possibly count the cards. On the other side, online casinos are strictly regulated, so they can’t rig the game. The appeal of Online Blackjack comes from its simplicity. In it, you play against the dealer, and you each get the same number of starting hands: two. After this, it’s you and the dealer (or computer) who makes the decision on how many extra cards you want. The object of the game is to sum up to exactly 21 points, where every card’s number represents the number of points that it holds – and face cards have ten points. Aces have either 1 or 11 points. So when you get your cards you decide whether you want more (usually represented by a ‘hit me’ or ‘hit’ button) or to stay. When both you and the dealer stay, the winner is decided – he is the one who has the closest hand to 21. If one of you busts, and goes past 21, the winner is automatically the other one, even if he only has 4-5 points.

• Baccarat. This game is somewhat like Blackjack, in theory. But the decisions to be made by the player are less, and so the game of baccarat is a subject of chance. Here, you must obtain a hand that sums up to 9, or 8. The cards have different points, however: face cards are valued at 0 points, aces are valued at only one point, and cards 2 to 9 have as many points as the card shows. Tens are also valued at 0 points. The game is very simple, and so, many people feel that there are patterns emerging from each hand, and try their best to study hands on end and see that pattern, in hopes that they will decipher the winning hand. However, as even casinos allow people to do this, it is pretty obvious that no such pattern exists. So try to just follow the rules and have fun while playing.

• Video Poker. There’s hardly any online casino that doesn’t feature at least one variation of video poker. Some have several variations of the game, where, in slot machine style, they apply different skins to the same game. The rules are very simple, you are dealt 5 cards, and decide which you want to keep. Then, the computer exchanges the cards that you want to discard and others are dealt to you. After this step, the cards that you remain with will be estimated, and if you have made any of the poker hands you will win according to the winning table. It’s very simple, and very addicting, due to this fact. Video poker has been present everywhere, even outside live casinos, for tens of years, ever since the first electronic gadgets appeared on the scene. And, because it’s so easy to play, everyone can become a winner, regardless of experience. So, even if you’re never going to be a poker legend or win the famous World Series of Poker Main Event, you can still win a lot of money through Video Poker.

• Other types of poker. There are a lot more types of poker than Video Poker to be found in online casinos. If you were to look through just a few online casinos, you would surely find dozens of different types of poker being played. Just a few of them are ‘Mulligan Poker’, ‘Pai-Gow Poker’, ‘Prog. Caribbean Poker’, ‘Tri Card Poker’, ’10 High Hold ‘em’, and many more. So if you’re a poker enthusiast, you’ll never get bored. Also, you only need to know the basics, the poker hands, as the rest is very easy to deduce – each type of game is merely a small variation from the others, so with just a few hands of practice you will be able to play against the computer and even make a profit.

And these are just a few of the card games that fill the online casinos. If you want to give them a try, go ahead! Get started here at Bet365

Some may argue that the thrill and excitement of Roulette is best enjoyed at the land based casino. ... more]]>  

Some may argue that the thrill and excitement of Roulette is best enjoyed at the land based casino. However, there are others who prefer the online version and find it to be as exciting as playing live at a traditional casino. Many unlike my friend Adrian believe that playing Roulette is throwing away your money – partly true because Roulette is a game of chance. The spin of a Roulette wheel is completely random and the marble settles in a particular pocket depending on the momentum created by the spinning wheel. There is no strategy that you can adopt to make money at roulette. Of course, an element of luck plays a role in improving your odds at winning.  However, Adrian not only keeps playing Roulette he actually wins regularly. So when I asked him how it does it his answer was simple enough; “the best way to improve your chances of winning at roulette is to learn how to play the game and know how to place your bets”. So people, with his permission, here are Adrian’s secrets to winning at the online roulette.

Play at a Single Zero Roulette Wheel

The Roulette wheel consists of 37 numbered slots if you are playing the European version; the American Roulette wheel has 38 slots –the extra pocket being the double zero (00). The basic rule you need to remember here is that every additional slot on the wheel reduces your chance of winning. So, whether you are playing online or at a land based casino, choose the European Roulette wherever possible since it has a lower house edge.  At casinos in Las Vegas, you will find only the American version of Roulette with 38 pockets on the wheel. Online, you will find a number of reputed casinos offering European roulette which means playing online offers a considerable advantage in terms of winning odds.

Understand the Various Bets in Roulette

The game of roulette allows for a diversity of bets and if you know to place the right bets, you will be successful in winning most of the times. Color bets, straight bets, street bets, even money bet, inside bet, outside bet, column bet and the dozen bet are only some of the bets you could place. There is no single bet that can be deemed as the “best bet” in roulette. The probability for each bet changes according to your placement of the bet. Outside bets have a higher probability of winning but they offer a lower payout. A straight bet involves wagering on a single number out of the 37 or 38 slots. Although the return on this bet is 36:1, the probability of winning this bet is almost zero. The outside bet on the other hand allows you to win money more often although at a slower pace.

Players can make multiple bets on each spin of the wheel. This makes the game even more interesting, especially if you place both, a high risk and a low risk bet at the same time, balancing out the odds. As you can see, understanding the rules of the game, studying the probabilities of each bet and understanding the payouts is important to taste success in Roulette. 

Don’t waste your time looking for winning patterns

Some people seem to think there is a pattern in the way the marble lands on the numbers and they wait around to determine that number. Sometimes, you would notice a few individuals gathered around the Roulette table watching the game to see which number the ball lands on after each spin. After watching the game for a couple of hours, they believe that a pattern has emerged –they might have noticed the red 7 being hit a number of times during their observation. So, the person will wager the next time he thinks that the red 7 will be the lucky number. However, this rarely happens and the person more often ends up losing his bet. In reality though, there can be no pattern to the ball landing on the particular number slot. Unless the wheel is tilted or rigged, no single number would be hit frequently in a pattern. If you are looking for a pattern, you are only wasting your time.

As stated in the preceding paragraphs, Roulette is a game of chance and no betting system or strategy will ensure success. Getting yourself familiar with the rules and the various bets that are allowed in Roulette is the only way to make some money on this casino game. One way for a beginner to learn the rules of the game is to play free roulette that is offered by some of the internet gambling sites. Playing for free ensures that you understand the various bets and probabilities thus enabling you to enjoy the thrill of winning at Roulette when you actually start to play with real money.

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Online casinos have a large variety of games to offer their customers. If you are new to the ... more]]>  

Online casinos have a large variety of games to offer their customers. If you are new to the world of online casinos, you wouldn’t know which game to try out first – there are so many games available, each more thrilling than the other. Not many people join online casinos intending to play only one specific game, rather, many of them like to try out all the games offered by the site and then settle for one or two favorites. It is certainly helpful to be aware of how the casinos classify the various games they offer. It not only gives an idea of the common characteristics that certain games share, but it also helps to locate the category where you would most likely find the game you might be looking for.

Online casino games are broadly classified into three categories, namely, table games, slots games and video poker games. Funnily enough, table games are so called because they are played on tables. There are two kinds of table games – those that use playing cards and those that do not. Some casinos may further categorize them as table games and card games. Card games are played against the dealer. Usually they entail a comparison between the dealer’s and the player’s hand in accordance with the rules of the game. Two familiar card games that follow this format are Blackjack and Baccarat. Blackjack involves getting your hand value closer to a total of 21 before the dealer. In baccarat, the player must get a hand closer to 9 in order to win.  There are also other kinds of card games which you would find at online casinos. However, in these card games, the hands are compared to poker hand rankings. Card games like Caribbean Stud Poker, 3-Card Poker and Pai Gow Poker would fall in this category. 

Roulette and Craps are the two most familiar table games. Roulette is perhaps the most easily recognized casino game because of the distinct roulette wheel. Hollywood films have also contributed to the popularity of this game, making it very familiar even to the lay person. In Roulette, the players bet on a certain number or combination of numbers where the rolling ball would come to rest when the wheel stops spinning. Although the online version of Roulette is exciting, the glamour quotient is missing. One can only experience the true glamour and thrill of this game at a land based casino. 

Craps, the other table game, is a game that uses a pair of six-sided dice. The players bet on the outcome of the roll of dice. If the dice show up the particular number the player has bet on, he wins. However, Craps may appear complicated for a new player since there are certain bets which are not decided on a just a single roll of the dice. The house edge for Craps is higher than other games which also makes it unfavorable for the new players.     

The next type of online casino game and possibly the most popular among casino enthusiasts is Slots.  Slots games are games of chance and require no skills which could be the reason for its huge popularity. The online slot machine has reels that spin when the lever is pulled or a button is punched. Typically, a slots machine will have 3 to 5 reels. If the symbols across the reels match, then you have a win. In case of online slots, the lever is replaced with the spin button that you need to click. There are basically two types of slots games – fixed and progressive. A fixed jackpot would pay out a fixed amount to the player hitting the winning combination. In case of a progressive jackpot, the amount goes on increasing as the players place their wagers.

Video poker games are again card games that are played on a computer screen, even at a land based casino. The main goal of the game is to make the highest ranking poker hand by replacing the dealt cards. Video poker games offer high pay outs which might explain why they are so popular.

Of all the internet casino games that are available, slots is probably the most popular and will remain so even in the future. Slots have no element of skill, giving the casino an edge over the players. However, there are so many exciting variations of slots games and newer versions are being developed regularly, offering the players opportunities to win on more occasions.

Get started playing the different casino games today here at Rushmore Casino

Fun, glamour and thrills beyond your wildest imagination awaits at Platinum Play Online Casino where excitement ... more]]> PLATINUM PLAY REVIEW

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