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Should you play slots online or at land based casinos?

May 1st, 2009

There’s been a great deal of discussion about online gambling

recently with legislators, operators and the global community of

gamblers trying to fathom complex matters such as Internet

″locality″. In the midst of these deliberations, many players

have been wanting to assess the relative merits of gambling

online or at land-based casinos.

Through all of this there has been a lack of focus on the

experience of the person who actually plays money at a casino.

How about the gamblers who are central to any issues concerning

casinos? We pose the sensible opening question - which are

better, online or land-based slot machines?

Land-based slots are the world’s most popular casino game. They

pay more winnings to gamblers than all of the other casino games

together. But how well does this cherished form of land-based

gambling adapt to online play? The vast majority of slots

enthusiasts believe it has made the transition splendidly. The

online versions of slots have become the most-played form of

online casino games, owing in part to the ease of finding slots

on the Internet (they’re also easy enough to find and play at

land-based casinos) and in part to the fact that the game play

is so simple. Slot machines at land-based casinos have been

controlled by computers for many years, so it’s relatively easy

to adapt the game to play online. Some players are puzzled when

you tell them a land-based slot machine is no more than a

computer in a fancy case, but this is exactly what it is. These

slots are driven by a microprocessor with a built-in random

number generator. They work just like the online versions

because the operating software is hard-coded in the

microprocessor.

This means there is not much of a difference between the way the

game works and how the odds compute for online or land-based

slot machines. But there are some differences.

The most obvious difference, the one that will forever separate

the two forms, is that you can’t physically put your hands on an

online slot. Similarly, land-based machines have much bigger and

more spectacular light and sound displays, although the graphics

on the online slots are sophisticated enough these days to

emulate reality pretty well.

There are numerous less evident advantages of playing online

slots. For a start, you choose the time, place and the most

comfortable seat in the house. You can play with your own

refrigerator, DVD music system and other personal comforts close

to hand. This is one of the great appeals of online casinos -

you can visit them and experience all of their excitement

without stepping outside your own home! And you can interrupt

play whenever you like without worrying that some other gambler

is going to annex your place at the machine. Possibly the most

telling difference between playing slots at an online compared

with a land-based casino is the nature of the comps you receive.

At a land-based establishment, the keen slots player may receive

a coupon or some similar small comp as a reward for slaving away

at a machine for several hours. It’s quite different online

because the competition among casinos is so intense.

With the Internet it doesn’t matter where in the world you live,

every online casino would love to lure your custom. As a result

you can get a comp simply for deciding to play at a given casino

regardless of how much you’ve gambled there. The sign-up bonus

is a common online attraction. It gives you a substantial value

in real credits at the casino and you can exploit this bonus to

swell your bankroll, spend more time playing the slots and

experience more opportunities to be a winner.

Many slots players find it genuinely gratifying to receive a

comp in advance rather than after having to earn it by achieving

a certain level of play. If you add the comps to the other

advantages of online slots, it should be easy to see which

version best meets the needs of the players.

Online Gambling Money Management Tips

April 30th, 2009

A money management philosophy in quality online gambling should be as simple as the techniques and theories implemented by the best online gambling players. There is no need for complicated formulas and theories as the more simple the money management system, the easier it is to not only understand and believe in but also the easier it is to track and keep records of.

Rule number one in regards to quality online gambling money management, perhaps the golden rule, is to avoid parlays, teasers, props, and other related bad bets. Casino sportsbooks and online betting services like parlays and teasers because it can increase their profits and margins because such bets are low percentage plays and rarely pay off. A bigger problem with parlays and teasers for any type of player, whether it is an online baseball gambling player or an NFL bettor is that they can take what would have been a winning day and make it either less of a winning day or even turn it into a losing day. To put it another way, parlays, teasers and props increase the profit margins of casino sportsbooks and the best online gambling resource will tell you that parlays decrease the profit margin of a sports betting player. If you are betting baseball games online then you really want to avoid parlays.

Let’s take an example of the best online gambling strategy from a college football Saturday as a player went 5-3 on his eight football picks against the odds on this game day. If this player was betting to win $100 per game had bet these football picks flat he would show an after ″vig/juice″ profit of $170 for the day. But if this same player screwed around with $100 worth of parlays on these eight football picks and none of them came in, (remember he lost three of his eight football picks), this player decreased his bankroll’s profit margin down to $70 on a day in which he hit 63% of his football picks against the odds.

The absurdity of a parlay is best illustrated by an online baseball gambling player that went 4-1 on his betting on baseball picks against the odds. If this betting on baseball player bet those picks flat against the odds at $100 per game he would have a final profit of $390. If he bet all five picks together on a five-team parlay he would have nothing to show for what should have been a banner day against the betting board. Is it any wonder that sportsbooks and online betting services love parlays?

If you are looking at baseball games online then you don’t want to follow the masses and bet parlays and teasers. Nearly every serious online gambling resource will discourage you from betting parlays and teasers. There no online gambling rules that tell you not to bet parlays but it usually is not a profitable idea. If you are looking at many of the accepted online gambling rules you will not see much to favor parlays, teasers or propositions. There are times when a parlay can be a decent bet but for the average player it is not a good idea.

Online Casino Bonus Money (Some Restrictions May Apply)

April 30th, 2009

Today, virtually every online casino will give new players a bonus to entice them to play. Some casinos offer No Deposit Bonuses; others may match your initial deposit giving you a 100% bonus. There are even a number of casinos that will give you 125%, 200% even 400% of your initial deposit. How do casinos stay in business while still giving away "Free Money"? Well, as with most things that sound too good to be true, there are restrictions. In this article we'll look at the most common online casino bonus structures and what you'll need to do to actually cash out that nice bonus.

No Deposit Bonuses

A very popular way for a casino to attract new players is to offer a no deposit bonus. In this situation, the player is required to download and install the casino software then create a new "real player" account; some casinos also ask you to register a valid payment method. Next the new account is credited with the "free money". Typical amounts given are $10 to $15, usually just enough for the player to try a few of the games. To cash out the free money, the player will usually have to wager the bonus amount some number of times (Twenty times the original deposit is a typical number). Further, there is usually a maximum amount that can be cashed out, say a $50 max. cash out on a $15 freebie. So, by all means take advantage of the no deposit bonuses, just don't expect to get rich doing so.

Deposit Bonuses

Deposit Bonuses are the most common online casino bonus. This is a bonus you're given for making a real money deposit. Casinos are much more generous with these types of bonuses because the players have already deposited some of their own money. It's not uncommon for a casino to match first deposits of $200 to $300. Many casinos also offer deposit bonuses of over 100%. For example, some casinos will give you $200 for a $50 deposit (a 400% bonus). As usual, there are restrictions that apply to these types of bonuses. Typically, you'll have to bet or "play through" the bonus amount and the deposit amount some number of times (10 to 15 times), before you can cash out. With this type of bonus, once the play through has been met there should not be a maximum cash out amount.

Specific Game Bonus

With this type of bonus, the casino is giving you a bonus that can only be used for certain games. This is typical when a casino has just launched say a new slots version and wants to get people playing. You may get a "no deposit bonus" or possibly a larger then normal deposit bonus. Again, there will be play through requirements and if it's a No Deposit Bonus, there will probably be a maximum cash out amount.

Other Bonus Restrictions

Some more typical bonus restrictions may involve excluding certain games. For example, a game like Blackjack, where a skilled player has a much better chance to win is often excluded from bonus money play. There may also be restrictions on how much time you have to claim your bonus (often 72 hours from the time you create your real money account). Further, some casinos want you to wager your bonus within a certain amount of time.

Lastly, each casino has its own set of rules. It's important to always read the online casino's fine print before making any purchase decisions. Make sure you understand what is required of you before you can cash out. If you're not sure, feel free to contact the casinos customer support and ask them.

Strategy Software

April 26th, 2009

With the increase in popularity of online gambling, a new contender in the online poker industry has appeared on the scene: strategy software.

Strategy software has actually been around for ages, but has recently made new advancements to help poker players with their online playing abilities. The latest advancement in strategy software is a development that actually reads your cards as you play and helps you develop a winning strategy by providing logical and mathematical advice set to your playing style.

The main purpose of this type of strategy software is helping online poker players make educated decisions, quicker. These programs have been designed to be used in conjunction with online casino software, in a separate window running side-by-side with the actual playing table. The software programs use packet sniffing to virtually load every card you see at the poker table into the software. Almost all features about these programs are automated these days. You no longer have to manually select your hole card and board cards; the software does it all on the fly. The software will then display odds and offer advice and recommendations on each hand, depending upon the type of playing style you have set the software to use.

Using this type of software can benefit many different types of players in many different ways.

For newer players, these programs are very good tools to help you better understand pot odds, betting patterns, pot commitment, playing styles, and much more. Using these programs is almost like having a professional playing alongside you; you can easily advance your knowledge of the game in a short amount of time while gaining quality playing time experience.

If you’re a veteran or a more experienced player, you can still find great ways to use strategy software. Playing online can often require extremely quick thinking before timing out at a table. If you find yourself not having enough time to calculate pot odds and make logical decisions, these programs will help you tremendously. No matter how talented a player might be, this type of software can be beneficial

With the increasing popularity of packet sniffing programs like these, the common question of cheating arises. In no way is using any of these programs a method for cheating at online poker. The existence of online poker cheating software is a myth that has been around ever since online poker first made its appearance on the scene years and years ago. You will not get in trouble at any online casino for using this type of software. In fact, lots of casinos promote strategy software themselves as a tool to help their players to learn and win.

When it comes to choosing a particular type of software, there are a large variety of choices. The most popular strategy software for online Texas Hold’em cash games that incorporate packet sniffing and virtual card loading include Texas Calculatem, Calculatem Pro, and Genius. If you’re looking for software that is more focused on tournament play, you might want to consider Sit & Go Shark.

No matter which product you choose, these software programs can help increase your knowledge of the game significantly and can assist in making you a long-term wining poker player.

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Video Poker Slots - The Only Slot Game You Can Beat Consistenty

April 23rd, 2009

Video Poker Slots are fun and are the only online slot game where you can use a degree of skill to tilt the odds in your favor.

Fact is, it's the only slot game where you win consistently and here we will look at video poker slots and how you can win.

How to play Video Poker Slots

Video Poker is a form of draw poker and has the same rules. The only difference is that you are not playing against any other players, just the machine.

The classic five card deal.

After you are dealt your orignal 5 cards, you have the option to take up to five new cards if you wish.

You keep whatever cards you want by pressing the ″hold″ button for the individual card shown.

After you have decided what to keep and what to discard, you press the ″deal″ button, and the cards discarded are replaced.

At this point the game is over, and the result is determined by the outcome shown. If you have won, how much you won, is then indicated on the paytable on the front of the machine.

The Real Meaning of the Pay Table

Video poker slots main advantage over other slot machines is that the return of the game can be calculated by reading the pay table on the front of the machine. This needs some explanation.

Most video poker slot games use the combinations of hands that can be made from a single 52-card deck. The number of combinations that can be made from the cards determines the payout. There are 2,598,960 possible hands from a 52-card deck.

The computer chip in a video poker slots program is set to simulate the probabilities of drawing any of these combinations.

However, as this is a fixed set of possibles, the casino operator always adjusts the pay table of the online machines to produce the house odds advantage in their favor.

But if you know how to read a pay table, you then can pick a machine with the best return and best odds of success.

As a rule, the payouts for all online video poker slots machines are the same except for the for a flush, a full house, or a royal flush.

For example a comparison of payouts on a 'Jacks-or-Better' video poker slot game

Payback Machine Payback with Strategy

9 for a full house 6 for a flush 99.5%

8 for a full house 5 for a flush 97.4%

7 for a full house 5 for a flush 96.3%

6 for a full house 5 for a flush 95.2%

Statistically a 9 / 6 will bring a royal flush once for each 40,000 hands. The 8 / 5 odds are once for each 45,000 hands etc – So try and play 9 / 6 machines only.

How To Bet Rright. Play Max Coins

Betting the right way will help you win consistently by getting the odds in your favor.

By betting five coins, all winning hands are paid out by a factor of five, except for the royal flush. This is a sort of incentive to get you to put five coins in play.

You also have to know that by playing less than max coins, you will just be contributing to a royal flush prize that will be won by another player.

The only way to beat video poker slot machines is to make sure that you win the Royal Flush so you must play maximum coins

Strategy Play A Must

The odds in video poker slots are improved if you play with a strategy.

These strategies you can get free on the net and vary depending on the game you play. What you should do is play the machines with the best payouts and then follow the strategy for the given game.

Hasten Slowly!

What's the rush? Playing online Video Poker Slots on a computer should not a hurried event, and certainly there is no more money for playing quicker.

Take your time, the machine is in no hurry when you play video poker slots so check that each hand is played correctly with optimal strategy and don't make any errors.

You need to play for a long time

You can win at video poker slots but you need to play for a long time.

Don't expect to win in just a few hours it can take hundreds but if you persevere and play with strategy you will end up expanding your bankroll and that's what its all about.

The odds of winning in video poker games are much better than normal slot machines and in addition you get fantastic graphics, making it a very excting and enjoyable gaming experience.

If you love slots and want to tip the odds in your favor, try playing video poker and get the odds on your side.

Video Poker

April 22nd, 2009

Video poker is usually played against a machine, which displays the player’s cards on a screen. Combining elements of poker and slots, this form poker is one of the few games in the casino where you can actually have a realistic expectation of winning, as opposed to depending on the pure luck of slot machine games or roulette.

The player places a bet and the video poker machine deals five cards from a standard 52-card pack. The player then has one opportunity to hold or discard any number of unwanted cards, and is dealt an equal number of replacement cards from the deck.

After the replacement cards are dealt the winnings are calculated based on the 5-card poker hand. The payout depends on the particular type of game begin played.

There are a number of video poker variants, including: Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker.

The skill to betting the machine is knowing which cards to discard.

The aim being to the discard cards in a way that gives you the best possible chance of winning. The best strategy will change with the different payout tables. Check the payout table before deciding on your strategy, as some games require a maximum bet for you to be inline for the jackpot…

Read more: Video Poker

Now You Can Play Texas Hold ‘em At An Online Casino

April 21st, 2009

Looking to play an action-packed game of Texas Hold Em anytime day or night? Keep your car in the garage and hop on the Internet for a quick trip to an online casino.

Texas Hold Em is sweeping the world and you can find thousands of games going on at nearly any online casino. Playing Texas Hold Em online is actually better than playing at a physical casino. Not only do you avoid the expense of travelling to a casino, but you avoid the crowds, the distractions, and the cigarette smoke in your eyes from the player sitting next to you.

But that’s all you’ll avoid because playing Texas Hold Em at an online casino comes with all of the thrills and some pretty big pots.

Not only can you find an open seat anytime that you want one, but many of the top online casinos sponsor Texas Hold Em tournaments where the prize money can get pretty big.

The rules for playing Texas Hold Em online are pretty much the same as they are in physical casinos, but you should always check for casino-specific variations just to be safe.

If you are not an experienced Texas Hold Em player, you can get wiped out pretty quickly if you’re seated at an online casino table with the ″big boys″. That’s why many online casinos offer $.50-$1.00 Low Limit Texas Hold Em online poker games. With stakes that low you can afford to make mistakes while you hone your strategy without losing a bundle.

Once your skill levels improve you can move on to $10 limit games where you’ll be matched against more skilled players but you won’t have to be worried about being clobbered by the high rollers who are playing online No-Limit Texas Hold Em.

Just because your bankroll isn’t as big as you wish it was, you can still take advantage on the online casino Texas Hold Em tournament action by looking for $10 Limit Sit-n-Go Tournaments which are limited to 10 players at a time.

Once you are confident of your abilities to play Texas Hold Em at the smaller online casino games, you can try your luck sitting down to play at the No Limit Texas Hold Em table with a buy-in as low as $50. And when you really reach the top you can even play at multiple Texas Hold Em tables at the same time. That’s something that you can only do at an online casino!

With many online casinos offering first-time Texas Hold Em players financial incentives like new player bonus dollars and match-play credits, it just makes sense to treat yourself to an online game of Texas Hold Em instead of packing up the family and heading out to some resort casino where you’ll spend hundreds of dollars just on room and meals. Texas Hold Em and online casinos — it’ a sure thing.

Casino Slots

April 20th, 2009

Modern casino slots are controlled by computer chips and software, and the win percentages are preprogrammed into the software.

Casino slots have Random Number Generators (RNG) which are continually generating combinations, even when the machine is not being played.

Running concurrently with the RNG of the casino slot machine is the payout percentage.

The payout percentage controls how much the slot machine will payout, for example the payout percentage might be 90%, meaning the slot game will payout 90% of all the bets played and the casino only gets to keep 10%.

This is not to say that every time you bet 10 credits you will receive 9 in return – where is the fun and excitement in that? Instead the casino slot machine game will not pay out for a while, and then suddenly go on a hot streak and you might hit a big jackpot.

The payoff percentages will vary between the different games and some of the most popular casinos, like King Neptunes Casino, offer a payout of upto 95%!

So in essence the slot machine takes all the money played into it and pays it out to few lucky winners. The casino only gets to keep a relatively small percentage of all the bets placed.

The casino slot software controls every part of the machine, from the flashing lights to the spinning of the reels.

When you hit spin on the slot machine, a combination is produced by the RNG which corresponds to the pictures on the reel.

Read more: Casino Slots

Making Money from Bonus Hunting and How the Casinos are Fighting Back

April 12th, 2009

Bonus hunting has become a major headache for the online casinos. Some countries have been banned from receiving the special promotion offers available to new customers because the online casino simply could not sustain the losses that they were incurring. But what is this so called bonus abuse? How does it work? And what are the casinos doing to combat it?

All casino games have a house edge built into them. This is how they manage to make money. The advantage the casino has over the player varies from game to game. Blackjack and baccarat have the lowest edge and so the average player will lose less money than they would if they played other games such as slots or keno for example. There is usually a correlation between the house edge and the "size of the jackpot". Players are more than willing to sacrifice a low house edge in return for the chance to win a larger prize. This is how progressive slots work. The jackpot is very rarely won, but when it is won the jackpot can be anywhere from $10,000 to over $1 million.

Online casinos offer the only real incentive available to them to entice new players, cold hard cash. Unlike their land based equivalents they are unable to tempt customers with free drinks, hotel stays and beautiful women, so the usual offer is get $X free when you deposit $X. By taking a bonus it is possible for the player to overcome the house edge and create advantageous playing conditions.

Bonus abusers go from online casino to online casino extracting the largest bonus amount possible, then playing through the wagering requirements by playing games with very low house edge and then withdrawing both their deposit and the bonus amount. A lot of people will be sat there thinking "that's okay; the casinos offer a bonus so that's the risk they take". Well for a long time that was the case, but now the casinos are fighting back.

If you care to read the small print of many online casinos you will see that many organisations have excluded low wagering games such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat. Others have gone one step further and only offer bonuses for wagering on slot machines. This has the net result of preventing any of the bonus abusers from signing up. But what about those legitimate players who like to play these low wagering games but are not bonus abusers? The answer is tough cookies.

Another method to deter bonus abusers is to introduce the "sticky" bonus. A sticky bonus is a bonus offered to a player for wagering purposes only. This means that when you come to withdraw your winnings, the bonus amount offered is withdrawn from your total. There are often less stringent wagering requirements associated with these bonuses; however they are less rewarding for players.

There are still opportunities available to bonus abusers and some still continue to generate a healthy income by doing, but the opportunities are becoming less frequent. So if you are interested in becoming a full time abuser you need to act fast.

How to Play Online Roulette

April 12th, 2009

Maybe you haven’t played online roulette before, or you are contemplating making the move from the good old casino roulette to online roulette. Or maybe, your story is that you can’t afford to fly to Vegas as often as you might like. Whatever the case may be, this article will help you make the move to playing roulette online.

Online Roulette is one for the most exciting casino games in the world of cyber casino gambling. You will truly come to enjoy playing roulette online. It’s virtually the same as playing in a real casino, and if you’re a serious roulette player it even holds some advantages.

To begin with, the most obvious difference, the casino environment, is staring you right in the face. In land based casinos it is part of the casino's game to distract you in an unbelievable number of ways. You could consider it unfortunate that they also succeed in their distractions.

They feed you free booze, keep lots of mirrors around so you’re never really sure where you are, constantly send beautiful girls walking by the table, clang coins and buzzers and bells and whistles all around you, all in a rather effective attempt to take your money in as smooth a way as possible. Playing roulette online eliminates these nasty distractions. Believe me when I say that this is a good thing!

By playing roulette online you can free you from the devious plans by the land based casinos to distract you while they take your money. You set your own environment at home, with as much or as little distraction as you like.

Anyone interested in playing roulette online is usually curious about the odds. Are the odds at an online casino fair? Are they the same as Vegas? Who determines the odds? Typically, roulette is completely random. There are little pegs and obstructions strewn around the wheel in an effort to have the ball bounce around for a good while before coming to a rest. This randomness can be comforting to the gambler as it provides some security that you are not likely to be ripped off.

Personally, I have won more than once playing roulette online, so I can assure you it is entirely possible. Although it may not be possible to determine the exact odds that an online casino offers, you can always call and ask a cyber casino of your choice. Check to ensure the online casino is licensed by a licensing board (most are, but its nice to be sure), and then check to see how strict that licensing board is. The quality of the online roulette game you find at VegasUSA casino is excellent and the software 100% secure.

To read about a review on the most reputable online casinos, visit www.casinonlinereviews.com

Learn more on Online Roulette