Author: T

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This chart is for blackjack games where you play with between 4 and 8 decks of cards. The dealer must stand
on a soft 17 and doubling after splitting is allowed.

 

Dealer’s Hand is on top

Player’s Hand on left side.

Hard Totals

Hard Totals	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
17-20	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Soft Totals

Soft Totals	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
A 2	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A 3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A 4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A 5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A 6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A 7	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A 8	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A 9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Pair Splitting (DAS)

Pairs	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
2 2	P *	P *	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
3 3	P *	P *	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
4 4	H	H	H	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
5 5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
6 6	P*	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
7 7	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
8 8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
9 9	P	P	P	P	P	S	P	P	S	S
10’s	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A’s	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

* HIT = If double after splitting  is not allowed.

Action: H = Hit  
S = Stand  
D = Double  
P = Split

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Online Casinos have been a part of peoples lives for so long that it’s almost impossible to imagine a time when you couldn’t just sit down in front of your computer and play exciting casino and poker games but they have in fact only been around since about 1996.

It all started back in 1994 when the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbucda passed a law called the "The free trade and processing Act" which for the first time allowed online casinos to be operated, and there are still a lot of online casinos based in Antigua and Barbuda today.

In the same year, 1994, 3 pivotal companies were established, Microgaming and Starnet Communications who were the first companies to make specific online gaming software. They were very closely followed by the two brothers Andrew and Mark Rivkin and their company Cryptologic. One of the early goals was to create software which could handle payments to online casinos in a safe and secure way both for the casino players and the casinos themselves. 

Over the next few years their was an explosion in companies offering software and online gaming solutions, especially in Canada but it was still Microgaming and Cryptologic who were the innovators and leaders in this emerging market. The innovations of eCash and money management systems were all thanks to Cryptologic and their software. In 1996 Cryptologic branched out into online casino game software with its subsidiary WagerLogic.

It probably won’t come as any real surprise to discover that the oldest online casino still operating is InterCasino, for more information on Intercasino you can read our review of it.

Starnet Systems International started up a franchise scheme whereby Casino operators could use their patented online casino software in return for a cut of the casinos profits. Starnet used these profits to set up their own online casino, World Gaming Net.

It was early 1997 when Microgaming proudly unveiled the first ever progressive jackpot slots game called Cash Splash, at the time this caused quite a stir as for the first time players could win really big jackpots at online casinos in the same way as they could in for example Las Vegas.

The whole time online casinos were becoming more and more popular, in fact by the end of 1998 the industry was worth a staggering $835 million!

Many of the players enjoying online casinos at that time were from America and there have been repeated attempts over the years to ban online gambling, although curiously not that many to ban Las Vegas or Atlantic City! One of the first to try and stop online gambling was senator John Kyle from Arizona who failed to pass his bill "Internet Gambling Prohibition Act"  through the senate, but he didn’t give up and over the next few years he continually tried to get online gambling and particularly online casinos banned in the USA, but in the meantime online casinos were becoming more and more popular, not only in America but the whole of the world.

Australia have only ever given out one license for an online casino and that was awarded to Lasseters Casinos, who were already an established Casino chain, in 2000.

Around this time, 2000, there were about 700 online casinos in operation and the dominant online casino software companies were Microgaming, Cryptologic, Playtech, and Boss Media, much as it is now in fact.

Also around this time Argentina gave out a few online gambling licenses followed by The British Channel islands of the Isle of Man and Gibraltar. Of these Gibraltar has gone on to be a popular home for online casinos and many well known online casinos are based there.

Since 2001 there have been many attempts by various countries to ban online gambling and this has been a major factor in the establishment of many alternative online payment systems such as Neteller, Moneybookers, Paysafe etc. Unfortunately the USA has at this present time virtually killed off online gambling in America via the passing of the law called UIGEA in 2006 which was tagged onto the homeland security bill at the eleventh hour. This makes it illegal for Credit Card companies and other online payment operators to handle payments from US citizens to online casinos which in effect means it is impossible for US citizens to enjoy online casinos. There are however plans in place to challenge this law and we all hope it can get overturned when some sanity returns to US politics!

In 2001 the UK passed the Gambling Bill which makes it far easier for online casinos to operate directly out of the UK plus paved the way for the construction of super casinos to rival Las Vegas in size and grandeur.

Every country which hosts online casinos keep a very close eye on the online casinos in their territory to ensure that they operate in a fair and ethical manner and do not attempt to defraud players.

We are now in 2007 and online casinos have never been more popular, even though the market has all but vanished in America there are exciting developments for online casinos as they are having to focus on non english speaking countries and consequently online casinos are now available in a variety of languages. The future is looking very bright for online casinos, they have never been as professional and well run as they are these days. 

 

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Craps is a fantastic game but it is also a very strange game in many ways. One thing to be particularly aware of is that Craps offers some of the best bets in a casino with the lowest house edge at the same time that other best have extremely high house edges and are therefore amongst the very worst bets you can make in a casino. The table below shows you which bets to put money on and which you should only go for if you are really feeling extremely lucky!

Craps House Edge

Bet	House Edge (Percent)
Pass Line/Come Bet	1.41
Don’t Pass/Come	1.40
Pass Line/Come Bet 2X odds	.85
Don’t Pass/Come 2X odds	.83
Place 6 and 8	1.52
Place 5 and 9	4.00
Place 4 and 10	6.67
Buy 6 or 8	4.76
Buy 5 or 9	4.76
Buy 4 or 10	4.76
Lay 6 or 8	4.00
Lay 5 or 9	3.23
Lay 4 or 10	2.44
Field Bet	5.56
Any Craps	11.11
Hardway 6 or 8	9.09
Hardway 4 or 10	11.10
Yo or 3	11.10
2 or 12	13.90
Any 7	16.70

 

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Here at High-Roller Casinos we like to ensure that your gaming experience is as pleasant as possible and to this end we have come up with 10 simple rules which will ensure that you enjoy playing at online casinos as much as we do.

1. Always play at a reputable online casino which has either been around a long time or is run by a company which have a good reputation in the industry. You are assured of this if you select one of the casinos and/or poker rooms listed on our pages.
2. Find a casino game which you really enjoy playing. For example if you enjoy playing Slots games then you should select an online casino which is focused towards that whilst if you prefer table games then other online casinos might be better for you. In the same way if you prefer playing poker then select from our list of online poker rooms instead of online casinos as the nearest you will get to poker games at an online casino are various video poker games.
3. Don’t chase your losses, this is in fact one of the most common mistakes made by inexperienced casino players and in a way it is easier to do when playing at an online casino than at a standard bricks and mortar casino. If you loose all the money you had for playing with then chalk it up to a bad night and walk away. If the luck hasn’t been with you up to this point in the evening then it is unlikely to change just because you pump more money in. It’s more likely that because you are already frustrated you will play badly and loose the extra money as well!
4. Check that the casino has a good FAQ section where they explain their rules and regulations as well as a good customer service. The best online casinos offer live support where you can chat directly to customer support staff.
5. It is vital that you decide how much money you are going to play with at the start of the evening before you begin playing. Please please remember that online casinos and poker rooms are meant to be fun so don’t gamble for more than you can comfortably afford to loose. If you decide to play for $500 and loose the money quickly don’t be tempted to put more money in, just analyse where you went wrong or put it down to rotten luck and try again another day.
6. Check the bonuses and promotions offered from the online casino or poker room and carefully study the requirements attached to them. If a bonus seems ridiculously generous then it may also be very hard to attain, but not always, some bonuses are genuinely incredibly generous. More often than not though the really big bonuses are hard to get whilst the more modest bonuses are attained without even trying!
7. Don’t play while the kids are still awake, they will only distract you and lead to you making errors in your play, which in turn will lead to you yelling at them and then you probably feeling bad and playing even worse! Instead I would say that whilst playing at online casinos is obviously great fun it is even more fun to spend time with your kids and when the little "darlings" have finally gone to the land of nod you can have some fun at the casinos. Of course if you don’t have any kids you can play any time you want, the beauty with online casinos is that they are always open!
8. Make the area where you play as comfortable and uncluttered as possible. Pour yourself a nice drink and if it is medicinal in nature make sure you don’t drink too much, whilst getting a bit tipsy is relaxing it isn’t particularly clever when playing casino games or playing poker so keep everything in moderation. Another huge benefit of playing at online casinos and poker rooms is that you get to decide when you have your breaks so you should make full use of this and take frequent breaks to keep yourself from getting into a rut or just getting tired and making silly mistakes in your play. It’s also a good idea to not stare at a computer screen for too long at one time.
9. When the luck is really with you it’s a good idea to put some of your winnings to one side so that if it all should go wrong you won’t be left with nothing to show for your nights work. When you are in the middle of a good roll it is very hard to remember this but it is so very annoying to loose your whole stack especially if you were up at one point!
10. A lot of online casinos offer an extra bonus if you refer a friend to them and you should really take advantage of this where available and refer as many of your friends to your favourite casino as possible. Not only do you get some extra bonus money but more often than not your friends will get a bit of extra money to play with as well.

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“Sometimes, we just feel this overpowering blind impulse to reassess a big pot. Apart from if we are drunk or tilted, this urge is broadly when we flop a great hand. At other times, we like to comment medium-sized pots, and this is predominantly when we have a ace but not great hand. Sometimes, we want to pore over a small pot and get to showdown cheap, this is when we have a average but probably-best holding.
This is the reason it is so important to try to adjust the pot size to match the quality of your poker hand. If we say that we raised 99 from late position and an opponent called by both blinds. The flop is perfect for us – J93. This is one of those occasions where our highest wish is to just get the money in the middle – and this is why it is so vital to start developing the pot right away!
If the blinds assess to us, we should place a bet – about 2/3 to 3/4 of the pot is a acceptable bet. Occasionally our opponents will have missed the flop completely and fold, but if they have hit a piece of it they will call – or even raise the bet! – And the pot gets nicely bloated already on the flop, increasing our chances of stacking the opponent. By placing a bet, we give ourselves the contingency to win a galactic pot whereas if we look at behind, we will have pains winning a big pot.
Creating pots on early streets with cracking holdings is an essential part of ace regard.
Then what about the medium-sized pots? Well, let’s say that we raised AQ preflop and once again the blinds called. The flop comes QT3. If both investigate to us, we should bet for value, but at the same time a positive measure of care is needed. If we don’t have a acceptable read, we no doubt do not want to remark upon for stacks – the opponent could have two pair or a set. We are wagering to extract money from a straight draw or a top pair with a worse kicker.
The recognized turn check out is to comment behind if the other player checks, with the resolution of calling most rivers if bet into and value-wagering most rivers if checked to.
With bad holdings, our aim is to keep the pot small. If we say that we, in an online poker game, limped A4 suited from late position after a few limpers (to try to flop a straight, flush or bona fide draw). The flop comes AT8, which provides us top pair with a lousy kicker.
In this case, it is in our interests to keep the pot small. If checked to, we should study and see a turn card (if we bet, we are likely only getting called by hands that beat us). If another player bets, we can call on the flop and re-review in retrospect on the turn (or just fold if it is a tight player doing the wagering). If there is a place a bet and a call in front of us, we just throw away this hand. We have no interest to size up a medium-sized or big pot.
Changing the pot size to the strength of your holding is an imperative part of poker. Of course, sometimes it is imperative to mix up our report a bit to not make us too probable, but the above lines are long-term winning recognized plays.
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“Sometimes, we just feel this irresistible urge to play a big pot. Unless we are drunk or tilted, this urge is usually when we flop a great hand. On other occasions, we like to play medium-sized pots, and this is
usually when we have a good but not great hand. Sometimes, we want to
play a small pot and get to showdown cheap, this is when we have a
mediocre but probably-best holding.

This is why it is so
important to try to adjust the pot size to match the strength of your
hand. Let us assume that we raised 99 from late position and got called
by both blinds. The flop is a dream for us – J93. This is one of those
situations where our highest wish is to just get the money in the
middle – and this is why it is so important to start building the pot
right away!

If the blinds check to us, we should bet – about 2/3
to 3/4 of the pot is a good bet. Sometimes our opponents will have
missed the flop completely and fold, but if they have hit a piece of it
they will call – or even raise! – And the pot gets nicely bloated
already on the flop, increasing our chances of stacking the opponent.
By betting, we give ourselves the chance to win a huge pot whereas if
we check behind, we will have trouble winning a big pot.

Building pots on early streets with good holdings is an essential part of good play.

Then
what about the medium-sized pots? Well, let’s say that we raised AQ
preflop and again the blinds called. The flop comes QT3. If both check
to us, we should bet for value, but at the same time a certain measure
of care is necessary. If we don’t have a good read, we probably do not
want to play for stacks – the opponent could have two pair or a set. We
are betting to extract money from a straight draw or a top pair with a
worse kicker.

The standard turn play is to check behind if the
opponent checks, with the intention of calling most rivers if bet into
and value-betting most rivers if checked to.

With mediocre
holdings, our wish is to keep the pot small. Let us assume that we, in
an online poker game, limped A4 suited from late position after a few
limpers (to try to flop a straight, flush or good draw). The flop comes
AT8, giving us top pair with a lousy kicker.

In this case, it
is in our interests to keep the pot small. If checked to, we should
check and see a turn card (if we bet, we are likely only getting called
by hands that beat us). If another player bets, we can call on the flop
and re-evaluate on the turn (or just fold if it is a tight player doing
the betting). If there is a bet and a call in front of us, we just muck
this hand. We have no interest to play a medium-sized or big pot.

Adjusting
the pot size to the strength of your holding is an important part of
poker. Of course, sometimes it is necessary to mix up our play a bit to
not make us too predictable, but the above lines are long-term winning
standard plays.

Written by Andris Kangeris for 24hPoker.com

”

In this scheme you increase your wager by one unit after every loss and decrease it by one unit after every win. For example, with $5 units, you bump up your bet to $10 if you lose the first bet, then drop back down to $5 if you win the second hand. However, you never go below your starting unit, no matter how many hands you win in a row.
The D’Alembert may be a good way to keep your mind occupied, but computer simulations consistently show that no progressive system improves your overall results. Again, you encounter a lot of small wins punctuated by big losses.

Quitting Early
Another myth is that knowing when to quit saves you money. But quitting just postpones the inevitable results until your next trip. For example, you get off to a great start during a three-day jaunt to Tahoe and find yourself up $200 the first hour. Quitting early may have some positive psychological and emotional benefits, but it doesn’t make any difference in the long run. Your gambling bankroll continues on the next trip, because your money, the dice, and the cards have no memory of what previously happened. Playing less time overall in a negative expectation game can save you money, so in that sense, quitting has value. But if you plan to play 20 hours of roulette over the next year, it really doesn’t matter how you split the time up per trip.

Gamblers instinctively understand that by wagering the same amount every time, they ultimately fall prey to the law of averages and will lose. They reason:
“If I could somehow vary my bets, perhaps I could come out ahead. All I need to do is win my big bets and lose my smaller ones.” Unfortunately, that strategy
is easier said than done. But that hasn’t kept numerous people from trying to find the Holy Grail of gambling – a winning progressive betting system.

Any betting system that has you change the size of your bet depending on whether you win or lose is considered a progressive system. Because most gamblers understand that the house has the edge, they vainly search for creative ways to gain the upper hand over the casino. Betting systems generally come in two f1avors: positive and negative. With positive systems, the bettor increases his bet after a win by some predetermined amount. The idea behind a positive system is to ride winning streaks by parlaying profits from one winning bet to the next. Negative systems are more common; they involve betting more after a loss. The idea behind a negative system is to raise your bet amount to make up for a loss or losses in one single bet. This article looks at two of the more common systems.

My advice: Avoid all progressive betting systems. They may look appealing, but ultimately they all fail.

Perhaps the biggest mistake for novice gamblers is making a betting decision based on superstitions or instincts rather than facts. I can assure you that poker superstars such as Howard Lederer and Phil Hellmuth do not win because they wear their lucky sweater or rely on horoscope readings.

Winners like Lederer and Hellmuth are brilliant in analyzing the complex choices each hand offers in a high-stakes tournament. This section debunks
some common hocus-pocus that gamblers mistakenly turn to.

Going with your hunches
Using your intuition, going by your gut, and playing a hunch are all paths to ruin. If the odds favor the house by more than 9 percent like they do on a hard eight bet at the craps table, then that’s the rate you lose over time. Sure, you may get lucky and win in the short run, but casinos are geared to outlast you. (The only way to leave a winner on a lousy-odds game is to immediately stop playing if you’re up.) They have a huge bankroll, and when they have the edge, not even the luckiest person on the planet or even Olga, the All-Knowing Psychic) can turn the tables and beat the odds.

Instead of relying on your hunches, you’re better off diverting that psychic energy to studying the laws of probability and choosing games that offer the lowest house edge.

Playing a lucky machine
Many people have a favorite slot machine they like to play. That’s reasonable. After all, gambling at a familiar game is better than taking a chance with one
you know nothing about. However, many players return to the same game because they believe they have found a lucky machine.
If you’re relying on a lucky machine and think you’re consistently winning, I urge you to keep records of your play. Write down how much money you start with before you sit down, and then count up what you have when you walk away from the machine. You may be surprised to see that you didn’t perform quite as well as you thought, especially over the long term. Selective memory plays tricks and deceives gamblers into thinking they’re ahead, which is seldom the case.

Calculating the odds in Casino Games
If you’re good at maths, you often can detect when the casino payout odds are lower than true odds. With dice, for example, you have 36 different combinations, and the odds are 35-to-1 for each combination. But with other games, the odds can be impossible to calculate. Take slots, for example: The thousands of possible
reel combinations and ever-changing progressive jackpots make it difficult for anyone to calculate the odds of winning.
One of the most confusing aspects of odds is the difference between for and to. For example, in video poker a flush pays 6 for 1,which means your win of six coins includes your original wager. So your actual profit is only five coins. However, if the bet pays 6 to 1,your odds are better. Your profit is six and your total return is seven (your win plus your original wager). This small detail may seem like a silly case of semantics, but it can make a big difference in your payout.

This section ties together the joint concepts of payout odds and true odds that will get you on the road to understanding the house edge (or advantage). Armed with a full understanding of that key statistic, you’ll be able to discriminate between good and bad bets in a casino.

Identifying payoff odds
In almost all cases, the payoffs favor the house, and you lose in the long run. However, some unusual situations arise that give astute gamblers an edge.

Zero expectation
A zero expectation bet has no edge – for the house or the player. This balance means that both sides can break even in the long run. For example, if you remove the two extra green numbers (0 and 00) from the roulette wheel, the game now becomes a zero expectation game because it has 36 numbers, 18 red and 18 black. Any bet on red or black would be a zero expectation bet.
In other words, when you bet on one color, your chances for winning and losing are equal, just like flipping a coin.

Negative expectation
However, casinos aren’t interested in offering zero expectation games. In order to make a profit, they need to add in those two extra green numbers to change the odds in roulette. Now,when you bet red or black, your odds of winning are 10/’38 rather than ‘%6 So your even money bet moves from a zero expectation to a negative expectation.
Whenever you’re the underdog (such as in roulette), your wager has a negative expectation, and you can expect to lose money. It may not happen right then.
You may defy the bad odds for a while and win, but over time you will lose. Most bets carry a negative expectation because the house doesn’t give true odds for the payouts (as is the case for roulette). Craps provides another good example. Say you bet that the dice will total seven on the next throw. If you win, you are paid 4 to 1. However, the true odds for this occurrence happening are 5 to 1 (%6).
That difference may not sound like a major change, but the house edge on that bet is a whopping 16.67percent! And a negative expectation bet for you is a positive for the casino. (The casino makes an average of $16.67 on every $100 bet in the previous craps example.)

Positive expectation
In a positive expectation bet, the tables are turned on the house so that the players have the advantage. Most people can’t believe casinos actually allow a positive expectation for the gambler, but surprisingly, some are out there. One example is in tournaments, where, in many situations, more money is paid out by the casino than is taken in.