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Archive for September, 2010

Rules of Gambling- Part 1

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

If you have always wanted to test out gambling, then now is a great time to do it. The selections online are vast and you could play for hours for days on end and never repeat a game. Regardless of what game you like—slots, baccarat, blackjack, poker, video poker, roulette or Keno—you are going to find them in a good casino. Whether you are an online or a land-based gamer you are going to have to use your skills to pick the right games too. Here are some tips on what to do and not to do when gambling:

• Drinking and gambling. Just like drinking and driving don’t mix, neither do drinking and gambling. There is a reason why casinos keep bringing you alcohol as long as you keep gaming. They want you to keep having fun and keep funneling your hard-earned cash into their pockets. It’s a formula that has worked for decades…the longer players stay in a casino, the more money the casino makes. If you want to protect your own bankroll and stop yourself from making bad decisions, then lay off the free drinks. Or at minimum, learn to monitor them and pace yourself.
• Understand the rules. You’d be surprised at how quickly rules of a casino change. Casino operators assess their revenue streams a lot and make alterations to maximize their returns. You may be used to visiting a certain blackjack table one week and the next week see that it has a higher table requirement. You may be used to playing in a weekly poker tournament, only to find the next week it has a higher buy-in than normal. Casinos want to continue making money and they alter wagers to make sure they do.
• Set your bankroll. This is the most important thing to remember when gambling: set your limits and stick to it. When you are excited about a game or believe you are “getting lucky” that is NOT the time to start playing with your bankroll. You want to know how much you can reasonably afford to lose before you even step foot into a casino or log into one online. The casino makes it easy to wager…they have a huge range of funding options available. Set your limit and never change your mind at the casino.

Part two coming next.

The Growth in Mobile Gaming

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

If you are a long time gamer you may be bored. Not that casinos online aren’t bringing new games to the market in record time, because they are! The problem though is that some avid players are familiarized with games quickly. For example, if you are a slots player, then you can play all the possibilities of an intricate i-Slots game. Sure there are choices to be made but you can do it relatively easily. If you are playing an i-Slot for a few hours, you are going to know all the choices and it can become boring. If you are bored with gaming, quite possibly the best thing for you to do is start testing games out on different platforms. One of the most popular styles of gaming today is the mobile market.

With the rise in smart phones, more and more possibilities are afforded to the average gamer. Now you can download free software from an online casino and play games on the go. You won’t have to have a laptop or desktop to game—rather, you can enjoy the full game on your cell phone. Mobile casinos are the next big thing with gamers. Part of the draw is that a lot of people have to commute on the train to and from work. They need to have something to do for a long ride. What better pastime than to be able to bring your casino to and from work with you? Online casinos know how popular smart phones are these days and are creating software to transfer from online to the mobile platforms. You would be surprised at the technical advancements of these games too. Don’t expect a dumbed-down version of a game; you can find plenty of applications that contend easily with full-laptop gaming. Technology is vast today and you can find quality games to enjoy on your cell phone. Installation is easier than ever too—most likely you will only have to sign up for an account, download the software and then you are ready to go. Expect more and more games to come to the mobile market in coming months. And expect websites to continue building games that can be translated to your smart phone. It’s a great market and casinos are quickly taking advantage of it.

The Basics of Roulette Gaming

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Everyone has seen a roulette wheel. It is one of the most recognizable symbols on the casino floor today. If you ever wanted to play, be sure to give yourself some time to learn the game. Remember that roulette isn’t one of those games you can just jump into. Sure it is “only” a wheel, but that wheel comes along with some serious wagers that you need to know about prior to dishing out your money! The purpose of the game is to pick the winning number that the ball stops on. Each pocket has a number and color. You can pick a number, a color or whether or not the final number is even or odd. There are a wide range of wagers about a casino’s roulette wheel and what you can win.

In the world of roulette there are try styles: American wheels and European wheels. The American when has thirty-eight numbers in it because of an added pocket labeled “00”. The European wheel has thirty-seven slots that are straight numbered from zero to thirty-six. If you are playing on a European wheel the house edge is 2.63, whereas on an American wheel the edge is 5.26. To get in on a game you have to purchase roulette chips and every player at a table has a different color chip to work with. After the game is over you have to cash in the chips because they aren’t transferable to any other games or tables. When you leave the table, the casino will exchange your roulette chips for regular casino chips. You can’t take roulette chips to the cash cage and redeem them so be sure to get regular casino chips. In the game of roulette there are a lot of rules to remember and it would do everyone some good to watch a good game, do some studying of the game and reading about it. Sure you want to have fun, but you also don’t want to lose everything you brought to the casino with you by not understanding the rules. Roulette is a wildly popular game so give yourself a chance to learn about it and then jump in and have fun!

Don’t Be Fooled by Bonuses

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Some players hear the word “bonus” and want in! Sure the word sounds good, but you have to remember that some bonuses are better than others and some sound good, but in reality aren’t much benefit to the player. One of the biggest problems with bonuses is that if you aren’t careful they can have a lot of fine print to them. That fine print can all but take away any benefit you would have had with the bonus. For example, let’s say a slots-focused casino advertises a “100% match bonus of up to $500.” You click on the special and then see a bunch of small print. You skim over it, sign up and start open your account with $200. You may look at your account and see that the casino didn’t deposit your additional $200. You still only have $200 of your own cash. What happened? Remember that fine print? Yeah—chances are in that fine print there was something that said HOW the casino would be handing out your bonus. Most likely it isn’t an “instant” bonus in that you get your extra money, but you don’t get it until you wager a minimum of $1,000 at the casino. That means you have to deposit $800 more before you get that additional $200 on your initial start up deposit. That’s fine if you love the casino, but if the casino has a limited number of slots, it may be hard to get up to the $1,000 level with gaming. You may be bored before you ever get to that rate and then what? You end up leaving the casino and the casino never pays out your big “100% match bonus.” Not much of a “bonus” is it?

Don’t be fooled by bonuses—they aren’t all the same. You want to take time to read your bonus’ stipulations and understand the rules and regulations. You also might want to find bonuses at casinos that offer a wide range of games. Not that a slots-based casino isn’t good, but if you don’t know that slots are your preferred games, then you may benefit from finding casinos that offer a wide array of games.

Bonuses Running Rampant

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

In the world of casino gambling you are going to find tons of bonuses. The fact today is that gambling companies are highly competitive. Gone are the days of customers having three or four selections when it comes to online gambling. In today’s market all you have to do is a simple Google search and you are going to find hundreds of options when it comes to online casinos. Some are good, some are great and some aren’t worth it. One of the distinguishing factors of finding a good casino is the bonus structure. If you do a search you are going to find casinos that offer: reload bonuses, referral bonuses, start-up bonuses and cash back bonuses. They may all seem confusing, but don’t worry—they make sense.

First of all there is the cash back bonus. This one is a bonus that directly benefits the gamer because it brings them immediate returns. They can use the bonus for playing more games or turn the bonus in for merchandise and prizes. Some casinos even let you withdraw the cash bonus—caution though: be sure to check with the rules before you try to withdraw them. There are some casinos that come along with a long list of what you can and cannot do! Be sure to read the fine print of any bonus structure so you know exactly what is going to happen. Then there also is a reload bonus—this is when you get a certain amount back when you reload your account with funds. These also can be lucrative. Let’s say you use your initial $100 deposit, you want to deposit an extra $200 to play with. The casino may say, “If you deposit $250, you get a 10% reload bonus.” That means if you increase your wager to $250, you will end up getting $275 credited to your account. It’s a great way to stretch the budget. There also is the referral bonus. These are just that—refer a friend and you get an extra bonus. In the world of online gambling bonuses are running rampant. You want to take advantage of them as much as possible and use them to increase your bankroll every chance you get.

Why People Love Blackjack

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Blackjack is one of the most popular games you are going to find on the casino floor these days. If you love games of luck and skill, then blackjack and poker both should be at the top of your list in terms of games to play whether online or at a land-based casino. Blackjack dates way back to the 16th century amazingly enough. It first started in Italy and was a game that took off immediately. Of course it was slightly different in that the game was played with cards all valued at seven or higher. Smaller value cards were not used. The basics were the same—you added values to get to the opportune total. If you went over, you lost and the player closest won. If you played one of those games now you could see the differences, but overall it had the same basic principles. Cards have their face value, or a different value, and you add them up to get under a certain total.

If you fast forward to current times, blackjack still incites a lot of interest among gamers because of its strategy level. Unlike slots that are totally based on luck, blackjack is a game that has a huge element of strategy to it. That’s what makes it so much fun too. You can play a game and never have a total handle on what happens due to luck, but still play better if you give yourself some time to study strategy. Remember that with blackjack there is a basic strategy chart you should keep handy. This is a chart that works with probabilities. It says if the dealer has a certain card and you have certain cards, the probabilities say you should make a certain move. It will tell you to hold or take another card. This is all based on the numbers and that’s what makes the chart so reliable for any blackjack gamer. If you are going to play blackjack you should know the strategy chart like the back of your hand. Of course give yourself practical time to learn it, but once you do you should have a lot of fun with the game. Hopefully you will even walk away with a great blackjack win!

Mayflower Casino Offering 400% Bonus

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

There is a new catch-word in the world of online gambling and it is “400.” The number is representative of a new bonus that Mayflower Casino is offering people this month. If you get to the casino and test it out you are going to be able to take advantage of its huge 400% match bonus on your first deposit. The best thing about it is that there isn’t a lower limit on it—meaning you aren’t required to deposit a certain amount to take advantage of the bonus. Rather, you can deposit any amount you feel comfortable with. This is a huge bonus in the market and any gamer should take advantage of it. It is going to bring you a lot of gaming fun on the casino’s extra credits. Getting extra credits is a great way to test games out in a risk-free way. They allow you to see which games you want to play and then run with them, without losing cash.

When you are looking for a new casino be sure to watch out for the match bonus at the start. You want the casino to match whatever you can deposit to give you a better chance of winning. The more credits you have, the longer gaming sessions you can have. And, if you get a match bonus it is “free” money to continue wagering with. You can test out games that you normally wouldn’t with no risk to yourself. It gives you hours of extra play on the casino’s credited money. If you do go to Mayflower casino you are going to have a great time too. The casino has a huge array of slot games, blackjack tables and roulette to enjoy. Regardless of which one is your favorite you are going to find it at this casino. Not only are you going to find great games, but you also are going to find a lot of visual appeal and integrated sound to enjoy. Overall this is a great casino and with the match bonus of 400%, you can test it out and see for yourself how much it has to offer to any gamer—whether avid or novice.

What to Look for in a Casino- Part 2

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Next, if you are looking for an online casino you should check out the bonus structure the casino is offering. You want two types of bonuses for a casino: the start-up bonus and a VIP program bonus. The start-up bonus is just that—the bonus the casino gives you for signing up. Normally this is some type of match bonus. All that means is that if you deposit $100, the casino will match it and your total credits in your account will be $200. Most casinos offer a match bonus of up to a certain amount. The trick here though is that you have to read the fine print. Some casinos offer a great start up bonus, but you collect it over the total of your first ten, twenty or even fifty deposits. If you weren’t planning on a long term relationship with the casino, but rather just wanted to try it out, this could be counterproductive. It means a long term commitment to the casino—whether you like it or not—before you can collect all of your bonuses.

Then there is the VIP bonus. This is one that comes along with a VIP program. Most casinos today have a VIP program where you earn credits back as you wager. For example, a casino may say that if you wager $10, you earn one point. When you accrue fifty points then you can turn those points into redeemable credits to wager with. The bonus structure may be such that you start at the silver level where you get just one point for $10. However, once you save up 100 points, you move to the gold level. In this level you earn 1 point per every $9 you wager. You earn more returns quicker. This is the type of bonus you want—you can eventually redeem those bonus credits for games, merchandise and comps. Some even automatically enter you into extra draws to win trips, hotel stays and other vacationer’s bonuses. The bonus is where you are going to bet the most back for your money so be sure to do some research at a casino’s bonus structure. Overall online gambling is one of the safest things you can do now a days, but you have to be responsible about it. Do some research and make sure you know the casino you are working with, but then have fun and enjoy!

What to Look for in a Casino- Part 1

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

If you are a fan of gambling then you may not have yet worked your way to the online world. It may be scary, but don’t fret. The online world is getting more and more secure these days. There are still some unscrupulous websites out there, but if you take the necessary precautions you may be able to avoid them with ease. First of all, when picking an online casino you want to find the casinos that have a membership of 500,000+. This is a great number because if an online casino has a half-million gamers, most likely it has already gone through the growing pains of building a strong customer base. Plus there is the notion that 500,000 people can’t be wrong, can they? If the casino has that large a number and has maintained them throughout the history of their growth, then it’s safe to say this casino as minimum is worthy of testing out. A lot of casinos now a days have the “free play” option and this is where you can use it to test games without risking your own cash.

Another way to check out online casinos is to make sure you do a simple Google search on the casino. In today’s internet age there are tons of free resources out there. you can Google a company and get to know its history, challenges, positive attributes and more. Forums and website blogs out there do nothing more than provide customers with a sounding board for them to post their own personal opinions on what is going on in the market. this is a great way to gain information on gambling and what casinos are the most trustworthy. Sometimes though, it isn’t just about being trustworthy. Sometimes you also want to use forums and blogs to find the casinos that are the most lucrative and fun! Rest assured that you can find this information online too. Players are more sophisticated than ever with internet use and will post their experiences with businesses online to help other people find great products and to protect other people from bad ones.

Part two coming next.

Basic Tips for Playing Poker

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

If you are thinking of getting into poker gaming then you should take a few minutes to study the game. Remember that poker is one of those games that has an element of luck to it, but also has a strategy. This means that anyone wanting to win big or have a good game needs to pay some attention to honing his or her own skill as a gamer. This is what makes the game such a favorite. Unlike slots games, that are purely based on luck, poker comes with a lot of skill. The good news is that there are tons of places online where you can get a good poker education—whether it is playing in a “free play” tournament or just watching an online poker room, you are going to gain a lot of experience. Of course sooner or later you have to just jump in and try for yourself, but watching is a great way to get into the game. If you are trying to learn the game, then there are some terms you should know. Here are some important ones:

• Ante bet—this is the basic of betting and it means every player has to make an opening bet to get in on the game.
• Fold—it happens to everyone; you get your cards and have nothing worth wagering on. Rather than opt in and lose money, players can just fold and wait for the next round.
• Bet to call dealer—this is an additional bet that amounts to two times the original ante wager. If you think you can beat the dealer, this is a great wager to help maximize your own earnings.
• Bonus payout. If the game calls for it, you may be albe to take advantage of an additional bonus payout. The way to do it is normally to beat the dealer’s hand. Make sure you check, but some games are more lucrative than others and if you want to walk away with more cash, then play those games.

This is just the beginning of what you should know to wager. Remember that gamers spend a lifetime honing their skill as players. Don’t rush yourself, but put yourself in as many advanced gaming situations as you can handle. It is a great way to get used to the games and start winning with skill.