With literally thousands of online casinos on the internet, it can sometimes become very confusing as to which ones are safe and reputable, and which casinos are not. So many of them are beautifully designed, look very professional and offer great signup bonuses, so how does one go about choosing the ″reputable″ online casinos while avoiding the ″dodgy″ ones?
When choosing an online casino to play at, one should always take into consideration the following points:
Licensed casino: Is the casino licensed? While many online casinos are licensed, a significant number of casinos are not. There are plenty of unlicensed, illegal gambling casinos which are nothing more than money scam operations. One should always avoid these casinos at all costs.
Where is the casino licensed?: While online casinos licensed in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Kahnawake, Netherlands Antilles, United Kingdom and the West Indies are recommended, online casinos licensed in Eastern Europe should be approached with extreme caution.
24/7 Support: Does the casino offer 24/7 phone, fax, live chat and email support? Test the casino’s customer service department by asking them a few questions about their games, bonuses, etc and measure how long it takes to receive a decent response.
Professional Recogition: Is the online casino officially recognised by various gaming bodies and authorities? For instance, are the payout percentages of the online casino independently reviewed by auditors such as PricewaterhouseCoopers? Is this information made publicly available?
Blacklisted: Is the online casino blacklisted for any reason? There are many casinos which have been blacklisted by several gambling portals for one reason or another. Although not all blacklists are credible sources of information, one should avoid online casinos which appear in several blacklists.
Software: Casino software providers such as iGlobalMedia, Microgaming, Playtech, Random Logic, Real Time Gaming and WaterLogic are very popular and have excellent reputations in the online gambling industry.
With so many online casinos coming and going, and with so many cons and scams surfacing on the internet everyday, one needs to be especially careful when registering one’s credit card with or transferring money to an online casino. The above set of guidelines may not completely safeguard a player’s money, but they are nevertheless a good set of common sense points to go by when choosing an online casino to play at.
This is Part 2 of my article about the load of crap (pun intended) some websites try to feed you to separate you from your money. Don’t fall for it. Be smart. Play smart. Let’s continue with more excerpts that are even more ridiculous than those in Part 1.
Excerpt: ″Now for the first time, I’ll show you how you can turn $40 into $50,000 in as little as 87 days with a new system of playing and winning at craps! What the casinos hope you will never find out about playing this elusive game, now it’s possible to win 78% of the time. Using my system, you can win about three times out of four (up to 78% of the time, to be more specific). With my strategies, which are really a combination of the systems of the best pros that I’ve gambled with and learned from over the years, you can pick up everything you need to know to win at craps every time you play. You probably already know that craps is hands downs the best casino game based on the odds. What you may not know is that by using my ten-step system, you can actually turn the odds in your favor! That’s right, using my craps strategies, which I’ve detailed in a brand new report called [name redacted] you can actually beat the house!″
Analysis: This claim seems to me to be as ridiculous as those that promise you can learn dice control. If you learn nothing else from reading my website, my free sample chapter, and my articles, you must understand and accept one important fact: the game is designed for you to lose. It’s mathematically impossible for the player to gain an advantage over the house. Say it out loud, slowly, and let it sink into your brain—-it’s mathematically impossible for the player to gain an edge over the house no matter what combination of bets or bet amounts are used. Therefore, the guy’s statement about his system, ″—-you can actually turn the odds in your favor,″ is total crap. Period. If the guy’s system relies on dice control to gain the advantage, then run for the hills as quick as you can because you might get run over by another flood of bull manure. After reading my free sample chapter, you know what I think of dice control and dice setting. The phenomenon called ″distribution variance″ is what allows players to win in the short-term. Nothing else. No fancy system, no silly dice-setting technique, nothing. Got it? The house always wins in the long-term. No player can beat the house over time. You must understand and accept that fact. The truly knowledgeable player plays for the fun, excitement, and the occasional short-term win, not because of any silly belief that he can actually beat the house consistently over time. You must not yield to your strong desire to win an easy buck. Instead, you must be smart, you must play smart, and you must learn the secret to craps. In the excerpt above, the guy states, ″—-you can win about three times out of four (up to 78% of the time, to be more specific).″ Then, he proudly states, ″—-everything you need to know to win at craps every time you play.″ This guy can’t even keep his apparent lies straight! In one breath, he says you’ll win three out of four times, and then in his next breath he says you’ll win every time you play. So, which is it? Do you win only 78% of the time that you play or do you win every time you play (i.e., 100%)? LOL (laugh out loud). Remember, don’t be a sucker.
Excerpt: ″[Name redacted], the author of [name redacted] system has developed a unique a way to win at the dice table. He is talking about walking away with a handsome win, not breaking the table. The [name redacted] system is a Place bet system designed for a conservative approach to the game of craps. It has an exact play for every roll of the dice. Each and every hit in the [name redacted] system pays you a profit. Each hit puts more money in your pocket. The game of craps was created to make money for the casino. The [name redacted] system makes money for the player. If you’re willing to put in a little bit of time to learn, and apply the rules in a responsible, controlled way you WILL make a profit! You cannot lose in [name redacted]. Order the [name redacted] beginner’s system for $120, delivered by e-mail, or $125 for a printout sent by first class mail.″
Analysis: First of all, if this guy gets $120 for his eBook, then I must be charging way too little for mine! LOL. This guy’s system can’t possibly be a consistent long-term winner because he states that it involves Place bets, all of which have built-in house advantages that you can’t overcome no matter what combinations or amounts of Place bets you make. Because it’s a mathematical fact that no combination of bets (including Place bets) can result in a player advantage, the obvious question you should ask is whether this guy is a total idiot or lying through his teeth to rip you off when he states, ″You cannot lose—-.″ I still can’t get over the fact that he gets $120 for his eBook. I wonder how many he’s actually sold. You better hurry up and buy my eBook for a measly $9.95 before I jack up the price to a hundred bucks!
Before reading the next excerpt, ensure your Hip Waders are pulled up as high as they can go. Disclaimer: I cannot be held liable in any way if you drown in this guy’s bull manure. Continue reading at your own risk!
Excerpt: ″Earn a living playing craps, can it be done? The answer is yes. To date, all of our students average $1,000 to $3,000 a day playing craps and I can show you how you can join the club. Average $100 to $325 per hour every day you play craps using our [name redacted] craps system/strategy. We guarantee it! Even if you have never played the game of craps before, you can learn our [name redacted] system quickly and easily. In fact, we provide the only effective craps system that is capable of winning long term and it is not complicated at all. Fact: Our craps system is so good, that you will make a bare minimum of $1000 the very first day you use it, or you are entitled to a 100% money back guarantee. Please note, we did not say ‘might be able to make $1000,’ we said ‘every single person who has used our system makes an average of $1000 or $3000 per day, every day that they choose to play.’ Our most advanced players average from $900 to $1500 per hour!″
Analysis: I think this guy’s load of crap is hysterical. Let’s see if I understand it correctly: it’s the only effective system capable of winning long-term, it’s not complicated, you can learn it quickly and easily, it’s guaranteed, the beginner can win up to $3,000 per day every day, and the advanced player can win up $1,500 per hour every day (which equates to $15,000 per 10-hour day). Woohoo! This is a get-rich-quick sucker’s dream come true. It’s easy to learn (no effort or energy needed) and as a beginner you can win up to $3,000 per day every day, which means you can make more than $1,000,000 per year with minimal effort, minimal skill, and minimal knowledge. Well, golly gee wilickers! We better run out and buy this system right now because every hour we wait, we lose $325. No analysis of this excerpt is needed. If it doesn’t seem absurd to you, then you deserve to lose your shirt.
Excerpt: ″The preferred grip for you is the one that you feel the most comfortable with, has the least amount of friction and skin on the dice, and that produces the best results for you personally. You will need to practice as much as possible to produce the best results. Before you go to a casino for a session, practice on your practice box, or in the hotel drawer just for a warm up to see how your throw is today, before the session. This will save you a lot of units and help save your bankroll!″
Analysis: This excerpt addresses the wonderful world of dice-setting—-a world, in my opinion, called Fantasyland. One short sentence should be enough for you to realize the bull manure this guy is feeding you. ″Before you go to a casino for a session, practice on your practice box, or in the hotel drawer just for a warm up to see how your throw is today, before the session.″ What? A hotel dresser drawer? Good grief. Even the dumbest moron should realize how stupid that is. A hotel dresser drawer doesn’t have the same bounce characteristics and friction coefficient as a craps table, and a dresser drawer doesn’t have the little pointy rubber pyramids (spikes) on the back wall that a craps table has. So, how could practicing in a three-foot-wide dresser drawer foretell anything about how your toss will be on a 12-foot craps table? In my opinion, this easily rates as one the dumbest statements I’ve ever read. When you read nonsense like that, it should raise a red flag for you to be cautious of the rest of the crap the guy is trying to sell you.
The following are several excerpts combined into one. I found them embedded throughout a well-liked and respected craps-related website. Personally, I don’t know why it’s so respected because, in my opinion, it has no legitimacy. It deals with dice setting. To understand my disdain for the idea of dice setting, please read the free sample chapter of my eBook that’s included on my website.
Excerpts from the dice-setting website: ″Craps can be beaten—-. There is only one way to beat craps in the long run and that is through precision shooting and dice control—-. Craps can be beaten by changing the nature of the game from a mathematical and random contest, where the casino has built in the edge for itself, to a physical contest, where the person who shoots the dice can gain the edge by skill—-. Dice control is a physical skill that can be learned by disciplined players who are willing to practice and perfect the techniques we teach them… Our teachers are the greatest dice control specialists in the world, many with books and major publications to their credit, all with years of winning casino experience behind them—-. This craps strategy is called dice control, precision shooting, or rhythmic rolling—-. There are no ‘board certified’ dice controllers yet. Everyone is self-certified; that is to say, you have to take them at their word—-. The [name redacted] board of directors wanted [name redacted] to have the highest standards of excellence in the budding field of dice control. To do this, we set up tough criteria for our instructors and coaches to meet. They had to be skilled shooters and good teachers—-. These criteria have been established to standardize and elevate the teaching of dice control by subjecting our teachers to a rigorous certification process that makes sure they understand, can demonstrate and can effectively teach all the essential areas of our curriculum.″
Analysis: For analysis of this claim, and all other claims about the merits of dice control, read the free sample chapter of my eBook on my website. In the sample chapter, I don’t go into detail about the certification of so-called dice-control specialists, so I’ll talk a bit about it here. I must admit, this guy’s website is well-written and I respect the writer, not because I agree with the message, but because I like the writing. The author did a particularly wonderful job dreaming up and explaining the certification process. The idea actually sounds legitimate. However, in my opinion, it’s simply a well-crafted and well-written part of an elaborate scheme to separate you from your money. The author goes into a lengthy excuse for the fact that the certification program for their dice-control instructors was developed, executed, and managed by the same people trying to sell you the product. The sophisticated excuse does a fantastic job of explaining why no independent authority exists that can administer the certification process. I suggest that you think twice about the validity of the explanation. Any certification process not developed, executed, and administered by an independent organization should immediately raise a red flag in your brain. If the certification authority is the same bunch who’s selling the product, it’s like sending the fox to guard the hen house. In my opinion, the reason an independent organization still doesn’t exist after so many years since the idea of dice setting was born is because dice setting can’t be proven to be legitimate over the long-term. (Read the free sample chapter to find out why I feel this way.) In the 30 or 40 years that so-called dice-control specialists have been around, surely some entrepreneur somewhere would have formed an independent organization to test and certify dice setters. However, according to the excerpt, no such independent organization exists. Makes you wonder doesn’t it?
As these excerpts show, the Internet (and many books, magazine articles, and other resources) is crammed full of ridiculous claims designed for one thing—to get your money. If you want to play craps, you must get over your blazing desire to make an easy buck. You must plant yourself in reality. You must learn to play smart. You must accept the fact that no craps system exists that allows you to gain an advantage over the casino. Don’t fall for bogus strategies and wacky dice-setting schemes that claim they can consistently win you tons of money. Be smart. Play smart. Learn the secret to craps. Armed with facts instead of false hope, you’ll be a strong weapon against the casino.
Now you know!
Michigan casinos are found throughout the ″Great Lakes State,″ also known as the ″birthplace of the automotive industry.″ Michigan has a population of over 10,000,000 people, with an area of 56,000 square miles. The capital of Michigan is Lansing, with a population of approximately 500,000. Detroit, with a population of 1,000,000, is the largest city and the leader in automotive manufacturing throughout the world.
The majority of the nineteen Michigan casinos, scattered throughout the state, are located on Native American tribal land. Michigan casinos vary in size and amenities, with over 21,000 gaming machines, a large selection of slots, and 450 table games in the state. There are three casinos in Detroit, all open 24 hours, including the MGM Grand Detroit Casino, with 75,000 square feet, 2,800 slots, 72 table games, and four restaurants; and the Greektown Casino, a Native American casino, with 75,000 square feet, 2,400 slots, and 85 table games. The MotorCity Casino in Detroit has 75,000 square feet, 2,621 slots, 88 table games, and four restaurants.
One of the most popular and the largest of Michigan casinos is the prestigious Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant, with 210,000 square feet, 4,704 slots, 75 table games, such as craps, poker, roulette, and blackjack, as well as five restaurants and a hotel. Another of the larger Michigan casinos is Chip-In’s Island Resort and Casino, located outside of Detroit in Harris, with 55,000 square feet of gaming area, 970 slots, 30 table games, four restaurants, and a small hotel. The Leelanau Casino, in Peshawbestown, has 30,581 square feet, 416 slots, and eight poker tables.
There are a number of smaller Michigan casinos, run by the Kewadin Native Americans, located in Christmas, Sault St. Marie, Hessel, Manistique, and St. Ignace. The Kewadin Casino in Christmas, open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., has 8,000 square feet, 207 slots, and eight table games, such as Blackjack and Caribbean Stud poker. In addition, Michigan casinos include the Ojibwa Casino Resort, in Baraga, with 17,000 square feet, 326 slots, and eight table games; and the Bay Mills Resort and Casino, in Brimley, with the same area of gaming space, 700 slots, 13 table games, four restaurants, and a small hotel.
Michigan casinos are a thriving business. With new casinos and major expansions being planned throughout the state, Michigan casinos will continue to be a promising venture. They provide revenue and employment, as well as a variety of gambling entertainment for residents and visitors to the Great Lakes area.
There are thousands of major online poker sites that offer a wide variety of alluring features to attract more of new players. Many of these Online Poker Sites have even set up online portals, which educate the people about how to play poker! One common feature is to put forward competitions and free games called satellites by which the winners get entry to real life poker tournaments.
These Online Poker Sites do these tournaments once in a month when they need more visitors. One such tournament on Online Poker Site is Poker Stars one of the players won his ticket to the 2003 World Series of Poker. This person was offered to go and participate in the main event causing shock in the whole of the poker world. The same offer was made during the 2004 World Poker Series, which had more number of players. In fact it featured triple the number of players over the 2003 turnout. At least three players in the world final table had won their entry through an online card room.
On the same lines, in the year 2004, in the month of October, Sporting bet Plc, one of the largest Online Poker Site of the world, announced the acquirement of ParadisePoker.com, one of the online poker industry’s first and largest online card rooms. This $340 million dollar deal marked the beginning of new era. It was supposedly seen as a step to make huge profits from the people who are online around the world. Since then there are many deals in which big casinos have acquired many Online Poker Site websites and are now playing high! In June 2005, another Online Poker Site known as Party Gaming, the parent company of the largest online card room, Party Poker, went public on the London Stock Exchange, and got a preliminary public offering promote value in excess of $8 billion dollars.
In the year 2006, the Online Poker Site community saw more of new development when the Online Poker Site Party Gaming moved to get hold of EmpirePoker.com from Empire Online. Ultimate Bet’s parent company also listed on the London Stock Exchange and other poker rooms such as Poker Stars & Poker.com are believed to be exploring for some opening public offerings.
Talking about the legal viewpoint of these Online Poker Sites, they may differ in many or some ways from online casino gambling, but many of the same issues do apply. Therefore, it suggested being more careful while you are playing on these types of sites online.
Be smart, play smart, and learn how to play craps the right way!
You think, ″Tip the dealers? What? Losing money to the casino isn’t enough, now you tell me I have to give money to the dealers?″ Yes, you should tip dealers, especially when they’re helpful. In the casino business, a ″toke″ is a tip. Dealers call tippers ″George″ or ″live,″ and non-tippers ″stiffs.″
Dealers typically work for minimum wage (or close to it) plus tips. I compare them to restaurant servers because they provide a service and they rely on tips for their livelihood. The service that dealers provide includes properly handling your bets and winnings, answering questions about the game, being courteous and friendly, and just making your craps play more enjoyable.
Craps dealers typically share tips instead of keeping what they get. This makes your job of tipping a bit trickier. Ideally, you want to maximize tips for good dealers and minimize tips for bad ones. In terms of craps dealers, ″good″ versus ″bad″ isn’t necessarily a measure of skill. If a dealer is friendly, respectful, attentive, and funny, I won’t reproach him for being slow (he may be slow because, for example, he’s new on the job). I’d much rather be in a slow game with fun dealers than a fast game with dealers who are mannequins when they aren’t handling chips.
If craps dealers share tips, how do ensure yours goes to the good ones? You can’t. If I’m disappointed in a dealer’s service, I ensure his colleagues know I’m disappointed. When the bad one takes a break and a good one replaces him, I politely tell the good one something like, ″I don’t know if Fred is having a bad day or what, but he’s been downright mean to the newbie on the hook.″ The dealer knows I’ve been tipping well and he usually gets the hint that Fred ought to lighten up if they want me to continue tipping. Because dealers’ income depends on player tips, the good dealer won’t hesitate to insist that the lousy one get his act together. The good one knows, if I stop tipping, maybe others will, too.
If you’re losing during a particular session, it’s not the dealers’ fault, so don’t blame them. It’s not easy to tip while losing, but you shouldn’t base your tipping on your gambling success (or failure). When losing, if you can’t keep the same tipping pace as when you’re winning, simply slow down, but don’t stop it altogether. Always remember that you give tips for good service, not for your success at the table.
For whatever reason, most craps players don’t tip at all. I don’t know if it’s because of stinginess or just plain ignorance. Usually, you’re the only one tipping. Although not good for the dealers, that’s great for you. It means you get all the dealers’ attention and reap all the rewards. Rewards? Absolutely, positively, undeniably yes! Learning how and when to tip, as well as how you’ll benefit from tipping are part of learning the secret to craps.
Now you know! Remember, learn how to play craps the right way.
The gambling scene in America can be traced back to centuries. Gambling has remained to be a part of the American dream life ever since the inception of lotteries in New Hampshire. The history of American gambling can be broadly classified in two. One relating to the games which come from the legacy of the Indian tribes who used to play some recreational games for amusement to monetary exchange .
Millions of dollars exchange hands at the gambling tables and it is a major source of revenue for more then half of US states. Internet has played an important role in popularizing gaming and making it reach the deepest of the people. Casinos, which can be seen over half of America, are the main centers for gambling in America. They are making a lot of money and the business is seen to be a prospective venture. States which are minting money out of gambling are becoming a source of inspiration for the others to follow. Thus it can be said that gambling in casinos is now not confined to Las Vegas Nevada. Gambling is present all over America and is steadily on the rise.
The holistic approach to maximize out of gambling has given rise to complete townships that cater to the needs of the gamers. Now the cities are coming up with a complete set up casinos, entertainment parks, luxurious hotels, fabulous restaurants and many other peripherals to make them complete. These are the most sought after destinations of the avid and new both types of gamblers.
A gaming commission set up in each state regulates this business and thus there is a eye watching them. But gambling has found its way bye-passing the rule of law. Charitable gambling is common place and is at equal level with the conventional gambling. Every city once in a while organizes a raffle or any bingo event. The charitable boards and commissions take care that the charitable gaming organisations do not loose their track and stick to their purpose.
But internet gambling or technically called as "off shore" gambling is taking big strides in America. Although the US justice department has pronounced as an offence but there is no explicit action that lies against the offenders. The internet gambling is a worse form of gambling as it has its reach in to the deepest of territory. The addicted gamblers find easy access to the gambling sites. The law also cannot take a firm stand as there is no law governing such misuse of gambling as of now. There are severe researches going around the country to find the economic and social impact of gambling. The law needs to be codified and has to be brought within the framework of the legislation.
The gamblers and the gambling promotional companies have come up with cruise gambling. It is a two way beneficial method for the gamblers. First of all it attracts much higher number of people due to the extra special features of such tours. Secondly it takes the scene of gambling in to the waters of the country. This has made it difficult for the legislators to make a complete law on this issue.
Having set many commissions and boards to monitor gambling, the governments is trying to do the best it can. But as long as it is fetching revenues to the states gambling is here to stay in America.
Players Tony Ricci and Andy Iskoe weighed in on opposite sides of a big AFC encounter in Round 1 of their Leroy’s Money Talks match Friday night.
Ricci, a Vancouver, British Columbia, exotic club owner who won $303,000 as the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest champion last year, and Sin City handicapper Iskoe made seven graded selections against the Leroy’s line, ranging from $100 to $700, plus the vig.
The player with the biggest bankroll following the weekend’s games will advance to the second round, along with previous qualifiers Bryan Leonard, Marc Lawrence and Sooner Adam.
Iskoe used Baltimore plus 2 1/2 over San Diego as his $770 wager, while Ricci took the favored Chargers for $660.
Ricci’s $770 bet was San Jose State plus 2 1/2, while Iskoe used the Washington Redskins plus 2 1/2 for $660.
Riccis other picks were Chiefs minus 7 ($550), Chiefs UNDER 40 1/2 ($440), Panthers minus 7 ($330), Nebraska minus 23 ($220) and Cowboys minus 9 1/2 ($110).
Iskoe’s additional plays were Arizona State minus 1 ($550), New Mexico plus 13 1/2 ($440), Raiders plus 3 ($330), Virginia Tech minus 10 ($220) and UNLV plus 3 1/2 ($110).
The selections were revealed on a Friday night radio program aired from the Silverton Hotel and Casino with Jimmy Vaccaro, John Kelly and Arne Lang co-hosting.
Sixteen invitees put up $5,000 each to compete.
Leroy’s operates more than 60 Nevada bet shops and sponsors three other major Las Vegas football contests
The Texas Holdem poker phenomenon has taken the country by storm. There are reportedly over 100 million active poker players worldwide. Poker's popularity is largely the byproduct of technology and several recent trends: 1) online gaming, where players engage and socialize in real-time over the Internet, and 2) the broad publicity created by high profile TV shows like the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tour (WPT).
With all the poker-mania, there's a modern day ″gold rush″ underway today. Analyst estimates are a bit sketchy, but some estimate that people will spend up to $4.5 billion U.S. in 2005 on poker-related items of every kind, including:
* Online poker room play
* Poker tournaments
* Online poker room financial brokers (e.g., Firepay, NetTeller, Citadel and others)
* Casino poker rooms
* Game units for your TV
* Poker chip sets and dealer buttons (you can even get ″collector″ edition dealer buttons signed by the pros - got some as Christmas presents this year!)
* Poker tables and instructions for how to build poker tables
* Poker software (poker odds calculators, poker games, home tournament organizers, tournament director kits)
* Texas holdem poker rule and starting hand cards
* Poker schools and training courses
* Poker books and strategy e-books
* Poker hats, shirts and clothing items
* Local poker clubs
* Free Texas Holdem poker stuff of every kind imaginable.
To give you an idea of how many people are now playing with real-money online, have a look at PokerPulse.com. PokerPulse keeps tabs on the top online poker rooms and tracks how many real-money poker games are running at any point in time. Some estimates based upon these statistics suggest that online poker room companies are turning over in excess of $110 million U.S. every 24 hours, with hundreds of thousands of online players active any given evening.
So, with the worldwide inertia that poker has today, how far can it go? Will it be like the CB Radio - a brief flash in the pan and then suddenly - poof! Will it be just another fad and memory, with occasional reminders like Smokey and the Bandit? Hard to say for sure, but with the momentum, advertising and so many young people, including many teenagers and children playing across the Internet, it could be that the poker big bang has occured and its expansion has only really begun…
As with many new, controversial phenomenon such as poker, there’s the social morality aspect and question: Is playing poker gambling? Is it really just a game of skill? The question of whether online poker rooms are just as much about gambling as traditional casino games and online bookie operations is certainly one that is shaping some industries, and creating some others. Before we look for the answers to those questions, let’s explore what the actions of certain parties might lead us to believe.
For example, the traditional credit card processors (MC, VISA, AMEX, PayPal, and others) decided to discontinue use of their credit card services to fund player’s online poker accounts. Today, there’s a whole cottage industry that has sprung up to fill the enormous demand for transferring funds between bank accounts and online poker room accounts, processing untold millions of dollars each day.
Try advertising a poker-related item through Google’s AdWords or the Yahoo/MSN equivalent (Overture) and you’ll quickly find they have a category known as ″Gambling URL″ that’ll come into play. Any website that could be related to online poker rooms is considered a ″gambling″ site and advertising services are thereby refused. So, what happened as a result? Well, aside from these companies losing advertising revenues, it’s forced the poker industry into fierce competition for the poker-related search ″namespaces″. Try searching for something using keywords like ″Texas Holdem poker″ and see what you find.
It’s amazing at how clogged up the search engine namespace has become, with every search engine optimization (SEO) technique and trick known to man being used by poker website owners in an attempt to gain visibility, page ranking and routing of more visitor traffic to their websites.
In my opinion, the answer to the question ″Is playing poker gambling?″ is - it depends. It depends on the player’s skill level. If you’re a highly-skilled player, then IMHO it’s not gambling - it’s playing a sophisticated game like chess, where you not only must defeat the opponents but you must also use strategy and play the odds in order to win.
You beat the odds by playing only certain starting hands from given positions at the table, adjusting your play based upon the game situation, understanding other players’ styles, and by developing a strategy for winning, throwing your weight (chip stack) around at the right times, and by sitting out at other times. No, it’s far from gambling for many of us. However, for those who don’t possess the requisite skills, it is gambling more often than it’s not, since skill is much less of a factor for such players. Since the basic rules are deceptively simple, people often have no idea why they’re beaten.
What makes it very different from traditional casino gambling games, though, is that you’re not playing against the house. The online poker room takes a ″rake″, a percentage of the money that’s in play (e.g., 10% or so), which is how the online poker room generates revenues. It doesn’t really matter who wins or loses, since the poker operator always gets paid for hosting the game.
I’ll cover popular online poker rooms in a future article in more detail, but suffice it to say, there’s gold in them there hills and the claims have been staked by the market leaders, who are raking in fortunes providing their sophisticated online service businesses to millions of eager players worldwide.
Since these business aren’t allowed to operate within U.S. borders, they’re virtually unregulated (at least by U.S. standards) and new ones continue to pop up every month. Now I don’t want to make it sound like everyone who plays online is playing with real money - quite the contrary. There’s an enormous number of players who just use ″play money″ and have a real blast playing and socializing via the use of instant messaging and interactions through the online poker room site.
So, is the poker phenomenon a trend or just another fad that’s destined to take it’s place in our video library, beside Smokey and the Bandit and that CB radio wave that crested in the 1970’s? Hard to say for sure. One thing is for certain. A lot of people are having fun playing in online poker rooms, at traditional casinos and in their own home games - while an army of others are supplying that demand, and making a boatload of money in the process.
Until next time - Good Luck!
Rick
I’ve read a lot of my colleagues’ books and articles and, as best I can remember, they all say that failing to set win/loss limits is one of the worst things you can do. I disagree–partially.
I agree with setting loss limits. Divide your vacation time into sessions and set firm loss limits for each session. Without them, you could go broke the first day and have to spend the rest of your Vegas vacation watching the fountains and sinking pirate ship 10 times a day. Therefore, disciplined loss limits allow you to manage your money so you don’t go broke before it’s time to go home.
I disagree that you should also always set win limits (″always″ is the key word). Many of my colleagues advocate quitting when your winning streak ends. If you’re a local and can return to the table day after day without restriction, then perhaps win limits may serve some purpose. But if you’re an occasional gambler who visits Vegas twice a year, I believe that win limits are generally inappropriate.
Suppose you start your four-day vacation by playing your first craps session. Suppose your win/loss goal is to quit the session if you lose your $100 buy-in or if you get $150 ahead. Two minutes after you buy-in, the table goes berserk with a blistering hot roll. The shooter throws for almost an hour without a 7-out. You interrupt your screaming, jumping up and down, hugging, and kissing to count your chips. Holy cow, you’re $900 ahead! The shooter finally rolls a 7-out. Now what? You’ve won six times your original win goal. Do you quit? If so, how long do you quit? Do you quit altogether and not play the rest of your trip? If you quit, what will you do in the time that you planned to play craps?
That’s the dilemma you face if you’re only an occasional gambler, which most of us are. Personally, I keep playing. Why? I came to Vegas to play craps. I didn’t come to exercise in fancy spas, or go shopping, or sight-see, or eat at fancy restaurants, or look at boring water fountains, or ogle half-naked pirates, or do anything else but gamble. So, why quit when I’m ahead? If I quit after a $900 winning session, then what? Sit at the bar drinking beer watching everyone else have fun at the craps table? No way! Like you, I’m a knowledgeable player who understands and accepts that I’m likely to lose by the time I check out of the hotel, but that’s okay with me. It’s pointless for me to quit after getting $900 ahead. If money were my motivation, I wouldn’t have spent $1,200 for two airplane tickets to Vegas, $700 for a hotel room, $500 (maybe more) for food, $500 for my wife’s massages, and $1,000 (probably more) for my wife’s shopping spree. It doesn’t add up. If all I care about is money, I would have saved tons of it by staying home. As long as I’m winning, I’m playing. The only time I stop is after I’ve lost my buy-in money for a particular session. Then, when it’s time to start the next session, I drop another buy-in allotment on the table and start having fun again.
However, win limits may be suitable for non-gamblers who rarely play. Suppose you visit Vegas to attend a convention. You’ve never gambled, you don’t know how to gamble, you think it’s a silly waste of money, or it just isn’t fun for you. Your friend talks you into going down to the casino to play craps. You don’t want to go, but your friend won’t take no for an answer, so you reluctantly say, ″Okay, but only for an hour.″ Your friend has the mojo working in high gear, rolling number after number. You don’t have a clue what you’re doing as you mirror your friend’s bets. All you know is that the dealer keeps giving you green chips and you keep stuffing them in your pocket. The streak finally ends after 20 minutes and you find yourself $300 ahead. You tell your friend, ″I’m taking my money and running.″ Rather than staying for the remainder of the hour that you said you’d play, you reached a comfortable win amount and decided to quit before losing it all. For this type of non gambler, a win limit makes good sense.
If you don’t want to lose your shirt, you must learn the secret to craps. Don’t fall for bogus winning systems or ridiculous dice-setting claims. Be smart. Play smart. Learn the secret to craps.
Now you know!
If you are looking for a great vacation spot for the whole family, Las Vegas is the place to go for great food and family fun. No longer just for the adults, Vegas casinos are working hard to become more of a family destination.
When planning your trip to Vegas, it is recommended that you check with a couple of different hotels or casinos to see what discount packages are available. Many of the casinos offer a type of "club card" that you can use to rack up discounts and other goodies while you gamble. If you are lucky, you can earn enough comp credit to eat quite well for free during your visit to Vegas.
The Luxor Hotel in conjunction with several other casinos offers what they call the One Club. You can sign up for the One Club for free and earn comp dollars while playing at Mandalay Bar, Luxor, Monte Carlo, or Circus Circus. The great thing about the One Club is that it can be used at so many different places. While you play the slots, you can rack up some great comps such as food, hotel rooms or just plain bucks. You can use the comp dollars how ever you wish at any of the participating casinos.
The MGM Mirage offers what they call the Players Club. It can be used at the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Treasure Island, and New York-New York. They call your comps Resort Rewards and you can redeem them at any of the MGM properties. They have over 100 restaurants, 10 shows, 7 spas and 3 golf courses.
Harrah's and Caesars family of casinos offer another great reward plan. You can earn rewards by playing the slots or tables at Paris, The Flamingo, Bally’s or Caesars Palace. They call their program Total Rewards and you receive different tiers of comps depending on the amount that you spend per calendar year. Depending on your tier level (gold, platinum or diamond), you can earn anything from credit towards meals, your hotel room or free show tickets. One thing that is really enjoyable about this comp program was that you could redeem your comp credits through a catalog even after you left Vegas.
With all of the reward programs that are being offered by the different casinos, make sure that you are signed up before you start plopping those quarters into the slot machine. You may not win the jackpot but you can sure rack up some nice comps along the way.