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Strategy Basics
Casino Games 101
Knowledgeable gamers understand that the odds among different games vary
tremendously. Skilled blackjack
players who have mastered advanced card-counting systems may actually enjoy
a two percent advantage
over the house. (They might also be blacklisted from playing, if they become
too good.)
Casinos make more than half their profit on slot machines, where the house
edge is around 17 percent. If you
want to play the slots, find a "progressive" machine that increases its
jackpot as money is pumped through it.
Some one-dollar machines pay as high as $250,000. Weekend gamblers are
advised to enhance their
enjoyment by following these basic rules:
Go in with a game plan (including a budget) and stick to it.
Limit each bet to one percent of your original stake.
Don't push your luck.
Pass up the free alcoholic drinks.
Avoid the "big wheel," which has the worst odds: 25 percent!
Test Loaded Dice
Fill a tall glass with water and then gently drop in each die. Repeat this
several times, with a different number
(side of the die) on top each time. You will know that a die is loaded
if it turns when sinking so that the same
two or three numbers always show up.
A less obvious test is to hold the die loosely between the thumb and forefinger,
at diagonally opposite
corners. Loaded dice will pivot, unmistakably, when the weighted side is
on top.
Basic Blackjack
Among those in the know, blackjack has a reputation as the best casino
game because it's the only one in
which a skilled player can beat the house over time. An experienced player
enjoys a two percent advantage
over the house. The fundamental strategy of Blackjack can be summed up
in 6 easy points. By following these
points listed below, the house advantage in Blackjack is lowered to under
2%. If you take anything away
with your from this site, it should at least be the following points.
Every Blackjack player should become
familiar with these points:
(1) If a players hand totals 12 through 16, and the dealer is showing a 3,4,5, or 6, the player should STAND.
(2) If a players hand totals 12 through 16, and the dealer is showing a 7,8,9,10 or Ace, the player should TAKE a card.
(3) ALWAYS split Aces & Eights, and NEVER split Fours, Fives and Tens.
(4) A player should always DOUBLE DOWN if they have 10 or 11 against a dealers upcard of 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9.
(5) NEVER take insurance against a dealers Ace.
(6) If a players hand totals 17 through 21, they should stand, and always
take a card if they have a soft 17 (Ace & 6)
regardless of what the dealers upcard is.
Click here for more advanced strategies.
Click here for the most advanced strategy:
Card Counting. (This is the only proven winning strategy).
The Game of Poker
The objective of Poker is to win the pot-the collection of chips or other
bets made by the players during a
hand of poker. Basically, there are two ways you can win: 1) Have the highest
ranking hand 2) Bluff the other
players into folding by making them believe you have the winning hand.
It is from this strategy that made the
"poker face" famous.
As in other casino games, there are strict rules to abide by. But in poker,
it is very important to know the
specific order of card hierarchy and how they are ranked. The lower the
probability of getting the hand, the
higher the rank: 1 in 649,740 for a royal flush, 1 in 72,193 for a straight
flush, 1 in 4,165 for four of a kind, 1
in 694 for a full house, 1 in 509 for a flush, 1 in 255 for a straight,
1 in 47 for three of a kind, 1 in 21 for two
pairs, and 1 in 2 for a pair. The stronger the hand, the better chance
you have at winning the pot.
Poker Hand Rankings
1.High Card--A hand without a pair, straight, or flush, valued only by
its highest card
2.One Pair--Two cards of the same rank
3.Two Pair--Two cards of one rank and another two cards of another rank
4.Three of a Kind Three cards of the same rank
5.Straight --All five cards are in the same suit but not in a sequence
6.Flush--All five cards ' five cards in a sequence but not in a single
suit
7.Full House--Three cards of the same rank and two cards of another rank
8.Four of a Kind--Four cards of the same rank
9.Straight Flush--All five cards in sequence and in the same suit
10.Royal Flush--A, K, Q, J, and 10 all of the same suit
At the Table
The game starts with the dealer handing out the cards clockwise from his
or her left. As soon as
the cards are dealt, the players are left with four options. You may check
the bet (bet nothing but still
remain in the game), call the previous bet (bet the same amount as the
previous bet), raise the
previous bet (increase the amount of the previous bet), or fold (giving
up a chance to win the pot by
not matching a bet). You can only check when no other players have made
any bets and it's your turn
in that round. There are only three rounds of betting allowed in casino
poker. When a player makes
his or her bet, the next player can call, raise, or fold. To stay in the
game you must at least match the
previous player's bet. However, you can always forfeit you chips or money
by folding.
As in all organized games, there is a betting structure in casino poker.
For example, if you're
playing at a $2-$5 table, you can only bet at increments of $2 until a
player has a pair showing or until
the bet has gone around the table once or twice (depending on which casino).
Only at that point can
the betting increments be raised to $5. Since all the players are trying
to win the pot, they are virtually
all playing against one another (unlike Blackjack). The casino makes money
by charging 10 percent of
the pot for each hand of poker. The maximum house take on the pot is usually
set at $3, although that
maximum can vary by casino and by table, depending on the betting increments.
When the players have finished their betting, they show their cards and
the dealer declares the
winner. If there is a tie between any of the players, the winner is determined
in the following manner:
1.High Card-The highest card wins then the next highest, and so on.
2.One Pair-The highest pair wins. If the pairs are of equal rank, the hand
with the highest single
card wins. If those singletons are of the same rank, the second-highest
singletons are
compared, and so on.
3.Two Pair-The highest pair wins. If the pairs are of equal rank, the hand
with the highest
second pair wins. If both pairs are identical in both hands, the game goes
to the hand with the
higher singleton.
4.Three of a Kind-The highest three wins. If the threes are of equal rank,
the higher singletons
are compared. If they're the same rank, the hand with the highest fifth
card wins.
5.Straight-The high end of the straight determines the winner. If the straights
are equal, card for
card, the pot is split evenly between the two hands.
6.Flush-The highest card in the flush determines the winner. If the highest
cards are the same,
the next highest cards are compared, and so on.
7.Full House-The hand with the highest three of a kind wins.
8.Four of a Kind-The higher of the four-of-a-kind hands wins.
9.Straight Flush-The hand with the (higher card wins. If the higher cards
are the same, the
hands are tied and the players split the pot.
10.Royal Flush-Players with a hand this great tie and split the Dot.
Poker is a relatively a simple game: nevertheless, there are many variations
of it that may be
confusing. Poker variations are divided into two categories: draw and stud.
The main difference is that
in draw poker the players hide all their cards from other players, where
in stud, only some of the
cards are revealed. All in all, there are at least two dozen versions of
draw poker and a similar
amount of stud poker. Even though draw poker is more popular, high rollers
tend to prefer stud poker
and Texas Hold 'Em.
Stud Poker
Big time gamblers may prefer stud poker due to the volatility and the excitement
it brings. After
each round of betting, players get additional cards that can drastically
change the rank of their hands.
Once the new cards are received, the player has another chance to bet.
The showdown proceeds
once all the betting have been finalized, and this is when all the remaining
players (those who have
not folded) show their cards to determine who keeps the pot.
Here is an example of a usual round of stud poker:
Player A bets $5. Player B raises Player A by betting $10 total ($5 for
Player A's bet plus the $5
raise). Player C folds (drops out of the game). Player D calls by betting
$8. Player A calls by betting
$4. (Player A has already bet $4 in the round, so to call the bet of $8,
he needs to throw in another
$4.) Player B would have to reveal his hand first. Then, in a clockwise
motion, any player who can
beat Player B's hand reveals their hand. If they can't beat Player B, they
put their cards on the table
face down.
Playing table poker at a casino is not like your buddy's Monday Night Football/Poker
parties.
When betting, you can't just throw your bet in the pot. Rather, you place
your chip directly in front of
you and the dealer puts them in the pot. You must always wait your turn
and abide by casino rules.
For example, you cannot reach for your wallet, purse or pocket to get extra
money. Also, you must
wait your turn.
Seven-Card Stud
The name is derived from seven cards dealt (although only five of them
will be used). Even
though five cards are more common, this was one of the original poker games.
The games starts with the dealer handing out three cards, two faced down
(called "hole cards")
and one faced up. The player with the lowest up card opens the betting
by wagering $1. All following
bets must meet the table minimum. If it's a $2-$5 table, then all the bets
after the opening bet must
be at least $2.
After the first round ends, all the remaining players receive another card
faced up. Players who
fold must not reveal their losing hand because other players may get some
idea of what the remaining
players have. The second round starts with the highest-ranked poker hand
showing. This will be
either a high card or a pair. Like the first round, all bets must be in
$2 increments, unless at least one
player has a pair showing. If that's the case, the betting can automatically
be raised up to the table
maximum, or $5. If a $5 bet is made, all proceeding bets must be made in
$5 increments.
Round three starts with the fifth card being dealt, faced up. Once again,
the player with the
highest hand showing starts off the betting. If there is a tie, the player
closest to the dealer's left
starts the betting. At the end of round three, the dealer hands out the
sixth card faced up. Even if no
pairs are showing, the players can bet the table maximum, in this case
$5.
After round four, the dealer gives all remaining players their last card,
faced down. Now all
players have seven cards total, three faced down and four faced up. The
fourth round starts the
betting and a showdown will finally end the hand.
Texas Hold'em
There is a lot in common with seven-card stud and Texas hold'em. The main
difference is that
everyone has only two cards faced down for personal use and five cards
faced up in the middle of the
table for public use (called "community cards"). Each player has seven
cards to make up the best
poker hand possible-except those five cards are used by all the other players
as well. Up to nine
players may play at a time. Also, Texas hold'em has only four rounds of
betting opposed to five like
seven-card stud.
Before the dealer hands out any cards, there are two initial bets (called
"blinds"). The bet starts
with the player selected by a marker that rotates clockwise around the
table. The marker allows
different players to start off the bet after each game. The player to the
left of the button puts into the
pot a small blind. The player to the left of that player puts into the
pot a big blind. Usually, the big
blind is the amount of the low table limit and the small blind is usually
half the big blind.
The dealer hands out the first two cards faced down. Then the first call,
raise or fold is made by
the player left of the big blind. If that player wants to call, he or she
would have to wager the amount
of the big blind. To raise, he or she would have to bet the big blind plus
the small amount of the table
betting spread. For example, if you're playing at a $2-$5 table, a small
amount would be $2. Betting
moves
Calculate the odds against you, and if the return is greater than the odds,
make the bet. This rule
generally applies to the last two bets of Stud Poker or, in Draw Poker,
the bet before the draw. For
example, in draw poker, the odds against drawing one card and making a
flush are approximately
nine to two (nine chances in 47). If there are ten dollars/pounds in the
pot and your bet is two
dollars/pounds, fine - you are getting 5:1 on a nine-to-two bet. But if
you must make a two
dollar/pound bet and there¡¦s only six dollars/pounds in the
pot, six-to-two (3:1) is a sucker¡¦s bet. Fold
your four flush. Conversely, if the odds are in your favor, bet as heavily
as you can.
You¡¦ll find More tips like this at Gambleco.uk
Lock Hands
Hands that are heavily favored to win, even without improvements, are known
as 'locks'. For example,
the hand JJJ33, a jacks-up full house, would be played as a lock in high
draw poker. This powerful
hand is a big favorite to win.
Your strategy with a lock hand should be to keep as many players as possible
in the pot for as long as
possible. You've got a hand strong enough to weather almost any storm,
and should be in for big
winnings, especially if opponents draw out strong, but less favorable,
totals.
With lock hands, you must concentrate on building up big pots for yourself
and then exercising the
famous arm sweep to collect your winnings.
The Game of Roulette
The American roulette wheel is derived from the European roulette wheel.
There is only one notable
difference and that is the double zero slot in the American version. Unfortunately,
this added slot means the
chances of winning are one out of thirty-eight in American roulette, a
little worse than the one in thirty-seven
for the European version.
The numbers on the wheel seem to be arranged in a complete random fashion;
however, there is a
method: high, low, odd and even numbers are as mathematically balanced
as possible. The zero and
double-zero are at opposite sides of the wheel, odd and even numbers alternate,
and the colors of the
numbers alternate between black and red, with zero and double-zero highlighted
in green. There are no
tricks involved and all numbers have even chance of winning.
Online Gambling Precautions
If you are considering making a deposit with some offshore online betting
establishment, how do you avoid
problems and sort these issues out ahead of time? The only way to do this
is to invest some time in
investigating the sites you are interested in. You really cannot comparison
shop unless all prospects under
consideration first pass minimal security standards. If a site is questionable,
forget it. There are plenty of
others available.
The Internet has some general anti-fraud groups with a special focus on
Internet consumer fraud and a
growing contingent of consumer-advocacy sites focused on online gambling.
The Interactive Gaming
Association and the gaming software developers and vendors have their Code
of Conduct for online gambling
sites, so membership or licensing generally indicates a substantial basis
of trust, and in this sense acts as a
stamp of approval.
The online 'watchdog' sites concerned exclusively with Internet gambling
are a diverse and uneven collection
of services. The best sites have detailed criteria for assessing gambling
sites and present you with research
data about many sites in a format conducive to making informed comparisons.
These watchdog services
survey sites for membership in the Interactive Gaming Council, licensure,
bonding and insurance, gaming
software licensor, ownership information, longevity in the business, and
other fundamental indicators of
reliability. Beyond this, the best sites also correlate information about
the ease of conducting business,
customer support and responsiveness, fairness of gaming, aesthetic design
of the site and ease of navigation,
sign-up bonuses and referral bonuses, choice of gaming or wagering options,
and administrative fees and
restrictions on wagering and financial deposits and withdrawals.
Betting Systems
Simply put, a betting system is a way of using money management to maximize
your profits. No matter what technique or
method you use to give yourself an edge at the blackjack table, if you
don't manage your money properly you will probably
walk away a loser.
Card counting and cluster counting, as mentioned elsewhere on this site,
includes its own type of betting system. IE:
Increase your bet size two to three times your original bet when conditions
favor the probability of receiving a winning hand.
But what if you are strictly a basic strategy player? Besides the obvious
bank roll increases experienced by doubling down and
splitting your cards, what method should you use to increase your chances
of walking away a winner? Below are 3 betting
systems. The first is a common system which I don't recommend, but I include
on this page as it is one which has been
recommended by certain, so called 'blackjack experts'. The last two are
systems which are worthwhile to use depending on
your starting bankroll.
The Martingale System
This system, which was invented over 200 years ago, instructs the player
to double his bet each time he loses, on the
assumption that he will eventually win and show a profit from the initial
wager.
With a beginning wager of $5.00 you would double your wager with each loss.
IE: $5, $10, $20, $40 $80, etc. After a win
your wager would drop back to $5.00. All wagers are recovered when you
win a hand.
Casinos have table limits to eliminate the effectiveness of this system.
After a long losing streak you will eventually hit the
table maximum, thus defeating the purpose of this system. Plus, a considerable
amount of bankroll is needed to make this
system work, and the payoffs simply aren't worth it. If you started with
a $5 dollar wager and lost your first four wagers and
won your fifth, (without double downs or splitting your cards) you would
be a measly 5 dollars ahead. This is simply not worth
it, and if you are losing multiple hands in a row it is time to leave the
table, not double your wagers. Also, losing double downs
or splits can deplete your bankroll in a big hurry.
Progressive Betting System - 2 Level
This is the simplest betting system to use and still effective. To use
this system simply decide on a minimum and maximum
bet. Then bet the smaller amount after a loss and the larger amount after
a win. For example, say you set your minimum bet
at $5 and your maximum at $15. Start with a $5 dollar bet. If you win that
hand you bet $15 your next wager. You then
continue to bet $15 until you lose. After any loss you return to your minimum
bet of $5.
This is a basic, put solid progressive betting system.
Progressive Betting System - 5 Level
This is another simple, yet effective system, based on a 1,2,3,5 back to
1 progression. Example: For a $5 player, the betting
levels would be $5,10,15, and 25. With this system you start with your
$5 bet and progress to the next level when you win a
hand. If you lose a hand you drop back down to your original $5 wager.
If you win four hands in a row you should then drop
back down to your original $5 wager, hence the 1,2,3,5 back to 1 progression.
Lets take a look at how this works. This system is rewarding when you experience
winning streaks but still doesn't kill you
with losing streaks. Lets say you lose your first three hands and then
win your next three. Assuming a starting wager of $5
you would be ahead $15 at the end of six hands. If you were betting an
equal amount on each had you would be even.
It should be noted that progressive betting systems such as these fail
when you experience a win, loss, win, loss, win, loss,
type of scenario. In a case like this, you would be better off betting
an equal amount on each hand. However, this is the risk
you take in your attempt to maximize profits on streaks of 3 wins or more.
And in reality it is not as risky as simply using basic
strategy and betting an equal amount each hand. The nature of blackjack
is such that winning streaks and losing streaks
frequently occur, and that is where progressive betting systems maximize
your profits.
Thanks for visiting us, we'll add more gaming stratigies regularly.
Please visit us again.