Author: horse-racing-free-tips

Message boards and websites are filled with quality poker information, but sometimes the authors use “poker shorthand” to describe the game situations. If you’re not familiar with the terms, you can’t take full advantage of the knowledge being shared. Reading through the Poker Shorthand Primer will help you understand what people are actually saying when they say, “YMTC, playing Kxs in LP”..

Poker comes with it’s own language, slang included. While anyone who has seen an episode of the World Poker Tour knows that pocket Queens can be called the “lovely ladies” or the “hilton sisters”, there is more to poker lingo than hand nicknames.

A lot of websites and message boards offer poker strategy and advice, and knowing the basic terms and how to read poker shorthand can unlock this world of information. First, let’s look at the shorthand that poker players use to describe the cards during a hand.

The ranks of the cards are given, followed by a letter indicating their suit. So the King of Clubs is written, Kc. The two of Hearts is written as 2h. Tens are written as the letter T. You may see a flop described as Ac 4d Th. The Ace of Clubs, Four of Diamonds, and Ten of Hearts.

When talking about starting hands, the letter s stands for suited. For instance, a starting hand with the Jack of Clubs and the Ten of Clubs is described as JTs. The opposite of suited, offsuit, is indicated with an o. Jack/Ten offsuit is written as JTo.

And the last of the card shorthand, x is used to describe a random small card in a starting hand. If a player likes to play an Ace and any other suited card, that starting hand is described as playing Axs. Ace/anything suited.

There may be times when playing Axs is a profitable play, or times when calling raises with KQo is not recommended. Either way, the shorthand used in describing texas holdem helps cut down on the time it takes to describe the cards in play.

There is more to poker conversation than just the cards though. You will find the following shorthand on message boards as well. When talking about position at the table, or pre-flop action the blinds are often referred to as sb and bb for small and big blinds.

I mention this because when talking about the amount of money players make BB is used to mean big bets. Someone who makes 4 BB an hour at a $3/$6 table is having $24 an hour sessions. Just as in English, the words in poker lingo depend on the context.

Other shorthands you will see include YMTC instead of You Make the Call, HH in place of Hand History, and MTT for Multi-table tournament.

Of course youll find other, creative abbreviations out there, but having read through the basics, it will be easier to understand poker situations as they are described online.

You’ve probably noticed that Real Time Gaming, or any online gambling site, doesn’t use real cards. You have probably wondered at some point how the website is able to generate random card patterns that mimic actual game play without using real cards. The way that Real Time Gaming is able to produce random card combinations is through the use of a random number generator. Random number generators are not only used in cards games either. They use them in any portion of the game that requires an element of chance. For example, when you are playing Craps online, there is a random number generator that is producing the results of the dice. This is beneficial for a player to understand before playing.
As you might have guessed by now it is absolutely essential for Real Time Gaming to use the most high quality random number generator that they possibly can. They must do this to get as close to absolute randomness as technologically possible. There is quite a bit of technical details that effect absolute randomness and it is helpful for a player to understand some of the basics on how randomness is intentionally generated so that they can more fully understand how the game is played.
There are two basic types of random number generators that are typically used. The most common random number generator is based on a mathematical formula and is typically the easiest to produce. Obviously, the quality of the random number generator is based on how well the mathematical algorithm is written and implemented.
Another common random number generation method is the use of atmospheric noise, much like the white noise that you might hear on a radio with no station. This is obviously more difficult to re-create on the gambling format, however, the application is still a viable one.
There are then primarily two major concerns that a gambling website, like Real Time Gaming, must look at prior to choosing a random number generator that is high quality enough for their demanding players; you and me. The first item that must be considered has been discussed before, to be able to re-create randomness as closely as possible as to mimic the toss of a deck of real cards, or the flip of a coin. There are many high quality random number generators that are mathematically written that are able to do very well. In fact it would take the keenest observations to tell if there was a subtle aberration in the algorithm that might skew the results.
Another very important consideration that Real Time Gaming must take into account before selecting a random number generator is that of security. Any program that can be written can be cracked and therefore can be skewed in favor of a player without the best of intentions. Real Time Gaming understands this and has opened their random number generators to third party testing to alleviate our security concerns.

I would speculate that more than 95 percent of all football bettors have never asked themselves the most important question before wagering.

What do I want from betting on football?

This question is largely ignored by sports bettors. It is a simple question with no hidden meaning or tricks, yet for most it is not realistically answered. This question usually goes unasked and unanswered for most sports bettors. When it does get asked, more often than not the first response will be, “I want to win.” This is the obvious answer, but it is not exactly what I mean.

Are you looking to supplement your income?

Are you looking to bet as a profession?

Are you looking for a challenge?

Are you looking to make a little extra cash to buy a trip or a new car?

Are you looking for entertainment?

What are the specific reasons you bet on football? Write them down. Look at the reasons. Only you can answer this question for yourself. Most people would give the response that it is a combination of the above reasons. Yet when I talk to people throughout the season, very few have a plan to attain their goal. Even fewer have a specific plan or goal with which to work. To really be successful it sports betting, it is extremely important to have a goal. Many handicappers write about money management, but few ever discuss setting up a plan of attack or setting up specific goals to attain.

Preparation is the key to having a profitable football season. Part of this preparation involves setting goals. In talking to hundreds of sports bettors every year, I amazed at the amount of people that have no idea what they are trying to accomplish in betting. Most people fail in sports betting because they fail to set realistic expectations and determine a plan for attaining those expectations.

Picking winners is hard, but betting winners is even harder. If you have a plan and a goal, this mechanism of sports betting is made easier. There are many different approaches to betting football.

Here are a couple of things to consider when determining what you would like to accomplish for the season:

Including the preseason, there are approximately 22 full weeks of football action. If you bet an average of about 10 games a week, you will have bet on about 220 college and pro games during the course of a season. The following chart is a breakdown of percentages and net winners based on betting 220 games. Also illustrated is the potential profits that can be earned.

Win% Record Net Winners Profit @$100 Profit @$500 Profit @$1000
60% 132-88 35.2 $3,520 $17,600 $35,200
59% 130-90 31.0 $3,100 $15,500 $31,000
58% 128-92 26.8 $2,680 $13,400 $26,800
57% 125-95 20.5 $2,050 $10,250 $20,500
56% 123-97 16.3 $1,630 $8,150 $16,300
55% 121-99 12.1 $1,210 $6,050 $12,100
54% 119-101 7.9 $790 $3,950 $7,900
53% 117-103 3.7 $370 $1,850 $3,700

In looking at these figures, you can see that if you have a bankroll that supports $100 wagers, then you are not going to make enough money to buy that new Ford Expedition that you have set as your goal. Setting a realistic goal based on realistic expectations is something most handicappers do not do. If you set your realistic expectations and goals before the season, you will avoid a lot of frustration and disappointment throughout the season. It will be easier to avoid the week-to-week mentality that kills so many novice sports bettors. Approach the season as a long-term endeavor and expect tremendous deviation from week-to-week.

Do not expect to make $35,000 with a bankroll of $1000. Avoid this pitfall by defining and allocating an appropriate bankroll. A bankroll is money that you have set aside for your sports betting. Like any investment, this should be money that you can afford to lose without affecting your lifestyle. A bankroll shouldn’t be money that would use for something else. A fully funded bankroll should be at least 40 times your average unit of play. Having a funded bankroll of at least 40 units alleviates much of the pressure when the ball bounces the other way and you drop a few in a row or suffer through a losing streak.
To determine your goals for the season, here is a step-by-step process that will help:

1. Honestly explore the reasons as to why you bet on sports
2. Set up specific and realistic goals to accomplish based on the above reasons
3. Define and allocate a fully funded bankroll
4. Determine what approaches to actual handicapping you are going to incorporate
5. Determine approximately the volume of plays you are going to make
6. Based on your previous experiences, determine a realistic predicted outcome
7. Review your goals based upon your projected results
8. Get access to at least 10 different betting outlets
9. Stay with the plan
10. Keep meticulous records

If you follow these suggestions the only thing left to do is to pick winners. Good luck throughout the upcoming football season.