Author: horse-racing-free-tips

What’s the difference between a credit card and a debit card? A prepaid virtual card and an e-wallet provider? A bank draft and a bank transfer? I found this all very confusing, and so set out to find out a little about all the different types of payment methods available; here’s my overview:

MasterCard: a credit card; it’s as if you’ve paid the money now, but you don’t actually pay it until your credit card bill comes at the end of the month where you will see the payment usually under the casino’s financial partner’s name.

Visa: Credit card, see MasterCard.

Delta: Debit Card under the Visa umbrella; a debit card takes the money directly from your bank account.

Visa electron: Either a debit card or a credit card depending on how a particular bank issues it. Not available in USA, Canada or Australia.

Neteller: Set up an account, pay into that account from your bank, credit card etc., and use that account to pay into online accounts such as your casino account. It acts as an in between man between you and your casino so your casino doesn’t have your bank details. Your Neteller account can be in a bunch of different currencies. A Neteller account also accepts money from the casino, so you can withdraw your funds into it. Charges vary depending on deposit methods.

Neteller Instacash: Offered in some countries only, this form of Neteller payment allows for instant credit transfer rather than waiting the usual 3 days for transfer of funds.

Ecocard: An online prepaid debit card. It can be topped up using a number of methods, and allows stricter control of online spending. Again, using the Ecocard limits the personal details that a casino site has; they will have your Ecocard details, not your credit card details.

Firepay: an online account that acts like a debit card; like the Ecocard, the funds must be in your Firepay account before you can use them, allowing for purchasing control. Firepay offers instant credit, direct bank funding, real-time account access, and unlimited incoming funds payments (i.e. your winnings from your casino account).

Moneybookers: An email based method of sending and receiving funds; the account is linked to your bank account or credit card.

EwalletXpress/900pay: 900pay from EwalletXpress bills online transactions to your phone bill; 900pay does not offer credit facilities.

Wire transfer: A straight transfer of funds from your bank account to the casino or from a cash office to the casino; wire transfers usually require a waiting period and often carry charges.

Cheque/bank draft: Just like writing a cheque to a friend; there is usually a fairly long waiting period for cheque payments.

Click2Pay: online account that acts as a middle man between you and the casino. May be funded through a number of options, and accepts incoming funds, i.e. from the casino. Comes with charges.

Party Poker is one of the world’s largest online poker rooms with over 70,000 players. They cover almost 60% of the online poker market. Now what this means to you as a poker player is that with the large number of players and rooms you will never have to wait for a game, the player quality is relatively poor compared to rooms like Ultimate Bet and Poker Stars. As mentioned earlier start playing with play money and once you get hold of the game you may jump to the real money game. They have around 18,500 – 19,200 ring game players and 26,700 – 28,000 tournaments players live during peak hours.

Party Poker has some great signup bonus offers, $25 extra, 20% extra up to $100 and free entry to the partypoker.com million qualifying tournaments ($34 value) with your first deposit. The requirements to clear the bonus is pretty simple, you have to play 5 times the raked hands of the bonus amount i.e. if the bonus value is $25 you need to play 125 raked hands. The time period to finish the raked hands is 30 days. Party Poker offers standard game variety like Texas holdem, omaha hi and hi/lo and 7 card stud hi and hi/lo but does not offer 5 card draw poker and 1-on-1 tournaments. Limit Texas holdem game is the major traffic puller at party poker. Remember these are only real money player statistics.

They also have beginners live game tables reserved for new real money players only. New real money players can play on these tables for 45 days after they have set up a real money account. Where to go? Just log in to your account, go to the main lobby, click on the real money heading and then select beginners. Then choose a table and start playing. Following games and stakes are offered for beginners.

1. Game: Texas Hold’em

2. Limits: $.5/$1, $1/$2, $2/$4 and $3/$6

They also have good round the clock customer service, including both text and voice based. Party Poker also has a fairly good retention program and they recently started the Player’s club and we expect them to come up with more programs soon. Good luck and play safe. 🙂

Pai Gow Poker is an American card-playing derivative of the centuries-old game of Chinese Dominoes. In the early nineteenth century, Chinese laborers introduced the game while working in California.

The game’s popularity with Chinese gamblers eventually attracted the attention of entrepreneurial gamers who substituted the traditional tiles with cards and modeled the game into a new form of poker. Introduced into the poker rooms of California in 1986, the game’s immediate acceptance and popularity with Asian poker players drew the attention of Nevada’s casino operators who quickly absorbed the game into their own poker rooms. The popularity of the game has continued into the 21st century.

Pai Gow tables accommodate up to six players and a dealer. Differentiating from traditional poker, all players play against the dealer and not against each other.

In a counterclockwise rotation, each player is dealt seven face down cards by the dealer. Forty-nine cards are dealt, including the dealer’s seven cards.

Each player and the dealer must form two poker hands: a high hand of five cards and a low hand of two cards. The hands are based on traditional poker rankings and as such, a two card hand of two aces would be the highest possible hand of two cards. A five aces hand would be the highest five card hand. How do you get five aces in a standard fifty-two card deck? You are actually playing with a fifty-three card deck since one joker is allowed into the game. The joker is considered a wild card and can be used as another ace or to complete a straight or flush.

The highest two hands win each game and only a single player having the two highest hands simultaneously can win.

A dice throw from a cup containing three dice determines who will be dealt the first hand. After the hands are dealt, players must form the two poker hands, keeping in mind that the five-card hand must always rank higher than the two-card hand.

When all players have set their hands, the dealer will make comparisons with his or her hand rank for payouts. If a player has one hand higher in rank than the dealer’s but a lower second hand, this is considered a tie.

If the dealer beats both hands, the player loses. In the case of both player’s hands and both dealer’s hands being identical, the dealer wins. In casino play, ofttimes allowances are made for a player to become the dealer. In this case, the player must have the funds for any payoffs due winning players. Of course, the player acting as dealer can corner some large pots if he can beat most of the players.

Some casinos rule that players cannot deal or bank two consecutive hands, and some poker rooms will offer to co-bank 50/50 with any player that elects to take the bank. In all cases, the dealer will ask players in turn if they wish to be the banker.

In Pai Gow Poker, you are dealt “static” cards which means you have no opportunity to change cards to possibly improve your hand. However, as in traditional five-card draw, there are strategies to make the best of what you have been dealt. An example is keeping the flushes or straights in the five-card hand and the two cards remaining as the second high hand.

If you are lucky enough to draw four aces and a joker, you can keep three aces in the five-card hand and strengthen your two-card hand with the other ace and joker. Two pair? Keep the higher pair in the five-card hand and the other two matching cards will make up the second hand.