Category: Gambling and Casinos

Texas Hold ‘Em has been around for ages but it’s only been in the last 5-to-10 years that its popularity has exploded. Much of that explosion is due to the phenomenal success it has had on television. Most of the major tournaments are broadcast, some live, and it often seems as if this loyal audience cannot get enough.

But there is another reason Texas Hold ’em has gained such popularity. It’s a game that you can learn in an hour and enjoy for a lifetime. Here’s a brief overview of how the game is played:

Each player is dealt two down cards. These are often called your “Hole Cards”. You don’t want the other players to see these cards so peek at them carefully.

At this point, each player decides if he wants to play or “fold”, meaning get out and not play this hand.

If a player wants to play at this point, he may either bet, check, or raise.

Please note: It is important for beginners to understand that there are three types of games. Limit, No Limit, and Pot Limit. In a regular Limit Texas Hold ‘Em game the amount of the bets are predetermined and you can see what they are in the poker game name. For example, you might want to play $1-$2 table. In this case the bets are $1 and $2. For a Pot Limit game, the betting structure is similar to Limit and No Limit games but the highest bet possible can only be the amount of money in the pot at any given time. No Limit games are the ones you often see on television and the name says it all. In a No Limit game, any player may push all of his chips into the pot, at which time the other players must either call or fold. Because of the huge differences in the betting structures it is very important that new players know which type of game they are getting into before they actually sit down and begin to play.

Once the betting has been completed, three cards are turned up by the dealer. These cards are known as community cards or the Flop. All players use the community cards to, hopefully, improve their hole card standing.

Betting resumes at this point. As before a player may bet, check, or raise. A player may also fold at this point if he hasn’t improved his hand.

Once the betting has been completed, one card is turned faced up to go along with the flop. This card is often referred to as the Turn Card.

Again, there is a round of betting. As before, players decide if they want to stay in or get out.

The last card that the dealer lays down, face up, (the fifth community card) is called The River.

There is a final round of betting where players, again, decide if they want to stay in or get out. Players who have stayed in the game to this point now have 7 cards to use. 5 are on the table, and 2 are in the player’s hand (his hole cards). Using these 7 cards, each player will make his best poker hand using only 5 of the 7 available cards. The player with the highest ranked poker hand wins the pot.

The above is only a very basic format for how this wonderful game is played but it does not take into account all the various strategies that a player can put to work once he or she has gained some experience. As mentioned above, it only takes an hour or so to learn the basics of the game but it can take a lifetime to become a true master at it.

The tree of gambling is growing and its roots expanding day by day. While few decades before the tree was deemed as a weed and left unattended, in recent years it has received immense attention and nourishment from different countries of the world. This is mainly because of two interrelated reasons- the alarming rate at which the gambling tree is bearing fruits in the form of revenue and the its unfailing involvement with people.

At present gambling is legal in several corners of the world. It is lately declared lawful in some of the Asian countries. As a result new resorts that are open to all are built at these places. For instance the city of Cambodia has come up with the Ho Wah Genting Poipet Casino Resort that bills itself as the Las Vegas of the East. The casino offes all the delightful games such as B6 Baccarat, Mini Baccarat, Blackjack, Casino War etc. In the Indian subcontinent there are six casinos in goa out of which 5 are slots-only establishments. The one full serving casino of this place is an off-shore casino on atwinn engine catamaran, Casino Goa. It is a lifetime experience to visit and play at this floating casino that offers a bar, a swimming pool and a great restaurant featuring a multi-cultural cuisine.

One such similar yet unique experience is at the casinos of hongkong. The reason being the construction of Hong Kong casinos on ships, either in port or as casino cruises. However it seems that water and casinos share a good liaison for the only casino in Laos, the Dan Sa Vanh is located along the Nam Ngum Lake. Besides gambling the other activities at the casino include boating and golf.

Gambling is made legal and so there are around 15 casinos owned and run by ht e government in Philippines. Out of these the Fontana Resort is not for the local people of this place but only for the foreigners.

If you are looking forward to delight in the beauty of snow capped mountains along with playing your favorite games such as Caribbean Stud Poker, Keno, Money Wheel, Pai Gow, Roulette, Blackjack etc., the Genting Highlands, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is just the ideal place to hit. Besides being an acclaimed tourist spot, the Genting Highlands, by virtue of these casinos are quite popular in the gaming world.

Lotteries and lottery related games are quite significant and greatly relished on the land of South Korea. South Koreans have an immense liking for lottery games. This can be well assessed from the fact that South Africans are the pioneers of online gambling, they had introduced in 2002. Along with it a new lottery game which is akin to financial winner, the Sports Toto is a gift to the gambling world by South Korea. But this place is not all about lotteries. There are other forms of gambling too such as horse racing and cycling.

Though legalization of gambling in various corners of the world is at a surge these days, yet gambling should be done within limits. Addiction of gambling is extremely fatal to the life of the gambler and his family.

Some people that enjoy a good poker game at a buddies house on Saturday night also enjoy heading to a casino to play the game. A casino offers not only traditional poker games that are played at a table, but also offers video poker games. The biggest difference between table poker and video game poker is that the machine can be preset to have particular odds as to how often the player will win.

Of course, with a video poker game, there are buttons and virtual opponents as opposed to being able to hold your cards and look other players in the eye. The nice thing about video poker games, is that no matter what version of this popular pastime you enjoy the most, it is likely to be available. If you don’t happen to have a favorite, are new to the game or just don’t know all the rules, keep reading for some of the basics.

If you want to play five card stud on a video game, you will notice that the play is exactly the same as at the table. To start, every player is given a card with the face down as well as one card that is face up. The person that has the lowest card with the face up needs to make a bet of half of the minimum amount or a full bet to initiate the game. In a clockwise order players may either raise the opening bet, fold their cards, or call. Cards are dealt until each player has a total of five cards. Then the fourth card is dealt, and the lowest bet is raised to double the original bet. Finally, the fifth and final card is given to all the players face up, followed with the final round of betting.

In Caribbean Stud Poker, including on video poker games, each player wagers against the dealer and not against each other. To play, each person must pay an ante just to see their cards. Then, if allowed, players may bet one dollar to enter the jackpot. Five cards are then dealt face down to every person that is playing as well as to the dealer, except the dealer’s fifth card is dealt face up. The players now have two options to choose from: they may either place a bet equal or larger than the original ante, or as in any poker game they may fold and withdraw from the current hand, forfeiting their ante.

After all the players have either bet or folded, the dealer then reveals the cards in his or her hand. In order to challenge a player’s hand, the dealer’s hand needs to have either an Ace and a King or better; if no player has this combination, the dealer will fold his hand and the ante is the only amount paid out, with the player’s bets being returned to them. If the dealer has an Ace and a King or better then the player’s cards and the dealer’s cards are shown and the best hand wins the pot.

Good cards are a must when the stakes are high. Either that or a really convincing bluff, but no one can pull that off all the time. If one is to play online for large stakes then they are going to want to find a poker room that’s going to deal them decent hands when it counts. Some poker sites constantly deal crappy hands that can keep a player down on his luck. Here are some tips to choosing the right online video poker casinos to try your skills at.

One site is Paradise Poker. Some people know this site as the best place online to play poker. On this site there are constantly tournaments going on and a player will always find several high stakes games to enter. People have mentioned that this online video poker casino has the most pleasing graphics and yet it is not crowded with all sorts of unnecessary icons. For those players worried about the security of their money, Paradise Poker has shuffle card reviews from a highly recommended company, Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

Another good site to play poker at is Party Poker. With all of Party Poker’s efforts to get their name out there, all of the players they have brought to their tables have certainly rewarded them. It is worth noting, however, that although they do have quite a large amount of customers; their customer service is nothing to brag about. Party Poker is created by the people that started CardPlayer Cruises, which includes, Mike Sexton. Every year Party Poker hosts a rather large tournament known as Party Poker Million, which is also quite a draw for online poker players.

Poker Stars has never have a time where there is not a large tournament going on that anyone can enter. Popular with most of the free roll players, the site offers some fun stuff in the programming that keep them coming back time after time. Although the interface may appear rather chaotic with extensive graphics that can be used as player icons.

The Poker Room offers a variety of options, such as multi-table tournaments, as well as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud and a number of casino games. For those players worried about viruses, no download is needed in order to play on Poker Room. In addition to a good links section, players can play a free roll with play money, including tournaments.

Ultimate Bet may not have the financial status to back it up, but it certainly has a number of well-known players such as Phil Hellmuth, Annie Duke, and Russ Hamilton that add to the sites credibility. One nice characteristic about this room is that it includes a handy feature where players can minimize the playing table to a smaller bar, allowing them to play multiple tables easier.

Prima Poker, more of a group of poker sites rather than a single room and boasts almost no waiting time before the beginning of the next poker game. With twenty-one sites from which they use to create a game, therefore, it doesn’t matter what site you are connecting from, you can still play poker with a full table. It is important to know, that this site uses a third party software and therefore, updates may be slow to arrive at the site.

These are, of course, just a starting point for choosing which online video poker casino to play at. The internet is loaded with online casinos, be sure that the one you pick is reputable and safe for play.