Category: Gambling and Casinos

The state of California, located on the west coast of the United States, is by far the most populous state in the country. There are also a number of California casinos operating within the legal jurisdictions of its Native American owned lands. Because they are located on Native American land, many California casinos are located in out-of-the-way places. When visiting a California casino, it is advisable to call ahead and get specific directions.

Nearly all California casinos are open 24 hours a day. California casinos are allowed to offer electronic gaming machines, blackjack, and other card games. Unfortunately, the games of craps and roulette are not permitted, but some California casinos offer modified forms of these games that are played with cards rather than dice or roulette wheels. Slots, video poker and video keno are the most popular electronic gaming machines you’ll find in California casinos. Some of the card games frequently played in California casinos include blackjack, baccarat, poker (including pai gow, Caribbean stud and three-card poker), Spanish 21, and Let it Ride. Many California casinos also feature bingo, casino war and OTB (off track betting) options for gamblers and casual players.

In addition to traditional gambling games, many California casinos offer some exciting and unusual amenities. For example, the Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino in Lakeside has a full 18-hole golf course and a wedding chapel. Visitors to the Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina, also in Lakeside, can take in a marina with 80 ships. The Win-River Casino in Redding features a comedy club and an entertainment center. Relax at the Cache Creek Indian Bingo & Casino in Brooks with a full-service spa. California casinos are as varied and colorful as the residents of California themselves, and many of them are full of surprises!

Several California casinos allow overnight RV parking for the traveling gambler, so if you’re planning a California casino trip you can make quite a few stops and stay a while. Age restrictions at California casinos are 18 and up except where liquor is served, in which case it’s 21 and up. Other California casinos include the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, the Mono Wind Casino in Auberry, the River Rock Casino in Geyserville, the Palace Indian Gaming Center in Lemoore, the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, the Black Bart Casino in Willits, the Lucky 7 Casino in Smith River, and many more!

Gambling has evolved into different forms. Gambling, primarily, is a form of entertainment. It is a sport involving money, or whatever is at stake, in a game of chance. Gambling or betting began as early as 2300 B.C. Gambling artifacts, like dice, had been found in countries like Egypt, China, India and Rome. In a recent poll, 63% of Americans support legalized gambling. Another 22% agree that it must be expanded. From dice to roulettes and to computer mouse, which form of gambling is for you? Here are some choices:

*Casino games
These are gambling games usually played inside the casino. A player can win with the right tactic and optimistic mathematical probability. Here are some examples:

Poker
Poker is the most popular casino game. It is believed to have been originated from the game ‘as nas’, which is a Persian game. It uses a deck of cards for a series of betting rounds. The player with the best hand wins the pot. Poker is also regarded as a game of strategy and skill.

Online Casino
These are virtual casinos that are played on the internet. The rules are similar with actual casino games but players can either be a real or computer- generated players.

Slot machines
A betting machine that uses a coin to rotate a set of reels usually pulled by a lever. You have to get identical patterns to win.

Roulette
Roulettes were invented by Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, in 1842. It is a simple gambling game where in you have to bet on which number a small ball will hit.

*Gambling with fixed- odds
These are certain types of game where in you have to bet on a specific outcome of a given situation. These include horse racing, baseball, motor racing, jai alai and ice hockey, among others.

*Sports betting
Even though illegal in most countries, sports betting have boomed in the gambling industry. Bets are based on a point system of sports, like baseball or football. Common sports bets are: against the spread, against odds and against a combination of spread and odds.

*Arbitrage betting
You might often see this on the web tagged as risk- free gambling. The concept is to put a bet on a particular result with varied betting groups. Being an investment procedure, it involves a bigger amount of money compared to normal gambling.

Be sure to treat gambling as a pastime, and not a source of money. When engaged in one, set a maximum spending limit. Practice gambling in moderation and don’t let it interfere with your set priorities in life.

To people who don’t gamble, or more so to normal gamblers, the thought that they will progress to compulsive gamblers is ridiculous. The start of compulsive gambling may be incited by situations or circumstance. But the conditions are real.

What’s the similarity between pathological gambling and chemical dependency?

The first distinct similarity is the inability to take control or stop the addiction. The denials to the addiction accompanied by severe depression are also similarities. Both diseases are progressive in nature and goes through similar stages.

The first stage being the “chase”, looking for that high or win. The use of the addiction to numb the pain brought about by problems. The pathological gambler and a drug or alcohol dependent person are preoccupied with nothing else except their addiction. They look for immediate gratification and have very low self-esteem.

Pathological gambling not like chemical addiction is a disease not easily noticeable. There are a lot of indicators that would identify a chemically dependent person. But a gambler can exist normally for long periods of time. The large debt that a gambler can incur requires attention.

Pathological gamblers require crisis counseling at the start of their treatment, mainly because pathological gamblers have a higher suicide rate than persons addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Is the level of addiction for all types of gambling the same?

Forms of gambling that give immediate gratification are the worst kind. The slot machine and video are prime examples of these. The use of the instant gratification and effective reinforcement, gamblers that play these machines often progress into pathological gamblers more often than gamblers that play other games.

The time it takes to go from the first bet to a chronic addiction is shortest for this form of gambling. Before it would take many years before a person would be considered “sick” gambling in races, etc. Nowadays, it is fairly common for a person to be addicted to a slot machine or video poker with two to three years.

Is pathological gambling biological in nature?

Recent findings would indicate that pathological gambling is a dependency quite similar to a chemical dependency. A study by a psychiatrist Alec Roy, M.D. formerly of the NIAAA showed that compulsive gamblers have low levels of norepinephrine compared to normal gamblers.

The chemical is secreted from the brain when stressed, aroused or excited. A pathological gambler engages in his addiction to raise the levels of norepinephrine.

The findings reinforce the assertion of Dr. Henry Lesieur that pathological gamblers are “thrill seekers” who gamble for the excitement brought about by the game and not the pursuit of money.

The chances of a person drawing a royal flush is the same regardless of who he is. But why do some people lose so much and why do other people seem so damn lucky. You know the rules and you know the odds, why is it your still losing. Loser? Probably not, but to make sure check out this list. It won’t guarantee winning but might help you avoid the loser tag.

1. Decide on how much you are willing to lose (and win)

People lose a lot of money gambling due to lack of planning. They gamble way over their head because they don’t know when to stop. The reason being they didn’t plan when to stop.

2. Don’t borrow other people’s money to gamble

If you can’t afford to lose money, don’t play in the first place. The added pressure of playing someone else’s money is too much. Losing your own money is difficult enough, so if you don’t have some, don’t play.

3. Set the alarm.

If you’ve already decided how much you’re willing to lose, well and good. Now it’s time to set a time limit. You can’t play forever and you shouldn’t., especially if you’re playing in a casino. The games favor the house in all cases, the longer you play the chances of you losing increases. So, set the alarm and then leave when it goes off.

4. Time out

Don’t play continuously without a break. The excitement and the adrenalin can probably get you going non-stop but when fatigue sets in, you start making bad decisions and make mistakes. So, rest up and relax. Then go back in.

5. Do other stuff.

Preoccupying yourself with only gambling breaks your inner balance. True, focusing gets good results but focusing only on one thing alone leads to bad things. Doing other things gives you a different perspective on other things that you do, it gives you possible insights that you may miss when focused on one thing only.

6. Don’t gamble when you’re stressed or emotional

Not being in the right frame of mind can cost you big on the table. The most obvious thing that you would be lacking is focus. If your mind is preoccupied with other things and the state of your emotions is a mess. Those things lead to poor judgment and critical mistakes.

Simple plays become more difficult and most things become confusing. The poor emotional state you are in means playing emotionally instead of smartly.