Category: Gambling and Casinos

As mentioned here yesterday the Phoenix Suns have once again teased the public long enough to the point that they are a very difficult team to bet at this stage of the season. After dispatching the Clippers in a wild shootout in game one, the Suns were annihilated on the boards in game two as the Clippers won by 25!

Game three goes tonight at the Staples Center where the Suns are brimming with confidence after winning a sudden death game last week against the Lakers. They are a tough team to figure out as they can light it up from three-point range, but on the other hand, because of lack of size, can be bullied around.

The Clippers outrebounded the Suns 57-26 and they were 27-14 during the regular season at the Staples Center, as well as 3-0 against the Nuggets in round one! If you want to look at one matchup that could prove to be a deciding factor, Phoenix guard Raja Bell going up against LA’s Cuttino Mobley.

Bell who was at the center of the controversy in his battle with Kobe Bryant in round one, was stellar in the first game, when he held Mobley to 3 points. In game two Mobley scored 22 and the Clippers had both an inside and outside game.

Veteran point guard Sam Cassell’s has an NBA ring and he looks to be pumped in this series, probably due to the fact that MVP Nash is garnering all the attention. He is a motor-mouth that can change the complexion of the game with his leadership ability and antics.

I buried the Suns a week ago and had harsh words for their whiner coach D’Antoni and I see Brand and Chris Kaman being far too much for the soft Suns to handle.

The Clippers take game two by 6 points!

Online Sports Betting

The basic strategy for Blackjack is to compare your hand to that of the dealer’s showing card. The basic card values are straightforward enough, but when you pull a soft-hand or can double down you are in a position to make a strong play if you know what you are doing.

A soft-hand is an ace and any other card below the value of ten. This hand gets its name because the ace can be either one or eleven as necessary. The big advantage to a soft hand is that you can take hits with less risk of busing. But that doesn’t mean you can be carefree about how you play your hand. Take a look at the dealers’ showing card and play your cards as follows:

If you have an ace with an 8 or higher then hold your hand and don’t take a hit. By playing the ace as 11 you have 19, which is a hand you should always stand on.

If you have an ace with 7 take a hit if the dealer’s showing card is 9 or better.

If you have an ace with six or less then you should always take a bit. Even though this means you are taking a risky hit on 17 you can always bail yourself out if you bust by using the ace as a 1.

Doubling down is another situation you need to master if you want to win at Blackjack. Doubling down allows you to double you initial bet in certain circumstances. If played correctly you can offset the house advantage and that is an opportunity not to be missed! Bear in mind though that casinos have different rules as to when you can double down.

You should double down according to following rules:

If your have card values of 9 to 11 then double down. Statistically you have great chance to win because there are so many cards with a value of 10 to draw.
However, if you have a 9 then only double down if the dealer is showing a weak card of 3 to 6. This is because the dealer as likely to bust if he/she is showing any other card.
When holding a soft hand you should double down only when you can exploit a weak dealer card. The way to play an soft hand for doubling down is as follows;

If you have an ace with 8-9, just stand. This is a strong hand so don’t double down.
If you have an ace with 6.-7 then double down and take a hit if the dealer is showing a weak 3-6, and especially 4.-6.
If you have an ace with 4.-5 only double down if the dealer is holding a weak 4.-6.
If you have an ace with 2-3 then only double down if the dealer is showing a 5-6.

By knowing how to play these strategies you can take advantage of favorable hands when they come you way.

Three features that should dictate any slot players’ search for basic slots are:

1) Single payline, in your quest to stretch your gambling bankroll.

2) Slot players should also look for 2 coin maximum non-progressive machines only.

Whereas a 2-coin machine may pay 80 coins for 3 double bars with 2 coins in, a 3-coin machine may show a pay of 120 coins for the same combination. However, remember, you had to gamble an extra coin, each spin; therefore, the payouts are generally equal. Three coin machines look more lucrative in their payoff structure because they show that the player will win more, but the player also has to bet more to get this.

Players who play the 3 coin machines will spend considerably more than players who invest more of their playtime and money in the preferred 2 coin machines, equating to more pulls on that slot, and more chances to win a jackpot.

3) Slot Players will want to seek out those slots that pay double jackpots on certain pay-line combinations.

The principle of this ‘double’ symbol is very simple; whenever it appears on the payline in combination with any other symbols that normally would have made a winning combination, the payoff amount is doubled.

Look closely to see which machine you are playing, as not all machines will double and quadruple all pays and not all machines will have double jackpots win possibilities.

Some machines will have only 2 double symbols, one on each of the first two reels while other machines will have 3 of these double symbols, one on each of the 3 reels.

When choosing a ‘double’ machine, it is important not to confuse them with wild cherries or any other symbols noted on the machines payoff display as being ‘wild’. Symbols identified as being wild sub for any other paying symbol, but do not double the payoff.

Additionally, most slot machines with 1000 coin top payout will hit more often than those with 5,000 or 10,000 top jackets…makes sense.

Blackjack players will argue loud and long at me for this, however there is data available that theorizes you can make just as much money on an hourly basis playing slots:

Cost per hour to play slots:

Denomination 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins
Nickel 30. 60. 90.
Quarter 150. 300. 450.
Dollar 600. 1200. 1800.

I rest my case for playing 2 coins machines. With quarter machines, the most played slots, I would have an extra $150. to play with, 300 extra spins/pulls at 2 coin machines and a greater opportunity for jackpots.

I realize that the popular slots today on and offline are bonus multi-line versions and they are definitely a lot of fun to play and will put profits in your pocket.

I write about them extensively in my articles and Casino Players Ezine, gambling newsletter, however, for the novice slot player–basic, single payline slots is an excellent starting point.

Remember: ‘Not only do you have good luck with a gambling education, but you are making your luck.’
Until next we meet in the Slots Playground.

For those that do not know the basics, here are the ways the hands and cards are ranked in poker.

Number of cards in the deck: 52.

Number of suits: 4 (Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs)

Number of cards in each suit: 13 (In order of rank; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2)

Number of cards in a poker hand: 5 (even in games where you are dealt more than 5 cards, only 5 cards count as your poker hand.)

Rank of poker hands from highest to lowest:

1. Royal Flush; (ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all the same suit.)

2. Straight Flush; (5 cards in sequence of the same suit. see “straight” below for explanation of in sequence) (The lowest ranking straight flush is the wheel-flush, ace, 2, 3, 4, 5. 5 is considered the top card, not the ace.) (if two players have a straight flush, the one with the higher top card wins.)

3. Four of a kind; 4 Kings, Queens or other cards. (Of course the higher ranked 4 of a kind wins, such as 4 kings beats 4 queens)

4. Full House; This consists of 3 of a kind, (see below) and a pair all in one hand. (example; you have 3 fours and 2 kings. That would be fours over kings, while having 3 kings and 2 fours would be kings over fours.) (If 2 players each have a full house, the better three-of-a-kind part of the hand wins. example; you have 3 eights and two aces, your opponent has 3 nines and 2 twos. Your opponent wins. Their nines beat your eights.)

5. Flush; 5 cards of any rank, but all the same suit. (If 2 players each have a flush, the flush with the highest top card wins, if that is a tie, then whoever has the highest second card wins, if that is a tie, you compare the third, fourth, fifth card, etc.)

6. Straight; 5 cards in sequence. (example; 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is a 7-high straight. If you opponent has 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, they have an 8-high straight and they win.)

7. Three of a Kind; (Trips) 3 cards of the same rank. (example; 3 sevens, 3 eights, 3 kings. if 2 players have 3-of-a-kind, the highest ranking cards wins the hand)

8. Two Pairs; A Pair is 2 cards of the same rank. 2 pair means you have 2 sets of 2 cards of the same rank. (If 2 players each have 2 pair, the player with the highest top pair wins. Kings and twos would beat queens and jacks.)

9. Pair; 2 cards of equal rank. (If 2 players each have a pair, the highest ranking pair wins. If 2 players each have the exact same pair, then out of the 3 remaining cards in your hand the highest card is your “kicker”. The highest kicker wins. If still tied, you go to the next highest kicker, etc.)

10. High Card; Where no one has a pair or above, you compare hands like this. The highest card in your hand vs the highest card in opponents hands. If that is a tie, then you compare the next highest card, then the next if still tied and so on. (King, Queen, 10, 6, 2, would beat King, Queen, 10, 5, 4. It would have been a tie until the fourth card compared and the first hand has a 6 to their opponent’s 5.)