Archive for
December, 2006
December 16th, 2006
Texas Holdem Poker – sounds familiar? Yes, it’s similar to Omaha Holdem, but only when it comes to the number of cards (both are played with five cards community) and to the increasing popularity.
The player is dealt with two cards faced down and five cards, faced up, are dealt in the middle of the table with placed as it follows: three, one and one – representing three betting segments. Basically, the highest hands win and the players are allowed to use one, both or none of their hole cards in order to get the highest hand. One more rule is that no more than three players are allowed to rise during a round.
The first player being dealt with two cards must bet half of the minimum bet, called Small Blind. The player sitting to his left must place the minimum bet, known as the Big Blind. Placing the minimum bet, raising or folding the hand are the next player’s options. This goes on and each player is dealt with two cards, clockwise, until it’s the first player’s turn again. Then he can surrender, this way, by folding his hand, he loses the Small Blind, or place the appropriate bet or even raise, if possible. At the next phase of the game, also known as the “Flop”, three cards from the table are turned up. No bet smaller than the Big Blind is accepted. Another card from the table is turned up after another round of betting. And finally, the last card faced down on the board is turned, a step known as the “River”. All players still in the game must reveal their cards and the one with the highest hand will win the pot.
There are a few strategies out there that will transform a usual player into a winner and while some go for the “weak tight” type of strategy, others choose a rather more successful one called the “tight aggressive”.
The weak tight player has a winner’s skills, however, there is something drawing him back from being a winner most of the time: he is scared and he gets intimidated pretty easy by the players that rise. Usually, this player doesn’t take his chances, he doesn’t like to risk and he seems to lack self-confidence - he will stay in the game only if he has a high hand.
Unlike this type of player, the tight aggressive type is definitely the all time winner. What sets them apart? The confidence! The second type of player goes with his instinct when the cards “tell” him that he stands low chances of winning. Bluffing is a part of his strategy and because of the confidence other players cannot tell if he really has a good hand or not.
I think that a true winner takes any chance he gets, even if that means that one has to risk. That is why I have adopted the second strategy and the results can be described by using only one word: success! I recommend it to you too and don’t forget: think like a winner and act like it!
Good luck!
December 14th, 2006
Jackpot Factory (AllSlots and AllJackpots casinos) is celebrating the holidays and spreading the cheer. Come shop on our Main Street for prizes and cash bonuses. In an interactive website, you can visit a toy store where you can win a $250 shopping spree, a lottery booth giving away $25,000 weekly, our Loyal-T store will be sharing the joy of 1,000,000 loyalty points and LOTS LOTS more! Participate in this celebration by spreading the word of this festive promotion.
Christmas Free Games
Santa Paws
Whether you’ve been naughty or nice; sugar or spice the year-end holidays are here with Santa Paws, a new video slot. This 5 reel, 20 pay-line, Australian style slot is fully equipped with free spins, major mystery multiplier, scatter and two wild opportunities and a gamble feature.
This game has everything just like Santa’s slay. Santa Paws offers jackpots of 20,000 in the base game, and the chance to send that Christmas present rocketing up to 140,000 with our now famous Free Spins, and more free spins within this spins feature. 3, 4 or 5 of the Scatter symbol across the reels triggers a 12 free spin bonanza where a mystery multiplier between 2x and 7x adds spice to an already nice reward…and there is the possibility of picking up a further 12 freebies within the feature.
Santa Paws’ generosity doesn’t end there; his bag of gifts also offers a single wild during normal play, and 2 wilds during Free Spins, opening up the possibility for even greater ! winnings. This game is just filled with special goodies, designed to deliver that feel-good holiday spirit.�
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Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells, the new classic slot at Jackpot Factory, is a serious stocking-filler. What better gift for the festive season than a Christmas stocking full of greenbacks – 30,000 possible to be exact. This straight-shooting 3 reel, 5 pay-line Santa-sackful of entertainment and reward evokes the spirit of the season the moment you open it up, with the glossy green of holly contrasting with the golden bells and red berries from your earliest Christmas memories. The well crafted artwork sets an immediate Happy Holidays feeling.
The holly-clad bells are the Wild symbols that substitute for all icons and can help you complete a winning combination. Play at a level to suit your budget from a betting range that stretches from 0.25 to 5.00. You could try having fun riding in a one horse open sleigh….but would it give you a jackpot like this?!
New Games Release
The Blackjack players have asked us for it, and here it is - the brand new Vegas Single Deck Blackjack game in the high action Las Vegas tradition. Play on an improved blackjack gaming engine to ensure the smoothest and fastest action yet. It is an American Hole Card game (meaning the Dealer peeks on 10 value cards and Aces) which does not offer the option for Surrender and only allows a player to split once per hand. The Dealer is forced to hit on Soft 17. Blackjack pays 3:2, Insurance pays 2:1. All played in one deck of cards. Vegas Single Deck Blackjack is the one to try if you like a game that offers you a good chance to beat the house with skill and good fortune.�
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Crazy 80’s
Crazy 80’s celebrates an era when socks were neon and hair was big with this cool new game. This 5-reel, 9 pay-line video slot gets right down to business with generous Wild and Scatter symbols. Whether you want to bet at 0.25 or 5.00, there’s an option to suit you, and on a max bet of 45.00 across the lines you could be lucky enough to reap a rich 25,000 jackpot or one of the many reward levels leading to it. Travel back to those energizing days of seriously cool, big beat music and way-out fashion and give Crazy 80’s a whirl.�
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Lady of the Orient
A luxurious Asian-themed 5 reel, 20 pay-line video slot sparks images of those exotic far-away places with strange sounding names in a happy celebration of Eastern culture and beauty. When the beautiful Oriental lady appears on reels 2, 3, or 4 she not only provides substitution opportunities to make up winning combinations but she can trigger 3 bonus rounds. The oriental Palace is the scatter which awards 15 free spins that can be retriggered.
Vegas Single Deck BlackJack
Players can explore the winning possibilities of this treasure trove of the Orient for as little as .01 or as much as 200.00 on a maximum bet. In the way of returns, it is possible to generate a big win of 50,000 in the base game, up to 150,000 on the Free Spins and 10,000 in bonuses. Lady of the Orient is a truly remarkable Asian experience wrapped around some of the best video slot technology on the Internet today.�
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Inca Gold
Players can use luck, skilled choice and a selection of Wild, Scatter, Free Spin and Bonus opportunities to capture the wealth of the ancients in the new video slot Inca Gold. Where one can bet as little as .01 or as much as 100, a player can enjoy hours of entertainment in this 5 reel, 20 payline slot. All laced with the exciting potential of wins in the base game, up to 50000 on the Free Spins, double that and on the bonus, possibilities up to 18,000.
Join Jackpot Factory for a trip into the past to discover the treasures of a once mighty civilization of the ancients - Inca Gold could have great rewards waiting for you!
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December 14th, 2006
The key to being a good online poker player is …
Hold on, please, while I am writing this article, I am also playing in a $50 sit and go.
OK, the tightwad to my left has called my $400 pre-flop raise. He must have something like King-Jack suited.
Like I was just writing, the key to being a good online poker player is…
Can you believe this guy? He leads out with an $800 raise on a rainbow K-7-10 flop. I have an up and down straight draw and he puts most of his chips in from the start.
Right, right, sorry about that. Being a good online poker player means …
I guess I have to fold.
For many online players, this scenario presents itself far too often. It’s the curse of the online player, being deeply involved in a big game but at the same time multitasking. The game takes a backseat to checking email, checking fantasy baseball stats, and checking out what exotic Russian women often do on the Internet.
Therein lies a major problem for the horde of people playing poker online. A population that includes professional players, would-be professionals and a lot of thrill-seekers. It doesn’t take an expert commentator such as Norman Chad to look out at that playing field and forecast the winners are most likely those who devote most of their time and mental energy toward the games they are playing and not on ancillary activities.
The key to being a good online player is to be focused.
Playing online has its risks compared to live games. You can not get a true read on your opponents’ habits; you can’t form a model in your mind on how he/she plays because you can not see them and the way they conduct themselves; and you have no idea if he/she is just some loose player who likes throwing chips away.
So taking into account these risks, if your attention easily sways away from the game, then trapdoors in front of you grow wider.
Here are some ways to improve your online play.
- Don’t allow Web surfing to distract your game. It’s always tempting to waste time between hands browsing the Web, but that won’t help you win. Pay attention to betting patterns of the players at the table. Look to see who folds easily or who keeps over-betting the pot. This information is extremely valuable but can only be obtained when watching the game, not another Web site.
There are plenty of weak players online, so pay attention and identify them early in the game. For those who spend a lot of time playing online, the games can be tedious. Instead of constantly checking your email, attempt another diversion like getting out of the chair and walking around. This will keep you fresh but also keep your mind on the game.
- Be awake. For avid poker players, online games are like an oasis in the desert. Players can satisfy their thirst by finding an online game no matter the time of day. However, that 7-11 mentality of never being closed can also be dangerous. When you crave a game, make sure you are alert. That goes for both morning and night. Don’t wake up and immediately get started with a game.
Take a shower and tend to your daily business. This will greatly improve your attention span so you can sit down at the computer and be free of a lingering notion that your daily tasks are still ahead of you. A good rule to give yourself is not to play until you have been wide awake for more than two hours. After you are awake and have tended to necessary business, an online game can be your only concern.
The same logic holds true for the nighttime. Don’t fall into the bad habit of saying to yourself , “One quick game and then I will go to sleep.” If you are thinking that, then you are probably already tired and not at full capacity to play.
Why put yourself in a position to be someone else’s ATM machine just because you want to play? A good poker player should want to play good poker, not just play poker.
If you know a night’s sleep is only a few ticks away, you are more likely to make a bad decision and easily expose yourself to defeat. Instead of playing that last late night game, convince yourself you will be a better player tomorrow following a good sleep than your current state of drowsiness.
- Play cash games rather than a tournament if time is an issue. Hopefully, you have set time aside during the day when you will play online poker free of other stimuli and annoyances (in other words, a time when your wife is not wandering around the house asking you if you would like to go to the flower festival with her). If you are unsure of how long you will be able to play distraction free, then make the wise decision and play a cash game rather than a tournament. Cash games are better for those players with time restraints. Easy-in, easy-out is the case for cash games, but not so for tournaments. In a tournament, you can never be sure how long it will last. If you have somewhere to go but you are in a tournament, the chances are extremely high you will just throw your chips away to expedite the game. If you were in the same position but in a cash game, you could play one last hand and be free of other inancial obligations on the table.
There is a reason why college students and professional players do so well online. It stems from their free time and their perspective of the game being the most important aspect of their life at that moment. While online, don’t make the mistake of doing a handful of other tasks while playing. You are likely going to lose to someone with a much different approach.
By Aaron J. Moore
Inspin.com Contributing Writer
December 13th, 2006
This Christmas 49er Casino is giving away the loot
From now until December 23rd, 49er Casino is hosting
a “12 Days of Christmas” promotion. 49 Casino will hold a random drawing on the 24th
of December. The winners will receive the following cash prizes.
1st - $300 16th -$20 31st - $10 46th - $5
2nd - $200 17th -$20 32nd - $10 47th - $5
3rd - $150 18th -$20 33rd - $10 48th - $5
4th - $100 19th -$20 34th - $10 49th - $5
5th - $75 20th -$20 35th - $10
6th - $50 21st -$15 36th - $10
7th - $50 22nd -$15 37th - $10
8th- $50 23rd -$15 38th- $10
9th - $50 24th -$15 39th - $10
10th- $50 25th -$15 40th - $10
11th- $20 26th -$15 41st - $5
12th - $20 27th -$15 42nd - $5
13th - $20 28th -$15 43rd - $5
14th - $20 29th -$15 44th - $5
15th - $20 30th -$15 45th - $5
Also, Slot lovers can collect an extra $200 in bonus cash. Deposit up to $200 and receive a 100% bonus.
Visit 49er Casino.com Now!
December 12th, 2006
Does the U.S. gambling ban spell the end of the online gambling industry?
I guess that depends on who you are and how much you gamble. While there is no question that U.S. gamblers put a lot of money into the online pot,
they’re not the only high rollers.
Online gambling is a big draw in Asia with industry experts predicting that by the end of 2010, gambling revenues from that region will surpass the
best years the U.S. has enjoyed. Of course, this projected growth depends upon gaming operators finding new and improved ways to move money into and out of the lesser developed countries where both the banking and the communication infrastructures lag behind those of Japan, Hong Kong and
Singapore.
EU gamblers are currently kicking in ?25 billion (U.S. $31.7 billion), and that amount is expected to increase annually as well.
So, while some online gambling site operators are in “duck and cover” mode, with network managers setting up IP blocks to stop U.S.-originated Internet
traffic from accessing their sites, others are looking for a way to turn lemons into lemonade.
Rumor has it that hush-hush negotiations are going on between countries that support private offshore banking operations and those that support
offshore gambling.
The thrust of these negotiations is to try and come up with a loophole that will enable U.S. gamblers, particularly the deep-pocketed high-rollers, to
transfer funds legally from U.S. accounts. Once those funds reach private offshore banks, they would be beyond the regulatory reach of the U.S.
Government.
The questions is, in an era of “follow the money” anti-terrorism snooping where offshore transfers are watched very closely by the Feds, is there even a chance for a loophole of this type to exist?
Even if a hole big enough to channel a billion dollars a year or more of U.S. gambling dollars is found, what about the problems associated with
getting U.S. IP addresses through network blocking software? Will well- funded gamblers find out that they’ve made their ante but are blocked from
getting their cards?
“That’s where good old fashioned proxy servers come in,” according to one betting site network technician who declined to be identified.
A proxy server is a special computer that accepts incoming connections from web browsers and then redirects those browsers to whatever web site the
user wants to visit. The nature of a proxy server is that once a browser connects, that browser’s IP address is “lost” and all outbound traffic from
that point appears to be coming straight from the proxy server.
What this means in real life is that once a U.S. user connects to an International proxy server in Denmark, for example, the user’s “footprints”
stop at that server. From that point, no one can tell what sites the user visited. The end result is that offshore gambling sites will not attempt to
block the user because the traffic isn’t coming from the U.S. It’s coming from Denmark!
Of course, all this international intrigue isn’t going to happen overnight, if it happens at all. So, in the meantime, U.S. gamblers are going to have
to make the trip to their nearest terrestrial casino the next time the urge for a game of poker strikes, or they can visit this link to see
(USA Casinos) on-line casinos are still accepting U.S. players.
See you next time :)
diana
diana@gambling-gazette.com
December 11th, 2006
The weekend’s poker tournaments showed once again that the politicians can try to stifle poker, but its devotees are not easily stopped.On the benchmark Poker Stars Sunday Million, 6 680 poker players turned out to generate another million dollar plus prize pool at $1 336 000, producing a top prize of $187 040 00. With 975 players in the money the atmosphere was electric and the playing fast and furious.
At the final table player MrRain looked unstoppable with a chip stack of 14 million, although seven of the nine other final table survivors had stacks between five and nine million, promising a tough contest.
Down to four players, and after battling for over 50 hard hands the survivors agreed to a four-way cut on that tempting winner’s prize, with the amounts to each based on chip count, but playing on for the last $30 000. After some truly gigantic pots and blinds in the $300 000 / $600 000 range the heads up came to player Tulkaz against consistent leader MrRain. The final pot, the biggest of the night, was worth almost $51 million in chips, and with blinds of $400 000/$800 000, Tulkaz was eventually overwhelmed by a confident MrRain giving him the final $30,000 in prize winnings, the overall victory and the agreed first prize split of $135 942. Tulkas took home the second prize of $71 447, with the other two players in the final four getting $106 541 (wds2004) and $69 606 (gregghmsr) respectively.
Full Tilt’s $350 000 guaranteed tournament saw 2 141 players entered, building the prizepool to $428 200 which enabled 306 players to cash, with the first prize set at just over $78 500.
The play was well up to the competitive and entertaining standards now common to Full Tilt events and the final three surviving players - dawgnutz, BrkBB and ‘GB2005,’ fought with skill and determination for half a hundred hands or more before GB2005 began to dominate. BrkBB was sent to the rail after being caught out in a bluff, leaving the field and the final heads up contest to GB2005 and the quaintly named dawgnutz.
On the last hand, with blinds of $50 000/$100 000, GB2005 pushed hard, emboldened with the confidence of a big chip lead and dawgnutz eventually succumbed, leaving GB2005 with a winner’s cheque of $78 788, although the second prize of $48 386 made the event worthwhile for the dawg, too.
Bodog’s $100 000 Guaranteed this week pulled in 981 players, just making the overlay but generating a $25 000 main prize and ensuring that 81 players were in the money.
Players Crazy Marco and TwoGunC pretty much led the way throughout, although there was plenty of action with back-to-back, big-pot knockouts culminating in a heads up between the two. CrazyMarco wrapped up the win against TwoGunC only two hands later, in grand fashion - making a flush to beat TwoGunC’s aces.
December 7th, 2006
Here are some new games added to betrev online casinos.
Beach Life - 5 reel 20-line Progressive Video Slot with a Bonus stage
To win the anticipated $4million jackpot a player will need to bet $/£/?10 a spin. It has a fixed coin size of 0.50.
Ultimate Fighters
This 8 line slot machine is similar to “Chinese Kitchen” and “Vacation Station”
the max payout is 120,000 x coin size. 3 Buddha symbols on a pay line activate a bonus round where the player engages in a three round face-to-face “fight” of rock, paper scissors.
Dolphin Paradise - Online Game Pachinko
The first of Asian type games for Playtech!! This is a machine pinball type slot with a max payout of 1504 x max coin size. Japanese players are welcome to play pachinko online!
Mini Roulette
Mini Roulette is a variation of the classic single-zero Roulette, in which the Roulette wheel has 13 positions instead of the usual 37 (12 red/black numbers from 1 to 12 and a green zero)
Sierra Star Casino
Up to $1700 free. Including 100% upto $500 in First, Second and Third deposit.
Royal Dice Casino
Receive 100% matching bonus up to $300 on your first ever deposit at the casino!
December 6th, 2006
Online gaming operator Sportsbook.com has released its odds for Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ award, with Google chairman and chief executive Eric Schmidt standing out as the initial favourite.
The online search engine mogul, whose net worth is estimated at $5.2 billion, is currently a 9-2 favourite to dethrone the reigning ‘Person of the Year’ for 2005, Microsoft’s Bill Gates.
Another strong candidate for this year’s award is former US Vice President and now environmental activist, Al Gore, who is at 5-1. Gore’s inclusion in the shortlist follows his work in highlighting the affects of Global warming, which has been making news headlines with some governments seemingly reluctant to fully address the issue as an international priority.
Other contenders include the CEO of Apple computers, Steve Jobs at 7-1, and rather bizarrely the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, and Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who are seemingly short priced outsiders at 10-1.
The winner will be announced in the 79th edition of the magazine which is set for release on Christmas Day.
