Archive for the Gambling Tips category.

Expert Betting Advice for the Beginner

November 13, 2008

What I am about to reveal in this article is perhaps one of the most underestimated aspects to betting on horses. Of all the expert betting advice I give, this ranks up there as one of the key items that all punters should know, hence the reason for me sharing this with you via this article.

So what is it that I am refering to? Its something that not a lot of people possess, but equally it can be learned and I am pleased to say that many of my members have learned from my many years of experience in horse racing. The important skill in question: discipline.

Why Beginners Face A Challenge

One of the biggest difficulties that punters have when trying to make the transition from practicing a hobby (as an amateur), to following expert betting advice and investing their time and money in horse racing for profit, is a lack of discipline.

Bookmakers to a certain degree take advantage of this fact, and often have daily promotions and special offers that may do nothing but make a punter lose their money. But the bookies exist to make money though, don’t they?

Well yes they do, however there is a perception that the bookmakers count on the vast majority of punters being willing to sit in front of a television or computer and bet on anything on the screen. Unfortunately, most punters that are betting on horse racing do exactly that and will therefore never be successful. These are punters are often happy with the occasional win, but they are operating an overall long-term losing strategy.

Important Points You Need To Know To Improve Your Discipline

As basic as it sounds (and I will elaborate on this below) it is all about having a strategy and sticking to it. Even a poor strategy is better than no strategy. If you’re privvy to expert betting advice you will be aware of this and appreciate that knowing when to ‘walk away’ is absolutely key to your success.

Betting on horses, if pursued as a serious venture, needs to be treated just like a business. As you will know from previous articles that I have written, I always preach about looking for value horses and not just backing favourites, so you need to have a plan and not just bet on a whim.

Whether you are following someone else’s strategy or your own, you must stick to it no matter what. Whether you win or lose, do not be tempted to deviate away from this strategy.

When Winning Can be Dangerous

Beginners often find that their discipline is stretched, particularly after a good winning streak, as there is a temptation to lump more money on your next horse. This is a classic mistake, as a punter starts to feel overconfident in their abilities leading to them allowing their discipline to slip.

A successful punter in this very same situation will stick to the plan. Indeed, the plan may dictate that your next bet will require extra funds (perhaps due to the horses value, form and potential), however it should never be done emotionally.

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Why Online Gambling is the Safest Form of Gambling

November 10, 2008

Many of you may be wondering why online gambling is the safest form of gambling, well let’s see if we can give you some really good reasons to start up your online gambling account. First off online gambling casinos, like regular gambling casinos have to register their online gambling casinos and obtain a gambling permit and license before they can legally advertise their online gambling casino. Aside from using the secure “electrical cash” system to make their payments, the online gambling casinos have taken further steps to ensure that your payment transactions are secure by keeping in constant liaison with the major credit card companies, leaving no room for any possible chance of identity theft.

Another good reason why online gambling is the safest form of gambling, is you get to play in the comfort of your own home, no need to get dressed and go to the casino, all you need is a computer and an internet connection and you are all set to enter one of those online gambling casinos. Probably one of the best reasons why online gambling is the safest form of gambling is, you do not need to carry around a wad of money in your pocket or wallet, which will eliminate any possible chance of you getting robbed or mugged and having all that hard cash taken from you. For this reason alone online gambling is by far the safest form of gambling.

Making payments to your online gambling casino account is very simple, you can either pay with your credit card or if you do not have a credit card then all you need do is visit any one of your local banks and purchase one of those “one time credit cards”, then all you do is setup a paypal account and the payment will be debited from your account. Or if you prefer you can use a wireless transfer service to transfer the funds to your online gambling casino account. Note when purchasing a “one time credit card” you decide how much money you want to have on the card, but remember the card is only as good as the amount of money on it. This is a very safe way to transfer money and it’s another good reason why online gambling is the safest form of gambling.

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Free Gin Rummy Tips

November 07, 2008

Gin rummy is defined as a card game played by two players in where both players collect sets and sequences of cards. The main goal of the game is to score higher than your adversary. This game is created by father and son Elwood T. Baker and C. Graham Baker. As with any other card games, gin rummy has evolved into an online pastime as well. And whether you’re playing gin rummy with a friend or with a virtual pal, you still need to know some free gin rummy tips that can assist you in your way to victory. Here are a few of free gin rummy guidelines for you to follow.

Free gin rummy tip #1

If you know that you’re not that skilled yet in playing gin rummy then consider playing without bets first. Otherwise, you won’t have any dime with you at the end of your playing session. See, playing gin rummy can be addictive in the sense that you’ll never notice the time passing and you’re money losing because the game can be highly entertaining and engrossing. So if you know that you don’t have the expertise so far or even be highly competitive in playing the game then content yourself in playing for free online or with a friend that can teach you the fundamentals, tricks and strategies of gin rummy.

Free gin rummy tip #2

If you’re playing gin rummy at game houses or casinos be observant and try to know the reputation of each player on the gin rummy tables. You don’t want to sit next to an opponent with a playing prowess that will make you look like a kindergarten in an adult room. Observe but don’t cheat. Every player has his own strategy so just pick out the tactics that you will be comfortable to sit with your own bag of tricks. Start by playing gin rummy with players who are within your level of knowledge else the gin rummy king will just outdo every strategy you use, anticipate every move you’ll make and eventually fish out all your betting money.

Free gin rummy tip #3

Most of the time, sets are better than runs. Sets are 3 or 4 cards which has the same number in different or in all suits (for example- 7 of hearts, 7 of spades, 7 of diamonds and/or 7 of clubs). Runs are 3 or more cards that are in correct order or progression and have the same suits (for instance- 4 of spades, 5 of spades, 6 of spades and 7 of spades). The odds of you gaining a set are higher that you completing a run before the game end. The probability of both players waiting for the same card(s) to complete his or her set is lower than the chances of both players aiming for particular cards to complete their runs.

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Casino, Sports Betting, And Lottery - A Comparison Of The House Edge

November 01, 2008

The house edge, which is the commission that a gambling agent such as a casino, a sportsbook (bookmaker), or a lottery administrator charges, is a yardstick that measures how a specific gambling game is fair and reasonable. It is one of the most important factors that every player should consider whenever he/she is engaged in any type of gambling, inasmuch as it indicates how much of the money wagered goes to the gambling agent’s pocket and how much is redistributed to the winners.

Indeed, a house edge cannot be zero since casinos, sportsbooks, and lottery administrators have to make some money in order to cover their expenses, and to make some profit as well. Yet, a high house edge simply means that the players are unecessarily being ripped-off, and as a result, any gambling game with a high house edge should certainly be avoided by a knowledgeable gambler.

In this article, we shall compare, in the simplest way possible, the house edges of a roulette, an evens-odd betting, and a Cash 3 lottery game as representatives of the three major gambling categories.

The Equation

The easiest way to compute a house edge is to compare the actual winnings that are paid by the respective agents to the winnings that would be paid in a fair game or bet. A fair game or a fair bet is one in which no commission is involved; an obvious model is a game between friends. Therefore, in percentage form, the house edge is obtained by subtracting an actual game winning from a fair game winning and dividing the result by the fair game winning, finally multiplying by 100. Thus,

House Edge = [ (fair game winning - actual game winning) / fair game winning ] * 100

Roulette

Because of its simplicity and popularity, we shall consider the roulette as a representative casino game. A European roulette wheel has grooves marked by the numbers 0 to 36; the American wheel (also called Las Vegas wheel) has an additional groove marked as ‘00′. So, the European wheel has a total of 37 numbers, while the American wheel has 38. Internet casinos usually make available the option to select the type of wheel the customer prefers, but the brick and mortar casinos normally offer only one type. The winning number in a roulette game is the number corresponding to the groove where a spinning ball lands.

Now, consider a fair game in which 38 friends are playing the roulette at home, and each one selects a number and places a $1 bet on the number (no two or more players wagering on the same number). When the ball is spun and lands in a groove, the number marking that groove will be the winning number. The person who has selected this winning number collects all the money on the table thus making him win $37. On the other hand, if the game were conducted in a casino, the winner would be paid only $35. The difference between the two winnings applied in the above equation gives us the house edge of a roulette game as

( 37 - 35 ) / 37 * 100 = 2 / 37 * 100 = 5.4%

This means that every time you spend a $100 on an offline or online casino roulette, $5.40 goes to the casino and the rest is redistributed to the winners. Evidently, there are quite a number of casino games and the house edge varies from game to game, many of them having a house edge less than that of the roulette. For obvious reasons, a good gambler always prefers games that have low house edges, while the casino itself loves those games with high house edges. For example, the house edge of craps is 1.4% which makes it one of the most preferred casino games by the players.

Even-odds Sports Betting

Again, because of its simplicity, we shall consider an even-odds betting as a representative of this category of gambling. By even-odds we mean that the event (usually a sports game) has equal chances of going either way. An example is a tennis match between two competitive players each of which has an equal chance of winning the match.

A fair bet, in this case, is just a simple bet between two friends who just pick one of the tennis player as winner. If these two friends wager $1 each, the winner will collect $2, thus winning $1. If instead the bets are placed through a sportsbook, the winner will collect only $1.91, since the odds of an evens game at most bookies and online sportsbooks is 1.91. If you are not familiar with the decimal representation of odds, 1.91 is the same as 10/11 in UK notation and -110 in US odds notation. Odds of 10/11 mean that you’ll win $10 when you wager $11; and odds of -110 mean that you have to wager $110 in order to win $100. Anyway, since the winnings paid by a sportsbook is only $0.91, the house edge of an even-odds betting will therefore be

( 1 - 0.91 ) / 1 * 100 = 0.09 * 100 = 9%

So, this is how sportsbooks make a living. Since several internet sportsbooks offer odds higher than 1.91 in order to lure bettors, the house edge could be smaller than 9%, which is one of the things that the bettor should be looking for when searching for a sportsbook. On the other hand, if the bettor is wagering on parlays the house edge would be significantly higher than 9%; for big parlays, it could go as high as 40%.

It should be apparent by now that the gambler is better off with casino games than sports betting. It should also be noted that while the house edge could be a major factor to consider while selecting a gambling game, it is by no means the only one. For instance, one should consider the fact that casino games are mostly games of chance, while sports betting also involves a learned decision in selecting a pick, consequently leading to a higher probability of winning a bet.

Cash 3

Depending on the state you are in, this lottery game may be known by a different name such as Pick 3, Play 3, Daily 3, etc. In this game, the player selects a three-digit number from 000 to 999, and plays the number as a straight or as a box. A straight play is a prediction that the number will come exactly as selected while a box is a prediction for the number to come in any order. For instance, if a player selects the number 672 and plays it straight, he/she will win if the number drawn is exactly 672. Instead, if the player plays 672 as a box, he/she will win as long as the drawn number contains a 6, a 7 and a 2, in any order (276, for example). Obviously, a straight game pays much more than a box game for the same amount wagered.

Now consider 1000 friends (maybe in a club) selecting a number as a straight, each for $1, so that all the 1000 possible numbers are covered. When the winning number is drawn, the person who has selected that lucky number will be deemed a winner and will cash in all the $1000 collected, so making him win $999. This is a fair game. In the case of state lotteries, however, the winner will be paid only $500 in most states. Some states may pay a little bit less, others may pay a little bit more, but $500 is more or less the standard. The winner therefore wins $499. The house edge for a Cash 3 game will therefore be

( 999 - 499 ) / 999 * 100 = 500 / 999 * 100 = 50%

This house edge applies not only to the Cash 3 game but also to all state lottery games such as Play 4, Cash 5, Mega, Fantasy 5, Lotto, Power Ball, etc. So, whenever you are playing the state lottery, remember that you are wagering only half of your money on the actual lottery; the other half, you are just giving it away. Where this other half goes is not the gambler’s concern, since his/her main objective is to win some money in order to pay the ever present bills, or to get out of a miserable life, or to change his/her 20-year-old car. As regards contributing to education and other noble causes, there are other means of collecting money called taxes and charities.

Unfortunately, many states do not allow casino games, and furthermore, sports betting is illegal in the United States. The player is therefore left with no choice but to cross state borders in search of a casino, or more recently, to engage in online sports betting through the several offshore internet sportsbooks. Nowadays, there is a plethora of trustworthy online casinos and sportsbooks operating from Canada, the UK, Antigua, Costa Rica, and so on.

The Conclusion

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You Can Beat the Dealer at Blackjack

October 26, 2008

There are no surefire ways to beat the game of Blackjack on each and every hand. If tips like these existed, Sin City would be out of business in a matter of months. There are, however, a few strategies that can be used to better your chances of going home the winner of the hand.

The first problem the player often has is the need to hit 21 on every hand. This is not the games focus. The game of blackjack will be more profitable to the player if they focus on beating the dealer rather than the odds. The elusive 21 is a great gift from the card Gods, but the dealers hand should be the primary focus.

Now that you are convinced to beat the dealer, the rules of the game can come into play. The dealer will hit on his or her hand if they are showing a 6 or lower as the up card. So, no matter what the bottom card may be, the dealer will have to hit on what is called a soft 17.

If the dealer has a ten or a face card as the bottom card, and the up card is a four, five or six there is a greater chance that the dealer will bust the hand. This is because any card at or above a 7 will cause the bust. Taking all 52 cards into account, the dealer has a 45% chance of drawing a card that will not cause the bust and a 30% chance that the draw card will not be played at all.

If the dealer is showing a 7, 8, 9, 10 or a face card you will instantly know what the face down card value is. If the dealer takes a card the value must be 7 or below. If the dealer does not take a card, he has a hard 17 and you will need to fight or fold. If your hand values a 15 or higher, you must take the loss. If you have is valued at a 14 or lower, hit the hand and hope for a card to beat the dealer.

The dealer may, from time to time, show a 2 or 3 the rules of the game require the dealer to take at least one card. This hand gives the dealer a better chance of hitting a hand from 18 to 21. The chances of the dealer busting or taking a second card are less than 30%. Again, you are in a position with this dealer hand to hit on a 15 or lower.

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How to Easily Win the Pick 3 Lotto

October 26, 2008

What to choose: a small potential for bigger returns or a more guaranteed route to winning? That is the question you should be asking if you are indeed interested in making a bit (or a lot) of money with playing Pick 3 Lotto. The fact is: many people do not even consider this question seriously, if at all. It might surprise you that there are some people who actually make a living out of playing Pick 3 Lotto - and no, we don’t mean that these people set up a lotto machine in their stores.

We mean that with the right system, these people are investing as little as $0.50 cents per game and walking away with forty dollars in their pockets. And, if that doesn’t sound good enough, they can use their system over and over, winning constantly at almost every turn. You too could make a financial killing out of playing the game. Here are some basic but often overlooked tips on how you can start off your own strategy when it comes to Pick 3 Lotto.

1. Never subscribe to the quick picks. True, they are called quick picks because basically you just have to hand over the cash and you have a set of numbers. However, playing the quick picks or computer picks almost never gives you the winning numbers in the end. In short, this is a veritable waste of time, money and expectations. Hey, this is the Pick 3 Lotto - with the operative word of “3.” How long does it take for you to think of 3 numbers and ink it in? Set your own numbers, this has a greater chance of working to your advantage. Just remember this one fact: the lotto computer works for the lotto company. Do you honestly think that it is programmed to make winning combinations?

2. Keep playing your own numbers. Speaking of numbers, it would increase your chances dramatically if you play your own numbers frequently. The Pick 3 Lotto game can afford you placement one number for at least 5 times with the advanced draws games. Basically, this means that you do not have to buy a new ticket whenever you want to play. Of course, if you want to have several numbers in your memory pocket, you can bet on those as well. The deal here is that by keeping close a set of numbers and betting on them frequently, you are making sure that your numbers are always in contention, no matter what the odds are. If one set of numbers gains you profit, continue playing them. They are bound to turn up more than other combinations. Try not to make the mistake of other winners who literally change their winning combos thinking that the set will never occur again.

3. Timing is also critical when it comes to Pick 3 Lotto. It’s not surprising that many people are enticed to play the game when the jackpot is considerably large. But this is actually one of the reasons why these people often never see a return of their investment. Smaller jackpots or jackpots containing smaller wins also have less people betting on them. This fact increases your chances of hitting a winning streak sooner or later. A larger volume of players betting on the same jackpot means you are decreasing your chances even further.

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All About Live Online Roulette

October 26, 2008

The Internet without a doubt has changed the gamming industry and you can now play almost all games online. Live Roulette is one of these games you can enjoy online. At the beginning, it was very difficult to develop roulette online because many of its features are original. To play roulette online, you need more essentials than any other game. When table roulette was changed into online roulette, it was considered as a great success. Online roulette is jointed with a wheel of fortune. The game based on a wheel that is constructed with a slot for numbers ranging fro one to thirty six. American uses an extra slot for zero and double zero in game of online roulette. Around the boundary of wheel, a tinny metal ball whirls round rapidly.

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At the time it whirls round in one direction out of wheel, it turns round to another direction so quickly. After that, wheel and ball get slower speed and fall on a certain point. Players at the start of game place a wager on a particular number and when the wheel stops at conjectured number, they win the game. Oppose to table roulette, the where in online roulette is operated by computer.

The moment it spins in one way direction outside the wheel, it turns to the other direction as quickly as possible. Thereafter, the wheel and the ball come to a point, where it slows down. After that, it falls into a particular slot. Any gambler, who bets on the number before the spin and guesses right, wins the bet. In fact online roulette is simulation of real world by computer. As compare to original table roulette, online version of this game is very simple and fun oriented. Wheel in online roulette is full of colors and numbers. Players first suppose the number before type it and then twist the wheel. One of advantageous aspect of online roulette is that you can maximize your browser to have a close look on the part where ball might be falls. Online roulette is very similar to table roulette. In online roulette, you will find a roulette room having the same feature of traditional roulette.

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