Casino Strategy Articles
Casino Strategy Articles
Casino Betting Strategies – The Roulette Ball Has No Memory
May 10th
Most gamblers try to develop various strategies when playing online casino games or at live casinos. Such strategies can seem to be very effective short-term; players win their bets back with a nice profit, and on a good day the chosen strategy can create an incredible winning run. This is all fine as long as casino strategies are used with a sensible money management and with the knowledge of what this article is all about. Problems arise when the player starts feeling confident that his or her strategy always will work in any given setting.
So what exactly is a casino betting strategy? Known betting strategies go back as far as the 18th century, with the Martingale system being one of the most famous ones. The Martingale system simply suggests that the player should double his or her bet after a loss in an even money game such as roulette. If the player had an unlimited bankroll and there were no other limiting conditions, this casino betting strategy would in theory work. However, there is no such thing as an unlimited bankroll, and even if there was, there are other limitations set by the casino itself to prevent this. The most obvious limitation would of course be that all casino tables have a maximum bet size rule. Despite this fact, players constantly develop new and more complex strategies in hope to gain an advantage over the casino. These strategies may involve anything from number sequencing to progressive and negative betting. However, all of these strategies or systems are bound to fail.
The reason for this is the misconception of many players that a particular event in the casino game must occur sooner or later. For example, if a player keeps betting on black in a roulette game, and red wins many times in a row, surely black will turn up sooner or later? By applying a betting strategy that covers the losses up until that point, the player can walk away with profit. This is known as the “gamblers fallacy” which means that the player believes that a likely event that has not happened recently becomes “overdue” and is more likely to occur. However, the roulette ball has no memory! Each time it spins the odds are exactly the same for it to land on black, red or a particular number.
In regards to casino betting, one could make a comparison with playing on the lotto. Many people like to play the very same numbers in every single draw, like birthday numbers for example. Players often do this with the belief that this number sequence is more likely to turn up since it has lost so many times in a row before. As in the case of the roulette ball – lotto balls have no memory either. The chances for a particular number to appear is always the same in every draw.
Having said all this, I do not wish to discourage betting with a casino strategy as long as its being done with a healthy money management. Walk away when you win and cut your losses when you lose. Mathematical models have in fact shown that flat betting performs better than progressive betting systems, but true, it could be a lot more fun to play with a gentle loss recoup strategy in any given casino game session. Just know the facts, have fun playing casino games, and know that there is no such thing as a holy grail.
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Is Blackjack Card Counting Illegal in Casinos?
May 5th
In a word, no. Card counting is not illegal.
You cannot use any devices to assist you in card counting. Pocket sized computers and other electronic devices that can be used as card counting aides are illegal. If you are caught using such a device you will be arrested in Las Vegas. A card counter can only use his own intellect to card cards.
A casino will be on guard for card counters. They watch for players who play in a business like manner. They look for players who don’t interact with the dealer or other patrons. They look for players using basic strategy. Casinos will count along with a suspect card counter. A player will be labeled as a counter when the casino sees the player raise his bet when the count is in his favor.
Team play was big in the 1990s. A team would consist of one or more players at a table betting only the table minimum and counting cards. Since these players never increased their wager, the casinos could not spot them as counters. These players then signal another, “big money” player. The “big money” player wanders from table only stopping where the count is in his favor and only betting large amounts. Without the typical wager increases of a single card counter, teams of players were difficult for the casino to spot.
A casino may escort you off premises, read you the riot act, and threaten you with trespassing should you return. They may share your picture and profile with other casinos. However, this is not likely unless you are wagering large sums of money.
A card counter who is counting poorly or who is losing is likely to be allowed to play. A casino is happy to have anyone lose at any of their games. A card counter who is winning will often provoke some action by the casino. The easiest thing for the casino to do is instruct the dealer to shuffle more frequently, perhaps every third or fifth hand. This makes the counter constant reset his count and he will never see the positive count he needs.
In order to prevent being identified as a card counter, a player can do several things. First, the player should act in a relaxed manner. Second, it may be prudent to break basic strategy. For example, you could split tens every once in a while. A casino is likely to label you a recreational player if you break basic strategy now and then. Finally, a player can be careful with his wager. A five to ten times increase in the wager is likely to be ignored. Beyond ten times increase will draw scrutiny. Also, some players recommend changing your wager in proportion to the running count. Thus the wager is always changing and it’s hard to notice increases.
Card counting is a legal and legitimate way to gain an advantage over the casino in blackjack. Visit card-counting-blackjack.com right now to learn how count cards for free. The free blackjack game teaches you how to count cards. It also shows you how to play multi-deck blackjack strategy. There is nothing to download or install. Play BlackJack for free right now.
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West Virginia Blackjack – West Virginia Casinos
May 4th
For a long time, gamblers in West Virginia had to travel somewhere else to play blackjack games, craps games, roulette games, etc. The only casino gambling action available to them was slot machine gambling and horse betting. But recently, Wheeling Island Gaming and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort received permission to add table games to their offerings. So the gamblers who used to travel to Indiana can now get their blackjack fix a little closer to home.
Blackjack isn’t the only new game that’s available to gamblers in the area. Texas holdem grows ever more popular, and both of the locations already mentioned now have poker card rooms where aspiring Doyle Brunsons can now go all-in and hope they don’t get a bad flop.
Wheeling Island Gaming
Wheeling Island Gaming is located on an island in the Ohio River. The casino offers a tropical island ambience including a waterfall and multiple faux-palm trees. The island itself is only about 2 miles long, and Wheeling Island Casino offers several restaurants and bars. Be warned that this casino is extremely popular, and the blackjack games there are a big attraction. You should be prepared to wait if you want to play blackjack at any stakes lower than $50 per hand. (The higher stakes tables aren’t as crowded.)
Gamblers who are tired of slot machines, blackjack, and craps can step outside and spend some time betting on the dog races that are also offered at the location. Or if you’re not the rough and rugged outdoors-y type, you can watch the races from inside as well.
Mountaineer Casino Racetrack
The Mountaineer Casino Racetrack is located in the countryside, somewhat removed from the rest of civilization. Like Wheeling Island Gaming, the Mountaineer offers multiple restaurants and bars. They have a radically different decor and theme though, favoring a 1920’s gangster/speakeasy decor over the tropical island theme present at Wheeling Island. The casino is a little bit larger, and finding a lower stakes blackjack table with a seat open is a little bit easier here.
And if you get tired of gambling, a golf resort is located nearby, so you can get some fresh air and exercise while taking a break from the tables and the slot machines.
Some Blackjack Advice
If you’re new to blackjack strategy, here are a few tips for how to minimize the house edge:
- When you’re not sure about the correct play, assume that the dealer has a ten as her hole card, and also assume that you’re going to be dealt a ten. The deck has more tens in it than any other card, so this is a decent assumption about what’s going to happen next, and the basic strategy decisions become pretty obvious.
- Always split aces and eights. If you’ve got aces, you get twice as many chances at a blackjack by splitting. And you’ll often draw a ten when you hit. 10+8=18, which is a mighty respectable blackjack hand any time.
- Never split fours, fives, or tens. A pair of fours is a hard total of eight, which means you’re next card, if it’s a ten, will be an eighteen, which is a mighty good hand. (Two hands with a total of fourteen each would be a bummer to play though.) A pair of fives is a total of ten, so doubling down is a good idea here, since you’re hoping to catch an ace for a 21 or a ten for a total of 20. And a pair of tens is a total of 20, which is an outstanding hand no matter what.
- Don’t play with money you can’t afford to lose.
- For more blackjack strategy advice, including a hand-by-hand guide to basic strategy, visit Blackjack Hero’s blackjack basic strategy tutorial.
- To practice a little blackjack online before your tips, try the free blackjack games available with no download at Free Flash Blackjack.
Good luck at the tables in West Virginia. The house has the edge unless you’re counting cards, but you’re the one having big fun.
Another great blackjack resource for new blackjack players is Blackjack Tactics.
Sticky Casino Bonus Strategy
Apr 23rd
Online casinos paranoia about “casino bonus hunters” is forcing them to be very creative to wean the hunter away hurting all players with complicated bonus rules. One of the most recent creations are “phantom” or “sticky casino bonuses” – the equivalent of lucky chips in land and mortar casinos. The amount of the casino bonus is impossible to withdraw, it must remain on the casino player’s account (as if it “has stuck” to it), until it is completely lost, or annulled on the first withdrawal of cash means (disappears like a phantom). A casino bonus is “sticky” if in the terms and conditions of the online casinos it is described as non-cashable or for wagering purposes only. The online casinos do not call the bonus “sticky”. That’s the players slang for a bonus that “sticks” with the casinos.
To make it simple: a casino player would have two accounts deposit and casino bonus account. Bonus account cannot be cashed in, but can be used for wagering purpose. Deposit account may only be cashed in once the balance of the casino bonus account is zero.
At first glance it may seem that these casino bonuses are completely useless for the players and there is little sense in such bonuses – you won’t get your money back anyway, you won’t get your winnings, you would only waste your precious time. But it is not completely true. If you win, then there is really no point in the casino bonus, but if you have lost, it may be of use to you. Without the casino bonus you have lost your $100 and that’s it, bye-bye. But with the bonus, even if it is a “sticky casino bonus”, it is still on your account, which can help you worm out of the situation, to wait out the negative trend.
However a possibility to win back “sticky casino bonus” is a bit less than 50% (for that you only need to bet the entire amount on the chances in roulette). In order to maximize profits out “sticky casino bonuses” a casino player has employ a high risk strategy “play-an-all-or-nothing game”. Really, if you bet with small stakes, you will slowly and surely lose because of the negative mathematical expectations in the casino games, and the bonus will only prolong an agony, and won’t help you to win. Indeed, since a player expects to lose anyway thanks to the build-in house edge, and due to the non-cashable terms of the bonus, where is the profit?
Professional players tent to wager sticky bonuses aggressively. Somebody bets the entire amount on chances, in the hope to double it. Even though it is not possible to cash out the bonus, professionals can use it to win money that can be cashed out. Just imagine, you stake all $200 on chances, with a probability of 49% you would win neat $200. With a probability of 51% you would lose your $100 and $100 of the bonus. That is to say, a stake has positive mathematical expectations for you $200*0,49-$100*0,51=$47.
The difference between cashable bonuses and sticky ones is that the closer you are to meeting the casino wagering requirements the less aggressively you should play your cashable bonus, it would be yours anyway. So why should you risk. Besides, conservative wagering of cashable bonuses would help to avoid big fluctuations of the hands results. With the non-cashable casino bonuses the profit comes from the fact that a player can wager with the casino’s money and keep the winnings. Betting sticky bonuses aggressively would help to avoid “work hard” through the whole wagering requirements and get the results early. If number of big wins comes early, a player can always cut back the bets and “work hard” through the wagering requirements with smaller stakes to protect the winnings from that point on.
In summary, the aggressive casino games wagering requires a professional-level understanding of risk versus return as well as large enough bankroll to invest into the future winnings after a long losing trend. Also the strategy is complicates by such things as restricted casino games for wagering, the casino’s betting limits, the wagering requirements for the bonus, the house edge for the particular game.
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Online Video Slots for Convenience and Fun
Apr 22nd
The slot machine is probably the most popular gambling game at any casino till date. It is very easy, involves no strategy whatsoever and is worth the money. Rather than the reel slots, people prefer the video slots because of the bonus screens that the players get to play on for free. The video slots are more fun and can be changed to players’ preferences. The slots come in 3, 5 and 7 reel columns.
Online video slots are even more convenient. The game is a tension free ‘let me try my luck’ kind of game. If you get lucky, you could hit the jackpot, all being in the comfort of your home.
How does a slot machine look like?
The slot looks like an ATM machine out of the wall. More like a video gaming booth. But in online game, all you will see is a screen with number of buttons.
There are numerous buttons and a pulling handle for rotating the slots. Each button has a function. Usually the buttons are for wagering your bet, one for wagering the maximum bet, one for collection of cash after winning and one for viewing help menu in case you need help with using the machine or rules.
How to play video slots?
All you have to do is yank the handle after placing your bet. The slots spin with 20 to 100 different symbols. As the rotating stops the symbols will get arranged at random. The more the number of same symbols, the more the payouts.
Tips for winning
Online video slots offer more payouts. If the jackpot is higher, the chance of winning it is going to be tough. Hence choose to play a middle order with reasonable jackpot.
The more the wagering money, the more are the chances of winning. Hence, slots with wagering limits of $1, $2 and more have better chances of getting winning.
Progressive slots give better payouts, but you need to be extremely lucky to win it.
Video slot is the best game for entertainment value for it offers just more than yanking a handling and placing bets. You can play free bonuses and try your luck in that as well.
Keeping control over the spending
In casino games, past has no influence over the future. So if you lost your money in the previous session, trying to win it back is utter stupidity. Play each session as a separate game, non-relating it to the previous game. If you try to win back what you lost you will end up in debt and with an empty bank roll.
Try to understand the winning percentages and house advantages. Once you get a hang of that you can know when to stop and when to risk a bit more.
Online video slots give the exact same ambiance you can expect in a casino. This is a wonderful stepping stone into the world of casino.
For more information on video slots, check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the online video slots!