Gambling Guide and Directory

Counting cards in Black Jack is not nearly as complex as it sounds when you first hear about the concept. Most of those without the knowledge of how counting cards is achieved are apt to think it involves the ability to keep track of every card that has been dealt out of the shoe which on an eight deck shoe is over four hundred cards and on average the player would need to go about seventy-five percent of the way into the deck before a shuffle happened. So roughly three hundred cards to track.

Counting cards in Black Jack does not involve keeping track of such large numbers however. Counting cards can be achieved by almost anyone using the system that is most often used by card counters. I won’t go into all the details because to learn how to count cards and not be proficient at it is akin to giving a toddler a loaded gun after they’ve been taught how to shoot a child’s cap gun. You’d have just enough knowledge to really get yourself in trouble. I say this from experience and i think almost anybody that counts cards will tell you the same. It is almost inevitable that you would lose the count and end up playing hard on a belief that wasn’t true. So if you’re going to learn to count cards then expect to practice for hours every day for a very long time and that anytime you stop practicing it will be very hard to return to your peak self without first spending the time in practice to get sharp again.

The basic thing to know is that the system is based not on counting cards in the traditional sense but rather on keeping a running count on the number of tens versus low value cards such as three, four, five and six. So whenever a ten (or face card) is shown you would count that as negative one. A low value card is worth a plus one. There are sixteen tens to a deck and there are sixteen threes, fours, fives and sixes when combined. As you can imagine most times the count … which bounces back and forth, into the negative or positive side of zero, does not stray far from the middle ground. In other words since there are even number of cards that you would count on each side of the equation then it stands to reason that most times the count is going to stay right around even (even being zero).

It is those times when the count does not stay near even that the card counter finds the edge. If the count shows the deck is heavy with low value cards then its best to just back off your bets but if the deck is heavy with tens then it is time to increase your bet to as much as you think you can get away with and not arouse suspicion. (Note: although I have not seen the movie 21, I imagine they used a team and would signal another person when the table was heavy with tens and that person could then step up and bet big without appearing to have had any chance to be counting cards).

Counting cards should not be such a mystery now. Please note that there are further steps to the equation of counting cards that were not discussed in this article such as the factor of how many decks (partial deck in case of single deck play) are left in the shoe as that will effect the running count. Nobody should read (just) this article and walk away thinking they know how to count cards.

I wonder how many others have fallen victim to the same faulty reasoning as myself when they had just won a jackpot and had the opportunity to quit and walk away with a very nice increase in their bankroll and didn’t use it? Knowing when to quit is every gambler’s greatest challenge and to some it is a consistent Achilles’ heel.

I always make the mistake of wanting to round-off my credits to an even number. I knowingly use that as an excuse to play a little longer and hope to turn one jackpot into two big wins. There is nothing wrong with that until you start losing your self-control and before you know it you’ve whittled down a nice win to an amount that doesn’t really justify quitting. There’s a second mistake. If anything is justified at this point it is to walk away and come back a while later. Faulty reasoning such as “rounding off” (and then not stopping at the round off point) or the “well I came to gamble” attitude (the second mistake) the player is convincing his/her self that since they hadn’t really lost anything that there was no reason to stop gambling.

To say nothing was really lost is both true and false. Since in most cases it is wisest to concentrate on stretching the bankroll thus allowing the player to “stay alive” longer which means extra chances at hitting the big jackpot … then one should watch where your current “zero” line (where you are at that moment) stands and adjust the win and loss limits accordingly. A loss limit is the amount you are willing to lose and a win limit is an amount you think would be very satisfying to still have when you leave the casino. Example: $100 is what you brought to lose and taking into consideration what it is like to leave the casino with nothing … $300 sounds like an amount that would be “very satisfying”.

To adjust the amounts is easy enough. If you’re losing then nothing changes other than you might decide to quit before you lose the whole $100. But lets say you’re winning and now your “zero line” (my term btw so don’t expect to hear it elsewhere) is at $300 … because that is the total sum of all you have in your current bankroll. Loss limit should be moved up as well as win limit. Move loss limit to $150 and be guaranteed to go home with a $50 profit.

The win limit is not really a limit at all. It is a reminder so you know when to move your loss limit. The idea at the end of your gambling session is to be able to walk away with some kind of profit to show for a decent day’s gambling. By continually moving your loss limit up as your bankroll increases … you are continually stashing money away that you won’t be losing back to the casino on that day.

Oh and the reason the player in the first paragraph should stop gambling even though they hadn’t really lost anything? The reason they should stop is they had dumped back into the machine almost all the winnings their luck had earned and the bleeding should have been stopped far sooner than breaking even. It is obvious luck has changed and its time to step away for a while. Determining when its time to stay or go is seldom a problem to those that are truthful with themselves. Listening to that truth is another thing entirely.

You can purchase as many chips as you want. Often you will begin at 300 chips, but as many as 1000 can be bought. You will need to assess how many you require.

The number of people who join your poker game will determine the amount of chips you need. Of course aggressive players will require more chips than quiet, tight fisted ones. So the type of players you have will also determine the amount of chips you will need.

It can be assumed that 300 chips will service 3-4 players, but this is not really so. This number of chips will only be good enough to replace damaged or worn chips. This is because for a good poker game you do not really want to play with such a small group of people.

In reality 500 poker chips is a bare minimum. If your games regularly have 9 or more people, I’d invest in a set of 1000 to 1500 poker chips. This doesn’t necessarily mean that every chip will always be in play, but it does give you leeway when a couple people want to buy in big. In addition, your chips will last a lot longer if 100% of them aren’t in play every week.

It is important to ensure that you have plenty of low denomination chips. In fact only 30%-40% of your chips should represent higher numbers. This is because most bets are on low and medium chips. For example a set of 1000 chips should not have 200 of each denomination. Rather it should lean more heavily on the lower range chips. You would think that this is a matter of common sense but this factor is often ignored.

In short, the number of poker chips you need is determined by the number of people in your average home game and by the overall aggression level of your games. You want to make sure you have enough chips for people to buy in heavy if they want. You also need a proper range of chips so you don’t run out of the lower denominations. A good rule of thumb is to start at 500 chips then add 100 to 150 chips per person for every person you have over five.

Many high rollers are not aware that they can get better treatment than what is advertised at online casinos. They merely need to contact support and announce themselves as playing at higher stakes and that they would like to have high roller treatment once they have established themselves. Taking time out to do this is often well worth the trouble.

Some online casinos don’t wish to impose on high roller players because they don’t want to rock the boat. Other online casinos have a banker’s mentality (they still have a lot to learn from Vegas) which means they have extra in their budget to offer but won’t put it on the table unless they are pressed to do so, and all it really takes is asking. And then there’s the simple logic that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. When you’re a high roller that will get you a long distance if applied in moderate doses. Online casinos give the high roller all that is advertised on their site of course but it never hurts to ask about any extra or privileged treatment because that might be all that is required to result in a lot of extra perks, but you have to ask about them.

This can include extra comp points on top of those promised, gifts arriving on scheduled holidays such as Christmas or Easter, trips to Las Vegas to meet their VIP rep which are all expense paid, one online casino that I know about likes to pamper their big players with items that are of extreme high quality which is usually something a person would never buy because it seemed too frivolous. The same casino also favors sending baskets filled with gourmet foods, wines and champagnes. Extra bonuses may also be offered. Some online casinos issue special high roller support phone numbers that are manned 24/7 by the very best of support agents who often times are told to satisfy the customer at any reasonable cost.

High rollers may be asked their opinion by the casino on everything from games to policy. These are the players the casino seeks more than any other and once established the player can almost write their own ticket in terms of perks and special treatment. If the casino doesn’t see that the player has been active for a period of time the VIP manager will be sending an email with some kind of fantastic offer to get the player back and playing. Many times this offer will simply be a notice that an amount of free casino cash has been added to the player’s account and awaits their attention. Sometimes it will have a time limit on using the free casino cash however.

One last note on high rollers. They should contact the casino about special sign up bonuses. Go ahead and register with the casino but before you make your first deposit contact support and ask them to put you in touch with a high roller representative and ask if you make a large deposit if they will give an extra amount in bonus. The worst that can happen is they reply no. The old saying “nothing ventured, nothing gained” is never more true than when a high roller and dealing with online casinos.

As you search for your perfect poker chip you will very likely have come across the term Las Vegas Style poker chips. What does this term really mean? Do these chips really come from Las Vegas, or are they mere replicas of Las Vegas chips? Different sites have different answers to these questions.

A little knowledge will prevent you from getting fooled, and ending up with something you did not intend to buy. So do your research for Las Vegas Style poker chips as the term does indeed mean different things.

Some site reserve the title of Las Vegas poker chips for chips that actually came from Las Vegas casinos. These chips are incredibly expensive and generally sell for a couple dollars above their face value. For example, you could buy a retired $5 chip from the Bellagio for about $8. A set of these Las Vegas poker chips can get real expensive real fast.

Other sites will call any poker chip that’s made to look like a real poker chip a Las Vegas poker chip. These chips are generally clay chips weighing anywhere from 9 to 12 grams and have imprints in the center. These chips look and feel a lot like the kind of poker chips that come from any Las Vegas casino. When most people go shopping for Las Vegas poker chips, these are the chips they’re looking for. While these clay poker chips aren’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination, they certainly won’t cost you $8 per chip. You can expect to pay about $400 for 1000 of these chips.

Still other sites get real specific with their use of the term “Las Vegas poker chips”. For these sites, Las Vegas poker chips means any chip that says Las Vegas on it or has a graphic of the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. These chips can be Anything from cheap plastic to high quality clay so do more research before buying from one of these guys.

Because this term Las Vegas Style poker chip is used for so many different types of chips it has lost its significance now. Because of this fact you need to do some detailed research before you purchase this style of chip.

Online casinos have the “all smoking” light on. It is okay to smoke while playing these casino games. This is unlike many land casinos during current times as many have fallen victim to recently passed laws prohibiting smoking in public areas including casinos and bars. Of course those living in the U.S. are still free to smoke in their own homes which will be yet another irony that sends people running to online gambling rather than their local gaming institution.

While the U.S. has not chosen to pursue smokers past their property lines, there are many countries which have chosen to try and tell their citizens how to live in the privacy of their own homes. Oh wait a minute. My mistake. I momentarily forgot that the US federal government has chosen to not regulate online gambling but rather take the path of intimidation by having the dept of justice issue propaganda that would have US citizens believe it is illegal to gamble on line. However to date not one person has ever been even charged with gambling on line although sports betting is excluded for purposes of this article because there does exist the “wire act” which says it is illegal to place sporting bets using the telephone line. This has been the DOJ’s claim all along for saying it is illegal to gamble on line but the law was created before the internet existed and was very specific about it only pertaining to sports betting. Therefore several points of interest must be examined and then proven to all fall the way of the DOJ’s preference and that is an unlikely scenario of which all parties are aware.

An attempt to pass a federal law making it illegal to gamble on line fell just short of its goal when the UIGEA rider was passed on the last day of a legislation period while hidden on the skirt of a anti-terrorist act that was of course certain to pass. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act makes it illegal for a banking institution to knowingly allow a transaction that may fund an online gambling account but stops short of addressing the gambler.

The law is already being condemned by many in congress as impossible to police without seriously impeding the entire banking system. The banks themselves have already stated that this is forcing them to error to side of caution therefore legitimate purchases are being denied which hurts not only the consumer and merchant but also the bank that refused to allow payment since not many customers are going to be understanding about being left red-faced when they know their credit or debit card is good. So if you’re in the states and doing a little online gambling then feel free to light up and “smoke ‘em if you got ‘em”. Both are still your right to do in the privacy of your own home but be sure to keep an eye on things come next time to vote.

Black Jack has many different game versions and those can even vary in the number of decks used in a shoe. Card counters know the advantage is with the fewest decks in a shoe but many otherwise knowledgeable players, the kind that usually stick to basic strategy and play smart, do not have any idea just what a difference extra decks in the shoe can make.

Regardless of the version of black jack, the fewer the decks in the shoe the more your chances are of hitting a black jack. I will try to demonstrate to you the way I learned and I only wish I could give credit to my teacher but the plain fact is that I have read so many books on gambling that I can’t remember which one it was that covered this aspect. This may not be exactly how it was taught to me since it has been many years now but I do know I can make the point that was made to me.

Lets say you are playing blackjack and it is a single deck game and a deck is made up of any three cards, an ace, a ten and a six. The dealer, who won’t be getting any cards in this game obviously, shuffles the deck and deals an ace to you. That leaves two cards left in the deck. A ten which would give you black jack and a six which of course not be that kind of help. That means there is a fifty-percent chance you will be dealt a black jack.

Now lets make this a two deck game. Of course as before the decks will consist of three cards each. An ace, a ten and a six. Since there are now two decks in the shoe we have a total of six cards. Two aces, two tens and two sixes. The dealer shuffles, loads the shoe and deals you an ace. For purposes of this example, once again the dealer will not be taking any cards. You have an ace and there are two cards in the shoe that can give you a black jack. However there are now three cards in the deck that will not produce a blackjack. an ace and two sixes.

The odds of getting a black jack in our example dropped from fifty-percent (a one in two chance of getting dealt the ten), to two chances out of five which by my math is a 40% chance of getting dealt that ten. A considerable difference but nothing like the jump is going to be when you go from single deck black jack to a shoe holding eight or more decks.

If you ever thought that casinos had switched to the multiple deck black jack shoes to make life more convenient for the players then it is time to reconsider.

Single deck black jack is also much easier to count cards although the same principle is used for single or multiple decks. About the only down side to single deck shoes is the down time on shuffling because most casinos won’t go much past the half mark on single deck nowadays because they are counteracting the card counters.

Single deck black jack is often found at online casinos which as just demonstrated is an advantage to the player. The only drawback about playing online is the deck is shuffled after every hand (no downtime however) and as such makes counting cards an unrealistic endeavor.

So how does a poker lover become an avid collector? It all begins with his search for the perfect poker chips set for him to use when he hosts his own poker games. As he searches he discovers the different styles of chips, and finds out that genuine casino chips can be obtained without going to the casinos. He also discovers that some chips can be collectibles; this is when he decides to become a collector himself.

So why collect casino poker chips? Well, why does anyone collect anything? Casino poker chips can freeze an event in time. It can remind its owner of special or historical occasions and events. Casino poker chips can remind you of that weekend you spent at the MGM Grand or it can be a chip from the 2007 World Series of Poker.

Did you make your first straight flush or your first Royal Flush? That’s a poker chip worth keeping. Maybe you moneyed in your first tournament. You’d better believe I’d try to get my hands on one of those chips. Especially if I came in first! I’ll be Phil Helmuth kept a chip from his 11th WSOP victory. You could easily end up with a collection of hundreds of seemingly insignificant casino poker chips that each have a large amount of sentimental value.

Sentimental value is all very well but some casino poker chips are even more exciting to collect. For instance there have been some memorable tournaments, like the world series of 1976 and 1977. If you have casino poker chips from them you will indeed have a collectible item.

Some of the most exciting poker chips to collect are those that have a bit of history behind them. It is an amazing fact that poker chips have been around since the 1800’s and were made of bone and ivory at this time. Needless to say these casino poker chips are a hot item for collectors and are very valuable.

Of course collecting casino poker chips is just another facet of people’s love of the game. The gambling instinct is strong in poker players and brings out the treasure hunter in them. Searching for memorable chips is indeed like looking for treasure. How about taking a look on EBay and finding your memorable chip.

North Dakota is one of only two gambling lotteries that only offers online-only gambling, the move has been paying off for a state that does not have their own lottery.

More: continued here

The government of the Netherlands wants to prevent foreign online casinos from targeting Dutch gamblers. Following several other European countries, Holland is seeking to keep its gambling monopoly and to ban external competitors from …

More: continued here