Archive for the ‘Gambling’ Category

7 Tips To Limit Casino Losses

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

We all know that the house has the advantage when playing at any casino, but there are ways some things you can do to reduce the advantages that they have. Here are some things you can think about when playing online next time that will help you limit the amount of money you can lose in a single session.

1) Set a Daily Deposit Limit – You might be surprised to know that the casino gamblers that lose the most money aren’t the ones that deposit huge amounts of money in one go. In fact, many of the biggest losers in casinos are the players that make many small deposits over time. The issue is when players lose their first deposit, their emotions come into play and they start chasing that money by doing things that they normally would not do. Many of the best casinos allow you to set a limit on your daily deposits which means that if you do not make money on the first deposit then you will not be able to continue to deposit. This will allow you a cool off time where you can come back focussed the next day with a much more clear mind. If your casino of choice does not have this option you could look for a deposit option where you can limit this kind of activity.

2) Set a Time Limit – One of the casinos’ greatest edges is TIME. The longer you stay and play, the more likely you are to lose everything. If you set a timer at the beginning of your session and tell yourself you will not play past it, you can help control your betting activity better. One of the reasons for this is the longer you play, the more tired and impatient you might get which could cause your betting patterns to change. It is better to play 10 very short sessions where you are most focussed and mentally ready than 1 very long one where you could lose focus and have much more erratic play.

3) Set a Win Goal – If you don’t set a realistic goal of how much money you want to win then chances are you never will win. Everytime you start a gambling session you should tell yourself at what point you will stop playing and cash out. You can always re-evaluate your goal when you reach it, but if you do you should at least cash out your original deposit and some to ensure that it is a positive session.

4) Set a Stop/Loss – Similar to setting a win goal, you need to go into every gambling session knowing exactly how much money you are willing to lose. This is one of the toughest parts about gambling, but you need great self discipline to hold yourself to your stop loss and walk away from the tables when you hit it.

5) Keep Track of Your Play – Every gambler should keep tabs on all their gambling activity. This will allow you to keep a running tally of whether or not you are in the positive or the negative (and by how much). Many gamblers don’t realize how much money they are actually using because they just keep depositing/withdrawing more from the ATM. Keeping these numbers in front of your mind might make you hesitate from making that extra withdrawal.

6) Play in a Positive Mind State – Playing in a sad or depressed state is one of the quickest ways to watch your money fly right into the pockets of the casino. The more alert and mentally focussed you are on winning, the better your odds are of actually doing so!

7) Don’t Chase Comps – Many players chase comps that they could have just purchased many times over with the money they lost gambling to try to get them. Unless you know specifically you are only a few points off a fantastic comp, you should always play to win, not to get a comp.

Good luck, have fun, and go win lots of money!

Banning Cell Phones in Casinos

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Several academics have recently put out a warning that the use of cell phones can cause some serious health problems. Some of the problems listed were a higher risk of brain tumors and an increased rate of infertility. While the academics confirm that these findings are yet to be scientifically proven, there is enough evidence that suggests people should take precautionary measures when using cell phones – especially children whose skull is thinner and do not block out the radiation as much as adults do.

There are many places that cell phones have been banned, for security and health reasons. Gas stations, hospitals and medical centers, elementary schools, they all have some sort of ban on the use of cell phones. Casinos, too.

Even the best online casinos will not allow you to enter with your cell phone turned on and will certainly not allow you to use the device near a blackjack table for example. There are several reasons for this:

  • Simply, there is often not very good reception in a casino, so cell phone use is just impractical
  • It is considered against casino etiquette to talk on a phone while gambling – it’s just rude
  • Cell phones, like other electronic devices, could be used for cheating purposes. The device could help you count cards, or you could confer with someone else at the table regarding placing bets or joining forces. Both of these are taboo in a casino!

Some casinos are beginning to realize that this generation is addicted to their cell phones, so some will allow you to make or take calls away from the actual gambling tables, while you are walking around the general area.

I can understand people’s desire to be close to the cell phone when playing at a casino. I mean it is obvious that we are just about to win that golden jackpot and as soon as we do this, then we need to be in touch with our entire phone contact list and share the good news. Then again, maybe it’s not such a good idea to have a cell phone at a casino..because if I do win big, I might want to be more selective of who I call my friends, because I am sure they will all ask for a hand out!

 

Musings of a Midnight Gambler

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

I love this time of the night. The rest of the household is sound asleep and I have decided to unwind at my favorite online casino site before calling it a night.  I love the initial blink of the computer screen, bringing the quiet office space to life and love the way I am whisked off to the excitement of Vegas – some many thousands of miles away and yet so near.

I love the way I am welcomed to the casino like an old friend.  I’m offered news about the latest promotions, including a new casino bonus which I am definitely interested in taking advantage of after I fund my casino account again.  Within minutes, money has been transferred and I’m ready to go.  My first stop is the blackjack table and a couple of buddies are already playing there.  They greet me warmly through the casino chat features, and I’m soon playing happily with Toki from Japan and Juan from Argentina.  After hitting a good run at the blackjack tables (practicing free blackjack paid off, yeah!), I head to the slot machines to check out the new releases.  The best online casinos update their slots often and I’m pleased to see several new themed games with big payouts and lots of special features.

I do OK at the slots, and now it’s time to try out the video poker games. I stick to my favorite,  Jacks or Better and do so-so.  I know it’s ‘you-win-some-you-lose-some’ and I don’t try and chase my losses, being the responsible gambler that I am!

I decide to round off my midnight gambling session with a few rounds of keno. Nothing is as undemanding as Keno – all you need to do is select your numbers and wait for them to come up.  The more correct numbers picked, the better you do!  My gut instincts must be working well tonight because I land up winning a sizable amount on the keno games – enough to surprise my family with a weekend away, which I pay for immediately online.

After an hour of play, I’m sleepy but satisfied, and ready to  hit the sack. G’night all!

Strangest Tales of Luck

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

We all hope that good fortune goes with us when we gamble – whether at online casinos, land slot parlors or home poker games.  Good luck is just as important as skill elements in many games you play – sometimes even more important when dealing with games based solely on luck.   There are many theories and superstitions based on bringing good fortune but nobody knows what – if anything – increases your fortunes.

Here are some of the strangest tales of luck which have come my way:

- A church in Nebraska exploded in 1950 and, amazingly, nobody was injured.  The explosion took place 5 minutes after the 15-man choir was due to start rehearsals but in an amazing twist of fortune, all of them were late for practice that evening. It wasn’t even one single reason that made them all late – some had car trouble, a couple wanted to finish their ironing and one woke up late from an afternoon nap. These random reasons can only be put down to good fortune – and definitely saved their lives!

- A waitress in Yonkers New York received the biggest tip ever – over $140,000 a year for a 20 year period.  The young lady offered such friendly service that a policeman who ordered from her promised her that if he hit the lottery, he’d give her half the winnings.  The waitress chose three numbers on the lottery ticket and the policeman the other three and, amazingly, they hit the jackpot! Each took home $3 million in prize money.  Moral of the story: Be nice – it could change your fortune :)

- In 1995, a couple from Texas used the numbers predicted in a fortune cookie to purchase lottery tickets – and won.  Amazingly, the husband went in to purchase a ticket, using the same numbers, and a little while later, his wife did the same, also using the fortune cookie numbers.  When the numbers came up, they both won and pocketed over $1.6 million.

- And, finally, a tale of misfortune.  A 73 year old who won $76,000 on a game show lottery was run down by a car less than four hours after his massive winning.  Incredibly, the man said that he was planning to buy a car with his new found fortune….

Snopes Dispels Playing Cards Superstitions

Saturday, October 29th, 2011

I’m forever getting emails telling me about some famous person doing something or other, or some amazing feat by a three year kid.  When I’m particularly impressed, I’ll head off to the Snopes website to see if the tale is true or not.  This week, I found myself at Snopes.com again and decided to do a search about gambling rumors and speculations.  I found a fascinating article about playing cards superstitions and thought I’d share some of the juicier parts with you.

The Nine of Diamonds is known as the Curse of Scotland because it was the card used by John Darymple to pass on instructions for the 1608 Glen Coe Massacre.

Two pairs – Aces and Eights were held by Bill Hicock, the famous Wild West character, when he was shot dead in a saloon during a poker game. The hand came to be known as Dead Man’s hand.

Black Jacks are said to bring poverty and unhappiness and should be avoided by players…

If a player lands a pair of Red Jacks it is said that he or she has a hidden enemy and should beware.

I find this type of information fascinating, considering that card playing has been going on for centuries and that many of these legends are based on true events.

It reminds me of an incident that happened several years ago when I was playing poker with some friends in a park in Seattle. After a few rounds, a friend was dealt two cards and he went from friendly chatter to dead silence in half a second.  Nobody could get out of him what was wrong until he revealed his cards – two pairs of Aces and Eights.  The poor guy was so petrified that somebody would jump out of the bushes and shoot him for holding Dead Man’s Cards, that he couldn’t concentrate on the game and had to call it quits.  It’s amazing how some of these tales – true or not – manage to get under your skin and turn even the most un-superstitious people into quivering wrecks!

Keeping Up with the Online Gambling Joneses

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Once in a while, I share anecdotal incidents that relate to me and my online gambling entertainment, and this is what happened to me a couple of weeks ago.

A buddy of mine called me up to ask if I wanted to out for drink. Sitting nursing our beers, he mentioned that he was having a great time playing at online casinos, and that his gaming sessions were going fantastically.  Now I’m not sure whether it was the beer that had gone to my head or that male ego that my better half is always talking about, but I countered him, albeit in a buddy-like way, that mine was also going exceptionally well, and that I was discovering some amazing new games at my favorite online casino.  Buddy then tells me that not only has he also discovered some amazing new games, he had also won a fair bit of money playing them.

By then, I was feeling tingly and downright competitive, and so I brought out my trump card – not only were my gaming sessions going well, I was discovering amazing new games and I was winning well: I had also won the jackpot on a progressive slot game.  OK, now between you and me, I wasn’t going to be able to retire on the minor jackpot which I had won, but I wasn’t willing to tell him that.  Buddy just smiled and said, ‘hey, welcome to the club.’

By then I had nothing on him. All we could do was make some minor conversation and head our separate ways after a while.

But I couldn’t get our conversation out of my head.  How was it possible that he had gotten me so green with envy even though my gambling sessions at my favorite online casino were going so well? Even after they were fun, even after I was playing great games, and even after I was winning well.   I was dying to know where he was playing and how come he still managed to do better than me.  After a whole week of suspense, I could take it no longer.  I called my buddy up and practically blurted out: “What’s the name of the site you play at?”  His response: The exact same site I play at….

Moral of the story: Don’t try and keep up with the online gambling Joneses.  Enjoy your gaming entertainment, treasure your wins and  don’t start comparing yourself to anyone else.

A Look at the UK Gambling Commission

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Several years ago, a revolution occurred in the British gambling industry.  The government realized that if it wanted to control the ever growing online casino market and also generate money from this industry, it would need to make drastic changes to existing gambling laws.  As a result, the government proposed the Gambling Act of 2005, and with it the formation of the UK Gambling Commission which job is to regulate commercial gambling in the country. The group is an independent public body which works under the umbrella of the Department for Culture, Media and Sports.

The Gambling Commission is sponsored by this department and runs on fees paid by operators who receive licenses from the commission. All gambling activities are licensed in the United Kingdom, and all of them fall under the auspices of the commission, including arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, gaming machine providers, gaming software providers, lottery and British based remote gambling operators.  The Gambling Commission, however, does not regulate spread betting (which is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority), nor does it regulate the National Lottery, which is run by the National Lottery Commission.

The UK Gambling Commission has three main objectives: To ensure total transparency in gambling activities; to protect children and vulnerable people from the ‘exploitation’ of gambling and to ensure that crime is kept out of gambling.

The Commission also monitors the British gambling public to ensure that the incidences of problem gambling do not increase and – if they do – what can be done to decrease them. Help and support is provided to problem gamblers and their families through organizations such as GamCare and GambleAware which do a great help for the tiny minority of the population affected by problem gambling.  Other groups include GamAid and GamblersAnonymous.

The UK Gambling Commission bears a lot of the brunt of opposition groups who do their utmost to block the expansion of gambling in the country, but does a good job in offering a strong framework within which gambling groups – both online and off – can operate and offer their goods and services to gamblers in the UK.

 

 

Gambling Song: Chris de Burgh’s Spanish Train

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

I’m always on the lookout for songs and poems with a gambling theme, and one of my all-time favorites is the song, Spanish Train by Chris de Burgh.  This popular singer, who was made famous by his lyrical songs such as “Lady in Red”, stirs up fiery passion in Spanish Train. The song tells the tale of a dying railway man and the battle between God and the Devil for his soul.  The Devil challenges God to a game of poker and he agrees in a bid to save the souls of thousands of others.  Unfortunately, the Devil wins and the moral of the story is that ‘gambling is the game of the devil’.  OK, so the theme is not so great but the song definitely is!

Here are some of the words of the song:

Joker is the name, Poker is the game

We’ll play right here on this bed

And then we’ll bet for the biggest stakes yet

The souls of the dead!!

 

And I said: “Look out, Lord, He’s going to win,

The sun is down and the night is riding in

That train is dead on time, many souls are on the line

O Lord, he’s going to win!

 

Well, the railwayman he cut the cards

And he dealt them each a hand of five

And for the Lord he was praying hard

Or that train he’d have to drive

 

Well, the Devil he had three aces and a king,

And the Lord, he was running for a straight

He had the queen and the knave and nine and ten of spades

All he needed was the eight

 

And then the Lord he called for one more card,

But he drew the diamond eight

And the Devil said to the Son of God,

“I believe you’ve got it straight.”

 

“So deal me one for the time has come,

To see who’ll be the king of this place,”

But as he spoke, from beneath his cloak,

He slipped another ace.

 

The Cocky Player’s Guide to Casino Gambling

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of confidence, especially when playing at a casino, but there is a fine line between being confident and cocky.  If you go into your gambling session overconfident, you may land up getting burnt.

Here are a couple of tips for players who may be suffering from over-confidence:

1. Don’t Think You Know the Rules of All the Games

Just because you know how to play video poker, for example, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take a good hard look at the different rules of all new games you try out.  Casinos, especially online casinos, offer plenty of different video poker variants, and you could be missing some very important information if you just presume that all video poker games are the same.  Take some time to read the rules and don’t presume that you know how to play all games.

2. Don’t Think that Lady Luck is Always on Your Side

Let’s face it – some people are simply luckier than others and you may be that type of person. BUT don’t presume that you will always be lucky in every gambling session. If the game you are playing is one based purely on luck (such as roulette), know when to end your gaming session because, in the long run, the odds are in the casino’s favor.  If you’re playing a skill based game, do all you can do improve your chances of winning, including practicing for free through online gambling tutorials and learning basic strategies.

3. Don’t Presume that You Can Hold Vast Quantities of Alcohol

It’s quite amazing how many overconfident players believe that they can do even better around the poker table when they are filled to the brim with alcohol.  A drink or two may loosen your up and give you that edge you need to play well, but anything more will cause you to make stupid decisions which could cost you a lot.  Keep alcohol to an absolute minimum when gambling and remember that the best poker players out there are absolute teetotalers!

 

Sportsbetting Sponsorship: A Win Win Situation

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Recently, I read that William Hill gambling group has signed on to become the official sponsor of the Ayr Gold Cup Festival – an annual racing event that takes place in Scotland.  The deal is for 2 years and Will Hill has already sponsored three previous seasons, so this isn’t a new contract for them, but rather the extension of an existing one.

Of course, this isn’t the only sports sponsorship deal out there and there are many events that carry the names of their sponsors (Ladbrokes and 888 come to mind).  In addition, many top football clubs wear jerseys with their sportsbetting group sponsors’ names emblazoned on their backs as part of the sponsorship deal.

So who benefits from these deals? The answer is: everyone.  This is truly a case of  a win-win situation.

On the one hand, the team is benefiting from (usually) much needed cash through the sponsorship deal. They get their team uniforms covered, they get funds injection and they get exposure  on the sports betting group’s website, which in turn increases their fan base. On the other hand, the sportsbetting group gets to see its name associated with a top team, plus has its brand name displayed on the team’s uniform and at games on the field.

Some sponsorship deals include exposure at stadiums and away games, while other don’t – it all depends on the terms of the contract signed. Many times, sports betting groups and the team will form a joint online site that will see traffic directed from both their original sites.  The joint site will allow for sports betting, casino gaming and information about the team.

Not all sponsorship deals work and many are ended after a year, but the majority of hugely successful and are usually extended for years.  Sometimes, legislation gets in the way of plans, for example, a government may suddenly decide that it is illegal to have the name of sports betting groups appearing on TV during the screening of games.  It’s then up to the groups to find a way around the problem, or the contract may just have to be cancelled due stronger forces.

 
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