“If scientific reasoning were limited to the logical processes of arithmetic, we should not get very far in our understanding of the physical world. One might as well attempt to grasp the game of poker entirely by the use of the mathematics of probability. ----Vannevar Bush, the Godfather of the wired age.
Blackjack Money Management
by Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: Do you have any blackjack money management tips on how to discipline myself on holding on to winnings? It seems all the money I win ends up back in the dealer’s tray. Hardy K.
Teaching people to walk away with some vestige of their winnings can be an exercise in futility. Excuse me while I sigh and roll my eyes. A writer for the Journal of Experimental Psychology I am not. But I can offer you a money management tip that, if you make – no, if you KEEP -- the pledge to stick with it, will work wonders in your ability to leave with a profit.
Marcos
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Learn Poker from Video Poker
by Mark Pilarski
Video poker is based on the classic game Five Card Stud, which challenges players to compose the best possible five-card hand. The player is dealt five cards with the option of discarding any or all of them for replacement with newly dealt cards. Although video poker and Five Card Stud are kissing cousins, good video poker players don’t necessarily make for good poker players, and vice versa.
There are many important differences, Gary, between video poker and its table game relative. For starters, video poker payoffs are based on a scale, paying players for hands as low as a pair of tens or Jacks all the way up to a Royal Flush.
Gambling Winnings and Tax Returns
Don’t try to go blotto on me and forget to attach those W2-G’s along with your occupation’s W-2 form(s) because any single-win amount in gambling over $1,200, is required to be reported to the IRS by the casino. Luckily, you can offset the taxes on your win(s) by reporting your losses if you keep flawless records.
Gambling losses, so long as you itemize rather than take the standard deduction on your tax return, can be used only to counterbalance gambling wins during that same tax period. So even though your overall losses for the year are $4,700, to date, you can deduct only $2,700 of your total losses in the Other Miscellaneous Deductions section on your Schedule A.
Let It Ride - Too Good to Be True?
Let It Ride is a variation of five-card stud poker where the player wagers on a poker hand consisting of three cards in the player's hand and two community cards in the dealer’s hand.
Play begins with each player making three bets of equal denomination in spaces labeled (1), (2) and ($). The dealer then gives each player three cards, and two community cards are dealt face down. After seeing his or her first three cards, each player has the option of pulling back their first bet, or, as the game is eponymously named, saying “Let it ride.”
5 Million $ Jackpot
Click to Enlarge.The Mega Moolah progressive jackpot has reached and surpassed the $5 million mark.Mega Moolah is a five reel, twenty five payline, and one hundred and twenty-five coin slot machine. The multiple paylines increase your chances of winning.
Mega Moolah has a wild, multiplier symbol, a scatter symbol, a Free Spins bonus game and a randomly activated Mega Moolah Progressive Jackpot bonus game.
Horning in Craps
Dear Mark: Encouraged by the stickperson on a crap game, a couple of the players kept betting a Horn or a Horn High. Although they hardly broke the bank, actually I believe they ended up losers, I was still wondering if it’s a good bet or not. Sammy R.
A sucker bet if ever there was one, a “craps-eleven,” or “horn” bet as it’s typically called, is a one-roll wager that on the next roll of the dice their sum will be, 2, 3, 11, or 12. If they sum up to anything else (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10), you lose. If the three or 11 rolls, you’re paid 15:1, and if the two or 12 appears, 30:1. Horn bets are accepted in even dollar units, divisible by four, with equal amounts bet on each of the four outcomes. Horn bets are settled as though the four possible winners had been bet individually.
A Roulette Secret
Dear Mark: Is any bet in roulette a good bet, or should I just throw that money in the fountain on the way into the casino? Dick D.
First off, Dick, let the wishful thinkers throw their hard-earned money in the fountain for luck. You, on the other hand, are going to learn here and now the secret of roulette; it’s about which game, not which bet.
Casino Review: Riverbelle Online Casino
IntroductionRiverbelle is one of the most popular casinos on our site. The casino is run by a respected gaming group company now known as Belle Rock Entertainment. The Riverbelle’s theme is southern hospitality and commemorates the old riverboat casinos. The casino runs on the great Microgaming Viper Software. A flash version of the casino is also available.
Download, Install, and Setup:
It seems that their website was having a problem because clicking the download link yielded an error page. We tried a few hours later after emailing support and things were working well. Download and install went fast and smooth. You initially download an application downloader which handles the download of the casino without the need of the browser.
Blackjack with 6 and 8 Decks
Dear Mark: Recently, I was playing Blackjack on a cruise boat. The table had a constant shuffle machine with either 6 or 8 decks, although I can’t be certain. What effect, if any, does this have on the house advantage on a basic strategy player? Charlie L.
With a typical shoe game, any time the number of decks in play is increased, the casino’s edge goes up slightly. For example, compared to a single deck, a two-deck game handicaps your play by 0.35%, four decks, 0.48%, six decks, 0.54% and eight decks 0.58%. It is always to your advantage to play on a game that offers the fewest decks.
Some Bonus Updates
I was finally able to start adding updated casino bonus info that is up to date to the blog. I will be doing them buy industry groups. Here are the first few. All will be mirrored in the Casino Bonus page.
Blackjack Ballroom
New players to Blackjack Ballroom can take advantage of their 1 hour and $500 free promotion or a 40% matching bonus to a maximum of $400. They offer weekly and monthly promotions as well as the opportunity to redeem loyalty points.
Yukon Gold Casino
Yukon Gold offers a matching (100%) $50 sign up bonus. Also part of the CasinoRewards group. This is a well established casino that began operations in January 2004. The software at Yukon Gold is quick and easy to download and install, bringing you to an attractive, western themed lobby where you can register in a few easy steps.
Golden Tiger Casino
New players to Golden Tiger can play on Tomb Raider Video Slot for one hour completely free and keep whatever they win PLUS get up to $250 FREE on their first deposit. Golden Tiger Casino offers the very best in customer support. Players can contact the support centre via e-mail, toll free phone or Live Chat 24/7.
Virtual City Casino
Virtual City promises $10 free on download as well as an additional sign up bonus of $40 on your first deposit of $100. It is important at this stage to note that when they say $10 FREE they really do mean free as there is no purchase required for this bonus. The casino will simply ask you to register a credit card so they can pay the bonus money into your CasinoRewards account and you will be ready to play.
