The Online Casino Gambling Blog

It used to be that gambling was a male dominated pastime; lately however like most things even gambling has been changing, its players opening ranks to let in the fairer sex and they’ve been cleaning up the tables ever since. Research Springer Axel and the Harvard Medical School recently published a paper on online gambling that showed an interesting trend in online gamblers. Of a 500 person large sample group female gamblers made larger bets and won more hands than their male counterparts. These conclusions were reached from twelve months of observation of a sample of five hundred bettors who use Interactive Entertainment AG, an Austrian based online bookmaker.

The study showed that women bet on average 20% more than men in a previously defined time period and showed that players who made larger bets were 60% less likely to lose than players who made smaller bets. Researchers concluded that the losses for gamers who make larger bets are smaller because caution against high risk behavior isn’t a restriction in their play.

So boys, it seems you may have met your match in the online gambling world.

NBA All Star Charles Barkley recently revealed that he has lost over ten million dollars through his addiction to gambling. Instead of giving him up for a lost cause, a degenerate gambler, Barkley’s fans have rallied around him as he enters treatment for his disease. In particular Barkley’s hometown has shown a support and understanding of Barkley and his illness that is heartwarming as they point out all the things he’s done for the town including his large donations to numerous charities around the Birmingham, Alabama area.

Mack Doolin M.D. and CEO of one of the largest hospitals in the area has said that he intends to stick by Barkley until he kicks this addiction. Doolin has experience counseling people with addiction and claims that Barkley just needs to learn how to set and stick to limits. This is good advice for all gamblers with or without addiction problems as limits are what keeps you in check and keeps you enjoying the game. If you play for nineteen hours and win once then you’re not doing it right as Charles Barkley found out. A sensible way to play the casinos is to set yourself both time and spending limits and once either is up you should walk away. Most importantly not matter your game be it poker or slots, don’t chase your losses! Learn to view them as the price of playing the game.

That’s right folks this economic downturn we find ourselves in has hit even the playboy mansion. Hugh Heffner was forced to close down the Playboy Casino and Playboy Poker sites on January 29th 2009.

While Hef hasn’t released a direct statement an insider email was leaked to the press stating that the sites would be shut down and would not be reopening for business. It’s a sign of hard times indeed when even Playboy isn’t making enough money to warrant keeping their web casino running.

However, don’t take this as a sign of the coming apocalypse what’s really fuelling this economic downturn is that folks have stopped spending. It was no longer profitable to run the Playboy Casino and Poker sites because people are afraid this strained economy will continue to plague us and have stopped spending money which is in turn making the downturn even worse. The Economic Stimulus checks Americans are being offered in conjunction with their tax returns are proof that what’s really needed is a little free-er spending for the economy to right itself rather than tightened pockets. So go out there and support your local businesses including the casinos.

If you subscribe to the philosophy bigger is better, then 90-ball virtual bingo is the game for you! It’s got 15 balls more than regular bingo and mostly the same rules. Obviously the first player to complete a BINGO on his or her card takes the prize. If you’ve never played Bingo at an online casino well here’s your excuse to check it out! In 90 ball Bingo the tickets you purchase at your online Bingo website (PartyBingo.com by the way is an excellent one if you’re looking) are different from regular Bingo in that they come with nine columns and three rows, each row will have five squares that contain numbers, all the others are blank.

Bingo is the easiest game to learn how to play so it’s perfect for beginners or social gamblers who like chatting with people while playing as the online Bingo chat rooms allow you to make friends around the world! Such are the advantages of playing at an online casino! A vast improvement from the same old faces every week at your local bingo parlour, no?

Attention all Jackpot Hunters (and I know you’re out there) here’s today’s tip if you’re looking for the biggest haul take a gander over at the Microgaming website where the current jackpot is close to 8 million dollars! (And no that’s not in monopoly money!) However if you’re from the US we’re sorry but you’re going to have to sit this one out as Microgaming doesn’t allow US players.

The biggest progressive online slots jackpot ever recorded of over 5 million dollars is yet to be won at Mega Mollah so you might want to head over there too. Boss Media’s Aladdin’s Lamp progressive video slot game is now worth almost 2 Million Euros, The jackpot over at King Cashalot is currently worth over 1 million dollars as well. The jackpot on Real Time Gaming’s has fallen from over 1 million dollars into the 9 hundred thousands due to some big wins at their Shopping Spree and Mid Life Crisis video slots. Still a respectable pot I say!I see those dollar signs spinning in your eyes, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start gambling!

We live in a time of ever expanding technology, never before have so many options for entertainment and communication been laid out at our finger tips. Cell phones especially have been making leaps and bounds in versatility over the last few years you can play music on your phone, check email on your phone, you can even check stocks on your phone now, well right around the corner according to Casino Phone Technology is the ability to gamble via your cell phone from wherever you are waiting in line at the bank, stuck in traffic on the way home, wherever.

Casino Phone Technologies, a Nevada based company, is in the process of developing m-Casino which will allow you to import casino software onto your phone to play the games you know and love, making casinos completely portable to you. The company is enthusiastic about their product and look forward to launching it fairly soon.

I’ll begin by stating the obvious: the type of blackjack you’re playing will determine the odds you will receive. In single deck blackjack, the kind that is most common the house carries a .05% advantage. Beware that while many casinos advertise single deck blackjack they may have an actual policy of Blackjack paying 6-5 which will be posted somewhere near the table if this is the case. This 6-5 cost almost triples the house advantage upping it to 1.44% so be sure to watch out for the fine print before betting.

In most online casinos which are almost all run out of European countries the European style of blackjack is played wherein the dealer employs the ‘no peek’ rule that is the dealer’s hand is not checked for a blackjack after the cards are dealt but waits until the players have made their wagers and looked at their own cards. At this point the dealer then checks the hand if the dealer has a blackjack the player loses the entire amount wagered.

As for the other variants on the game the Atlantic City blackjack odds leave a player with a return of  -0.43% which is quite low leaving us with the idea that standard blackjack may be the way to go when playing this game. Atlantic City blackjack is also much more complicated as it uses eight decks of cards and players can split their hands up to four times. So really until you’re much further along in your understanding of the game you’ll want to stick to just regular blackjack.

Push the lever or spin the button?   It doesn’t make a difference which you prefer, at least not to the slot machine anyways, it will spin either way. 

No matter how many coins you play it will not alter the results of your spin, but it can however influence your overall payout. Set a limit to how much money you can afford to spend before you start playing at the slot machine. Once you reach your limit and exhausted all your funds, it is time to quit.   If you have been playing a slot machine and have not received a single hit after the first half dozen spins or so, now would be a good time to try a different machine. Chances are you might end up losing all your cash back to the machine. Loose machines keep you winning steadily.  The loosest slot machines are easily identified, usually in plain sight for all to see; casino foyers, near payout booths, places where there is plenty activity, etc.  Contrary to popular belief casino owners want players to easily identify loose paying machines; this is imperative for their business as a happy winner will keep coming back for more. 
 
 Need a break, no problem simply ask a casino worker to hold your machine.   Many casinos offer this service, referred to as a “cap” in the casino world.  Don’t forget to take your cash with you.  Use your player’s card whenever possible. There’s lots of free stuff to be had with a player’s card.  Haven’t got one no fret it only takes a few minutes. Player’s card can easily be replaced, including correct balance and all.  Make it a habit of ensuring your player’s card is in your possession, when you check out. 

Always hit if your hard total is less than or equal to 8.

Only hit on a hard total of 9 if the dealer’s face card is 2,7,8,9,10 or an Ace. If you have a hard total of 9 and the dealer has a 3,4,5 or 6 face card you should double down, if you can’t double down then take a hit.

Only hit on a hard total of 10 only of the dealer has an ace or a 10. If the dealer has anything lower than a 10 you should double do, if you can’t double down then take a hit.

Only hit on a hard total of 11 if the dealer has an ace. If the dealer has anything less than an Ace double down, if you can’t double down then take a hit.

Only hit on a hard total of 12 if the dealer doesn’t have a 4,5 or 6 face card. If the dealer has any of those cards then you should stand.

Only hit on a hard total of 13 or 14 only if the dealer’s face card is a 7,8,9,10 or Ace. If the dealer has a face card of 2,3,4,5 or 6 then you should stand.

Only hit on a hard total of 15 if the dealer has a 7,8,9 or Ace, if the dealer holds a 10 surrender, if you can’t surrender then take a hit. If the dealer’s face card is a 2,3,4,5 or 6 then stand.

Only hit on a hard total of 16 if the dealer holds a 7 or 8 face card, for 9,10 or ace surrender if you can if not take a hit. Stand on your 16 if the dealer’s face card is a 2,3,4,5 or 6.

Always stand on a hard total of 17 or higher.

The odds in Blackjack all depends on the type of rules you’re playing with. Most standard games with a single deck the house usually pulls a 0.05% advantage. Variations in the rules will of course affect the player’s return.

A rare rule not found in most casinos is the “Five Card Charlie”. that is Before splitting (or if the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack obviously) any un-busted five-card hand is an automatic winner and is called a “Five Card Charlie” there are also six and seven-card variations on this rule that are equally rare to find

Most online casinos enforce the ‘no peek’ rule of European style blackjack wherein the dealers do not check for blackjack immediately after the cards are dealt. In ‘no peek’ blackjack the players are allowed to play their hands but upon the final reveal even if they have doubled or split their bets if the dealer has a blackjack the players lose.

Another common trait in casinos is most claim to play only “Single Deck Blacjack” but the fine print in most places will tell that in actuality their Blackjack odds are 6 to 5 which brings the house edge to total of 1.44% instead of the advertised .5%. Some casinos advertise that at their tables a player always wins, dropping the house edge to 1.23% but it’s still a bad blackjack game to play in.

So don’t get fooled into playing at tables that advertise players always win and always read the fine print and look out for the casinos that actually play just single deck blackjack.