How to reduce Risk in Online Casinos

There is always an element of risk when you are playing in online casinos. You are gambling money and the risk that you take is losing all of the money. As casinos set the odds so that they profit, that is how their business model works, it means that you are much more likely to lose than to win anything.

How much risk you take is determined by the odds of the game that you are playing. This outlines the chance and so if you know the odds then you will know what the chances are of you winning the game. However, even if you do find this out, in some games, winning may refer to any prize and some games have winnings that vary in value and they can be anything from a huge jackpot to an amount lower than what you paid to play. It is therefore important that you know exactly what it is referring to. If you are the sort of person that plays to win the big jackpots and is not interested in smaller prizes, then you will need to look carefully at the odds of winning that rather than any prize.

There are some games which need some skill in order to win, such as poker and there are other games which are pure luck, such as bingo. You may feel that if you choose a game that needs some skill and you are skilled in it, then you will improve your chances of winning compared with a game of pure luck. However, this may not be as simple as it seems, as you have no idea how skilled your opponents will be. If they are all better than you, then you will be unlikely to have any chance of winning, unless you are lucky. Therefore luck will play a part here as well, although you may feel more in control of your luck in this situation. Continue reading “How to reduce Risk in Online Casinos” →

4 Reasons why Bluffing will absolutely destroy You in Poker long term

OK, we got you: bluffing is one of those topics that poker fans will debate into the ground, any day of the week. Some people are really good at bluffing, so they obviously advocate for more bluffing, all of the time. Other people are bad at it, so they tell you that bluffing is for suckers. That isn’t the point of this article. All of you are independent poker players. You can play any way that you want, but it’s to your best interest to look at your strategy for any inconsistencies.

One inconsistency that we see often in terms of poker mistakes would have to be bluffing. You can’t bluff your way to the top. It works when it works, but when people catch on, it can easily swing in the other direction. Here’s why bluffing can be a big mistake:

bluffing

1. Lack of Poker Reputation

If you haven’t cultivated the right image at the poker table, your bluff isn’t going to work. People will see right through it and call you out, or fire back at you with a re-raise. If you have to put more chips in the pot to stay in because of the river, you’re setting yourself up for a really rough go of things. Never put yourself in a position where you have to pray for the river to give you what you’re really looking for. If you do that in a bluffing situation, it actually makes you look very “donk”-like. You’re telling players at the table that you don’t make good decisions, which can set you up as the next target to devour. Continue reading “4 Reasons why Bluffing will absolutely destroy You in Poker long term” →

Gambling advice to my Wife and my Daughter

What follows is a bit of advice I gave to my two most cherished ladies as they embarked recently on a Mother’s Day cruise to Bermuda.

WHY YOU MUST NOT PLAY THE SLOTS ON YOUR BERMUDA CRUISE

First of all, the slots will undoubtedly pay a lot less than they do in any casino town because there are no competing casinos on a cruise ship. On the other hand, Roulette is played exactly the same wherever it is played.

They are both lousy games, and you will most likely lose money if you play either one. But you’ll lose more than twice as much playing the slot machines as you will playing Roulette. Cruise ships slots pay back about 80% of the money you put into the slots.

Now suppose someone was to come up to you on the ship and offer to give you 80 cents for every dollar you had in your handbag? Would you do it? Why, then would you play slots? (Probably for the same reason you buy an occasional lottery ticket. You could get lucky.) But trust me . . . in the long run it ain’t going to happen.

Now let’s move over to the Roulette table.

The odds against you when you play Roulette are 5.26%, no matter how you play. So that same person who made you the 80 cents offer would now be offering you a bit less than 95 cents for your dollars.

casino-roulette-chips

Plus . . . if you play Roulette you will be involved in a human game, not a machine one. You will meet people as you play together at the same table and as you do you will become part of the “James Bond” casino experience. In the hype of a cruise line, you will be having fun. Continue reading “Gambling advice to my Wife and my Daughter” →

Playing Tournaments against the Pros – “My First Encounter with Johnny Chan”

I have been playing in major poker tournaments since 1998 when I was lucky enough to win a trip for two to Las Vegas playing in a local poker tournament in the small city that I live in. The prize included a seat in the $1000 buy in limit hold em tournament at the Rio’s Carnival of Poker. T.J. Cloutier stated in one of his books that there are lots of local pros who come to Las Vegas to play with the big boys. He mentioned Joe Blow from Iowa. He must have been speaking about me. I was blown out of the tournament in the 2nd level of play. I never had a chance. Despite my poor showing, I was hooked on tournaments. I have played in 60 or so majors over the years and average around 10-15 per year now. I have had a moderate amount of success and have made the final table in 10% of my tries. In the last three years I have won two tournaments, placed second in three and a fifth in one other. I am not even close when you compare me to Men Nguyen’s, Daniel Negreanu’s or Phil Ivey’s tournament percentages, but feel that with a more regular schedule, I can improve on my success. My most significant win was a WPO event in 2001.

I have had many encounters with a number of the top tournament players and each time I come away better than before. I have had my failures but have also held my own. I know that there is a lot of luck in this game and for me to do well, I need my fair share. I still have a lot to learn and will continue to do so. In the meantime I have gained enough knowledge and confidence to play with the best. I am a realist and understand that for me to continue to succeed, I will have to learn everything I can about the game. I don’t have eight years of experience. I have about four years, spread out over eight. I hope to gain more experience in the coming months as I take a much needed break from my other life and embark on an adventure in the tournament circuit. Continue reading “Playing Tournaments against the Pros – “My First Encounter with Johnny Chan”” →