Are you looking for a different type of poker game with some great action? Look no further than Pai Gow poker. It’s Five Card Draw with a big twist.
Pai Gow Poker began in China and is played against the banker. If you’re not a fan of community poker games, this one is for you. There are seven spots at the Pai Gow table: five players, a dealer and a banker. Players get seven cards and make two hands to beat the banker, not the dealer. The role of the banker rotates around the table. Even the dealer can be the banker. The dealer plays each hand.
For the two hands, one is made up of five cards and the other is made up of two cards. However, the five-card hand must have a higher value than the two-card hand. Your first instinct is to use your top pair as the two-card hand, but that is not allowed in Pai Gow Poker. Instead, your top pair goes in the five-card hand and your two-card hand may just be a high card.
Pai Gow is a tough game because both of your hands must beat each of the banker’s hands. The banker wins if they are equal. If you win one hand and the banker wins the other, it’s known as a push and you get your original bet back. Winning players get paid from the banker’s funds. Losing players pay the banker. The house generally gets a 5% commission on wins.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Winning at Five Card Draw Poker
Before understanding any type of poker game, you need to know Five Card Draw. The other popular forms include Texas Hold’em, Pai Gow, Let It Ride and Stud Poker like Caribbean Stud or 7 Card Stud. Five Card Draw is pretty easy to get the hang of and start winning, and you don’t even need Charlie Sheen.
A game of Five Card Draw Poker starts with each player anteing up, which is a small wager to be in the hand. Each played gets dealt five cards. Players form the best poker hand using standard rankings. After checking out your potential hand, next is the first round of betting. Then, there is one round of discarding. You can discard as many of your five cards as you want. After that is the second round of betting. With each round of betting, players raise until everyone has called or folded. The showdown of those left in the hand decides the winner.
Since poker is a strategy game, you need to study the game before jumping in. The professionals you see on TV know the winning odds of each hand. I suggest starting out by playing poker online for free so you can get a feel for the game and learn the etiquette of when to bet. Once you get some strategy down, choose a table with low stakes. At online casinos, you will have a variety of tables to choose from and it is much easier to move to other tables than at land-based casinos.
A game of Five Card Draw Poker starts with each player anteing up, which is a small wager to be in the hand. Each played gets dealt five cards. Players form the best poker hand using standard rankings. After checking out your potential hand, next is the first round of betting. Then, there is one round of discarding. You can discard as many of your five cards as you want. After that is the second round of betting. With each round of betting, players raise until everyone has called or folded. The showdown of those left in the hand decides the winner.
Since poker is a strategy game, you need to study the game before jumping in. The professionals you see on TV know the winning odds of each hand. I suggest starting out by playing poker online for free so you can get a feel for the game and learn the etiquette of when to bet. Once you get some strategy down, choose a table with low stakes. At online casinos, you will have a variety of tables to choose from and it is much easier to move to other tables than at land-based casinos.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Most Popular Video Poker Games
Now that you know how to play video poker, its time to learn about the most popular video poker games. Video poker is a combination of slots and poker. It’s sort of the lazy man’s poker game. But with so many different types of video poker, you need to know what you are getting into each time. The betting varies for each but you can generally bet anywhere from $0.05 to as much as $100 per hand, in some cases. But usually, single bets range from $0.25 to $5. All of these games are available at land-based or online casinos.
Aces & Faces: This is the most common video poker game. Four Aces or four of a kind on face cards is worth more than a Straight Flush. The lowest winning combination is a pair of Jacks. You may have an option to double up. The dealer gets one card dealt face up and you get four cards dealt face down. You choose one and if it ranks higher than that of the dealer’s, your winnings double. In some cases, you can keep doubling but may only be able to double one more time on a tie. Like nearly every casino bonus game, you lose your entire bet if you lose.
Joker: This one uses 53 cards and the Joker is the wild card. The three best payouts are a Natural Royal Flush (doesn’t include the Joker), five of a kind (with the Joker) and a Joker Royal Flush.
Double Joker: The two Jokers are the wild cards. The same rules of the Joker game apply.
Deuces Wild: The 2’s are wild cards. Your odds of winning are better so the lowest payout is three of a kind.
Deuces & Joker: Same as Deuces Wild but adds a Joker. The 2’s and the Joker are the wild cards. Payout start at three of a kind and at the top is four deuces and the Joker. Four deuces has a higher payout than a Wild Royal Flush with the Joker.
Jacks or Better: This one offers some of the best video poker odds and can be single or multi-line. The lowest payout (break even) is a pair of face cards. On multi-line games, bets range from $.05-$100 per hand.
Tens or Better: The same as Jacks or Better but the lowest payout is a pair of 10’s.
Progressive: This one has a progressive jackpot and uses 52 cards, plus several Jokers. Different players visit the same virtual machine as the jackpot increases. The pot restarts after every hit jackpot.
Aces & Faces: This is the most common video poker game. Four Aces or four of a kind on face cards is worth more than a Straight Flush. The lowest winning combination is a pair of Jacks. You may have an option to double up. The dealer gets one card dealt face up and you get four cards dealt face down. You choose one and if it ranks higher than that of the dealer’s, your winnings double. In some cases, you can keep doubling but may only be able to double one more time on a tie. Like nearly every casino bonus game, you lose your entire bet if you lose.
Joker: This one uses 53 cards and the Joker is the wild card. The three best payouts are a Natural Royal Flush (doesn’t include the Joker), five of a kind (with the Joker) and a Joker Royal Flush.
Double Joker: The two Jokers are the wild cards. The same rules of the Joker game apply.
Deuces Wild: The 2’s are wild cards. Your odds of winning are better so the lowest payout is three of a kind.
Deuces & Joker: Same as Deuces Wild but adds a Joker. The 2’s and the Joker are the wild cards. Payout start at three of a kind and at the top is four deuces and the Joker. Four deuces has a higher payout than a Wild Royal Flush with the Joker.
Jacks or Better: This one offers some of the best video poker odds and can be single or multi-line. The lowest payout (break even) is a pair of face cards. On multi-line games, bets range from $.05-$100 per hand.
Tens or Better: The same as Jacks or Better but the lowest payout is a pair of 10’s.
Progressive: This one has a progressive jackpot and uses 52 cards, plus several Jokers. Different players visit the same virtual machine as the jackpot increases. The pot restarts after every hit jackpot.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Winning at Video Poker
If you didn’t already know, video poker is an electronic version of poker. There are many different variations of video poker where the top hand varies, but there are standard rules to each game.
You play only the dealer in video poker and it has more favorable odds than slots or roulette because there is still some skill involved. You need to know your standard poker hand rankings. With a little bit of luck on the draw and some strategy, you will be winning in no time. Unlike other forms of poker, you don’t have to rush your hand when the action is on you. You have all the time to make the decision because you are playing against a machine. Video poker games will rank the hands the hands differently so read up before playing. There are strategy sheets if you need them.
When starting out online, play for free with fun money to learn the game. At a land-based casino, start on the lowest-denomination machine until you get comfortable. Bet low amounts and test out some strategy. Each video poker game has different wild cards so commit them to memory before beginning.
As far as discarding goes, some hands are just all bad. You will run into times when you have absolutely nothing and no face cards. Don’t be afraid to discard everything. Inside straight draws like 2, 3, 4, 6 should be avoided. Your odds are slim with four possible winning cards plus the wild cards. Instead, go for an outside straight like 3, 4, 5, 6. Your odds are better with eight possible winning cards plus the wilds.
When holding, keep a pair instead of a single high card. It doesn’t matter how low the pair is, your odds for payouts like a three of a kind are better than discarding and staring from scratch. Never discard a paying hand unless you have a good chance at a Royal Flush, the jackpot of video poker. Also, bonus games in video poker are a bad idea. If you won a hand based on strategy, don’t risk it all with a game based on luck like guessing the color or suit of a card.
You play only the dealer in video poker and it has more favorable odds than slots or roulette because there is still some skill involved. You need to know your standard poker hand rankings. With a little bit of luck on the draw and some strategy, you will be winning in no time. Unlike other forms of poker, you don’t have to rush your hand when the action is on you. You have all the time to make the decision because you are playing against a machine. Video poker games will rank the hands the hands differently so read up before playing. There are strategy sheets if you need them.
When starting out online, play for free with fun money to learn the game. At a land-based casino, start on the lowest-denomination machine until you get comfortable. Bet low amounts and test out some strategy. Each video poker game has different wild cards so commit them to memory before beginning.
As far as discarding goes, some hands are just all bad. You will run into times when you have absolutely nothing and no face cards. Don’t be afraid to discard everything. Inside straight draws like 2, 3, 4, 6 should be avoided. Your odds are slim with four possible winning cards plus the wild cards. Instead, go for an outside straight like 3, 4, 5, 6. Your odds are better with eight possible winning cards plus the wilds.
When holding, keep a pair instead of a single high card. It doesn’t matter how low the pair is, your odds for payouts like a three of a kind are better than discarding and staring from scratch. Never discard a paying hand unless you have a good chance at a Royal Flush, the jackpot of video poker. Also, bonus games in video poker are a bad idea. If you won a hand based on strategy, don’t risk it all with a game based on luck like guessing the color or suit of a card.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Spotting Rogue Online Casinos
When people say online casinos are a waste of time and exist just to steal your money, they are usually wrong. With the proper gambling strategy, you can make money at online casinos. But there is one case where those people are true. It is in the case of rogue or fake online casinos.
There are certain online gambling sites that are looking for an easy way to your personal information. The online casino is a front for hacking into your account and stealing your identity. In other cases, the games are rigged so that you lose every time. They use a faulty RNG (random number generator). So how do you avoid this?
Third party organizations like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) and TST (Technical Systems Testing). They test and certify online casinos for safety and security. Look for their seals at the bottom of the casino’s homepage.
Another way to check for legitimacy is to read unbiased reviews at online casino review sites. Some of these sites even have blacklists of online casinos to avoid. You just have to make sure the site is legitimate. Unfortunately, this is an endless cycle when it comes to the Internet. If this review site is ranked high on search results, you can generally trust it.
Trustworthy casinos are operated by the best software providers. The top providers include Microgaming, Vegas Technology, Playtech, Rival Gaming and Wagerlogic. If the online casino uses one of these, this is a step in the right direction. A lot of fake online casinos share their content. That’s because scammers are lazy and spam everywhere as fast as possible to spread everywhere online. A way to check on this is to copy a paragraph from on of the online casino’s page and paste it into an Internet search engine. The search results speak for themselves. Lastly, read the terms and conditions through to the end. There could be unfair wagering requirements hidden. One big sign is the payout procedures. All fair and certified online casinos pay out on a daily or weekly basis, max. If this one pays out monthly, it could be foreshadowing bigger problems.
There are certain online gambling sites that are looking for an easy way to your personal information. The online casino is a front for hacking into your account and stealing your identity. In other cases, the games are rigged so that you lose every time. They use a faulty RNG (random number generator). So how do you avoid this?
Third party organizations like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance) and TST (Technical Systems Testing). They test and certify online casinos for safety and security. Look for their seals at the bottom of the casino’s homepage.
Another way to check for legitimacy is to read unbiased reviews at online casino review sites. Some of these sites even have blacklists of online casinos to avoid. You just have to make sure the site is legitimate. Unfortunately, this is an endless cycle when it comes to the Internet. If this review site is ranked high on search results, you can generally trust it.
Trustworthy casinos are operated by the best software providers. The top providers include Microgaming, Vegas Technology, Playtech, Rival Gaming and Wagerlogic. If the online casino uses one of these, this is a step in the right direction. A lot of fake online casinos share their content. That’s because scammers are lazy and spam everywhere as fast as possible to spread everywhere online. A way to check on this is to copy a paragraph from on of the online casino’s page and paste it into an Internet search engine. The search results speak for themselves. Lastly, read the terms and conditions through to the end. There could be unfair wagering requirements hidden. One big sign is the payout procedures. All fair and certified online casinos pay out on a daily or weekly basis, max. If this one pays out monthly, it could be foreshadowing bigger problems.
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Importance of Payout Percentages
Most new gamblers think all there is to joining an online casino is finding the best games, bonuses and tournaments, and make sure it is a respectable, secure site. They usually forget about payout percentages. These are one of the first things to check on when visiting an online casino.
Payout percentages are how often the online casino pays out to its customers. Online gambling sites are legally bounded to provide these percentages. They can be hard to find so look thoroughly or contact customer support if you can’t find them. If they are certified and audited by a third party like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), the percentage will be available.
Payout percentages are calculated by adding the total winnings paid out and dividing it by the total wagers. That number is multiplied by 100 to get the percentage. Let us say an online casino takes in $1 million in wagers and pays out $970,000 of that $1 million. The payout percentage is calculated as follows: 970,000/1,000,000 = 0.97 x 10 = 97%. Therefore, the casino pays out 97%. This is a reasonable amount.
Read up at online casino reviews sites like this one to find out where the best payout percentages are. Just make sure they are up to date. Some of the best online casino payout percentages right now include Online Vegas Casino (95.2%), Millionaire Casino (94.6%) and Rushmore Casino (94.1%). Pretty much any online casino has better payouts than Las Vegas, but if you want to find the best percentages, check around and don’t settle for the flashiest one offered.
Payout percentages are how often the online casino pays out to its customers. Online gambling sites are legally bounded to provide these percentages. They can be hard to find so look thoroughly or contact customer support if you can’t find them. If they are certified and audited by a third party like eCOGRA (eCommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), the percentage will be available.
Payout percentages are calculated by adding the total winnings paid out and dividing it by the total wagers. That number is multiplied by 100 to get the percentage. Let us say an online casino takes in $1 million in wagers and pays out $970,000 of that $1 million. The payout percentage is calculated as follows: 970,000/1,000,000 = 0.97 x 10 = 97%. Therefore, the casino pays out 97%. This is a reasonable amount.
Read up at online casino reviews sites like this one to find out where the best payout percentages are. Just make sure they are up to date. Some of the best online casino payout percentages right now include Online Vegas Casino (95.2%), Millionaire Casino (94.6%) and Rushmore Casino (94.1%). Pretty much any online casino has better payouts than Las Vegas, but if you want to find the best percentages, check around and don’t settle for the flashiest one offered.
Friday, February 4, 2011
The Growth of Mobile Casinos
Forget about online casinos. Mobile casinos are the hottest new thing with online gambling right now. As technology has increased, mobile casinos have become more popular. Mobile casinos allow you to gamble on the go and play your favorite online casino on your wireless device.
Online casinos are taking notice and are now designing games specific to mobile devices. Games like slots, poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, video poker and more are available. They can be played on your smartphone, iPhone, PDA, wireless tablet PC, etc. Granted, you won’t get the same quality of graphics as the online casino counterpart, but mobile casinos are getting better by the day. New features have been added like being able to flick the screen or shake the device to spin the reels of a slot game.
Before playing a mobile casino, make sure you have enough memory on your device to download the casino software. If you need more storage, buy a memory chip or Micro SD card. The mobile casinos are generally free, but data and roaming fees may apply so check with your wireless provider. When you update your device, you may have to update or download the mobile casino again. If your device model doesn’t support the mobile casino you are looking for, one of the cheaper ways to play a mobile casino is a game download service through your provider. This is generally a fee per download or month.
All the same online gambling laws apply to mobile casinos. You are betting with real money and earning real money. If you are playing the mobile counterpart of an online or land-based casino, you may be able to link up your accounts. Similar online casino bonuses are available as well on mobile casinos.
Online casinos are taking notice and are now designing games specific to mobile devices. Games like slots, poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, video poker and more are available. They can be played on your smartphone, iPhone, PDA, wireless tablet PC, etc. Granted, you won’t get the same quality of graphics as the online casino counterpart, but mobile casinos are getting better by the day. New features have been added like being able to flick the screen or shake the device to spin the reels of a slot game.
Before playing a mobile casino, make sure you have enough memory on your device to download the casino software. If you need more storage, buy a memory chip or Micro SD card. The mobile casinos are generally free, but data and roaming fees may apply so check with your wireless provider. When you update your device, you may have to update or download the mobile casino again. If your device model doesn’t support the mobile casino you are looking for, one of the cheaper ways to play a mobile casino is a game download service through your provider. This is generally a fee per download or month.
All the same online gambling laws apply to mobile casinos. You are betting with real money and earning real money. If you are playing the mobile counterpart of an online or land-based casino, you may be able to link up your accounts. Similar online casino bonuses are available as well on mobile casinos.
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