Posts Tagged ‘odds’

The poker game once used to be an important feature of brick and mortar casinos that existed only in a few parts of the world, but with the advent of the internet, online poker rooms have become a reality with virtual access from all across the globe. Online poker has increased the popularity of poker games mainly due to the fact that novices are more comfortable playing at online venues rather than traditional casinos, which are quite nerve-racking for new players. As a beginner,  here are a few things you need to know about online poker:

Not All Online Venues are Worthy of Your Investment

Do not question the authenticity of online poker games based on the deceptive activities of those average online poker sites. It’s a given fact that the internet is a host to both good and bad. Just like any other market, you’ll find a few ordinary brands trying to adulterate the entire system.  There’s a big difference between a quality poker site and a mediocre one. No matter how lucrative the offers look, always opt for a site that has a more realistic appeal and has a wide user base.

Online Poker is Not a Scam

There are pros and cons associated with all types of systems, so if you have been hearing those stories on the internet regarding how someone got cheated while playing poker at an online venue, you have probably heard the voice of someone who has suffered a bad beat. It’s true that online games run on software, but that system is handled by a third-party agent and there is no question of manipulating the final results.  As a rule of thumb, the more the chances you take, the more is the probability of dealing with bad beats. 

Many Online Poker Players are Inexperienced

Most of the people who play online poker are not experienced. The top players do play online, but their number is marginal. This cream layer of players who like to play it big in the live casinos are actually the ones who started their journey online. If you lose a few hands in the beginning, you don’t have to be disheartened, as only practice will make you perfect with time. Just think about the number of inexperienced players you can beat!

Online Poker is Legal in Some US States

After the Black Friday in 2011 when a hearing was made against the top three online poker companies with charges of money laundering practices, the future of online poker in the US looked grim.  However, a step towards legalization backed up by the politicians is estimated to make the game even stronger with the US entering the grounds. The states of New York, New Jersey, and Nevada have already made it legal to play online poker, with many other states to follow the trend.

You Can Play Online Poker without Fear

All crimes committed online are either executed by the site owner or the operating team behind it. You, as a player, cannot be put on trial for playing poker on a site that is involved in fraudulent practices. So, if you had any doubt in mind regarding your safety when playing poker online, flush it off and take your chances!

These 3 Tricks Will Help You Make Solid Bets In Online Poker!

If you are looking to multiply your bankroll to twice or thrice the amount when making bets in a poker game, you need to perfectly understand how to use poker probability and to gear yourself up with stellar betting strategies that allow you to shift the odds in order to place a solid bet. Basically, you should know when to push everything in and when to fold. Here are 3 proven tricks that will help you last longer in an online poker game:

Value bets

Most of the beginners make mistakes in inferring that the ultimate goal of a poker game is to get the best hand in play. However, this is not the case, since you can only avail long term profit by placing value bets. Value betting is designed to increase the value of the pot and a continuous stake with this type of betting can give you safe profits over the long run.

Even though you receive pocket aces that present strong chances of you winning, there’s no real guarantee of standing tall after the play. Playing with strong cards with a practical approach will still give you a considerable win, without actually making much noise. You need to trick your opponents into going against your trump cards and force them to push their limits. This is something that will come with practice and once you get your calculations right, you can rake in some serious money.

Size of the bet

Online poker is not only about knowing when to bet, but also what amount needs to be put at stake to make the most out of it. There’s no point in taking the extra risk of staking the full pot when you know that your opponent can fold to a smaller bet. You may take some chances in an odd event, but do not make it a habit.

Try to play with the opponent’s mind by tracking their moves and trapping them with the right proportion of value bets. Say, for instance, if there’s the same reward for two different bets, you would want to make a value bet of a higher stake that your opponent is likely to call. The idea is to avoid sticking to a single strategy for every hand you play. Adjusting the size of your bets as per the need can really shoot up your winnings!

Deception

Exceptional poker players have one thing in common; they know how to genuinely deceive their opponents in order to force them to make a mistake. In spite of having less favorable cards, trick your opponents into believing that you are value betting. Since it’s playing poker online and your opponents cannot see your body language, it’s all about exhibiting that speed while betting on your hand and showing confidence while doing. Bluff with high stakes only when you estimate there’s a game-changer on board.

When you are into the final three of a poker game, blind-stealing is another deceptive technique you can employ to raise your chip stack without taking too many risks. With you in the dealer position alongside two other blinds, you can do a small raise to which the blinds will fold in case they don’t have playable cards. This will add some bonus cash to your pot with ease!

 

If you are on the radar of the roulette world, you will no doubt be inundated with emails promising you ways to break the bank at roulette. Unfortunately, these systems are all destined to fail in the long run. If there genuinely was a way to beat the casino, roulette would very quickly die out. Whether online or on the Las Vegas Strip, casinos are simply not in the business of giving away money, and they wouldn’t last very long if they were.

There are, however, a few ways to get the best odds at roulette. While these will never guarantee a win, they will often reduce your losses. Let’s take a look at some of the most effective strategies.
 

Choose the right wheel

The green zero slot is one of the biggest elements of roulette odds. With a zero on the wheel, even money chances are no longer even, and all other odds are reduced. Playing on a European wheel, having a single zero gives the house an edge of 2.7%. This means that even money bets, such as red or black, odd or even, don’t pay out 50% of the time, but 48.6%. Single numbers are also reduced from odds of 35-1 chance to a 36-1, although you will still only be paid out at 35-1.

 

 

With an American wheel, there are two zeros, which cuts your odds even further. Here the house edge doubles to 5.26%, which means that on more than one in twenty spins, no one wins. Clearly, American wheels should be avoided and European wheels chosen wherever possible.
 

Choose the right game

You can increase your odds of winning, or at least decrease your odds of losing, by seeking out French roulette. This not only uses a European wheel, with just a single zero, but also has additional rules for even money bets. These rules include ‘en partage’, where you get half of an even money bet back if the ball lands in the zero, or ‘en prison’ where your even money bet rolls over to the next spin. This second bet will not pay any winnings, but if you ‘win’ on the second spin you will get your full stake back.
 

Analyse the wheel

Ever since Blaise Pascal stumbled on the roulette wheel as a by-product of his research into creating a perpetual motion machine, people have been trying to learn the quirks of individual wheels to swing the odds in their favour. Even with constant improvements in manufacturing, no roulette wheel is perfectly random, and any given wheel can be mathematically analysed to reveal its subtle biases.

Once again, there are endless companies offering gadgets and gismos that will analyse roulette wheels to tip the odds in your favour, from infrared lasers to mini computers. Unfortunately, not only are these devices notoriously unreliable and hard to use, they are also illegal in most casinos.

Even if such machines were user-friendly, reliable and legal, casinos are not stupid and they will always be one step ahead. Since such devices became common, casinos have got into the habit of switching around the wheels, spinners and slot components between tables, to even out any inaccuracies; meaning that all your hard work and research one day, will be useless by the next.
 

Limit your losses

 

 

Most roulette systems are not about improving the odds, as much as limiting your losses. Popular systems such as Martingale, Fibonacci and Paroli, where you increase your stake after each loss, can be very effective at evening out the odds, especially when playing outside bets at even money, but they will rarely do much more than keep you level on the night. At the end of the day, however, every spin of the roulette wheel is random and every outcome is as likely as any other, regardless of what has happened before. So cumulative betting systems such as these, which assume that the outcomes will even out over time, are in essence fundamentally flawed. Just like a coin toss, where ten consecutive heads does not alter the chances of a tail on the next flip, there is still a 50/50 chance of red or black with each spin (or more accurately 48.6/48.6/2.8).

We all dream of breaking the bank at Monte Carlo, just like Charles Wells. We all hope for the win of a lifetime, like Ashley Revell. But whatever system you believe in, there are guarantees with roulette – which is, after all, half the fun of playing!