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The most profitable starting hands in Blackjack

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Everyone who’s serious about gambling has a strategy. From the slot machines, to the craps table to the roulette wheel- everyone has a system that they think will trump the house edge. These strategies are very rarely successful, because these games have been designed to rely solely on chance and to stymy the chance of using strategy and planning. All except for Blackjack!

And Poker, but for the sake of argument, we’ll just talk about Blackjack.

With proper strategy, the house edge in Blackjack is shaved down to a miniscule amount and gives you plenty of opportunities to get back some money if you play your cards right. But, if your goal is to keep you returns high, there are a couple of hands you need to keep an eye out to maximise the effectiveness of your playing. Note, this is intended to supplement the Blackjack basic strategy, not replace it.

1. Blackjack

Starting out with probably the least controversial choice ever. If you have 21, you’ve basically already won so just kick back and collect your chips. They don’t crop up that often, the odds of being dealt a blackjack are a little under 5% (in a single deck, anyway) so when you get one, you can feel pretty confident that you’re going to win the hand.

2. Twenty

Not quite as good as 21 (one less, in fact), but if you have twenty that’s also going to be enough for a win. This one does bear talking about though because it’s important you stand on a twenty regardless of what the combination is. This is assuming you aren’t card-counting (to be fair, if you are, this advice might not be that helpful), but if you have two tens you might be tempted to split. We’d advise you didn’t because 20 has a great chance of winning the hand and it’s a bit too risky to hope your newly split hand will beat the dealer.

3. Two Aces

But what a difference an Ace makes! If you have two aces, this is the perfect hand to split on. If you split two aces you’ll get an 11 to start both on and anything north of 5 will have you in a competitive position against the dealer. Unlike the twenty, you don’t have the same problem of already having a strong hand since two aces is only 12 and the odds are in your favour of getting a strong hand out of it.

4.Eleven

Pitchforks down, guys, this one’s all about the double down. Basically, if you have a middle-ish number, say 9, 10 or 11, and double down, you’re committing to take just one more card and call it quits at that. If you’ve got an 11, you can’t go bust and you’ve got a solid chance of getting a hand that’s going to beat the dealer (plus, with a higher stake wagered, you’ll get a much better return too).

Armed with this improved knowledge, why not head on over to Paddy Power Casino and see if you can’t put it into practice!

Texas Hold’em Odds and Probability

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If you’re settling in for a game of Poker at Betfair Casino Online, it might interest you to know a few of the interesting probabilities that surround the game. For instance, did you know that the odds of getting any given starting hand, say a pair of 6s, is 0.45%? A little under half a percent chance, about 1 in 200, that you get dealt the exact cards you’re thinking of. The odds naturally shift as the game goes on but from a purely mathematical perspective that’s what you should be expecting, Likewise, with pocket pairs, you’ll likely be seeing one every 17 hands (or there about) so keep an eye out for it! If someone’s keen to raise during the blind (and this doesn’t fit their playstyle until this point) you might have a good reason to suspect something. While a pair of pocket pairs is fairly common, getting a flush is a little more uncertain. If you have two suited cards in your hand and another in the flop, then you might be tempted to think you’re in with a solid chance of a flush. But the odds of landing a flush by the river is about 15 to 1, potentially risky if all you have are low, unpaired cards that share a suit.

Texas Hold Em Odds

Backgammon at Online Casinos

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Despite being one of the games with the most history, Backgammon hasn’t had the popularity we all know it deserves. For many years Backgammon fans were spread around the world with few gaming opportunities that didn’t involve converting their friends also in Backgammon fans. However, in recent years we could see a fast-growing popularity of this game worldwide mainly due to the online features that allowed fans to connect, play and compete between each other, driving to a very interesting phenomenon; the incursion of Backgammon at online casinos.

At first, online platforms allowed to spread the word and to captivate new users by sharing information, rules and game strategies which helped the popularity of the game increase rapidly. As a second step, users were able to play on internet in real time with players from all around the world through online platforms and as the competitions started getting more intense, players started betting with real money, this is the moment when online casinos saw the potential of adding Backgammon to their games offer.

There are three basic types of Backgammon available in online casinos; simple match, multiple match and tournaments, all these types include direct interaction with other users in real time. Simple matches, as the name explains, are individual matches between two users; the bet is established at the beginning of the match with the possibility to increase depending on the match. For some users one match isn’t enough to prove who’s better at Backgammon and this is where the multiple match type enters; this gambling type let users bet on a number of matches that must be won to establish the winner of the bet, a very interesting option for more experienced gamblers. Tournaments are by far the most exciting and popular gambling type of Backgammon at online casinos, there are several platforms that offer elimination tournaments where you can prove your skills and win very attractive prize pools.

Even when gambling with Backgammon is rapidly increasing in popularity, now at days it isn’t still included in all the online casino listings. There are several reasons for this, first of all Backgammon is usually compared to Chess as a strategy game, and even with the hazard factor of using dices making it a more suitable game for online casinos, for many users Backgammon remains a non gambling game. Another factor that has impacted the incursion of Backgammon at online casinos is the house edge, it is common that the house edge of this game is higher than other table games at online casinos a fact that has encourage users to keep playing it, even for real money, through gaming sites or Backgammon online communities. As Backgammon hasn’t finished to position itself as a permanent online casino game, you’ll require to do a quick research to find the perfect online casino to start playing this game, bear in mind several online betting platforms only offer Backgammon seasonally so it’s important that you keep informed on the latest news of the casino industry.

Playing Backgammon at online casinos have several advantages; firstly, you have access to games 24/7 since you play on internet, you can compete with people from all the world, it doesn’t matter the hour you’ll find a match. Another very interesting advantage of online casinos is the possibility of customizing your game, most of the online casinos will allow you to select some features like betting limits, speed and even some game rules so you can play exactly how you want, of course you must take in consideration that you’ll be playing with other individuals so the more restricted the features you select the more difficult will be to find an opponent. The final advantage that offer some casinos online are the free matches and learning features to improve your game, if you’re not an experienced gamer you can have access to tutorials and practice games inside some casino platforms.

We highly recommend you practice your game strategies before gambling with real money, even if you don’t find tutorials at online casinos; Backgammon is well established at online gaming platforms and there are plenty of Backgammon communities where you can practice for free and once you’re fully confident of your skills you can jump to online casinos to bet with real money, don’t forget to prepare for the special tournaments that usually offer very attractive prizes.

There are many more variations of bingo playing online

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Advantages of Playing Bingo Online

The development of online casino games means that players can enjoy bingo from their home, or anywhere in the world for that matter.  Bingo is a popular casino game and has been played by all age groups.  It is fun and entertaining and the great thing about playing bingo online is that a bingo fan can even play using their smartphone.  This game that was once only limited to bingo halls can now be accessed by many more people.

Always Available

The biggest benefit of playing bingo online at a site like River Belle casino is that it is always available, which means 24/7 and each day of the year.  Most bingo games can be played using a range of platforms such as smartphones and tablets.  The fact that bingo is now widely available, has increased the popularity of the game and many more people are enjoying playing bingo online.  Bingo players no longer need to travel in order to play bingo as the game is available from any device.  This means that they save on travelling costs.  Friends can even get together to enjoy an evening of online bingo.

Easier to Play

Online bingo is much easier to play than traditional bingo as players do not need to keep track of the numbers.  All of the hard work is done by the computer and all the bingo cards are tracked automatically.  With the development of new games, many new features are also being added to make playing bingo much smoother and more enjoyable.

Bingo Chat

For players who enjoy the social aspect of bingo there is the option to play against other players, not only from their own country but from other countries all around the globe.  Many bingo sites have players from the US, UK, Europe and Asia.  Most online sites will also have a live chat option so players can communicate with each other while playing, sharing various bingo strategies and tips.

Bonuses and Rewards

Playing online comes with the benefit of online bonuses and rewards.  Casino sites will offer new bingo players a sign up bonus and offer their current players incentives or loyalty points.  These welcome bonuses come in the form of free money, spins or a free re-load.  These welcome bonuses are often very generous and definitely worth using.  Players also do not need to make a deposit if they are a first time player to the site.  Just a note that players must read the terms of the bonuses as there are often wagering requirements.  Playing bingo online often means that the jackpots are really large so it is worth giving it a go.

Play for Free

With online bingo there are also many more variations of the traditional game so players have a much wider choice of games.  Playing online also gives players the option of playing for free, players do not have to make a deposit but play with demo credits.  This option gives them the opportunity to try out different variations of the game and they are able to learn how to play the game.  This will benefit them when they do sign up to play real money bingo.

This already popular game has been made even more popular with the development of online gaming.  The benefits of playing bingo online far outweigh playing bingo the traditional way.

 

Getting to grips with bonuses and wagering requirements

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Understanding Casino Bonuses/Playthrough Requirements

One of the biggest benefits of playing casino games online is being able to cash in on the latest bonuses and promotions. Just about every online casino offers some form of bonus or another. The most popular bonus though is the Welcome Bonus. The Welcome Bonus, or Sign up Bonus is given to new members who sign up for a new casino account and make their very first casino deposits. In most cases, the Welcome Bonus comes in the form of a 100% cash match, with some casinos offering a 200% or even 300% match.

Essentially, a 100% cash match bonus is where the casino will match your initial deposit up to a certain cash limit. So, if you deposit $100, your account will reflect $200. This seems simple enough, but when it comes to bonuses, most players look at the advertised figure and don’t actually find out the exact details of the bonus, more specifically, the playthrough requirements. If you have been around a while, you will know that the casino bonus itself means nothing unless you have favourable playthrough requirements to match.

What is a Wagering Requirement?

So, what is a playthrough requirement? In a nutshell, these are specific restrictions or requirements linked to the bonus that must be met before you can cashout your winnings. In an ideal world, you would be able to collect your bonus, play a few online slots for real money in Canada and then cash out the remainder or your bonus or winnings. As you can imagine, casinos would lose big in this scenario. In order to make back the money they are giving you, the casino adds restrictions where you need to wager a certain amount of money before you can cash out.

Every casino bonus, big or small comes with a wagering requirement of some sort. In most cases, the wagering requirement is expressed as a multiplication with a X symbol next to the wagering number. For example, a wagering requirement on a 100% bonus can be 5x. What this means is that you would need to wager five times the bonus amount before you can even think about cashing out. If you initially deposited $50 and your 100% match is $50, then you would need to place 5×50 or $250 worth of bets before you can withdraw any winnings.

Always Read the Fine Print

If the same casino bonus came with a 15x wagering requirement, the you would end up having to place a total of $750 in bets before you can cash out. Even if you win a bit of money, by the time you have wagered all $750, chances are you have lost more than you have gained. Some casino bonuses include the initial deposit into the wagering requirement, so instead of multiplying just the bonus amount by 5x or 15x you are adding the total of the deposit and bonus.

In the above scenario, this would make a total of $100. With a 5x wagering requirement that would equate to $500 in bets and on a 15x wagering requirement, this would mean betting $1500 in bets. When looking at a casino bonus, always read the fine print and find out what the requirements are before signing up.