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Quiz: Guess the Star Horse

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The 2018 Cheltenham Festival is now just a few months away as many of the stars of the national hunt scene look set to race for prize money that has now reached £4,590,000 meaning over £1,000,000 on offer each day. One of the key races on day one looks to be the clash between the returning Faugheen and current champion Buveur D’air.

Both horses are Champion hurdle winners in recent years which makes the clash ever more exciting. Buveur D’air is on an 8 race win streak with the latest coming in the Christmas hurdle at Kempton over Christmas. He is clearly the star hurdler over this distance from the UK and will likely take all the beating. The latest Cheltenham festival 2018 odds on Paddy Power have him as the clear favourite.

Faugheen returned to the track in November from a near 2 year absence but looked to have retained all his ability in beating Jezki by 16 lengths. However he followed this with a lacklustre run and now has questions to answer but is still being aimed at the race as he looks to regain his title. Check out the quiz below and test your knowledge on some of the horses that will be heading to Cheltenham in just a few months’ time.

Live Games vs Real Games

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live casino slots machine

With Brick and Mortar Casinos and Online Casinos spicing up the way we play, it’s probably no surprise that the two different styles have been frankensteined together to create the marvellous Live Casino experience. Essentially, you’re still playing online, but you now have the benefits of human interaction with a visible dealer to run the game for you. If you’re playing live casino online on Paddy Power you get an excellent range of games to play, but you might be wondering… is this REALLY better than just playing it in the casino? Well, let’s go through the games and see how they fare.

Roulette

The Roulette experience is pretty straight forward, you stack some chips where you think the ball will land and once you’ve got all the different betting options straight in your head you have a pretty solid chance of making some money (well, assuming you get lucky). As far as roulette goes, the Live Casino version really does offer all the functionality without any of the drama. You get to place bets with a click of the mouse, no reaching across your fellow players to get the spot you want to reach, in fact the only thing you’re missing is a more concrete sense of camaraderie as you do get a more one on one feeling experience.

Baccarat

Baccarat always feels a little more exclusive than the other games, almost like it’s reserved solely for high rollers. When you’re playing in the casino you might feel like you have to be on your best behaviour but with a LIVE casino, well, you could play in your dressing gown while eating cheese puffs and still feel like you’re getting the elite experience. The only real draw back is that in person you get to be a bit rough with the cards and the elite atmosphere is kinda hard to replicate without actually wearing a tux or dress.

Blackjack

One of the most popular games for its low, low house edge, Blackjack is a brilliant choice for a game to play if you’re looking to make some money and really enjoy your live casino experience. With the same odds, same options and a great experience that’s not going to be impacted by others, this is an excellent way to enjoy the full blackjack experience from the comfort of your own home. You get the perks of more company if you go to the casino but less distractions and a dealer to keep you company makes this ideal for just about anyone.

Casino Hold ‘em

So, you want to play Poker? While Texas Hold ‘em is superbly popular and great both in person and online- but what about the live casino version? Unfortunately, while it’s still fun, the game becomes a vastly different experience that’s more like Blackjack. The dealer doesn’t look at their cards until the river’s been displayed, your cards are always on display, and it’s just you and the dealer. While the game is fun and uses the same rules, it doesn’t truly feel like a poker experience.

Xmas Gifts for the Card Game Fan in Your Life

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Christmas is just around the corner, but are you prepared?

You’ve already sorted the pressies for Mum and Dad, your nephew and your long-suffering other half, but hold on! What about your bestie that loves a cheeky little gamble?

This year, instead of the mad Christmas Eve dash round Tesco’s, walking away with a measly box of Quality Streets, take a look through some of our gift ideas for the card game fan in your life and take your gifting skills to the next level!

We’re pretty sure we’ve found some extra special buys for any casino fan ensuring you put the perfect gift under their Christmas tree.

1)  Custom playing cards

Everyone has a deck of cards lying around and playing cards can be an awesomely dull gift to give to anyone, no matter how much they love to play table games.

But wait, add your faces or images from a wild night out onto them and all of a sudden, they’ve become way more exciting.

There are hundreds of UK sites online that offer the service of printing professional playing cards, customized to your exact specification. They’re sure to become your friend’s favourite deck. The great thing about this gift is that it’s totally up to you as to what goes on the cards!

Be it photos of you and your mate having a banging time, their new baby, family pics or snaps of their favourite holiday destination — if you can dream it up, there’s a fairly good chance someone out there can print it for you.

2)  Casinopoly

We’ve all played Monopoly. There is not a single person that can claim to have played a game through to the end, every time someone inevitably cheats just to end the damn thing. Well, if you have had a look around for board games recently, you know that there are billions of Monopoly variations coming out all the time. You think of it, they’ve already made it!

But Casinopoly is quite different. It’s actually an add-on to your Monopoly game designed to shake things up when you play. In between passing Go and trying to buy ALL of the properties, you’ll go head-to-head with your mates in all sorts of casino games! It’s got everything from slots and roulette to blackjack and more. It’s definitely going to quickly become a casino fans favourite.

3)     A Trip to the Casino

What’s the ultimate gift for any gambler? Gambling – of course!

So, if you fancy an almighty adventure, forget the popping to the shops. Get you and your mate an unforgettable weekend at their fave casino hangout. What could be better than spending some quality time with your mate (and money). Or if you’re feeling particularly generous, how about a trip to Vegas (it’s never a bad thing right?!). And If you play your cards right, it could very well be the first Christmas that actually gives back to your bank balance! However, if that is all a bit too much, you could always suggest heading over to www.bgo.com and trying out some online casino instead!

4)     Books on Gambling

If you feel like playing it slightly safer than a trip to Vegas, getting your mate a book or selection of books about gambling is a pretty sensible choice, you can’t really go wrong as there are a vast collection of books on gambling that you can give a friend for Christmas.

If, for example, your mate is a keen poker player there are some truly great publications teaching advanced poker moves that are definitely going to assist in upping their game.

Some of the most well-known gamblers have written some extremely informative books, as well as some very well written autobiographies that would be a decent read for anyone who is enthusiastic about gambling. A lot of these books on gambling share an insight into some powerful strategies on how gamblers behave. Perfect bedtime reading if you ask us!

5)    Gambling equipment

Finally, purchasing gambling paraphernalia is sure to make a wonderful and very special gift for the gambling fan in your life. There are so many varieties for you to choose from, depending on what game your mate likes to play you can buy some pretty cool stuff to aid their play:

  1. a) Custom poker set
  2. b) Chip kit
  3. c) Automatic card shuffler
  4. d) Gambling table top
  5. e) Roulette wheel
  6. f) Deck of playing cards

There are plenty of online shops where you can order these items in time for Christmas. Just search “gambling equipment” and your search engine will suggest lots of options for you. You can always find auctions on eBay or Amazon too.

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