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Why visit us?

 

For anybody that likes a relaxed atmosphere, where they can play games such as Blackjack, poker, craps and roulette, then a visit to Les Croupiers is highly recommended. The casino has some terrific credentials and after almost half a century, since opening in 1968, the management know a lot about gambling. Whether you take your gaming seriously or just like the occasional ‘flutter,’ there is something here for everyone.

Les Croupiers started life in St Mary Street, Cardiff and was a famous landmark in the city. A recent change now sees the club with a new location just outside the centre, in a customised building with lots of free parking spaces. For new customers, the club’s friendly team will be more than happy to teach you how to play any of the games to ensure a pleasant gaming experience. The locals know the casino, simply, as The Croups and it has a reputation in the area for its excellent service and relaxed atmosphere. This very modern casino now offers slots and electronic roulette and has one of the biggest Poker Rooms in Britain.

The evening wouldn’t be complete without opportunities for eating, and there are refreshments offered complimentary at the gaming tables, which include soft drinks, tea and coffee, fries, chicken wings and sandwiches. For those gamers that are particularly hungry, there is a first-class restaurant on the top floor, which has authentic cuisine from China. The Dragon Court Restaurant offers casino players the chance to take a break and partake in some remarkable meals off the à la carte menu.

Membership for Les Croupiers is free, and customers can enjoy non-stop gaming from two pm until seven am the next day, seven days a week. There is no formal dress code so everybody can wear smart casual clothing including jeans. For people who have never experienced a night in a casino, staff members are always available to help, and the company’s mission statement is to give all of its members a fabulous night to remember. With a late bar area, free food and drinks and Sky TV, there is truly something at The Croups for everybody.

Beginners Guide to a Casino

 

Casinos have evolved into perfect grounds where even beginners can have a good experience while increasing their chances of winning. Initially, there would be no programs that were available to offer beginners a chance to practice before getting into the real casino world, but many casino platforms have come up with the demo program, which allows one to first explore various games before getting into the real field to gamble with real money.

The number of games available has also increased, something that has offered a variety and a chance for players to explore and test their skills with different games. For beginners, you need to first get the right information, which will guide you through all your steps. Below is a guide that you should embrace to make your way to the top while gambling.

Understand your limits
Usually, odds are stacked in favour of the house, so you should not just step into a casino before establishing the amount you are willing to risk, and this should be something you would be comfortable losing. Table limits are also different in each casino, and this is one of the first things you should understand before blowing your budget. The minimum amount you can place as a bet for each round is the table minimum. This implies with a lower limit you are able to spend more time gambling.

Begin with games of pure chance
Slots do not require a lot of effort from the player – you only need to feed in money, press the right button then wait to know whether you are lucky to have won. This is a boring process, and probably in a short while you will want to move on to something better like roulette.

Roulette is a perfect game to initiate you to table games. There is not much skill required as you just place chips randomly on the board in the hope the ball will land in the right spot. Also know that placing the chip directly into the number is a risky strategy but offers big payouts.

Embrace casino etiquette
Generally, basic courtesy will help you to remain on the good side. Seats are for players only, so you should also understand all the rules for the game, otherwise you will be reprimanded. For example, it is a basic rule that all cards that are placed facing down can only be touched with one hand.

How to play Electronic Roulette?

 

How to play Electronic Roulette?

If you’re a gambling fan, chances are you love table games such as roulette. With online casinos booming nowadays, you’ve got more opportunities to play and win.

-But how do you play electronic roulette?

The first thing to do is to sign up for an account at an online casino, or you should visit a brick-and-mortar establishment. Some casinos feature a mobile version of their website, but not always. A download may be required.

After signing up, you’ll need to fund your account. Some establishments offer a no-deposit bonus that is conferred once you finish your registration.

Then choose the electronic roulette.

Player have at their disposal a touch-screen on which they place their bets. Once everyone is done placing a bet, a ball’s automatically sent in the roulette. The biggest difference between electronic and croupier-operated roulette is the lack of the croupier, since the roulette wheel spins automatically.

-Once On the Betting Screen

Here is where you can choose 1, 5, or 10 times the betting unit in order to place the bet. If you touch the same betting spot once more, it adds an extra bet to it. These options remain available until the betting terminal displays a No More Bets on the screen.

-Betting options

There are a few options to choose from.

Inside bets are those who permit players to wager on 1 to 6 numbers with a single bet.

Outside bets allow players to bet on 12 or 18 numbers at once.

Some allow bets on red or black pockets, odd or even numbers, high or low numbers, or even columns or dozens. Although these bets are comprehensive and increase your odds of winning, they actually reduce the amount you may win. So, if you want to play safe and make lower profits, go for it. Wagers on single numbers make the most money, but are harder to get.

-Once everyone is done

Now it’s time to watch the roulette spin and the ball land on to one of the numbered pockets. If you win, congrats! You’ll see the total amount of your prize in the “win” box. If it doesn’t fall on to one of the numbers you wagered on, then you must place new bets.

Finally, you can cash out your winnings. Usually you receive a credit slip, but some online casinos fund it to your preferred withdrawal method.

How Rugby Players have Evolved

 

How Rugby Players have Evolved

Rugby is a beautiful game that has drawn fans across different parts of the world. Over the last 20 years, the game has changed, especially if one considers player profiles within the same period. Many things have changed in the way rugby is played and one of the most notable things is the evolution the average rugby player has gone through. Today, rugby players are stronger and bigger than before.

These changes can be attributed to changes in training programs and feeding habits among the players. The game has seen major developments, which have helped to offer modern facilities that help the players to access health and physical services that have allowed them to grow into strong, fast daring people.

Better diet, better performance
Rugby players today feed better than 20 years ago. They have strength and conditioning staff, who have worked to ensure the dietary supplements given to the players help in revitalization. The health system has also improved and players are able to receive the right care from trained and experienced professionals.

Depending on the role played in the team, each player is given a specific kind of diet. This has helped to make strong teams that are equipped well in all positions. Having strong players has made the game more energetic and enjoyable to watch, something that has made it more popular. Remember the average male takes 55 grams of protein per day, but an average rugby player takes 220-300 grams and that’s a lot of steak.

Strength demands
Few years ago rugby players did not have any yardstick for understanding the strength needed in the sport, so they did not have sufficient motivation for fitness. Today, GPS trackers show that players need to withstand tough conditions. This, therefore, triggered some changes so the players could satisfy the requirements.

End results? Bigger men!
With the need for stronger players and to make it possible to perform for a longer period, better conditions have been made available. This has led to the production of bigger and stronger men who are able to handle the harshest of conditions in the sport.

There has been an explosion in the average weight and size of rugby players since the game was made professional. This has resulted in increased power in show, making the game an exciting sport to watch.

To confirm these findings, you can compare New Zealand players between 1994 and 2014. The average weight in 1994 was 92.3 kg, but it has risen to 105.1 kg in 2014.

The History of the Dice

 

The History of Dice

Generally considered the oldest known gaming implements, dice in one form or another date back thousands of years and have only increased in popularity with the huge range of modern board games available. Although the advent of plastics has changed how dice are now manufactured, the basic concept has largely remained the same, and they have been used throughout history where random numbers are needed.

Divination
Primitive societies around the world used objects similar to dice for the purpose of divining the future. These were made from the ankle bones of animals such as sheep or buffalo, and were often marked on four sides. The Romans and Ancient Greeks have been discovered to have used dice made from bones and ivory, as well as various stones and minerals, although they varied in shape and basic design.

The Cube
Based on archaeological finds in tombs, cube-shaped dice were in use in Egypt as far back as 2000 B.C. Cubic dice dating back to 600 B.C. were also found in excavations in China. Both the Egyptian and Chinese types featured markings very similar to the numbers on modern-day dice. There are written references to dice in ‘The Mahabharata’, an ancient Sanskrit epic dating back more than 2000 years, and cubic dice were used along side pyramid-shaped ones in the Royal Game of Ur. This is one of the oldest known board games, and dates back to Sumer in the third millennium B.C. It is believed that cubic dice were introduced into Europe by the explorer Marco Polo, during the fourteenth century, where their popularity spread rapidly.

Probability
Up until the 16th Century, people believed that the outcomes of dice rolls were down to the influence of gods or other supernatural forces. It wasn’t until scientists such as the Italians Girolamo Cardano and Galileo studied dice games mathematically that they began to understand concepts like probability, randomness and statistics. Because of this, dice played an important part in the development of modern mathematics and our understanding of chance.

Development of the Modern Die
When plastics emerged, it was inevitable that the technology would be used to make dice, as it is well suited to producing them on a large scale and lightweight enough to make an ideal material for them. Various new designs have been developed since then, including the 100-sided Zocchihedron, invented in 1985.

A Beginner’s Guide to Blackjack

 

Beginners Guide To Blackjack

Blackjack is an extremely popular game. The aim of the game is to have cards as close to, but not over, twenty-one. To get more than twenty-one is to go bust. The deck is a standard fifty-two card deck, but some casinos will use up to six decks at once.

The game starts with the dealer taking everyone’s bets. Each player and the dealer then receives one card face up. The dealer then gives each player another card face up and one card to themselves face down. Aces are either one or eleven and Jacks, Queens and Kings, known as face cards, all value ten. The rest of the cards are their numeric values.

The dealer then offers another card and depending on the total value of the player’s two cards the player either says ‘hit’ if they want another or ‘stand’ if they don’t. The dealer then takes a turn. They must hit another card if the total of their cards is under seventeen and must stand if the total is above seventeen.

If the dealer goes bust then each player who stood is paid. If the dealer stands at less than twenty-one then any player who has more than the dealer, but less than twenty-one, is paid.

There are a few terminologies that are useful to know. A Natural is to be dealt an ace and a ten or a face card so that the cards originally dealt total twenty-one. Splitting Pairs is when a player can turn a pair of number cards into two separate hands. The player has to place a bet equal to the original bet on the second hand. Double Down is when a player can double their bet when the original two cards dealt equal to nine, ten or eleven. Insurance is when a player can bet half their original bet on the chance that the dealer’s face down card is a ten when the face up card is an ace.

These rules can vary between different casinos, so check what the house rules are. When starting it’s best to find a table with a low bet limit. It’s usually okay to join a table mid-game, but keep an eye out for signs saying otherwise. When wanting to hit or stand hand signals are common, but a beginner should probably stick to being as clear as possible.

How To Improve Your Poker Game?

 

How To Improve Your Poker Game?

Poker is a popular gambling cards game and is suitable for players of most ages (within reason), whilst some people are great at it, other’s aren’t. But there are ways in order to help you improve your poker game, saving you both money and pride and allowing you to enjoy your next game more than the last:

Right frame of mind

A solid piece of advice is not to play poker whilst intoxicated because whilst it’s fun to drink during a game, it can often lead to players becoming reckless and throwing away an entire stack of chips, resulting in them losing their hard earned cash in a matter of minutes.

You should also refrain from playing poker as an escape during a bad mood. Individuals often turn to gambling whilst depressed or when they’re having a bad day but this can do more harm than good. Playing emotionally rather than rationally can affect your decision making which means you won’t be playing to the best of your ability, which is something other players may take advantage of.

Avoid playing every hand

Beginner players often find themselves being overly eager and playing too many hands which is a great mistake to make as playing more doesn’t necessarily mean winning more, which unfortunately maybe novices assume is the case.

Pay attention

Poker requires concentration skills, once you’ve remembered the rules and paid attention to your own hand, you should take into consideration what is going on at the table – In the case of Texas Holdem, make sure you keep an eye out for flush and straight opportunities.

This also includes paying attention to the other players as observing your opponent’s body language, even when you’re not in hand, as this can give you an idea of what your next move should be.

Know when to walk away

It’s important to know when it’s time walk away from a game and not to stay in a hand just for the sake of it. Players often think they should stay in as they’ve already invested money into the hand but you can’t win a pot by simply throwing more money into it. If you know it’s time to walk away then do it and admit you won’t be winning this hand.

A Beginner’s Guide to Poker Psychology


Any self-respected poker player will play the game only after getting basic knowledge of strategy. Many players fear risking their money playing poker before gaining sufficient experience. Although most people think poker is a game of luck, it requires strategy and skill. Joining the table before getting the right mental preparation could mean loss even before the cards are dealt.
Learning the psychology of the game helps in two ways. First, you become better at reading your opponent’s thoughts and feelings. Secondly you are able to side-step common mistakes while playing.

Knowing yourself

Poker players are known to be delusional and will blame every mistake on something. Before developing a strategy, you must first identify your strengths and weaknesses. Your responsiveness to tough situations will also determine how well you can handle poker. You also need to know whether you have the natural ability to protect your cash. All these factors will determine your actions and behaviour while playing poker, something that could also affect your performance. You need to come up with a useful strategy that will describe all the steps you will follow while playing the game.

Competition and ego

Competition reveals the fragile ego in every person, but losing in poker is harder to take. Nobody celebrates losing money, but something bigger than money is pride. Confidence is essential for one to clench victory in poker.

There are many brutal swings that come with poker, so you should have faith in yourself to survive. This is where self-knowledge comes in handy. You need to be honest with yourself even when your ego says otherwise. Following what your moods say about your next action could bring about more frustrations due to losses.

Tactics

Building table person has a lot to do with coming up with a strategy of when and how to place bets, while controlling tempo and pressure. Your approach depends on the variant you pick, but there’s an essential rule that should inform your strategies: make a decision on whether to use the cards you’re dealt.

For instance, playing a tight match cuts on losses, and since others also pick your approach, you can play on their perceptions. Also try the tempo and it will make others think you are after cards. However, don’t be short-changed by the imminent victory of the opponent. Poker is a game where you can clench victory even when there seems no hope left for a win.

An Interesting Stroll Through Cardiff Castle’s History

Cardiff castle is a centuries-old heritage site located in the heart of Cardiff, Wales.

It’s long and rich history goes back as far as the Roman period. It bears witness to the conflicts and political rivalries that existed throughout the middle ages.
Roman Occupation: 1st -4th Centuries AD.

There is evidence that the Romans erected a fort on the site as early as AD 55. Located near the Rover Taff, the site was of strategic importance to the Romans who were still battling hostile locals. The Romans remained there until 500 AD.

Norman Occupation: 11th Century

There was a six hundred year gap between the departure of the Romans and the arrival of the Normans. Also appreciating the strategic value of the site, the Normans erected a new fort on the ruins of the old Roman structure. It was during this period that Cardiff Castle was first built. Historians attribute two possible dates for the initial construction of the site: one is in 1081 by William the Conqueror and the other is in 1091 by Robert Fitzhamon. Cardiff Castle was of such strategic value that many of the knights of that period were granted lands on the condition that they would protect Cardiff Castle.

The Middle Ages

Upon Fitzhamon’s death the castle was inherited by Robert of Gloucester. Possibly under his reign, the castle was strengthened to fend of invaders during the Welsh uprising. The caste was later inherited by one of Robert’s granddaughters, Isabel. This was done as part of a political move to benefit Prince John who would inherit the castle upon marrying her. After much family turmoil the castle was passed onto Gilbert de Claire who passed it onto his son Richard de Claire. They continued to build the castle into its current form and it became the centre of power for that region. The castle was the centre of intense war and rivalry well into the 18th century, being used as a prison and military base.

The Modern Period: Twentieth and Twenty First Centuries

During the modern era the population in Cardiff was growing rapidly. Between 1800 and 1900 the population grew from 1870 to 250 000. Work on the castle continued and there was further excavation. The castle’s underground structure was remade into a bomb shelter during WWII which had a capacity to hold over 1800 people.
Cardiff Castle has become a major tourist site. It also served as the home of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for many years as well as a wide number of cultural and social events. It also holds museums and an interpretation centre.

Some of the grandest structures of the castle include the banquet-hall and the library. The designs are elaborate and one historian said it was “the most magnificent that the gothic revival ever achieved.”

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiff_Castle
http://www.cardiffcastle.com/the-tudors/

The 5 Best Welsh Boxers Ever


Wales has a strong track record of producing outstanding sportsmen, and the sport of boxing is certainly no exception. Welsh boxing has a long and glorious history with an amazing number of legendary fighters. Here, we’ve picked and ranked the 5 best of all time.
Howard Winstone

While working in a toy factory in his teens, an accident cost Winstone the ends of three fingers on his right hand. This forced the young fighter to alter his style, which he did so under the guidance of trainer Eddie Thomas. Thomas shaped Winstone into a world class boxer through rigorous training. Defeating Japanese fighter Mitsunori Seki in 1968 to claim the world title was the pinnacle of Winstone’s career, and he returned to a hero’s welcome in Merthyr Tydfil.

Jim Driscoll

When ‘Peerless Jim’ Driscoll set out to prove himself in the USA, he was initially met with scepticism from the American public, not to mention the press. Unperturbed, Driscoll went on to win seven of nine matches, with two no-contests. He went on to defeat world featherweight champion Abe Attell, but failed to gain official recognition as champion due to Attell’s insistence that the fight be contested under a no-decision rule. Driscoll eventually became the first featherweight to wear a Lonsdale Belt.

Freddie Welsh

Welsh came from a more privileged background that many other fighters of his day. Fond of embellishing his life in interviews, it can be difficult to tell truth from fiction, but one thing is certain: he is one of the greatest lightweights of all time. After claiming the world title from Willie Ritchie, he embarked on an intense schedule of fights in the US, all of which were carried out under the no-decision rule. He held up incredibly well, but eventually lost out to Benny Leonard at the age of 31.

Joe Calzaghe

In March 2006, modern-day legend Calzaghe had maintained an undefeated streak of 40 fights and held onto the world crown for nine straight years. At this point, Calzaghe began to suffer the effects of a build-up of injuries, and Jeff Lacy believed he could defeat the long-reigning champion. Calzaghe, however, maintained his position with style, before going on to conquer America, defeating Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr and maintaining his 100% record.

Jimmy Wilde

Nicknamed ‘The Ghost with the Hammer in his Hand’ due to his incredible punch, Jimmy Wilde began his career in the boxing booths. At the peak of his 15-year career, Wilde claimed the world crown against Young Zulu Kid. Standing at a little over five foot and weighing just 100 pounds, Wilde’s was eventually forced to take on opponents who were much larger and heavier than him. This became to his downfall, as a fight against bantamweight Peter Herman left Wilde with severe concussion. It is believed that over the course of his career, Wilde fought over 1000 times and lost only four of his 149 official matches.