Tag Archives: gambling

The History of Casino Games

 

The gambling industry in the UK alone, is now worth around £14 billion, with the most popular form of gambling being casino games. Gambling itself can be traced back many centuries, and there is archaeological evidence of its existence in China in the 3rd century BC. However, the first gambling house, or ‘casino’, opened in 17th century Venice, Italy. Since then, the concept spread, with casinos opening all over Europe and the United States.

BLACKJACK

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games. It is first mentioned in a novella written by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, way back in the 17th century. Back then the game was known (and still is by many) as twenty-one, as the object of the game is to reach twenty-one with two cards. However, the name Blackjack was introduced when casinos in the USA began offering bonuses if the player revealed a black Jack in their hand, and so the game became widely known as Blackjack.

POKER 

This wildly popular card game goes from strength to strength, played the world over, by friends in the home, to huge tournaments like the World Poker Series; aired to a global audience of millions of poker fans. However, the exact origins of the game are not that clear. The game was played in the deep south of North America, but it really took off in the latter part of the 20th century, when the casinos opened their doors to it. Now, in the 21st century, it is only right that the game has carved out a space for itself in the virtual world, with many websites offering people the opportunity to play from anywhere.

FRUIT MACHINES

By far the most popular of all the casino games, the fruit machine was invented in the late 19th century by Sittman and Pit. This was a very basic machine and was later improved upon by a man named Charles Fey, who simplified the mechanism to three spinning reels with five symbols. Known also as ‘one-armed bandits’, because they were originally operated solely by a lever on the side, and usually took your cash, fruit machines can now be found in almost every pub, club, betting shop, and casino.

All of these casino games, and many others besides, have become a hugely popular form of entertainment online, enticing new audiences the world over. Casino games are going nowhere anytime soon.

How to play responsible gambling?

 

Whether it’s playing the lottery, playing poker, betting, or bingo, any activity that involves taking a risk for the thrill of the pay-off counts as gambling. It is possible to enjoy these activities without it becoming a problem; the key is moderation. When gambling begins to take over your life – using up a lot of your time or money, leading to a dependency – it is no longer being enjoyed in a healthy way.

To gamble responsibly, you must make an effort to maintain control over your expenditure, enjoying it as part of a balanced lifestyle, rather than letting it become the main activity you dedicate your time and money to. Of course, this is easier said than done, and many people struggle with gambling addictions, however there are some steps that you can take to keep your gambling under control:

1. Decide how much you will spend before you start playing
Set a limit on your spending, before you start gambling, based on how much you can afford to lose. When that money runs out, the activity is over.

2. Only gamble with your disposable income
Set money aside for gambling as you would for other entertainment activities. If you wanted to go to the cinema one week, you would set the money aside after paying your bills and anything else you are financially responsible for, do the same with gambling.

3. Do not try to win back what you’ve lost
Your limit is the limit. Trying to win it back defeats the point of setting it, and will almost always lead to a bigger loss.

4. Limit your time
You would not lose a whole day just to go and see a movie, you’d fit it into your schedule. Set a limit or alarm and when your time ends, cut your losses.

5. Do not view gambling as a way to make money
Very few people make money from gambling, and it absolutely cannot be relied upon. View it as something you pay for to have fun, not something you expect to gain from.

6. Do not take your bank card with you
This will stop you spending money spontaneously instead of sticking to your limit.

7. Do not gamble when you’re upset or depressed
Just as drinking alcohol for fun on a night out is very different to drinking to drown your sorrows, gambling for fun is very different to gambling to console yourself. It is indicative of an unhealthy relationship with gambling (using it as a vice), and will usually lead to poor decision-making.

8. Engage in other activities
Gambling should not be the only thing you enjoy, and if you get to that point you probably don’t really enjoy it anymore. Make sure you always have other pastimes to turn to.

9. Take regular breaks
It’s easy to get sucked into gambling and lose all sense of time. Take regular breaks to keep you thinking clearly.

10. Do not gamble under the influence of alcohol or drugs
These substances impair your judgement, making it much harder to maintain control.

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.

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.

Top 5 Roulette Moments in Film

 

Roulette is one of the most dramatic casino games. Money is won and lost on one spin of a wheel and few things are as suspenseful as waiting for that final moment when the ball drops into place. Taking that into account, it’s not surprising that many film-makers have chosen to include a roulette scene; here are five of the best.

 

1. Casablanca

The classic black-and-white film noir, Casablanca, includes a scene in which Rick, a casino-owner played by Humphrey Bogart, uses a rigged roulette table to allow two newly-wed refugees to win enough money to purchase their exit visas and escape Nazi Europe. He lets them win big by telling them to bet twice on the number 22 and this key scene reveals the heart of gold beneath Rick’s cynical exterior.

2. Indecent Proposal

Roulette wheels are not always used for noble purposes; in Indecent Proposal a roulette game is used to corrupt a young couple played by Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson. They lose badly in Las Vegas after betting everything on red and billionaire Robert Redford seizes his chance by offering the husband a million dollars if he will let Redford sleep with his wife.

3. Diamonds Are Forever

James Bond has appeared in many gambling scenes, often playing card games like poker and baccarat, but Diamonds are Forever has several big scenes at the roulette tables of Circus Circus in Las Vegas. The opening credits see Sean Connery’s Bond dispatching a villain by jamming his head in the roulette wheel and he goes on to win big at the roulette table by betting on 17.

4. Lost in America

In Lost in America, a middle-aged couple give up their mundane lives to take a road trip across America but fall on bad times when the wife loses everything playing roulette in Las Vegas. She does this by betting repeatedly on the number 22; a reference to the famous Casablanca roulette scene.

5. Run Lola Run

While Hollywood loves a Las Vegas roulette scene, European film-makers have also been attracted to its drama. The German film, Run Lola Run, sees Franka Potenta trying numerous ways to raise a large sum of money to save her boyfriend, finally succeeding with two consecutive bets on number 20 on the roulette wheel.

How to Get Started on The Slots

Did you know that fruit machines have been a part of British culture since the late 19th century.? What started as a basic machine with a a simple automatic mechanism has since evolved into a huge industry, with contemporary games offering big cash jackpots and a wide range of interactive features and bonuses. Here are a few tips on how to get started on the slots.

1. Understanding Basic Play

Although slot machines will vary depending on the manufacturer and casino, many share the same features. You will need to match different combinations of symbols on the reels in order to generate prizes and access bonus content. Although traditional slot machines include a pulley to activate the reels, many contemporary slot machines can be generated just by pressing the relevant buttons. Some games have an autoplay feature which will trigger the reels to spin automatically during each round.

2. Using scatter symbols and wild symbols

Scatter symbols and wild symbols can increase your chances of winning when playing slots, and can be used to substitute symbols on the reels in order to match a winning a combination. Before you play the slots, always determine the value of each symbol, and the different combinations you will need in order to generate the jackpot or access interactive features like free spin rounds. These values are usually printed on the front of the fruit machine.

3. Increasing your chances of winning

Many slot machines are based around a theme, and might include other aspects from traditional casino games such as poker or roulette. Free spin rounds can be used to increase your chances of jackpot, while other bonus content – such as risk games – can provide you with additional features during the game. An example of a risk game might be to guess the next number in a sequence, determine the correct colour of a card, or decide whether the next card will have a value higher or lower than the last. Multipliers can also be used as a way to increase the amount of money that you in.

 

Speak The Language – Popular Punto Banco Terminology

Punto Banco is a popular card game which is actually quite similar to baccarat in some respects. It is played on a semicircular table and up to twelve different participants can play in a single hand. Interestingly enough, it is said that most versions of baccarat played within North America are likely to instead be Punto Banco.

 

Game Play

Six or eight decks of shuffled cards are used. They are placed within a “shoe” so that players will be able to deal the cards themselves during their turn. As in many other games, each card represents a specific value (aces are one, tens and face cards are zero and all numbered cards correspond to their own quantities). Once each player receives a total number of cards, the casino can play the hands as they are or opt to draw more from the shoe. The object of the game is for the players to get as close as possible to a total value of no more than nine. Also, the players can also choose which seat to sit in (as this will affect the cards which are received). It should finally be noted that Punto Banco (literally “Bank Player” in Spanish) offers one of the best house edges in gambling.

Terminology

The terminology of this game is as interesting as the action itself. So, it proves wise to take a look at some of the most common phrases. These will include:

Banker bet: betting that the banker will ultimately win.
“Carte”: the term used when a player wishes to receive another card.
Croupier: dealer.
Le Grande: a French term literally meaning “The Big”. This occurs when a hand totals nine points.
“Petite”: a hand that totals eight points (“petite” means “small” in French).
Cheval: the rule that a player can bet on two hands. Note that he or she must win both.

This is a brief description of the game of Punto Banco. By learning the basic strategy and terminology, the next winning hand may be just around the corner!

Top 5 Blackjack Strategies

Blackjack is a game of skill as much as luck, that is why there are as many strategies for playing the game as there are players; here you will find the top five blackjack strategies which net results on a frequent enough basis to make the game a challenge and a reward.

1. Easy On The Wine and Spirits

Yes, Blackjack is a game of strategy where most of the work goes on inside the mind of the player and the dealer, you really can’t beat the dealer or the other players unless your thinking is sharp and you are feeling mentally prepared. Having a little too much alcohol can lead to sloppy mistakes, bad moves, and slow reactions at the table – this can be a real game spoiler!

2. Develop Your Own Basic Strategy

There are many books about developing strategy as well as apps and computer games which will help you to improve your ‘plan’ for each hand which you are dealt; each player will have their own strategy at the start so the more comfortable you are with your strategy the more likely your odds of winning become. One resource is Dr Edward O Thorp’s guide Beat the Dealer which offers you ways of having as little as a 0.5% disadvantage against the house.

3. Read The Limits

It is a common, albeit rookie mistake to sit down at a Blackjack table and not know the basics of how this particular game will run, make sure you understand all of your options – surrender early or late – minimum and maximum bets per hand, what are the first cards which you can double down and which two first cards can you split – in addition to how many times they can be split, and of course be sure that you are on a standard Blackjack game.

4. Pick a Friendly Dealer

It makes for a nice experience, though you are betting against the house your dealer is a representative of that house and as such having a friendly, outgoing dealer can really enhance or detract from the overall experience of the game. Find a dealer who matches your preferences – reserved or outgoing, gregarious or shy, and you will enjoy yourself more.

5. Know Your Limits

Decide ahead of time how much you are willing to wager, and don’t go beyond that. This will ensure you do not bet more than you wanted out of frustration. Some players prefer to only wager one quarter of what they want to bet at a time while others like to start with heavier bets.

Be comfortable with your own knowledge and style and the Blackjack table will always be a welcoming place for you at any casino.

5 Popular Roulette Strategies

Punters have been working hard to try and devise a guaranteed ‘winning tactic’ to bring to the roulette table for just about as long as the wheels themselves have been a casino mainstay. Eager gamblers play upon all manner of statistical intricacies when considering where to place those chips, and the variety of strategies on offer is dazzling in its depth and breadth. Here’s a brief outline of five of the most popular approaches.

 

The Martingale

Odds are (no pun intended!) that even if you have only a cursory knowledge of roulette then this is what springs to mind when somebody mentions ‘roulette strategy’. It’s a progressive betting system often employed by novice players, promising an eventual windfall by doubling up the subsequent bet following a loss – the idea being that sooner or later your luck will change and you’ll have one big payout.
The d’Alembert

Playing on the notion that, all things being equal, the roulette wheel will even out over time, this strategy has you decreasing winning bets and increasing losing bets – the logic here being that once a given outcome has happened once, it is less likely to happen again.
The Shotwell

Players employing the Shotwell approach to roulette betting smatter their chips around the board to create an equal distance between betted-on numbers on the wheel. By limiting the spaces between your numbers to no more than three increments, you never, as proponents of this system would argue, have less than a one in four chance of a big win.
Oscar’s Grind

A nice and simple up-as-you-win approach to roulette betting, Oscar’s grind involves repeating bets when you lose, and increasing them incrementally when you win; any given time you never bet more than what is needed to recoup previous losses, with an added single-unit profit margin, allegedly spelling victory in the long term.
The Paroli of 3

Much like Oscar’s grind above, this is an up-as-you-win system, but with much more aggressive betting. As long as you are losing, you bet one unit. When you win, you then bet double your stake plus one, with the overall goal of three even chance wins for a steady payout.

Poker – When to Fold ‘em

Poker is all about risk and reward but good players know when the risks outweigh the rewards and when it’s time to cut their losses and fold. Thus, mastering when to fold is as important as any other skill a poker player needs to win.

Although the least spectacular play, folding will save you money when done at the correct times. Smart players are players who fold when the risks are too high and go on to bet intelligently when the risks are acceptable.

There are a few basic situations where you will want to consider folding:

1. You are sure you are holding the worst hand.
2. The chance of improving your hand is very low, compared to the pot odds.
3. You are unsure where you stand with your hand, but a big call would be necessary to remain in the game. Folding would be playing it safe.
4. You currently have good odds, but it is highly likely that someone later will make it too expensive to continue when betting returns to you.

It might be obvious, but there are basic situations where folding is not a good idea:

1. If you have the choice to check or fold, check.
2. You know your hand is the best.
3. You know you probably have the worst hand but you are getting good odds to improve.
4. If you are behind, but are pretty sure you can bluff your opponents.

The choice about whether to fold or not usually boils down to pot odds, that is, the odds of you winning the pot with your current cards and the cards showing. Pocket aces before the flop, for instance, are great odds until the river shows your opponent has a potential for a three of a kind or straight. The choice then, might be to try and bluff instead of fold. Of course, your opponent is doing the same analysis and is facing the same decisions. Ultimately the choice is yours. Faced with poor odds, folding shouldn’t be considered a cowardly option, but a smart one.