Famous gamblers past and present

There have been many casino players throughout history who became famous as a result of gambling. Although the following persons did not necessarily achieve fame through gambling, they did nevertheless attract a significant degree public attention as a result of their gambling activities.

One of the first famous gamblers in the world was John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich. He led a scandalous private life and was addicted to gambling. In 1762, he sat for over 24 hours at a gaming table in his home, refusing to attend meals. In desperation, a servant offered the Earl a piece of salted beef as food; the Earl suggested that the beef be encased between two slices of bread so that he could eat it in his hand at the table. This is where the sandwich got its name.

One of the West’s most famous gamblers was “Doc” Holliday, who maintained a fierce reputation as a hard drinker, tough fighter and ruthless killer. He is chiefly remembered for fighting alongside Wyatt Earp at the famous gunfight at the O. K. Corral.

“Wild Bill” Hickok was another American legend, renowned throughout the world for the tall tales surrounding his violent life. He’s chiefly remembered for taming two of the most lawless towns in Kansas. Unfortunately, Hickok made many enemies and his day of judgment came at a poker table. He was shot in the back of the head by an assassin and died clutching a pair of aces and a pair of eights; ever since, this particular hand has been known as the ‘Dead Man’s’ hand for obvious reasons!

Benny Binion was born in 1904 and lived his life as a bootlegger and conman. At the age of 43, he gave up his life of crime and moved to Las Vegas, where he later opened his own casino. Binion was the gambler’s gambler, and in the 1970s he bought and marketed the World Series of Poker tournament, which has grown over time to be the biggest in the world.

Magazine owner Kerry Packer made his name through his family’s media empire, which owns 60% of all magazines in Australia. Packer became known as a high-stakes gambler when he won $26 million playing blackjack at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. However, Packer has not always been successful; he lost $16.5 million at the Crockfords casino in London, although this barely dented his $8 billion fortune.

The World Series of Poker tournament has created many famous gamblers of today. One such example is Johnny Chan, nicknamed “The Great Wall of China” after his amazing success winning the World Championships in 1987 and 1988 consecutively. He’s played in all the major games of the last two decades and is also known as a genuinely nice guy.

Although gambling is primarily a recreational activity, many people have approached it with a different mindset, and as a result, made and lost vast fortunes with it, while becoming famous along the way.

Blackjack strategy

Blackjack, the card game that adds a dash of European style to American casinos is simple enough: At the start of each round you get two cards and so does the dealer, one of which is shown. Keep drawing cards until you hit a total value of 21 or quit just before you go over the limit and bust. It's you against the dealer and whoever comes out on top gets the winnings. At first glance the game seems one of chance an intuition. After all, you can't know what card is coming up next. However one of the reasons that Blackjack is so popular is that there is a strong element of skill involved. Rather than just trusting to blind luck you can play your cards wisely and hopeful leave the table with a fist full of dollars.

Perhaps the most important thing to bear in mind is that what matters is not just your card value but also the dealer's shown card. Winning is all about assessing your hand against the dealer's potential hand. Because the dealer has to hit on sixteen or stand on seventeen you can use this to plan out your strategy. The higher the dealer's shown card the stronger his hand is and the more trouble your are in.

Here is a quick list of possible cards showing in the dealer's hand and what they mean for you:

Ace: Big trouble. This round is going to be the dealer's unless you have spectacular luck.

10 or face card: Bad news for you. The dealer is in a strong position.

9 : Things aren't looking good. The dealer has got the upper hand here.

7 or 8: Loosen up a bit, you can beat the dealer on this round if you play things right.

4 to 6: The dealer has got that sinking feeling. This hand looks like it will be yours.

2 to 3: Be careful. It could go either way, so play cautious.

Always draw a card if your total is less than 11 because there is no danger of you busting. As a general rule you should always stand if your hand is 17 or higher. If you are on 13 to 16 only draw a card if the dealer is showing 7 or better.

If you hand totals 12 you should take a hit unless the dealer is showing 4 to 6. In this case the dealer may very well bust so you should sit tight and wait for that to happen.

If you play your Blackjack right you can narrow the house odds down to almost even and with just a little luck, you can come out ahead.

Which type of casino - online or traditional

Which Type Of Casino - Online or Traditional ?

Back in the early nineties before casinos came online, I used to visit my local casino in the city about two or three times a week to play roulette. Now, I don't go at all. I now play all my casino games online in the comfort of my own home.

Since the introduction of online casinos in the mid-nineties, the growth and popularity has rocketed and will continue to grow due to the large internet population explosion. New casinos are appearing online almost on a weekly basis.

Compared to the traditional city casinos, the online casinos have many advantages, so lets look at some of them :-

Any Time, Anywhere.

As long as you have access to a computer you can play online casino games 24hrs a day, it doesn't matter where you are or where you live. If you happen to own a portable lap top computer you can play any game you choose while on the move, no longer are you restricted to set hours or locations.

No Need To Dress Up.

The traditional casinos usually have a stuffy dress code. In other words you need to wear the correct clothing outlined by the casino, and if your not dressed to their liking then you will not be allowed in. Not so with using the online casinos, you can even play in the nude you want, or maybe you just want to sit in you underwear !

The Weather's Not A Problem.

With the online casinos you don't have to venture out anywhere, just make yourself comfortable and log on to an online casino, pour yourself a drink, and start playing.

No Travel Required.

Why waste time and money travelling when all you have to do is switch on your pc ? By the time you've travelled to and from your city casino, you could have played numerous games at an online casino in the comfort of your own surroundings.

The Safety Element.

There can be a safety issue when visiting the traditional casino, especially for women and people travelling on their own. The average casino can be a bit intimidating for single women so the online casinos provide an obvious solution by making it possible to play from home in safety. According to the media a very large percentage of online casino players are now female.

No Smoking Problems

Speaking from my own experiences I've found smoking to be a real problem especially when the casinos become busy. It's a known fact that most heavy gamblers seem to be heavy smokers too, and at times the smoke can become unbearable. Even with air conditioning and the extractor fans in operation the smoke never seems to clear properly.

No Crowds

If you're a shy quiet person, then a busy casino is not for you. On a busy table, there can be a lot of noise as well as people pushing and shoving. At times it can be difficult to get near the table to place your bets. At home, you can play quietly on your own without all the hassles that we've already mentioned.

Many More Games Online.

The online casinos also offer many more games to choose from, far too many to mention in this article. Check it out for yourself, you'll be amazed at the choice of games that the online casinos have to offer.

Methods Of Payment.

The traditional casinos usually only accept cash, but the online casinos offer dozens of ways of paying, mostly by credit card so there's no need for hard cash.

Play For Free.

The online casinos will let you set up a dummy account so that you can practice without using real money. You can practice as long as you want until you're confident enough to start playing for real.

Free Money.

Yes, free money. In order to get your business most casinos will offer you a free cash deposit. The amounts can be anything from $20 to $50, and in certain cases much higher so shop around for the best deals.

So there you have it, these are the main reasons why I choose to use online casinos. I think these reasons are good enough to keep me away from the traditional land type casinos but maybe you don't agree. If you're one of those people who would sooner dress up, trail down to the city at night in all weathers, get pushed and shoved in a crowded smokey room, then I wish you good luck.

Author John Moore - please use my link casino-information-guide. com

Top reasons to play texas holdem poker

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It is easier to play Texas Holdem then some of the other poker games because everyone is using the same cards with the exception of their hole cards to make the best hand. Seeing the cards lined up on the table allows you a better perspective on the cards then if they were in your hand.

Texas Holdem makes bluffing much harder by placing all the cards you can use to make your winning hand in a communal pile for everyone to use. The only thing you have to make a different hand from everyone else's is 2 hole cards dealt at the beginning of the hand. The game is harder to bluff because you are able to watch the eyes of the other players as the communal cards are exposed. Without lots of practice you can watch and get a feel fro who has what cards by watching them look at the cards. Even if their faces do not give their hands away their eyes will. Someone will tend to focus on cards they may be able to use. You can also tell what they have by their lack of reactions to other cards, if a player dismisses a card immediately you can determine what kind of hand he may be holding.

Because of the way the betting is structured in Texas Holdem Poker it is easy for the pots to grow very large and you can eliminate other players and win big money in a short period of time. The game is broken down into 4 rounds and after each round is the opportunity to bet again, this is how the pots grow large very fast especially in a no limit Texas Holdem Poker game.

Many people may think that playing the most popular poker game may not be cool and that the true poker fans play draw or Caribbean Stud Poker but they would be wrong in my opinion. The advantage about playing the most popular game is that it is easier to find people who play that game and you will have a bigger selection of players to choose from to find good players. Playing against people who play at your skill level or better makes the game more of a challenge and therefore more exciting.

I can not even begin to tell you why Texas Holdem is so popular, but I can explain its continued popularity and growth. It is simple really, the more people who play the more interest in the game grows. Now we have many Texas Holdem based TV shows spreading the game to many people who would never have otherwise learned the game. Texas Holdem has more professional players then any other casino game played today. Some pro's even get very lucrative sponsorship deals when earn them millions of dollars every year just for having a sponsors name on his shirt while they play the game.

The longer Texas Holdem poker is the most popular poker game the more people that are going to start playing it, making its popularity and its number of players infinite. This means that Texas Holdem is going to be around for a long time.

Poker online etiquette

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In a game that has a reputation for being associated with drinking, smoking, lying (as in “bluffing”), and swearing -- not to mention, of course, gambling -- it might be difficult to believe that there are actual mores and ethics that each player is expected to follow, but it’s true. Poker, like any other social activity, requires that everyone involved abide by the same basic tenets of courtesy and order. Here are some of the most common.

When you’re sitting at the poker table, it’s considered rude and improper to offer advice to another player with their hand. At all costs, you should refrain from making suggestions, comments, opinions, etc. on what’s happening in a hand, especially one you’ve already folded out of. Likewise you should also refrain from requesting aid on a hand from another player at the table, whether they’ve already folded their cards or not. In live play, you can also extend this advice to dealers and onlookers. Don’t give anyone an unfair advantage, and don’t seek out an unfair advantage for yourself.

Oftentimes, once the cards have been dealt, you’ll know immediately the action you plan to take (for example, if you get 2 Aces, you’re probably staying in, to say the least, whereas if you get 2-7 unsuited, you’re probably going to fold, unless of course you plan to bluff). Whatever the situation, it’s imperative that you wait your turn before taking any action.

Folding, checking, calling, or raising out of turn reveals too much information to the other players at the table, and in an awfully unfair manner at that. The players who’ve already acted before you’ve made your premature move lose out on using that extra tidbit of knowledge in deciding how they’re going to act, whereas the players who get to act after you’ve made your fumble now get the benefit of basing their decision on that valuable insight. Acting out of turn is more than just clumsy -- it’s downright unfair, and will quickly turn you into a pariah at the poker table faster than you can say “All In”.

Fortunately, most online poker rooms now utilize software that prevents premature actions from being instituted, even if you “preset” your next action prior to your actual turn. For your own benefit, however, we don’t recommend availing the poker room of this seemingly convenient function as you’ll often cheat yourself of learning all the information you possibly can about the other players in that hand before deciding how to act yourself.

Another poorly thought-out behavior that’s frowned upon at the poker table is revealing the cards in your hand to one (or some) player(s) without revealing them to all. Whether you’ve already folded out of the hand and want to show your buddy why or you’ve won a huge pot on a total bluff and want to rub the reality of the situation in your losing opponent’s face, you’ve either got to show those cards to everyone at the table, or no one at all. Anything in between will find you sitting at the poker table all by your lonesome (if not ejected from the online poker room altogether).

Poker etiquette also involves treating the people who serve you right. Granted, this is more applicable in live games than in online games, but it’s relevant to online play nonetheless. Whether you’re playing in a Live Dealer game or not, abusing the dealer for the cards you’ve been dealt screams “Sore Loser”. If you suspect foul play, sure, report it to the poker room, but don’t turn into the little poker player who cried “Wolf” either.

An honest dealer has no control over what cards are dealt, and most of the dealers you’ll come across are honest. Whether it’s a human being or a random number generator, the dealer is just doing his/her/its job. Think about it -- what reason do they have to cheat you rather than the other players at the table? They don’t care who wins or loses. Don’t blame them for your losing streak. Don’t cry foul play every time you get a lousy pitch.

Lastly, and this goes along with the previous advice, watch your mouth -- or in the realm of online poker, watch your attitude. The chat feature is a convenient and fun way to make online poker more personable, but it’s not intended to be used for braggadocio, picking fights, bullying weaker players, talking “smack” about other players, or any other form of monologue or dialogue that detracts from the actual game at hand.

It’s called “coffeehousing” -- discussing the hand that’s currently being played. When it’s used for friendly banter, it’s usually forgiven. When it’s used for bluffing, it’s considered sly at worst, masterful at best. But anything more than that is irritating, annoying, and out of line. Abusing the chat feature in an online poker game is definitely adequate reason enough for being ejected from the game. It’s just another fantastic reason to control your emotions at the poker table which, in the long run, will only make you a better and more successful player overall.

Ways to diagnose a gambling problem and what to do about it

Like so many vices and hobbies across the world, gambling is no different. Many people learn to control their urges to spend and gamble everything they have, but some do not and we are going to take a look at some of the symptoms and what to do about pathological gambling problems.

First of all we should look at some of the more typical symptoms of a gambling problem: The term problem gambling includes and can include a condition know as compulsive and or pathological gambling, which is a progressive addiction formed or characterized by an increased preoccupation with offline and online gambling. Also found under this terminology is the need to bet more frequently with more money, and the irritability when attempting to stop gambling at a certain time, as well as the chronic attempts to chase your losses plus a loss of self control as part of the gambling behavior in spite of serious negative consequences present and future.

A gambling problem is a serious situation in which the person with the problem usually does not see the problem and will continue down a path of destruction toward a total loss of everything in that persons name unless brought to their attention generally with an intervention.

Now this is not always the best way to approach a person with a chronic gambling problem or with a pathological gambling problem, searching for national centers on the internet will also show you more statistics and more places to check where to go and what to do in situations like these. Located around our country are many centers for the rehabilitation and early diagnosis for affected individuals.

It is best to check with a major institution if you think you know someone with a problem and do not hesitate, a gambling problem can not only hurt the person with the problem, but most likely many of the people that surround him/her and can have consequences for years to come if the problem is not corrected.

Poker starting hand guide

The game of Texas Hold’em poker takes minutes to learn, but there’s so much going on during an actual hand that it can take many years before a player is good enough to win consistently. It all starts with the first two cards. Knowing when to play and when to skip on a hand is the first crucial step to winning at Texas Hold’em poker. Today, I am going to run down a series of starting hands and what you should think about doing when you get them. This list assumes that you are playing at a table with seven or more players and that you are somewhat new to the game of Poker.

The Big Hands

If you receive any of the following four hands, you should raise when it’s your turn to bet. If someone raised the pot already then re-raise.

The four big hands are: AA, KK, QQ and AK.

The Limp Hands

If you find yourself with an upper level pair of eights, nines, tens or Jacks, you want to limp in the pot, which means to simply call the minimum bet. However, if someone has raised the pot, you want to consider folding. You are most likely beat. Some players will limp in with any pair, some with pairs of fours or higher and so forth. This is something you will figure out for yourself.

The Connectors

There are times when you will want to limp in with hands that can possibly pay off. Normally, you will play these hands when you are in the blinds or late position (one of the last to act). If the pot gets raised, fold.

These hands are: AQ, AJ, AT, KQ, KJ, QJ, and possibly JT. If these hands are suited, their value goes up, because you gain the possibility of a flush or straight flush.

Many newer players get in trouble with some of these hands, because they get face card envy. Learn when to lay down hands and your profits will go up. If you have a hand that is not listed here, it should most likely be folded. There are times, when on the button, where you might want to play something like a 65s (suited). However, playing too many junk hands will milk away your chips. At first, you want to play tight. As you learn the game of Poker, open up and expand your playing ability.

Roulette trivia

The Great British Pub Quiz and the American show Jeopardy have a lot to answer for - they are both responsible for the retaining of highly useless yet highly interesting bits of trivia; information that you would never need in normal life. However, which of us haven't at some point uttered the words, “well, it'll come in useful for a pub quiz”, or something akin to that. It is for this reason solely that I have chosen to pick a few of my favorite pieces or roulette trivia to share with you - use them wisely.

Did you know that the roulette wheel was invented by the French inventor Blaise Pascal. Pascal was actually trying to create a perpetual movement machine, but ended up with the roulette wheel - not a bad rap.

The double 00 position found on American Roulette Wheels were added only when roulette found its way to the United States of America. Previous to this the wheel only had the single 0 position, but the American casino owners didn't feel that the house had enough of an edge with this and so added the extra position.

The chap that added the original one 0 position was named Francois Blanc; he was also responsible for setting up the first casino in Monte Carlo. It was rumored that in order to learn the secrets of roulette Mr. Blanc actually made a pact with the devil. The evidence lies in the wheel itself: If you add all the numbers of the board together you come to the sum of the devil, 666.

Row 5 is the worst row to bet on; statistically speaking row 5 is the least likely row to win.

One of the most impressive recent wins was by an English man called Ashley Revel who sold everything he owned in 2004 and went to a Las Vegas Casino. He put down the sum of all of his possessions, $135, 300, on a double or nothing bet. He bet on red, and red came in - he left with double his money!

Also in 2004, a group of 3 were accused of winning over 1,000,000 GBP by illegal measures in a London casino. The casino charged the group with using mobile phone and laser technology in order to predict the falling of the ball. The case was taken to court and the casino lost - the group kept all of their winnings.

Einstein apparently commented that “you can't beat a roulette table unless you steal from it”.

Roulette has played a part in many a flick, the most famous of which being James Bond's 'Diamonds are Forever', and of course Casablanca where we found our hero, Rick, fixing the wheel for a destitute client to win big and be able to escape to America.

Hope this comes in handy!