Archive for the 'Enjoy' Category

On Fun Prize Draws that Require Skill and Knowledge to Take Part in

Posted in Enjoy on March 5th, 2010

Prize draws are becoming extremely common throughout the world. You can measure their popularity by seeing how the prize draws are frequently on TV during prime viewing times just so everyone can sit in front of the TV and tick off their chosen numbers. Nevertheless, the betting odds are stacked against YOU winning. Yes, individual, or some individuals, normally win every week, but that does not mean the betting odds are good. - no matter if you took part in the lottery all your life and never missed a week. Most individuals do the national lottery for fun, while keeping alive the ambition of feasibly having enough money to retire early. Many individuals don’t merely purchase a ticket - they’re also purchasing hope.

While such large national lotteries genuinely make it so difficult to win for every last individual taking part, there are draws on the web that do provide you with a real opportunity of getting your mitts on very good prizes , for example a car, holiday or even a luxury house. These sorts of competitions - while not handing you the opportunity to win you millions - will present to you a truly realistic chance of being a winner. Moreover, one normally has to correctly answer some questions prior to being admitted into the draw. - so skill is required.

So it’s a wise move to see what’s available on the net. Just enter some keywords into a search engine like prize draw competitions and you will quickly pull up numerous prize draws available for you to take part in.

Good Legal News for Poker

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on March 4th, 2010

More good news on the legal front for us online poker players. The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), a poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members, today said it expressed “cautious optimism” with a ruling in a South Carolina, U.S. poker case and applauded the Court’s findings that poker is a game of skill, not chance. Though disappointed with the Court’s initial conclusion that the defendants had committed a crime, the PPA expects to prevail on further review. “We are humbled by Judge Duffy’s thoughtful decision and applaud the effort put forth by the legal team defending these casino online players,” said John Pappas, executive director of the PPA in a statement. “The positive language in this ruling comes on heels of other key legal victories for the rights of poker players in Kentucky, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. It’s becoming quite clear the legal community agrees that this great American pastime is a game of predominant skill, not luck, and should not be considered gambling under the law.” The defendants were charged with playing cards in a “house used as a place of gaming” and under South Carolina law, the term “gaming” means “gambling.” The PPA argued that the Court should adopt the rulings of other courts that gambling refers to a game in which the outcome is determined predominantly by chance, not by skill. The PPA provided for expert testimony, making the compelling case that poker is a game of skill involving the making of correct decisions rather that mere chance, and therefore not illegal gambling. The South Carolina Court found that testimony persuasive and found that poker is a game of skill. Hooray!

Hand Analysis: Pockets 10s

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on February 19th, 2010

Oh, pocket tens. How many players have gone belly up pushing tens like they are queens, or aces. It’s a beautiful poker pair to find when you look down, and can lead to some great pots, especially when flopping sets or when against a pair you dominate. But too often people treat this hand like a monster because it is in the double digits, when in reality this is basically just a glorified middle pair in poker online . I prefer to treat my pocket tens basically the same way I play 9s, 8s, and so onif I flop a set, I’m gold. If overcards come down, I might check and call a bet to see a turn if I have second pair, to see how my opponent will react. I won’t hold on too often if they continue to apply pressure. But if they slow down, you might be in a spot of power. When the board flops all undercards, that is usually a great sign that you can take it down and hold up, but you still have to be careful for overpairs, especially if your opponent has represented one. Play this casino hand aggressive until you are shown evidence that you are no longer ahead, and then be ready to slow down or jump ship.

Olympic Poker

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on February 10th, 2010

The UK’s CircusCasino.co.uk, a subsidiary of the Mansion Group, has launched an initiative that would propel poker online to Olympic status by including a poker demonstration game in the 2012 Olympics and then staging a real poker tournament event in the 2016 games. Circus Casino is lobbying hard to get the Olympic organizers to add the poker demonstration in 2012 based on the argument that poker is a well established game that is played and watched by millions of people around the world. In some countries, poker is actually classified as a sport. The game has true global appeal and is one considered to be the fastest growing sport in the world today. The decision is still up in the air. If a demonstration poker tournament is allowed in 2012, then the organizers will also have to decide whether to differentiate between online and live table games as it does for some other sports such as indoor vs. beach volleyball. If online poker is included, then participants could literally log in from anywhere on the globe to play in the event. This would be especially advantageous to players who for one reason or another, be it political or financial, cannot travel to the actual Olympic games, and would be a groundbreaking event for the Olympics.

Ivey - Poker Tube Interviews

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on January 29th, 2010

Phil Ivey, known as one of the best poker players of all time, has found himself at the Final Table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. He is one of the shorter stacks at the table, but his talent and experience are not to be underestimated in November.

Usually a man of few words, he has recently agreed to participate in a few video interviews. PokerTube aired a 10-minute interview on their site from London when Ivey as there for the WSOPE (Europe).

Ivey said that people think he hates giving interviews but his point of view is that there are just other things he’d rather be doing, like playing Golf or going to the movies. He said he was not too concerned about being on televised tables, where it has been suggested that the card-cameras will reveal how the online poker genius plays. He looks at poker online in a very case-by-case manner. All of the teaching and coaching and guidance that a player may receive in preparation for their final table appearance can go out the window under any given circumstance. You can’t prepare for every single outcome.

While these lesser players are certainly not at any disadvantage by hiring coaches, they certainly do not have the confidence of Ivey, who says he still has things he can improve on in poker.

Hopefully this legend in the making will have more media appearances as the public really seems to love and respect him.

The "Get to Know You" Call

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on December 16th, 2009

Being the big poker stack usually means one of two things: you’re either very lucky or very good, and often it means you’re a combination of the two. Whichever it is, it’s a good feeling to peek over a huge stack of casino chips at your opponents, because it offers you something that you don’t often have at the poker table-the ability to make some bad decisions. I’m not saying that you should call your opponents all-in with 8-3 unsuited, but if you have a big enough stack, you can do a few things that you wouldn’t normally do otherwise. One of my favorite things to do as a big stack is to “get to know” my opponents: I take more opponents to the river to see exactly how they’re playing. If I find myself sitting behind a dominant chip stack, I’ll make my way around the table and start calling my more aggressive opponents to the river with mediocre hands like middle pair. If I take them to the river, I can see for certain which of my opponents bluff often, and I can use that information to my advantage. Usually I’ll cap my chip commitment per hand to about %10, but it usually only takes one or two “get to know you” hands to get a bead on someone.

An Ace in Hand

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on November 16th, 2009

The Ace is the highest ranked card in poker, and players like to get this card in their hand. Some players will bet with any Ace, even a weak one with a small off-suit kicker, like a 6, that can’t even make a straight with the Ace.

Aces are not always profitable though. The kicker is key to how powerful your Ace may be. A suited Ace, particularly with another highly ranked face card, is stronger than a non-suited Ace. With these hands, you may make best pair to win playing poker online even if the flush does not materialize.

Kicker cards from 10 up or 5 down also hold the potential for straights when not suited. But an off-suit Ace with a small kicker is still weak.

With only three other Aces in the deck, the odds of pairing it are approximately 15-1, a long shot chance. You can’t assume that the Ace is the top card. When the flop misses your Ace or kicker, and an aggressive bets is made ahead of you, the prudent thing to do is fold. Most likely the bettor has already made a strong hand while you are still on a long shot draw with your Ace. Keep this in mind when you play poker online.

Internet Connection: How Slow Is Too Slow?

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on February 27th, 2009

Online poker is a relatively fast game with intense graphics, multiplayer communication tools, and real time interaction. Well, it should real time interaction. That’s why most online casinos require you to have a cable, DSL, or other high speed connection. There are still a few out there, however, that will let their players join in on the fun with a dial up connection. This can be a serious problem for the other poker players.

Dial up players will be easy to spot, because their reactions are significantly slower than the other players. To be fair, they can’t really help reacting slowly when their internet processes things so much slower than the other players. By the time that the information is sent to their computer and back to the casino, a fair amount of time has passed for the other poker players. I’m sure you can imagine how frustrating it would be to play a poker game in slow motion just because one of the players has an out of date internet connection.

If you are the player with the dial up connection, you should really consider upgrading your internet. Sometimes all you need to do is to move your computer to a place with free available internet, like a nearby coffee shop. Everyone at the casino will thank you for making the game more realistic.

Old School Poker Players

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on November 25th, 2008

If you find yourself in an elks lodge or at a local poker game where people have learned to play cards from their fathers and their grandfathers, there are a few things to expect.

Young or old, these players are here to play poker, and they take it seriously. However, they’re not taking odds and probabilities in account in their play of the game, they are relying on their instincts. Because of this, their emotions ride on their sleeves and they often telegraph exactly what they are doing.

They will always slow roll you. They get off on showing their hand last and keeping things in suspense. To them, cardplayers aren’t honorable and your opponent deserves no respect, in fact you are trying to embarrass them every chance you get. These players are cocky and they love the attention that they don’t get off the felt. If you’re all in and they have you covered and they look down at a big pocket pair like jj, qq, kk, aa, they will take their time before calling, for no other reason than to make you miserable.

Likewise, if they are all in, and they mutter something like, “these blinds are going to eat me up”, they are telegraphing that they have a hand that they are very comfortable being all in with, and the blinds are the furthest thing from their mind. If you make a big bluff at a pot and they flat call you and check in first position at the next card, they have not missed a draw, they are holding the nuts, that they will inevitably show reluctantly when you don’t give them any more money. They miss value and they don’t understand odds. If you become their friend they are less likely to try to outplay you and will most likely play their cards more straightforward. If you get on their bad side, they will call you with pocket 3’s for an all in.

These poker players are annoying, but they are a good source of chips, especially in a tournament.

Caribbean Stud Poker — Can You Learn the Skill?

Posted in Enjoy, Free Games + More, Online Casino on October 8th, 2008

Caribbean Stud Poker is an American Game that is not really Texas Holdem at all. The individual player is alone against the house, but there can be other poker players against the house at the table. The players cannot communicate or work together against the house in any way. Also players can only play one hand at the table at a time.

The player antes up the stake and the house deals five cards to you and to the house face down. One of the house cards is revealed and the player has the choice to raise or fold. If he folds, he loses the ante to the house. In the event he wishes to raise the bet, it is twice the amount of the ante. The house then reveals the other four cards in its hand.

If the house does not have a playable hand, the player receives his ante and an amount equal to the ante. A playable hand for the house means that it must have an ace, king or better. With a playable hand the house’s cards are then compared to each of the players’ hands one at a time and the best hand wins.

If the players’ cards win they receive their ante and an amount equal to the ante and a payout on the additional bet based on the hand that ranges from 100 to 1 for a royal flush down to 1 to 1 for a pair or less.

In short Caribbean Stud poker is a simple game that requires skill and experience to win and still is fun to play.