Archive for November, 2009

Hand signals in Blackjack

Hand signals in blackjack
In online blackjack, different hand signals are used to convey the cards a player wants to play to the dealer and verbal instructions are not considered to be in good etiquettes and learning the correct signals is as important the rules of the game. The signals vary according to the number of decks the game is [...]

Card counting in casino blackjack
There are many card counting systems like KO count, Hi-Lo count, Hi-Opt I count and Hi-Opt II count. Most systems start with a value of 0 at the start of the game. With every card that is dealt, the values will fluctuate. A player has to keep a track of all the cards dealt even [...]

A Few Winning Online casino games Techniques
Once you are dealt the two cards, the dealer goes around the table and checks to see if you want to hit, stay, or split. If you hit, the dealer gives you another card to add to your total. You would normally hit on any cards (unless you have a 20 or blackjack) if the [...]

Auto Play in Microgaming Online Casino Games

Auto Play in Microgaming Online Casino Games
The auto play feature in online casino games allows players to automatically repeat the wager a number of times under identical conditions. The leading online gaming software provider Microgaming offers the auto play feature in more online casino games than other software providers. This article discusses the auto play feature in slots
roulette
video poker and blackjack games and the different implications that the feature has in each of these games categories. Online slots are ideal for auto play. The only decision that players make is the amount wagered. Since most players will play online slots with all the lines enabled the decision rests on selecting the line bet. This is often dictated by the players bankroll and players usually play the entire session without changing the line bet. Hence it is very convenient to put online slots on auto play. In Microgaming online slots auto play is available in the Expert Mode. 5x and 10x auto play can be directly activated without going into the auto play menu. The menu enables players to set the auto play up to 9999 spins. The auto play can be set to stop only after all spins are completed or if a win exceeds a specified amount. The auto play will automatically stop if any feature is activated in the slot game. In roulette the player also does not make any strategic decisions. He decides on the quantum of the bet. But in roulette there are a large number of bets to choose from. If the player wants to keep changing the type of bet or the numbers selected then he cannot use the auto play. However if the player is willing to keep fixed all betting parameters he can activate the auto play in the Expert Mode in the Microgaming roulette games. The player can select up to 9999 spins and also select the time between spins. He can set the auto play to stop on one of the three following conditions: when all spins are complete; when a win exceeds a preset amount and on any win. The player can enable two other conditions for the auto play to stop. These are if the credits increase or decrease by a preset amount. In video poker the players have to make a strategic decision of which cards to hold once the initial hand is dealt. On first evaluation this would appear to provide an impediment to the auto play feature. However
the video poker games in Microgaming have the optimal strategy built into them. Hence the software automatically chooses the best cards to hold and this allows for the auto play feature. The auto play feature in Microgaming video poker games is very complex. It contains all the features of the slots and roulette auto play and some more. The auto play can be set to stop when a jackpot is hit. Also Microgaming video poker games allow players to double the payout by playing a gamble game. The auto play can be programmed to activate the double all the time
never or under specified conditions. Some versions of Microgaming blackjack have the auto play feature. Blackjack involves even more complex decisions than video poker. Blackjack games that offer auto play have a built in strategy card that dictates the moves to be made by the player. This strategy card is not only available to the player but the player can alter the strategy according to his liking and the play blackjack on auto play with his chosen strategy. Functionally the auto play in Microgaming blackjack is identical to the auto play in Microgaming roulette games. Articles from Casino Advisor

Let your Blackjack Knowledge Takeover
When playing a hand of blackjack
your chances of winning increase if you know what you are doing. Some players only have minimal knowledge of the game whereas others are much more advanced.

Understanding Online Casino Dice Games

Understanding Online Casino Dice Games
Dice games are games of chance. The lure of dice games begins much before players are even aware of gambling. Games like Monopoly and Cluedo have pumped up generations of children. Therefore it is natural for players to have an affinity for online casino dice games. Online casinos offer two dice games. One is craps and the other is sic bo. Craps is the better known of the two games. Not only is it a standard fixture in land based casinos
but has been popularized in movies and on television. On the other hand sic bo is a game of Asian origin and therefore considered to be part of an alien culture. This makes craps the first choice online dice game for many new players. However new players soon realize that sic bo is a simpler game to understand. In sic bo players bet on either the combination of numbers appearing on the faces of the dice or the dice totals. What is more important is that each bet is settled in a single roll. At the end of every roll players have either won or lost their wager. bets are not carried forward. On the other hand in craps the more commonly placed wagers are carried forward and settled over a number of rolls. Players have to come to terms with concepts like come out rolls
points
right bettors
wrong bettors
buying bets and laying bets. Therefore though sic bo is an alien game it is much simpler to figure out. However
new players must understand that it is neither the familiarity nor the simplicity that should be the factors that dictate where they should wager. If they go by these factors they are bound to lose money and lose quite heavily. The only criterion for wagering is the long term return that the bets provide. Bets that have high house edges provide lower long term returns and bets that have low house edges provide higher long term returns. Therefore new players must look at the house edges of the various bets offered in craps and sic bo. There are two benchmarks that players can use as house edges. One is the house edges offered by blackjack and video poker games
which is around 0.5%. This is assuming best play
something that new players may not be capable of delivering. The second benchmark is the house edge offered by online slots games
which is about 5%. This does not require any strategy and is achievable by all players alike. Hence new players looking at online dice games should touch only those bets that offer a house edge of less than 5%. Unfortunately sic bo has only two such wagers. These are the Small and Big bets. The Small bet wins on totals of 4 to 10
except for triples. The Big bet wins on totals of 11 to 17
except for triples. Both bets pay even money and have a house edge of 2.78%. Hence players who are attracted to sic bo for whatever reason should stick only to these two wagers. Players who are looking at single roll wagers in craps have even less choice. The only bet that they can look at is the Field bet. This bet wins if the next number rolled is 2
3
4
9
10
11 or 12. This bet has a house edge of 2.7% but only under certain payout conditions. These are that one of 2 or 12 pays out at 2 to 1 and the other at 3 to 1. There are many multiple roll bets in craps that have house edges of less than 5%
but then new players have to be prepared to make an effort to understand the intricacies involved. Articles from Casino Advisor