Hot Gambler

Online casinos review before holidays

2009-11-22T18:16:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving near and Christmas a month away, people are already looking ahead of the deals many retailers are about to offer come Black Friday and the shopping frenzy surrounding Christmas, the online casino this time around do also plan on participating heavily in this All-American tradition. The economy may be getting better if you ask the Wall Street guys but it will be years until Mainstreet gets back to prosperity and people are looking for the deals this year more than ever before. Bottom line - expect long lines in front of the major retailers this Friday and maybe even a few server crashes online come next Monday.

And reflecting the though times, the online casinos are also planning on boosting their bonus offers and free money bonuses this year. Gambling, often regarded as a recession-proof business, is also hurting from the poor state of the economies world-wide, perfectly illustrated by the many casino bankruptcies we have witnessed over the past couple of years. And while the most popular online casinos show no signs of deteriorations, the smaller outfits are clearly seeing decreasing profit margins, compared to the bounty a few years back. And small bonuses around Thanksgiving and Christmas was a given with the online casinos, but this year quite a few of them are planning on introducing some really big offerings, especially when they have to compete with the holiday sales and dwindling entertainment budgets across the board.

Online casinos, especially no download casinos, are expected to come with big promotions for the holidays this year. Details at this point remain to be decided, but we expect a lot of free money for existing customers of the online casinos, as well as sweet deals for the first-time players at the casino. As usual the customer is the one to benefit from the deals that will be offered at the online casinos this year turning a small entertainment budget into days of good time. And with the progressive jackpots at those online casinos still growing by the minute, someone may have a really happy New Year.

The way to choose a reputable online casino

2009-11-06T01:13:00.000-08:00

With thousands of online casinos on the internet, it can be very confusing as to which ones are safe and reputable, and which casinos are not. So many of them are beautifully designed, look very professional and offer great signup bonuses, so how does one go about choosing the "reputable" online casinos while avoiding the "dodgy" ones?

When choosing an online casino to play at, one should always take into consideration the following points:

Licensed casino: Is the casino licensed? While many online casinos are licensed, a significant number of casinos are not. There are plenty of unlicensed, illegal gambling casinos which are nothing more than money scam operations. One should always avoid these casinos at all costs.

Where is the casino licensed?: While online casinos licensed in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Kahnawake, Netherlands Antilles, United Kingdom and the West Indies are recommended, online casinos licensed in Eastern Europe should be approached with extreme caution.

24/7 Support: Does the casino offer 24/7 phone, fax, live chat and email support? Test the casino's customer service department by asking them a few questions about their games, bonuses, etc and measure how long it takes to receive a decent response.

Professional Recogition: Is the online casino officially recognised by various gaming bodies and authorities? For instance, are the payout percentages of the online casino independently reviewed by auditors such as PricewaterhouseCoopers? Is this information made publicly available?

Blacklisted: Is the online casino blacklisted for any reason? There are many casinos which have been blacklisted by several gambling portals for one reason or another. Although not all blacklists are credible sources of information, one should avoid online casinos which appear in several blacklists.

Software: Casino software providers such as Microgaming, Playtech, Random Logic, Real Time Gaming and WaterLogic are very popular and have excellent reputations in the online gambling industry.

With so many online casinos coming and going, and with so many cons and scams surfacing on the internet everyday, one needs to be especially careful when registering one's credit card with or transferring money to an online casino. The above set of guidelines may not completely safeguard a player's money, but they are nevertheless a good set of common sense points to go by when choosing an online casino to play at.

Online Slot Games Without Paylines

2009-11-02T01:09:00.000-08:00

Paylines have long been an integral part of online slot games. They define the paths across the reels on which the combinations appearing in the payout tables are eligible for wins. If a combination appears on a path that has not been defined as a payline then there is no payout awarded. The number of paylines in a slot game varies from a single payline in many 3 reel slots to 100 paylines in two 5 reel slots offered by Microgaming.

Microgaming was the first to introduce an online slot game that did away with the concept of paylines altogether. In these games wins are calculated by symbols appearing from left to right starting from the first reel, irrespective of on which row the symbol appears. Another way of looking at the concept is that a 5 reel slot will have 243 paylines with all paylines enabled. Therefore Microgaming refers to the slot as having 243 ways to win. Microgaming’s online slot with no paylines was called Burning desire. It was released in February 2009 on the occasion of Valentine’s Day. Players can bet from 1 to 10 coins in the game. The payout table for the line combinations gives the payouts for 1 coin wagered. If the player wagers 10 coins then the stated payout is multiplied by 10. The total bet per spin is taken to be 25 times the coins wagered. Therefore when a player selects 10 coins he will be charged 250 coins per spin. Since the maximum coin denomination is $1.00, the maximum total bet per spin is $250. The scatter symbol payouts are multiplied by the total bet.

In the competitive world of online slots other online gaming software providers are quick to pick up on innovations. Last week Vegas Technology released Grail Maiden and Cryptologic released Savannah Sunrise, both based on the no paylines or 243 ways to win concept. Both these software providers refer to this concept as All Ways. Grail Maiden follows a similar pattern as Burning Desire. Players can bet 25, 50, 75 or 100 coins. The payout table gives the payouts for 25 coins wagered. In Grail Maiden the total bet per spin is the same as the line bet. Therefore the line payouts and scatter payouts are multiplied by the same multiplier.
Savannah Sunrise has players wagering 1 coin for the line payouts and 25 coins for the total bet. Hence scatter payouts are multiplied by total bet. However the scatter combinations win with left to right combinations as the other symbols. However Cryptologic has introduced a twist in the Savannah Sunrise online slot. Players can choose the number of reels to play with. When players choose all five reels they get 243 combinations with all 15 reel positions coming into play. If players choose only 4 reels then the first four reels will display 3 symbols and the fifth reel only one symbol. Therefore only 13 reel positions come into play and the ways to win is 81. The total bet accepted is 15 coins. For three reels, 11 reel positions come into play, with 27 ways to win and a total bet of 9 coins. For two reels, 9 reel positions come into play, with 9 ways to win and a total bet of 3 coins. For one reel, 7 reel positions come into play, with 3 ways to win and a total bet of 1 coin.

Find the best odds during cyber gambling

2009-10-26T01:04:00.000-07:00

How important is it to you to find the very best odds available while gambling in cyberspace? Take a moment to consider that question before answering. Even though it may seem like an unbelievably stupid thing to ask, the reality is often more complicated.

Your knee-jerk response is probably to say that of course you are only interested in playing online when the very best of odds are in your favor. And yet, as in so many other areas of life, much of our online gaming activities are based on a host of factors that have nothing to do with logic.
Putting a Price on Fun

Obviously, the vast majority of people who log onto the Internet in order to play casino games are doing it for the sheer fun that can be thus enjoyed. Although everyone would be much more content to log off richer than they logged in, studies have shown that the average online casino visitor will consistently choose games with lesser odds if the promise for having a good time in that activity seems certain. Therefore, the question becomes, "Where does the balance between enjoyment and good mathematical odds factor in?" The best way to get to the bottom of this conundrum is to look at some games that offer different levels of odds in your favor.

When you have this information at your disposal, you still may be apt to choose games that do not come with very good odds. However, at least you will be making that decision from an educated basis, rather than simply following the whims of any given moment.
The Dice Are Your Friends

As many gamblers clearly understand, craps is one of the very best games that you can play when it comes to odds. Being indicative of a skill game, craps is one that rewards players who have taken the time to steep themselves in the intricacies involved. Along with poker, pai gow, blackjack and other games that rely on brainpower more than blind chance, craps allows you to lower the house edge such that it does not become an overwhelming impediment against your success.

And yet, even within the game of craps there are some truly terrible odds to be found. Under no circumstances do you ever want to make any proposition bets. These bets are attractive to risk-takers who love the fact that a huge financial stake can be won or lost on a single roll. However, smart gamblers are not to be confused with these adrenaline junkies, and any craps player who truly understands the game will leave proposition bets to suckers who simply can't help themselves.
Which Wheel Will You Spin?

If you are determined to enjoy the game of roulette online and still would like to maintain passable odds, the type of variant you choose to play will have a tremendous impact in this regard. Obviously, the European form of roulette offers much better odds than its American counterpart because there is only one of those dreaded double zero slots to worry about. As an understandable result of this fact, there are far fewer European Roulette wheels to be found in the casinos of cyberspace. Be advised, however, that they do exist and you can find them if you take the time to do a bit of research.

Money Management of Online Casino Gamblers

2009-10-07T01:02:00.001-07:00

Most gamblers know that money management is a crucial part of online gambling, or any gambling for that matter. Without money, you can't play, and the more wisely you manage your money, the longer you should be able to stay in action. Proper money management will depend on a number of factors.
1. What Online Game Are You Playing?

If you are playing a positive expectation game like online poker, you may have a positive win rate, which means that over the long term, you will win a certain amount per hour. Your goal should be to have a large enough bankroll to cover your swings of bad luck so that you never have to replenish your bankroll.

If you are playing a negative expectation game like online roulette, you cannot have a positive win rate. The game is designed so that the player will lose over time. Your goal in a game like this should be to have a big enough bankroll so that you will be able to play as much as you like between now and the time that you will be able to replenish that bankroll.

2. Bankrolling Positive Expectation Online Games

Remember that a positive expectation game can only be considered as such if you are a winning player. If you are a losing player, you should treat all online games the same. There is no shame in being a losing player; estimates are that 90 percent or more of online poker players are long-term losers.

To bankroll yourself for online poker with a positive win rate, many players feel you should have at least 100 times the big blind available to you. This means for a $3/$6 limit game, you should have $600 to avoid going broke. Some players feel that this may be a sufficient amount to have on the table, but to be sure to avoid ruin you should have 300 to 500 times the big blind available, or $1,800 to $2,000 in this case. No-limit games have more variance, so you should at least double these numbers if no-limit is your game. Remember that the bigger your bankroll is relative to the limits, the less likely it is you will go broke if you are a winning player.

There are, however, other casino games that offer positive expectation. Video Poker is one of them, believe it or not. But far from every video-poker machine offers +EV, but when you stumble across one, you are able to play risk-free video poker (over the long term).

But how can a casino give players an edge? The thing is that very few deploy the perfect strategy while playing, and therefore give up the edge. So the casino can afford to give players the opportunity to break even or win a little - very few manages to do it anyway.

In this type of game, bankroll management is all about handling the swings. You should have enough to survive a cold streak. Signing up at a casino that offers decent casino bonuses is one way to boost your bankroll. Having a larger bankroll improves your chances of surviving a cold streak.
3. Bankrolling Negative Expectation Online Games

For negative expectation games, calculate your loss rate by learning the house edge. Determine how much you bet per hour and multiply by the house edge. This is your loss rate if you play perfect strategy. Play limits that will allow your bankroll to withstand your loss rate until the time you are scheduled to replenish your bankroll.

Money Management of Online Casino Gamblers

2009-10-07T01:02:00.000-07:00

Better than Poker - Casino Games

2009-10-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

Poker players often look with contempt at those sitting hunchbacked over slot machines, shouting for sevens in craps, or praying to the gambling gods for the ball to land on their number in roulette. They walk through the casino on their way to the poker room shaking their heads. "Look at the fish. You can't beat casino games. Don't they know that," you hear these people mumbling.

Let us freeze the picture there for just a moment and try to analyze the situation. We have a bunch of self-proclaimed poker players looking down on people playing games that can't be beaten in the long haul. And they are right. You can't win at roulette, which most of the people playing the game are well aware of. But the odd thing is that at least 90 percent of those playing poker also are going to lose - something they habitually tend to forget.

When you play poker money constantly leave the table in form of rake. To become a winning player it's not enough just being an above-average player. Far from it. Since a large portion of the cash on the table is destined to end up in the casino bank vault there isn't much left for the superior players to share - and that is exactly what you have to be to win - a superior player.

Poker players often mix up "it's possible to win" with "I'm a winning player". Let us call it the poker player's fallacy. They overestimate their skills which often have disastrous effects on their economy.

Naturally there are casino players who don't gamble responsibly, well, quite a few to be honest. But I think most casino gamblers know that they probably not are going to win. Just as someone who buys a lottery ticket realizes that the chance of winning is extraordinary slim, a slot player understands that hitting that humongous jackpot is almost impossible.

"BUT THE CASINO HAS AN EDGE," the upset poker player screams on the top of his lungs. Well, that's true. But there is a 90-percent chance that the casino together with your opponents has an edge on you. Only one poker player in ten actually plays with positive expectation.

To speak poker lingo, that is the same odds as hitting a gut-shot straight draw or turning a two pair into a full house from turn to river.

What would you rather be, a recreational blackjack player who knows that he will lose a little in the long run or a poker player who believes he's a winner but in reality will be stuck a fortune in the long haul?

Only fools choose the latter.

Keno Strategy

2009-09-27T01:18:00.000-07:00

Big Board Keno was at one time called the Chinese Lottery. This is because the game originated in ancient China. Throughout the centuries this game has remained virtually unaltered. The only modifications, especial for modern casino play, lie in the amounts of money you can win, and in the use of combination tickets, called Way Tickets. In the Bird cage are 80 ping-pong balls, painted with numbers from 1 through 80. When the game is played, the bird cage rotates and spits out 20 of the 80 numbers. These 20 numbers constitute the result of that particular game, and a player picking any combination of the wins.
How to Play Big Board Keno

On any Keno game you can pick from one to 20 numbers. The Keno ticket is about 5 inches square, and on the face of it is printed a grid of 80 numbers divided into what is called the Top, containing 40 numbers, and the Bottom, containing the other 40 numbers. You can mark these numbers by crosses, circles, ticks, or any manner as long as you make it clear. Then you mark the Amount you want to bet in the top right-hand corner of the ticket where it says amount. Then below on the right-hand side, you write the total number of numbers you picked. Gaming regulations stipulate that winnings must be collected on any ticket prior to the start of the next game. If you fail to do this, you forfeit any winnings. Keno also allows for so-called Multirace tickets. You can play whatever numbers you pick on the same ticket for up to 20 consecutive games. You must play the same numbers for each game. With Multirace tickets you must wait until the final game in your series of 20 games to collect any winnings. However, a new Multirace variation called Stray and Play was introduced to allow players to play from 21 to 1,000 consecutive games without having to be present and with up to one year to collect winnings.
Straight Up

There are four basic betting options offered by most casinos, of which the simplest and most common is the Straight Up ticket, commonly known as the Regular Game ticket. For example: a popular Straight Up ticket is a 6-spot. You select any six of the 80 numbers available in the game. When the game is then played, the bird cage machine draws 20 of the 80 available numbers. A typical payoff for a $2.00 bet on a 6-spot Keno ticket would run as follows: keno odds

* 0 out of 6 = No Win
* 1 out of 6 = No Win
* 2 out of 6 = No Win
* 3 out of 6 = $2.00
* 4 out of 6 = $6.00
* 5 out of 6 = $176.00
* 6 out of 6 = $3,00.00 (Jackpot)

You can bet more, a $5.00 bet pays a top jackpot of $7,500.00; a bet of $15.00 pays $22,000.00; and so on. The maximum bet is $70.00! All casinos will allow you to select a single number up to 10 numbers. Some casinos offer 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-, and 16- numbers; however, it is harder to win the jackpot.

Monte Carlo Casino History

2009-09-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

The main casino at Monte Carlo is what people think of when they think of the casino lifestyle.

The images called up by the thought of James Bond destroying the baccarat table are images of Monte Carlo. Prince Charles III of Monaco ordered the creation of the Monte Carlo quarter including a casino in order to boost the country's economy.

Charles Garnier, who was the architect of the Paris opera, built the casino in the Baroque style. Francois Blanc bought a concession to run the gaming at the casino for 50 years. In 1898, that concession moved to a private company with a major government interest, the Societe des Baines de Mer. Since it opened up in 1863, high rollers from all over the world have flocked to the Monte Carlo Casino to try their luck.
Notable Moments in Monte Carlo History

In 1873, Joseph Jagger, an engineer from Great Britain, recorded the results of six roulette wheels at Monte Carlo. He eventually discovered a serious bias in one of the wheels that caused certain numbers to come up more frequently. Jagger used his knowledge to win millions of Francs. Jagger lost some money back when the casino rearranged the wheels, but Jagger found his wheel anyway. Ultimately the casino was able to stop Jagger, but not before he earned the title of "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo."

In 1891, a con artist named Charles Wells arrived in Monte Carlo with money freshly conned from investors and hit the roulette wheel. Using the risky and debunked Martingale System where you double your bet every time you lose to eliminate losses, Wells went on a lucky streak and won a million Francs, making him the second to earn the title of Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.

In 2004, in response to the explosion in popularity of the World Series of Poker and televised poker tournaments in general, the Monte Carlo casino hosted its own poker tournament, the Monte Carlo Millions. Phil Ivey, a famous poker pro, was able to weed through most of the 80 competitors who put up $14,000 to compete, but was stopped in third place, with Jani Sointula taking the top prize.

In 2005, Ivey redeemed himself by winning a million dollars in the second Monte Carlo Millions for a first place finish. He went on to win a Monte Carlo Millions Invitational Event sponsored by FullTiltPoker the next day.

Mobile Casino?

2009-09-11T00:49:00.000-07:00

Players who loved casino gambling but never had the time or the opportunity to get to the nearest casino could now play their favorite casino games at home using their personal computer.

Now, technology has taken things to the next level, and those who made the jump from live gaming to online gaming should prepare to jump again.
Problems with Online Casinos vs. Mobile Casinos

Online casino technology may have made it feel like you could take the casino wherever you went, but this wasn't entirely true. Players were still restricted by the limitations of their hardware.

If you wanted to play on your home computer but the computer was occupied, or your home was too busy for you to focus on your game, you were out of luck. If you had a laptop, you could take it into another room or even outside, but there were still power cords and wireless Internet connections to worry about.

Today, your mobile device follows you everywhere you go which means, so does your casino if you have a mobile casino downloaded.
The Mobile Casino Truly Allows Gaming Anywhere, Anytime

Mobile casino gaming wipes out any of these old concerns. Wherever you can use a cell phone or other wireless device, you can play mobile casino games. If your home is full of activity and you can't find a quiet place to play, just grab your phone and head down the street, or to the park, or wherever you can find a peaceful spot. If you're stuck as a passenger in traffic, or sitting on the bus, you can spend your down time at a mobile casino. Download a mobile casino and see what you've been missing out on when just playing traditional online gaming.

Learn Casino Math

2009-08-28T00:46:00.000-07:00

What kind of basic casino math do you need when playing casino games? If you can do basic operations, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, you have all the math you need for casino gambling. No algebra or calculus is required.

Uses of Basic Casino Math

Why do you need basic math for casino games? Why do you need any math at all? The reason revolves around odds and probability. Every bet in a casino, in fact, every gamble, is an odds proposition. If the odds you are paid off at are longer than the true odds of an outcome, you have an edge. If the true odds are longer, the casino has the edge. Of course, all casino games are designed to give the casino the edge.

Using Basic Math Against the Casino

So if you know the casino has the edge, how can math help you? It can help you in a number of ways. First, it can tell you just how much of an edge the casino has. If the true odds of an outcome are 4-to-1 and you are being offered 3-to-1, you should be much more inclined to take the bet than a situation where the House is offering you 10-to-1 and the true odds are 100-to-1. Most people will always go for the higher payout, but if you understand the casino math, you will know which bet to take in order to minimize losses and potentially maximize wins.

Other Uses of Basic Casino Math

You can also use math for simple things, such as making sure you are paid off correctly. Although dealers are well-trained, they can occasionally make a mistake, and if they make a mathematical error that hurts you, you want to be able to point it out. In addition, basic casino math can help you manage your bankroll. You don't want to put your whole bankroll at risk in one shot. If you can figure out the House edge in a game and how many sessions you want to play, you can calculate what stakes you need to play at to make your bankroll last as long as you need it to.

Basic blackjack strategy

2009-08-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

Blackjack is actually a game of skill. Of course, there's a lot of chance involved in the decision of an individual hand, but chance evens out over time. Knowing when to hit and when to stand is what decides your success as a blackjack player.
Reducing the house edge

Nevertheless, even if you play an optimal blackjack strategy (see below), the house has an edge against you. But it is a smaller edge than in most other casino games - if you play well. A lot of people play blackjack in a way that doesn't yield the best possible chances. With a good strategy, a disciplined mentality, and a lot of practice, you can keep the house edge at a minimum and extract maximum enjoyment from the game.
Optimal blackjack strategy

This table describes a strategy that supplies an optimal move for each of your hands matched up against each possible up card of the dealer:

Play blackjack the smart way

Even with a good blackjack strategy, you cannot enter a blackjack game and expect to win - due to the house edge. However, using the blackjack strategy chart above you reduce the house edge to a minimum, and by following the simple mental guidelines below you have all chances of getting a lot of enjoyment from playing blackjack. Make a budget. Before you start playing, decide how much you can spend. Consider this amount gone.

Feels uncomfortable? Then you probably need to cut down your blackjack budget. Also decide how much you will bet on each hand. The higher you play, the shorter your session will last, on average. To have a long session, make small bets. If you want to play a short game with maximum variance, go for the big bets. When your budget is met, quit playing. This is the defining line between being a successful blackjack player and getting yourself into serious trouble.
Getting paid for playing blackjack

Keep a lookout for bonuses. A special feature in online casinos is that they offer casino bonuses as a mean to attract players. Bonuses usually require that you wager a certain amount before the bonus is released to your account. With this extra value you may actually turn the house edge around and be a favorite against the house!

Practice, practice and keep practicing. It takes a lot of playing to be comfortable with all possible situations that may arise in blackjack. As a matter of fact, it's a good idea to start practicing for free. Many online casinos offer play money tables where you can get accustomed to the game mechanics without risking any money.
What comes around

Don't chase losses. Sure, losing may be very frustrating, but if you change your game to compensate for it you deviate from the optimal strategy. That is, you increase the house edge. It is a good way of compounding your losses rather than neutralizing them. If you want to enjoy blackjack, make a sport out of smiling at your bad luck!

Personalizing Online Casino Sites

2009-08-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

The idea may not be revolutionary, but there is certainly a growing buzz in the online casino gambling industry about the new personalized gambling experience launching under the Mybetboo brand. The subsidiary for the Gaming VC, Betboo, has announced that the new site is launching in the coming weeks and will target gamblers looking for a more customized and personalized gaming experience than the online casinos can offer. In essence, the Betboo gaming product will allow gamblers to create an account and then begin designing their own custom-built casino, poker, bingo, and betting sits.

As the online casino gambling industry matures there are an increasing number of niche gaming sites really targeting the internet gamblers and offering up highly unique and specialized gaming experiences. In this case, the Betboo product is actually pretty similar to the player-created gaming site experience that Microgaming successfully launched and implemented last year. The new Mybetboo experience is going to take the online casinos to a whole different level – and it certainly gives more control to the gamblers themselves – the control to customize the look and feel of their sites as well as the games they are offered when they log in.

The company has patented this new technology that will operate much like open-source content. Online casino gamblers are given the option of dragging and dropping elements of their gaming site onto a grid – this includes the look of the site as well as “pills” or the single gambling games and betting products they want to include on their highly customized and personal internet gambling site.

Casino’s Ongoing Success by Guest Knowledge

2009-08-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

As more casinos adopt scientific methodology to improve business, CRM and marketing automation technologies are taking a more prominent role in an ongoing struggle for customer loyalty. As a result, the information technology department has become a key player in strategy development. Increasingly, IT is held accountable for making sure that customer loyalty strategies succeed.

“I’ve been in the gaming industry for a few years, so I’ve seen plenty of change. One of the biggest changes has been in how IT fits into the big picture,” says John Enriquez, vice president of information technology at Pearl River Resort in Choctaw, Mississippi. “In today’s fiercely competitive environment, IT’s most important job is creating guest knowledge.”

Pearl RiverResort is one of the largest casinos in the U.S. The resort has 5,000 slot machines, 115 table games, 1,000 guest rooms, 14 restaurants, two golf courses, a water park, and a variety of shopping venues. A development of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Pearl River Resort draws guests from Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana — which means it also competes with other resorts and attractions in these states.

Guest knowledge is the fuel for resort marketing, and marketing is the heart of a successful resort operation, says Enriquez. The more you know about your guests, the more likely you are to develop cost-effective marketing campaigns that boost revenue, increase market share, and improve margins.

“We make sure that the information we collect is analyzed and presented in the form of actionable business intelligence,” says Enriquez. “We develop models for testing assumptions. We monitor and measure the impact of marketing campaigns so they can be optimized on the fly, in real time. In other words, we make sure we’re fishing where the fish are!”

Having 360-degree views of its guests enables Pearl River Resort to deliver better guest experiences. It also empowers the casino to create and execute highly targeted marketing campaigns based on what we really know about the preferences and habits of our guests. “In the past, we had to guess,” recalls Enriquez. “Now we know!

For example, the resort recently launched a campaign aimed at a narrow segment of players. “We assumed that this segment was highly profitable. But when we looked carefully at all the data, we saw that our assumptions had been wrong. So we refined the campaign, adjusting and optimizing it until we achieved the results we desired,” says Enriquez.

Not all high-value guests are the same, he notes. Pearl River Resort could easily miss opportunities to increase revenue by assuming that all high-value guests are interested solely in gaming.

“If you approach your marketing strategy from a guest knowledge perspective, you’ll know precisely which of your guests love to play golf, which love to shop, which want an appointment at the spa, and which want to visit the water park! Before they even arrive, you can schedule them for a round of golf or a soothing massage. You can make their dinner reservations — and even make sure the right bottle of wine is properly chilled and waiting for them at the table,” says Enriquez.

Knowledge makes it easier to deliver the kind of memorable guest experiences that will keep them coming back year after year. At Pearl River Resort, guest knowledge is the cornerstone of all marketing strategy, says Enriquez.

The resort is being recognized for its customer-focused marketing strategies during the 15th annual SAS Enterprise Intelligence Awards ceremony at this year’s SAS Users Group International (SUGI) meeting in San Francisco.

Pearl RiverResort recently partnered with SAS to build a consolidated data warehouse. Having a data warehouse enables the casino to gather guest information in a central location and provide fast, consistent reporting and analysis. Marketing automation software helps the casino target our marketing campaigns with greater accuracy. Pearl River Resort also has data mining and predictive modeling capabilities, creating a steady stream of new knowledge that be leveraged to improve guest loyalty.

In a very real sense, the gaming industry is only just beginning to understand what retailers have known and practiced for years. Fortunately, advanced technologies such as data mining, marketing automation, and behavioral analytics make it practical for casinos such as Pearl River Resort to leap ahead of less nimble competitors.

“From our point of view, the success of our resort depends less on how much our guests win or lose in the casinos than it does on how well we manage the knowledge we gather from all of our touch points and channels,” says Enriquez.

Attitude is everything

2009-07-17T00:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried to play in the casino? If not, then being on vacation can give you the possibility to try this kind of entertainment. Nearly all resort areas and big cities have casinos. Also you can visit such places like Las Vegas or Monaco, the best and well known places of casino industry.

Before going to such places, better to read a certain information about such exciting table games like Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Caribbean Stud Poker, Pai Gow, Baccarat Punto Banco
Sic Bo, Texas Hold'em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud. These are the most wide spread casino games and you should have an idea about it

The best way to acquire gaming skills without the expense of a live game is with a computer. In speeds or a live game pace, computers accumulate data for later review. This will enable you to spot costly trends that you might be making on a video poker machine or blackjack table. And again, the key here is that any knowledge obtained without a casino outlay will make you more money down the road.

Many of the better gaming software programs are either free or shareware, making it very inexpensive, easy to use, and yes, definitely fun. These software programs can be downloaded from any of the major online services on the internet.

When you visit a vacation destination for several days plan ahead of time what shows you want to see as well as other attractions or sight seeing you should do away from the casino. Make sure that you have a balance between the time you spend playing and the time you spend relaxing doing other things. If you went to the beach for the day you would not spend all of your time in the water. Your visit to the casino should include more that just gambling.

Don't forget about certain rules that observe in most of world casinos:

* Age limit 20 - Guests must be at least 20 years of age and carry some form of official photo ID (ID card, passport or driver's licence).

* Registration - To meet the casino's strict security requirements, the visitors are obliged to register each visitor and keep a record of personal details and photographs.

* Entrance fee - The entrance fee depends on the place and your membership in a certain casino

* Mobile phones - Mobile phones must be switched off inside the casino.

* Cameras - All photography is strictly prohibited. Cameras and any bags must be checked in at the cloakroom.

* Dress code - Guests should dress appropriately, it is more preferable for men to wear jackets. Sportswear and leisurewear are not permitted.

Many players simply go to the casino with a pocket full of money and jump from game to game until all their money is gone. It is hard to find anyone who can honestly admit that losing all their money during a casino visit was an enjoyable experience. You can have a much better time if you just spend a few minutes to make a plan for your next casino visit. While doing it, remember about:

* Your Time
The first thing you need to decide is how long you plan to spend at the casino. Decided how many hours you will stay and specify a time to leave. If you will be going for several days you will have to decide how much time you want to spend playing.

* Your Bankroll
Before visiting the casino you should determine how much money you want to risk on the games. You should then decide how many sessions you want to play. Divide your money by the number of sessions and you have your bankroll for each session you play. Plan a stop loss. If you lose 50 percent of your session bankroll - take a break. If you are winning make sure to lock up a profit.

* Have a Positive Attitude when you go to the casino. This won't guarantee that you will win but it will do wonders for confidence and make your visit more enjoyable. If you go expecting to lose you will.

* Have Fun
You visit the casino for entertainment and to have a good time. If for any reason you find that you are not having fun then leave. The casino will always be there and you can come back another day.

Slot machine or table games

2009-07-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

In the 1980's slot machines surpassed table games like craps and blackjack as the most popular game in the casino. Slots and video poker now account for more than 70% of the casino's total take. Why the surge in popularity? Simple: Bigger jackpots. With computerized virtual reels it's harder to hit the top jackpot, and since the jackpot will be hit less frequently the casino can make the jackpot amount larger.

This is true even with machines that look mechanical and have physical spinning reels. It's just an illusion. The whole game is controlled by a computer, using virtual reels. These days there are no more purely mechanical slots. We'll talk more about how the computer controls the reels in a minute.

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Slots offer the ability to win a lot of money for a small bet. If you put $5 on a blackjack table the most you can win is $7.50. But $3 in a slot machine could net you thousands or millions.

Still, there are three big problems with playing slot machines vs. other casino games. First, the casinos usually don't disclose the odds on individual machines, so you can't really be an informed player. Second, whatever those undisclosed odds are, they're usually bad -- far worse than table games like craps, baccarat, and blackjack. And finally, slot machines are usually played much faster than table games, so they suck away your money even quicker.

I therefore recommend that you don't play slots very much, if at all. You might counter that with, "Yes, but if I expect to lose, and figure that that's just the cost of the entertainment, then what's wrong with that?" Nothing, except that if you played at table games instead you could play for a lot longer, have more fun since you're playing with other human beings, and have a much better chance of walking away a winner. And isn't winning the most fun of all?

Maybe you play slots because you want the chance of a big jackpot, which you thought you couldn't get with table games. But you can! Many table games have an optional side bet which gives you a shot at a big jackpot, and you can also use a progression betting system to try to win thousands or millions at a table game -- with a lot better chance of success than winning the same amount of money at slots.

I hope you'll consider playing table games instead of slots, and I have a crash course in table games to help you do that.

If you must play slot machines, set a limit before you start playing of how much you're willing to lose, and then stop once you lose it.

Since I know many people will play slots anyway, here are some tips to help you lose the least amount of money, and to help you understand the games better in general. If you work hard for your money, you might as well keep as much of it as you can.

Gift Choice - Casino Knowledge

2009-07-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

If you are searching for the right gift to give someone for the Holidays or a Birthday, I suggest you give the gift of knowledge? If you have someone on your list that enjoys visiting the casino, why not give them a gaming related gift to help them learn more about their favorite game.

Years ago when I wrote my first gaming column, I wanted to end it with a thought that would convey my philosophy about casino gambling. I finally decided on the phrase; “Luck comes and goes… Knowledge Stays Forever!” Those words have appeared at the end of my columns for the last eight years and they mean more to me than just a catchy way to end a column. Whether you are dealing with casino games or other situations in life, the knowledgeable person will usually have a better chance at success than someone who just relies on luck to get them through. Learning all you can about a casino game is not difficult because there is a wealth of good books, computer software programs and videos.

There are numerous books available covering any game played in the casino. They range from the very basic that will teach the rules of the games, to the more advanced books that will explaining strategies for the games requiring more skill. Many of the table games have a basic strategy that will reduce the house edge if it is followed.

Maybe someone you know has been bitten by the poker bug that has been sweeping the country. Poker is a game of skill and the player who studies the game will be leagues ahead the other players who have never studied the game. Poker players especially need to study the game if they want to play winning poker. Those getting their education at the tables will find it is a very expensive way to learn.

Tutorial software makes a great gift because it can be educational and recreational at the same time. There are software programs available for Blackjack, video poker, Texas Hold’em, Let it Ride and several other casino games. Playing on the computer at home is a fun way to learn any game. For years video poker and blackjack players have been honing their skills by playing on their computers before going to the casino. Not all software programs are for learning the games. If you just want entertainment you can find software programs with some of the latest slot machine games. It’s fun way to play your favorite game when you can’t make it to the casino.

There are numerous DVDs that can show a player how the casino games are played. Most videos will show the player the mechanics of the game and give them some basic strategies as well. There are some videos designed to cover more advanced topics for the players who already know the basics of the games. There are several national gaming magazines published around the country. A subscription to one of these magazines makes a good gift that lasts all year long.

There are plenty of products available that will make a great gift for that special person on your list who enjoys casino gambling. Maybe you want to give yourself a little gift as a reward for your own hard work.. There’s nothing wrong with that and it is sure to be something you want.

Odds Of Craps

2009-06-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

The probability of throwing a Seven in any given roll is 6 in 36. For a Six or Eight, it's 5 in 36. For a Five or Nine, it's 4 in 36. For a Four or Ten, it's 3 in 36. For Two or Twelve, it's 1 in 36.

In Craps you may play the Pass Line, (Shooter will make his or her point). Remember, the Come-Out roll; 7 and 11 wins, but 2, 3, and 12 lose. After that, you want the Shooter to make his or her point before rolling a 7. If you bet a $5 chip on the Pass Line and win, you will profit $5. In most casinos you can bet up to Double the amount of your Pass Line bet. This is called Taking Full Odds. Therefore, you can bet $10 odds on your $5 Pass Line bet. Some casinos offer up to 10-times odds which means you can bet up to 10-times the amount of your Pass Line bet. The payoff for your odds, depending on the Point, are as follows;

* Four and Ten - Pays - 2 to 1 odds
* Five and Nine - Pays - 7 to 5 odds
* Six and Eight - Pays - 6 to 5 odds

In Craps you may also play the Don't Pass line, (Shooter will not make his or her point). Remember, on this side; the Come-Out roll, the 7 and 11 lose, you win on 2 and 3, and you push, (tie) on 12. After the point is established, you want a 7 to show before the Shooter rolls the point. If you bet a $5 chip on the Don't Pass line and win, you will profit $5. If you are to bet odds, however, you would have to lay the same odds that the House would pay. For Example: if the point is 4 or 10, you lay $10 to win $5. (Note: House pays 2 to 1 odds on the 4 and 10). If the point is 5 or 9, your lay $7 to $5. If the point is 6 or 8, you lay $6 to win $5.
learn craps

It is important that we understand the concept of True Odds. The fact is that casinos do not pay off winning bets at True Odds, but rather at reduced odds. This is what provides the House with its healthy edge over the player, a situation most acutely visible in the ONE ROLL bets. For example: earlier we noted a 2 or 12 will be rolled on an average, once in every 36 rolls, true payoff would be 36 to 1. You will notice, however, that casinos only pay off on such bets at 29 to 1, (30 for 1). These variances provide the House with an overall 16.6% edge over the players on such bets. This disadvantage for the player is offset by players who are smart enough to take odds on their Pass Line and Come bets. Taking advantage of the full odds reduces the House edge over the player to about 0.85% on such bets, as opposed to about 1.4% on bets without odds.

Craps Rules

2009-06-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

Craps is based on the various probabilities that any given number will be thrown. With two dice there are 36 possible number combinations, called Permutations. Of the 36 ways, here is a breakdown of all the two-dice combinations to make your point:

* Number 2 - One Way - (1+1)
* Number 3 - Two Ways - (1+2, 2+1)
* Number 4 - Three Ways - (2+2, 3+1, 1+3)
* Number 5 - Four Ways - (1+4, 4+1, 2+3, 3+2)
* Number 6 - Five Ways - (3+3, 1+5, 5+1, 2+4, 4+2)
* Number 7 - Six Ways - (1+6, 6+1, 2+5, 5+2, 3+4, 4+3)
* Number 8 - Five Ways - (4+4, 2+6, 6+2, 3+5, 5+3)
* Number 9 - Four Ways - (3+6, 6+3, 4+5, 5+4)
* Number 10 - Three Ways - (5+5, 4+6, 6+4)
* Number 11 - Two Ways - (5+6, 6+5)
* Number 12 - One Way - (6+6)

Keno vs Roulette

2009-06-05T04:14:00.000-07:00

I see, you are having a difficulty. You don't know, what to play - Keno or roulette? Let me give you some info so, that it'd be easier for you to make a choice.

So, let's begin with keno. It is a lottery-like or bingo-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and is also offered as a game in some state lotteries. A traditional live casino keno game uses a circular glass enclosure called a "bubble" containing 80 ping pong-like balls which determine the balldraw result. Each ball is imprinted with a number 1 through 80. During the balldraw, a blower pushes air into the bubble and mixes the balls. A "caller" presses a lever opening a tube, where the balls lift one at a time into a "V" shaped tube called the "rabbit ears". The caller and a "verifier" record each of 20 balls drawn, and the computerized keno system calculates all wagers based on the numbers drawn. In order to play it, you'll need to find some info on keno strategy. You should also care about downloading keno software.

And now let's face roulette tables. So, if we are talking about online casino roulette we should firstly understand how a non-virtual version of this game appeared. The first form of roulette was devised in 18th century in France. Blaise Pascal introduced a primitive form of roulette in the 17th century in his search for a perpetual motion machine. The roulette wheel is believed to be a fusion of the English wheel games Roly-Poly, Reiner, Ace of Hearts, and E.O.

So, if you make up your mind to play roulette online, don't forget to learn the roulette strategies as carefully as you can.

How To Play Craps

2009-05-31T23:57:00.000-07:00

The Casino game of Craps is played with a set of two perfectly balance dice, red in color, each die with six faces numbered 1 through 6 by means of white dots. The Shooter must toss both dice from one of the short ends of the table to the other, making sure that both dice hit the opposite side wall of the table. The inside walls of the table are covered with a kind of serrated egg-carton foam, designed to make the dice bounce around to assure randomness. Each throw of the dice is called a Roll. The first roll is called the Come-Out roll. When the previous Shooter fails to make a winning roll, known as Not Making The Point or Seven Out. A new game then begins with a new Shooter directly next to the left of the previous Shooter. On the Come-Out roll, the Pass line bet wins if the Shooter rolls a 7 or an 11. The bet loses automatically if the Shooter roll a 2, 3, or 12, (this is known as Rolling Craps). If the Shooter rolls either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 0r 10, winning your bet now depends on the Shooter rolling the same number again Before Rolling Any 7. Rolling any of these numbers on the Come-Out Roll is called Establishing The Point. Establishing a point is an event that happens as the immediate result of the Come-Out roll, unless that Come-Out roll results in a 7, 11, 2, 3, or a 12, in which case more rolls must be made until a point it is establish. A devise that looks like a hockey puck, called The Puck, is white on one side and black on the other side. The Puck, (white side) is on the point until the Shooter either makes his point or sevens out. When this happens the Puck is moved to the Don't Come bar 12 area, and turned black side up. White side up over a point indicates the game is in progress and that this Box number is the point. Black side up means a new Come-Out roll is next.

Winning Keno Ideas

2009-05-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

Winning Keno is a dream of every gambler. But there is little that any player can do to maximize his or her winning keno chances. the matter is keno is a bit different from other casino games, that's why having its own specific keno strategies. Speaking to the point one can't help mentioning that the keno game is a game of mere good luck. But still even the statement doesn't prevent players from applying one or another keno systems in order to improve winning keno possibilities. Dealing with possibilities it should be noted that all the eighty numbers that can be drawn i the keno game have the same possibility. But still gamblers try and employ certain techniques that they believe do best to lead players to winning keno.

So let's emphasize two theories concerning numbers. To tell the truth they are opposite. The first keno strategy says that winning keno can be reached in case a gamer picks up only the numbers that haven't been drawn lately, for it's a well-known fact that all the numbers have the equal possibility. That's why the theory promotes choosing the numbers that haven't been picked up recently by a computer with its number generator.

But here is one more winning keno tip stating that all the numbers that have been randomly selected during the previous games (to see these numbers one needs to log in some internet keno page and open the necessary directory) have the higher probability of being chosen once again. you see some players employ the former strategy, while others prefer the latter, it's up to a gamer which theory is to apply.

By the way there is another winning keno recommendation. Professional gamblers advise their co-players using successive pairs of numbers. So it's better to mark 3 and 4 than 7 and 17. In conclusion here is the last winning keno idea: stick to the same number pattern while marking the numbers on your keno ticket for several rounds. Who knows maybe it will become your winning keno not from the first try? Best of luck!

Learn To Play Craps

2009-05-16T23:54:00.000-07:00

Craps is a dice game played inside a large sunken table not unlike a bathtub, on which is painted a rather complicated looking layout. There are no seats around the table because the game is played standing up. The player rolling the dice is called the Shooter. Across the table, closest to the pit, the dealer's side, are the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10, painted is squares, and called the Box Numbers. To the left of these numbers is another box with the words, "Don't Come Bar 12" with a picture of two dice showing sixes on them, (the combination known as Box Cars). Between these numbers are the Pass and Don't Pass lines, in a large area with the word Come on it. Between this and the Pass lines is an area marked Field, with the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12. In the corner of this layout , is the Big 6 and Big 8. In the center of the table is a betting area marked Hardway Bets, for the numbers 4, 6, 8, and 10. Just above this center layout is an area marked Any 7. Below the center Hardway layout is a combination of symbols for one roll bets, and to each side of this center layout are rows of two Circles, one beside the other in staggered formation, each circle alternately marked with a 'C' or 'E', (C=Craps and E=Eleven).

Winning At Slot Machines

2009-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

Modern Slot Machines work on a computer program, that randomly selects winning combinations. Winning percentages and odds are set by the manufacture and are calculated by millions of spins made with computer simulations. A Slot Machine is a mechanical device employing three, four, five, or more circular reels of varying dimensions. Each of these reels has several symbols, either painted on or attached to it. Most common designs are Cherries, Bars, the Jackpot Symbol, and the Number 7. Theme Machines are very popular, using red, white, and blue 7's symbol which trade on American patriotism.

To better understand Slot Machine Strategies and how Winning at Slot Machines can be easy. You must first know what kind of Slot Machine you are playing and understand Slot Machine Strategy.
Three Reels vs. Four Reels

Common sense should dictate that it is far easier to line up three matching symbols for a Slot Machine win, than four. To get four of anything is very hard, even on liberal Video Poker. On a Reel Slot Machine, three 7's can be achieved much more often than four 7's on a Four-Reel machine. Look for Three Reel machines to play.
Progressive Slots

Progressive Slot Machines are usually Four-Reel machines which offer an open-ended jackpot that increases in value after each pull on every machine within a linked group. The top jackpot can be won only if the maximum number of coins is played and all the winning symbols correctly line up on the pay line. Progressive Slots do not pay off very often, however if you want to play a Progressive Slots, pick one whose Primary and Secondary jackpots are at a high level.
Two-Coin vs. Three-Coin Machines

slot strategies In a Two-Coin machine, for the top jackpot, or maybe even the top two or three jackpots, the second-coin play will pay considerably more than just double the one-coin jackpot. For example: top jackpot payoff on a Two-Coin machine is three 7's, paying $1,000, the same three 7's pays only $400 if you played only one coin. The Three Coin machine will show much higher payoffs for the top jackpots with the three coins played. Three-Coin machines might look more lucrative in their payoff than Two-Coin machines, but don't be fooled! The player also has to bet more to get this, consequently, the player will lose more money. One final piece of advice, whatever slot you play, Two-Coin, Three-Coin, Four-Coin, etc., always play the maximum number of coins. If you don't, you are not maximizing your winnings.
One Payline vs. Three Paylines

Most Slot Machines show the Center line marked as a payline. To win you must line up a winning combination on that center payline and on that line only. But many machines show Three Paylines: at the top, center, and bottom of the window. This means that a winning combination lined up correctly on any of the three Paylines will pay. The advantage of Three-Paying Machines gives you more chances of winning and get double and triple pays if winning combinations appear on more than one payline together. The disadvantages are that the payoffs are usually very small and the top jackpot is paid only if you line up the proper winning symbols in the correct sequence on the bottom, or third payline. Another disadvantage is that Three-Payline machines are always three-coin machines. Some machines offer five, or even eight paylines, but this also means you have to play five or eight coins per pull. Remember, great advice, once again play Two-Coin maximum, Three Reel, One Payline Slot Machines.
Double-Up Symbols

An increasing variety of machines now employ so-called Double-Up symbols on their reels. This symbol, usually circular or in the shape of a diamond in a circle, and always bearing the words "Double" across its face, can be very valuable to the slot player. The payoff amount is Double and these Double Symbols also substitute for any other symbol. However, there are not many Double Machines available at casinos. The good Double-Up machines are normally found stuck somewhere in the middle of a group of bad machines, or are relegated to some obscure part of the casino.

Saving money on slot machines

2009-04-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

Play the lowest denomination machine you're comfortable with.

Even though lower-stakes machines have worse odds, you'll still lose less money on them. A 90% 5-coin nickel machine loses $18.75/hr. on average, while a 98% 2-coin dollar machine loses $30/hr. (The disparity in payouts between different denominations usually isn't that extreme, but I'm just showing that even when the difference is extreme you'll still lose less money by playing the lower denomination machines.)

Play machines which are advertised as paying back a specific high percentage.

Most casinos won't tell you how much their slots pay back, but some do. On the Vegas Strip, Stratosphere and Riviera have 98% dollar slots, and Circus Circus has 97.4% dollar slots. Fitzgeralds in Reno has a section of about 50 dollar slots whose average payback is 97.4%. If you're playing dollar slots, I recommend that you play only at these casinos, or other casinos which advertise a specific high payback.

Ignore claims such as "Loosest Slots" or "High Payback". Those terms are meaningless since they're not specific. Also ignore specific numbers married to vagueness, such as "up to 98% return" if the casino doesn't tell you specifically which machines are 98%.

Limit play on progressives.

Progressives are the machines with the LED marquees that show the ever-increasing jackpots. They typically pay back 2-7% less than standard machines, so you should play them sparingly, if at all. If you must play (because you want a shot at a huge jackpot), play a two-coin machine instead of a three-coin machine, and look for a $0.05 or $0.25 machine instead of a $1.00 machine.

Avoid video reels.

Video reel slots often pay back a percentage point or two less than their mechanical counterparts. Also, the ability to play five coins on each of nine lines ($1.45/spin) could seduce you into betting a lot more than you should.

Use a slot card.

Get a slot card and use it at any casino you play at. While the cashback rewards for slot points are usually insignificant, playing on a slot card means that the casino may give you free meals and will usually mail you offers for free or deeply discounted rooms, and that can save you a bit of money.

Contrary to popular myth, using a slot card has zero effect on whether you win. I won several jackpots at Fitzgeralds in Reno with my slot card in. (I was playing only because they were running a special promotion which improved the odds of winning. Normally I don't play slots because I can get better odds at table games.)

Learn other games.

Since you'll likely be bored by playing nothing but slots (especially if you're losing, and you probably will be), learn a table game so you can play it when you want to take a break from slots. Over time you may play the tables more and the slots less, especially since you have a better chance of winning at the tables, and because it's more fun to play with other people.

Bias in Roulette Wheels

2009-04-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

Every gambler has the dream of having a system that allows him to take a casino for a considerable amount of money. For some people, it was no dream…

Albert R. Hibbs was a noted mathematician. In 1949, he and fellow graduate student Roy Walford, took time away from school and went to Nevada. Their aim was to study the roulette wheel bias of Las Vegas and Reno casinos, then exploit that mathematical “edge” and win big. They were said to have made over $42,000. in their schemes.

The idea of a biased wheel is not new. Because some roulette wheels are not properly balanced, the ball is often thrown into some areas more than others; more than random mathematical probability. By studying the wheel and it’s results for a long period, certain numbers show a higher percentage of winners than others, and they are bet upon more frequently by those who gather and analyze this information.

Joe Jagger was a British engineer who, in the late 1800’s, earned the title of: The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. (Yes, he is a distant relative of Mick Jagger.) Another gambler and possibly more famous still, was Charles Wells. He too had the title. Both gamblers found and exploited biased roulette wheels in Monte Carlo’s famed “Casino.” Wells was also a con man responsible for bilking hundreds of people on bogus inventions. He died broke in France, after having spent several prison terms in two different countries.

As late as 1970, a woman named Carol Jarecki and her husband studied and played roulette wheels in Monte Carlo and San Remo, making a series of very successful runs on those biased roulette wheels. So even in this “modern era” of gambling, it seems that there are still a few places where the roulette wheels are not checked nearly often enough.

The new way casinos avoid bias is by recording every spin on a computer program. The program analyzes then reports any bias to casino management. Once reported, the wheel is serviced and the bias is removed. This system is used in only the larger casinos, but it’s a safe bet that even the smaller casinos would simply send you packing if you won too much. Bias or no.

Dealers Caught Cheating Casinos in Connecticut

2009-04-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

Craps dealers and floor supervisors have been charged with cheating the casinos out of thousands of dollars at 2 of Connecticut's casinos

Twelve people have been taken into custody so far by the Connecticut states casino police unit. The twelve are all craps dealers and are suspected of colluding with players on the casino floor to cheat the casinos by allowing them to place let bets at the craps table and splitting the winnings later on

The scam involved dealers and supervisors and at least one player on the floor. So far only Richard Sequoia Taylor of Memphis Tennessee has been named by the police. The investigation involved workers at Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan Sun. the investigation started after an unnamed casino employee told a floor manager at Foxwoods that he had witnessed a craps dealer cheating

The police interrogated several of the casino employees that were suspected of being involved in the scam and several described the methods they used to cheat the casinos. The police then issued arrest warrants for 13 people. All those involved in the scheme have been fired from their jobs at the casinos and they are being charged with cheating at gambling and conspiracy to cheat at gambling. The twelve have also been ordered to have no contact at all with each other.

They are: Chandler Alfred Jr., a Foxwoods dealer; Johnny Baker, a dealer at Mohegan Sun; Joshua Cagle, a Foxwoods dealer; Tim Cahill, a table games manager at Foxwoods; David Kelley, a scheduling and floor manager at Foxwoods; Pierre Langlois, a manager at Foxwoods; Anthony Leyko, a dealer at Foxwoods; Brian Miller, a Foxwoods dealer; Roger Morris, a floor supervisor at Foxwoods; Steve Panarella, a dealer at Foxwoods; and Mattie Tarlton, also a Foxwoods dealer.

According to the police Taylor was in charge of the scam, he and several other players would place bets on high payout areas of the table after the results were already called by the dealer. The players and dealers would get together later in the evening and split the take.

Gamblers survey result

2009-04-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

Just released, we now have “Profile of The American Gambler,” an exhaustive survey compiled by Scripps Survey Research Center for the gaming heavyweight, Harrah’s Entertainment. It covers casino play, to be sure, but it’s more about who we are as people. Do we support casino gambling in our states? (Yes, the survey says.) Do we save as much as non-gamblers? (Yes, again.) Some very interesting profiles emerged from this research, and it’s a safe bet this will not be the last survey of its kind.

Highlights of the study include:

58% of adults (21+) have gambled in a casino at least once during 2005.

There were 209 million adults that gambled in a casino in the last 12 months.

The average gambler visited a casino six times in one year.

A majority of adults favor licensing casinos in their own state.

Gamblers save more and invest more than non-gamblers.

They are more likely to use technology (email, computers, satellite, cable etc.) than non-gamblers.

They travel more, and spend more than non-gamblers.

They expect to have more money for retirement than their non-gambling counterparts.

Understandably, those people with higher incomes gamble more than lower incomes.

Working older couples 45+ comprise the highest percentage of all sub-sets at 19%, with young singles at only 3%.

By far, Slot players comprise the largest group (71%) with table gamers making up the balance.

There’s more Video Poker played than Live Poker (despite the TV hype of late), and BJ is played twice as much as any other table game.

Gamblers are less religious, donate more to charity, and are twice as likely to travel.

Men are equally likely to gamble as women.

Non-gamblers eat out only ½ as much as their gambler counterparts.

Gamblers own newer cars; travel further on vacations, and are more “optimistic” about the future.

These facts seem to fly in the face of many preconceived notions of the irresponsible, gambler prototypes we’re used to hearing about, especially around election time. Whether we like it or not, it seems gaming has become very Mainstream America. I hope Harrah’s will do follow-up research with these same barometers being reviewed and re-tested. It will be interesting to see how, and maybe why, things change in the future.

Betfair's Tax on Winners (2)

2009-03-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Can they get away with it? Will liquidity cross the chicken and egg style divide and disappear to other sites? It's tough to know, but the signs are that there is massive discontent among a very large portion of the users who feel abused by this charge. Most of these people are traders (and many punters too), who defend their right to buy and sell passionately. This is, and always was, one of the beauties of the betting exchange concept. Many in this group can afford the charge, but most can't. They are winning and losing types, they do provide meaningful liquidity and I believe it's a mistake to risk losing a proportion of this group.

Their closest rival is Betdaq. Previously the liquidity there was a mere 5% or less of Betfair's, but it is improving, and quickly. Rumours were that 800 new accounts opened the day after the charge was announced.

Their commission structure remains similar to the way Betfair used to operate, and if you open a new account now, citing the charge at Betfair, you'll be given the 2% rate until the new year. This is a good effort from Betdaq, but they'll need to show a lot more effort, and quickly for things to tip.

There is momentum for change at the moment, but with every passing day it dissipates. Luckily there are some key events ahead which might provide much larger tipping points. The first of these is when the charge is first levied next week. Expect the amounts to be published on the Betfair forum, along with much annoyance.

The second of these and potentially the largest, is the launch of 3rd party trading applications pointing at Betdaq.

The problem with gaining liquidity and market share for a small exchange has always been the effort required of it's users to post bets with the prospect of not getting matched all day. But if this never occurs, the liquidity will never grow. It costs time and effort to achieve, and gamblers are not known for their patience. The launch of one click ladder interfaces for Betdaq will remove the cost in time and effort required to do this.

I fully expect this to provide an massive boost to in running sports on Betdaq. It will be easy to open up applications accessing both Betfair and Betdaq and bet into both at the same time. Before long, we will have a choice. The BetAngel team are working on their application as we speak.

Indeed it becomes very apparent that it's this 'liquidity divide' that Betfair believes provides the protection for their gamble. If the divide is made easy to cross, then they are vulnerable to a fair marketplace and market forces. In a fair market, I very much doubt one company charging 20% against their nearest competitor charging 2% would survive such market forces.

Will I continue to use Betfair? In the immediate future yes, and probably longer term too, but if there is a switch, then less so. I don't think it's wise to overreact and leave immediately (we know what happens to over-reactions). I can afford this charge, I don't enjoy the prospect of paying 2-4 times as much money to Betfair, but I will still survive after it.

Saying this, I am not doing much betting at the moment, I'm working on my strategy and figuring out what is the best course of action to minimise this payment. I do take issue when a company arrogantly uses it's position to charge it's customers, the introduction of the Arcade has also left a nasty taste, so I'm loathe to add liquidity to the exchange if I can help it.

It has been suggested that we arbitrage our way out of the charge, not only by other users, but by Betfair themselves! They were banking on that happening in my opinion, perhaps they might even have expected a rise in liquidity. Either way, I find the prospect of arbitrage simply to nullify the charge's effects more than a little self defeating. You provide more liquidity and you pay the commission they were going to take anyway, I won't be doing this if I can help it.

My aim is to help provide more liquidity elsewhere, and to wait for the new BetAngel product for Betdaq to arrive before beginning to bet into both exchanges again. I'm sure there will be some teething problems at Betdaq. With the added activity, their site may well suffer to begin with, I think it's wise to expect this. Betfair has also suffered downtime in the past, we all got up and carried on, the same will apply.

I think it's in everyone's interests that we have a fair marketplace with decent competition and choice. If we can achieve this through providing liquidity elsewhere at the same time as Betfair then we will eventually have that choice, the easier this is made, the better for all of us using the exchanges. We have to work together to make things change for the better, simply allowing such market dominance and arrogance to go unaswered is not the way forward.

There may be lessons to be learnt here by all the exchanges however, and that is, the issue facing Betfair's costs could eventually affect them all. The money lost does have to come from somewhere, perhaps the other exchanges may be wiser examining the way their commission structures work ahead of time. Losers and risk takers it would appear, need much more reward for their efforts.

I've been thinking about making this post for some time now, I've been very interested in recent months in the subject of how poorly we humans are at figuring out the consequences of our actions. Particularly actions that we've made before, and continue to make, often with similar results.

These results can be negative or positive, and there can be more than one consequence. For example, you forget to put the rubbish out on a Wednesday evening, not only do they not pick it up on Thursday morning, but Mrs. Punt is less than impressed! Perhaps a better example; you didn't get out of that trade when sentiment turned, now you feel stuck on an outcome which is drifting in price and appealing more to your value hunting, punter mentality, rather than the trader's mentality you entered the trade with (more on this example later).

The title of this post might be better phrased as, learning from your mistakes. But I'm not sure it's quite that simple. We certainly don't appear to learn as efficiently as we should, so I'm more interested in why, what's stopping us, and how can we make our best efforts to avoid errors or allow for consequences.

Those of you who have read The Black Swan, will recognise the phrases I have used in my title. He talks a lot about our in ability to think forward, we are "future blind". I refer you to the Future blindness: our natural inability to take into account the properties of the future –like autism which prevents one from taking into account the existence of the minds of others."

Not only this, it is apparent that we are excellent at adding narratives to the decisions we made in the past. We try to give reasons why we did certain things, or didn't spot things or certain things happened... We suffer from the narative fallacy, "our need to fit a story or pattern to a series of connected or disconnected facts," how can we do this when we weren't even attempting to think ahead?

We wander through life making decisions, on the spot. Faced with a set of variables, we take a certain direction, we don't generally think of the set of variables this new direction will offer up, and importantly - how likely some of these 'variables' are to crop up and further affect the time line. Variables can appear in infinite guises, mental, physical, internal, external, out of your control and (if you are lucky) under your control. In life the distribution of these consequences is random and extreme. In sports trading - we have a random, extreme sport, and a slightly more mediocre and predictable marketplace to provide an interesting 2 fold puzzle.

Lets make this simple, if you are a trader, your job is to manage exposure to these variables and consequences (and associated probabilities) as best you can. Why? Because it is these that decide where you get in and where you get out of your trade. If you don't make an attempt to quantify consequences, then you are not attempting to figure out your risk and reward, and the probabilities contained within.

I'm not saying you can be precise with your measurement of these consequences, no one knows the true 'value' of things, particularly in the more extreme random part of the equation - the sport you are trading and the participants in the marketplace. The important thing to take away from this is 'the attempt'. Merely trying to look for outcomes, both of your own actions and the action taking place in the sport (and their probability) is good enough to provide a framework of learning and future decision making. Without this, you are confined to providing a best fit narrative, after the event... essentially, you are making up history! (One has to wonder just how much "history" is actually made up, out of a need to add a narrative to fit what was a random situation.)

And how easy it is to start narrating.. Hindsight is a wonderful thing! When we know what happened, it is almost always easier to see this outcome as obvious and of a much higher probability than it actually had at the time. I refer you to Taleb's reverse engineering problem, "It is easier to predict how an ice cube would melt into a puddle than, looking at a puddle, to guess the shape of the ice cube that may have caused it. This makes narrative disciplines and accounts (such as histories) suspicious."

Let's go back to our examples above. I was going to leave out Mrs. Punt, but then I thought it's quite a good example of how random things can be. Here is a real life situation with an infinite number of positions and outcomes - an ice cube that could quite literally be any shape. What caused me to not put the rubbish ('trash' for our American visitors) out? What distracted me? What mood was Mrs. Punt in when she came home, what caused that? How likely was it that she would be in a good mood and not care (much) about the rubbish? If we didn't realise how random life was, one thing we did know about was the randomness of female emotions! Perhaps we should swiftly move on to our trading example..

Here we have a classic example of not attempting to think ahead. I've hinted above that it's important to think of outcomes internally and externally. Resulting actions of consequences occur on two levels, what happens in the World, and how we react, it's important to try to weigh up the probabilities of both and how they relate to one another, not straight forward, but very worthwhile.

In our example, what was the probability of our trader changing his mindset to fit the situation? To figure this out you need to know what situations cause the change, which of these can be altered by a change of strategy and which are vulnerable to the randomness of the market and the event it's based on.

Obviously there are questions about why they felt the need to change... we'll not concern ourselves with those. The bigger picture here, is that an attempt by the trader to put a probability on this happening - by assessing the situation constantly, is what will help prevent it occuring, by allowing them to manage their position well enough to minimise it's chance, presuming that they actually find this course of action to be negative...

Which of course, it is. Changing the term (time scale) of your strategy mid-trade can very occasionally be suitable, but the rest of the time it is back-fitting at it's worst. You are providing a new narrative to what is occuring to suit some poor trading decisions. Which is why your assessment of the situation needs to be constant.

Paul Tudor Jones in his interview in the Market Wizards book said that it didn't matter what price he was long or short from, all that mattered was what the risk / reward was right now, and whether that meant he should be a bull or a bear. If it agreed with his position then he held it, if not then he closed or went the other way.

A recap.. How can we do our best to avoid future blindness, and our tendency to add narratives,

Assess the situation on a constant basis, question various scenarios and their probabilities and always keep in mind that the scale of these can vary to an extreme and unpredictable degree. Nothing is impossible, and many things you think are very low probability are very capable of happening.
Assessments of event probabilities have a second layer of effect on the market, assess the way the market could react to these and use this to form an idea of risk and reward. The market is what allows you in and out of trades.
Remain skeptical about stuff that happened in the past, don't automatically assign a narrative that suits how your trading turned out... once upon a time, this was randomly decided.
Don't add your own narrative to current events either, this will skew your assessments (avoid matches you think are fixed for example!).
Keep a record of your attempts at guessing the risk and rewards for various scenarios. You will only ever see one side of this guess resolved, the other side forms the risk or reward, and is of equal importance for your profitability.
Constant reassessment takes a lot of mental energy, but gets easier with practice... it can become a habit / instinctual.
Next time you are making a fast decision, base it on a honed assessment of what might happen and the risk/reward. If you have time, stop and consider the results of what you are doing, because it's apparent not many of us do this often enough!
An important part of not making the same mistake again is looking for it ahead of time, the same goes for any new mistake.

I went through a long period in the last year of not getting anywhere. When I did my analysis 3/4 months ago, it became very obvious I had simply been repeating the same strategic mistakes over and over again in cycles. To put a stop to them, you have to first notice them and figure out why you made them, then begin to think ahead. I realised that I was making the same errors simply because I wasn't watching out for them ahead of time, before long I would find myself in the same corner again, going through the same costly consequence. I also found I was adding a narrative on the match I was trading rather than looking at what I was doing personally, as well as how the market had been moving.

Hopefully now you will keep a watch out for the mistakes that I made in your own situations. Keep your eyes peeled, and get 'back to the future'.. That is essentially what we are trading - 'the future', the future movements of markets and their related probabilities.

Betfair's Tax on Winners (1)

2009-03-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

Unless you've had your head in sand for the last couple of weeks, you'll be aware that Betfair announced that from yesterday, they would begin to levy a new charge on "successful" accounts. This new "Premium Charge" will, according to their statements, affect 0.5% of the userbase. For your reference, here are those details I'm sure you are overly-familiar with by now, even if you are presently unaffected, pay attention, because you might be in the future,

"Customers will only be considered for the Premium Charge if, over the previous 60 weeks, they satisfy the following criteria:

Account is in profit;
Total charges paid (commission generated, Transaction, Data Request and Premium Charges) are less than 20% of gross profits; and
Bet in more than 250 markets.

There are two further conditions that are also calculated:

Any single win that constitutes more than 50% of gross profits over the previous 60 weeks will be excluded from the calculation; and
Each customer will have a 60 week allowance of £1,000 against the Premium Charge i.e. the customer will not pay the first £1,000 of charges.

Each week the customers who meet all the conditions set out above will be charged the lesser of:

The difference between 20% of the previous week’s gross profits and the total charges paid during the week; and
The difference between 20% of the previous 60 weeks’ gross profits and the total charges paid during that period.

Our pricing strategy is changing as from the 22nd of September. The first Premium Charges will be collected the following week - week commencing 29th September."

A further detail neglected in much of the forum discussion is that on the date of the 29th September, all accounts that have a profit and have traded 250 markets in the last 60 weeks are assumed to have been operating at a level equal to paying 20% of gross profits to Betfair. If in the first week, the commission you generate falls short of 20% of gross profits, then this will be taxed the following week. Apparently this doesn't constitute 'back-dating' in the PR world.

Another under publicised fact about this charge is that the 20% figure is now the MINIMUM you will pay Betfair in commission on gross profit. That's right, it's now not about trying to find ways to get under 20%, but how to make sure you are paying the minimum 20% rather than more!

Betfair are very keen to point out that not many people are affected by this on a weekly basis. All this means is that if you are not charged, you are already paying above the 20% mark.. Do you feel better about things now you know this?

I've taken quite some time to put this post together, there's been a lot of messages asking if I'm affected, where's my blog post on it, what's going on?? I had to give time for the dust to settle on this one, it's such a serious topic and a complex one too that it took me a while to calm down enough to begin to understand it.

Yes, I am affected by it. Due to the up and down nature of how I've been betting and slowly altering strategies, it is difficult to tell just how much this would affect me. (If you think you might be affected, ask Betfair for a spreadsheet breakdown of your last 60 weeks.) On current form I believe this will cost me up to 6 figures per year (my last 5 weeks would have cost me an extra £29k !).

This is a good example of where this calculation falls down and is far too unspecific in who it targets. Lets get into Betfair's reasoning behind the charge and then some definitions that should show why it is so unspecifically greedy.

On Betfair we have a variety of winners, those that win consistently, those that work out a profit on balance. Over time, winners remove the excess profits they make and carry on using the site. This money taken out, is never recycled on the site for other people to win, so it leaks away into winners' bank accounts and must be replaced somehow. This, according to Betfair, costs a lot of money in advertising to attract the required new blood, more in fact, than the amount they are gaining from these winning accounts in commission.

I don't think this can be argued against, this money does get extracted at a fast rate by some users. In my conversations with other winners we have often wondered where the money actually comes from. Betfair believe it is their costly advertising that does the leg work in attracting this money, this must be true to some extent. There's been much conjecture over time about whether it is winners or losers that are the life blood of the exchange, this move settles the argument conclusively in favour of losers.

But what of these costs? As a chargee, my first (over?) reaction is to tell them to stop spending so much. Surely this is not just about advertising, it's overheads and it's spending. The company has expanded at an incredible rate, 1200+ employees, a very nice HQ, innovative technological investments... and also numerous additional mini-sites that few surely find useful. They have their fingers in many pies. "Pies" which are increasingly focused on extracting money directly from customers, rather than through commission on their exchange, sounds a bit like a bookies doesn't it? See the newly unveiled Betfair Arcade for example - this is a shameful expansion into online FOBTs (Fixed Odds Betting Terminals), designed to take money from the less clued up gambler and those with problems, completely and utterly against the ideals of a betting exchange.

This sort of activity I guess is predictable. As a company grows, the original ethos is lost as costs grow and profits become the sole focus, as do employee bonuses.. There is an undoubtedly faceless feel to Betfair these days, buried deep in their midst (bloated underbelly?) are boards, think tanks and departments focused on how to get more money from the people using their site. As a business, you can't argue with their aim to make money, as long as it is done fairly.

"Fair" is something this new charge is NOT. It affects everyone, including those that have been told they would not have been charged in the last 60 weeks. I think it may be helpful here to define 3 key types of Betfair player,

The botter, these people program software to bet on their behalf automatically, through the day, on various markets. Because of the automated nature of their betting, they can do so with sufficient speed and efficiency to vastly reduce the chances of not winning. Dependent on strategy, some bots will win on virtually every market they play.
The trader, we'll classify these as humans who like to buy and sell (back and lay) more than once (usually in-running), similar to how you might on a stock exchange. As a result they often end markets with p/l's showing a win on both players or often a loss on both players. There are more varieties of styles within this classification than the others, some traders will take more risk than others - holding positions for longer, basing their actions on the event they are trading. Other traders will scalp, take much smaller risks, get in and out very fast and base decisions upon the market alone - arguably they are more consistent winners.
The punter, he's an old fashioned gambler who bases his decisions on value or opinion before the event begins and runs it to conclusion.

All of these players are hit by the new charge. But how can this be right? Clearly some people can afford this new charge more than others. "Afford" in this case is related to risk, value and the regularity of that user's profits.

Users who rarely lose, with winning books on any outcome can afford to pay more than others. (I'm not in favour of this charge, but I'm being realisitc.) Particularly botters, who use automated software and spend little time themselves actually placing the bets. If you switch on a program and sit back while the funds come in, then personally I think 20% is probably cheap, considering previously you were paying 2% and no tax. There is very little risk in what these users do, and "risk" I believe is the valuable commodity Betfair want to encourage with this charge. See the Betfair forum for evidence of one or two botters not bothered by the increased payment.

The next group with lowered risk are the traders. A highly contentious group, with a myriad of styles and levels of risk. Much of the debate when this charge was announced was centered around this group of users and what their worth to the site is. In fact this has always been passionately argued over, even before this charge, I could perhaps write a book on the subject.

It's the variety of trading techniques which make this group difficult to charge accurately or gauge worth to the site. Few people trade the same, and few trade consistently. Some take risks and build large positions, others are buying and selling very quickly. It seems unfeasible to charge everyone the same, when some win very often, and others provide as much risk as any gambler does. The most important distinction here is that these are human, manual traders, placing bets. Humans make mistakes, errors of judgement or plain accidents, no one can win 100% of the time and this must be taken into consideration. It is impossible to see how this group could be charged as much as an automated program.

The unfairness of the charge is most easily demonstrated by looking at the plight of our gamblers. If it was unfair to treat all traders the same, it is even more so to expose out-n-out gamblers to the chance of being charged. The vast majority of people that simply punt, will already be paying above the 20% almost all the time. This is fine, the edge that they seek in their bets will have been preserved (dependant on their handicapping skills).

But what happens when there is a week where every bet wins? This is quite possible, infact it's probably a certainty to happen one week - given enough weeks. The commission generated on gross profits they paid during this week dropped to their commission rate divided by 2, and their profits for the week took the average commission on gross profits over the previous 60 weeks well below 20% (quite a mouth-full). They will now be charged the difference.

The edge on all of these bets has been decimated! A year's hard work of edge preservation has been destroyed in (what used to be called) a lucky week. There is no way these people should be charged.

"Commission generated = (Commission + Implied Commission) ÷ 2" is the calculation used to reach the figure that will need to be made up to 20%. "Implied Commission" is the commission that would have been paid on a losing bet (by the person / people who won). This I believe is an average figure taken from the rest of the market participant's commission rates. According to Betfair this is usually between 2.5% and 3%, but we have no way of knowing the precise figure at the end of a market.

Dividing by 2 really can mess you over though. In the case of our punter who has a lucky week (with no implied commission), his commission generated is half the amount of commission he's already paid. I had one such week displayed on my spreadsheet, my commission generated was actually 1.4% of my gross profits!

This whole thing is calculated terribly and over simplistically. There are running jokes about the ridiculous small print on Betfair, but this is not a calculation they should have attempted to simplify. What is needed is a actuarial style calculation based on what we can each "afford" to pay. And this will vary as our method of betting changes, few people bet the same all the time. This can't be worked out over the course of one week either, I suggest at least a month.

All of this discussion is nullified now we are into the charging period. The charge appears to be going ahead, despite being ill conceived, rushed into effect and without preparation of the reporting features we are entitled to have, so we can see how much we are being charged. To some, it seemed heavy odds against getting this far, now we are here, it looks as if there is no going back.

Talking of odds, this is a huge gamble by Betfair. A punt of crazy proportions, perhaps their whole business... certainly their exchange image, by the way, this bet has already been settled and paid out - they lost!

For their sakes I hope they have done their own calculations right. This is effectively "all in" by Betfair, gambling that masses won't leave and liquidity will be intact. As a customer, it shows incredible arrogance. They are abusing their dominant status in the Betting Exchange market. They claim there is no such market, instead aligning themselves with the much larger Betting Market as a whole. Convenient, but not their real competition.

A betting exchange is something vastly different to what bookies offer, populated by punters of a different mentality those on the street. Their direct competition is other exchanges, not bookmakers. Exchanges thrive on liquidity, without it - no punters, and with no punters - no liquidity. That is a strangle hold over their competition and they know it. The newly published Betfair Arcade and comparisons with mainstream bookies demonstrates Betfair's intended direction perfectly.

Hitting the Jackpot Strategy

2009-03-06T04:37:00.000-08:00

Since every spin is random, the most important way to increase your odds of hitting the jackpot are to pick a machine with the best chances of doing so. Since the casinos don't tell you what the odds are that makes your job difficult. In general, you know that the bigger the jackpot, the worse the odds. The odds are about 262,144 to 1 on a typical machine with a $10,000 jackpot. On Megabucks, with its multi-million dollar jackpots, the odds are closer to 1 in 50 million. I've read the data about the odds of hitting the top jackpot on the progressive slot machines at Casino.net, along with the jackpot amount for the $0.25 and $1.00 machines on Dec. 17, 2003. Based on the figures, Jack in the Box is clearly the best bet. The chances of hitting the jackpot are better than with Aladdin's Lamp and Haunted House, and the jackpot is larger than Gold Pirates.

It's significant that Casino.net makes their jackpot odds public. I've never seen another land or Internet casino that's up front with their players like this. Casino.net gets big, big kudos for making these figures public.

It doesn't matter how long it's been since the machine hit its last jackpot. If the odds of hitting a jackpot on one spin are 1 in 250,000, then they're always 1 in 250,000, whether the last jackpot hit last year or five minutes ago. No slot machine is ever "due" to hit. That's the way probability works. The odds of getting heads on a coin flip are always 1 in 2, no matter what you got on previous flips. If you just flipped ten heads in a row, then you're just as likely to get heads yet again as you are to get tails. If you're not convinced about this then see our article about exposing the gambler's fallacy. The point is, past events have no effect on future events. Many people would avoid playing a machine that just hit a jackpot because they think another jackpot is magically less likely, but in fact the odds are the same on every spin, no matter what happened before.