UK Casino Betting

How to Play Blackjack

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:28:56 +0000

If you’ve ever seen movies about card counters making millions of dollars in Las Vegas casinos, blackjack was the game they were playing. Blackjack is one of the best games for your money because it’s one of the few games in which you can make decisions that affect the outcome of the game.

But before you can learn how to apply proper blackjack strategy, the first step is to learn how to play blackjack. The rules are fairly simple and after you play a few hands, you’ll probably have a solid understanding of the game. If you ever get confused, the dealer is usually more than happy to answer your questions.

How to Play Blackjack

The object of the game is to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Multiple players can play at the same table at the same time but each player competes individually against the dealer.

At the beginning of each hand, each player must place a wager on the outcome of the hand. The amount can vary from anything between $0.50 to more than $50,000 at some casinos.

The dealer deals one card face up to each player and one card face down to himself.

The dealer deals one more card face up to each player and one card face up to himself.

The players now have the option to hit or stand. To hit is to receive another card and the stand is to stop receiving cards. Each player may draw as many cards as he wishes. The goal here is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over.

After the players have finished drawing, the dealer reveals his down card and plays his hand out. The dealer must hit with any total of 16 or lower and must stand with any total of 17 or higher.

The dealer collects the bets from the losers and pays out the winners. A player wins if he gets closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. A player loses if he goes over 21 (also called going “bust”) or if the dealer gets closer to 21. If the dealer busts, all the other players who didn’t bust win. All ties are considered pushes and the players receive their bets back without any winnings.

All bets are paid out at 1:1 except for natural blackjacks. We’ll explain those in the next section.

Natural Blackjack

Whenever a player receives an Ace and a card worth 10 points during the initial deal, it’s called a “natural” or a blackjack. This is considered an automatic win unless the dealer also gets a blackjack. In that case, the bet is a push. In all other cases, the player is paid 3:2 on his money. That means that if the player bet $10 on the hand, the player would receive $15 in winnings.

Card Values

Numbered cards are worth face value. 2’s are worth 2 points, 3’s are worth 3 points and so on.

Face cards (Jack, Queen, King) are worth 10 points each.

Aces are worth 1 point or 11 points – whichever is more beneficial to the player.

Doubling Down

If a player is dealt a 9, 10 or 11 without aces, the player has the option to double down. When a player doubles down, that player may double his original bet. The caveat is that if a player doubles down, that player must receive exactly one more card. No more, no less.

Splitting

If a player is dealt two cards of the same value, that player has the option to split his hand. When a player splits his hand, each card is used to play a separate hand. That player must also place an additional wager on the second hand. In most blackjack games, players may split up to two times.

Insurance

Players may take insurance when the dealer’s up card is an Ace. The player places an additional bet and if the dealer has a blackjack, insurance is paid out at 2:1 odds. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, the insurance bet is lost. Insurance has a high house edge and should always be avoided.

Early Surrender

If a player doesn’t like the way a hand is going, that player may surrender half his original bet and quit the hand. Early surrender is offered before the dealer checks for blackjack. Out of the two types of surrender, this one is the most beneficial to the player.

Late Surrender

Late surrender is the same as early surrender except it is only offered after the dealer checks for blackjack. If the dealer has a blackjack, the player loses the chance to surrender.

Ready to Play?

The best place for blackjack is Bodog Casino. They offer the highest payouts, several blackjack variations and an overall great experience. If you want to practice for free, you can visit Bodog and play with play money. You don’t even have to sign up for an account.

Poker Hand Rankings

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:13:38 +0000

Most poker games and many casino games use the following hand rankings to determine the winners. Certain lowball poker games reverse these hand values but even in those games, the cards that make up each hand are the same.

Out of all the poker games that use these hand rankings, Texas Holdem is the most popular. Don’t forget to check out the rules of Texas Holdem and our poker site review pages. Inside those sections, you’ll find everything you need to know to get started on the right foot.

What Beats What in Poker

These hands are ordered with the strongest hands on the top and the weakest hands on the bottom. Any time two or more players tie with any of the following hands, the pot is split equally among those players.

Royal Flush – A royal flush is the best possible hand in poker. It consists of the cards Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace all of the same suit. Example:

Straight Flush – Five consecutive cards all of the same suit. Example:

Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same rank. Example:

Full House – Three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. Example:

Flush – Five cards of the same suit. Example:

Straight – Five consecutive cards. Example:

Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same rank. Example:

Two Pair – Two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. Example:

Pair – Two cards of the same rank. Example:

High Card – If nobody has any of the above hands, the player with the highest card wins. If two players tie for the highest card, the second highest card is used and so on down the line.

Where to Play Poker

I’m guessing that most people who reach this page are somewhat new to poker. In that case, the best place to play poker is the online poker site PokerStars. PokerStars is open to players from the UK, the USA and just about everywhere else.

I always recommend PokerStars to new players because it is a beginner-friendly poker site. The stakes start out very low so you can a hang of the game and the stakes go all the way up to the ultra high stakes.

If you want to, you can even play for free at PokerStars with play money chips. The play money games are super loose and wild but they are useful for learning the rules and understanding how each type of game works without risking real money.

When you sign up at PokerStars, make sure you use the bonus code STARS600. This bonus code will get you a 100% deposit bonus for up to $600 extra on your first deposit. If there’s a better way to start your bankroll, I don’t know of it.

How To Play Texas Holdem Poker

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:55:56 +0000

Texas Holdem currently reigns as the king of poker games. Out of all the games offered at UK casinos, Texas Holdem is by far the most popular. Right now, online poker players are raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year playing Texas Holdem. There are a lot of casual Texas Holdem fans so there is a lot of money to be made with Texas Holdem.

Poker is a great game to learn because it is the one game in the casino in which the players do not compete against the house. In poker, the players compete against one another and the house makes its money by taking a small rake out of each pot.

How to Play Texas Holdem

The object of Texas Holdem is to win the pot by having the best poker hand at the showdown. Texas Holdem is a community card game which means that the cards dealt in the middle of the table are shared by all the players to make their hands. Each player is given two hidden cards and then those cards can be used in any combination with the community cards to make the best possible 5 card poker hand.

The Dealer’s Button

In games that use a full time dealer, a dealer’s button is used to represent the position of the dealer. At the beginning of each hand, the dealer’s button moves one spot to the left. This is done so that the players can take turns paying the blinds and acting in late / early position.

The Blinds

The blinds are small, forced bets that two players must make at the beginning of each hand. The person to the left of the dealer must act as the “small blind” and donate half of a small bet to the pot. The person to the left of the small blind acts as the big blind and must donate one small bet to the pot. In a game of $5/$10 Holdem, the blinds would be $2.50 and $5.00.

Preflop

The two players to the left of the dealer pay the blinds. Each player is then dealt two cards face down. The cards are dealt one at a time, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer.

The preflop betting round begins with the player to the left of the big blind. Each player has the option to call the minimum bet, raise or fold. If any player raises, the other players must match that amount or fold.

The Flop

Three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are the first community cards. All the players at the table share these cards.

The flop betting round and all subsequent betting rounds begin with the first remaining player to the left of the dealer. This time, the first player may check, bet or fold. The betting continues clockwise around the table.

The Turn

One community card is dealt face up next to the flop.

The turn betting round is played the same as the flop betting round. In fixed limit games, this is where the big bets kick in.

The River

One last community card is dealt face up next to the turn.

There is one more betting round just like the previous betting round.

The Showdown

The players still remaining in the hand now reveal their cards. The player with the best 5 card poker hand (using any combination of hole cards and community cards) wins the pot.

How to Play Roulette

AdminTy — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:11:30 +0000

Roulette is the epitome of gambling. There’s no skill whatsoever and surprisingly, that’s one of the things that makes roulette so endearing. It’s not trying to fool anyone. We all know roulette is straight up gambling and sometimes that’s just what we want.

The roulette layout might look complicated but the game is actually pretty simple – and with payouts as high as 35 to 1, it’s nice to know a thing or two about it. The best place to get the hang of roulette is at one of our recommended UK Casino Sites. You can play online for free or with real money at any stakes you wish. It’s nice to get the hang of the game online first because you don’t have to worry about moving too slowly or making a mistake in front of everyone. When it’s online, it’s just you and the roulette wheel.

The Wheel

Roulette is played by dropping a small ball in a spinning wheel. The wheel has slots labeled 1-36 plus two slots reserves for 0 and 00. The numbers on the wheel are set up in such a way that half are red and half are black in alternating each other. The 0 and 00 are the only slots that break this rule; they are green in color.

How to play

Next to roulette wheel on the table there is a layout with identical numbers and colors as the Roulette wheel. When you want to place bets, you place your chips on the corresponding spaces printed on the roulette layout.

For example, if you want to place a bet on a single number, you place your chips on top of that number on the layout. If there are multiple numbers you want to bet on, you set your chips on each of those numbers. You can also bet on two numbers by placing your chips on the border between those numbers (if they are adjacent numbers).

Looking for a quick way to turn $1000 into $35,000? There are many different types of bets you can make with different payouts for each bet. The harder the bet, the greater the payout. The highest paying bet is the straight-up bet on a single number. If the ball lands on the number you bet on, you’ll get a payout of 35 to 1.

Other common bets you will see at Roulette table are single number bets, whether the ball will land on black or red and if the ball lands on an even or odd number. You can also mix it up by betting on multiple numbers at the same time.

Roulette Bets

There are quite a few bets you can make in Roulette. There are two main categories of bets called “inside bets” and “outside bets.” Inside bets are placed in the middle of the Roulette layout and outside bets are placed along the outer edge of the layout. Outside bets will allow you win more frequently but at the cost of a lower payout.

So what’s the house advantage? At least 5.26% Because of the 0 and 00 on wheel, this advantage can not be beaten. You can do the math and it will always come out to no less than 5.26%. This game comes down to how much you want wager.

Inside Bets

Single number-you bet on a single number. When the ball lands on that number you get a 35 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

Two Number Split-you bet on two connecting numbers. When the ball lands on either number you get a 17 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

Three Number Trio-you bet on a group of three numbers by placing chips at the end of any horizontal line of the three numbers you see on the layout. When the ball lands on either number you get a 11 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

Four Number Corner-you bet on a group of four numbers by placing chips on the intersection of any four numbers you see on the layout. When the ball lands on either number you get an 8 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

Five Number Basket-you bet on a group of five numbers that must consist of 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3.When the ball lands on either number you get 6 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 7.89%

Six Number Line –you bet on a group of six numbers by placing chips at the end of any horizontal line of six numbers you see on the layout. When the ball lands on either number you get a 5 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

Outside Bets

Even/Odd-you place a bet on whether the ball will land on an even or odd number. When the ball lands in your favor you get a 1 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

Red/Black-you place a bet on whether the ball will land on a red or black slot. When the ball lands in your favor you get a 1 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

1 through 18-you bet on whether the ball will land between numbers 1 through 18. When the ball lands in your favor you get a 1 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

19 through 36-you bet on whether the ball will land between numbers 19-36. When the ball lands in your favor you get a 1 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

1 through 12, 13 through 24, and 25 through 36-you bet on whether the ball will land anyone of the twelve numbers. When the ball lands in your favor you get a 2 to 1 payout.
House Advantage: 5.26%

Key Note

American Roulette tables have two “0” spots while European Roulette tables have one “0”. So while the house advantage of American Roulette tables is 5.26%, the house advantage for European Roulette tables is only 2.7%. You decide!