| ONLINE
GAMBLING STRATEGIES |
 |
It's
true, online gambling is fun and sometimes profitable, but
there are certain rules you must know and incorporate into
your overall strategy before you toss down your hard earned
money! They are what we call:
Gamblers
Golden Rules
- Budget
your money.
- Gamble
only with money you can afford to lose.
- Decide
beforehand how much you want to spend during your gambling
session.
- Don't
exceed the spending limit if you lose.
- Predetermine
a goal for your winnings, pocket some, and gamble only
with the remainder.
- When
you are winning, increase your bets only gradually.
- Never
play when you are tired.
- Play
only at tables you can afford. You should be able to cover
at least 25 bets.
- Keep
your gambling expectations reasonable.
- After
five consecutive losses, leave the table.
- Have
fun and quit while you're ahead.
Many
people who gamble online do not bother to check some very
simple information before they begin gambling at a new casino.
Read the fine print! Before you even think about playing
for real money you have to know the rules!
Gambling
Problem Resources
Here
at the Internet Gamblers Guide, we love for our visitors
to have fun, but we do understand that sometimes fun and
gambling can go a bit too far. If you ever feel that the
games are getting the better of you, here are some links
that you may be interested in:
Gamblers
Anonymous
Council
on Compulsive Gambling
STRATEGY
IN BLACKJACK
Before
playing the game, you'll need to find an appropriate table
at which to play. If you're a newcomer to this process,
there are a few items to keep in mind. You'll want to pay
attention to several details about each table that you approach.
The most important item is the sign declaring betting limits.
Both the minimum and the maximum allowable bets should be
clearly posted on a sign on the tabletop. Look around to
find a table that suits your bet sizes.
Beginners
are usually better off playing the "shoe" games
where 6 or 8 decks are used. The advantage for beginners
in this game is that all of the player's cards are dealt
face-up in front of each player, and the dealer can help
with playing questions and decisions. Notice: Once you become
proficient at the game, you might want to switch to a game
with fewer decks. The casino's advantage is lower with fewer
decks in play. But for now, let's stick with the multi-deck
games for the ease-of-play advantage.
We start
with one of the least common decisions, but it is appropriate
to begin with surrender, because this decision must be made
before any other choice about playing your hand. Not every
game offers surrender, and those that do fall into two categories
which bear explanation: Early vs Late. Surrender offers
you as a player the choice to fold your hand, at the cost
of half of the original bet. You must make that decision
prior to taking any other action on the hand. For example,
once you draw a third card, or split, or double down, surrender
is no longer an option.
The
two varieties of surrender, early and late, differ only
in the way a dealer blackjack is handled. In an early surrender
game, a player may choose to surrender before the dealer
checks his cards for a blackjack, offering a cheap way out
even if the dealer turns out to have a blackjack. Because
this offers a healthy advantage to the player, this version
(early surrender) is rarely offered. The much more common
variation is late surrender, where the dealer checks for
blackjack first, and then only if he does not have blackjack
will allow players to surrender their hands.
Surrender
is a nice rule to have available for players who use it
wisely. Unfortunately, many players surrender far too many
hands. If you play in a game with surrender, use the Strategy
Engine to determine when surrender is the appropriate play.
To see how bad a hand must be to properly be surrendered,
consider the following: To lose less with surrender, you
must be only 25% likely to win the hand (ignoring pushes).
That is, if you lose 75% of the time, and win only 25% of
the time, your net loss is about 50% of your bets, equal
to the amount you'll lose guaranteed by surrendering. So,
learn to use the surrender option, but make sure you know
when it is appropriate.
Insurance
is perhaps the least understood of all the commonly available
rules for Blackjack. This is not necessarily a bad thing
because the insurance bet is normally a poor bet for the
player, with a high house advantage. However, that's not
always the case. So, here we go:
If
the dealer turns an up-card of an Ace, he will offer "Insurance"
to the players. Insurance bets can be made by betting up
to half your original bet amount in the insurance betting
stripe in front of your bet. The dealer will check to see
if he has a 10-value card underneath his Ace, and if he
does have Blackjack, your winning Insurance bet will be
paid at odds of 2:1. You'll lose your original bet of course
(unless you also have a Blackjack), so the net effect is
that you break even (assuming you bet the full half bet
for insurance.) This is why the bet is described as "insurance",
since it seems to protect your original bet against a dealer
blackjack. Of course, if the dealer does not have blackjack,
you'll lose the insurance bet, and still have to play the
original bet out.
In the
simplest description, Insurance is a side-bet, where you
are offered 2:1 odds that the dealer has a 10-valued card
underneath ("in the hole"). A quick check of the
odds yields this: In a single deck game, there are 16 ten-valued
cards. Assuming that you don't see any other cards, including
your own, the tens compose 16 out of 51 remaining cards
after the dealer's Ace was removed. For the insurance bet
to be a break-even bet, the hole card would have to be a
ten 1 out of 3 times, but 16/51 is only 1 in 3.1875.
The
situation is often thought to be different when you have
a Blackjack. The dealer is likely to offer you "even
money" instead of the insurance bet. This is just the
same old insurance bet with a simplification thrown in.
Let's ignore the "even money" name, and look at
what happens when you insure a Blackjack. Let's say you
bet $10, and have a Blackjack. You would normally collect
$15 for this, unless the dealer also has a blackjack, in
which case you push or tie.
Let's assume that the dealer has an Ace up, and you decide
to take insurance for the full amount, or $5. Now, two things
can happen:
-
The dealer has a Blackjack. I tie with the $10, but collect
2:1 on the $5 insurance bet for a total profit of $10.
- The
dealer does not have Blackjack. I lose the $5, but collect
$15 for my BJ. Total profit, again $10.
In
either case, once I make the insurance bet, I'm guaranteed
a profit of $10, or even money for my original bet.
So, casinos allow me to eliminate the insurance bet altogether,
and simply declare that I want even money for my blackjack
when the dealer has an Ace showing.
| You're
probably thinking that sounds like a pretty good deal.
You're guaranteed a profit even if the dealer does
have Blackjack. Just remember that the guaranteed
profit comes at a price. You'll win more money in
the long run by holding out for the $15, even though
you'll sometimes end up empty-handed. Nonetheless,
many players are adamant that they prefer to take
even money when offered. Just be aware that you're
costing yourself money when you make that choice.
The
basic strategy player should simply never take the
insurance bet, even the "even money" variety.
Card counters on the other hand can often detect situations
where more than one-third of the remaining cards are
ten-valued, and the bet is then a profitable one.
So, unless you know the bet is favorable, just ignore
it.
In
a game in which dealer must hit 16 and stand on 17,
the player's strategy should usually be: Always stand
on 17 or higher. Stand on any number from 13 through
1 if dealer's showing card is 6 or lower, but hit
if dealer's card is 7 through 10, or an ace. Hit 12
or under. Count an ace as 1 for any number up to 17
(that is, hit for-to-ace, counting it as 7).
Double
down on 11 unless dealer shows an ace, and on 10 unless
dealer shows an ace or 10-point card. Do not double
down on other totals. |
|
Always
split aces or eights (most gambling houses do not permit
aces to be split). Never split face cards, tens, fives,
or fours. Split other pairs unless dealer's showing card
is 7 or higher, or an ace.
OK,
now that you've managed to memorize all of that, practice
your skill on our Free Games
before going off to one of our recommended casinos!
Back
to Top
STRATEGY
IN CRAPS
Start
on the Pass Line
A good beginner strategy is to start with a minimum pass
line bet, backed by single odds.
If the
bets win, place a new pass line bet with double odds. Keep
the amount of your original pass line bet (flat bet) the
same, but increase the odds bet.
If those
bets win, go for triple odds.
Don't
increase your minimum flat bet on the pass line until you
are winning. Then only increase it by 50% of your previous
wager. If you lose, go back to the minimum flat bet.
Add
a Come Bet
When you are comfortable playing the pass line, you can
add a minimum come bet with single odds. If you win, double
and then triple your come odds.
Don't
increase your minimum come bet (flat bet) until you are
winning. Then only increase it by 50% of your previous wager.
If you lose, go back to the minimum bet.
Don't
Pass Line and Don't Come Bets
When you have gained experience by placing pass line and
come bets, you can try don't pass line and don't come bets
with odds.
Use
the same betting strategy: wager the minimum bet with steadily
increasing odds. After a win, you can increase your next
flat bet by 50%. After a loss, you can wager a minimum flat
bet.
Taking
Odds vs. Laying Odds
You "take" odds on a pass line or come bet, but
"lay" odds on a don't pass line or don't come
bet. Laying odds on don't bets means that you have to wager
more to win less since don't betters have an advantage once
the point has been established.
Place
Win on 6 or 8
Although the house advantage is relatively low on this bet,
you should really only consider it when you are winning
your pass line (or don't pass line) and come (or don't come)
bets with odds, and the number 6 or 8 is not already covered
by your bets.
OK,
now that you've managed to memorize all of that, practice
your skill on our Free Games
before going off to one of our recommended casinos! |
