Casino Booms

Playing Online Blackjack: Knowing When to Give Up!
When playing Blackjack at a casino with others, I am always shocked how seldom I see someone surrender a hand. In fact, it is so rare, that it often requires explanation! Most casinos - including most online casinos - allow you to surrender a hand of Blackjack after all the cards have been dealt (and if the dealer is showing an Ace, he checks and has no Blackjack - if the dealer has Blackjack, all players lose and no surrender is possible).
Before you are dealt another card you can "surrender" your hand, at which point the dealer will take half of your wage and return the other half to you. I was in Las Vegas not too long ago, playing Blackjack at one of my favorite spots, and I never saw anyone surrender! That is, not until I had done it and explained the strategy. Generally, the first reaction I get to a surrender is "What?!?" Then, after the surprise, I get the typical, "You need to man up dude and play the hand." And, these reactions come from otherwise solid Blackjack players. Go figure.
The goal in Blackjack is to reduce the house advantage. It is one of the few games where you can chisel away at the house edge until it is almost gone; you can get it to the point where you are almost playing even up, and if it is longevity you are looking for, you can play a long time without losing (or winning) any money. Of course, there are ways to try and make money and get out while ahead, but the starting point is always to get the playing field level. Diminish the house edge in every way you can. And, one of those ways is to surrender your hand where the odds are that you will lose more than half your money if you play.
Don't you hate getting dealt that 16 and the Dealer is showing a ten. Of course you do because you are going to lose that hand 77% of the time. Like all the "basic rules" for Blackjack, the surrender rules have been quantified by the statisticians and the results are clear. If you hit this hand - as the rules require - you are only going to win 23% of the time - your net loss would be 54% of your total wagers on this hand. (If you don't hit the hand, your losses will be marginally worse, but it still rounds to losing 54% of your wagers.)
But what if you surrender your 16 against the Dealer's ten? You will cap your losses and only lose 50% of your wagers on this hand. Not a great situation, but better than any other alternative.
To be a solid player and trim that house edge add these rules to your Blackjack play:
(1) Surrender when you are dealt 16 and the Dealer is showing a 9, 10, or Ace;
(2) Surrender when you are dealt 15 and the Dealer is showing a 10; and
(3) if the Dealer hits a soft 17, then Surrender when you are dealt 15, 17, or a pair of 8s and the Dealer is showing an Ace.
Before you go to an online casino make sure that you practice free no download blackjack for a while.

It is no secret that one of the reasons people wanted a prepaid card was to use it to to gamble online. If they couldn't get a credit card, they could use the prepaid's 16-digit card number, expiration date, and security code, to place money bets with online casino and horse racing sites. As the U.S. Congress passed laws prohibiting such sites from operating in the United States, the sites themselves moved offshore. For the past few years the legality of online gambling has been something of a gray area.
The online gaming industry was thrown into turmoil when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed by Congress in 2006. The law was meant to stop certain electronic financial transactions (ETFs) surrounding online gambling while encouraging foreign governments to cooperate with the U.S. in policing  law was passed on the coattails of ethics reforms and Homeland Security legislation. But at the last minute, certain enforcement measures were stripped from the bill that became law. A section in the law A�5363 - Prohibition on Acceptance of Any Financial Instrument for Unlawful Internet Gambling states that "No person engaged in the business of betting or wagering may knowingly accept, in connection with the participation of another person, in unlawful Internet gambling - [credit, EFTs, checks, drafts, or the proceeds of any other form of financial transaction as set forth in federal regulation]."
U.S. citizens continue to gamble online, and gaming sites continued to operate.
Prepaid cards are popular with gamblers/gamers, because the sites can credit any winnings to these cards. The cards can then be taken to an ATM machine to convert the winnings to cash. Or the card can simply be used for purchases until the balance is drawn down.
In April 2007, Rep. Barney Frank filed an amendment to the UIGEA to attempt to regulate online gambling. He was able to suspend enforcement of the provisions, while clearer rules about online gambling were drafted into law. The suspension expired June 1, 2010, so the UIGEA is in full effect.
The law enforces steep penalties on financial institutions for allowing 'illegal Internet gambling' transactions to occur via electronic funds transfers. In response, prepaid card issuers are now monitoring cardholders accounts and preventing funds transfers--payments or winnings--from being transacted. For example, Netspend is informing its cardholders that it will not allow such payments to go through.

"Enjoy gambling in the comfort of your homes," this is what gambling online sites are promoting nowadays. Giving a cut-throat competition to the traditional casinos, the online casinos are gaining popularity with each passing day and gratifying the gamblers by offering much more than just quintessential gambling services.
Ever since the concept of civilization came into existence, gambling was witnessed and enjoyed in every era as a royal game. Even today, gambling is rolling in its full charm and captivating the gambling and betting enthusiasts in large. However, there is a tad change in the overall concept and all the credit for that goes to these online gambling casinos, in which great gamblers are showing their latest interest.
It's obvious that if people are switching over to the online casinos, then there must be some advantages associated with these gambling online sites. But in case if you are unaware of those inevitable benefits related to these online gambling casinos, then simply read on...
• No Specific Rules to be followed: All you need to get an access of these online gambling casinos is a computer and an internet connection. On the World Wide Web, there are myriad gambling online sites calling you to try out your luck. However, the best part is, the online casinos are easy to navigate and highly user friendly. Moreover, a user also doesn't need any expertise in computer to operate these gambling online sites. In addition, there are no specific rules meant to be followed by the gamblers and they even don't stand under any kind of obligation. No tuxedos, no ties, no suits are required to play on the online casinos.
• Free Trials: Play online casino whenever you want is another great advantage coupled with the online gambling casinos. Fortunately, if you even don't have money in hand, simply get on to any gambling online site and select the free trial option, in which you even have chances to win if your luck is that strong. So it's undoubtedly an incredible benefit that gamblers can't even think of having at any of the casinos in Las Vegas.
• Awesome Playing Environment: For many people, playing on the online casinos is much more comfortable than driving to the nearby casino wearing lavish suits and boots. But at the online gambling sites, you don't need to appear rich as all you need is the skills and proper information regarding the platform you have chosen to play on.

With online sports betting, a world of possibilities has been opened, without limitations, where any user can make enormous sums of money in the so-called online gambling houses, if they are lucky and instincts don't fail them.
On occasions, you have to take a risk to win. This is a saying that beginners often don't follow, they start with small amounts of money, and almost always bet safe. In this way, profits add up slowly in your account. Experienced gamblers have a secret weapon: their experience and they opt to diversify their bets.
In 2008, the figures for bets online skyrocketed worldwide and a study done by the Strategy Analytics organization estimated the Internet gambling market generated 11,000 million dollars that year.
Quantitative statistics don't exist when referring to money losses in online betting. For the new player, it's advisable to not make risky bets, managing the amount of money in each bet; this way you win small amounts but also lose small amounts. It is recommended to take it as a hobby where you win money and not as a source of income. DON'T forget that in the end betting is a game of odds.
Many believe that luck is not the key and that other factors must be considered. For example, in England, the majority of bets that are made on the Internet have to do with football. Having knowledge of the sport or knowing the conditions of each player, how many cards they have accumulated or if they use a reserve player... will help to make a more accurate decision.
We should also take into account in which gambling houses we invest our money. William Hill, Landbrokes, and Bwin are the three principal companies that dominate the market of online betting.
The English William Hill has a great reputation. Founded in 1936, it is treated as one of the oldest gambling houses in Europe.
Landbroker, also English, was founded in the late 1980s. The website for this gambling house is available in an endless number of languages because of its presence in many countries around the world.
Another company with good reputation is Bwin, sponsor of Real Madrid and Milan AC. Unlike the others, this is an Austrian company that was born in 1999. Since then it's become a role model and was one of the first gambling houses that allowed live betting, meaning that it was possible to predict different results for a sporting event while the event was playing out.

Despite the constantly changing minutiae of online gambling laws and their enforcement in the United States, placing wagers online does not violate federal law, at least as long as they're not sports bets. The problem has been in funding online gambling by US residents.
The first step toward above board online gambling is finding a reputable online casino USA players are allowed to participate in. A number of online gambling websites have lists of such sites that they say are legitimate. Visit several gambling websites and review their lists to see which online casinos are consistently rated as friendly to USA players.
Your next step is to determine the method or methods you want to use to fund your play at online casinos. There are a number of types of "e-wallets" available to US players. They make their money from the fees that they take for making transactions, and the fees vary from one to another, so it's a good idea to compare before setting up an account. Here are some of them, in no particular order, and with no particular endorsement.
• eWalletXpress - an online account that lets members deposit, withdraw, and transfer funds to participating online merchants instantly.
• Neteller - an online account similar to eWalletXpress
• Wire Transfer (various brands)
• Credit cards - These can by tried, but whether or not payments will go through is a bit of a gamble itself.
• EcoCard, UseMyWallet, Quicktender, and other pre-paid debit cards - payment methods that tend to work well.
• Instant Checks (eChecks) -instant wire transfers directly from your bank account
When you find a highly reviewed casino USA players can access, and have established a payment method that works for that casino, it's a good idea to thoroughly check out the casino before starting an account there. With over 2,500 gambling sites available, you want to separate out those that operate above board from those that won't pay out or have shady terms and conditions.
Find out where the online casino is licensed. This information should be on its "About Us" page, along with information on how long it has been in business, and the software that it uses. You should favor casinos that use software platforms by Microgaming, Real Time Gaming, and Playtech, because these are generally accepted as the fairest platforms, and they have audited payout percentages.
Checking out a casino's general reputation is a matter of reading popular online gaming forums. Look for recent posts. When players have complaints about casinos, they will spell them out on the forums. Keep in mind that you'll see negative comments on just about all of them. This is normal. You may also see outrageously enthusiastic comments.
Sometimes forum comments are made by people with ulterior motives, so it's a good idea to place less emphasis on the excessively good and excessively bad comments and pay attention to those pointing out specific grievances or specific benefits. Of course, if you see a constant stream of negative comments about an online casino, you should avoid it altogether.
By following these guidelines, you're very unlikely to run afoul of US laws, which are hazy and rarely enforced to begin with, and you're more likely to have a positive online gaming experience.

You have probably come across this article because you want to use your computer and your internet connection to try and make some money online. You have also probably realized that there are no quick and easy get rich quick online schemes that actually work. There are a lot of advertisements and websites in cyberspace that promise overnight success and wealth if you purchase their program. But, just like in the real world, there is no quick and easy road to instant fame and fortune.
I know that if I had a foolproof way of making an absolute fortune on the internet I would not sell it to anybody else, because pretty soon it would not be unique.
So where do you start?
A good way to start is to become an online affiliate of an online company or program. You would then market their product or service online via your website or blog using their affiliate tracking program. Then when one of your visitors clicks on an affiliate banner or text link that appears on your site and they end up making a purchase you would get a percentage of that transaction. It all seems pretty simple, doesn't it? Well yes, it is pretty simple, but it does require a lot of hard work and long hours at your computer to get visitors to view your website or blog in the first place.
Decide what you would like to promote.
I would recommend you consider promoting online gambling. Online gambling covers a wide variety of products - there are online casinos, online poker rooms, online sports books and online bingo halls. Online gambling is a multibillion dollar a year industry and successful affiliates can earn a very decent income from it. The key is to select a niche market, you may fancy bingo, and start from there.
You need a website or blog
Setting up your own website or blog can be daunting task if you are not a technically minded person. A lot of blog hosting platforms don't allow gambling related blogs so you would need to find a blog hosting site that does. One such blog hosting site that is dedicated to hosting gambling related blogs is , they offer the latest in sophisticated blogging software, along with incredible plug-ins and features like Google Analytics, sitemaps and domain mapping being just the tip of the ice-berg. Sophisticated anti spamming software protects their environment from dodgy elements and makes sure that your blog is hosted in a reputable region. Their online social community is structured around the gambling industry and will provide invaluable information to get you on your way to becoming a successful online gambling affiliate.