Blackjack Quick Start Guide

Having been a blackjack dealer and gambling instructor, I have taught countless people how to playing the game of Blackjack. The game of Blackjack is a very simple one to learn, and you can be on the table playing in just minutes from now. On my main website (WiseBettor.com), I go more in detail about gambling, but this quick start guide will give you everything you need to play a game of Blackjack. For this article, we will focus on playing Blackjack online.

Before you can play a hand of Blackjack, you must place a bet on the table. The minimum bet amount required to play depends on the table you are at. All winning bets at the Blackjack table are paid even money, except a dealt Blackjack, which is paid three to two. If, for example, you have a $5 bet on the table and receive a Blackjack, you would be paid $7.50.

The game starts with you receiving two cards and the dealer receiving two cards. One card of the dealer is placed face up for you to see. This card is called the "up card" and gives you a little help in guessing what the dealer holds. Each card has a count that's equivalent to its number. So, for example, a two is worth two. The Jack, Queen and King cards are worth ten. The Ace is worth one or eleven—you decide. At the conclusion of each hand, the player closest to twenty-one wins. However, the object is not really to get as close to twenty-one as possible, rather to beat the dealer.

As the player, you go first. You can hit, stand, split, double down or surrender. Here's a description of each action.

Stand: You stay with what you have and end your turn.

Hit: You take another card. You can continue to do this until you are satisfied or bust (go over 21).

Split: If you have two cards of the same type (example: two tens), you can split them up and make two separate hands. You can only split your first two cards.

Double Down: When you double down, you double up your bet and take one final card—and end your turn. You can't double down after you have more than two cards.

Surrender: You kill the hand by taking back half of your money and giving up. Most casinos offer this now. You can only surrender when you have your first two cards.

Once your turn ends, the dealer completes the hand by drawing if needed. Most casinos are setup so that the dealer must hit until the dealer holds a 17. If the casino hits on soft 17, that means any 17 made with an ace (example: Ace and a six) is hit. A hard 17 would be something like a ten and a seven.

You are now ready to hit the Blackjack table and have some fun. It would be good to read up on some blackjack strategy before playing—to maximize your potential. You will find out some key times to not hit no matter what you have and times to double down. Blackjack is a fun game and the house has a low advantage over you—if you know how to play right.

More information :  Solid BlackJack TipsThree Online BlackJack Tips

Poker Starting Hand Guide

The game of Texas Hold’em poker takes minutes to learn, but there’s so much going on during an actual hand that it can take many years before a player is good enough to win consistently. It all starts with the first two cards. Knowing when to play and when to skip on a hand is the first crucial step to winning at Texas Hold’em poker. Today, I will run down a series of starting hands and what you should think about doing when you get them. This list assumes that you are playing at a table with seven or more players and that you are somewhat new to the game of Poker.

The Big Hands

If you receive any of the following four hands, you should raise when it’s your turn to bet. If someone raised the pot already then re-raise.

The four big hands are: AA, KK, QQ and AK.

The Limp Hands

If you find yourself with an upper level pair of eights, nines, tens or Jacks, you want to limp in the pot, which means to simply call the minimum bet. However, if someone has raised the pot, you want to consider folding. You are most likely beat. Some players will limp in with any pair, some with pairs of fours or higher and so forth. This is something you will figure out for yourself.

The Connectors

There are times when you will want to limp in with hands that can possibly pay off. Normally, you will play these hands when you are in the blinds or late position (one of the last to act). If the pot gets raised, fold.

These hands are: AQ, AJ, AT, KQ, KJ, QJ, and possibly JT. If these hands are suited, their value goes up, because you gain the possibility of a flush or straight flush.

Many newer players get in trouble with some of these hands, because they get face card envy. Learn when to lay down hands and your profits will go up. If you have a hand that is not listed here, it should most likely be folded. There are times, when on the button, where you might want to play something like a 65s (suited). However, playing too many junk hands will milk away your chips. At first, you want to play tight. As you learn the game of Poker, open up and expand your playing ability.

Roulette

Let's face it. If you don't know the terms of the game, you are going to have trouble playing. Roulette is a great game and thankfully, it's not that complicated. In this article, I'm going to explain 9 must-know Roulette terms for you. These are common Roulette terms that ever player that aspires to win must know. Take a couple minutes and read over these terms—print them out if you want. Let's get cracking.

American Wheel: If you play Roulette in Las Vegas, you are playing on an America wheel. Basically, the American wheel has the numbers 1-36 plus 0 and 00. This differs from the European wheel, which we'll talk about in a moment. Many online casinos offer different wheel options.

Column Bet: The column bet is located on the outside of the layout. It's on the right and allows you to play all 12 numbers in the column. The column bet pays 2:1 when you win.

Dozens: The dozens bet is located right under the numbers in the layout. There are three dozens in the game you can wager on—first, second and third. When you win, the wager pays 2:1.

European Wheel: The European wheel contains the numbers 1-36 plus a single 0. Unlike the American wheel, there's no 00 spot and therefore the odds are a little better.

Low or High: There are two bets—low or high. If you bet on the low, you are hoping the winning number is 1-18. The high bet is for the numbers 19-36. The bet pays even money.

Odd or Even: This even money bet is pretty simple. Bet on odd and the winning number must be odd to win. Bet on even and you need the winning number to be even.

Red or Black: Another simple even money wager. Bet on Red and you need the winning number to be red. If the winning number is green (0 or 00), both bets lose.

Split Bet: Can't make up your mind between two connecting numbers? Bet them both. By placing your chip on the line that connects the two numbers, you are making a split bet. If either number comes up, you are paid 17:1.

Straight-Up Bet: Simply put, placing a bet on any number by itself is a straight-up bet. If your number comes in, you get paid 35:1. This is the hardest to hit bet in the game, but the highest paying one.

You know now 9 vital Roulette terms. Read these over again to get them in your memory. Good luck at the Roulette table! 

Sports Betting

Horse Racing Primer. Horse racing is a very exciting and lucrative sport. Anyone who hasn't been to a good track is missing out. Winning lots of money at horse racing is very possible. In fact, it tends to get overlooked in the sports betting world. Think about this. If you were going to wager on a baseball team that was far better than the team it was facing, you might have to lay down $2.50 to $3.00 to win $1. In horse racing, you can often wager on a horse that's superior to the rest of the field (even a small field) and receive a much better line.

Since this is a primer, let's talk about the basics of horse racing itself. A horse race can consist of two or more horses. The field, as it is called, varies from race to race. There are three main finishing points in any horse race—Win, Place and Show. Win is of course first place. Second place is called Place, and Show is third. These three spots are known as "in the money." A horse that doesn't finish in the money is referred to as "also ran."

Horse racing offers a plethora of wagering options. For instance, one can wager on a horse to win, place and show—also called "across the board"—or any mixture of the three. There are also other wagers, which are called "exotics". One example of an exotic wager is a Trifecta. A Trifecta wager consists of three horses that will finish in the exact listed order. For example, if a bettor placed a 5-8-1 Trifecta, the 5 horse must finish first, the 8 horse second and the 1 horse third.

Another example of an exotic wager in horse racing, and a popular one, is the Pick 4. Horse racing bettors play Pick 4's constantly. When a bettor makes a pick 4 wager, he or she is picking the winner in four consecutive races. Winners of the Pick 4 are paid from a pool of wagered money. There's also a Daily Double, Pick 3 and Pick 6. If there's no winner, the money is carried over to the next day. This happens often with the Pick 6.

One of the best things I like about horse racing is the quickness of the races. Unlike a baseball game, I don't have to wait three hours to find out if I won or not. Additionally, unlike other sports, there can be up to hundreds of races on a single day. A typical racetrack will run eight races or more per day. There are many racetracks around the country. There's a lot more to horse racing, but this primer will start you on the right path.

Baseball Betting.  Surprisingly MLB baseball betting is not at the forefront of sports betting. Those honors go to football and basketball. Why is this? Part of the reason could be due to the fact that sports bettors by in large are used to playing with spreads. MLB baseball betting doesn't make use of spreads for side betting—expect in the case of the run line. Today, we are going to cruise over the basics of betting on a MLB baseball game. We will address three main components—Betting on a side, betting on a side with the run line and the over/under line.

Betting on a Side

For those that don't know, betting on a "side" simply means picking a team to win. When you wager on MLB baseball, you are betting on the money line and not using a spread—unless you bet on the run line, which will be talked about in a moment. Here's a typical example of a betting opportunity in MLB baseball.

Seattle Mariners +110
New York Yankees -120

In the above example, you can pick either the Mariners or the Yankees. The team on the bottom is the home team. If you want to bet on the Yankees, you will need to lay $1.20 for every $1.00 you want to win. For instance, if you placed a $10 bet on the Yankees and they won, you would get back your $10 plus 8.33 in winnings. On the other hand, you could take the Mariners and get back $1.10 for every $1 wagered. If you wagered $10 on the Mariners and they won, you would get back your $10 plus $11.

Either way you play it, the team simply needs to win.

Betting on the Run Line

When you wager on the run line, you are either getting or laying 1.5 runs. The run line allows you to change the money figures. For instance, maybe there's a heavy favorite you like, but there's no way you are betting them at -200. You could bet the run line instead and knock that -200 down considerably.

Betting on the Over/Under

The over/under line is also called a "total" or "totals line." When you make this wager, you are betting on the combined score of both teams. It's pretty simple. If the line is 8 and you bet the over, you need both teams to combine for 8 or more runs to win (the exact number, 8 in this case, would be a tie and you get your money back). If you bet the under, you need them to score less than the number.

Betting on MLB baseball is not only fun, it's profitable too. You now know the basics of how baseball betting works.