Play Let It Ride Poker and Win!

Let it Ride poker is a variant poker game that uses the poker hand ranking, but that is about all from the original game.

Since it's a game of negative expectation, you have to play correctly to trim the house's odds. This article is all about how to play let it ride poker and win as well as have some fun.

The game

Playing let it ride poker is easy.

You play against the dealer, as in blackjack, on a blackjack table in fact, but with a different felt design.

The dealer uses a 52 card deck, and shuffles as the game begins. To begin, each player must make three bets, each with at least the house minimum in each case.

There are three circles for each bet marked $, 2 and 1. The dealer then deals three cards to each player, face up, and two card (called community cards because they are used by all the players) face down.

The object is to have a pair of 10s or better. This is an automatic win. However, your three cards may be very promising and you might hope to use the two community cards to complete a great hand.

So as play begins, the dealer asks if you will let your bet stand (meaning the circle marked 1). You can leave it (let it ride), or take it back if you feel the cards you have are not promising. This bet has nothing to do with the next circle marked 2, however.

The dealer then opens one of the community cards. You check your hand, and if you have a pair of 10s or better, you are a winner. The dealer will ask if you wish to let your second bet stand. You may, or take it back.

You can never take back the bet marked $.

The dealer then opens the second community card, and you can see if you won or lost. Unlike poker, there is no bluffing, no card substitution and no raising a bet.

Strategy - play let it ride poker and win

The strategy to play win at let it ride poker is as follows:

If you have no pair of 10s in the first instance, you ask the first bet back. Simple as that. If a community card gives you pair of tens or better, you will win anyway.

If you have the makings of a flush or royal flush, you may choose to let it ride. The odds are reduced each time a card is exposed, so you can limit your losses in each instance to the $ circle bet.

Following is a guide on what to with what you dealt on the first three cards.

Play let it ride poker and win actions

First Three Cards Let it ride Remove Bet Pair of 10’s or higher Yes No Three of a Kind Yes No 3 card possible Straight Flush Yes No 3 card possible Royal Flush Yes No Flush/Straight with two 10 value cards Yes No J,9,8/10,9,7/10,8,7 of the same suit Yes No K,Q,J/Q,J,10 any suit Yes No Any Pairs from 2-9 No Yes 9,10,J any suit No Yes A,K,Q any suit No Yes All Others No Yes

If you follow the above, you can bring the odds of the house into your favor.

Now here follows some good advice for the last card betting.

You must remember that this is a negative expectation game, so if you are a winner already by the forth card, you naturally leave your bet ride for the second circle.

If you are still in a wondering position, for a flush or straight, you can let it ride if your stake is sufficient, as the odds have reduced for house greatly by this point. If not, take back your bet, and leave it for a better hand.

Play let it ride poker win and have some fun!

This is great game for its excitement and is easy play,this is a game for young and young at heart. Try it for yourself and see.

Blackjack Card Games

Blackjack is a popular card game played in casinos. The main objective of a blackjack card game is to get the point as close to twenty-one as possible, but not exceeding it. The blackjack card game is mainly divided into casino blackjack and online blackjack. Both follow almost the same betting procedures and strategies. There are slight differences between the blackjack played in land based casinos and that in online casinos. The main difference is in the card counting strategy.

Blackjack is played at a table and allows for up to seven players per game. The first step is to make a bet. If the game is played in a land based casino, chips are used for the bet. The desired amount of chips is placed in the bet area. If the game is online, the bet is made by the value of the chips. The value of face cards is 10 points. Aces can be either 1 or 11 in value. Other cards are represented by their number. The first game consists of two cards. The player automatically wins when these cards make a combination of any ten and an ace. The player can ask for additional card when the initial card combination is less than twenty-one. This is called hit. Refusing additional card is called stand. If a player gets a combination of more than twenty-one, he automatically loses. This is called bust. A player wins when the dealer automatically loses the game.

The betting options in blackjack card games are insurance, surrender, early surrender, double down, even money and split. If the dealer shows an ace card, the player can choose an insurance option. The insurance wager can be up to half the bet amount. Players can double the wager amount up to the bet amount. If a player has two cards with equal value, he is allowed to select a splitting option. The player may select the surrender option by giving up half the amount to the dealer.

Players generally prefer real space casinos. Real space casinos offer player incentives, free trips, free shows and perks. However, online blackjack card games are also popular and easy to learn. Online casinos offer bankroll bonuses as player incentives. The disadvantage of online blackjack is that it lacks the playing environment. The user has to confirm the license of the blackjack casino software before downloading it. He must also check customer support services, wagering requirements and payout percentages before going in for an online game.

My Online Casino: Love at First Sight

I’m not ashamed to admit it: I love to gamble. Whether I’m strategically placing my chips on a roulette table in Las Vegas, mindlessly tapping the ″Play Max Credits″ button on a slot machine at a nearby Indian casino, or rolling the dice with my monthly bunco group, I am enchanted. I love the thrill of possibility - the possibility of walking away with more money that I had when I started. Granted, that happens less frequently than I’d like, but it does happen. And, over the years, playing casino games has entertained and delighted me. When I look at my array of platinum level players’ cards, I fondly remember the bonus points I’ve accrued and the freebies they’ve allowed me to enjoy: hotel rooms, exceptional entertainment, wonderful meals, and an assortment of amenities.

When I first encountered an online casino, I was naturally suspicious. Who was running this Internet casino? How could I be sure they were honest? Were there strings attached to the bonus they were offering?

I started my online gaming experience with a free casino - or rather the free version of a casino that also takes real money. I’m pleased to report that my experience with that casino and other online casinos has been, on the whole, very positive. However, I’m not naive enough to think that there aren’t some bad apples in the barrel. Here are some of the standards I use when I choose an Internet casino:

* A solid customer support system, with support offered 24-7-365 via live chat and/or a toll-free number

* The opportunity to play free casino games, either via a stand alone free casino or free chips to play in the real online casino

* Solid online gaming software, in both flash and java versions

* Evidence that the site has been awarded an quality online casino seal and that it is audited by a third party

* Reasonable payout rules, particularly regarding the timing of withdrawals and whether bonus money can be withdrawn

* A wide variety of available payment options

I also have standards when it comes to playability. I want to thoroughly enjoy my online gaming experience, so I look for sites that offer:

* A wide variety of games, such as blackjack, poker, slots, and roulette

* Live chat with other players

* Generous bonuses and other player rewards

* Progressive jackpots

Online casinos can be just as fun as Vegas casinos, with the added bonus that you don’t have to travel or pay for a hotel room. I’ve become a convert, and if you like gambling as much as I do, you should try out an online casino. Good luck!

Card Counting: Secrets of a Master Blackjack Player

Being a blackjack pro entails many benefits Cash rewards for a winning blackjack expert range from thousands to million dollars. You’ll also gain the respect of your friends and co-players. So how exactly does one win at a blackjack game? Read on and discover how.

It is easy to learn how to play blackjack. Like any other game, discovering the correct techniques and when best to utilize them is a crucial element in succeeding. And in blackjack, card counting is the choicest strategy every card player should discover.

Why is card counting famous among blackjack players? Anyone enthusiastic to win in blackjack can learn how to count cards. Card counting is a uncomplicated system of adding or subtracting 1. Card counting entails that a player assigns a particular value for every card in the deck. Neutral cards are given zero values. Let’s use this simple example: if a three-value card is given, you add 1. If it’s a ten-value card, you subtract 1.

A blackjack expert using the card counting technique never splits his 10s. No matter what card is shown by the dealer, he splits all values of 8 and aces instead. Mastering card counting doesnt assure anybody of a sure win. He knows that the strategy only provides him a bigger chance of winning, but he needs to do his part of properly applying it on the game.

Different casinos in different places observe varying rules. Other casinos even prohibit the use of the card counting system, while some others change the number of cut cards making card counting inefective.

Present-day technology now provides demonstrations on how to do the strategy right in DVDs. These videos offer interactive games that demonstrate helpful techniques on standing, splitting, double down, and a lot more. Other easy-to-learn tricks are highlighted in the videos.

Blackjack cheat sheets are also utilized by starters to see the development of their games. As with any other game, the method likewise involves constant practice.

Every games output varies with each players strategy. If you know whats best to use for every game, then you have more opportunities of bringing home the bacon. If you dont, then more practice will perhaps do the trick.

Money Management

What is perhaps the single most factor that separates long-term winners from eventual losers? If you gave one of the common answers, like luck or game knowledge, you are incorrect. The answer is money management. Sure, luck helps and knowledge of the game you are playing is a must. However, unless you learn to manage your money properly, you are destined to fail. Money management is not simply playing within your limits. It goes way beyond that. Today we talk about one aspect of money management-the daily bankroll.

A simple way for most people to get started is to create a bankroll for your night out or whatever. For instance, let’s say you will play Blackjack today. Decide what is the most money you are willing to lose. For our example, let’s say we are setting our daily bankroll at £100. Now we could rush off to the £25 table and try to stake our claim to fame, but that would be foolish. To win over the long run it’s important to be able to withstand losing streaks.

One good way to do this is to divide your daily bankroll by 20. This will give you 20 bets to start with. It also helps those new to money management figure out how much to wager. In our example, we have a £100 bankroll. After we divide it by 20, we end up with £5 units. The ideal situation is to find a table where we can bet £5 hands. It might be tempting to run off to a £5 table, but £1-£2 would be much better. This will allow you to fluctuate your bet downward if desired.

Keeping a general idea of what your current bankroll divided by 20 will allow you to raise your bets. For example, if your bankroll grows to £200, you can now start laying out those £10 wagers. If you hate math, just stick around your original figure and have fun.

Blackjack: How Counting Cards Works – Tips to Help You Win

Why Card Counting Works

Even with the most favourable playing conditions and playing without error to a statistically perfect blackjack strategy the house will still have an edge. This means the chances are that you will lose more money than you make. However, the house edge in such favourable playing conditions is quite small, sometimes less than 1%. If there were some way to gain just a tiniest bit more of an advantage the edge could be tipped in the player's favour. But a statistically perfect blackjack basic strategy is statistically perfect, no? Surely there's nothing that can be improved?

But there is. There is one thing that these blackjack strategies don't take into account. That is once a card has been dealt and discarded then it can't be dealt again until the deck is reshuffled. This means that the statistical likelihood of a card of the value of the discarded card is reduced. In a single deck game of blackjack there are only four of each card value (except ten value cards obviously) so once one has been drawn there's 25% less chance that a card of that value is drawn than if all four were still in the deck. Basic blackjack strategy doesn't take this into account. It assumes that the only cards no longer in the deck are the two cards in your hand and the dealer's up card. However if you have an idea of the cards left in the deck you can modify the size of your wager (or your choice of plays, or both) accordingly.

It is a statistical fact that a deck with a higher than usual amount of ten value cards remaining will be more favourable to the player than the dealer. This is because the dealer has to hit if he has less than seventeen he is more likely to bust if there are more high value cards remaining in the deck. The player has no such obligations and can therefore afford to stand or double down on lower value hands than he would normally. The player can also afford to bet larger amounts because he is more likely to win a higher number of hands.

Conversely, if the remaining cards in the deck are rich in low value cards the situation will statistically favour the dealer. He is less likely to go bust if he deals himself a poor hand. In these situations a player could lower his bets and modify his decisions on splitting and doubling down. Splitting and doubling down require doubling the size of your bet. Therefore those decision should be limited to situations where the likelihood of winning outweighs the extra edge the dealer has from the reduced likelihood of going bust.

Card Counting Myths

Firstly you don't have to be a mathematical genius or an autistic savant to do it. You don't need to be capable of incredible feats of memory, you don't literally count each and every card and cross it off a mental list. Most card counting techniques are simple systems that are easy to pick up, although they take time to master.

Counting cards is not illegal either, it's just playing the game with more skill than most people expect. Therefore you can't get arrested for card counting. However, casinos are well within their rights to ban you from their premises if they think you are counting cards. They are private clubs and they can, if they want, eject anyone they want to for whatever reason they like. Also, because they are private clubs, you can be charged with trespassing if you attempt to gain entry to casino that you've previously been banned from. Most casinos are unlikely to ban you outright though. If they suspect you're counting cards the most likely scenario is that a very large gentleman (probably in an ill-fitting suit) will tap you on the shoulder and inform you that you are welcome to play any game in the casino other than blackjack from now on.

With that out of the way there are some truths about card counting that are also worthy of mentioning. If you are going to see any success with counting cards then you need to have mastered your basic blackjack strategy. Without blackjack strategy in place you won't be able to exploit the advantage that card counting can give you. Counting cards is the easy part, figuring out if and how you should modify your strategy to make the most of your card counting advantage is the hard part.

It is also worth noting that the edge counting cards will give you is not huge, some people are sceptical as to whether it really gives any appreciable advantage at all. You should not expect to win every hand. If you win half the hands you play then you're doing well. Luck still has a large part to play. Remember that although card counting will tell you that you're statistically more likely to draw cards that will help you win, it doesn't mean you always will. Sometimes you will hit losing streaks and you will still lose money despite your mastery of basic strategy and card counting techniques. Even the most famous card counters lose on occasion. However, if your strategy and card counting technique are good, and your bankroll is big enough to absorb any unlucky losing streaks, then you should hopefully win more than you lose.

For more on black card counting systems visit Casino Lagoon a casino gambling blog packed with information on casino games including: poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, and more.

Egypt Casinos

Egypt is a country in Africa that permits gambling and visitors of Egypt will find that there are plenty of casinos in Egypt to enjoy. Each year residents and tourists flock to the Egyptian casinos in search of exciting gambling entertainment. There are over 24 Egypt casinos in existence today. The majority of Egypt casinos can be found in three cities: Alexandria, Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh, with a good deal of casinos situated particularly in Cairo. Casino cruises are available in Egypt as well, and gambling is quite popular in the country.

At present, Cairo is home to some twenty Egypt Casinos: the Al Andalous Casino, Al Karnak Casino, Cairo Marriot Hotel and Omar El Salam Hotel, the Casino Midway, the Casino Panorama, the Casino Semiramis, the Cedars Casino, the Cleopatra Casino, the Conrad Cairo Casino, the El Gerzirah Sheraton Hotel, El Mamoura Tours Casino, the Sayeda Zeinab, the Felfala Casino, the Inter Casino and the Nile Hilton are among them. In the meantime, one casino can be found in the city of Alexandria: The El Salamlek Palace and two casinos are established in Sharm el Sheikh: the Hilton Sharms Dream Resort and the Casino Royale.

Popular games in Egypt casinos consist of American Roulette, Blackjack, Poker, Punto Banco, Stud Poker and Roulette. Many of the casinos in Egypt offer slot machine access, and a select few offer pull tabs or video casino games. Of course, after a day or evening of gambling, visitors in Egypt casinos may want to dine at the restaurants located within most casino environments, and some guests actually stay at the hotels adjacent to some of the Egyptian casinos. Finally, Egypt casinos, especially those in Cairo, are often established near shopping centers and cultural attractions, making the act of touring Egypt and all it has to offer a simple task.

Of course, the best way to enjoy the excitement that a casino has to offer is to combine such excitement with one of Egypt’s popular attractions - cruises down the Nile do just that. The Shehrayar and Shehrazad are cruise ships that offer spacious accommodations and splendid gambling opportunities. The ships can be docked in Cairo and passengers can enjoy the elegant dining, swimming pool, the gym, and the extraordinary view of the Nile Valley. Passengers can book one of 69 cabins available and choose from a 3, 4 and 7 night stay on board either ship.

Blackjack - What Are the Odds?

It goes without saying but we’ll say it anyway: the odds are always in favor of the house. How else do you think they can create billion dollar mega-casinos in Las Vegas? The Blackjack rules are carefully structured to ensure a house edge.

But just how heavily are the Blackjack odds weighed in favor of the house? If you’re a smart player, not as great as you might think - and certainly not insurmountable. Let’s start with some basic facts about Blackjack odds with the most common Blackjack rules.

The house’s advantage - also known as the house edge - comes from the fact that the dealer’s hand is played last. All players that bust (go over 21) lose immediately. Then, the dealer plays its hand and if the dealer busts, players that don’t bust are paid. The casino makes its profit from the fact that players who bust lose immediately, even if the dealer subsequently busts. Regardless of how favorable the Blackjack rules might be in a particular casino, this one aspect always gives the house an edge.

If you, the player, use the same strategy as the dealer, standing on 17 or higher and hitting on 16 and less, you will bust approximately 29% of the time and the dealer will bust 29% of the time. This would seemingly make the odds even.

Ah, but remember: Blackjack rules say that the dealer wins the bets of all players that bust, even if the dealer busts. This puts the house’s edge against you at about 8% or so. However, since you are paid three for two when you get a blackjack dealt to you, so this reduces the house edge down to just under 6%.

If you follow all the Blackjack rules and play perfect basic strategy the house edge is reduced to about .5% in game with favorable rules. By favorable rules, we mean the following rules, which you are only likely to find in a 6 deck game:

* Dealer stands on all 17s

* Double down on any first two cards

* Double down after splitting pairs

* Natural pays the proper 3 for 2 odds

Many games have subtle variations of these rules, some of which help the player and others which hurt the player. Taking the above rules as the baseline, here are the common variations you will find and how each one affects the house edge. Positive values add to the house edge and negative values decrease the house edge.

Eight decks: +.02%

Natural pays 6 to 5: +1.45%

Dealer hits soft 17: +.20%

Double down on 9-11 only: +.09%

Double down on 10 or 11 only: +.22%

No double after splitting pairs: +.13%

Double down on any number of cards: -.21%

Resplitting of Aces: -.06%

Of course, your goal is to avoid the unfavorable variants (one which add to the casino’s edge), such as: Naturals pay 6 to 5, or Dealer hits soft 17. To calculate the edge against you in any blackjack game, simply take the baseline edge of .5% and add or subtract the values of the variants.

For example, assume you find a 6 deck game in which the Dealer hits a soft 17 and you can only double down on a two card count of 10 or 11. This game has a house edge of: .50% (baseline) plus .20% (for dealer hits soft 17) plus .22% (for double down on 10 or 11 only), for a total house edge agains you of .92%.

Your job is to look for those games with rules that give you the best odds. Good luck, gamble responsibly and always remember that it’s just a game - so have fun!

Top Poker

The top poker games depend on the player. Some people love video poker—man against machine. Sure, your chances for winning aren't as great as playing against a human player, but when it comes to gambling, to each his own. Blackjack is not your best game statistically either, but that doesn't stop people from playing the game. When it comes down to it, you have a better chance of winning a game you enjoy.

There are a number of video poker games available. Deuces Wild, Jokers Wild, Jacks or Better, and All-American are some of the top poker variations you'll find at online casinos. Some casinos will have one or two video poker variations, while others will have the gamut. It may take a few games to decide which one you like best, so play at an online casino that has a wide variety of top poker selections.

It is not uncommon for experienced video poker players to play more than one type of video poker. A video poker aficionado might have more than one window open at the same time. The trick to winning is to not aim too high. While you might want to go for that Royal Flush and get a big payout, you can actually win more money if you get a series of lower-playing hands.

This is the main secret behind how top poker players operate. With online gambling, slow and steady wins the race. Don't bet it all too early. If you win a few dollars here, there on smaller hands, this can really build up in the long run. Once you have built up a pot with smaller wins, you can then think about making larger and larger bets. Top poker players do not make huge bets right off because they know this will land them quickly in the red. Just like live poker, video poker takes a little bit of finesse.

Banker on the Bowls

Lem Banker was full of holiday spirit on Wednesday, though make no mistake about it: he wasn’t dipping into the egg nog.

An occasional glass of wine at dinner, OK, but booze really doesn’t fit into this octogenarian’s routine.

Many people still view Banker as the world’s best living sports handicapper, despite the rise of young computer whizzes who have failed to drive him out of the business.

″My numbers are strange compared to others,″ he said.

″But they still work.″

A quick call — Lem gives his home number to cocktail waitresses, his garbagemen and favored writers, but not ″casino idiots″ — to inquire about Thursday night’s Las Vegas Bowl turned into a rather lengthy conversation, with Banker ascending his soap box to espouse views on myriad subjects

Depending on his mood, they might range from animal rights (fellow gamblers joke that Lem never met a dog he didn’t like) to politics (a true-blue Democrat, he can rant about Gee Dubya all day, given the chance) and ″casino jerks″ (whom, he argued, resemble Scrooge a lot more than Santa Claus).

Banker likes Oregon plus a field goal in the Las Vegas Bowl, which has caused excitement this year with its Ducks-BYU match-up.

Las Vegas is full of Mormon residents and graduates of LDS-affiliated BYU who aren’t above plunking down a few bucks on the ol’ alma mater.

The Cougars opened as 4-point favorites, but the pointspread had fallen to minus 3 on Wednesday as bettors rode the dog.

″It’s just a so-so play, nothing super,″ Banker said.

″My number was 1, so I like it at 3 as much as I did at 4.

″Why do I like Oregon?

″They won a pie-eating contest between the two teams and Donald’s three nephews — Huey, Duey and Louey — play for the Ducks.

″I’ll bet $2 on plus 3 and $1 on the money line.

″Get my drift?

″I bet all my games on the money line.

″Really.″

Asked about the total, Banker could be heard punching numbers into a calculator like those he has used for years.

″My number is 54 and the books have it 62, so it’s much too high,″ he said.

″Go under.

″In fact, I’m going to bet it myself.″

His top NFL play this week is Houston, which is getting 9 at home from AFC South Division champion Indianapolis.

″I like the game at 10 too,″ he said.

″The Colts will be looking for home-field advantage in the playoffs, but I think emotion is with the Texans.″

Banker believes NFC North Division champ Chicago should be laying a bigger number at Detroit.

″My numbers say 7.07 and they’ve got it 4,″ he observed.

″Numbers are going to be shaded because a lot of these clubs that already have made the playoffs won’t be putting their best feet forward, won’t be playing hard because they don’t want anyone to get hurt.

″If these guys can’t play it straight with the numbers, though, they’re not going to get any bets from me.″

Banker cautions players to be careful betting the league this week.

″The lines are tough,″ he said.

″Lines all come from Costa Rica and offshore these days and they’re all the same.

″It’s becoming increasingly hard to bet in this town when you have to lay 11/10 and you can get $1.04 or $1.05 down South.

″These morons don’t want people betting on the Internet because they want everything for themselves.

″It’s not enough that they have all the suckers who play slots, blackjack, video poker and whatever else.

″They want to stick it to the honest sports gambler too.″

Honesty and integrity are big deals to Banker, who settled in Sin City a half-century ago when young Rat Packers (and the Mafia) ruled the Strip and comps flowed freely.

″I’ve spent a lifetime building my repuation,″ he said.

″I’d like to see one of today’s sports services operators step out and accomplish what I have.

″I’m fit and work out regularly.

″My house is paid for and worth $1.5 million, my daughter’s house is paid for, I have four cars in the driveway — two Mercedeses, an Audi and a Cadillac.

″Everything’s paid for, I have no bills and I have money in the bank.

″And people who know me will tell you I’m not a high player.″

Banker doesn’t have a lengthy list of nice things to say about NFL players — he wonders how many give 100 percent all the time — but showers the colleges with accolades.

″The colleges play hard,″ he said.

Proving that he’ll wager on favorites when he gets ″the feeling,″ Banker touted Rice over Troy State in Friday’s New Orleans Bowl.

The Owls opened at minus 6, but the spread was 4 to 4 1/2 on Wednesday.

″I can’t talk about some bowl games because I’m under contract, but I really like Rice because it’s played a tougher schedule,″ Banker said.

″I know it’s in New Orleans, but not jambalaya, not Rice-A-Roni.

″Just plain Rice.″