You Have to Bet Big to Win Big
This section of my site is dedicated to one of my favorite hobbies, gambling. I love gambling for many reasons, the risk involved, the atmosphere of a casino or riverboat, the tacky gaudy decorations of most casinos, and most importantly the simple fact that if you play your cards right, you can walk away a big winner. Some people consider gambling a second job, but it is pure recreation for me. I will do my best to help you get the most out of your gambling experience and hopefully help you walk away a winner.
Now I know the first question you have is, where can I go to gamble? The answer to that lies within your age. If you are under 18 you are stuck sitting around your buddy's house drinking Busch Light, playing low stakes games of poker for pocket change. If you are between 18 and 21 you can go to some Indian Reservations to their low rate casinos. I try to stay away from reservation casinos because they are loaded with slots and video poker machines, and most are limited to one table game. The best place to go, if you are over 21, is a riverboat or a Las Vegas casino. They tend to have a vast array of table games for you to choose from. Pictured below are some of my favorite casinos in Las Vegas.
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| Bellagio Hotel Casino | Caesars Palace Hotel Casino | Flamingo Hotel Casino |
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| Luxor Hotel Casino | Mirage Hotel Casino | MGM Grand Hotel Casino |
These Casinos are all open and serve liqour 24 hours of the day, seven days of the week, so you have to be careful. It is easy to lose track of time and not get a wink of sleep the whole weekend while enjoying your stay in Vegas.
Now it't time to place your bets. When most people think casino, they think slots. This is wrong, you should avoid slots and use them as a last ditch effort. Be a man and stick to table games. I recommend Caribbean Stud Poker, Blackjack or a good Hold 'em table.
Blackjack
Blackjack is by far my favorite table game. The odds are about even and you usually come out ahead if you know how to play. Most people know the basics of blackjack, try to beat the dealer without busting (going over 21). Everyone knows the dealer hits on 16 and holds on 17, so a rookie trys to play by the same rules. This is wrong, you have to play to break the dealer. If the dealer has a two through six showing and you have anything higher than 12 total you should stand. There are more cards that will make the dealer bust than will keep him in the game. You also need to know how to split and double down. That is where you make your money, not from blackjacks. Splitting is easy, you simply place another bet on the table to "split" your cards and play two separate hands. Always split aces and eights and you will never go wrong. Split anything else and you are asking for trouble. Doubling down is a little more difficult. You once again place another bet out there to have the dealer give you one single card. Always double down when you have a total of eleven. When your total is ten, double on everything except the dealer showing ten or ace. If you have a total of nine, ten or eleven or if you have a "soft" 17 (an ace plus a 6 or less), double against a dealer showing anything two through six. Sometimes it isn't clear what you should do, in that case, trust your gut instinct. Another important thing in blackjack is betting strategy. Sure you can play the table minimum everyhand, but I will leave with more money than you. I recommend what I call progressive betting. Start with the table minimum and everytime you win up your bet another five dollars. When you lose, start over at the table minimum again. Sure it is gonna hurt to watch the dealer rake 50 dollars worth of chips away from you, but look at the stack of chips you racked up while getting your bet that big. You are way ahead. The final rule of thumb with blackjack is when you are way up they change dealers, leave the table. Casinos are known to use ringers, dealers who let you get up then they bring in another more experienced dealer to take that money back. Know when to leave.
Caribbean Stud
Another good game is Caribbean Stud. It is stud poker, but instead of bluffing out opponents you play your hand against the dealers hand. You begin by placing your ante to see your cards. To stay in the game you place double your ante for your bet. You should always play your hand if you have a pair or better. The dealer must qualify with a king-ace or better for you to get a decent payout. If the dealer doesnt qualify, you only get paid one to one, but if the dealer does qualify and you beat him, you get a payout based on your hand. Another big factor in Caribbean Stud is the progressive slot. You place a dollar chip in the slot and if you have a big hand like a fullhouse, flush, four of a kind, straight flush or royal flush, you get a major payout even if the dealer doesn't qualify.
Hold 'em
Hold 'em is one of the most popular poker games around right now. If you turn on the Travel Channel at night your odds of catching the World Poker Tour are pretty good. Those guys are good and they make a living gambling. In hold 'em you start by placing your ante and receiving two cards face down. Then five cards are placed face down in the middle of the table. You are allowed to look at your two cards to decide if you want to play the hand or not. If you want to play you begin placing bets like you would in any other poker game. Once the bet has been called the first three cards of the five that are still face down are turned over. This is referred to as the flop. After the flop you repeat the betting procedure. The forth card is then turned over. After another round of betting the final card is flipped followed by the final round of betting. The object of the game is to make the best five card hand you can using your two cards and the five community cards. To win at Hold'em you have to know how to bluff and how to bust your opponents' balls. You can't let it be known you have a good hand or no one will bet, and if you show your hand is weak your opponent will pick up on it and raise the bet. Ball busting is important. Get under your opponents' skin and force him to make stupid moves. It's dirty, but are you trying to make friends or take money from these people? You better be tryign to make money. If you want to make friends, go join a country club.
I Shoulda Walked Away While I Was Up
So you lost your ass after you were up big. I told you to walk away at dealer changes. Now you can't buy groceries or Christmas gifts for the kids because you lost almost everything. How are you gonna break the news to your family? Don't sweat it man, I still have an ace in the hole for you. Even the best of us don't walk when we should and it sickens us to think how much we just lost. Well like I said earlier, save slot machines for a last ditch effort. But don't go to just any old one armed bandit and expect to win. There is one machine that will save your ass.
The I Dream of Jeannie nickel slot machine has saved me more than once. It is the only machine I will put my precious last dollars in. After Jeannie has granted a few wishes, master, go back to the table games and find the dealer that treated you good early in the night. Since you are progressive betting, leave your first loss after you break even, go home and call 1-800-BETS-OFF.
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