The Finney School of Real Life

Educating the Information Age

How to Play Jacks or Better Video Poker

Filed under: Casinos + Gambling — admin at 3:44 pm on Sunday, April 20, 2008

Jacks or Better is a variation of five-card draw poker. You can learn how to play Jacks or Better easily if you already know the rules of poker. If you don’t, learning how to play Jacks or Better is a great introduction to the game. Though draw poker variations are not popularly played in Las Vegas, you can find many internet casinos offering games like Jacks or Better. Would you like to learn how to play Jacks or Better?

The hand ranking in Jacks or Better is the same as standard poker; with the exception that the lowest winning hand possible is a pair of jacks or better–hence the name of the game. The first step in learning how to play Jacks or Better is to memorize the rank of hands. A Royal Flush, which consists of sequential cards of the same suit from Ten through Ace, is the highest possible hand. In descending order from the Royal Flush, they are: Straight Flush (any five cards of the same suit in sequential order); Four of a Kind (four same-value cards, such as four 3’s or four 9’s); Full House (three same-value cards plus a pair of another value card); Flush (five cards in the same suit, no particular order); Straight (five cards in sequential order, non-matching suits); Three of a Kind (three same-value cards and two unmatched cards); Two Pair (any two sets of same-value cards); Pair (Jacks or better: any pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces). When you learn how to play Jacks or Better, you can play just about any other variation of poker.

If you’re just starting out at poker, learning how to play Jacks or Better is a good way to get to know the game because it’s easier to get a high hand than it is in the more common stud poker varieties. In Jacks or Better, the game starts out with each player being dealt a face-down five-card hand. Players then keep as many or as few cards as they believe will make a good final hand and discard the rest. A second round is then dealt so that each player has five cards again. One strategy for how to play jacks or better is to know which cards to keep from the initially dealt hand. You should generally keep cards that would contribute to a good hand; for instance, a pair of Jacks or better; or three same-suit or sequential cards that might add up to a flush or straight.

Once you know how to play Jacks or Better, you can move on to other forms of poker. Jacks or Better is one of the easiest variations of poker to master, and knowing how to play Jacks or Better can help you hone your poker skills. Good luck in the game!

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Sports Betting 101- How to Bet on NBA Basketball

Filed under: Casinos + Gambling — admin at 4:50 pm on Friday, April 18, 2008

Basketball can be one of the tougher sports to handicap for novices, most believe that teams will perform the same (good or bad) in each outing because there are no weather concerns like those that exist in football, while it is indeed true that each basketball contest takes place indoors, most fail to realize how hard it is to play a sting of back to back to back games and especially if travel is involved, in this article we will look at the various factors that must be considered when handicapping NBA hoops.

Certain principles hold true no matter what sport you are handicapping, for example, injuries play a key role in any sporting event but plays a much bigger role in the NBA because they only have five starters on the hardwood versus 22 total starters on an NFL team and also have much less depth on their overall roster, this means that you really need to know the injury situation and who the backup player is before making a wager on an NBA game.

Another consideration is where the game will be played, home court is a much larger factor in the NBA than in the NFL, this comes into play when the home team is listed as the doggie and the visiting team has injuries or is in the midst of a three game or more road trip, keep in mind that road weary teams have tired legs and tired legs lose games in the final minutes.

The NBA is similar to the NFL in that fans also double as gamblers, this means that certain teams have a public following that will place wagers on them no matter what the posted point spread is, usually this can be exploited when this public team is playing at home and laying a bushel full of points to a divisional rival.

Always remember to “Line shop” for the best possible number on your team of choice in order to better enhance your chances of a winning wager, also, beware of laying the hook with road favorites and especially when key numbers are involved, a key number in the NBA is defined as any number which is a multiple of two, the reason why of course is because a basket is worth two points.

Never forget that a winning gambler is a hard working gambler, its best to stay one step ahead of the betting public by being more prepared than they are, this means that you need to know about bad scheduling situations, team chemistry problems, and injury concerns before the public, the information is readily available to everyone but its really an issue of who will go the extra mile by doing the research.

Over the past 35 yrs plus, Jim Campbell has been on both sides of the Sports Investment Business, as a entrepreneur that ran his own business, to building and maintaining a private clientele base that greatly benefits from his superior handicapping expertise in the sporting arena.

Jim Campbell runs http://www.FootballForecastor.com which has been an internet based sports handicapping service since 1997, you will be hard pressed to find another handicapper that has had the kind of success Jim has had, over the past eight years he has maintained one of the very best winning percentages of any sports handicapping service.

Jim Campbell finished the final four weeks of the 2005 NFL regular season with a mark of 14-5-2 ATS coming down the stretch for a winning rate of 73.68% and for the season in the NFL he finished with an overall mark of 48-33-4 ATS for a winning rate of 59.26% and that includes a perfect mark of 7-0 ATS in the NFL Playoffs, Jim has posted a mark of 6-2 ATS over the past EIGHT years with his Super Bowl selections.

Betting on Sportsbooks

Filed under: Casinos + Gambling — admin at 4:52 pm on Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Successful betting on Sportsbooks, or successful handicapping requires a substantial amount of homework and a systematic approach to gambling and money management. Profitable gambling on sportsbooks games has its price and you must be willing to put in the time and research.

Top Sportsbooks will show you some of the things you’ll need to know to make better picks and win more money this season.

1. Always approach the sportsbooks games in terms of an entire season.

Don’t try to win big on one game and set your goals to win more games than you lose over the long haul of an entire season. If you are serious about success, you must make a plan and remain disciplined. You should plan the proper bet size on each play or game. You should never risk more than 5% of your bankroll on any one play. I would guess that most of the sportsbooks gamblers are wagering too much on each game and ask you not fall into that same trap.

2. Narrow your weekly gambling choices down and make quality bets.

Narrow your weekly gambling choices down to no more than seven games per week. It’s a rare week when more than a few games will stand out as good gambling values. Find these games and you’ll better your odds of winning more than you lose. Whatever system you use for your sportsbook betting remember to keep it simple. You don’t want to worry so much about how much each play is worth and forget to handicap. If you want to be successful at sports betting remember that money management will be important.

3. Look for the best early moneyline and point spread values in the season.

Take advantage of early season point spread and money line value before the odds makers have had a chance to catch up with which teams are hot and which teams are not. During the early part of a season, look for teams that are playing much better or worse than expected to get your best value. Many novice handicappers concentrate on how a team performed the previous year, but in this era of salary cap constraints and constant roster turnover, teams never perform at the same level in two consecutive years. In addition, teams that performed well the previous year are no longer a good value because you are laying a much higher price with them, especially at the beginning of the next season. Start your handicapping analysis before the season starts so you’ll be ready to take full advantage of the first few weeks of the season.

4. Find the best odds and gambling lines.

One last place to look for value is in the line itself. With hundreds of online sportsbooks already in existence, and more springing up every season, handicapping lines and point spreads will vary from one sportsbook to the next. Having multiple places to shop for the best lines offer bettors an extra point on many games. A few extra wins that would have been pushes, and pushes that would have been losses can make a huge difference in a handicapper’s bottom line at the end of a season. A few minutes of shopping around for one last chance of additional value will make certain that you are getting the best odds for your gambling dollars.

5. Use research not trends.

The first type of a sportsbook gambling method is where you research as much as possible about the teams and the games specifically, weigh all the relevant substantive factors as best you can, and arrive at your best educated guess as to the likely outcome. The key to this method is a lot of research. The more informed your opinion or intuition is, the better.
The second method involves looking for specific trends that appear to hit at a greater than chance rate, and then betting the games that fit these trends. The overwhelming majority of such trends have little or no predictive value whatsoever. One reason I say this is because there are an infinite number of possible trends like this, so of course you can always go back after the fact and find as many as you want that have hit at a surprisingly high percentage. But you want to identify the ones that will continue to hit at that above chance percentage, and that is a very elusive task. For all intents and purposes, ignore trends and concentrate on trying to figure out who is the better team and by how much

http://www.sportsbooksgames.com

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Using Poker Odds Calculators: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Filed under: Casinos + Gambling — admin at 5:42 am on Saturday, March 22, 2008

Poker players are always looking for ways to improve their game strategies, or little hints and tips they might be able to apply to their own games to make them more successful. One thing that can be very useful is to know the true odds of the particular game you are playing. Knowing your chances will sometimes prompt you to make changes in your game that you ordinarily might not make that could be the difference between winning and losing. Many players adjust their betting methods as well, so that they can better optimize their winnings.

More experienced poker players can do this by observing the other players and making guesses as to what their odds of winning are against those particular players. They change their hands or playing styles according to what they determine their odds are. Some players are very experienced with calculating their odds in this method, but there is a more exact way to determine your poker odds. Poker odds calculators can be found as free downloads and for sale on the internet, and many poker players are starting to use these to get more exact odds.

Some poker players opt to use hand odds calculators by entering the player and the board cards, then hitting a calculate button to get the odds for that particular player. The calculator will list how often that player will win the game, tie with other players, or lose altogether. These calculators can also be used to compare different hands with each other to help you determine the best poker hands. The only downside to using these calculators is that they don’t factor in the fact that some players will inevitably fold, and that extra money will be added to the pot with each round of bets.

Many poker players who play in poker tournaments have also begun to use tournament equity calculators. These calculators are used to determine the average amount of prize money each participant should win based on the number of chips each player has during the tournament. The value of these chips will be less as the game progresses and players earn more chips. Some players will decide to sit out a tournament is they decide the prize pool isn’t large enough for them. The only bad thing about using this type of calculator is that it automatically assumes all players are of equal skill levels, and it doesn’t account for size and position of the blinds in the game, so it isn’t always one hundred percent accurate.

Odds calculators are used by many poker players today, and are increasing in popularity. They can be very helpful in making decisions when it comes to many aspects of game play. It is important that players who use these calculators keep in mind that these calculators do have limitations and that the information they offer should never be the sole basis of how you play your game. There are too many variables to be factored in to make any calculation be totally accurate, and sometimes you just can’t beat good ole human intuition.

Read poker players bios including Annie Duke and Amarillo Slim.

what Is The Right Type Of Gambling For You

Filed under: Casinos + Gambling — admin at 11:24 pm on Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Know which form of gambling is for you

Gambling has evolved into different forms. Gambling, primarily,
is a form of entertainment. It is a sport involving money, or
whatever is at stake, in a game of chance. Gambling or betting
began as early as 2300 B.C. Gambling artifacts, like dice, had
been found in countries like Egypt, China, India and Rome. In a
recent poll, 63% of Americans support legalized gambling.
Another 22% agree that it must be expanded. From dice to
roulettes and to computer mouse, which form of gambling is for
you? Here are some choices:

*Casino games These are gambling games usually played inside the
casino. A player can win with the right tactic and optimistic
mathematical probability. Here are some examples:

Poker Poker is the most popular casino game. It is believed to
have been originated from the game ‘as nas’, which is a Persian
game. It uses a deck of cards for a series of betting rounds.
The player with the best hand wins the pot. Poker is also
regarded as a game of strategy and skill.

Online Casino These are virtual casinos that are played on the
internet. The rules are similar with actual casino games but
players can either be a real or computer- generated players.

Slot machines A betting machine that uses a coin to rotate a set
of reels usually pulled by a lever. You have to get identical
patterns to win.

Roulette Roulettes were invented by Blaise Pascal, a French
mathematician, in 1842. It is a simple gambling game where in
you have to bet on which number a small ball will hit.

*Gambling with fixed- odds These are certain types of game where
in you have to bet on a specific outcome of a given situation.
These include horse racing, baseball, motor racing, jai alai and
ice hockey, among others.

*Sports betting Even though illegal in most countries, sports
betting have boomed in the gambling industry. Bets are based on
a point system of sports, like baseball or football. Common
sports bets are: against the spread, against odds and against a
combination of spread and odds.

*Arbitrage betting You might often see this on the web tagged as
risk- free gambling. The concept is to put a bet on a particular
result with varied betting groups. Being an investment
procedure, it involves a bigger amount of money compared to
normal gambling. Be sure to treat gambling as a pastime, and not
a source of money. When engaged in one, set a maximum spending
limit. Practice gambling in moderation and don’t let it
interfere with your set priorities in life.

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