Category: English

– There is a greater range of limits and tournaments (includ¬ing many freeroll events) online.
Whereas most brick and mortar cardrooms offer a relatively small range of limits and perhaps one or two (if any) tournaments a day, there is a sufficiently wide range of games online that you can choose to specialise largely in tournaments, short-handed or heads-up play, pot-limit Omaha hi/lo or whatever else may take your fancy.

– You have a wider choice of opponents online.
Depending on the time of day and the limit involved, there are often several games available at the same limit, so you can select the best one according to your preferred criteria. Furthermore, once you are playing, it is easy to change tables should you decide that there is a better opportunity elsewhere.

– Online play offers a greater range of cardrooms to choose from.
Outside of California and Las Vegas, few brick and mortar players have the luxury to pick and choose between cardrooms, whereas online there are a countless number to select from. Many online players have accounts with several different sites, which enables them scout around for the best games at the click of a button.

– Most online sites offer the facility to play simultaneously at two or more tables.
In a brick and mortar cardroom you are naturally restricted to one table, playing maybe 30 or so hands per hour. However, online you can be seated at several tables at once, conceivably playing 200 or more hands per hour if you so wish.

Once you have taken the decision to play online, the first key choiceyou must make is to select a site at which to play. All sites are notequal and it is well worth spending an hour or two visiting differentsites and comparing what they have to offer. Most major sites requireyou to download their software before you are able to play, but thereare quite a few sites that work through Java applets and therefore donot require a download. In general, most players prefer the downloadapproach, since the time taken to download the software and install iton a hard drive is usually more than offset by the better graphics andperformance of the download version. However, Java-based programs areparticularly well suited to players who do not have access to theWindows environment, or are not permitted to install software on thecomputer at which they wish to play.

Once you have made your choice of site, it is a fairlystraightforward matter to download the software (or applet). Thissoftware will contain a poker client which runs on your computer andtalks to the online cardroom’s poker server. All you need to do then isselect a screen name (or ‘handle’) and sign up (don’t forget to take anote of your username and password for next time!). At this point, youwill usually be prompted to deposit some funds to your account.However, if you don’t feel ready to start playing for real moneystraightaway, but first wish to familiarise yourself with the peculiarmechanics of the online game, you can skip this and go straight to theplay money tables. It may seem a little strange at first, but once youhave played three or four times you should become more comfortable withit. If your chosen site offers freeroll tournaments, then you may alsowish to take advantage of these before deciding whether or not todeposit any cash funds to your account.

When you are logged-in at an online poker site, it is relativelystraightforward to take up a seat at a table. You simply select a tableby double-clicking on it in the lobby (if the table is full you will begiven the option of placing yourself on the waiting list) and then whenthe table appears you simply double-click on an empty seat. At thispoint you are usually asked to select how many chips you wish to buy-infor and then you are all set to go. After the current hand has beencompleted you will be prompted to either post a blind straightaway orpostpone this until you arrive in the big blind position. In ten-playerring games some players actually prefer to post their first blind afterthe button has passed (from the position to the right of the button,often known as ‘the cut-off) rather than in the big blind position,since they will then receive a number of ‘free’ plays before theyarrive at the big blind.

Once you are dealt in, the software will prompt you when it isyour turn to act and indicate how much you can bet, although you mayelect to use the ‘advance-action’ (or ‘in-turn’) boxes if you havealready decided what to do before your turn comes around. When you aresettled into the game, you may elect to click on the ‘auto-post blinds’option, so that your blinds are posted without causing any delay to thegame. If you decide to sit out for a while (note that most sites onlyallow you to sit out for a maximum three rounds before removing youfrom the table) and then return to the game, you will have to pay anymissed blinds, just as you would in a live-action game.

At some point you may decide to take the plunge and play forreal money. Be sure to visit the relevant section of the poker room’swebsite for instructions on this procedure. Essentially the process ofdepositing funds is not dissimilar to that of any other onlinepurchase, but depending on your nationality and the gambling policy ofyour credit card company, you may need to make a credit card transferto a third party handler such as NETeller, and then move the funds fromthere to your online poker account. If you do not possess a credit cardthen most sites allow you to deposit funds through some other means.

Many sites offer a deposit bonus for first-time customers, whichcan be as much as 250% of your initial deposit, transferable to youraccount once you have participated in a certain number of raked hands.It is well worth taking advantage of as many of these offers as youcan, while you try out different cardrooms. These promotions are notavailable at every site, and can also change from time to time, so youwill need to check their web sites to see what deals are currentlyavailable. It is important to read the terms of the bonus offercarefully, since often you will be required to play a certain number ofhands by a certain date, otherwise the bonus is deemed null and void.

Online cardrooms do place restrictions on the sums that may bedeposited in a 24-hour period. Partly this is for the protection oftheir clients, to prevent players from overexposing themselves bymaking substantial deposits that could lead to financial ruin, butfundamentally it is to ensure that they themselves are protected fromcredit card fraud or contested charges. 

January 1994
First IRC hold’em program is released

August 1995
Internet Casinos Inc. launches the world’s first online casino

August 1997
Planet Poker opens for play money games

January 1998
Planet Poker becomes the world’s first real money Internet poker cardroom

September 1999
Paradise Poker opens for real money games

November 1999
Planet Poker deals its 2nd millionth hand

February 2001
Paradise Poker deals its 50th millionth hand

July 2001
Pokerspot ceases running online games

August 2001
PartyPoker opens for real money games Paradise Poker deals its lOOth millionth hand

December 2001
PokerStars opens for real money games

March 2002
Final of the first PartyPoker.com Million

May 2002
Highlands Club ceases running online games

June 2002
Paradise Poker deals its 200th millionth hand

July 2002
PokerStars runs first World Championship of Online Poker

November 2002
PokerStars organises world’s first 1500-player online tournament

March 2003
World Poker Tour premieres on the Travel Channel. Debut series includes PartyPoker.com Million and UltimateBet Aruba Classic

May 2003
PokerStars satellite qualifier Chris Moneymaker wins World Series of Poker

June 2003
PartyPoker overtakes Paradise Poker to become the biggest online cardroom

October 2003
PokerStars announces that it is joining the World Poker Tour with its PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

January 2004
UltimateBet organises the first-ever million guaranteed online tournament

February 2004
PokerStars organises its one millionth tournament

May 2004
PokerStars satellite qualifier Greg Raymer defeats huge 2500+ field to win World Series of Poker

October 2004
Paradise Poker acquired by Sportingbet plc for around $300 million PokerStars sponsors first-ever European Poker Tour

June 2005
PartyGaming launches on London Stock Exchange with market value of over $8 billion

July 2005
World Series of Poker attracts over 5,500 players, 1,116 of whom qualified online at PokerStars alone. Joseph Hachem wins $7.5 million first prize. 

abandoned racing has been called off at that particular meeting.

accumulator a bet on any number of selections in different races, where the winnings on the first horse go onto the second and then onto the third and then onto the fourth and so on.

all in in poker a player who runs out of funds may still play for the portion of the pot he has contributed to.

allowance the weight conceded by professional jockeys to apprentices or conditionals to compensate for their inexpenence.

also-ran a horse that lost

anchor box the player who is dealt cards first is sitting on the anchor box

ante initial bet

apprentice a young jockey tied by contract to a trainer while learmng flat racing

arbitrage back and lay or buy and sell in the same market to make a profit

AWT all-weather fibre-sand track

back bet that a horse will win

back all bet that all the horses in a race will win

banker a horse that is strongly fancied and is often the main selection in multiple bets

basic strategy a playing strategy that reduces the house advantage in blackjack

blackjack a score of 21 made with an ace and any other card worth 10

blind bet bet made before a hand is seen
 
bluff pretend you have a good hand in poker board community cards in hold ’em and Omaha board price the current price on offer for a horse bookies betting shop or bookmaker’s

book percentage a figure that shows the profit of a book. The book percentage minus 100 gives the percentage profit or loss that is made by betting on all runners. A figure greater than 100 is its profit. The percentage less than 100 is the percentage loss on a book

boxed in when a horse cannot overtake another because one or more horses block its path

break a score over 21 in blackjack

brought down a horse that has fallen due to the actions of another horse

bumper a flat race for horses bred for national hunt

burlington bertie a price of 100/30

burnt cards cards that are discarded without being seen by the players

button marker used to denote the dealer in poker

call bet the same as the previous player in poker

carpet a price of 3/1

carre bet on four numbers on roulette

cheval bet on two numbers on roulette

clerk of the course race course official who manages the race day

clerk of the scales Jockey Club official who ensures horses carry the correct weight.

closing a bet (spread betting) placing a second bet of the same size in the opposite direction of the initial bet co-favourites where there is more than one favourite colours silk shirts worn by the jockeys

colt young male horse, aged 4 years and under

come-out first roll of the dice

commission the amount charged for the services supplied by a betting exchange or spread betting firm

community cards cards laid face up in games like hold ’em and Omaha that may be used by all players to make a hand

conditional young jockey tied by contract to a trainer while learning national hunt racing

conditions race a race where horses carry weight according to factors such as age, sex, whether they have won before or the type of race won

connections people related to a horse, such as the trainer and owner

craps dice; a score of two, three or 12 in dice

court cards king, queen and jack

dead heat where a race is a tie for either the winner or one of the placed horses

dead man’s hand two pair of aces over eights in poker

decimal odds odds where the stake is included in the price. For example 2/1 is 3.0

deuce two

dolly marker used on roulette to show the winning number double carpet a price of 33/1

down bet a bet that the result will be lower than the lower end of the quote. Also called a sell

draw the position of a horse in the starting stalls

drift odds that lengthen

dutching betting different stakes on several horse in a race to give the same payout no matter which of the selections wins

dwelt slow at the start

edge the profit a casino makes on bets usually expressed as a percentage

en plein bet on one number on roulette (straight up)

evens a price of 1/1

favourite the horse with the lowest price

FC an abbreviation for forecast

field the runners in a race

filly a female horse up to 4 years old

first base the player who is dealt cards first is sitting at first base

first time out a horse running in its first race

flat tops slot machines with fixed payouts

flop first three community cards dealt on hold ’em or Omaha fold surrender from the game

form a record of a horse’s previous racing performance

furlong an eighth of a mile (201 metres)

gelding a castrated male horse

gentleman jockey an amateur jockey

going the condition of the racing surface

going down the horses are on their way to the start

grand £1000
 
green a description of an inexperienced horse

hand a measure of a horse’s height, equivalent to four inches

hardways same score on both dice

hedge place additional bets to guarantee a profit

hit take another card

hole card dealer’s down card

hole cards cards in the player’s hand

home stretch the length of straight track before the finishing post

hopping one-roll betting

house advantage the profit a casino makes on bets, usually expressed as a percentage

IBAS the Independent Betting Arbitration Service, a British organization that settles disputes with bookmakers on the punters’ behalf when the bookmaker is a member of the scheme

impair odd

index bet a bet where the performance is measured by awarding points for a particular outcome

in-running betting on an event as it happens

inspection due either to the weather or condition of the course, a decision will be made about whether or not racing can go ahead

irons stirrups

joint favourites two horses are favourite jolly the favourite

judge Jockey Club official who declares the race result and the distances between runners

juvenile a 2-year-old horse in flat racing, a 3- or 4-year-old-horse in jump racing

lame a horse that is having difficulty walking or is limping

lay bet that a horse will lose

lay all bet that all the horses in a race will lose

layers bookmakers

laying off bookmakers practice of reducing betting liability by betting with other bookmakers

long shot a horse with high odds

maiden a horse or rider that has not previously won a race

makeup the result on which a bet is settled

manque low

mare female horse aged 5 years and over

match a race where there are only two horses competing

maximum makeup a maximum limit on the result

miss out losing score in dice

muck pile where the losing hands are placed

nap the top tip of the day from a racing tipster

natural a Score of 7 or lIon the first roll of dice; a score of eight or nine in punto banco

no offers no price is offered by the bookmakers. N/O is displayed on the screen

novice a jump racing term: a novice hurdler is a horse that has not won a hurdle race before the current season, a novice chaser is a horse that has not won a steeplechase before the current season

objection a complaint from a jockey that, in his opinion, the rules of racing have been broken

odds on a price lower than evens off the race has started

open make the first bet

open bet a bet that has not been closed or settled

outsider a horse with little chance of winning

over-round the profit on a book

overbroke a book with a loss

pacer a horse in harness racing which moves its legs on one side of its body in unison

pair (roulette) even: two cards of the same value, for example two aces

pari-mutuel the prices quoted by the French tote

pass take no further cards

passe high

pattern created in 1971 to ensure that the major European races are spread out across the season and do not clash. Pattern races are classified in groups one to three with group one being the most important races and including the classics

penalty a weight added to the handicap weight of a horse

photo finish a close race where the aid of a photograph is needed to determine the result

picture cards king, queen and jack plate a shoe Worn by a horse for racing plater a horse that runs in selling races

pocket cards cards in the players hand in games like Hold ’em and Omaha
 
pokies video poker machines

pot money played for in poker

press increase bets

prop bets proposition bets (craps bets and hardways)

pulled up a horse that drops out of the race after the off

punter someone who bets

push a bet that is tied

racecard a programme for the day’s racing

rag a horse with little chance of winning (an outsider)

raise make an increased bet

rake a charge made by the casino for the use of its facilities, usually a percentage of the pot

rating a measure of the performance of a horse on a scale of 0-140, where 140 is the highest.

run a straight reduction factor. The percentage that will be deducted from odds on a betting exchange in the event of a withdrawn horse.

rule 4 a deduction made from the prices due to the withdrawal of a horse from a race

scratching a horse that is withdrawn from a race.

seven out a score of 7 after the come out roll in dice

shooter person who throws the dice

showdown when the players reveal their hands in poker

sidewheeler a pacer in harness racing

SP an abbreviation for starting price

spread the difference between what a spread betting firm predicts and the outcome

spread a plate lose a horse shoe

stake amount of money bet

stallion male horse that has retired from racing and is mating mares

stand take no more cards

standoff a tie

starter the person responsible for starting the race

steeplechase a race over obstacles

steward Jockey Club official who is responsIble for checking that the rules of racing are followed

stewards’ enquiry an inquiry into whether or not the rules of racing have been broken

straight slots slot machines with fixed payouts

stud where horses are bred

stud book a book that contains the pedigree of thoroughbred race horses

system a method of betting that is supposed to favour the player

thoroughbred a horse bred for racing that is registered in the general stud book

tipster a person who is employed by a newspaper to recommend horses that are likely to win

tissue prices early prices offered before a betting market has been formed

trip the distance of the race

trips three of a kind

trotter a horse in harness racing that moves with a diagonal gait

under orders the race is about to start

up bet or buy in spread betting, a bet that the outcome will be higher than the prediction

vigorish commission

walkover a race with only runner. In order to be declared the winner, the horse must walk over the course. Where there are obstacles, the horse need not jump over them, but may walk around

weigh-in after each race the jockeys on the winning and placed horses must weigh in to confirm that they are carrying the same weight as at the start of the race

yearling a horse from 1 January to 31 December of the year following its birth 

A lottery is a game in which players try to predict what numbers will be drawn from a pool of numbers. For example, in the UK National Lottery, players select six numbers between 1 and 49 inclusive. The UK lottery is run by Camelot. The draw takes place on Saturdays and Wednesdays. The numbers 1 to 49 inclusive are printed on balls. These balls are dropped into a machine that mixes them and randomly selects seven balls – six balls and a bonus ball. A player who correctly predicts the first six balls selected wins the jackpot. If there is more than one winner, the prize is shared between them. There are other prizes for predicting three, four and five numbers. If there is no winner, the jackpot is rolled over to the next week. It is possible to bet on the UK National Lottery online. In addition to the main lottery, a variety of games is offered. The odds against winning the jackpot are huge – 1,398,3815/1. Lotteries are games of chance where you are reliant on luck rather than skill to win. The amount won varies depending on how many people participate. It can be millions of pounds. The money bet is distributed as follows:
   winners, 50%

   good causes, 28%
   government (lottery duty), 12 %

   sales commission to retailers, 5 %

   operating costs, 4.5%
   profit to Camelot, 0.5%.

To play the UK National Lottery online you must be aged 16 or over, resident in the UK or Isle of Man and have a valid debit card linked to a UK or Isle of Man bank. You will need to register with the site and give personal details. You may be required to prove your age and identity.

EuroMillions can also be played via the National Lottery site. It is a lottery that combines the pools from nine European countries – Austria, Belgium, England, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Winnings can be as high as €50 million.

There are websites selling tickets for lotteries around the world. However, you should be cautious about buying such tickets. Before playing you should read the terms and conditions, as there are often residency requirements. Many lotteries only allow tickets to be sold within particular areas. For example, in the USA, state and federal laws prohibit the sale of lottery tickets via the internet. Tickets for the Florida Lottery can only be sold inside the state of Florida.

Red dog is a simple card game. The object of the game is simply that players bet that the value of a third card dealt will be between the value of the first two cards dealt.

Card values
Cards 2 to 10 have their face value
Jacks count as 11
Queens count as 12
Kings count as 13
Aces count as 14

Playing the game
Two cards are dealt face up. A third card is drawn and placed face up between the first two cards. Players win when the value of the third card drawn is in between the values of the first and second card.

Betting
Bets are placed in the box marked ‘bet’. After the first two cards have been dealt, players have the option of making an additional bet up to the value of their original bet. These bets are placed in the box marked ‘raise’. This additional bet must be placed before a third card is dealt.

Odds paid
The spread between the first two cards dealt determines the odds paid. The spread is the number of card values between the
first two cards drawn.

If the first two cards dealt were a 6 and an 8, the spread would be one, because one card comes between them. If the first two cards dealt were an ace and a 2, the spread would be 11.

Consecutive pair
If the first two cards dealt are of consecutive value, for example, 4 and 5, Q and K, 2 and 3, there is no spread. They are called a consecutive pair. It is not possible to raise this bet.

Pair
This is where the first two cards dealt are a pair, for example, two sixes or two queens, the bet is void (a tie). This bet cannot be raised.

This game is similar to three-card poker. The player makes an initial bet called the ‘ante-wager’. Players are dealt five cards and have to make their best four-card poker hand. The dealer is dealt six cards – five face down and one face up. He uses the six cards to make his best four-card poker hand. There are also variants where the player gets six cards and the dealer gets seven.

After looking at his cards the player can then make an additional bet up to three times the initial bet this is called the ‘play wager’. Alternatively, he can fold and will lose his ante wager. The playrers hand must equal or beat the dealer’s to win. If the plaryer wins both bets are paid at odds of even money. For high-ranking hands, the ante-wager is paid at the odds shown below. There is also an aditional bet called ‘aces up wager’ that the player can make if his hand is a pair of aces or higher.

The ranking of the hands is different from that of traditional poker.

The aim of Video Poker is to make the highest ranking poker hand possible in the payout schedule. The minimum hand needed to win varies with different games.

The player makes a bet. The software will automatically deal a five-card hand.

A standard deck of 52 cards is randomly shuffled and dealt as in a normal game of poker. The player receives a five-card hand. The player then has the opportunity to improve the hand by discarding cards and being dealt new ones.

The player decides which cards to keep by clicking on the corresponding hold button. A hold can be cancelled by clicking the button a second time. The player may keep all the cards or discard any number of cards. It is possible to be dealt a winning hand with the initial five cards. When the player has decided which cards to keep, the draw/deal button is clicked. New cards will be dealt to the hand. If a hand wins it will be paid out according to the payout schedule.

There is a bit more to it but this is essentially what the game is all about.

Two dice are thrown. To calculate the score the number of spots on the uppermost faces are added.

Reba sits quietly at the baccarat table, fingering an old, worn silver coin her father had given her many years ago. Though she loses more often than she wins, she still considers the coin her lucky charm in terms of betting. Tonight, it is working. She has won five consecutive bets.

The shoe containing the cards is offered to her. She pulls the shoe close to the rail and suddenly flips the silver dollar. She watches intently as it lands, heads up, on the green felt layout in front of her. Sliding several chips up to the area designated “BANKER”, she proceeds to deal herself another winner. This is a rather unorthodox and less than scientific system, but it serves her well.

Baccarat is a game of streaks. Whether it is several Bank hands in a row or many Player hands, money is made by pressing the advantage at this time. The best and simplest method to take advantage of these streaks is called “following the shoe”. This simply means that you bet on the side that won the previous hand. If the Bank won the last time, you bet the Bank. Using this system, you will never miss a streak.

But baccarat is not for the faint-hearted. The following systems are not recommended for those with limited funds, because they force a player to “chase his money” – that is, to double up after a losing bet to re-capture his losses. But these are some of the reasons big gamblers like baccarat.

A MARTYR TO MARTINGALE
He looks a little bit like W C Fields, with a bulbous nose and bulging stomach. George seems more interested in entertaining the supervisors, dealers and players than in playing the game. But everyone knows that he is deadly serious about baccarat. His system has won him money almost daily, though sometimes it is an uphill battle.

It is a simple system, based on the theory that the Bank hand will not go for very long untill it wins two in a row. George will bet his minimum unit – in his case, £50 after a Bank win. He is hoping for a repeat. If he wins, he will pull all his money off and wait until a Player win interrupts the Bank cycle: He will then make another £50 bet after the next Bank win. If he loses that bet, he will again wait for the Player interuption and double his bet after the next Bank win. He will continue to double his bet until the Bank does repeat.

The casinos have table maximums to prevent this type of system, but George rarely has to go that far. This time, however, George is in trouble. He has reached the point where he cannot double his bet because of the table maximum. He is forced to bet in reduced units that will require two or three separate wins, before he gets even. His friendly and casual conversation disappears until he finally wins the last bet, when he decides to take a break, obviously relieved.

THE STATISTICIAN
Mickey is a bit more analytical than George, though his personality is even larger. Each time he plays, he is accompanied by different young ladies who appear to be a third of his age. His outlandish style of play makes him the centre of attention.

He has kept all of his baccarat scorecards since he began playing, years ago. Using a computer to help him diagnose trends, he has determined the odds on lengthy streaks, discovering that long streaks mean equally long odds. To get the jump on the shoe, Mickey will make large bets – £300 to £1,000 – on runs of two and three hands in a row. He will then begin to decrease his bets, knowing that the longer the streak lasts, the less chance it has of continuing.

Unfortunately, Mickey did not have the discipline needed to stick to his system. He was more interested in impressing his lady friends than turning a profit. Today, Mickey has depleted his once-impressive funds and is but a shell of his former self.

SYSTEM SUCCESS
The systems mentioned above are but a few of many methods developed for baccarat. Since baccarat is one of the oldest, most established of the casino games, it has been thoroughly analyzed and dissected. If a foolproof system had ever been developed, outside of cheating, the casinos would have figured out a way to stop it.

Systems are methods designed to improve your chances of winning. Most systems require an established fund that depends upon table minimums and the player’s wallet. Discipline is as imprtant as money, however. But the key ingredient in any casino decision is the enjoyment of the player. The best system for one player may not work for another. If you’re comfortable with the system, it works for you!

Lucky coin, anyone?