Online Casino Gambling

Knowing when to walk away from a poker table can be the hardest thing to learn about the game. It is easy to say, “I will quit when I am ahead,” or “I will quit once I’m down,” but how ahead should you be? How far down to you need to go before you throw in the towel? Knowing when to quit is vital, it can save your bankroll and keep you from becoming frustrated with poker all together, but figuring out when you should quit is a personal decision and a difficult one to make.

How to Decide When to Quit Playing Poker

Quit When You Are Ahead

Most people will advise you to quit when you are ahead. It is a good strategy and one that will help you walk away a winner, but that does not mean you should get up from the poker table after your first win. If you plan to utilize the quit while you are ahead strategy then you should decide how ahead you are going to be when you decide to stop playing. Set a dollar range in mind and then quit when you get there.

Quit When You Are Behind

Quitting when you start to loose is also a good strategy. However, knowing when to quit on a loss can be even harder then knowing when to quit on a win. You do not want to get up from the poker table when there is a good chance you could turn that loss around, but you also do not want to blow your whole bankroll on a loosing game. The easiest way to follow this strategy is to decide on how much of your bankroll you can comfortably loose. Once you hit that point, get up from the table.

Quit When You Get Emotional

You should never keep playing a poker game after you have become aggravated or upset. You will not play well. However, knowing the difference between a minor annoyance and a clue to stop playing can be difficult. Listen to your internal signs. If you feel your temperature rising, or you start to sweat and feel uncomfortable, then it is time to get up from the poker table. Also, when you stop having fun it is time to stop playing. If you are not having a good time there is no sense in continuing the game hoping it will get better. Go play a different game or wait for next time.

Caribbean poker is a poker game with progressive jackpots. The goal of the game is to have the highest hand.

Caribbean poker is played with three to five players at a table and one deck of cards. Each player is dealt a five card hand, with two chances to bet. The layout of the game is very similar to standard five card poker.

The inclusion of a progressive jackpot makes Caribbean poker a popular game at the casino. In a progressive jackpot the jackpot for the table will continue to rise as each hand is dealt.

How Do I Play Caribbean Poker?

To start a hand of Caribbean poker each player must place an Ante bet. The minimum amount of the Ante bet is determined by the casino. Each player must also place a bet towards the progressive jackpot if they want a chance to win the pot before the cards are dealt. This happens before every hand and ensures the jackpot will continue to rise.

The dealer will then deal five cards to each player. Each card is dealt face down. The dealer also deals five cards to himself, with one card being face up for the table to see. Players are only dealt one set of cards. After their cards are dealt they can choose to fold or remain in the game. If they remain in the game, a player must double their Ante bet.

The advancement of Caribbean poker is determined by the dealer’s hand. If the dealer has a hand that is Ace King or higher (based on standard poker hands) the round will continue. The player’s hand must beat the dealer’s hand to win the round.

If the dealer’s hand does not qualify, all players receive two times their Ante bet, and have their progressive bet returned on an even-scale.

How Does Betting Work in Caribbean Poker?

Players have two betting options in Caribbean poker; betting on the single hand and betting on the progressive jackpot.

In order to be considered in on a hand, the player must place an Ante bet. This bet has a minimum and is placed before any cards are dealt. After the cards are dealt the player has one chance to raise their Ante bet during the round.

Players also have the option of betting on the progressive jackpot. This bet is completely optional and does not disqualify a player from the round. However, a player must bet on the progressive jackpot for the chance to win it.

In the not so distant past, slot machines paid out by spilling quarters in to a tray at the bottom of the machine. The player then collected the quarters in to a bucket and drug them to the cashier stand where they could be traded in for larger bills. Recently, most casinos have switched to a voucher system for their slot machines. These ticket systems benefit both the casino and the players in many ways, but there are some downsides to the system.

Loosing your ticket is the same as loosing your wallet.

For some reason, most people have an easier time keeping track of actual cash then they do their slot machine ticket. This could be due to the fact that the ticket is only one small piece of paper and it can easily get lost if placed in a pocket or tossed casually in a purse. Be sure to keep your ticket safe, those little pieces of paper can mean big money and there is nothing you can do if you lose one.

If you forget to redeem your ticket, you could loose your winnings.

If you walk out of the casino with your slot machine ticket in hand, forgetting to cash it out, you may be risking loosing your winnings. Most casinos have a limit on how long as ticket is good for, but typically, this range falls within thirty to ninety days. This is fine if you plan to visit the casino again, but if you were on vacation and leave with the ticket, you face some difficult times ahead. Some casinos offer a mail-in policy. If you mail the ticket in with all of your information, they will mail you a check equal to your winnings. However, not all casinos have this policy and some require that you show up in person to redeem a ticket.

Sometimes you may forget your ticket is actually cash.

The ticket system makes it easy for people to forget that they are playing with their money and not just “credits.” This can cause players to spend more then they intended, play a machine longer then they wanted, or go over their betting limit. Remember that your ticket is worth money and so are the amount of “credits” you see on the screen.

If you are careful with your ticket, the voucher system on coin-less slot machines may actually be a more enjoyable experience for you at the casino then the traditional slot machines.

Slot machines are the most popular and frequented games at the casino. Most casino floors are packed wall to wall with various types of slot machines. While slot machines are often a place for beginners to get their footing, proper etiquette should still be followed at the slot machines.

The 4 Golden Rules of Slot Machine Etiquette

1. Do not play more then one slot machine at a time: We have all seen it, that slot player that is sitting at one machine while also playing the machine next to him or her. If there is several of that type of machine, or the casino floor is not too crowded, this is only a minor annoyance. However, on a packed Friday night when someone is playing both of the only kind of machine on the floor it can be down right frustrating. Playing more then one slot machine is not only bad form, but may get you kicked out of some casinos. In short, just don’t do it. Stick to one slot machine at a time.

2. Do not lurk around the slot machines: Another classic, while you are playing a slot machine you notice someone behind you waiting to jump on as soon as it doesn’t pay out for you. While it is perfectly fine to wait for a machine you want to play to open, standing around behind the person playing is considered bad form. It may also get you in trouble with the casino depending on their policies. If you do want to wait on a machine, do so from a respectable distance.

3. Obey the smoking rules: Most casinos still allow smoking on the casino floor. However, each casino is different and has their own set of rules. For example, some casinos do not allow pipe or cigar smoking. If you are going to smoke a pipe or cigar, verify that it is allowed with a casino employee before you do it. In addition, several casinos have started smoke free sections. These sections are not always clearly marked so pay extra attention the signs, and only smoke where you are allowed.

4. Do not sit at a machine unless you are playing: It may be tempting to sit down next to your friend and watch them play a slot machine, but if you are not playing that machine, you should not be sitting at it. When you are sitting there, a player will walk by and assume it is in use. Even worse, some casinos have a policy against this. If they notice you sitting there, they may kick you out.

Playing the slot machines at the casino is a fun pastime for pros and beginners alike, but following proper etiquette is just as important as it is everywhere else in the casino.

The iconic Lady Luck Casino opened in downtown Las Vegas in 1964 as Honest John’s casino.  At the time of its opening, other historic Vegas Casinos like the Tropicana and Circus Circus were opening their doors on the Vegas Strip.  In 1983, the property was renamed Lady Luck and was at the height of its popularity.  Between 1986 and 1989 a 17-story tower and another 25-story tower were added.

Original owner Andrew Tompkins sold Lady Luck to Isle of Capri casinos of Biloxi, Mississippi.  In the spring of 2005 Henry Brent bought the Lady Luck from Steadfast Cos. of Newport Beach, California.

Lady Luck Closes

The 743-room Lady Luck closed in February 2006, but in the time between 1964 and 2006 the Lady Luck was one of the premier casinos in all of Las Vegas.  When the Lady Luck closed it was downtown’s third-largest casino, sitting on 6.27 acres of land.  The closure meant the loss of 684 jobs.  The original plan was to close the hotel/casino for one year for major renovations, but those plans never came to fruition and the building was sold again in 2007 to the CIM Group, a California development company.  Despite the purchase, the company has allowed the property to continue sitting dark.  The interior spaces of the hotel were largely demolished in preparation for renovations, but no further action has taken place.

Future Plans

In July of 2009 CIM did begin tearing down a building skeleton at the corner of Fourth Street and Stewart Avenue, but nothing of note has happened since.  Part of a 2008 deal that CIM reached with Las Vegas City Council states that renovations to the casino must be started by December of 2009, however that deadline could be extended.  It is not clear if the deadline will be extended, but it is clear that city officials are not happy with the large amounts of debris and garbage that have piled up on the property.

CIM claims current economic conditions as the reason for the stall in renovation plans.  They say they do plan on forging ahead with renovation plans once the economy turns around.  At this point the empty building seems to have little chance of returning to its former iconic status.  The best bet for this historic building is a wrecking ball, as has been the case with so many hotels and casinos that made Las Vegas famous.

It is not impossible to win playing slot machines.  While it is true that the house will always have the mathematical edge, having a strategy will reduce the house’s advantage.  The first thing to do is join the casino’s slots club/player’s club.  It is free to enroll and usually the initial membership will entail a certain dollar amount of free slot play.  The other advantage to joining a slots/player’s club is that the card will track your playing habits and you will receive awards based on those habits.  Awards can include discounts on meals, lodging, event tickets and even cash.

Bet within your limits

If you have $100 you are willing to spend on slot machines then the best strategy would be to stick with nickel or penny machines.  Consider that if you play a $1 slot machine at five credits per spin, you will be able to make 20 spins, maybe a few more if you hit some small wins.  Twenty slot machine spins will probably take about 10-15 minutes, so that is not very long if you are looking to kill some time.  Conversely, if you take that same $100 to a penny slot machine you can make 2,000 spins at five credits per spin.  If you are looking to kill time, those 2,000 spins will take about 12 hours.

Video versus Physical Slots

A physical reel can hold about 20 symbols and a physical slot machine cannot really accommodate more than three reels.  On the other hand, a video slot machine does not have these limitations. A video slot machine can theoretically have an infinite number of symbols and reels.  The Random Number Generator (RNG) in a video slot machine can, and is, programmed to give certain symbols a different chance of coming up that is totally unrelated to the number of symbols. For example, the slot machine might have one star symbol out of ten symbols, but the RNG might be programmed to only have that star symbol land once out of every 20 random spins.  The resulting consequence is that less likely combinations can be programmed.  Therefore, the less likely it is to hit those combinations, which allows the casino to be able to afford to pay out for them.

With physical slot machines progressive jackpots of six and seven figures are nearly impossible, but they are quite easy to program into a video slot machine’s RNG.  As with any gambling, spending big money can lead to big rewards, but remember with slot machines your money can disappear more quickly than with any card game, so choose your machine and denomination wisely.