Online Casino Gambling

Industry-leading online casino software developer Microgaming recently released a new format of video poker games: Reel Play Poker. In the past, Microgaming introduced Power Poker which consisted of multi-hand video poker. The next release was Level Up Poker which involved sequential hands will multiply payouts. Reel Play Poker is a form of video poker with the addition of slots.

How to Access the Game

The first variant of the new format is in the Jacks or Better game which can be accessed within the video poker section of the Games Menu at any Microgaming-powered online casino. In the same section there is a separate tab for Reel Play Poker. In the game, players are required to choose the number of paylines, coins per payline and coin denomination. Jacks or Better Reel Play Poker features 20 paylines with wagers up to 20 coins per payline.

How to Play

Once the betting parameters are set, the player must click the “Deal” button. Below the primary reels, five cards are dealt from a regular deck. The software automatically marks the cards that should be held in conjunction with optimal strategy. Once the player has marked the card he chooses to hold, he is then required to click the “Spin” button which moves the game to the next phased on the main reels.

The Game Blueprint

These reels are outlined like a five reel slot game in there rows. Each reel corresponds to the cards initially held. The remaining reels are filled with other cards. The video poker hands are not evaluated horizontally; instead they are analyzed in all 20 paylines. In essence, the format is similar to a 20 hand video poker game with all hands working together. Hands are formed through the crisscrossing of paylines across the rows.

Payouts

Each payline is independently evaluated against a predetermined pay table based on the number of coins wagered per payline. Therefore, if a player has wagered 10 coins per payline, the pay table will be adjusted with payouts not being multiplied by the total number of coins. The winners from each line are accumulated and credited to the player’s casino balance.

The maximum payout in the game for a royal flush with 20 coins per line is 16,000 coins. Therefore, if all 20 paylines have a royal flush, the maximum possible payout will be 320,000 coins. This new format is sure to draw online video poker and slot game enthusiasts to all Microgaming casinos.

There are exciting, new versions of games being introduced all the time. Various gaming conventions present innovative types of gambling to casino executives and staff so they can bring different games to their casino. If the game becomes popular, they add more tables. Given the almost limitless storage space found in online casinos, they have much more flexibility of introducing different types of games to their consumers.

Introducing Wan Doy Pairs Poker

One of these new games introduced by WagerWorks is Wan Doy Pairs Poker. This variant of the common poker game is played with a seven card poker hand. Another difference is the hand rankings are completely unlike the usual due to the seven card hand. Also, both ante and bonus bets are mandatory.

How to Play

First, the player inputs the ante and bonus bets into the pot. The player also has the option of playing a jackpot bet. The dealer distributes a seven-card hand which is automatically organized and the hand ranking is displayed on the screen. The player can either call or fold their current hand. If the player folds they lose the ante and bonus bets but the jackpot bet remains.

If they call, a call wager is placed into the betting pool and the player’s hand is compared to the dealers. The payout is awarded compared to the payout table for that particular casino. The jackpot bet is also compared to the payout table. The highest possible hand ranking in the game is four of a kind and three of a kind.

Similar to Seven Card Stud

While this game is innovative with the various types of betting, it shares many similarities with popular poker variant, Seven Card Stud. The hand rankings, and the playing what you are dealt mentality matches with Seven Card Stud.

This game may not be different enough for Seven Card Stud or Seven Card Draw players to be attracted to the competition. While the betting structure is different, it may not be as popular as more unique game releases. However, for those that do not play seven card poker, this may be a good chance to improve your poker skills while learning an exciting, new game.

Since WagerWorks is a major gaming software developer, they may be able to promote this game enough to make it mainstream in several of their casinos. The game has unique aspects to it and is exciting enough to attract new players to the world of seven card poker.

Omaha is a form of Texas Hold’em due to the five community cards. However, the rules of the game are much different. Omaha can be played either with a no-limit, pot-limit or limit structure, similar to Texas Hold’em. There are two distinct versions of the game:

• Omaha High
• Omaha Hi/Lo

The rules of Omaha are fairly simple. All casinos supply a dealer that is not actually playing. You are playing against all other individuals at the table. As a result, the dealer button indicates the last person to bet. The button moves to the left following each hand. Blind bets are posted to create a starting pot.

The player to the left of the button posts the small blind or one half of the minimum bet. The player to the left of the small blind is the big blind and they ante a full minimum bet. The remaining players at the table do not post any ante’s until the blind rotates to them. Therefore, each player will have a chance to be the dealer, small and big blinds.

The game begins with the dealer distributing four cards to each player face down. The small blind always receives the first card and the dealer has the last. The first betting round begins with the player to the left of the big blind and rotates to the left. Each player can call, raise or fold. The big blind also has the option of checking since they already have a bet in the pot.

Next, three cards (known as the flop) are dealt face up in the middle of the table. These are community cards that all players can use to make their hand. Another betting round commences beginning with the player to the left of the button.

The next round is known as the turn and an additional face up community card is placed in the center of the table. Once again, the first bettor is the left of the dealer button. The last round is the river in which the final of the five community cards is distributed.

To win, each player must use two of their four starting hand cards and three community cards to make the best five-card poker hand. In many instances, there is a tie in which the players split the pot. There is never a sixth card that acts as a tie-breaker.

The preceding rules are for Omaha High. This version derives from the requirement that the winner have the best or highest hand. Both variants of Omaha can be found in land-based and online casinos across the globe.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act went into law at 10 a.m. ET, Friday, October  13^th, 2006. This law was paired with the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act (SAFE Port Act) and added at the last minute. The report was passed by Congress on September 30^th, 2006 and later signed by President George Bush.

Provisions

This act essentially prohibits the transfer of funds from financial institutions to illegal Internet gambling websites excluding horse racing, fantasy sports and online lotteries. Penalties include the criminalization of the owners of those sites accepting funds from bettors. Those operators that are effect by this act include:

• Those that knowingly accept wages
• Those in the business of illegal gambling
• Those sponsoring online gaming that violates federal and state laws
• Those accepting gambling funds from credit cards, EFT’s and checks
• Those in connection with a bettor

The ban became effective immediately upon approval. Ironically, the actual participation in online gambling or betting is not illegal, simply funding it is. This targets financial institutions, credit card companies and other online banking companies. Also, internet service providers were required to remove sites that displayed hyperlinks to gambling websites.

Industry responses

Many advocates against this bill argued that since poker is a game of skill, it should be excluded from this bill. Each state determined that this did not hold water. A study was conducted and decided that any game that contains 51% chance, is considered a game of luck and is therefore part of the bill. One solution is for online poker operators to present a statistical analysis based on hands played to prove this idea.

The most common response from publicly traded gambling websites is that they’ve stopped taking bets from United States customers. On the other hand, non-publicly traded websites continue to take bets from United States customers despite the law. Although they are out of the country, it is still an illegal act within the United States.

At the time, the largest internet poker company, Party Gaming Plc lost 60% of their stock worth within 24 hours of this bill being enforced. With millions of players, this showed the number of United States customers involved in some form of online gambling.

Although there are plenty of online gambling sites still available to United States customers, this act resulted in a huge loss for many publicly-traded companies. It’s likely that online gambling will always be available, but as laws become tougher, workarounds will need to be created.

Nothing gets your blood pumping like holding a great poker hand. You are looking around at the other players, thinking maybe they do not have such a high card hand, and your confidence starts to build. Before you know it, you are playing the entire hand on a heavy adrenaline rush. That rush is incredibly exciting; after all, it is why we gamble. However, that adrenaline rush can hurt your game, even cost you the hand, if you are not careful

Why You Should Control an Adrenaline Rush

Adrenaline Brings Out Your Poker Tells

The more excited we are about something, the harder it is to stay calm and focused. When a poker player looses their concentration, their natural poker tells start to show. For example, a player has a nervous habit of tapping their fingers on the table. So far in the game they have been able to keep their hands still. Suddenly that player is holding a flush and without realizing it they are tapping the table wildly.An experienced player sitting at that table would notice that tell right away and pull out of the hand rather then face the monster cards their opponent is holding. You never want to give away your hand when you stand a chance at winning.

Adrenaline Causes You to Stop Thinking Clearly

It is important to remain focused and logical throughout a poker game. One wrong move can cost you a big pot or pull you out of the game all together. When a player is holding a very high hand they can become too focused on their excitement and start to loose their concentration on the game. Just because you have a high hand does not mean that another player is not also holding a high hand. You need to stay focused and make smart moves no matter how excited you are.

Adrenaline Can Lead to Over Betting

When a player knows they are holding a great set of cards, they being to get confident. As the round goes on and it starts to look like they may be holding the best cards at the table, the player can get over excited about the possibility of a huge pot and start try to raise it as high as possible. This can price other players in to folding the game, or cost the player his entire bankroll if someone else was holding a better hand.

When some people think of poker they conjure up memories of the wild west, where cowboys would play round after round of poker in a whiskey bar. Eventually, flipping over the table, drawing their guns, and announcing their opponent was a cheater. This mental image gives poker an elusive and dangerous appeal. In reality, controlling your emotions and keeping a level head is much more important then a display of bravery in poker, no matter how good the movie cowboys made that table flipping look. There are several reasons why it is important to keep your emotions at bay at the poker table.

Why Emotions are Important to Good Poker Playing

A calm head leads to better moves. Poker is an art form, and like any art form poker takes a lot of skill. The calmer you are in your movements, the better you will be at calculating the right moves. Since poker involves several rounds of drawing and betting, it is important to keep a level head throughout the whole game so you do not blow your hand.

Excitability leads to poorly chosen bets. We have all seen it at the table. A poker player will win a few hands and let it get to their head. Next, the player is betting wildly. Calling when they should fold. Raising when they have next to nothing in their hand. Before you know it, that player has gone through their entire bankroll. This is why it is important to keep your emotions in check when you are betting. The calmer you are when you make your bets, the more likely they will be good ones, and good betting keeps you in the game longer.

Calm reactions will prevent your opponents from taking advantage of you. Many poker players believe that loud-mouthed or over-reacting players is a sign of a fish, or a new player to the game. Once an experienced player notices these traits in your poker playing, the will focus on you. If you are new to poker, it is best to keep a low profile. Experienced players will be able to read you much better then you can read them, why give them the upper hand?

Playing it cool is one of the most important skills to learn for any poker player. Anyone can learn to do it with practice. Just remember to pay attention to your emotions at every point in the game.