Gambling

Everton

Odds: 500/1

Last Five Seasons

2005/06 – 11 (Premiership), 2004/05 – 4 (Premiership), 2003/04 – 17 (Premiership), 2002/03 – 7 (Premiership), 2001/02 – 15 (Premiership).

2005/06 Cup Progress

Champions League Third Qualifying Round vs Villarreal – lost 4-2 on aggregate.

UEFA Cup First Round vs Dinamo Bucharest – lost 5-2 on aggregate.

FA Cup Fourth Round (replay) vs Chelsea (a) – lost 4-1.

Carling Cup Third Round vs Middlesbrough (h) – lost 1-0.

Top Goal Scorer 2005/06: James Beattie (striker) – 11 goals.

Players In

Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace – £8,600,000), Joleon Lescott (Wolves – £5,000,000), Tim Howard (Manchester United – Loan).

Players Out

Li Tie (Sheffield United – Free), Laurence Wilson (Chester City – Free), Duncan Ferguson (Released), Paul Hopkins (Released), Sean Wright (Released), Christian Seargeant (Released), Stephen Wynne (Released), , Jay Harris (Released).

Following the heroics of the 2004/05 campaign, last season was disappointing by comparison. The Toffees went out of Europe at the first attempt, including a humiliating defeat in Romania against Dinamo Bucharest and spent much of the season in the lower half of the table.

Improvement is required and manager David Moyes has the playing staff to challenge for a place in Europe next season. He smashed the club record transfer fee to sign Crystal Palace striker Andy Johnson for £8.6 million, which eclipsed the previous £6 million record fee paid to Southampton for James Beattie. Johnson turned down offers from both Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic to sign for Everton.

Moyes strengthened his defence by signing Wolves prospect Joleon Lescott, a player he acclaimed to be the “best centre half in the Championship”, in a £5 million deal. Lescott made over 200 appearances for Wolves since breaking into the first team in 1999.

Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard joined the club on a season long loan as boss Alex Ferguson wants him to play first team football. Howard’s contract at Old Trafford expires in 2009 and Ferguson wants him to return to the club in a position to challenge for the number one spot with veteran Edwin Van Der Sar.

A host of players have committed their futures to the club including Joseph Yobo, who was linked with a move to Arsenal as a replacement for Sol Campbell. He signed a new four year contract and stay at the club until the end of the 2009/10 campaign. Veteran David Weir signed a new one year deal as has Alan Stubbs

Verdict

Moyes has added firepower in Andy Johnson to help James Beattie up front and his arrival could be worth an extra 15 goals next season. The Toffees could be worth backing at 5/1 to finish in the top six.

The SEC once again holds the crown as NCAA football’s toughest, deepest, conference from top to bottom. As usual, speed, especially on the defensive side of the football, along with some high powered rushing attacks; highlight this year’s SEC preview. Big name head coaches and coordinators also are a common theme.

It is interesting to note that for the first time since the early part of this century, the SEC East appears to be the tougher of the two divisions, with 3 of the top 5 teams. This opinion, of course, assumes Tennessee’s return to the top 20, and the continued improvement of Florida and South Carolina under HC’s Urban Meyer and Steve Spurrier.

Overall, I have 3 SEC teams in my preseason Top 10, with Auburn at #4, Florida at #7, and LSU at #9. Much will be decided on Sept. 16th when Florida travels to Knoxville, TN, and Auburn hosts LSU, both divisions could come down to the wire once again.

Predictions:

West Champ: Auburn

East Champ: Florida

Possible Sleepers (ATS value): Kentucky and Alabama

Power Rankings: (1-100)

Auburn 92 —– Florida 92

LSU 90 ——— Tennessee 91

Alabama 85 — Georgia 90

Arkansas 85 — S.Carolina 85

Miss St. 76 —– Kentucky 76

Ole Miss 76 —- Vanderbilt 71

WEST:

Auburn: Tommy Tubberville has cemented himself as one of college football’s best head coaches, leading the Tigers to a 21-3 record the past 3 seasons. Replacing 4 1st round picks from 2004’s NFL draft, including 3 from the offensive backfield alone looked like a daunting task entering last season, but the Tigers were an overtime loss in Baton Rouge away from their second consecutive undefeated SEC season. QB Zach Cox logged a 13/4 ratio after a nightmarish Game 1 loss to Georgia Tech, while RB Kenny Irons looks like first day NFL draft pick. A playmaker must emerge from the Tigers wide receiving corps, but there are options.

On defense, the Tigers have given up more than 30 points only once in their last 30 games. There are some questions marks as some players are changing position, and they are a bit smallish at the linebacker and defensive end positions. However, the CB position is rock solid, and the position battles have been fierce this August. They also have the SEC’s best punter in Sr. Kody Bliss.

The War Eagle were embarrassed in last year’s bowl game by an emotional Wisconsin Badger team that they were miles ahead of paper. Many of the upperclassmen reportedly used that performance as motivation this spring and summer. This a team that has won 16 out of 17 games in college football’s toughest conference, and out yarded teams by 119 ypg in conference play. They play their 3 toughest opponents at Jordan-Hare stadium, including the matchup with LSU. They are my pick to win the West.

LSU: When last seen, the Bayou Boys were dismantling the Miami Hurricanes 40-3 in the Peach Bowl. Much like Auburn, this is a team that has cemented its place amongst College Football’s elite. Last year, I had LSU rated as the top team in this conference, and one of my top 3 teams overall. Then Katrina came, stealing the focus and practice time of the Tigers for the first part of the season. Conditioning may have been an issue in their come-from-ahead overtime loss to Tennessee early on. They team rebounded nicely to win the West, and destroyed the U in the bowl. The good news is that Les Miles and his two ace coordinators welcome back what may be the nation’s deepest team. The recruiting of Nick Saben and now Miles has been top shelf and this program is at a point where they simply reload. The only downer is that I do not think this year’s starting 22 is as good as last year’s…YET.

LSU loses a ton on both lines, which may really hurt them in their early matchup with a physical Auburn team. 3 of their defensive linemen were NFL draft choices and they lose 4 starters from their offensive line as well. That defense was impossible to run on last year, allowing only 92 ypg. That may not be the case this season, but the secondary led by perhaps the nation’s best defensive player FS Laron Landry, is one of the conference’s top two along with Tennessee.

QB Jamarcus Russell appears to have fought off Jr. Matt Flynn and RFr. Ryan Perriloux for the starting position and he is 15-2 as a starter. The Daunte Culpepper clone has as big as arm as there is in college football and is surrounded by numerous weapons. Again, it is a tribute to this program’s depth and expectation level when a 15-2 QB must fend off challengers. This team certainly has a very good chance to win the west, the SEC, and a major bowl game.

Alabama: Dan Shula is considered a step down from his more esteemed conference counterparts, but he did a fine job last year, and if the Tide stay a bit healthier last season this team could have won the SEC. Recruiting has returned to a level that fans in Tuscaloosa are accustomed to, and the Tide look like a safe bet for 7 wins and maybe even more, despite a brutal road schedule featuring Arkansas, Florida, LSU and Tennessee.

Alabama may very well have had the nation’s top defense in 2006, but the losses on that side of the ball are very heavy. Do not expect a 24 yards-per-point effort again this season, as few college football defenses are that efficient. DC Joe Kines will rely on a pair of lockdown corners as he tries to replace heavy losses at LB and Safety. On offense, Alabama returns 9 starters and should be greatly improved, provided QB John Parker Wilson can play mistake free. Reports on Wilson are good thus far, and if this translates to game time performance, the Tide may not fall as far as many predict them too. Special teams must improve as well.

Arkansas: The Hogs suffered B2B losing seasons for only the third time in their history the past two years, and are eager to return to a bowl this season. 19 returning starters should definitely help, and their near miss at LSU (17-19) to end last season could be a sign of things to come. This team allowed only 20 ppg if you take out their 70-17 loss at USC, a loss they will have a chance to avenge in Week 1. Besides that tough LSU loss, Arkansas outrushed a physical Georgia team 216-52 losing by 3 in Athens, outyarded South Carolina by over 2-1 in another heartbreaking loss, and led at the half against Auburn. If all of the returning talent continues to improve, a bowl season should almost definitely be in store for the Hogs’, as they have already shown they can play with good teams.

Question marks do loom however, and the first is the QB position, where JR Robert Johnson regains his job, due mainly to the injury of SO Casey Dick . They have an unproven OC, Gus Malzahn, who appears to have been hired to help land blue-chip QB Mitch Mustain in Fayetteville. Malzahn was Mustain’s high school coach, and ran a lot of shotgun spread at the prep level, while the Hogs under HC Houston Nutt have been all about smash mouth football, logging at least 187 ypr and 4.4 ypc each of the last 4 seasons, with those numbers much higher last season. The status of future NFL RB Darren McFadden is also up in the air due to a hip injury. The good news is the backfield is deep led by do-it-all FB Peyton Hillis. DC Reggie Herring’s unit looks loaded after improving by 55 ypg last year. If Malzahn’s schemes blend with Nutt’s philosophy, the Razorbacks could surprise a lot of people.

Mississippi State: This will be the deepest roster that Sylvester Croom gets to work with at Starkville, as NCAA sanctions and numerous transfers plagued the Bulldogs the last couple of years. They are still a clear notch below the big 4 in this division, but get the nod over rival Ole Miss to avoid the West division basement due to 15 returning starters to the Rebels’ 9 including a huge edge on both lines. MSU must find a replacement to do-it-all RB Norwood who was one of college football’s most underrated players last year and is tearing it up in Atlanta Falcons camp.

Mississippi: HC Ed Orgeron is saying all the right things, and bringing a lot of enthusiasm to the recruiting trail, however, it is yet to be seen if it will translate to wins at Oxford. He brings in Dan Werner, former Miami Hurricanes OC to jumpstart an attack that averaged only 279ypg and 13.5 ppg. Werner hopes improve upon one of the nation’s worst rushing attacks (73 ypg!), but it is worth noting that Miami suffered a significant drop off from previous years the two season he ran the show at the U. His cause will be helped by the SEC’s most prolific newcomer, former Tenn QB Brett Schaffer. As good as Schaffer can be, and early reports say he is picking up the offense very nicely, Ole Miss desperately needs a young weapon or two to emerge to help out.

Orgeron did improve the defense by 58 ypg and 3 ppg last year, and there are playmakers in the back 7. The question mark is up front, where the Rebels’ are both young and thin with no returning starters and depth issues…Not a good combination in the physical SEC.

EAST:

Florida: The Gators probably are a bit more talented top to bottom than rival Tennessee, with less improvement needed after a 9-3 2005 which included a win in the Outback Bowl over Iowa. Although Chris Leak struggled early on with Urban Meyer’s offense, he still threw for 2639 yds, a 63% completion %, and an outstanding 20-6 ratio. Look for big things from Leak as he puts a stamp on his excellent career in Gainesville. The team improved greatly as expected under HC Urban Meyer’s, but it remains to be seen if Meyer’s offense can reach its pinnacle against the hard-hitting SEC defenses. Meyer prefers a more mobile QB for his offenses but will have to wait for next season, and tailor the play calling towards Leak’s strengths one more year. The WR corps is very talented, and very deep even with the loss of Chad Jackson to the NFL.

On defense, the Gators improved 55 ypg last season, and boast one of the best front 7’s in all of college football, led by OLB Earl Everett, and DT Marcus Thomas. The special teams were excellent last year under Meyer and all key components return. The major question marks for Florida are an inexperienced, and beat up offensive line, and the cornerback position. The O-Line does have some talent to work with, but with the loss of projected starter Avery Atkins for off-the field- reasons, the CB issue is a glaring one. Converted safety Reggie Nelson, the defense’s best athlete, must step up if the Gators are to best Tennessee and Georgia in the resurgent SEC East. The schedule is brutal, and a run at the National title may not be possible, but despite playing at Tennessee, I give the talented Gators the slightest of nods to win this division.

Tennessee: Expecting a return to the norm in Knoxville, noting that if it doesn’t happen, Phillip Fulmer will be looking for work. Last year’s 5-6 mark ended a streak of 16 straight bowl appearances for UT, and feeling the heat, Fulmer replaced 3 offensive assistants. The most heralded of these replacements is OC David Cutcliffe, the former Ole Miss HC who held this same position at UT for 6 seasons in the 90’s. In all 6 of those seasons, his offenses averaged over 30 ppg in the rugged SEC. It is worth noting that Fulmer is an outstanding 19-6 SU in games decided by 3 points or less in his career.

Talented JR QB Erik Ainge is supposedly picking up Cutcliffe’s offense very quickly, regaining confidence after a sophomore slump, which was worsened by the musical QB act between he and Rick Clausen. Tennessee returns two future NFL OL up front to help Ainge’s cause, and the WR corps is talented but enigmatic at times.

Tennessee must replace 6 starters from a defense that was severely underrated last season. The 18ppg allowed is misleading as this unit was on the field for long periods of time, and wore down slightly as the year progressed. They lose a lot in the front 7, but welcome back DT JT Mapu from a Mormon mission. Mapu started over some pretty talented DT’s and had a productive year in 2003. He is not listed among the 5 returning starters. The secondary may be the conference’s best, and can afford DC John Chavis the luxury of taking more chances. The Vols were as devastated as any team in the SEC by injuries last season, and with a little luck in that department this season, along with a talented and hungry coaching staff and team, look for a big-time improvement from Ole’ Rocky Top.

Georgia: Mark Richt answered fall camp’s biggest question this past week naming SR QB Joe Tereshinski his starting QB over talented Freshmen Joe Cox and Matthew Stafford. Most thought Tereshinski was basically a fill-in player that would never start at Georgia and he was the least 3 talented of the 3 candidates, although his work ethic, heart, and knowledge of the playbook cannot be questioned. It will be interesting to see how Mark Richt and Neil Calloway’s offense function without a big-time QB after David Greene and DJ Shockley held the reins in Richt’s first 5 seasons. The Dawgs have averaged at least 229 ypg passing in every season since Richt’s arrival, and although there is talent at the WR position, I’m not sure Tereshinski can give them that kind of production.

The law firm of Brown, Ware, and Lumpkin all return at tailback will do their best to take the onus off of their new QB, as Georgia will probably be the best rushing offense in this side of the SEC, despite 3 new starters on the OL. Each of the Bulldog tailbacks bring something different to the table, and each has the talent to start on 90% of the teams in the nation. The special teams are always a strength under Richt, and both specialists, K Brandon Coutu, and P Gordon Ely- Kelso are being mentioned as All-American candidates. On defense, the front 7 is solid despite being shredded by in the Sugar Bowl by the speed option of West Virginia. The secondary, however, loses 3 NFL draft choices, and that may be a cause for concern if someone doesn’t step up for an early September 9th date at South Carolina. The schedule is very manageable as Georgia avoids LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama from the West. Despite big NFL losses the last two seasons, the Dawgs have a serious shot to return to their 4th SEC title game in 5 seasons. The key will be the development of Tereshinski and the offensive line.

South Carolina: The Old Ballcoach, Steve Spurrier enjoyed tremendous success in his first year in Columbia, and the SEC’s top teams better make room. A blown-game loss in the Independence bowl could not put a damper on Spurriers’ debut, as he led the surprising Gamecocks’ to victories over Florida and Tennessee, the two teams that Stevil will sell out to beat each and every season. QB Blake Mitchell leads a bevy of returning offensive talent, and this is his second year in Spurrier’s systems. The WR corps, led by Super Soph. Sydney Rice, rivals FL and LSU as the conference’s best.

What separates South Carolina from the Big 3 in this division is a lack of playmakers on defense. They must replace a 1st and a 4th round NFL draft pick in the secondary, and all 3 starting linebackers are gone as well. The Cocks won some games in thrilling fashion last season, and must continue to create their own lucky bounces as the Big 3 in this division are still a bit more talented. Only a fool would count Spurrier out, though.

Kentucky: No team in CFB has been more snake-bitten health-wise the last two seasons than the Wildcats, who have lost nearly 150 games due to injuries to their two deep in that time frame. If healthy, Rich Brooks’ bunch returns 15 starters and experienced reserves, including a nice group of playmakers on offense led by improving QB Andre Woodson and RB Rafael Little, who is a threat running, receiving, and returning. Little led the SEC in all-purpose yards last year, and he and talented backup Tony Dixon will run behind 4 returning OL starters.

Defensively, the Wildcats have a long way to go, but they do return some injured players, led by their best DL Lamar Mills, who played in only 1 game last year. The only way they can go is up here as they allowed 34ppg and 4.9ypr in 2005. They do have a quality DC in Mike Archer and improvement is expected.

If UK can improve upon a –9 turnover ratio, this team can fight for a .500 season. The coaching staff is littered with big names, and they draw both Mississippi schools from the West. With a little luck, the Wildcats can become bowl eligible in 2006.

Vanderbilt: No player in CFB will be more difficult to place this season than Jay Cutler, and the Commodores certainly don’t get to ease their way in to life without him, opening up at Michigan and Alabama. Expect more of an emphasis on power running as 3 returning OL starters and a pair of 225 lb. RBs lead the way.

Unlike their conference opponents, Vandy actually has academic standards, so they routinely are the least talented team in the conference. This often shows up on special teams, and late in the season on defense. They don’t have Cutler to make up for this difference anymore, although early reviews on Nickson are OK. He does have a decent OL to play behind, so respectability may be possible on that side of the ball. The good news is that sophomore K Bryant Hahnfeldt seems to have returned smoothly from an ACL suffered last year. Looks like another long year in Nashville.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 does not make it a crime for US residents to gamble online; American players are still free to gamble anywhere on the Internet, stated Rick Smith and Keith Furlong, who respectively are the Executive and Deputy Directors of the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC), in a press release this week.

The IGC is a leading trade association for the international interactive gambling industry with its membership operating or supplying services to most of the reputable interactive sites on the Internet.

Their press release continued, saying the bill focuses on the prosecution of financial institutions handling transmission of money from U.S. players to operators of online gambling sites. So some sites may no longer accept wagers, as many of the publicly traded online gambling companies announced they would stop taking American bets following recent passage of the bill by Congress.

But they stressed that the bill will cause unintended negative consequences, in direct opposition to the bill’s intent.

“In the guise of protecting vulnerable Americans- minors who want to gamble and adults who can’t control their gambling - Congress has actually heightened the risk to these groups,” said IGC Deputy Director Furlong.

Here is a list of sites that still accept US players.

http://www.playingpokerusa.com/index1.html

So you are thinking of playing online casino gambling. Well, you can just ask any one who is a regular at playing these online casino-gambling games and you will certainly come to know about all the fun and excitement that is a part of the game. An unlimited online access and that too a comfortable one, is one of the biggest advantage that online casino gambling presents before us. You are free to play it anywhere, wearing just anything, be it your shorts and slippers! You can play it in your office or your bedroom if in case other people do not have a problem! If you are not feeling like sleeping then just log on and start online casino gambling.

There are huge differences between online casino gambling and real time casino gambling. The main one is that when you are playing on the internet your opponent is a computer and not the regular players that you play against in the casinos. The computer has a predefined program that plays itself when you put a deal or a hand. The other difference is that you can ask for a new deal if you do not like your cards in the first hand deal made out to you. You can request this option to a limited 4 or 5 times on the internet casino, not more than that. However, in the online casino gambling, you have to use the cards that are once given to you.

It is much easier to play and win on online casino gambling. The only thing required is to understand the pattern of the computer. If once, you catch the right point then its money. Although, it is not a guarantee that it will help you win every time, but there are high and of course better chances of winning the game. New casino players who are playing it on the internet for the first time must convince themselves that it is not just guess work, but in fact hard work to play and win at the same time. You need to learn how to play casino on the internet because the rules of the live casino and online gambling are a lot different.

While playing online casino you can also calculate your deal before playing it. This can be dome with the help of an odds calculator, which is a special type of a software program, which is designed to help the new online casino players.

There are several expensive errors that are frequently made in poker, especially Hold’em. This article will discuss the two most expensive errors that players make.

What makes these errors so expensive? For one thing, we get an opportunity to make them frequently, and even errors that only cost a portion of a bet can add up to big dollar amounts if they are made often. As well, sometimes when we make these mistakes we are rewarded by winning a big pot, leading us to believe that they are not errors at all. All of us tend to remember the big pots we win with a miracle flop, and forget the thousand times we called a few bets and then lost. This encourages players to make those mistakes even more frequently.

The first error that most players make is to play too many hands. Poker is a game of patience, and it can be boring to throw somewhere between 75% and 85% of your hands away before you even see the flop. The truth however is that you must do just that.

The first 2 cards in Hold’em have some value, the percentage of times that they are expected to win. Another way of looking at this is that over thousands of hands, some starting cards will make a profit, some will approximately break even, and some will lose money.

Of the 169 possible starting hands in Hold’em, only 40 show a profit in the long term. That is less than 25% of the starting hands. After the first 40, there are a few more hands that are break even, or close to it, that can be played for a profit in certain situations, but only in a very few specific situations. I have a table on my web site that shows all 169 hands, their expected value, and the amount you will win or lose over the long term. This data is derived from more than 120 million actual hands played, so it should be fairly accurate. For instance, the data shows that playing a pair of aces over this long term, in a game with a $1 big bet, you can expect to come out ahead by $1.25 million. Now, of course none of us is going to live long enough to play that many hands, but it gives us an idea of the difference between good and bad cards to play. If you compare the pair of aces to say an ace and eight of different suits, which will lose $77,031 over that same number of hands, or an ace and a two of different suits, which will lose $165,968, you begin to see the problem. And hands like these are routinely played by many people at the tables.

Now some of you may be thinking that since you win so much on the pair of aces, and also do pretty well on some of the other top hands, and only lose numbers like $77,000, and $165,000, on the bad hands, that you are still in pretty good shape. If so, consider that if you played all of the 169 starting hands over this long term sample, you would win $7,248,687 on the 40 premium hands, a pretty nice figure. But, you would lose $10,787,747 on the bad hands. After playing for a very long time, you would be $3,539,060 in the hole. Not many of us can afford to play poker that way. The second big mistake that many players make is to cold call too many raises. Cold calling a raise is putting multiple bets into the pot when it is your turn to bet. For example, if someone in early position raises, when the action gets to you in middle position you must call 2 bets in order to play. There are three reasons why this is a big mistake. First, a player in early position liked his hand enough that he was willing to raise with most of the table still to play. Second, if anybody called before it got to you, they liked their hand enough that they were willing to call the 2 bets. Third, there are still players to act after you who could very well re-raise, which would not only cost you more money, but indicates yet another good hand out against you. Also, the original raiser may re-raise again, meaning that it will be 2 more bets when the action gets back to you.

In a situation such as this, with at least 1 big hand against you, and possibly more, you must play only the best hands, AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK suited and AK un-suited. Furthermore, with the AA, KK, QQ and AK suited you should re-raise. If you think that the raiser would raise with hands like AQ, AJ, or less, you should also re-raise with the JJ and AK un-suited. Throw everything else away, it just isn’t worth playing.

There are 2 reasons for raising with your premium hands. First, you get more money in the pot with hands that you have a good chance of winning. Second, you will hopefully eliminate a few players from the pot. Big hands like these are best played against fewer players, and you don’t want someone with a 5 and 6 to hit 2 pair, or a straight and take the pot away from you.

Remember, play fewer hands. Throw away those ace nine off-suit hands from early and middle position. Don’t play a 5 and 9 just because they are suited. And if there is a raise in front of you, fold unless your hand is good enough to re-raise.

Copyright © 2005 A1-PokerInfo.com. All rights reserved.

This article may be freely distributed and published, providing it is distributed and/or published in its entirety, including the contact information and copyright.

If you are looking for a fun way to spend a few extra dollars, the Ohio lottery is a great way to do it. There are almost nine thousand Ohio lottery retailers in the state where you can purchase tickets for a variety of different games. Other than prizes, the largest use of funds generated by the Ohio lottery is to help fund education within the state, so every time you purchase a lottery ticket, you are helping a good cause.

The Ohio lottery participates in the Mega Millions lottery in addition to a variety of other drawing and scratch-off games. With the Mega lottery, you can win hundreds of millions of dollars if you match all of the six Mega Millions lottery numbers, including the mega number. Because the jackpot rolls over after every drawing if no one wins, and because this drawing spans a variety of different states, the Mega Millions lottery game has one of the highest payouts available from any lottery game.

The Ohio lottery also offers the Rolling Cash Five game, which involves participants choosing five numbers between one and thirty-nine. If you have the winning Ohio lottery result, you can win one hundred thousand dollars. If you play the game Kicker, you can win more than one hundred thousand dollars for choosing the correct six numbers between one and nine.

If you are looking for an instant Ohio lottery result, you can play one of several different instant win games. One of the most popular of these is the Lifetime Riches game. With this game, you can win 250,000 a year for the rest of your life. If you play Lucky Millions, you can win one million dollars in one lump sum. There are instant win games available for one to twenty dollars a ticket and the prizes vary according to the odds and the cost of each ticket.

While the Ohio Lottery offers many games there are no clear instructions on how to play them on their website. They do say that they have given 14 billion dollars to education. They offer the usual lottery games but without instructions on how to play them their site can only be used to check winning numbers. This is very unfortunate for the out of state player. You may check Ohio lottery results online, on television, and in the print media. Ohio is one of the states where you can play the Mega Millions lottery.

Outright Odds: 500/1

Group A Winners: 16/1

Costa Rica are living proof that when it comes to football, size does not matter. The Ticos have generally been mainstays in the World Cup finals despite having country 40 times smaller than Mexico and a population of just four million. The Ticos eased to third place in their qualifying group and will aim to compete against the “bigger” sides in this year’s Finals.

Despite their overall comfortable qualification, Costa Rica almost fell at the first hurdle, a qualifying match against Cuba in which they scraped through on away goals. They re-appointed former coach Alexandre Guimaraes who guided them to the last World Cup and he has turned the team around.

Costa Rica sent out a warning, but ultimately revealed their main weakness in a recent friendly against former champions France. They raced into a two goal lead in Martinique but eventually lost the match 3-2. Their weak defence will be their main downfall and 14 goals conceded in 10 qualifiers, including five against Honduras and three at Guatemala does not bode well for more seasoned opposition.

However, where their strengths lie is in attack. Winston Parks, Walter Centeno and veteran striker Paulo Wanchope means the side will always be able to create and score goals but there is always the danger they may concede them in greater numbers. Costa Rica missed out on the knockout stages in the 2002 World Cup to Turkey due to their superior goal difference. Wanchope, his country’s all-time top scorer with 43 goals in 67 international matches will retire after the tournament and is looking for one final hurrah before hanging up his boots for good.

Guimaraes will be keen to repeat the success of the 1990 team which reached the second round on their debut following victories over Sweden and Scotland. With Group A opposition in Poland and Ecuador, there is the possibility of an upset on the cards.

If they can nick a result or two like they did back in the 2002 World Cup, a victory over China and draw with Turkey, then qualification is not beyond them. However, looking back to the heavy 5-2 group stage defeat to Brazil, if the defence does not improve, a gallant but narrow defeat may be on the horizon.

Recommended Bet:

You could not bet confidently on Costa Rica winning or even qualifying from the group stage to emulate their exploits in the 1990 World Cup. However, there may be some value in the individual match betting.

If Germany start the tournament slowly, Costa Rica could catch them cold in the opening fixture and snatch a point. There could be a possible upset in their second match against Ecuador who are themselves no great success on the big stage.

Germany vs Costa Rica draw @ 4/1

Whereas once in order to gamble or play poker one would need to go to a casino or round up a bunch of friends, there is now a lot more convenience when it comes to playing poker. Now, thanks to the advantages of technology and computer abilities, people are now able to play poker online.

The same advantages of regular poker games apply, such as the ability to win substantial amounts of money, but there are new advantages of well that have developed with the advancement of poker online. When you play poker online, you open yourself up to a lot of separate benefits with the game and within your life. You can access poker online from a variety of websites, and you can do this from your own home. Poker playing is no longer contingent upon which friends are available on what nights, or how far away you live from major cities catering to gambling needs. All of this excitement and stimulation is available when you play poker online. Because there are so many casinos and sites online that are trying to vie for your individual attention, you will also see that there are a very large number of prizes given out and that the jackpots are incredibly generous.

If you want to play poker online, you will be opening yourself up to a world of challenged, excitement and fun. The world of poker and casinos is now available to you whenever you feel like visiting, and the same high stakes are still attainable when you play poker online.

Online casinos have established themselves as forceful gambling alternatives to real-world casinos. You can have fun gambling in your bathrobe; of course you will have to fix your own drinks. The fundamentals of winning at casino games, whether real-life or online, are similar; however, you need to do a few things if you want to get lucky gambling online.

There is no substitute for experience and as you play you imbibe nuances about different casino games. The key here is to understand that you must look to exploit your knowledge and skill at online casino games and not to exploit the game itself. There is a lot of literature out there offering pointers on how to beat the house at online craps, blackjack, and video games. You can always refer some reading material recommended by friends and try to personalize the learning in your game. If you are a rookie, do some research on reputed online casino sites before you decide to join one. Visit related forums and obtain information from experienced players. Learn about the cashouts and bonuses offered. Stay clear of sites that offer easy and guaranteed wins.

You should know how online casino bets work. The bets vary with the games and are offered on solid statistical and mathematical principles. The house will always give itself an edge over the bettors; you should bet keeping the house edge in mind. Essentially the house edge is the difference between the true odds of winning and your earning if you win. So, in order to beat the house edge you need to understand how the odds for a given game work. Once you have played a few times, you get an idea. Once you are able to predict the house edge for a number of games in an online casino, then it’s a matter of your skill and luck.

All casino games are different; for example in Blackjack you plan your moves while in a game of Roulette, you can only control the amount you wager. Each online casino game has its own set of rules and limitations that you can learn to exploit with time. There are special moves favored by experienced casino players, you would do well to keep an eye open for them and also learn the best time for executing a given move. As mentioned earlier, there is a huge amount of reading material available on online casino strategies; however there is no definitive work as such. This is because strategy for winning at an online casino game is a very personal thing and you have to evolve your own strategy.

Lastly, whether you are winning or losing, maintain your composure. Keep a budget for your online casino activities; know your capacity to absorb losses and recognize the time to quit, whether winning or losing. Knowing the right time to quit is important because when you are losing you are easy game for others and when you’re winning, the house will want you to continue playing till you lose.

Dear Poker Player,

Warren Buffett is one smart dude. And RICH.

He’s the second richest man in the WORLD… right behind Bill Gates. Forbes estimates that his net worth is $40 BILLION.

(How’s THAT for a bankroll?)

What’s interesting about Buffett is that he made his fortune over a LONGGG period of time… by consistently beating the stock market year after year after year.

He wasn’t one of those “overnight” dot-com billionaires.

He wasn’t “lucky” to be in the right place at the right time.

He didn’t “invent” some new technology that changed the world.

Nope… all he did was invest and “pick winners” over and over. Since taking control of Berkshire 40 years ago, Buffett has delivered a compound annual return of 22%.

AND JUST BY DOING THAT, he became the 2nd richest man alive.

OK– so why am I rambling on about 75-year old man who’s good at investing?

The reason is because I’ve realized that there are DOZENS of important parallels between the STOCK MARKET and POKER.

Here are just a few:

* The stock market is often considered “gambling”, due to its unpredictable nature… just as POKER is often considered gambling, even though it’s a SKILL game.

* The stock market has a heavy emphasis on odds and mathematics… just like poker.

* The stock market is predominately a male-driven industry… just like poker.

* The stock market has PLENTY of up’s and down’s, and “streaks”… just like poker.

* And so on.

Of course, these are “surface” similarities.

Now think about the PSYCHOLOGY of poker and the stock market… and how they’re often EXACTLY THE SAME:

* In the stock market, everyone dreams of buying that one MIRACLE STOCK that will go from $2 to $200 and make them rich…

In poker, everyone has their “pipe dream” of winning a huge million-dollar tournament on ESPN.

* When a stock tanks, most investors FREAK OUT and immediately make several bad investment decisions in a row. It’s usually THESE decisions that hurt them the most.

In poker, this is known as “tilt”. Bad beats cause some damage… but it’s usually the decisions you make AFTER the bad beats that cause you to lose the game.

* Believe it or not, most stock investors come out on the LOSING END over time… even though the market has historically gone UP year after year.

Most poker players end up losing over time also, despite all the “fish” out there to prey on.

* And so on.

OK, so you get the idea.

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of books about the stock market… and especially about Warren Buffett. (Hell, I need somewhere to invest all these poker winnings!)

Anyway, here’s what’s REALLY interesting:

Warren Buffett’s INVESTMENT APPROACH is almost identical to the POKER STRATEGY I use every day.

And it’s the SAME approach used by top poker pros to consistently win tournaments and ring games…

Interesting, huh?

Of course, it makes sense when you think about it.

If poker and investing are similar, then the guys who beat the STOCK MARKET probably use the same techniques as the guys who win at POKER.

And who better to learn poker from than the “KING” of the stock market… and the 2nd richest man in the world?

*** WARREN BUFFETT’S WINNING APPROACH ***

Warren Buffett operates on PRINCIPLES. He doesn’t get caught up in “hype” or emotion.

Below are the five MOST IMPORTANT principles that he follows… and how they relate to your poker game.

PRINCIPLE 1: PATIENCE IS KEY.

Patience, patience, patience!

It’s the number one mistake that causes most poker players to lose… and it’s one of the “secrets” to Buffett’s 22% annual returns.

Warren Buffett does not make an investment unless he is absolutely 100% confident that it will make him money.

That means he PASSES UP a lot of great investment opportunities.

Warren Buffett has said “no” to stocks that ended up increasing by 10,000%!

But more importantly… he’s passed up all those other stocks that LOOKED GOOD, but PLUMMETED later.

The problem is, us human beings are addicted to ACTION and MOVEMENT and EXCITEMENT. We don’t want to just sit around and WAIT.

But that’s EXACTLY what Buffett does…

He waits.

And waits.

And waits.

He KNOWS that sooner or later, a GREAT opportunity will come up… and then he’ll jump on it.

It’s the same way with poker.

You’ve GOT to be patient. We all want to “get in there” and make strong bets… bluff out opponents… and take down lots of pots. We want ACTION.

BUT THAT’S NOT HOW YOU DO IT.

You’ve got to sit back… be patient… and WAIT.

Wait for good cards.

Wait for the PERFECT time to bust the manic at the table.

Wait for the PERFECT time to steal the blinds.

Wait for the PERFECT time to bluff out an opponent.

Wait for the PERFECT time to go all-in.

And then when you DO make a move…

PRINCIPLE 2: MAINTAIN A “LOW TURNOVER” PORTFOLIO OF JUST A FEW STOCKS.

Buffett insists on keeping 10-20% turnover with his portfolio. This means he generally holds onto a stock for 5-10 years… AT LEAST.

This is obviously OPPOSITE of how most investors do it. Most investors are checking the tickers every HOUR– watching for the slightest indication of movement or news.

More importantly… Buffett only invests in a FEW STOCKS AT A TIME.

Now THIS is crucial, because it goes against everything you’ve ever learned.

Growing up, you probably heard this advice a lot:

“Never put all your eggs in one basket.”

Right?

Well, Warren Buffett does the OPPOSITE.

He puts all his eggs in one basket… but… he chooses that basket VERY CAREFULLY!

You see, Buffett believes that if you’ve done your homework and you’re confident in your decision, there’s NO NEED to “diversify”.

In fact, he believes this is the ONLY REAL WAY to get rich in the stock market. Because if you buy LOTS of stocks, some are doomed to go down… and that will hurt your gains.

Now think how this relates to poker.

In poker, most players risk money on LOTS of pots, and try to get the best odds for each one… maybe 55%, 60%, and the OCCASIONAL 70% or higher.

What PROFESSIONAL poker players do is only play those OCCASIONAL pots with the best odds.

BUT, they risk more chips when they do it…

So instead of risking 20% of your chip stack five times… you want to risk 90% of your chip stack ONE time. But you choose that time VERY CAREFULLY!

For instance, let’s say the “average” poker player enters three pots where he feels the odds are in his favor.

The three pots go like this:

1.) He risks 1000 in chips with 60% odds.

2.) He risks 1000 in chips with 50% odds.

3.) He risks 1000 in chips with 60% odds.

Now… MATHEMATICALLY speaking… there are EIGHT different ways these scenarios can go. They are as follows (a win is designated with “W” and a loss with “L”):

1.) W-W-W

2.) W-W-L

3.) W-L-W

4.) W-L-L

5.) L-W-W

6.) L-W-L

7.) L-L-W

8.) L-L-L

If he wins all three, he ends up with 3000 chips in profit.

If he wins two but loses one, he ends up with just 1000 chips in profit.

If he LOSES two but wins one, he ends up with 1000 chips in losses.

And he if loses all three, he loses 3000 chips total.

Get it?

Now let me share with you the PERCENTAGES of the above scenarios.

Watch out, this may surprise you.

If you were to play three pots as described above and risk 1000 chips for each one, and do this exercise 100 times, here’s what would happen:

18% of the time you’d win 3,000 chips total.

42% of the time you’d win 1,000 chips total.

32% of the time you’d lose 1,000 chips total.

8% of the time you’d lose 3,000 chips total.

Your “net average” would be to PROFIT 400 CHIPS.

OK… that’s the “normal” approach.

Now let’s look at the WARREN BUFFETT approach.

Let’s say you entered just ONE pot and risked 3000 chips (instead of 1000) with 70% odds in your favor.

Now watch what happens:

70% of the time you’d win 3,000 chips total. 30% of the time you’d lose 3,000 chips total.

Your “net average” would be to PROFIT 1200 CHIPS.

That’s TRIPLE the results over time!

The key is to get BETTER ODDS and RISK MORE.

I better interject here that I do NOT recommend being one of those players who just sits back, waits for the “nuts”, and then goes all-in.

Not even close.

In fact, if you’ve read my newsletters you know that I’m a very aggressive player who loves to push action.

The KEY is that I BUILD THIS IMAGE through techniques based on feeler bets, positioning, and sensing weakness.

AND WHEN THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY COMES ALONG, I RISK AS MANY CHIPS AS I CAN!

I know that when the odds are heavily in my favor, it’s time to put my eggs in one basket and go for it…

PRINCIPLE 3: THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT ALWAYS RATIONAL OR “EFFICIENT”.

There’s a popular stock market concept called, “Efficient Market Theory” (EMT).

Most of the world’s leading business schools teach this widely-accepted concept.

However…

Warren Buffett says that the EMT is a bunch of hogwash!

He’s actually gone on record saying that part of him LOVES the fact that business schools teach this theory: It makes things easier on him because his competition doesn’t know what they’re doing!

Now… I’m not going to argue whether the theory is right or wrong. It doesn’t matter for our discussion here.

What I find intriguing is what Buffett believes IS true about the stock market…

You see, the EMT basically says that the stock market is “efficient” in its pricing… and that most buy/sell behavior is “rational”.

Buffett disagrees. He is CONSTANTLY scouting for opportunities where he thinks the market is acting in an IRRATIONAL manner… and then he jumps on the chance to buy an under-priced stock.

In other words, a core part of his investment philosophy is that the stock market is NOT efficient… and that there’s always room to grow your “bankroll” when others act irrationally.

It’s the same with poker.

When you’re playing Texas Holdem, you want to spot the “sucker” at the table… the guy who is making IRRATIONAL decisions.

This doesn’t only apply to amateurs, either. Even PROS have “irrational” habits, tells, and “tilt” behavior.

Your OPPONENTS will open up millions of “profit opportunities” for you… if you just watch closely.

And that brings us to the next principle:

PRINCIPLE 4: FOCUS ON THE VALUE OF THE BUSINESS, NOT THE PRICE OF THE STOCK.

This one has almost a direct translation to poker:

FOCUS ON THE PLAYERS, NOT THE CARDS.

You’re not playing poker against the house… you’re playing against your opponents.

With the stock market, everyone is always looking at the PRICE of a stock to determine if it’s worth buying or selling.

Buffett actually doesn’t even look at the price until LAST. What he looks at is the VALUE OF THE BUSINESS.

He only invests in top-notch businesses that meet specific conditions. He wants a business with strong growth prospects LONG TERM, good management, and stable numbers.

Once he finds a business that meets these criteria, THEN he looks at the price.

When the cards come out, what’s the first thing you’re thinking about? What are you looking at?

You should be thinking about your OPPONENTS… the POSITIONING at the table… the BETTING HABITS you’ve picked up in the last few hands… and your opponents’ FACES as they look at their cards.

THEN when the action comes to you and it’s YOUR TURN, you should peek to see what you’re holding.

Opponents first, cards second.

PRINCIPLE 5: DEMAND A MARGIN OF SAFETY FOR EVERY PURCHASE.

Warren Buffett is actually a very “conservative” investor, as are most poker professionals. He’ll only buy stocks that he feels are practically “guaranteed” to go up.

You should demand a “margin of safety” on every hand you play. This is actually much easier than it sounds.

Some of your tactics should include:

* Avoiding heads-up situations with players who have more chips, and instead favoring those with fewer chips. (That way if you go all-in and lose, you can still be in the game.)

* Buying pots and bluffing when you have good positioning. (That way you can get a read on your opponent and escape if things go bad.)

* Only “chasing” draws when the pot odds are CONSIDERABLY in your favor. (That way you end up way ahead over time.)

* And so on.

*** PLAY POKER LIKE WARREN BUFFETT ***

Perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT lesson I’ve learned from Warren Buffett is to NEVER FEAR doing the “unpopular” thing.

His career PROVES that “going against the grain” is often the BEST choice.

He doesn’t live by what others do… he operates on GUIDING PRINCIPLES that “win” over time.

Whether it’s ways to leverage table positioning, tactics for defeating common opponent styles, techniques for “stealing the button”, or figuring out the right times to bluff…

…You’ve got to first learn the POKER PRINCIPLES. And then you need the GUTS to stick to them.

So where do you learn these principles?

The best place to start is by joining my free Poker Tips email newsletter. It’s jam-packed with Texas Holem tactics and secrets that you can INSTANTLY use to increase your winnings.

Join now, and your first issue will include this free report:

“Avoid These Costly Mistakes When Playing Texas Holdem”

Inside you’ll learn the 10 most dangerous mistakes most poker players make… and HOW YOU CAN AVOID THEM.

Talk to you soon.

Your New Friend,

Roy Rounder