Gambling

Bingo is huge in Texas. (Actually, it’s huge throughout the world, but this article is only about bingo in Texas.) 21.5 million people played bingo in Texas in the year 2004, and they won over $443 million in prizes. And best of all, since ALL bingo played in Texas is charitable bingo, over $29.8 million was donated to different charities in 2004.

But before 1980, there wasn’t legal bingo in Texas. 1980 was the year that Texas passed the constitutional amendment allowing charitable bingo halls to operate in Texas. The amendment requires that funds earned from bingo operations in the state must be allocated toward charity, so any bingo game you play in the state of Texas is money toward a good cause.

Even though the amendment was passed in 1980, it wasn’t until 1982 that bingo halls actually started operating. 1982 was the year that the Comptroller of Public Accounts first began issuing licenses for bingo operators. The Comptroller of Public Accounts continued to administer Texas bingo until 1990.

In 1990, the Texas Alcholic Beverage Commission became responsible for administering Texas charitable bingo, and they played that role until bingo was moved under the supervision of the Texas Lottery Commission, which seemed like a logical choice to oversee what is essentially a lottery type game, even if the profits do go to charity.

The rest, as they say, is history. The Texas Lottery Commission continues to oversee Texas charitable bingo. The bingo division hopes to hit $1 billion in total charitable donations sooner rather than later, and since 1982, they’ve generated $792 million. So they’re pretty close.

Anyone who wants to support charity, have some fun, and maybe win some money should consider supporting Texas charitable bingo.

Bingo is a beautiful game of luck, which involves patience, rapid coordination between hearing and searching out the numbers and lots of fun. As with all gambling bingo is totally addictive and you should be careful of its grip on you!

In bingo, each player will get a sheet, which has six cards with a total of 90 numbers. On each one of these bingo cards, you will find 27 spaces grouped in 9 columns x 3 rows format. Each number is unduplicated; hence, it will not be repeated anywhere else in the sheet.

What you have to do is, coordinate the numbers that are called out by the host with what you have on our sheet, aiming at filling up a pattern reading bingo. The pattern would be announced at the beginning of the game, so you have to be careful to know what pattern you are looking out for. The cards have the b-i-n-g-o letters on rows and numbers running as a column. A host would call out a letter-number combination, which you would have to mark on your sheet. For example if I-34 is called, you will have to look at the I column down to search for number 34. In case you have it, you place a market on it, and so on.

Your aim would be to cover the prescribed pattern with the bingo letters, by coordinating the letters and numbers called. The patterns can be anything like, u shape, t shape, etc, though it usually is horizontal or vertical. As soon as you get the pattern, you should shout bingo and you get the prize. In case there are others who shouted at the same time as you, the prize will be shared among all winners.

Bingo is usually played in special halls where many players can play at the same time. The actual fun is the tension building up seeing other players closer and closer to the finish line. However, with the advent of the Internet, BINGO has gone online as well. There are many ways to play on the net, though the basics remain the same. You will have to complete a given pattern before anyone else in order to win. Over the net, you need not shout the computer will flash it out for you. Some online games also have chat attached to the games where you can speak with other players online and have fun right from your home, office or any other place where you can get on the net. Chatting is a great way to meet new people and pick up the tips and tricks.

With online bingo your cards are randomly selected by the computer and you can play with a great number of cards sometimes as many as 100 or more. Ordinarily you will need no more than three or four cards. A display board or a caller will flash your bingo numbers and you will need to fill the pattern displayed to win the game. Some online games will have the computer automatically search and fill the numbers for you. Some people find this automation a kill-joy but some actually love the fact that all they have to do watch for the bingo flash!!!

The bingo sites are friendly and attractive with many new people to meet and befriend, there is so much to do that there are not enough hours in the day (or night!). Many people enjoy the game of bingo, which is fast becoming the worlds most popular game.

Online poker offers many different choices of games. Should you play cash games or tournaments? Tournaments offer a huge prize to the person who wins it for a relatively small buy-in. In tournaments, you are generally playing in a much larger field of people. Many of your opponents will be very inexperienced and unskilled. The basic tight-aggressive strategy is useful in the early stages of a tournament. There is a lot less pressure in tournaments as there is no real money on the table. Tournament chips are easier to use as opposed to real money chips. If you win one big tournament a year, you could make a decent living. Tournaments require a lot of patience, mental endurance, and concentration. If you are trying to make a living playing poker, it may be a long tough road. Even if you are the best player in the world, you may have cold streaks where you can’t win a tournament. There is so much short-term luck in tournaments that the best players don’t always win.

Cash games require much more skill and confidence in your playing abilities. There is real money on the table and players tend to play more conservative. Cash games are good because you can come and go as you please. You have the choice of how long you play each cash game session. It is not necessary to sit in a poker room for a week straight just to win money. Every day at the poker table, you can take home a nice profit. Many of the top professionals prefer cash games to tournaments. In order to excel in cash games, you have to take your game to the next level. No longer can you sit back and wait for pocket aces. Cash games require a greater ability to read your opponent’s hand. Many times you will have to win money without showing a hand to your opponent. It is much easier to make a living playing cash games as opposed to tournaments.

People ask me about how to handicap Arena League football. The answer is far more simpler than one might think: It’s football! While the rules are different from the NFL, the same betting strategies apply. Revenge situations, match-up analysis, home/road breakdowns, coaching, previous meetings, strength versus weaknesses, etc. Betting numbers are similar to the NFL, with oddsmakers making errors in lines each week. And the handicapper who is on the ball can take advantage.

Arena football is not to be confused with the XFL, which was a one-year wonder a few years ago. It’s different from the USFL, which was a three-year wonder from 1983-85 before it folded. The USFL was actually a strong concept and could have worked, as it came along with the economic boom of the mid-1980s. It didn’t go head to head with the NFL, playing in the spring, as the Arena League does now, and it satisfied a need in public consumption for professional football, which is easily the most popular sport in America. The problem with the USFL is that owners weren’t patient and got greedy, fighting over each other to sign some top college stars like Doug Flutie, Hershel Walker, Jim Kelly and Mike Rozier. They spent money before they had taken the time to build an interest and fan base and it folded after three seasons.

The Arena League has been around 20 years and smartly doesn’t try to compete with the NFL, but it is professional football. On Friday I had Tampa Bay as a 7-point favorite at Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids has been a poorly coached team the last few years with little talent, especially on defense, sort of like the NFL Saints or the 49ers the last two years. They’ve also been money-burners, going 4-12 overall in 2005 and 6-10 against the spread, getting outscored by 11 ppg. When they played Tampa Bay Friday, it was a mismatch, as the Tampa Bay storm are a well coached club with excellent talent on both sides of the ball.

Tampa Bay was off a 10-win season and had throttled Grand Rapids in the previous meeting, 70-50. In addition, there were some verbal fireworks going on, where Grand Rapids players made disparaging remarks about Tampa Bay. The Storm coach admitted after the game, “Grand Rapids pushed some buttons early on and got us fired up with some of their quotes and some things they did off the field.” The better team didn’t need the extra incentive, as far as I was concerned, but it didn’t hurt, either, as Tampa Bay, a five-time Arena Bowl champion, won and covered.

Examining the Arena League betting lines, as you can see, is similar to the way to approach NFL match-ups. On Sunday, I had Philadelphia, a 10-point home favorite over a Los Angeles team that has trouble moving the football, averaging 36 ppg. That’s not going to cut it in the Arena League, where teams want to average closer to 50 ppg, which is what Philly is averaging. Last season, Philly averaged 56 ppg at home and had beefed up the defense for this season. The Philly Soul won and covered 47-33 on Sunday. Monday night I used Las Vegas for another winner. That puts me at 6-0 in Arena League football selections this season. As long as someone puts up a betting number on a sporting event, a good handicapper can find edges against the spread!

Online poker games come in all flavors, and profits can be extracted using different tactics for each type of game. One particular type of poker game one can profit from is the No Limit tables. These are tables with varying initial buyins, ranging from generally $5 to even up to $1000. As usual the lower limit poker games tend to have the less experienced players, and extracting cash is much easier than the higher limit (i.e. more experienced) tables, though more tedious. But being an experienced poker player, you know that discipline is what it takes, no matter what.

One key strategy is to be patient and not get sucked into playing marginal hands without being very careful. The flip side of this strategy is the plays hands, which can increase your implied odds. Therefore, forgo playing KJ off in early position, even if you can limp in, because the small amount you’ll make on these types of hands will be off set by those crushing big hands you’ll lose to AJ…In other words, the expected value is not enough for you to pursue these hands if there’s any doubt you may be beat. Those hands that can increase your implied odds are the suited connectors and the small pairs, 22 through 88. Suited connectors will be discussed at another time.

Theoretically, with a pair in the hole, you will get trips 1 in 7 times. So, if you can get into a pot for say, less than 10% of your opponents stack, probability says that you will come out ahead. With pairs try raising 8 times the big blind, or limping in with that amount if it’s raised before you. Try to make your raises consistent so your opponents can’t get a read on you. (So your AA and KK raises will be the same as your small pairs, unless it’s raised before you, should reraise 2 to 3 times your opponents raise with these premium hands of AA etc. Otherwise muck your small pairs if you can’t get into the pot for less than 10% of your opponents stack. Obviously, if the raises before you are greater than 10% of your opponent’s stack, then you should muck your hand. Also, one should be aware of your opponents stack size, if there isn’t enough to pay off the 90% or so risk, then toss the hand. That’s poker. Now the flop comes, and you don’t hit your trips, you should, as I say, cheerfully muck your hand. Do not chase. That is the first commandment of all poker players. Thou shalt not chase.

Of course, the caveat here is that there will be times when your set will be busted by a flush draw or a straight draw. If your opponents are on a draw (a four flush or straight draw) then the proper bet is 2/3 of the pot. This will give your opponent the wrong pot odds to continue his draw (i.e., the pot odds will not give him enough for him to profit if he calls your bet, over the long run). A higher bet will give him the proper odds, and therefore your opponent will be correct to call. Of course, if they have already hit their flush or straight, then you must evaluate the odds you have left to make a boat to beat them (number of outs divided by the number of cards remaining in the deck, minus 1, will get you the percent odds on the turn). If these odds less than your pot odds then just muck it.

In poker,if you are patient and don’t throw your money away on marginal hands, this poker strategy is guaranteed to make you money over the long haul. May the cards be with you.

Jack Schneider visualizes just one manner in which Bernardini can be beaten in next month’s $5 million Breeders Cup Classic — barring stumbling on a stable rock, getting stuck in the gate or being abducted by aliens.

“The only way it could happen is if Bernardini and Lava Man get into a dog-dirt duel and are so into watching each other and not looking behind them, someone else bolts by both in the end,” the Sam’s Town Race Book manager said.

That kind of scenario would throw balloting for Horse of the Year into a tizzy (no relation to two-time Classic winner Tiznow).

Most Thoroughbreds buffs would agree the voting currently is a two-horse race, though the bolters could include horses like David Junior, Invasor and Strong Contender.

Dangerous Discreet Cat won’t go if Bernardini runs as planned, as both are owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasid al Maktoum, Dubai’s crown prince.

Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini, who was sired by A.P. Indy, has headed racing’s 3-year-old class since Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro was injured in the Pimlico Race Course encounter.

The eight-race Breeders’ Cup card will be contested on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Churchill Downs and highlighted by the rich Classic, which will mark Bernardini’s first — and maybe last — test against older horses.

The colt broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park and gradually moved up the ladder while skipping the Run for the Roses and, after his Preakness victory, the Belmont Stakes.

He has been unbeaten since, winning the Jim Dandy, Withers, Travers and, just last week, Belmont Park’s Jockey Gold Cup.

Five-year-old Lava Man, a son of Slew City Slew, is this year’s West Coast racing sensation and became only the second horse to sweep the Santa Anita Derby, Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic in the same season.

Bernardini’s Jockey Cup Beyer was 117, while Lava Man scored 109 in last weekend’s Santa Anita Grade I Goodwood Breeders Cup Handicap, turning back 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo along with this year’s pre-Triple Crown hype horse, Brother Derek.

“How good is Bernardini?” repeated New Frontier bet shop boss Tony Nevill.

“I don’t know.

“But I think we’ll see an honest pace in the Classic and if he wins it, he’s a Superhorse.”

“You know if you beat him, you’ve beaten the best,” Schneider echoed.

Schneider has a hot tip for players: Henny Hughes — also owned by Dubai’s royal family — if he goes in the six-furlong sprint.

“That horse has been awesome, an absolute monster!” Schneider exclaimed.

“He’s not big on stretching it out, but in a six-furlong race …

“If you see Henny Hughes going in the Sprint, circle him.”

Wynn Las Vegas Race and Sports Director John Avello gives Lava Man a chance at Churchill.

“But Bernardini is awfully good .. like WOW,” said Avello, who saw the colt run in the Travers at Saratoga.

“This is a horse race, though, and anything can happen.”

Daily Racing Form Las Vegas correspondent Dave Tuley, as usual, is waiting until post positions are drawn and the morning line is out before he goes out on a limb.

“I don’t have any specific horses I’m looking to bet on Breeders’ Cup Day, as we’re still waiting to see exactly how the fields shape up,” Tuley said.

“What I can tell you is after watching favorites win four of the five Grade 1 races at Belmont Park last Saturday (Oct. 7) — the other was won by a 2-1 shot — I know those horses will be bet down on BC day and it should create great value on the longshots,.

“Now, we have to find the right longshots.”

Blackjack is the most played casino card game in the world today. Blackjack is one of the very few ‘beatable’ casino games, meaning that if you know the rules and have a basic understanding of strategy than you can come out in the black, so to speak, over the house.

The edge over the house can only be achieved if a player knows the rules and the strategy of the game.

The rules are simple; the main purpose is to have a hand closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over. The strategy involves knowing the odds. Knowing whether to hit - get more cards - or stand - stay with your current hand - at 17 is where strategy starts to come in.

There are amazing tools online today for a beginning player to learn the game. HitorStand.net (http://www.hitorstand.net/) offers an interactive blackjack tutorial that teaches the game as you play. This is a must for the novices.

You can the upgrade to sites like Online-Casino.com (http://www.online-casino.com) that have free blackjack games versions. Try finding a site like this that has a no-download, completely free game version that you don’t have to register for.

After you feel completely comfortable with the game and you decide whether you would want to play online for real money.

Playing for practice, or free money, online is a great advantage for blackjack beginners today. Blackjack is one of those games where the rules are easy to learn but the strategy takes time to master. It is possible, though. Today, with the free versions online, all a person needs is perseverance and an Internet connection.

The basic objective in the game of blackjack is to get the highest hand value to 21 points without going over. When learning the rules, the main factor a player needs to learn is how much each card is worth. Afterward, with the strategy, a player will need to remember the odds and statistics of the cards.

The great thing about a blackjack strategy is that the more tips you learn, the better your game will get. Knowing a few tips can dramatically increase your game.

The best advice for beginners is to find a site with a free version and start playing. The strategy will come with time. Once you know that you should never play with a casino that uses more than 6 decks at a time and to never, ever, take insurance, you’re well on your way to becoming a blackjack pro.

One of the casino games that is enjoyed live and on the Internet all over the world is Roulette. You may have seen the game with its long numbered table and spinning wheel and wondered if you would like to get in on the action. If you do, you should be aware that to generate interest in roulette, the European game has undergone some changes.

In Traditional European Roulette, there is a field of 36 numbers, 18 red and 18 black, as well as a Zero. You can bet an individual number, two numbers, three numbers, four numbers, five numbers, six numbers, or twelve numbers with a single bet (you can bet as many numbers as you like with multiple bets). You can also bet whether the first half of the numbers will hit or the second half, whether the number will be odd or even, red or black, whether it will come in the first, second or third part of the board, or whether it will come in the first, second, or third column..

To generate interest, some casinos have instituted one of two rules which had fallen out of favor and can be to the player’s advantage to know about and utilize. Tables with these rules are often called “French Roulette” tables and have a special layout with bets labeled in French. In this form of Roulette, the player may have the option of “La Partage.” La Partage applies only to even money bets, such as Odd vs Even, Red vs Black, or 1-18 vs 19-36. If the spin comes up Zero, which would normally be a loss for these bets, La Partage allows you to take half of your bet back. This is similar to the “Surrender” option once offered in Blackjack, although in this case, since there is a clear loss, you would always take La Partage.

A more interesting rule that can save you money is the “En Prison” rule. In this variation, when your even money bet lands on Zero, you have the option either to surrender half your bet as in La Partage, or let your bet ride, keeping it “in prison” for another spin. If you make your wager this time, you get your full bet returned to you. If not, you lose your entire bet. Clearly En Prison is a more favorable rule, since it affords you the chance to try to keep your entire bet, if you so choose, but your casino will not always offer this option.

When should you play French Roulette as opposed to the Traditional European version? Always! The La Partage and En Prison rules considerably reduce the house’s edge against you, which should be your main concern when playing any casino game against the house. With the wide variety of casinos on the Internet, you should always find and take advantage of the ones that provide the most favorable rules for your game of choice. Do your research and you will be rewarded with a more fun and hopefully more profitable experience.

Needless to say for 85 UCLA Bruins players last Saturday afternoon was going to be a day they could tell all their buddies for many years. How they had traveled to South Bend, Indiana in 2006 and knocked off the mighty Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Then Mr. Quinn with 27 seconds left hooked up with his partner receiver Jeff Samardjzija on a 45-yard touchdown pass and all those beer stories suddenly sounded like a country western song with the proverbial sad ending.

This Saturday the Bruins cannot afford a hangover as the talented Washington State Cougars come to town and this should be a humdinger of a game as the Cougars, just knocked off Oregon last week.

The linemakers at the continent’s largest online sportsbook Sportsbook are having a tough time with this one as they have installed the home side as a shaky -1 point pick.

While UCLA coach Karl Dorell stated that he and the players discussed the loss and then flushed it down the toilet, it’s easier said then done. Don’t despair, Bruin’s faithful, as the team from up north has some serious issues along the defensive wall.

UCLA might want to test to middle of Washington State’s defense, as the Cougars will be without two defensive tackles. That could also allow the Bruins to slide more protection toward DE Mkristo Bruce, who has 10 sacks this season. The Bruins don’t have a great passing game, so it will be important to get RB Chris Markey untracked. He rushed for just 32 yards on 19 carries against Notre Dame.

The Cougars won on their last trip to Pasadena in 2004, but the Bruins countered in Pullman last season, 44-41. WSU can become bowl-eligible with a win.

G Andy Roof, who injured his heel against Oregon, is out this week and could miss another week. That means more shuffling for a WSU offensive front that has rarely had the same five players from game to game this season.

The over/under on the game is a very low 43, but both teams do not have capable backups at QB, so if they get injured, scoring points will be a difficult task.

You may have noticed that while using your poker calculator it displays your hand odds while also using terminology like “hand rank”, “group”, or “group rank” all of which in some way or another refer to author David Sklansky’s Group Hand ranking for hold’em poker. Originally described in the classic book, “Hold’em Poker for Advanced Players”, Sklansky rated all the starting hands and put them in groups according to their similar win rate.

By clustering hands based on win rate and strength, it’s easier to keep track of basic betting strategies associated with each individual hand. For example, in Sklansky Group 3 hands you will find 99, AQ, ATs, and JTs among others. The best cluster though is Sklansky’s Group One which includes AA, AKs, KK, QQ, and JJ. They are going to show very high percentage win rates on your poker calculator as well as “raise, and re-raise” recommendations.

In adopting the Sklansky Group of Hands your poker calculator could in effect make you a “book player”, because many, especially the mathematical poker calculators don’t take other factors into account at the poker table. However, as a guideline, your poker calculator is going to have the exact odds, and correct mathematical indication served up for you, David Sklansky style.

Poker calculators have adopted this because, well they are just software designed by programmers, and not necessarily poker enthusiasts, but Sklansky is a Poker icon, educator, and author. I have had several poker calculators running at the same time for testing, and have found very similar results and percentage recommendations, because they generally use the same statistical backbone as Sklansky Group of Hands.

The difference between them lie in how their other features are factored in, such as how it monitors your position, how many players in the pot, how many tight or aggressive players, stage of a tournament, and if a player’s stake is up or down significantly.

Although published years ago, by using The Sklansky Group of Hands, poker software offers credibility to the ranking system, although it sure didn’t need it. Professional players have known these rankings and what to do with them for years. Seasoned opponents will also know how to use them against you, if you are an obvious book player, so mixing it up is always a good idea.

Some other books published by David Sklansky include The Theory of Poker, Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, and Hold’em Poker.