Gambling

Who plays bingo online? The answer to that question may surprise you. Almost everyone. Bingo is the great equalizer.

Famous people like Bianca and Jade Jagger and Elle MacPherson enjoy bingo. Politicians like Bill Clinton enjoy bingo, and so do the average folks who live up the street from you.

Almost everyone who plays on occasion enjoys the game of bingo, especially online bingo play. Some people say that horse racing is the sport of kings.If that is true then bingo is the sport of absolutely everyone.

Why people play bingo is a question with many answers. Bingo to start with is probably the most socially acceptable of all methods of gambling. This probably stems from the fact that so many churches and charitable organizations have used bingo for fundraising for years, using the money they raised for good causes such as helping orphans or the homeless or widows.

Bingo has had a positive influence on society in many countries for many years.Add to that the excitement that comes from watching your numbers as they are being called, the rush of adrenaline and the pounding of blood in the heart.Bingo is, without doubt, an exciting game for the players.Playing bingo online as an option in the Internet age has given new life to this great old game.Now more people than ever are engaged in play online and finding it to be a great and truly rewarding way of spending time. And this can be quality time spent alone if a person does not feel like communicating with fellow players, or it can be quality time engaged in chat, online conversation with other players in the game. And when not playing a game, being able to go to a forum on one of the online bingo community web sites allows a person to make friends with others who share the common interest in bingo.You will be able to spend hours in conversation over bingo if you wish, or can just take a few minutes to chat when taking a break from work.

When on these websites if you were to take a survey you would find school teachers, students, executives, lawyers, doctors, housewives, athletes, almost any type of person you can think of and almost any occupation.The reason is simple: bingo is every ones game.

David Walker completes his review of the January transfer window and how the moves will impact each team’s success, or survival at the end of the 2005/06 season.

Portsmouth

If ever there was a manager who enjoyed a bit of business during the January transfer window it was Harry Redknapp. He is running out of time to form a team capable of keeping Pompey in the top flight after 34 players have come and gone this season.

He has brought in £4.1 million Auxerre striker Benjamin Mwaruwari to try and fill the void left by Yakubu while midfield steel and creativity should come in the form of Tottenham trio Pedro Mendes, Sean Davies and Wayne Routledge. Noe Pamarot, also of Spurs, Ognjen Koroman and goalkeeper Dean Kiely will assist defensive duties.

The most intriguing of Redknapp’s dealings is the loan capture of Andres D’Allesandro, once tipped to be the next big thing out of South America. However, his career stalled following a move to Wolfsburg two and a half years ago.

Pompey are second from bottom in the table and lie five points from safety. The bookmakers don’t fancy their chances of survival and quote 4/9 on relegation and 13/8 on staying up.

Sunderland

Sunderland are rooted firmly to the bottom of the table with just nine points from 23 matches and nine points adrift of nearest rivals Portsmouth.

The Black Cats are without a home win all season and have won just twice in their last 44 Premiership matches stretching back to a previous stint. Such dire form has made Mick McCarthy’s side a relegation certainty with odds of 1/1000 being offered.

However, if you believe in miracles, Sunderland are 100/1 to stage the comeback of all comebacks and remain in the Premiership for next season.

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs have been the surprise package of the season thus far and maintain their fourth place position in the Premiership despite a run of three matches without victory and an FA Cup exit at the hands of Leicester City.

Manager Martin Jol signed Egyptian midfielder Hossam Ghali from Feyenoord and Charlton Athletic’s Danny Murphy. Even though Spurs are four points and two places above North London rivals Arsenal the bookmakers do not rate them as highly in the “without Chelsea” market, pricing the White Hart Lane outfit up at 66/1.

West Bromwich Albion

West Brom are staring at a fight against relegation for the second successive season but have proved they have the stomach for the battle once before. Out of the bottom seven sides in the Premiership the Baggies have won the most home matches which will give manager Bryan Robson optimism.

Nigel Quashie arrived in a £1.5 million deal from Southampton while Jan Kozak and Williams Martinez joined on loan from Artmedia Bratislava and Defensor respectively. Last season’s top goalscorer Robert Earnshaw was allowed to leave for Norwich in a £3.5 million deal. The Baggies are available at 4/5 for relegation but a better bet may be for them to stay up at Evens.

West Ham United

The largest deal of the transfer window was Dean Ashton’s £7.25 million arrival from Norwich City. Following his seven goals last season for the Canaries, then fighting a losing battle against Premiership relegation, Ashton is seen as the man who can fire West Ham into Europe this term.

Another striker, Yaniv Katan, joined from Maccabi Haifa for £100,000 while Deportivo defender Lionel Scaloni has signed a loan deal with the club. If you are fond of speculative punts, striker Marlon Harewood, with six goals in his last 12 Premiership matches, is available at 40/1 to top the Premiership goal scoring charts at the end of the season.

Wigan Athletic

Wigan have had a remarkable first season in the Premiership. They are fifth in the table, one place above former Champions Arsenal, just three points adrift of a Champions League spot and a place in the Carling Cup final secured.

Paul Jewell has worked wonders at the JJB Stadium and it is not surprising chairman Dave Whelan has sanctioned a £2 million move for Brann defender Paul Scharner, the free transfer of midfielder David Thompson and loan arrivals for Liverpool’s Neil Mellor and Tottenham Hotspur’s Reto Ziegler.

It would be foolish to bet against the Latics qualifying for Europe next season but at present they are the only side in the top 10 with a minus goal difference. They are 300/1 outsiders to win the Premiership in the “without Chelsea” market.

Wrexham

Odds: 20/1

Last Five Seasons

2005/06 – 13 (League Two), 2004/05 – 22 (League One, Relegated), 2003/04 – 13 (League One), 2002/03 – 3 (League Two, Promoted), 2001/02 – 23 (League One, Relegated).

2005/06 Cup Progress

FA Cup First Round vs Port Vale (a) – lost 2-1.

Carling Cup First Round vs Doncaster Rovers (h) – lost 1-0.

Football League Trophy Northern Section First Round vs Blackpool (a) – lost 4-3 after extra time.

Top Goal Scorer 2005/06: Mark Jones (midfield) – 15 goals.

Players In

Neil Roberts (Doncaster Rovers – Free), Chris Llewellyn (Hartlepool United – Free), Ryan Valentine (Darlington – Free), Steve Evans (Total Network Solutions – Free).

Players Out

Andy Holt (Northampton Town – Free), Dean Bennett (Chester City – Free), Jon Walters (Chester City – Free).

Wrexham tried in vain last season to secure a place in the play offs and ended the season in a mid table position. Despite this, manager Denis Smith says he is assembling a squad capable of pushing for promotion next season.

Two Wrexham old boys, Neil Roberts and Chris Llewellyn have returned to the Racecourse Ground following stints away from North Wales. Former striker Roberts arrived on a free transfer from Doncaster Rovers after his contract was ended by mutual consent. Welsh international Roberts was sold to Wigan Athletic for £450,000 in 2000, before he moved on to Doncaster Rovers in 2004 after loan spells with Bradford City and Hull City.

Llewellyn first arrived at Wrexham in July 2003, but was sold to Hartlepool United two years later. However, Llewellyn played just 24 league games for the Monkey Hangers last season and his like Roberts, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

Wrexham born defender Steve Evans has swapped the Welsh Premier League for League Two after joining on a two year contract from Total Network Solutions. Evans joined the Welsh champions from Crewe Alexandra in February 2000 after starting his career with West Bromwich Albion.

Striker Lee McEvilly apologised to Wrexham fans for almost leaving the club to join League One side Bradford City. The former Rochdale forward looked set to join the Valley Parade outfit but the Bantams delayed their offer of a contract and McEvilly signed a new deal with the Dragons. McEvilly signed a new one year contract with the club but Jon Walters left after one season for local rivals Chester City.

Verdict

The return of former players Neil Roberts and Chris Llewellyn is a boost for supporters but a play off place may be out of reach this season, with a mid table finish a more likely achievement for the club expected to come out of administration in time for the new campaign.

Playing roulette is a simple game and is suitable for both novice and pro alike. Playing roulette is exciting fun and glamorous.

Roulette is a game of chance but if you know how to play correctly, you can get surprisingly good odds. Playing roulette is fun but even more so when your making some good money.

In part 1 we will look at the basics of the game and in part 2 look at some strategies to win that anyone, even a novice can master.

Playing roulette the table

The roulette table is laid out in such a way to contain 38 different numbers with a wide variety of betting options the player purchases his chips places his bets the croupier spins and if the player’s number(s) come up he collects his winnings

Playing roulette is a simple but has a variety of betting options:

Outside Bets

Any bet that does not specifically include one of the 38 numbers is known as an Outside Bet.

Outside Bets in Roulette are Red or Black, Odd or Even, Low or High, Columns, and Dozens.

Betting On Color

Red or Black simply means betting on the color of the outcome of the spin. Wins are paid at even money.

Odd or Even bets are same. Wins are based on whether the outcome will be an odd or even number.

Low or High bets mean the player chooses to place bets on whether the number will fall on the numbers 1-18 or 19-36. This is also known as even money bet.

Column bets are made by placing chips at the end of one of the sets of 38 numbers designated by the words “2-1,” which pays back two to one if the outcome falls in the selected column.

A Dozens bet is made by placing chips on the areas separating the numbers into three dozens and means a 2 to 1 payback.

Inside bets

Inside bets are placed on specific numbers or combinations. The total sum of the bets must meet the table minimum and betting options include Straight-up Bets, Split Bets, Street Bets, Corner Bets, and Five Number Bets.

Making a Straight-up Bet means placing chips on one of the 38 number options and the payback is 35 to 1.

A split bet means placing chips on two different numbers adjacent to each other on the table with a payback of 17 to 1 for a win. Street Bets allow betting on three different numbers by placing chips on the outside edge of the chosen row. The payback is 11 to 1.

With a Corner Bet, chips are placed at the intersection of four different numbers with an 8 to 1 payback.

A Five Number Bet only has one betting option, placing chips on the corner intersection of the 0 and 1. To win the payback of 6 to 1, the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2, or 3 must be included in the outcome.

Playing roulette is really simple as you can see but to play correctly you need to know the right bets to place to put the odds in your favor as much as possible and this will be covered in part 2

Now you know how to play roulette its time to get ready to win at roulette!

The purpose of this article is to educate and inform gamblers of the aspects of sports wagering. With the hopes of leading to a more profitable wagering experience for you the player. I have had the distinct pleasure of speaking with many gamblers and it seems the one area that most need help with is a money management system to implement into their sports wagering.

Let’s jump right in and begin our focus on money management. First, let us start by saying that the main reason that 99% of sports bettors lose is improper money management from the start. Even if you were to have access to winning picks – without a proper money management system, the picks are useless.

This article is not intended for those of you that are recreational bettors and like to put down a few bucks on the occasion Sunday football game to make it more exciting to watch. On the other hand if you are one of the people that treat sports wagering as an investment, please continue reading, this article was made for you!

First and foremost you need to establish your gambling bankroll. Your gambling bankroll should consist of the money you have set aside to risk on your sports betting. Your bankroll should not include money used to pay your mortgage and bills. Actually, if possible you should have a separate bank account so you can keep your gambling and living monies separate to avoid any confusion or mishaps.

Next is to decide what is your betting size is going to be. You should almost never wager more than 5% of your bankroll on any one game. Simply because in sports wagering there is no “sure thing” or “lock” as some handicappers may have you believe. There are too many variables in any game to be able to control which way the ball will bounce and if the game will end in your favor.

Your daily bets should be in the 2-4% range of your most current bankroll. We say “current bankroll” because every bettor will have some winning streaks and some losing streaks through out the course of the year. It doesn’t matter who you are, you will have some losing streaks through out the year. By keeping your daily bets in the 2-4% range of your current bankroll you will eliminate the chance to lose your entire bankroll on one losing streak.

Lastly and most importantly – for good money management plan to work you must have some self control. It may sound easy but that’s not always the case and it can be the hardest part to being a successful sports bettor. You won’t always win and you have to be able to show control in these situations or you will find yourself digging a whole you may not be able to climb out of.

The problem most gamblers have is they fail to look at sports betting as an investment when in fact it is just that. Remember that old saying “sports wagering is not a sprint, it’s a marathon”. Your results should not be measured daily or monthly. Instead, take your time, stay focused and practice self control. Sports wagering can be one of the most lucrative investments available today if you employ our suggestions outlined above and proceed with caution.

Millions of people enjoy betting on sporting events and this involves keeping track of the gambling odds for each event. The gambling odds will give some idea about which team or individual is favored in a sporting event, but they are primarily designed to let you know how much you can win or lose on a specific bet. In order to place bets that have a good chance of being successful you need to look behind the odds and find out more about how they were arrived at.

For example, the gambling odds on a baseball game will tell you which team is favored to win in a game involving the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees. However, there can be many factors involved in determining why one team is favored over the other. For example, say that the Yankees are a heavy favorite to win the first game of a three game series. This may be due to the pitching match up if in fact the Yankee hitters have had great success in the past against the Rangers starting pitcher.

On the other hand an injury to a key Rangers player may have helped determine the gambling odds. If the player is the best clutch hitter for the Texas team then that can certainly impact the outcome of a game. Even the place where the game is being played and the weather conditions can help determine gambling odds. If the game is being played in the Rangers home stadium it is known to favor power hitters like many in the Yankee line up and if it is expected to rain before the game, the outfield will probably be slippery. So take a look at the odds, learn all you can and place your bets.

Sadly, too many people believe that the successful in our society got that way through luck. So their financial plan is based not on earning and investing money, but waiting for their fairy godmother to show up.

Some “miracle” roads to riches:

The Lottery

What better way to get rich, but to play the lottery. Even though the odds are 200 million to one, somebody’s got to win - right? Why not you?

The ancillary to this is gambling. Go to Vegas or Atlantic City and blow the paycheck at the blackjack table or, even better, the roulette wheel.

Or go to the track and try to hit the trifecta.

Most gamblers will blow their winnings away sooner or later. They really aren’t in it for the money.

But lottery winners, those who get checks for millions of dollars, apparently have the same problem. I have read that the majority of lottery winners blow all that money away with five years or so.

Get Rich Quick Schemes

You get a letter in the mail or you see an ad on the internet. Just send in a few bucks or a few hundred bucks or a few thousand bucks and you too will be raking in $35,000 a week while you lounge on the beach.

Other variations are: $100 an hour stuffing envelopes; $500 an hour for filing out forms on your computer; or buying a pre-made website and sitting back while watching your bank account fill up.

Don’t forget to check out those government grants for paying off your debts.

In this case, the ones making the money are truly lucky - for finding another sucker to fall for their schemes.

Why not go down to Mexico and pick up a kilo of cocaine to sell on the streets. The markup - and your legal fees - will be tremendous.

Or give all your savings to the guy you met in the bar whose paying out a “guaranteed” 50% a month interest. You brother-in-law is in on this deal, so you know it really works.

Anybody ever heard of a guy named Ponzi?

The Government Will Take Care of Everything

There’s no such thing as a free lunch and, even though the government hands them out to anyone who asks, someone has to pay, in this case the taxpayers.

Did you know that the percentage of people not paying income taxes in the US is approaching 50%? If nobody’s paying, where does the free lunch come from? There are only so many “wealthy” taxpayers left to soak.

In New York City, the low income clients of the Housing Authority are being asked for “givebacks” in the form of higher fees. Social Security is on the ropes. The golden goose is beginning to run dry.

All government handouts come with strings attached. If the government gives you something, it will then want to tell you how to live. Are you ready for the trade-off?

Great Expectations

The long term average return of the stock market is 10% a year. However, if you do a little calculating, you see that you will never reach your goals at that rate. So you figure a 15% return.

There are many people who successfully beat that the stock market year after year. It takes a lot of work to do so. Even the pros have a hard time.

If you have acquired the learning and are willing to put in the effort, you may be able to safely make that assumption.

But don’t base your financial affairs on a simple assumption, hoping your dreams will come true through, just because you’ve been lucky all your life.

You can steal money or inherit it. Most people have to work for it and they have to work even harder to make it grow.

For information on real financial planning, visit http://www.credit-yourself.com/financial-planning.html.

When on line gambling died and a new king was born, long live the new king, long live the on-line revelation swept the gambling world in June 2000 with the launch of the betting exchanges. . Essentially these sites have allowed us punters to become bookmakers and have introduced people to people betting thus doing away with the traditional bookmaker. But more they have given us the option of being able to trade our bets.

Why is this important? Well lets take the 2006 British Golf open ,this is a four day event with 156 players taking part. The favorite for this tournament was Tiger Woods. Now Tiger is being labelled as the best golfer the world has seen ,and if you studied his record you could not argue.

But from a betting prospective you are being asked to put your money down on 156 runner field that lasts over four days with Tigers odds at 6/1. So you go down to your local bookies or go on line and place your bet on Tiger then sit back to watch your golf and hope you have made the right bet. At the end of the first days golf the leaders score is 66 but there are 32 players all within three points of the leader and another 17 within four points so with three days still to play there are 50 players all within four points of one another. Within those 50 players there are some of the best golfers in the world including the best Tiger. Now if your bookmaker phoned you up at this stage in the tournament and offered to settle your bet at 30-40 or 50% of what you may win bearing in mind the above what would you do . Well as a trader this is the action I took.My bet was £100 at 6.60 (betting exchanges work in decimals) this would give me a profit of £560 + my £100 stake if Tiger did win but if he lost I would lose my £100.

Thanks to the betting exchanges allowing us to trade this does not have to be the case. At the end of the first days play Tigers odds had come down to 3.45 from his original 6.60 this would allow me to do a lay bet, in other words I was now going to bet against Tiger. Now I had a choice, I could make my bet for £100 which meant that if Tiger lost then I would break even and win or lose nothing.If he did win my winnings would be £315.

Or I could make my bet for £150 then if Tiger lost I would win £50 who ever won. If Tiger did win then I would win £193 .Or I could leave the bet and gamble. Before the arrival of the betting exchanges I would only be able to let my gamble ride and would have had to agonize over the four days and hoped that Tiger could weave his magic and I would win my bet . I opted for the £150 bet and sat back and watched three thrilling days of golf safe in the knowledge that who ever won I would be at least £50 better off. As history will show Tiger did weave his magic and came through to win by two points I ended £193 better off.

Yes I could have stuck to my original bet and have won £367 but that would have been gambling. I do not gamble any more I am a trader. Long live the new king, long live the on-line trader.

Winning is a long term goal when it comes to gambling, its certainly not a sprint. If you bet too much at the start and experience a losing streak, you aren’t going to last for very long. Therefore, if you want to win a lot of money, and last a lot longer, I encourage you to make smaller bets. Winning a little bit of money at a time certainly isn’t an exciting prospect, however, its certainly better than losing a lot of money in a small space of time. If you would you like to last longer, and increase your chances of winning, then I recommend following these three tips.

Tip One - Make Smaller Bets

When you first begin to gamble, I would encourage making smaller bets (especially if you are on a budget). I usually experience a losing streak or two when I first begin gambling, especially on roulette. I’ve found that if I make my bets smaller, then I can easily survive these losing streaks. If I were to bet one hundred dollars at a time, I wouldn’t be able to survive any losing streaks!

Tip Two - Don’t Double Up For Losses

A lot of people will tell you to double your bets when you lose a bet; don’t listen to them. This strategy might work sometimes, but it will not work all of the time. In that one time it does not work, you will lose a lot of money (probably more money than you can afford to lose). I advice you to accept any losses, and to continue betting with the same amount you were originally betting.

Tip Three - Don’t Get Greedy

Never get greedy and double your bets hoping to win. You will end up losing all of your money, trust me. Gambling is about being intelligent, patient, and playing with strategy. Greedy gamblers never win, therefore, pick a budget and stick to it.

An important attribute of a successful poker player is the ability to be aggressive. Not blindly aggressive mind you, but rather to be selectively so. It’s a well known and often repeated fact in poker that there are more ways to win a hand if the player is aggressive than if he is passive. If the player is passive, he either checks, and calls, or checks and folds. An aggressive player will either bet, or check-raise. If the player check-calls, he call only win if he has the best hand. If he bets out, or check-raises, then he can win by having the best hand, or forcing the other player to fold under the other two circumstances, obviously the better play most of the time.

So often a good player can pick up “tells”, or overt mannerisms revealing the strength of ones hand, or covert betting patterns the opponent has made. By keeping these tells in mind, a good player can use them to his advantage. For instance, if a player knows his opponent rarely bluffs, yet will often play timidly in the face of a bet or a raise, he can use the information to play strong against the opponent with impunity.

Taking the aggressive playing styling a step further, one can capitalize on “fast” play in circumstances that lend themselves well to such tactics. For instance, depending on position in the hand, one can raise an opponent, not because he thinks his hand is best at the moment, rather so he will get a “free” card on the next street of betting if needed. The “free card” play is most often utilized when a player has a straight draw or flush draw. This could be especially useful if the player is able to raise on the “cheaper” street so that he doesn’t have to call a full bet on the more expensive rounds.

As with everything in poker, playing aggressively is not a style that should be employed all the time. If for no other reason, an aware opponent may pick up on a “too aggressive” style and exploit it. So as with all the other tools in a successful poker player’s arsenal, the aggressive style is an important one.

To summarize, when playing poker if there is ever a question as to the best course of action in a particular situation, the more aggressive play is usually warranted. This maxim can be applied to both poker tournaments and live games.