Archive for August, 2008

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

Winning At Roulette – 4 Tips For Bigger Profits

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Roulette has everything a casino game should have including excitement, glamour.

What many players don’t know, is winning at roulette is relatively easy.

All you need to do is to follow the 4 simple tips below and the odds are in your favor as much as possible.

So here are your 4 tips for winning at roulette:

Play European Roulette

There are two wheels, the European and the American and if you want to be winning at roulette then you don’t want to play on the American wheel.

If you do you will decrease your odds of success dramatically.

The best roulette wheel to play is the European wheel as it reduces the casino advantage to just 2.63%.

The American version on the other hand with an extra 00 almost doubles the house advantage, you don’t have to play the American roulette wheel it wont help you in your quest of winning it roulette so don’t.

Best bet of all

Another advantage of the European table is the opportunity to place the best bet of all the en prison bet, which is available on even-money bets.

When the 0 is hit, your bet remains on the table, (captured), for the next play.

If you win on the next spin, you aren’t paid for the win, but you get to take your original bet back; so you only lose half your bet.

The House edge on even money bets with the en prison rule and single zero is just 1.35% making it the best bet to place.

For winning at roulette longer term you should place this bet the majority of the time, but you can add some variety.

Best and worst bets

Here we will look at best bets and also look at the worst bet in roulette and isolate ones that help you in your quest for winning at roulette.

The worst bet is the five number bet of 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 that 5.26% out of the house with an edge of 7.89% to the casino, truly terrible odds yet players still insist on placing it. For good bets place the bets with lower odds, and avoid single number bets.

Playing red or black gives you a chance of winning 50% of the time minus the house edge.

Roulette is a game of chance

Don’t get emotional when you play. roulette is a game of chance, so make sure you set a bankroll you are happy with before you play, and when it’s lost leave the game.

You can also set yourself a target for winning at roulette as well and then when this level is hit walk away and enjoy your winnings.

Roulette is emotional and exciting, so it is easy to spend your money quickly and believe your luck will change or go on for ever it won’t so have win and lose targets for winning at roulette longer term.

Roulette is a fun, exciting game like slots, moneymaking is a bonus.

Don’t Use a system

You will see roulette systems on sale for just a few dollars that guarantee you huge profits.

The house advantage is there before you use a system and its there after, the house edge cannot be removed so don’t waste time trying.

Roulette is a game of chance, so forget about buying a system. For winning at roulette all you need to do is get the odds in your favor as much as possible and what we are explaining here is free.

Winning at roulette

The above 4 tips will put you on your way to winning at roulette you will have fun and be playing with very respectable odds considering roulette is a game of chance.

Good luck

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

NFL Power Rating Totals 2006

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Just about everyone is familiar with team “Power Ratings” Allow me to introduce you to my NFL “Power Rating Totals”. I’ve designed a set of home/away numbers for each NFL team. I’m able to combine and adjust them based on performance each week throughout the season, so I may find value in playing totals.

These numbers are based on a calculation I designed, going back a certain number of years for each club. Taking coaches, and players into consideration. And I give a “weighted percentage” grade for total scores both home and away. The process is repeated with a different “weighted percentage” over a certain number of times. Once finished, the “PRT’s” are ready for the season.

Keep in mind that these are hard numbers. We must take injuries, and weather into consideration ourselves.

For example: If a starting quarterback is out for a game. You must decide how many points is he actually worth?

Week 1 for 2006 is a perfect example. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is out as the Steelers host Miami. Veteran Charlie Batch takes his place.

The “Power Rating Total” for this match-up is 41 (we can expect a total of 41 point to be scored).

The game opened at 37 before Big Ben had emergency surgery. Now at most places the total is 34.5. Not a dramatic drop-off is it?

We now have a 6.5 point difference in the “PRTs’” and the actual total. Do you still take a look at playing the over?

Here’s Week Ones NFL “Power Rating Totals”

Miami/Pittsburgh 41

Denver/St. Louis 44

N.Y .Jets/Tennessee 40.5

Buffalo/New England 41.5

Baltimore/Tampa Bay 36.5

Cincinnati/Kansas City 49

Seattle/Detroit 44

Atlanta/Carolina 41

Philadelphia/Houston 43.5

New Orleans/Cleveland 41

Dallas/Jacksonville 38

Chicago/Green Bay 39.5

San Francisco/Arizona 40

Indianapolis/N.Y. Giants 45.5

Minnesota/Washington 43.5

San Diego/Oakland 43

We’re looking for a minimum difference of at least 3 points between the “PRT’s” and the betting total to consider a play.

Thank you and Good Luck!

The Bullpen - Key to Profits

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

Baseball is right around the corner so it’s time to start looking at some of the basics. Starting pitching and offense are the two things that people look at most when handicapping baseball but there is one aspect that is considered by some to be the most important and that is the bullpen. A shaky bullpen can kill a quality start and can erase a big lead given to them by the offense so if the bullpen falters, starting pitching and offense doesn’t even matter.

On the flip side, a good bullpen will do just the opposite and protect those big leads and give the starters good support throughout the season. The middle relief is where games are won and lost and a good middle rotation takes pressure off the closer as well as the starters since they don’t need to feel they have to throw a near perfect game in order to get a win.

Looking at the 2005 season, the top ten teams in bullpen ERA were Cleveland, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles Angels, Washington, Seattle and Houston. It’s no surprise that seven of those teams were in the top 10 in profits with Minnesota, San Diego and Seattle being the only teams not to show a profit. Those seven teams were a combined +8,542 in profits. Coincidence? Not a chance.

Extending out further, the top ten teams in bullpen ERA finished a combined +4,725, a very solid ending number. Looking at the bottom five teams in bullpen ERA, only Boston finished the season with a winning record and the Red Sox and Devil Rays were the only of those five teams to finish in the black on the money line. The combined losses were -3,438 so a bad bullpen leads to some ugly numbers.

Going back a year and there is not much of a difference. Looking at the 2004 season, the top five teams in bullpen ERA were St. Louis, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Texas and Atlanta. Four of those teams were the top four teams in profits with Anaheim being the only team not in the top four. Those four teams were a combined +7,745 in profits showing once again that a solid bullpen leads to the cash.

Overall, the top ten teams in bullpen ERA finished a combined +5,305. Looking at the bottom five teams in bullpen ERA, only Cincinnati finished the season with a profitable year as Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto and Colorado all finished in the red. The combined losses were -3,585 which is very close to what the bottom five finished with in 2005.

A closer obviously plays a big role in the outcome of a game but just how big? Four teams finished last season with a blown save percentage of 25 percent or less. Three of those teams, Chicago, Cleveland and Los Angeles were the top moneymakers with the Astros being the only team on the outside but not by far. The four combined to go +6,538 on the money line.

Trying to handicap the bullpens is the toughest part since the pitchers are coming in an out, whether it’s to and from the minors or back and forth from the starting rotation. Knowing who is back there is extremely important and looking at daily transactions is a must since the bullpen is constantly turning over for most teams. It’s an aspect that is overlooked by most but obviously should not as the analysis can make or break your season.

A Casino Bequeathed for My Fun

Friday, August 15th, 2008

A fornicate affair with sports betting

Uncle Jerome’s portrait on the wall coated with a light yellow shade reminded me of the ace eclectic talent that had faded with his life. He had told me a lot on the Casino and he took me to the edge of having a fornicate affair with the spirit of sports betting. Now the very yellow takes me through the corridors of the big walled, tightly secured doors of the Casino, this time however through the evanescent memory that I wish to convey before it gets lost. We stopped at sports betting and the time that was, when my Uncle loved to bet on the major event of boxing. The sports book was filled with entrants, new, old, veterans and men on the lighter side of the affair like me who wanted to get the feel of the fun.

Tipple yourself with a pint of life

The sounds that swept the corners fell still, the eyes that strained to grab the beat fell cold and then with a sweep as of the foam filled tide on the barnacle filled shore, my uncle grabbed me to a lift of the centaury. My heart fell out through the mouth, we won the bet. This is no romantic visionary that was forced to tell the tale for want of a few dollars; this is an omen that reminds you of the prospects that are in store for tippling yourself with an excess of a life in the casino. A in poker, a sports book and the crowd that could vanish the very macabre life that you have been trotting on as of now; that was what my uncle had to show me and that’s exactly what I have in store for you.

On the footsteps of Jerome

Sports betting are now high on the list; what the game of poker hid behind the set of cards that could spread out the pot in front of you, sports book deals with a better thrill. It’s the screens that you have to be steady to look out for; it’s the passion that you have to gape at and it’s the game of chances you are in the casino for. A game theorist could move the strategies, and you could be the layman who dances in the glade; and a glade it is the Casino and the color that the bet has to offer. So the legality of sports betting being held high on the agenda, something forced to separate it from gambling and that was where my old blood mate Jerome showed me the way to trace the events that could bring out my best.

Internet Casino Software - A Brief History

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

The rising popularity of online casinos undoubtedly indicates that this thrilling activity is also a booming business field, and where hi-tech and money are involved you can bet on rich innovations and surprises. The developmental stages of casino software were naturally intertwined with technological advancement, both on the side of software providers as well as on the user’s end. In this review of the short but exciting history of internet casino software, we will explore how thanks to progress in hardware no-download casino software – the formal dark-horse of the industry – turned out to be the winner of the race to the online player’s heart and computer screen.

The evolution of casino software can be categorized in four primary stages. In the beginning there were low quality downloadable software that took over three hours to download, offered a small choice of games, and poor graphics. The available no-download software of the time were not much better. Later on a breakthrough gave downloadable software an edge: the software was divided to too – a light installation package that downloaded quickly, and a game suite from which the player could choose to download specific games. Thanks to this method and overall technical improvement, online gambling kept on expanding.

The fast increasing popularity of internet casinos naturally led to a growth in the development of casino software. The first software developers’ motivation was to take over as much of the market before the word gets around and the arrival of new competitors will cause a raise in the cost per earned player. This urge brought investors – some of them unfamiliar with internet technology – to put their money on two major goals: improving the downloadable casino software, and creating no-download casino applications. In the third stage of evolution the development of the downloadable casinos was extremely successful; Download speed, graphics, games suite, and most important the game experience have improved dramatically. This led to a further increase in the number of players and the popularity of online gambling. However, in comparison to the downloadable casinos, the development of no-download casino software was quite a failure, primarily due to internet connection speed issues.

In the past, the resources required to operate an instant play casino software (loading graphics, communicating with casino servers, etc.) were beyond the capabilities of internet providers. As a result no-download software took forever to load, and in many cases they weren’t worth the waiting. To make matter worse, whenever players closed the casino window, they had to start the entire process from the start to play again. Nonetheless, in the past couple of years these problems were solved, and this is the fourth and current stage of development.

Today the average clients of internet providers as well as casino operators enjoy faster connections, robust processors, and durable operating systems – and these factors contribute to the rise of instant play casino software. Now the player can start playing within less than a single minute; the communication with casino servers, and therefore the games, run smoothly, free from interruptions. Starting from 2005, in additions to companies specializing in advanced flash software such as FutureBet, major software developers Microgaming and Playtech as well as others released instant play games.

Currently no-download casino software is as common as downloadable casino software and its popularity is increasing rapidly. Almost all downloadable casinos began offering flash games too, such as industry leader www.888.com, and many casinos are basing their marketing exclusively on no-download casino software, such as www.Money-Casino.com . In addition to benefits such as visual superiority, speed, and supply of games, no-download casino provides one of the most important commodities an internet user can ask for at this age: privacy. No download casinos do not require from players to download and install files on their personal computers. This is a double benefit: players can play in a casino without leaving signs in their PCs (like installation package or the software itself), and they can play from each computer at any time just by launching the software from the casino website – a significant attraction factor for players who are more mobile or use other computers than their own.

Casino operators recognize the advantage of this attribute – the player is not limited to a single location or PC, and therefore the average play time is prolonged. As both players and casino owners benefit from instant play software the providers are urged to keep on delivering even more advanced no-download casinos. Judging from all perspectives this market trend is here to stay, the conclusion is that the future of online gambling lies in instant play casino software.

2006 World Series of Poker - Event #20 HORSE

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

H.O.R.S.E. which was Event #20 at this years World Series of Poker will be the one to watch in future WSOP tournaments as it pits the best in the game of poker against each other in a contest of skill, mental and physical endurance. 143 players almost entirely composed of the biggest stars in the game of poker entered this event. And with a $50,000 entry fee per player, a massive $6,864,000 prize pool was created. Two players were able to lay claim to over $1,000,000 by the time the contest finished. Now for those who don’t know, H.O.R.S.E. stands for Hold’em (both Limit and No-Limit), Omaha High-Low Split, Razz, Seven-Card Stud and Eight or Better. It is played with rotations of the six games for each level in the event. For instance the game in level 1 was Limit Hold’Em, in level 2 the game was Omaha 8/OB, level 3 game was Razz and so on.

Day 1 saw a lot of incredible play and some controversy. Many players complained that the cards being dealt were marked as they were used from previous games. Andy Bloch first stood up and received a penalty after going through a deck for marked cards that he saw at his table. The complaint was followed by other players like Annie Duke, Doyle Brunson, Max Pescatori, David Grey and Scott Fischman stating that new card decks should have been brought out. Eventually new decks were provided to all tables. But the card action was of equal interest. During a level featuring the game Omaha 8/OB, Ram Vaswani and Brett Jungblut had to split a pot when both drew the nut full house Aces full of Kings with no possible low. Another hand on the same level and game saw a complicated four way split of the pot with Frank Kassela, Marcel Luske, Phil Hellmuth and Jan Sorensen. The first day ended 14 hours later with only 14 players gone.

Day two had the beginning level start with the game Hold’Em at 2:00 p.m. Some of the first to go were Chip Jett, Eli Elezra, John D’Agostino, Sam Farha and Michael Mizrachi. Also Phil Hellmuth Jr. and Mike Matusow were busted, so no one had to worry about Matusow making good on his earlier bet by running the Amazon room “buck naked” if Phil became the winner. Of all the games in this event, Razz seems to be the least desirable to play by anyone. T.J. Cloutier won the Seven Card Razz bracelet in 2004 and in 2005 he had no desire to defend his title because he said it’s a frustrating game. Irritated looks were on the faces of Daniel Negreanu and others whenever a level featured the game of Razz. Outside of that one selection, the other games let the pros shine at whatever they were best at. Doyle Brunson steam rolled ahead as he took out players like Paul Phillips and others while building his stack to over 1,200,000. Chip Reese who mentioned he would only compete in this and the Main Event played as if his intentions were to win both, reaching the final table with over 1,700,000 chips. Andy Bloch also made the final table in a bit of righteous justice given the treatment he received on Day 1. But with Jim Bechtel, Dewey Tomko, T.J. Cloutier, Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius and David Singer also sitting down to play, any money received will be well earned. And after Day 2 lasted 21 hours, these top pros did not get much rest to prepare for the championship round.

Day 3 play began at 9:45 p.m. to allow some sleep for the final table participants. Players were very careful to pick and choose their battles, folding if they didn’t feel they could win the hand. The first to go less than 10 min into the action was Patrik Antonius (9th). He sat down with only 13,000 only to lose his last $1,000 chip to Chip Reese. Another favorite Doyle Brunson (8th) was slowly losing his chips to others and had to leave after losing an all in hand to Jim Bechtel. Outside of that, like two samurai warriors Andy Bloch and Chip Reese cleared the table. Andy Block took out Phil Ivey (3rd), Dewey Tomko (7th), T.J. Cloutier (5th) and Jim Bechtel (4th). Chip Reese added David Singer (6th) to his list of felled combatants.

At 2:10 a.m. in the morning the heads up battle began with Chip Reese and Andy Bloch. These two fought for hours as huge piles of chips went back and forth. Finally after 7 hours and 6 minutes, which was the longest heads up contest in World Series of Poker history and 354 hands played, Chip Reese was declared the winner. Here is the final hand between both players. Chip (Ac Qc) pushed all his chips to the center and Andy (9c 8s) called. Js 7c 7s comes on the flop, turn card is 4h and the river card is 4s giving a hard and long deserved victory to Chip Reese along with his fourth gold WSOP bracelet.

  1. Chip Reese — $1,716,000
  2. Andy Bloch — $1,029,600
  3. Phil Ivey — $617,760
  4. Jim Bechtel — $549,120
  5. T.J. Cloutier — $480,480
  6. David Singer — $411,840
  7. Dewey Tomko — $343,200
  8. Doyle Brunson — $274,560
  9. Patrik Antonius — $205,920

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Las Vegas Odds & Ends

Monday, August 11th, 2008

The Las Vegas Hilton, home of the prestigious SuperContest football handicapping competition, will give away $10,000 in weekly drawings throughout the upcoming season as the resort turns its legenday theater into “Football Central” on NFL Sundays.

Food and drink specials, including $1 hot dogs and draft beer, .will be served beginning with 10 a.m. (Pacific time) kickoffs.

The theater features 1,100 comfortable seats, 11 giant (15-foot by 20-foot) high-definition screens with state-of-the-art surround sound.

“Football Central” also will present the Miller Girls.

Prizes from Miller include a year’s supply of beer, monthly Pro Bowl giveaways, including trips to Hawaii, and $250 weekly Mastercard gift cards.

Drawings for $10,000 in prizes, to be shared by five winners each week, will be held at 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Participants can earn game cards to enter the drawings by playing their favorite slot, table games, horse racing action or by making parlay card wagers (before 9 a.m.) in the SuperBook.

Game cards include each Sunday’s pro games.

Players pick their choices for each game and then deposit them in a drum before early game kickoffs.

Five game cards will be drawn each week, with the highest cash prize of $3,500 going to the game card with the most winning teams.

Second is worth $2,500, third $2,000, fourth $1,500 and fifth $500.

*****

Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, Carolina’s Jake Delhomme and New England’s Tom Brady are favorites to pass for the most touchdowns this season at Station Casinos.

The trio also are the only NFLers in single digits at 3/1, 5-1 and 7/1 respectively; everyone else is double digits, ranging from Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer and Denver’s Jake Plummer at 10/1 to long shot Michael Vick of Atlanta at 75/1.

Others are Donovan McNabb of Phildelphia, Dallas’ Drew Bledsoe and Kansas City of Kansas City, all 15/1; Green Bay’s Brett Farve, Eli Manning of the New York Giants and Oakland’s Aaron Brooks, all 18/1; Marc Bulger of St. Louis, 20/1; Miami’s Daunte Culpepper and Drew Brees of New Orleans, 28/1; Arizona’s Kurt Warner, 30/1; and Philip Rivers of San Diego, 40/1.

Ben Roethelsberger of Pittsburgh, the 2006 Super Bowl’s winning quarterback, is 35/1, Seattle’s Matt Hasseback, the loser, is 22/1.

*****

Farve enters the season chasing retired Miami signal caller Dan Marino’s record of 420 touchdown passes.

The Packer quarterback, who is returning following a lengthy decision-making process, has 396.

Marino built the Dolphin Dynasty of Don Shula, leading the AFC in completed passes in five different seasons between 1985 and 1994.

Farve has paced the NFC only once, in 1995 when he threw for 38 touchdowns.

Caesars Palace has Farve at minus $1.60 NO and plus $1.30 YES to hit 421 this campaign.

*****

Caesars has posted on the number of Reggie Bush touchdowns.

OVER 7 1/2 is minus $1.60 and UNDER is plus $1.30.

*****

Odds on NCAA totals at Caesars pretty much have remained the same the past week, with some slight fluctuations and a couple of notable exceptions.

Texas, with an over/under of 9 1/2, has dropped from 20/1 to 12/1 and Oregon, which has a 7 1/2 total, has fallen from 100/1 to 80/1.

Shortest odds are on 4/1 Notre Dame with a 9 1/2 over/under.

*****

Station and the Hilton each have the AFC favored to win the 2007 Super Bowl.

The junior loop is a 5-point favorite at Station resorts and 4 1/2-point choice at the Hilton.

The total at both is 47 1/2.