The Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa (Tulsa) has just announced that when their expansion is completed in the spring that the casino will be rebranded 'The Hard Rock Casino - Tulsa'.
Already Oklahoma's premier poker destination, the addition of the Hard Rock name is sure to bring in more people to play my game...For full details you can click the title and it will take you to the full press release from the Cherokee Nation...
The new casino floor will be opening in December with 110,000 square feet of gambling. The Cherokee Resort has the largest poker room in Oklahoma and regularly hosts tournaments that draw players from throughout the US and the world.
The Scotty Nguyen Challenge V just wrapped up. Look for a new post coming soon with results from the main event final table and winners of other events.
The new 19 story hotel tower opens in the Spring of 2009 and the 'Hard Rock' branding is scheduled to coincide with that opening.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
I am a degenerate gambler....
And I like it!
My friends and I will make a wager on just about anything. One vice I was never really into at the casino has been keeping me out into the wee hours recently.
I've never really played slot machines much until recently. They are a fun distraction while waiting for a seat to open up at the poker table or two deck pitch blackjack game, but I know the odds and other than the odd twenty or so every few months, never really played them.
My recent binge into the spinning wheels and multi-line payouts started a couple of weeks ago. A friend and I were at our favorite watering holes playing pool and darts (I lost at pool, but kicked ass, as usual, at darts) for beers. The place was dead that night and around 11pm we decided to roll up the highway to one of the many casinos within an hour of my house.
We played there for a bit then decided to try out another place for a while. After what seemed to be an hour or so there we decided to cash out and leave. Glancing at my watch as we walked towards my truck, I noticed it was 5am! Where had the time gone?
A few days later we were back at it. This time was even more extreme. Between time spent at the casinos and getting my online work semi-done, I was up for 51 hours straight! When I was younger and partying all night and working/going to school all day this would not have been that big of a deal...But hell, I'm 44 years old now! I'm not 21 any more...
After another couple late nights this week, I firmly believe that I am a degenerate gambler. Staying up all night playing cards is one thing (because I thoroughly enjoy playing poker and blackjack and almost always come out ahead), but machines...I know that I am pissing money away! Sure I may win $430 on a quarter bet, but eventually the slot Gods are going to take all of that and more back.
Things I will not be doing.
More soon...
My friends and I will make a wager on just about anything. One vice I was never really into at the casino has been keeping me out into the wee hours recently.
I've never really played slot machines much until recently. They are a fun distraction while waiting for a seat to open up at the poker table or two deck pitch blackjack game, but I know the odds and other than the odd twenty or so every few months, never really played them.
My recent binge into the spinning wheels and multi-line payouts started a couple of weeks ago. A friend and I were at our favorite watering holes playing pool and darts (I lost at pool, but kicked ass, as usual, at darts) for beers. The place was dead that night and around 11pm we decided to roll up the highway to one of the many casinos within an hour of my house.
We played there for a bit then decided to try out another place for a while. After what seemed to be an hour or so there we decided to cash out and leave. Glancing at my watch as we walked towards my truck, I noticed it was 5am! Where had the time gone?
A few days later we were back at it. This time was even more extreme. Between time spent at the casinos and getting my online work semi-done, I was up for 51 hours straight! When I was younger and partying all night and working/going to school all day this would not have been that big of a deal...But hell, I'm 44 years old now! I'm not 21 any more...
After another couple late nights this week, I firmly believe that I am a degenerate gambler. Staying up all night playing cards is one thing (because I thoroughly enjoy playing poker and blackjack and almost always come out ahead), but machines...I know that I am pissing money away! Sure I may win $430 on a quarter bet, but eventually the slot Gods are going to take all of that and more back.
Things I will not be doing.
- Replacing card games with slots as my favorite thing to do in a casino
- Pissing my poker bankroll away on slot machines
- Putting my mortgage payment, electric bill, grocery or any other necessity money on a slot machine spin (But I probably would on poker or blackjack).
- Using artificial stimulants (other than caffeine and sugar) to keep me awake during one of my binges
More soon...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
A Matter of Winning and Losing: Tips on Playing Blackjack
Today, blackjack seems to be one of the most popular card games. This is because playing blackjack is so easy to learn and play. Unlike poker, blackjack does not have any combinations to remember.
In blackjack, the object of the game is to get the sum of the two cards close to 21. When a person gets cards that are over 21, he or she loses the game.
Normally, a player receives two cards. After the players see their cards, they have to decide whether they would hit or stand. When a person says “stand,” this means the player thinks he or she is closer to 21 already. When a player says “hit,” this means that he or she still needs additional cards just to get close to 21.
Players can draw as many cards as they want until they feel they are close to 21 already. A player who is nearer to 21 wins.
However, there are people who have devised some tips and strategies to get an edge over the other players. There are times that these tips really can help some people win.
Here’s a list of some tips that players may choose to use them so as to win the game.
1. If a player gets 17 or higher, it is always better to stand, and if the player has any number from 13 to 16 and the dealer’s card is 6 or lower, it would be better to stand. But if the dealer has 7 or more, it would be better for a player to hit.
The theory here is that, if the dealer is showing a card of six or lower, the dealer may take a card, assuming that the dealer’s card facing down is a ten. The players, then, assume that the dealer is banking on a bust hand, so the other players have the tendency to maintain a lower card number.
The rule of thumb: players should always assume that the dealer’s down cards is 10.
2. If a player has aces or 8’s, it would be better to split them regardless of the dealer’s showing card.
3. A player should remember not to split 10’s. Chances are, they might end up getting busted.
4. If the dealer is showing 4, 5, or 6, it would be better for a player to stand on hard 12, or hit hard if the dealer is showing 2, 3, 7, or higher.
5. In order to win, players should always remember not to split fours, face cards, and fives.
Indeed, gambling is a game of chance, but with keen observation, winning is possible.
In blackjack, the object of the game is to get the sum of the two cards close to 21. When a person gets cards that are over 21, he or she loses the game.
Normally, a player receives two cards. After the players see their cards, they have to decide whether they would hit or stand. When a person says “stand,” this means the player thinks he or she is closer to 21 already. When a player says “hit,” this means that he or she still needs additional cards just to get close to 21.
Players can draw as many cards as they want until they feel they are close to 21 already. A player who is nearer to 21 wins.
However, there are people who have devised some tips and strategies to get an edge over the other players. There are times that these tips really can help some people win.
Here’s a list of some tips that players may choose to use them so as to win the game.
1. If a player gets 17 or higher, it is always better to stand, and if the player has any number from 13 to 16 and the dealer’s card is 6 or lower, it would be better to stand. But if the dealer has 7 or more, it would be better for a player to hit.
The theory here is that, if the dealer is showing a card of six or lower, the dealer may take a card, assuming that the dealer’s card facing down is a ten. The players, then, assume that the dealer is banking on a bust hand, so the other players have the tendency to maintain a lower card number.
The rule of thumb: players should always assume that the dealer’s down cards is 10.
2. If a player has aces or 8’s, it would be better to split them regardless of the dealer’s showing card.
3. A player should remember not to split 10’s. Chances are, they might end up getting busted.
4. If the dealer is showing 4, 5, or 6, it would be better for a player to stand on hard 12, or hit hard if the dealer is showing 2, 3, 7, or higher.
5. In order to win, players should always remember not to split fours, face cards, and fives.
Indeed, gambling is a game of chance, but with keen observation, winning is possible.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
AN OVERVIEW OF ONLINE GAMBLING
Now online: online gambling.
Just like any commercial market today, gambling also took its chance of having to saturate a broader area of gaming through the Internet.
Nowadays, there are as many online gambling games as there are gambling games. Every kind of gambling game has their online counter parts in the Web. From poker to sports betting, every gambling activity seems to be online.
Most proponents of online gambling assert that online gambling is just as safe as gambling in known casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Just like the usual casino, online casinos are also required to have their licenses and permits before engaging into online gambling.
By doing so, online casinos are systematically regulated and audited by professional firms. All online casinos use the secure e-cash facilities, in cooperation with the credit card companies, so that the customers are being protected from unauthorized use of credit cards or from cases of identity theft.
Generally, online gambling in an online casino will entice new players by requiring them to deposit an amount by offering bonuses. An online casino that will offer you a free $100 for a $50 deposit is a good example. In this manner, more people believe that online gambling offers better chances than real-life gambling. However, this poses more risk in getting addicted to the game.
For people who want to play online gambling, deposits can be made through credit cards, fire pay, or 900 pay. Fire pay works like an ordinary online debit card. Normally, the player places money into the account and can be spent to any online merchants. Funds can be deposited through wire transfers. 900 pay, on the other hand, is another way of depositing money by calling a 900 number and the amount that is to be deposited is charged to the player's phone bill.
What's more, online casinos are further classified into two groups based on their interface. Online casinos could either be web-based or download-based.
Web-based casinos are forms of online gambling wherein users may directly play online casino games without having to load any software to the local computer. Online gambling is mainly presented in the browser plugins like Macromedia Flash, Shockwave, or Java.
On the other hand, download-based online casinos are the most common online gambling sites in the Web. Here, online gambling users have to download certain software in order to play the casino games. And because it has pre-downloaded software, it is faster to initiate casino games on it compared to web-based casinos.
All the same, and due to the basic nature of online gambling, any transactions with it are vulnerable to fraud. There are online gambling known as rogue casinos wherein these sites refuse to pay the customers or contains a cheating software.
Plus, there are other ways of frauds in online gambling. Most of these cases are player-based. Players who want to cheat usually uses Adobe Photoshop or a comparable tool to maneuver the graphics of a slot machine screenshot in order to deceive the casino into thinking that the player just hit a jackpot.
Whatever forms of deception, it is evident that frauds are more likely to happen in online gambling. And if in any case, players get to be addicted in playing online gambling, they must remember that their obsession did not happen by mistake.
Online gambling is a highly interactive game, meaning whatever choices players make are based on their own prerogatives. So, however enticing online gambling can be it is a must that players must know their own dispositions so as not to be deceived.
Just like any commercial market today, gambling also took its chance of having to saturate a broader area of gaming through the Internet.
Nowadays, there are as many online gambling games as there are gambling games. Every kind of gambling game has their online counter parts in the Web. From poker to sports betting, every gambling activity seems to be online.
Most proponents of online gambling assert that online gambling is just as safe as gambling in known casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Just like the usual casino, online casinos are also required to have their licenses and permits before engaging into online gambling.
By doing so, online casinos are systematically regulated and audited by professional firms. All online casinos use the secure e-cash facilities, in cooperation with the credit card companies, so that the customers are being protected from unauthorized use of credit cards or from cases of identity theft.
Generally, online gambling in an online casino will entice new players by requiring them to deposit an amount by offering bonuses. An online casino that will offer you a free $100 for a $50 deposit is a good example. In this manner, more people believe that online gambling offers better chances than real-life gambling. However, this poses more risk in getting addicted to the game.
For people who want to play online gambling, deposits can be made through credit cards, fire pay, or 900 pay. Fire pay works like an ordinary online debit card. Normally, the player places money into the account and can be spent to any online merchants. Funds can be deposited through wire transfers. 900 pay, on the other hand, is another way of depositing money by calling a 900 number and the amount that is to be deposited is charged to the player's phone bill.
What's more, online casinos are further classified into two groups based on their interface. Online casinos could either be web-based or download-based.
Web-based casinos are forms of online gambling wherein users may directly play online casino games without having to load any software to the local computer. Online gambling is mainly presented in the browser plugins like Macromedia Flash, Shockwave, or Java.
On the other hand, download-based online casinos are the most common online gambling sites in the Web. Here, online gambling users have to download certain software in order to play the casino games. And because it has pre-downloaded software, it is faster to initiate casino games on it compared to web-based casinos.
All the same, and due to the basic nature of online gambling, any transactions with it are vulnerable to fraud. There are online gambling known as rogue casinos wherein these sites refuse to pay the customers or contains a cheating software.
Plus, there are other ways of frauds in online gambling. Most of these cases are player-based. Players who want to cheat usually uses Adobe Photoshop or a comparable tool to maneuver the graphics of a slot machine screenshot in order to deceive the casino into thinking that the player just hit a jackpot.
Whatever forms of deception, it is evident that frauds are more likely to happen in online gambling. And if in any case, players get to be addicted in playing online gambling, they must remember that their obsession did not happen by mistake.
Online gambling is a highly interactive game, meaning whatever choices players make are based on their own prerogatives. So, however enticing online gambling can be it is a must that players must know their own dispositions so as not to be deceived.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Games Gamblers Play: Casino Gambling 101
Casino gambling. The first thing that enters our mind is Vegas, slot machines, bright lights and chips. If you’re not a gambling person and you don’t know a lot about casino gambling, then read on...
According to the Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, a casino is a building that accommodates casino gambling. Customers may gamble by playing slot machines or other games of chance and some skill. Casino gambling games usually have mathematically determined odds built in that ensure the house retains an advantage over the players. This advantage is called the “edge”. “Payout” is the percentage given to players. Some statistically even games may take a commission or tax, a "rake" on bets customers make against each other.
There are a lot of casino gambling games which can get you hooked in no time. First of all, you have the classic slot machine. A slot machine is a coin-operated casino gambling machine with three or more reels that rotate when a lever on the side of the machine is pulled. It includes a currency detector that validates the coin or money inserted to play. The machine typically pays off based on patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops.
Sadly, casino gambling games often offer the player the illusion of control in which the player is given choices, but these choices do not eliminate the player's long-term disadvantage. This disadvantage is caused by the casino not paying the full amount that would be expected for the odds wagered. For example, if one game was played by betting what number a roll of a die would give, instead of paying 6 times the amount bet for winning, the casino only pays 5 times the amount bet.
This system is often found in famous casino gambling games like Poker, Craps, Roulette or Blackjack.
Poker is a very popular casino gambling card game. The players, with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, after which the pot is awarded to the remaining player or players with the best combination of cards.
Like Poker, Blackjack is also a very popular casino gambling card game. Much of its popularity is due to the mix of chance with elements of skill and decision making, and a practice called card counting. It is a skill in which players can turn the odds of the game in their favor by making betting and strategy decisions based on the cards that have been dealt. Players suspected of card counting are usually banned and blacklisted by casinos.
Craps is a famous casino gambling game using dice. Players wager money against the casino on the outcome of one roll, or of a series of rolls of two dice. The rules vary slightly from one casino to another, but the expected value of most bets is only slightly negative. All bets have a negative expectation, except the "free odds" bet with an expectation of 0, that the player is allowed to make after a point is established on a flat bet. Unlike in Blackjack, there is no possible winning strategy over any given period of time.
Roulette is a signature casino gambling game. A croupier turns a round roulette wheel which has 37 or 38 separately numbered pockets in which a ball must land. The main pockets are numbered from 1 to 36 and change between red and black, with number 1 being red. In addition there is a pocket numbered 0 of green color. In most roulette wheels in the United States but not in Europe, there is a second zero compartment marked 00, also colored green. If a player bets on a single number and wins, the payout is 35 to 1. The bet itself is returned, so in total it is multiplied by 36.
Be very wary though, these casino gambling games are highly addictive (as they are intended to be). A lot of lives have been ruined by casino gambling and although it might be fun, please do try to regulate yourself.
According to the Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, a casino is a building that accommodates casino gambling. Customers may gamble by playing slot machines or other games of chance and some skill. Casino gambling games usually have mathematically determined odds built in that ensure the house retains an advantage over the players. This advantage is called the “edge”. “Payout” is the percentage given to players. Some statistically even games may take a commission or tax, a "rake" on bets customers make against each other.
There are a lot of casino gambling games which can get you hooked in no time. First of all, you have the classic slot machine. A slot machine is a coin-operated casino gambling machine with three or more reels that rotate when a lever on the side of the machine is pulled. It includes a currency detector that validates the coin or money inserted to play. The machine typically pays off based on patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops.
Sadly, casino gambling games often offer the player the illusion of control in which the player is given choices, but these choices do not eliminate the player's long-term disadvantage. This disadvantage is caused by the casino not paying the full amount that would be expected for the odds wagered. For example, if one game was played by betting what number a roll of a die would give, instead of paying 6 times the amount bet for winning, the casino only pays 5 times the amount bet.
This system is often found in famous casino gambling games like Poker, Craps, Roulette or Blackjack.
Poker is a very popular casino gambling card game. The players, with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, after which the pot is awarded to the remaining player or players with the best combination of cards.
Like Poker, Blackjack is also a very popular casino gambling card game. Much of its popularity is due to the mix of chance with elements of skill and decision making, and a practice called card counting. It is a skill in which players can turn the odds of the game in their favor by making betting and strategy decisions based on the cards that have been dealt. Players suspected of card counting are usually banned and blacklisted by casinos.
Craps is a famous casino gambling game using dice. Players wager money against the casino on the outcome of one roll, or of a series of rolls of two dice. The rules vary slightly from one casino to another, but the expected value of most bets is only slightly negative. All bets have a negative expectation, except the "free odds" bet with an expectation of 0, that the player is allowed to make after a point is established on a flat bet. Unlike in Blackjack, there is no possible winning strategy over any given period of time.
Roulette is a signature casino gambling game. A croupier turns a round roulette wheel which has 37 or 38 separately numbered pockets in which a ball must land. The main pockets are numbered from 1 to 36 and change between red and black, with number 1 being red. In addition there is a pocket numbered 0 of green color. In most roulette wheels in the United States but not in Europe, there is a second zero compartment marked 00, also colored green. If a player bets on a single number and wins, the payout is 35 to 1. The bet itself is returned, so in total it is multiplied by 36.
Be very wary though, these casino gambling games are highly addictive (as they are intended to be). A lot of lives have been ruined by casino gambling and although it might be fun, please do try to regulate yourself.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Ten Things to Know Me Better
10: I wear shorts, year round. If its above freezing; I'm usually wearing a pair of shorts.
9: I rarely wear a tie; but at one point in my life had a collection of over 100 fine silk ties in my closet.
8: If I'm not wearing shorts; I'm in blue jeans. I am very anal about my jeans. I only wear Levis 501's. No Wrangler, Bugle Boy or whatever. Only Levis. Only 501's.
7: I'm a gambler who will bet on the outcome of most anything; but I do not play slot machines or the lottery.
6: I'm a very spontaneous person. I've been known to wake up and drive halfway across the country to see something or someone, on a whim.
5: I was personally invited to both of the Bush/Cheney Inaugural Balls. Why is this strange? I am not a registered Republican and I made no donations to either campaign.
4: I have a degree in political science, but hate discussing politics. My views are extreme enough in both directions, depending on the issue, to make members of both parties squirm.
3: I hate funerals, but have my own planned.
2: I am very much into freedom of expression; but run a very disciplined household. My boys have been given the freedom to explore their own ideals and beliefs; but are amongst the most polite, well-behaved young men you'll ever meet.
1: I go commando in public.
9: I rarely wear a tie; but at one point in my life had a collection of over 100 fine silk ties in my closet.
8: If I'm not wearing shorts; I'm in blue jeans. I am very anal about my jeans. I only wear Levis 501's. No Wrangler, Bugle Boy or whatever. Only Levis. Only 501's.
7: I'm a gambler who will bet on the outcome of most anything; but I do not play slot machines or the lottery.
6: I'm a very spontaneous person. I've been known to wake up and drive halfway across the country to see something or someone, on a whim.
5: I was personally invited to both of the Bush/Cheney Inaugural Balls. Why is this strange? I am not a registered Republican and I made no donations to either campaign.
4: I have a degree in political science, but hate discussing politics. My views are extreme enough in both directions, depending on the issue, to make members of both parties squirm.
3: I hate funerals, but have my own planned.
2: I am very much into freedom of expression; but run a very disciplined household. My boys have been given the freedom to explore their own ideals and beliefs; but are amongst the most polite, well-behaved young men you'll ever meet.
1: I go commando in public.
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