Poker

As it is with most popular card games, the origins of Poker and the history of 7 Card Stud Poker are shrouded in mystery. No one is entirely sure how or where the game began. Further, when considering the history of 7 Card Stud Poker, you should first know how Poker is thought to have come about.

There are many theories about the history of Poker and the history of 7 Card Stud Poker. The most commonly held belief is the name Poker came from the French card game Poque (from the German word pochen, which means "to knock). However, the game itself more closely resembles a Persian game called Nas, which was played with a five-suit deck. Likely the game of Poker as we know it resulted from some combination of Poque and as Nas. The concept of bluffing in Poker came from still another source: the English game brag (first spelled Bragg), which is very similar to Poker but played using only three cards.

The first recorded instance of Poker in the United States was an 1829 game in New Orleans, played with a 20-card deck consisting of all cards with values of 10 and higher (four tens, four jacks, four queens, four kings and four aces). The game was not named, but the object was to bet on whose five-card hand contained the highest cards. This game soon spread to Mississippi riverboats, where con artists used a 52-card variant to bilk unwary travelers and claim their "pokes," or gambling money stashes. Author Jonathan H. Green described this "cheating card game" in one of his books, and some give Green credit for coining the final term of ″Poker.″

Stud Poker emerged during the American Civil War. Some attribute the invention of stud, or stud-horse as it was sometimes called, to cowboys around Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. 5 Card Stud was the first version played, appearing in The American Hoyle as an "official" Poker variant in 1864. Still, draw Poker was the favored variation until someone–no one is certain exactly whom–introduced 7 Card Stud in the early 20th century. The game remained the most popular form of professional and casino Poker until the 1980's, when a slight twist on 7 Card Stud called Texas Hold 'Em overtook the traditional version to become the favorite among gamblers and casual players alike.

The majority of Poker tournaments are based on core games of 7 Card Stud or variations of it. Binions Casino, the founder of the largest professional Poker tournament in existence–the World Series of Poker–began a Poker Hall of Fame to commemorate the greatest Poker players in history. Among them are "Wild Bill" Hicock, who was shot and killed during a Poker game holding a two-pair hand of aces over eights (which is still known as a "dead man's hand" among gamblers); and "Red" Hodges, considered the greatest 7 Card Stud Poker player to have ever lived. 7 Card Stud is still an immensely popular game in Vegas, home games and Internet casinos.

Online gambling is the usual term used for gambling using the Internet. Different forms of online gambling are online poker, online casinos, online sports betting, online bingo, mobile gambling, etc. Online gambling games can be divided into two groups based on their interface: web-based gambling games and downloadable gambling games. In the downloadable format, it requires the gambler to download certain software to play these games. Some online gambling sites offer more than one interface.

There are over 100 online gambling games available in various online gambling sites which includes blackjack, keno, roulette, baccarat, craps, pai gow poker, video poker, slot machines, sic bo, etc. Various games of poker are offered in online poker rooms such as Texas hold ‘em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Seven-card stud, Seven-card stud Hi/Lo, etc. These online poker sites offer games in both ring game type and tournament structures. Bookmakers and wagering exchanges offer fixed-odds gambling over the Internet on the results of sporting events. Online bingo rooms also offer games on the Internet, but they use a random number generator instead of balls. Some online poker card rooms and online casinos offer mobile gambling options also.

Online gambling games are played against other players or against the ″house″ in which the house makes its money through the rake or due to the fact that the odds are slightly in its favor. Usually, players upload funds to the online gambling operator, make bets or play the games they offer, and then cash out any profits. Electronic money services such as Firepay, Moneybookers, Neteller, etc. offer accounts with which players can fund online gambling, although common payment modes are by checks and wire transfers.

Any player must be aware of certain factors before participating in any online gambling game. Operating online gambling games without a proper license is illegal. Each state has specific laws against online gambling of any kind. Also gambling operators can cheat the gamblers using some software or refusing to pay. It should also be kept in mind that the gambling games are formatted in such a manner that the probability of winning is determined by the ″house.″

Are you a seasoned poker player, and have heard people talk about online virtual poker but never tried it? Maybe you are worried about the security of the poker sites or maybe not being able to see the other players at the table. Whatever the reason, online virtual poker is wave of the future, it's time to catch the wave.

The hardest part of online virtual poker is deciding on what site and/or software to use. There are literally hundreds of safe and secure sites available. Ask yourself these questions: What type of online virtual poker do I want to play? Does the site offer a secured payment site? Does the site offer a free tutorial for learning the ins and outs of online virtual poker? What types of payout are available when I start winning? Once you find an online virtual poker site that answers all your questions it's time to join.

So, what exactly goes on in an online virtual poker room? Online virtual poker can be very rewarding. I'm not just talking about wining money. Many of the sites are monitored and even used by some of the top poker players in the world. Simply being able to play against the top players will increase your skills and confidence greatly. Sometimes online poker sites offer message boards and chat rooms where you can actual talk and interact with your favorite players. Most online virtual poker sites are open 24 hours a day!

Online virtual poker is bound to improve your game so much that your live buddies will want to know your secret. How is it that you are now the best player at the table? Maybe the biggest question is…will you tell them your secret?

The list of The Gambia’s casinos is surprisingly short for the country. While it is a small country, essentially the valley of the river Gambia, it has an open and thriving economy. It has also become one of the great destinations for European tourists in search of some winter sun.

In fact the country deliberately set out to become a tourist magnet for those escaping from the severity of a Northern European winter: something they’ve managed to do very well. So the shortness of the list of Gambia’s casinos is therefore something of a puzzle, it’s simply odd that there aren’t more.

That sort list of Gambia’s casinos in fact only contains two places: On Cape St Mary there is the Fajara Casino Club offering blackjack, slots, roulette and baccarat (very much a European gambling game and one the presence here shows who the likely players at the casino are).

There is also in Kanifing the Kololi Casino, offering again roulette, blackjack, baccarat and in addition, poker.

One of the interesting things about the country is that it was both the first and the last of the British colonies in Africa. The location and the natural port at the head of the great river (and the fresh water of the river itself) made it a natural stopping place for sailing ships to come in and restock their supplies before going on further afield.

A rather darker part of the country’s history was the associated part it played in the slave trade. That very port and the fact that ships were stopping there anyway made it one of the great trading centers of the trade across the Atlantic. In fact, when Alex Haley wrote his familial autobiography, ‘Roots’, he was able to trace his own line to Kunta Kinte, born in a small village on the north bank of the river. Some of the country’s tourist trade is thus based, that part of it which isn’t on Europeans looking for sun, on Americans rediscovering their roots.

In common with many other African counties the Gambia depended in the past upon the export of a commodity for it’s keep, in their case groundnuts (peanuts). While this is still important the dual industries of the port itself (much trans-shipment is done here) and the ever growing tourist industry have now taken up much of the strain.

We can expect, as that tourist trade continues to grow in both size and sophistication, for the list of Gambia’s casinos to grow.

Hosting the Perfect Home Poker Game is something that is on the minds of seemingly millions of Americans. The overwhelming popularity of Texas Hold Em and Casino Games in general over the past few years has driven many to try to Host a Poker Game that has the same feel as their favorite casino poker room or something they saw on t.v. This combined with the recent issues surrounding playing poker online drive more and more groups of people to Host a game of their own.

In order to host a poker game, you will need certain things:

1) A good quality set of poker chips—- the most common are made of a clay/composite material and weigh 11.5 grams each. There are also clay chips Paulson and Nexgen that are found in casinos that can be bought for home use as well.

2) A solid themed playing surface. While you can use any table, having a poker felt layout would be a great beginning. The next step up would be to buy a Folding Poker Table, which can seat up to 10 players, and can come with arm rests and cup holders. The obvious benefit to this type of table is that you can have a professional looking table during the game, and after the game is over it can either be folded and put away, or sent on to the Home where the game will be next time. Finally, for those of you with the space and the desire, you can purchase a Full Size Casino Grade Table….NICE!

3) Playing Cards. You will need at least 2 decks of cards. By using 2 decks, one can always be shuffled and ready for the next hand. You have got lots of options for cards, but the main difference is in the material they are made of. The best quality cards are made of a pvc material. Copag and Kem are the most popular pvc cards on the market. The benefits are that you can spill a drink on them and just wipe it clean and they are much more durable overall. They are more expensive, but because you won’t need to keep getting new cards every week…they are the best value.

4) Buttons. You will at least need a dealer button, but should also get a missed blind, big blind, and little blind buttons. If you play in a game with a kill, then you will need to get a kill button as well.

5) Tournament Timer. This will help you keep track of when to change the blinds/ante. You also have the option to set a timer for tounament teirs. These range from the very basic to the elegant.

These are the basics, but some people also use a Card Cover/Spinner. This lets the dealer know that you are in the hand. Some people use a coin, poker chip, or a bobblehead while others use something that is important to them—like a picture of your kids. You can search for each of these items individually, or head over to www.ExecutiveGamingMonthly.com. Executive Gaming Monthly(EGM) is the first Casino Game of the Month Gift Club, and has 6 different complete Poker Packages in 3 different price points.

EGM’s packages include everything that you need to Host Your Own Game all in one place. We pick the highest quality products for each of the packages, so all you need to do is provide the most important thing—FOOD.

If you are an avid online poker player and are on the lookout for poker bonuses, then we suggest you spend some time reading this article. In it, we will offer easy tips to help you find the best possible online poker bonus. The fact that most online poker sites now entice new users with sign up bonuses means that there are a wide variety of products out there, making it difficult for amateurs to distinguish between a good and a bad deal.

First, the WHY's

The signup bonus offered by online poker sites only applies to your initial deposit. There are other related bonuses offered, though for a limited or short period, such as reload bonuses for making an additional deposit. A point to note, the real fun and earning in poker is from winning and not from these bonuses. However, these bonuses augment your financial position when you play in more than one room.

Tread cautiously

Always remember, the biggest online poker bonuses may not be the best possible option. You have to evaluate the whole deal; including the quality of the poker site (is it a first tier online poker website or just a shady fly-by-night fix-up?). So be careful around websites that offer too-lofty a sum as bonus. It could well be a trap. Check out reviews from web sites you trust to find out who's reputable.

Finding the best bonus

There will be sites that offer close 50% or US$150 as a sign-up bonus. Research indicates that most first time subscribers end-up falling for it. The hidden clause, however, is that most sites allow you to try your luck at only one table at a time. Even you would agree that by doing this, the poker sites make it really hard to clear the sign-up bonus in quick time. So, the tip here is to dig into the details and pick an online poker casino that offers great sign-up bonuses, yet allows you to play at multiple tables. To find such a site might sound difficult, but it is not impossible.

The other vital aspect to look at is the margin difference between the bonus offered and the amount you deposit. In simple terms it means that most poker sites expect you to play a greater number of raked rounds, with higher monetary value, before they dispense the fractional bonus. Typically, such an amount is about ten times the promised bonus. So, the tip in this case is to find poker sites that warrant you to play relatively lower number of hands (of lower value), before offering you the bonus.

Moreover, it is not always about the sign-up bonuses. Make sure to research sites that offer continued bonus schemes for long term customers. This will be particularly useful if you are going to be regular. But, always exercise discretion before signing up for any online casino sites. After all, it is your hard-earned money. Happy Winning!

From the drama TILT made by ESPN to the deal Chris Moneymaker signed with Death Row Records to create Moneymaker Gaming, business continues to create strange bedfellows. Everyone seems to be trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the poker rainbow. Things are moving so fast in the poker world to where anyone can become famous for 15 minutes. But for success, luck favors the prepared.

The industry of Internet webcasts of player action from casinos and poker rooms is stepping forth for a share of the multi-million dollar pie. In a deal with The Bicycle Club in Los Angeles, Las Vegas based iStreamPlanet is betting that people are willing to watch not just tournament action 24/7, but regular players in different poker games. Plans are in the works for deals with Vegas casinos for providing poker webcasts to prospective Internet subscribers that number just over 800 million.

The World Poker Tour organization who helped explode poker on TV has now started the WPT Boot Camp for anyone who wants to learn from top professionals how they can win big. The WPT has also instituted the ″Family Poker Resource Center″ so that the entire family including the kids can play the game of poker. On top of that they have also partnered with Wagerworks to create an online poker room for poker lovers to enjoy the game. Harrah’s who beat Wall Street expectations in the 4th quarter of 2004 with an impressive 118% gain, retained former CBS Sports President Neal H. Pilson to expand World Series of Poker broadcast opportunities. Pilson states that, ″The World Series of Poker is one of the most valuable sports properties on television today.″ This deal could be worth billions. And online poker rooms are also making an average of $2 million to $2.5 million per day as part of the poker industry.

And what is the average man and woman doing to cash in on the big money? Well, after Annie Duke won the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, women are coming to the table in droves. (Prior to this, women WSOP champions like Nani Dollison, Debbie Burkhead and Barbara Enright were little known.) Annie let the world know that good ″female″ players are actually good players period. And with the attraction, the money, prestige and fame poker can bring a successful player, (Gus Hansen was voted one of the top 50 sexiest men alive by People magazine in 2004), the books, tapes, cards, chips and tables are flying off the shelf into the hands of men and women. This is making retailers very happy.

In areas where land based poker rooms are not available, quick minded individuals have either opened up their homes or bought homes and have people playing poker inside of them, if the local laws will allow for such. And yes, these residential homes are packed with poker players. Some for the fun and others for the money. And for those who do not have these ″poker homes″ in their area, they play online. With multiple tournaments given by online poker rooms, some players have admitted to playing 4 tables at once on their computer. Everyone from college students to corporate executives to moms who are trying to earn a couple of bucks are taking to their PC’s trying to grab their portion of the gold.

All this heated activity has some saying that the trend is on the downside of the bell curve. But businessmen, businesswomen, corporations, and those who love the game state that with America having over 50,000,000 poker players, things have just begun to get started and that the golden ring will be within grasp for those willing to reach for it.

We will not talk about benefits of playing in internet before offline playing, but we will see what advantages/disadvantages, specifics has the poker online.

Unlike offline poker, online poker playing sessions usually are much shorter, players at the table are changing very often, rarely a player plays more than one-two hours in a row. As a result, the players do not have time to determine opponents playing style, it is hard to have a reputation for a short period of time. It is impossible to understand when the raise in flop was made by maniac and it is possible to re-raise or by tighter and it is better to drop. The same is for reaction on your actions. By default, it is expected from a new player that he is middle adequate, but the majority will want to check your raise, so you have to bluff carefully.

One more distinction of online poker is the fact that nobody can see each other opponents and there are no real poker chips. There is no need for the online players to care about saving "poker face" – no need to worry that the look, sweat on the forehead or trembling hand will show up your bluff. Sometimes to move the pack of chips at the table is morally harder than to click the mouse. These factors influence online poker players behaviour resulting into more tricky and risky. Players bluff more often, more slow play, check-raise etc.

Finally, online poker players often are not concentrated on the game. Somebody watches TV, talks on the phone or checks e-mails at the same time. Somebody is playing 2-3 tables simultaneously. It means that minimum attention is devoted to the game. Online players often look at the table only when they are playing themselves. it is clear that this is not the best practice, the more time is devoted to the game, the better you you're your opponents, the better are your odds for success.

The above mentioned specifics of online poker allows to give the following recommendations:

1. Try to take away all distracting factors and devote all your time to the game with the purpose to "crack" your opponents more quickly.

2. Do not rely on your image, it is just impossible to be made. Do not rely that your bluffing raise will pass only because you have been playing tight for the last hour.

3. Do not be easily infatuated by poker tricks. In online poker the opponent plays according to the strength of his cards first of all, not thinking too much about your cards, so it is not necessarily that slow play will bring you additional benefit, and bluff also is not often successful.

One more specific of online poker relates not to the psychology of the game, but to the internet – opportunity of disconnection of the player during the game. So that the player would not lose money because of the this, majority of poker rooms while disconnection make disconnect all-in. It means that the player cards shall not be dropped, but it is considered as the player has gone all-in on the amount of the made bets. Once the player goes all-in, a side pot is created, and the all-in player can only win the portion of the pot that was present at the time the player went all-in. The remaining money of the pot are played between the remaining players (the same approach applies while ordinary all-in). The number of all-ins is limited to 1-2 per day, if the player abuses this opportunity (generates all-in when he does not intend to bet much money), he may be deprived of all-ins.

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In truth, Caribbean poker is not poker at all, but a casino game based on poker. You play against the casino, as in blackjack, not other players. As you could expect, the odds favor the casino not the player, but you can tilt them in your favor my some clever strategy

Playing Caribbean Stud Poker.

To begin you ante and you and the dealer get five cards each. After you have seen your hand and the dealer's first card you must then:

(a) make what is called a 'call bet', which will increase your stake by an amount equal to twice your original ante, or

(b) 'surrender', in which case you lose, and the dealer takes your ante.

If you have made a call bet, then the following can happen after the dealer shows his cards;

• If the dealer does not have an ace of a king, or better in his hand, your bet is returned, plus an amount equal to the ante.

• If the dealer has an ace or a king, or better, you win if your hand beats the dealers (usual poker hand ranks apply).

A typical casino will pay out even money on your ante and fixed odds on your call bet as follows, but each casino varies:

• Even pay out for a pair or high card

• 2 to 1 for 2 pairs

• 3 to 1 for 3 of a kind

• 4 to 1 for a straight

• 5 to 1 for a flush

• 7 to 1 for a full house

• 20 to 1 for a four of a kind

• 50 to 1 for a straight flush

• 100 to 1 for a royal flush

• However, If the dealer has an ace or a king, or better, and your hand is worse than the dealer’s, you lose your ante and call bet.

This is a form of "stud poker", meaning what's in your hand is in your hand.

However, some casino will allow you to "buy a card" before you raise the ante into the call bet.

The odds are against you in this procedure, but indeed, that special card may arrive.

Winning Strategy at Caribbean Stud Poker

A general strategy for this game has not yet appeared, and so, there are two important rules to follow that will help you formulate your own winning strategy.

1. Always raise when you have a pair or higher.

2. Always fold with less than the dealer’s qualifying hand (ace and king)

But if you always raise with a pair or higher, and fold with less than ace and king, you might consider raising with the ace and king if :

1. The dealer’s shown card is a 2 through queen and matches one of yours.

2. The dealer’s shown card is an ace or king and you have a queen or jack in your hand.

Caribbean Stud Poker is not for everyone, but its easy to play and following the few rules we have given, relatively easy to win at carribean stud poker

Playing poker at the casino may be one of the easiest ways to make money. Many of the players have no clue what they are doing at the poker table. Most 1/2NL tables have a maximum buy-in around $100 to $300. If you read any of the general poker books on the market, you will easily win money. You basically have to sit and play tight aggressive. Raise AA, KK, QQ, JJ, and AK about three to four times the big blind. These are hands you will win big pots with against players who call with very marginal hands. Limp with smaller pairs from tens to twos. You are hoping to hit a set with smaller pairs. If you do not hit a set, you can simply release the hand. Playing tight aggressive poker requires very little observation of your opponent. Reads are helpful at the table, but you will still be profitable simply by playing tight aggressive.

An amateur player with basic skills can make anywhere from $200 to $1000 on any given night. Poker is a fun game just like any other sport. The best thing about poker is that it has great financial reward. An extra $200 a night is never a bad thing. Do yourself a favor and learn a bit about poker. Play online for a bit to gain experience in different hand situations. When you are ready to make some profits, go to the casino and destroy the opposition. Remember that poker is a game that is never fully mastered. Poker is a game of people and your strategy depends on each person. Keep learning the game and you will rake in some huge pots.