Published at 23. 6. 2009 in category
MainIn simple terms the house edge or the house advantage is the difference between the true odds and the odds that the casinos pay a player when he wins. Casinos have a profit in every bet a player places. That’s how they make money. Different games have different house edges. Except in blackjack and video poker all the edges are fixed and these are the games where a player can work on to reduce these house edges this making the most from it. Depending on the skill of the player and rules of the table, a player at blackjack can make money which normally other games do not offer. Slot machines have a house edge ranging from 3.90% to 15%. In roulette, the house edge is 5.26% for the American wheel and 2.70 % for French wheel. The big six games offer 11 % to 24 % house edges. In blackjack every card changes the equation between the player and the house and how best can the player makes use of the situation is where the strategy lies. Blackjack has a very low edge, generally 0.20 % to 0.63 %. Dice games like Craps and wheel games big six wheel and roulette have fixed house edge amount as one spin of wheel or roll of dice will result in the same outcome. Craps have house edge range from 1.41 % to 16%. Similarly video poker is also based on the skill of the player. These games can actually offer a positive pay return.
Published at 13. 5. 2009 in category
MainThe tables in casinos vary depending on the size and the game. In the casinos an area is set aside for table games like poker, blackjack, baccarat etc. The roulette table has a lay out for betting and the roulette wheel. These tables look the most glamorous and colorful to most people or those who are new to casinos. The poker tables are round in shape with padded armrest for players to lean on. These tables are also covered with felt. The baccarat table is of two sizes. The large full size table is normally in a secluded area and is suitable for high stake games. These have a minimum of 100$ per hand and can go up to 100, 000$. The table is oval in shape and has a green felt cover. The mini baccarat table or mini bac is small in size and thus less intimidating and is used for 5$ -25$ table minimums. An American roulette has wheel at one end of the table and the layout at the other end but French roulette table has wheel in the centre and layouts at both the ends. A blackjack table in casino is semi circular or crescent shaped. It is one of the most popular table games in casinos. It has a space for seven to eight players. The table has betting circles for each and every player where the players place their bets. The dealer stands in the centre of the table which has a crescent. The dealer has a space for placing chips. It also has important and special messages written about the game on it.
Published at 16. 4. 2009 in category
MainPunto banco is the North American version of game which has usually a separate area in all casinos. Baccarat is for more refined crowd than poker or blackjack in card games. Since mostly wealthy people play this game, a casino can win or loose millions of dollars overnight. Mini baccarat is the same game but played at smaller table which is similar to blackjack table. The pace of the game is faster than the Baccarat game. Makcarrat was a modified version of the game which was played in Macau but it was discontinued in 2008. One dealer handles the entire game. Most casinos outside Las Vegas and Atlantic City offer this game and not the bigger baccarat. Craps is a dice game which is played against other players. Players wager money against each other on the outcome of one roll of dice or series of rolls of two dices. It is the noisiest place in the casino. It offers very good odds and the house advantage in this game is low.
Published at 24. 3. 2009 in category
MainRoulette is for novices as it does not involve any skill and looks very simple. A French or European roulette offers lower house edge than American wheel, thus players should look for a French roulette wheel. Poker is a very popular game and is very dependent on the skill of the player. But it is also the game which is hard to win and house edge is also high. Blackjack, another popular game at the casino is an easy game to lean but needs patience and experience to master it. Also, it offers the best odds to a player. Keno is a lottery like game played in casinos. A blow of air mixes the balls and on pressing of lever by a caller, and a tube opens and balls lift one at a time into ‘rabbit ears which is a V shaped tube. There is a glass enclosure with bubbles containing ping pong balls, with a number printed on each of them, which determine the ball draw result. House edge here ranges from 4% to as high as 65%. The payouts are based on how many numbers are chosen and how many are ‘hit’.
Published at 16. 2. 2009 in category
MainIn the late 19th century many companies started making clay chips. Earlier, gambling houses never used such chips that we now know them by. People used gold pieces, nuggets, coins, or chips made of bones, wood, ivory as tokens. Red, white, blue and yellow were the most commonly used colors for chips. They were not purely clay chips; they were made from composition of material which was more durable than 100% clay. It also contains sand, calcium carbonate and chalk etc. Every chip maker has a secret process. Chip making is a very expensive method. The edge spots of the chips are not painted but actually they are first removed and then filled up by another colored clay blocks before cutting the chips. Each and every chip has a different inlay in the centre after which they are placed in a mold and heated and compressed to set the inlay. The inlay is usually of paper which is covered in plastic before being sent for compression process. The resultant chips are called molded compression clay chips. After the compression process, the inlay becomes such an inherent part of the chip that it is impossible to remove it without breaking the chip. Chips can be made in many unusual colors now and not just the basic ones like red, yellow, white and blue. Ceramic chips also came into being in around 1980’s which are less expensive than the clay chips. Every casino has a unique design of the chip to distinguish them. These are injection molded chips made with a resin which makes them very similar to how clay chips feel when touched. There are official chip colors also based on the denomination. With few exceptions generally following colors are followed. The color White is for 1$, pink is for 2.5$, red is for 5$, green is for 25$, black is for 100 $, purple is for 500$ and orange is for 1000$.
Published at 20. 1. 2009 in category
MainIn the late 19th century many companies started making clay chips. Earlier, gambling houses never used such chips that we now know them by. People used gold pieces, nuggets, coins, or chips made of bones, wood, ivory as tokens. Red, white, blue and yellow were the most commonly used colors for chips. They were not purely clay chips; they were made from composition of material which was more durable than 100% clay. It also contains sand, calcium carbonate and chalk etc. Every chip maker has a secret process. Chip making is a very expensive method. The edge spots of the chips are not painted but actually they are first removed and then filled up by another colored clay blocks before cutting the chips. Each and every chip has a different inlay in the centre after which they are placed in a mold and heated and compressed to set the inlay. The inlay is usually of paper which is covered in plastic before being sent for compression process. The resultant chips are called molded compression clay chips. After the compression process, the inlay becomes such an inherent part of the chip that it is impossible to remove it without breaking the chip. Chips can be made in many unusual colors now and not just the basic ones like red, yellow, white and blue. Ceramic chips also came into being in around 1980’s which are less expensive than the clay chips. Every casino has a unique design of the chip to distinguish them. These are injection molded chips made with a resin which makes them very similar to how clay chips feel when touched. There are official chip colors also based on the denomination. With few exceptions generally following colors are followed. The color White is for 1$, pink is for 2.5$, red is for 5$, green is for 25$, black is for 100 $, purple is for 500$ and orange is for 1000$.
Published at 17. 12. 2008 in category
MainToken coins made of metal are used in slot machine games. In casinos small chips or tokens are used instead of money due to convenience. They are also called checks or cheques. Otherwise colored metal or molded clay tokens or chips are used for table games. These chips are of various denominations. For high stake games, gaming plaques are used in casinos. Casinos started using the tokens because they are more convenient to handle than currencies. Players can exchange money for chips or tokens at the gambling table, cashier station or at casino cage. This plaque is larger and rectangular in shape. They have serial numbers on them. Outside the casinos, these tokens have no value. Many casinos in Las Vegas accept tokens from other casinos. As they are uniform in size, they can be stacked neatly which makes counting much easier than the paper currency. Theft and counterfeit problem is also solved by suing chips. The verification of amount paid by the security, which is called the pit boss, is also made easier by using chips. Since the tokens have a uniform weight, sometimes large stacks of chips are weighed instead of counting them to speed up the process. Many casinos have discontinued the use of metal coins in slot machines because of the jamming problem faced frequently. But generally, chip trays are a used to assist in counting. They are replacing it with paper cards which can be pre paid cards.
Published at 13. 11. 2008 in category
MainIn the 1990’s online casinos games came into the market which few countries have permitted. Casino games are games where a player uses casino chips instead of money to place bets on various outcomes. Casinos generally offer three category of games; table games, electronic machine games and random number ticket games. The Table games include card games and dice or tile games. Craps, Pai Gow, Sic bo are examples of dice games. Games like Blackjack, poker, Baccarat, Chinese poker, faro, Spanish 21 are all types of card games. In random number games, selection of numbers is made which is either from the random number generator or from other equipment. Keno and bingo are random number games but they are played by purchasing a paper ticket or card. Some random number games like Roulette and Big six wheel are played at a table. The gaming machines are usually played by one player at a time and these do not require any casino official for playing. Slot machines, pachinko, video poker are examples of electronic machine games. ‘Playing with house money’ is another term which means the player is using the money which he won at the casino. Payout is the percentage amount which is won by the players.
Published at 21. 10. 2008 in category
MainAll the games have odds which are in favor of the house or the casino. Customers can play a number of games in Casinos like machine games, games of chance like roulette and there are games where the skill of players also matters like poker and blackjack. The house edge is the small amount which casinos take on every bet a player places on games where players are playing against the house which include mostly all the games. This is called the house edge and casinos have the advantage over the players all the time. From a player’s perspective, the expected value is always on the negative side. In games like poker, where players are paying against each other and not against the casino, the casinos take commission which is called rake. In poker, the casinos take a certain amount of the pot money which is the betting amount. Casinos often give out Comps to players who come for gambling. Comps are determined by a player’s average betting amount, his hours of play and the percentage that casino makes on his bet. Comps are free items which are not given to everyone who comes for gambling. Players, who gamble more money, get comps from the casino. The comps can be free drinks, free air services, free limousine service and food. These comps are derived using these factors from a formula regardless of the player winning or loosing
Published at 17. 9. 2008 in category
MainThere are many types of gambling games played in casinos. Casinos are modern day gambling houses. Hotels, restaurants, cruise ships and many such places have casinos to lure tourists. Apart from gambling activities, casinos also have some live entertainment, comedy and concert shows at times. In Italian casino means a ‘small villa’ which was meant for pleasurable activities like summerhouse or pavilion. The Copenhagen casino was a theatre and it never housed any gambling activity. Thus ‘casino’ term has its origin in Italy but the origin of casinos which had gambling activities or gambling houses is not very clear. Venice had the first casino of the world in the 1638. Not all casinos had gambling and gaming activities. In the 19th century casinos started having gambling activities. The first legal casino is said to have opened in Baden Switzerland in the year 1765. Some believe that China had the first gambling houses. Since gambling has been a very ancient practice in all the civilizations of the world, gambling houses must also be that old. In USA places where gambling used to take place was called Saloons. As gambling became to be known more for cheaters, murders, frauds and scams, it was banned form USA in the early 20th century. People used these places for drinking, gambling and socializing with people. By 1931, the ban was lifted from Nevada State and Las Vegas became the first city to hold a casino. Now the city is called Sin City and the name is synonymous with casinos. Atlantic City was the second city in USA to have casinos and after Las Vegas it is the second largest gambling city in USA. Macau in Hong Kong is now the most preferred gambling destination of the world, a place which was held by Las Vegas for long time.