No 1 in Gambling

American mathematician Dr. Edward O. Thorp is considered the father of card counting. His 1962 book Beat the Dealer (ISBN 0394703103) outlined various betting and playing strategies for optimal blackjack play. Although mathematically sound, some of the techniques described no longer apply as casinos took counter-measures (such as no longer dealing to the very last card). Also, the counting system described (10-count) is harder to use and less profitable than the point-count systems that have been developed since. A history of how counting developed can be seen in David Layton's documentary film, "The Hot Shoe."

Read the rest of this entry »

Badugi shares many strategic similarities with other forms of draw poker, and many of the strategic concepts used in draw apply to badugi as well. In general, drawing on the last round against an opponent who has not drawn is considered a mistake, unless special circumstances warrant this maneuver.

Read the rest of this entry »

Card counting is a card game strategy used to determine when a player has a probability advantage. The term is used almost exclusively to refer to the tracking of the ratio of high cards to low cards in blackjack, although theoretically card counting can be used in some other card games.

Read the rest of this entry »

Betting structures

In casino play, it is common to use a fixed limit and two blinds. The limit for the first two rounds of betting is called a small bet, while the limit for the third and fourth betting rounds is called a big bet and is generally double the small bet. The small blind is usually equal to half of a small bet, and the big blind is equal to a full small bet.

This game is also played pot-limit, half-pot-limit, and no-limit. These structures allow for more range in the amounts bet.

Read the rest of this entry »

Using optimal strategy the house edge is 5.224% of the player's ante bet. This strategy can be complicated and does not lend itself to practical use in a casino. Using a strategy of raising with Ace/King/Jack/8/3 or better the house edge is 5.316%, very close to the optimal strategy house edge.

Knowledge of what other players hold can decrease the house edge. It has been estimated with the knowledge of 6 other player's hands (30 cards) and associated optimal strategy the player can gain an edge of 2.3%. Given that sharing information is against the rules and that a computer would be needed to calculate the appropriate strategy it is unlikely this could ever be achieved in a real life casino.

Read the rest of this entry »

Casino war is a casino card game based on the children's game of War. The game is arguably one of the most easily understood casino card games, but it also has a relatively large house edge compared to other games.

The game is normally played with six standard 52 card decks. The cards are ranked in the same way that cards in poker games are ranked, except that aces are always high.

The deal

After the player has placed a bet, the dealer and the player are each dealt one card.

• If the player's card is ranked higher than the dealer's, the player wins even money.
• If the dealer's card is ranked higher than the player's, the player loses the bet to the house.

Ties

A tie occurs when the dealer and the player each have cards of the same rank. In a tie situation, the player has two options:

Read the rest of this entry »

Doyle Brunson is credited with bringing poker strategy to a wider audience

Most poker authors recommend a tight-aggressive approach to playing Texas hold 'em. This strategy involves playing relatively few hands (tight), but betting and raising often with those that one does play (aggressive). Although this strategy is often recommended, some professional players successfully employ other strategies as well.^[1] While most poker authors focus on playing primarily premium starting hands, some authors claim that the importance of starting hands is overstated.^2]

Read the rest of this entry »

Doyle Brunson is credited with bringing poker strategy to a wider audience

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/DoyleBrunson.jpg

Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »