Pssst…! Wanna know a secret?

How about the secret of Betting From the Don’t side?

Besides being an unpopular bet, the Don’t Pass is a dangerous bet to make. Before the point is established the casino clearly holds the advantage. You will win your bet if a 2 or 3 rolls, but lose your bet if a 7 or 11 rolls - just the opposite from the pass line. (On the don’t pass the 12 is a “push”). The 2/3 combination rolls 3 times (in 36 sample rolls) while the 7/11 combination rolls 8 times. So, with your bet in the don’t pass box, you are favored to lose by an 8 to 3 margin.

To make matters worse, if the point does get established, you might want to make three don’t come bets. This 8 to 3 casino advantage, is present not only for the initial don’t pass bet, but the three additional don’t come bets as well.

However, once you get past the come-outs, you hold the advantage on any number - either for the don’t pass or the don’t come. So your don’t pass plus three don’t comes could be highly profitable, if only there was some way of protecting your initial bets.

Wanna know the secrets that Craps pros use to protect their don’t bets?

Let’s find out!

The easiest way to protect your don’t come bet is to temporarily add odds to your don’t pass bet. If your don’t pass is $10, you should back it up with $10 odds for one roll only, while you place a $10 don’t come bet. If the seven hits, you lose your don’t come bet but win on the don’t pass (plus odds), so you come out ahead. After your first don’t come is established, you can remove the odds on the don’t pass, which was there to protect the first don’t come bet from a losing on a possible seven.

Now, you’re home free. Your second don’t come can be placed without a money loss. If the seven rolls now, you will win your first don’t come, lose the second, and win your don’t pass. If another point number rolls you can make a third don’t come bet also.

If you don’t like adding odds to your don’t pass bet, you can just reduce your second don’t come bet to protect the first one. For example, if your first don’t come is $10, make your second only $5. This way if the seven rolls you are still ahead by $5.

For an easy hedge bet on the don’t pass bet itself, you could try a $2 bet on the hardway number if the point is 4, 6, 8 or 10. If the point rolled is 4 or 10, you would lose your $10 don’t pass but win $14 ($2 at 7:1). If the point rolled is 6 or 8, you would lose your $10 don’t pass but win $18 ($2 at 9:1).

So when you play on the don’t side, use the don’t pass odds only as a hedge for your first don’t come bet. Why not give this a try the next time you play “on the dark side”.

Pssst…! Now you know the secrets of protecting your don’t bets!

(c) 2005 by Larry Edell

You can get a FREE issue of The Crapshooter, the only newsletter devoted exclusively to craps! Just send two first class stamps to The Crapshooter, Dept EZA, PO Box 421440, San Diego CA 92142, or you can subscribe at http://www.TheCrapshooter.com. You’ll also receive a FREE catalog and a special FREE offer!

Highlights of the day, tricky bets of the day and the valuebets of 04 of January. If you like Euroleague Basketball, today there are rather tricky games. If you can, do not bet on lker v Unicaja; Armani v Lietuvos. But big bankers by the stats are up for grab, do not let yourself influenced by wrong advices, ecobika cares only with the statistics: CSKA, Cibona, Montepaschi, Real, Olimpija

If you want soccer, interestingly enough all Copa del Rey matches seems UNDER 2,5 and the theoretical chances are: Villarreal v Valencia UNDER 2,5 chance 56%; Celta v Betis UNDER 2,5 chance 59%; Depor v Osasuna UNDER 2,5 chance 62%; Atl. Madrid v Zaragoza UNDER 2,5 chance 63%; plus M’City v Tottenham UNDER 2,5 chance theoretical 60%.

However, the ball is round. Good Luck with your bets. sport betting highlights

The MIT Blackjack Team Story

What’s the first thing that enters your mind when you think of MIT, the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology: engineering genius, mathematical wizard, visionary, geek, hacker? If you chose any one of those, you would be correct. Mix them all together, add some smoke and mirrors, big-time anonymous investors, a dash of anarchy for good measure, and you get one of the best scams of all timesthe MIT Blackjack Teamthe ultimate in high stakes, genius-backed hacking! Infamy is nothing new to MIT. Some of the world’s wiliest hackers hailed from the hallowed halls of MIT; but when one gifted math professor and six gifted students banded together, they propelled organized hacking to dizzying heights and snookered organized gambling to the tune of millions! That was sweet music to the ears of millions who have left behind small fortunes in their quest to beat the casinos.

After school club

The MIT Blackjack team began as an after-school club held in campus classrooms where students assembled to apply their genius to card games, unwind (at least, by MIT standards), and have fun. The club eventually evolved into serious business. The team set up a complete underground system of casino mock-ups spanning apartments, warehouses, and classrooms scattered across Boston where they worked diligently to perfect their scheme. Before advancing to live play in the casino, each player had to pass a rigorous battery of tests encompassing all of the roles under simulated casino conditions, including distraction and harassment. Still, they were not ready for the big league until further honing their skills in Boston’s Chinatown before heading to Las Vegas.

Card Counting

Card counting, the heart of their system, is a proven winning technique. Blackjack odds offer the one opportunity for those with skill, dogged determination, and discipline to consistently beat the house. The casinos know that Blackjack is vulnerable (that smart, disciplined players actually have a fighting chance of winning), and that is why they ban the big winners and harass and threaten potential big winners.

Casino management further understands that it takes only one or two mistakes to turn a player’s winning system into a house win, and that is the only reason that they tolerate card countinguntil it turns against them. They rely on human frailties, such as lack of discipline and distraction, to return the advantage to the house.

The MIT team used card counting as the foundation of their system; it was only one among a number of tools in their magical tool box, and even then, it wasn’t traditional card counting. It added a high-low system, based on the statistical probability of receiving high or low cards, and they added an additional technique for cutting the cards that further skewed the odds in their favor.

Team members traveled together, seemingly as total strangers. Each assumed one of a number of well-crafted fake identities, the teams included several types of players, each member playing a well-defined role. Anonymous investors provided the stake and expected a return on their investment. One such outing netted a 154% ROI after expenses. Transporting huge amounts of cash back and forth was another obstacle they overcame with ingenuity. Cash traveled in every conceivable manner: strapped to bodies, on “mules,” in hollow crutches, just to name a few.

High Tech vs Low Tech

Their reign spanned a good part of the 1990s when they traveled the casino circuit with total abandon. Their $400,000 winning weekend in Las Vegas is legendary. Casino technology was not yet at a stage where it could match wits with MIT genius. At least, it had not made its way to practical application in Las Vegas, Ironically, it would be low-tech sloppiness that brought the team down in the end.

The casinos had learned to deal with the card counters long before the MIT pikers hit the scene. When they identified a card counter, they would ensure that his play at the tables was a living nightmare, and should the card counter take the house for a large sum, they would immediately ban him. Technology in the 1990s had matured to a point where bad news traveled fast. When the card counter was detected at one casino, it became nearly impossible to escape detection at any other casino.

Profiled MIT Blackjack Team

Las Vegas casino bosses relied on a long-established profile of the Blackjack card counter, but since the MIT team ran counter to the profile, that also worked in their favor, helping them to escape detection. The profile assumed one lone card counter. The team’s nonchalant, seemingly random style of play also ran counter to the profile. But they were crazy like foxesuntil they were no more.

Finally, sloppiness brought them to their knees. Eventually, they lost their discipline and their cool; the well-oiled machine built with the precision of a Swiss watch began to fall apart. They began to fraternize, and not just with the usual Las Vegas temptations, but with each otherin public. A total chance spotting of the teams relaxing and playing at a Las Vegas pool blew their cover. The tale of their unraveling wound its way back to the back streets of Boston before they finally disbanded. The odds had finally turned against them, and the stakes were far too high for even the geniuses from MIT.

The last remaining team player was escorted from the table with the parting words, “You can’t play here. You’re too good for us.”

Blackjack Team in the News

The tale of the MIT Blackjack Team doesn’t end with its demise. ABC, CNN, History Channel, and CBS’s 60 Minutes all picked up the story. Bringing Down the House : The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 2002), by Ben Mezrich, chronicles the escapades of the team from its inception to the end of the line through the eyes of team member, Kevin Lewis (not his real name). One enterprising former member currently offers seminars based on the system.

The final irony has yet to play itself out. Kevin Spacey is producing the movie version of the book, due to be released by MGM sometime in 2006. One has to wonder if the movie will help MGM recover its losses to the MIT Blackjack Team.

Want to learn more about Blackjack Strategy and other types of casino games? Casino Gambling Watchdogs is a collection of free articles related to online casino gambling.

Texas Hold’em…minutes to learn, life time to master. One of the most important things that you need to do in order to win, is to be patient. Most people that are unsuccessful are the ones that like to play every hand and chase cards. Be selective on the hands you play and you will increase your odds greatly. Get an understanding of how the other players at the table are playing, loose….tight? This is important to know because the person playing loose is very hard to bet out of a hand and the players that are tight usually only play when they have a monster hand.

A few tips to remember. A loose player likes to bluff alot, one way to feel a loose player out is to raise his bet or check raise him and watch how they react. Remember mentally how they reacted in each betting round, so if it does come to the show down and you see their cards, you have just been given a great read on their style of play. A tight player generally only plays the “nuts” early on, but then they know you have a read on them and their style of play, so in the later rounds they try stealing the pot with a big bet. If you have a feeling they might be trying to steal the pot, again raise their bet. If a tight player is quick to call, more than likely they have a hand so fold. Otherwise with your raise, a tight player will put you on a higher hand, fold and wait until their hand comes along.

Watch how players are betting and remember that, so if it comes to a show down and cards are turned over, you’ll get a good read on their betting sytle. What I mean here is; did they have a made hand or were they on a draw? Did they bet on the flop, turn and river, or slow play their hand? It’s very important to learn how others play in order to win in the later rounds when the blinds are higher.

Playing Pocket Pairs. a couple things I suggest, if its early in a game wait to see a flop. The more players at the table, the riskier it is to go all-in. Wait until you see the flop and then if you pocket pair is higher than the board, bet aggressivly and see how others react. If over cards come out and someone bets big, do not be affraid to fold. Be cautious to what the board gives you, does it give other players an opportunity at a straight or flush? Several times I have had my Aces cracked going all in pre-flop. Later in the game and with less players, pocket pairs increase in strength, becasue you are not on a draw, unless someone else has a pocket pair that is higher than yours.

Bluffing, this is a big part of the game. Alot of players seem to be bluffing more (more so online). Here again, you need to get a feel on others playing styles in order to get a read on them to determine if it is a bluff or strong hand. All players bluff to win a pot, you have to. I think you need to bluff a win, maybe one an hour. If you are a player that doesn’t get caught in bluffs early on, it makes it that much easier to bluff a win once the pot is larger in the later rounds. If you do get caught early and often, players are more than likely to call your bets and get tells that you may not know you have.

On TILT? Another important part of this game is to control your emotions. We all take bad beats or fold a winning hand, it’s a part of the game, but if you get upset or go on tilt, you will not win! Stand up for a minute, sit out a hand, get your thoughts together, put it behind you and get re-focused.

Always remember to be patient and play solid hands. It’s a marathon not a sprint. A Thought to play by; it’s aways better to rake a small pot than to lose a big one.

Philip Perkins
http://www.thatsnolimit.com

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If you are a person that stakes less than $1/$2 and then just plays when clearing bonus payments, you are taking normally around 100% rake back considering the bonus payment on the stake. One leading web site have lately removed gamers who used their gaming room only to gamble this way. No one knows for sure whether this might inspire a trend. If it take place then at once a Full Tilt Poker rakeback is an essential. Rakeback Deals

Someday you might just find your best game and then discover yourself extremely wealthy, if it hasn’t happened already. I was injured by an accident then online poker came along during my recovery and I never looked back. That’s a couple of years back and I haven’t required to work in those couple of years all due to gaming and rake back offers. Planning beforehand is a good plan. Regard it as as an investment for the future, if you don’t think rake back is for you at present it could end up being a good deal before long, there is no danger involved. If you are looking at trying out a different room you have to sign up for rake back deals.

Rakeback Professionals is delighted to have so many respectable affiliates. Signing up is as effortless as surfing to any Rakeback Professionals affiliated site or even as straightforward as e-mailing. Any associate can easily get anyone up and running instantly. You will be able to play straight away. If you sign up with an affiliate through Rakeback Professionals you can always rest assured each affiliate has been evaluated and have agreed to authorize The Rakeback Professionals website to mediate whatever dispute you may suffer. Nonetheless because we always investigate every one of our affiliates, we have had nearly no issues and we always act swiftly to straighten out each complaint for the peace of mind of the betters.

Let’s learn some different type of poker other than Texas holdem, 7 card stud, 5 card draw and Omaha. Yes, pai gow poker. Now you must be wondering that pai gow sounds little Chinese; yes you are right this game is a mixture of the Chinese game pai gow and our very own American poker. Definitely this is not one of the most popular forms of poker but still widely played. It can be played by up to seven players.

It is played with one deck of 52 cards, plus a joker. Interestingly, joker can be used only as an ace, or to complete a straight, a flush, a straight flush, or a royal flush. The important thing here to remember is other than the usual ranking of hands we have one more winning hand that is “Five Aces” (five aces including the joker). Surprisingly, five aces beat all other hands including royal flush.

Each player is dealt seven cards. The cards are arranged to make two hands; a two card hand and a five card hand. The five card hand must rank higher or be equal to the two card hand. Finally both of your hands must rank higher than both of your opponents hands (both five and two card hands). Further the two card hand can only have two combinations; one pair and high card.

After the cards are arranged in to two hands, they are placed on the table face down. Once you put them down, you can no longer touch them. The dealer will turn over his cards and make his hands. Each players hand is compared to the dealer’s hands. If the player wins one hand and loses the other, this is known as “push” and no money is exchanged. If dealer wins both hands then he/she wins the players stake and vice versa. Now what if there is a tie, the only advantage with the dealer here is he/she wins all ties.

After the hand is played, the next person clock-wise becomes the dealer and the next hand is played. The major disadvantage to this game is that there is no skill involved and you rely too much on luck. Also the odds are poor compared to playing with a pot.

Also visit how to play poker for other game rules and strategies.

The untimely demise of the now famous filly Eight Belles has plunged thoroughbred racing into a crisis. Accusations have been flying to and fro, but no definite incriminating aspects have been uncovered. The question “What really killed Eight Belles?” still remains unanswered.

Theories have surfaced, answers have been offered. All of them are plausible. All of them are tangible. From the genetic flaws that deliberately produce faster but non-durable thoroughbreds to overzealous jockeys who whip like maniacs, theories to what caused the filly’s death are numerous. But has anyone looked over the fact that she — or any other thoroughbred for that matter — was too young to race?

Eight Belles was three years old when she fractured her front ankles which ultimately led to her death. She was indeed, too young. Her body was not mature enough to take such punishment. The race may have lasted only for a moment, but the incessant trainings sapped the energy and the durability of the young filly, rendering her vulnerable.

It was her youth that killed Eight Belles. Her bones and joints have not reached their physical maturity to withstand the pressure that horse races bring. She raced young and sadly, died too soon.

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Introduction

Shorthanded (6-max) texas holdem is a different animal than ten or nine handed poker. Low limit shorthanded poker has a few more wrinkles than the higher limit variety. Much of the literature regarding shorthanded poker is aimed at the higher limits, where many post-flop battles are heads up. We will focus on games similar to the 1/2 6 max games at Party Poker

Starting Hands

As at any level of poker, starting hands are the foundation of your holdem game. On the 1/2 6 max tables, you will frequently be facing 2 or 3 opponents with VPIP’s (voluntarily put $ in the pot…see Poker Tracker Guide for more detail) of 50 percent or more. Now, just because many of your opponents will be starting with shaky hands doesn’t mean you should stoop to their level. Texas holdem at any level is about playing starting hands with positive expected values. The other poker players’ looseness combined with the fewer number of opponents will allow you to play more hands, but it is still optimal to keep your VPIP below 30.

In general, playing 6 max, raise with any Ace with a kicker of ten or higher, King-Queen and King-Jack, and Queen-Jack suited as well as pairs down to nines. You should limp with any two cards ten or higher in any position. In the last two seats, you can play any two cards nine or higher. Suited connectors down to 65 can be played anywhere and any other hand with two suited cards 8 or higher as well as suited Aces can be played. Pocket sixes and sevens are playable anywhere. With the smaller pockets, play them if there are two limpers ahead of you. The hands you decide to play in the first two seats can be extended to some of the suited connectors or lower pairs if you are playing at an exceptionally passive table with little raising.

Steal Raises

Most of the hands we advised you to play should be opened for a raise in those rare cases when you are on the button in a pot that hasn’t been entered. Beware…stealing the blinds is very difficult in low limit shorthanded texas holdem. Most poker players playing this level will call your raise with virtually anything in the big blind. Many will call from the small blind. Steal raises from the cutoff seat are generally not advisable. You may stretch your raising requirements SLIGHTLY if first in after two have folded, but remember you’ve still got 60% of your opponents yet to act. Raise when you can expect to narrow the field to one, for then you will be in the driver’s seat.

Aggression

Shorthanded (6-max) holdem is typically characterized by aggression. This is true in the low limit shorthanded 6 max games as well, however, the unbridled aggression effective at higher limits may not serve you as well in low limit poker. You must remain aggressive, but beware that the conditions are different and you may not be able to bully your way to as many pots. Typically, your preflop raises will be met by two or more callers. If you raise with two high cards and miss the flop, you are probably behind in the hand. With two opponents, we advocate betting the flop. One luxury of low limit poker is that your bets will not often be met with raises or check-raises.

The 6-max tables are filled with calling stations…your best hands will get callers, but if you raise with KQ and there’s an ace and two rags on the flop, you will not be able to bet your opponent’s pocket twos off the hand most of the time. Similarly, hands like pocket sevens that are good raising hands shorthanded in higher limit poker are not profitable when raised at low limits. With multiple callers expected, you will probably have to hit a set to win…so raising increases your investment and is a poor play from an expected value standpoint.

HitTheFlop

If you’ve hit your flop, then you must be extremely aggressive. Slow playing is generally a no-no (unless you have a set or are heads up, then there are times when a slow play is called for). Remember, most of these low-limit hold em players will call you down with hands like middle or bottom pair, a gutshot or even an overcard or two. Don’t allow them to bad beat you cheaply. Make them pay to see their longshot draws. Extract your money from them when you’ve got the edge. Remember also that in shorthanded poker games top pair with mediocre kicker is a much better hand than it is on full tables. If I flop top pair with my K2s in the small blind, i am usually going to check raise. Check-raising out of the blinds is very profitable.

Late players will bet their gutshots or bottom pairs, and, more importantly, will pay you off to the river after your check-raise. This is an important play…not only will it earn you money when it works but it will discourage players from trying to steal pots. Check-raises with just top pair are extremely rare at low limit holdem, and your opponents will make note of it and fear you. Any flop in which you have top pair should be raised, unless there was a preflop raiser. Then, use your judgement as to whether he should be checkraised, depending on the board and his raising frequency.

Shorthanded Poker

Low limit shorthanded (6 max) texas holdem is a game swimming with fish. If you play tight, aggressive poker you will win at an astonishing rate due to the poor play of your opponents. Stay aggressive, but bear in mind that the number of opponents will dictate whether you should go full throttle or put on the brakes. Hop onto the 1/2 6 max holdem tables at Party Poker today, follow these guidelines and I guarantee you’ll be a profitable poker player.

Gregg Dwyer is a professional poker player who makes his living online. His texas holdem hints, tips and lessons can be found at www.hittheflop.com

Poker is a very simple game that can have very high stakes at the end of the hand. There are many different types of poker that one can play. Five card stud, No limit Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha High Low are just a few of the variations that are available to a poker player. If you’re someone who doesn’t know the rules, here are some of the most commonly played variations and their rules.

In five-card stud, each player is given one card face up and one face down. The player with the lowest upcard (the card with the face up) makes a bet of either a full bet or half of the minimum bet(which is set by the dealer) to start the game. In a clockwise order, players may call on the opening bet, fold, which indicates they no longer play that hand or they can raise the pot. Cards are dealt until each player has a total of five cards. After the fourth card is dealt face up, the minimum bet is raised to double the original bet. Then the fifth card is dealt face up and followed by the final round of betting. The player with the best hand wins the game.

When playing Omaha High Low, you need to remember that this is a unusual type of poker, especially if you are accustomed to playing Five Card Stud at the tables. With Omaha High Low, there isn’t one winner of the pot, in fact, with this game the lowest hand around the table wins. Actually, the pot is split between the lowest and highest hands. To achieve a win, a player needs to use two hole cards and three cards from their board in combination to create the lowest and highest possible hands. To be eligible for a low hand, the cards must contain a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, with aces being either low or high.

Now, No limit Texas Hold ‘em is a game that takes an incredible amount of skill combined with luck. Each player is dealt two cards referred to as their pocket. With this and the community cards on the table, the player makes the best hand possible with a total of five cards. After every player has their cards, the dealer discards the first card placing it face down and then lays down the “flop,” which consists of three cards. After betting is complete the dealer discards the next card and then lays down the “turn,” which is only one card.

Finally, after another round of betting the dealer again discards the next card and turns over the “river” card, which in many cases can complete a great hand. During each betting round, a player may bet as much or as little as they prefer, or they may go “all in”, in which case they put all of their chips into the pot, hoping to come out with the best hand. The player that manages to have the best hand wins the pot.

Search for home poker games and a home poker tournament by visiting www.find-local-poker.com/ today.

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