Max Rubin

Max is the author of Comp City, first published in 1994, with an expanded second edition published in 2002. In this groundbreaking book, Max exposed techniques even non-counting players could use to get an advantage over the casinos by exploiting weaknesses in the casinos' comp systems. Max's inside information came from his years of experience in the industry as a dealer, pit boss, and casino manager. Max still does consulting work for the Barona Casino in California.

Lawrence Revere

Lawrence Revere was both an author and a serious player. He died in 1977. His only book, Playing Blackjack as a Business, initially published in 1969, is still in print. If you look at the "true count" methods being employed pre-Revere, you will see why Revere was inducted into the hall of fame. The earlier methods were cumbersome and mentally fatiguing to use. In the second edition of Beat the Dealer, in which Thorp first proposed the Hi-Lo

Tips for playing online

When you look at the welcome bonus and all the other benefits from joining an online casino, playing online has real advantages over the real world alternatives. Because the virtual operation does not need a major building and significant number of people to run the games, all that saving can go into financial benefits for members. If you play regularly enough and qualify for VIP membership, you can find the casino more financially generous than through the real world comps. Nevertheless, you still need to play smart to give yourself the best chance of winning more than you lose.

Which is better, playing in a casino or playing online?

There's one game that will forever be associated with casinos - it's not called the "king of casino games" for nothing. The reason? Perhaps it's the simplicity. Someone spins the wheel, releases the ball, "Where will it fall? No-one knows!" There's the noise as the ball is thrown against the direction of spin. It rolls

The legislature in Delaware has just approved a new law expanding the gambling opportunities in that state

The legislature in Delaware has just approved a new law expanding the gambling opportunities in that state. It was almost immediately signed into law by the Democratic Governor who is looking at a major hole in the state budgets and needs additional revenue to help fill it. The new law is intended to allow table games, i.e. blackjack, craps and the "King of Casino Games", to be played at the casinos sited on the state's three horse racetracks.

Tommy Hyland

Tommy started playing blackjack professionally in 1978 while still in college. That was also the year he started his first informal "team." He's never looked back. For more than twenty-five years, he has been running the longest-lasting and most successful blackjack team in the history of the game. He and his teammates have played in casinos all over the U.S., Canada, and the world. He has used big player techniques, concealed computers (when they were legal), and had one of the most successful "ace location" teams ever. He has personally been barred, back-roomed, hand-cuffed, arrested, and even threatened with murder at gun-point by a casino owner he had

Is rakeback for me?

The general answer is probably yes. Every player pays some rake no matter which version of poker is played and no matter how the game is played. But the choice is individual. The majority of people in the online poker rooms only play the game for fun. They are just looking to get the maximum enjoyment out of

What is a Rake Race?

The rake is that drip, drip of fees deducted from every pot you play (and, sometimes, from the entry fees you pay for tournaments or other "special events"). All the regular players who get into the action in the small to medium sized pots have already signed up for a rebate. To add extra excitement to those players, some sites run races - usually over a calendar month - awarding points for the rake paid and the number of raked hands played. To let everyone see how

What is the rake?

There are many things that make poker the best game to play - more skill, more fun - but the key advantage is that you are up against the other players around the table and, over time, the best players will win as the luck evens out and the skill takes over. Unlike blackjack and the other table games, there's no house edge to give the casino operator a guaranteed percentage. You take your

A few tips for a casino player

Distractions
When you're walking upon the casino's floor to start your gambling session, holding your perspective is significant. All the miscellaneous things in casino kind of hypnotize a lot of gamblers. Casinos want it. So, you have to stay cool and keep an unclouded mind.
Walk around for five or ten minutes before you sit down to play. Survey in mind your purposes for this session while you perceive the gamblers and the games.

Raise your income with Basic Strategy Plus

While you might gain in during one particular day, in the long you will probably grind yourself down if you play long and often enough.
An enhanced basic strategy - also called Basic Strategy Plus - is essential for you to accelerate from being an average player to being a serious recreational player who has better chanced to win over the long periods.

The first steps to a basic strategy

The game is one of the simplest ever invented. The rules are few and there's no physical effort involved in playing it. You just sit, look at a few cards and make your bets. That's probably why it's become one of the most popular casino games of all time. Of course everyone knows the House has an edge. That's how it pays all the expenses for running the casino. Remember it makes no difference whether this is a casino in the real world or online. You still need people and a base. So common sense tells you that no-one beats the House unless they invest some effort. Put another way: if everyone could beat the House without breaking sweat, the casino would go out of business in a day. This produces the headline: no pain, no gain. You have to put in some study time to master the basic strategy.

The basic strategy and doubling down

There's a sad fact about playing in a casino, whether real or virtual. The operators have worked out how to play the games on offer and set the odds to favor themselves. After all, if the majority did not lose, there would be no money to pay out all the money you win. Needless to say, the casinos have invested time and money into working out every possible variation on the rules and the ways to play under them. So, if you are going to take on the House edge, you have to become as big an expert on the rules as the operators. So let's start with one of the more interesting rules which decides when you are allowed to double down. This applies when you have received your two cards. If you decide you are going to draw only one more card, the casino rules can allow you to double your initial bet.