Online Casino News & Free Casino Online » Online Casino Tips

Some people always seem to win at Blackjack.

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:10:33 +0000

Have you ever noticed that some people always seem to win when playing Blackjack and others always seem to lose? In truth of course nobody always wins and nobody always loses although it is a lot easier to always lose if you are simply reckless. In our series of articles covering online casino tips we try to increase your chances of winning and in this article we shall be covering Blackjack tips. The first thing to remember is that online Blackjack is a card game and all card games have an element of luck involved; the other tip to remember is that where Blackjack is concerned the card suits have no relevance so there are only 13 possible outcomes of card turned. It is also important to know how many decks are in the game which should be able to be found in the game rules of the online casino you are playing; the more decks in the game, the less relevant any visible cards become. Two other tips to remember are if you go over 21 you lose no matter what the dealer has and secondly as the dealer has to draw a card to 16 or less you will only win with less than 17 if the dealer goes bust. If you stand on less than 17 you are simply gambling that the dealer goes bust. From that point on it is a fairly simple game as long as we ignore splitting, doubling, insurance or surrender which you find more about at our blackjack page. If you have 17 or more you will stand and wait and see what the dealer has, if you have less than 12 you will draw a card so the only decisions come when you have 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 which unfortunately is over 60% of the time. Now it is time for the probability calculations; if you have 12 there are 4 cards that leave you still under 17 and with a decision to make, there are also 4 cards that will bust you leaving 5 out of 13 possibilities to give you a playable hand. There are sites that have attempted to work out the percentage odds and how to play each hand and it is good online casino tip to read and understand them. Alternatively trust your gut feeling and go for it.

To win you must limit your losses

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:05:58 +0000

The advantage that online casinos offer their customers is that they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week but this online casino tip concerns how to capitalise on this advantage rather than let it become a casino advantage. We all like to gamble or you would not be reading this but what we like most of all is to win; what makes us all different however is what we perceive to be a win. A sensible gambler knows that they will not win every time they play so an element of loss must be factored in but the best gambling tip is to limit your losses. It is aid that a good poker player makes money by limiting the loss on a losing hand and maximising the profit on a winning hand and so it should be with your online casino gambling. If you are on a winning streak make sure you get the most out of it but never get carried away; the tip for the casino is to know when the streak is over and walk away with the profit before you put it all back. Along the same lines, if you hit a losing streak do not keep going on the assumption that things will change, accept the fact that right now your luck is out, quit the game and come back later, this is the advantage of an online casino, you can go back anytime you like. We know of players who log into their online casino and the first thing they do is place a bet on red/black at the roulette table, if they win they go on and play their favourite games, if they lose they log out and try again later or the next day. We all have lucky days and unlucky days so this casino tip is to recognise where you are in the cycle.

Know your game is an important casino tip.

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:24:21 +0000

One of the best casino tips that we can give our customers is never be afraid to try something new but at the same time make sure that you have good understanding of the game you are playing. This tip applies of course not only to online casinos but is valid as a general gambling tip. We are not suggesting that you need to be an expert on horse racing to back a horse and anyway there are more than enough “experts” out there that will give you gambling tips for horses but if you try poker without a basic understanding of the game you will lose for sure. We have a range of online casino tips for specific games in our online casino tips page but our general tip is know what is going on in the game. It takes no skill to play a slots game but it is very frustrating to win or especially lose and not know why. Some slots with multiple win lines make it very difficult to spot wining lines but fortunately the machine will do it for you but it is important to at least recognise which symbols are better than others. This information can be found under the “pay table” tab at the machine you are playing. As online casino tips go, know the game is probably the most important, at a land based casino and games such as roulette you should even be able to calculate your winnings yourself as even the best croupier can make a mistake and it might not be in your favour. At an online casino it is less important as such a mistake cannot occur. Online games of skill such as Backgammon certainly should not be played without a good knowledge of the game whereas games of luck can be but it is still better and more fun and enjoyment to understand the game. Our online casino tip for today is therefore “understand your game”.

Take a tip from us and keep your online gambling within limits

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:53:45 +0000

As part of our online casino tips page we would like to remind casino players that addiction can be a problem. There is no doubt that online gambling just like alcohol or tobacco can be addictive for some people but having said that not everybody that likes a drink is an alcoholic and not everybody that likes a cigarette finds it impossible to do without. An online casino tip therefore is to play with moderation and for enjoyment. If you go out (or stay at home for that matter) and have a few drinks with your friends you know it is going to cost some money but it is worth it; the same attitude should be applied to online casino gambling except of course that you cannot be sure it will cost money, you just might make money instead especially if you follow some of our casino game specific online casino tips. Of course online casinos have an edge and if you gamble you must accept that making a loss is sometimes part of the equation so it might cost money but on the other hand nobody loses all the time. We have several gambling tips for particular games on this site which will help your winning chances but if you feel unable to control your gambling because you get carried away a bit there are lots of ways that you can put voluntary limits on yourself in an online casino. As one casino tip for example you can restrict yourself to a deposit limit in any 24 hour period. If you put a reasonable limit on yourself the online casino will not allow you to deposit more than you have specified and even if you want to change your limit there is a cooling off period to prevent you doing it immediately. We often mention the casino tip about not drinking too much whilst gambling and it is partly for this reason that the online casino will not let you increase your limits immediately. Online casinos have an obligation to prevent addiction so as well as complying with your requests they will also monitor gambling patterns but of course they have no idea of your financial position so they cannot determine if gambling is likely to be an issue or not. If you do not feel comfortable that you can and are managing your online casino gambling there is plenty of help available just as there is for alcoholics. Owning up to and facing the problem is the hardest bit. Enjoy your play at online casinos but keep it within the realms of fun that you can afford.

3 card Brag is a great alternative to poker, here are some tips.

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 07:20:48 +0000

Three card brag is a great fast online casino game full of bluffing where you can play multi handed or head to head but where there are limits on the bets and the amount you can lose or win in any one hand. If it is new to you, please see our game rules section. The best players vary their game as they play sometimes bluffing, sometimes playing blind and varying the number of cards exchanged. In brag more than poker there is likely to be a multi hand showdown and the end of the betting which means that players get the chance to see cards and assess the way in which the player has played the hand. It is important therefore for you as a player to know who is playing tight and who is playing loose. If the table is playing tight you should consider buffing more but if players are playing loose then you might consider playing more blind hands. It is also useful to be aware of the chances of certain hands coming up either pre draw or by exchanging cards at the draw. Surprisingly there are only 22100 hands possible in 3 card brag so your initial three dealt cards have a 74% chance of being a “high card” hand; approximately 17% chance of being a pair; about 5% chance of being a flush and a little over 3% chance of being a run. Getting dealt a running flush or three of a kind is approximately a one in 500 chance and finally the chances of getting dealt the top hand of 3 threes is pretty remote.

Just as important however is to know what your chances are of improving a hand at the draw. This is fairly easily calculated as there is always only one deck in the game which is shuffled after every round and you know how many different cards will improve your hand. For example if you are holding an ace and decide to exchange two cards at the draw:- there are three other aces in the pack that could give you a pair but you are exchanging two cards which gives you a total of 6 chances of picking up an ace. There are 52 cards in the deck but you already have three of them so there are 49 available meaning that you have a 6 in 49 chance of picking up another ace or approximately a 12% chance. Similarly if you are holding two cards of a flush there are 11 cards that could complete your flush out of the 49 available which is approximately a 22% chance and of course you always have an additional chance of hitting a pair. Play at BetFred online casino and have a lot of fun with this game; start with a multi player table at low stakes until you get the feel of the game but you will quickly realise there is a lot of fun to be had.

Take your time when registering for the first time

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 07:00:19 +0000

Thinking about having a bit of fun in an online casino but not sure how to go about it? We can help. The first thing many new players want to do is register, deposit money and get cracking to see how much money they can win but that actually is not the way we would advise. The first step is to choose a casino that you can trust and if you are not sure take a look at our casino review page; any of our recommended casinos are fine. The next thing you should do is register at one or more of the casinos; there is no penalty for registering at more than one casino and if you are into sports betting as well we positively recommend it as you can then compare odds. The registration is fairly simple but you might be asked to send some form of proof of identification like a utility bill or similar; this is not unusual so don’t worry about it; the casinos have to do that for protection against money laundering. The next step is downloading the casino which again is a simple process; you can also play on an instant casino which many of the sites have as well but the download version will give you a greater choice of games. Downloading a casino will leave an icon on your computer so if for any reason you are using a computer on which you do not wish to leave the icon then instant casino is for you. Having registered and downloaded, the next step is to make a deposit but you do not need to rush into that; the new player bonuses are usually based on your first deposit but that can be made some time after registration. We would recommend that you first look around the site, play a few of the games for free; fun play and free games are usually available although they are more obvious on some sites than others. When you are ready and are ready to play for real money make a deposit and enjoy yourself.

Tips for playing Keno

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:41:38 +0000

It is difficult to give tips about how to play Keno as it really is a game of luck and whether you back 2 numbers or 10 numbers is entirely up to you; there are no advantages one way or the other and it all depends on whether you are happy wining small amounts or whether you want to go for the jackpot. The first thing to look at however is which online casino you are playing. As we state in our keno rules page, unlike roulette where all casinos pay the same odds, in keno there are vast discrepancies and none is necessarily better than the others. You will find that casinos that offer higher odds at the top end probably offer lower odds at the bottom end so once again you need to decide whether you accept that a small win is acceptable or whether you will sacrifice worse odds for a small win in exchange for much better odds for a large win. The next thing to look out for is whether there is a maximum on the odds offered. If a casino is offering 10,000:1 for hitting 8 out of 8 and the same odds for hitting 9 out of 9 there is little point in betting on 9 as your chances of hitting 9 from 9 are much less than hitting 8 from 8. At the other end of the scale you may find that a casino pays 3:1 for hitting 3 from 5 but also pays 3:1 for hitting 3 from 6 so you may as well play 6. Finally, before playing, run through the odds offered and write them down so that you can spot these discrepancies and decide how many numbers to play. It is also worth increasing your stake (without actually playing the game) to see whether the odds change, they sometimes do at the top end. It’s a quick fun game based purely on luck so if you fancy your chances give it a go.

Increase your winning chances playing Blackjack

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:22:26 +0000

Blackjack is an interesting game and one in which the player has a good chance of winning if the cards are played correctly and of course if luck is with you. The dealer has only one advantage over you as a player and that is if you bust the dealer wins regardless of what he/she has or does. We go into a lot more detail on our tips page which is well worth looking at but the way to win is still be in the game when the dealer busts which will happen. If you are going to pull 17 or above on every deal then it is pure luck whether you win or lose because you will stand every time. If you don’t, it gets more interesting and you need to consider the dealers card which is face up and showing. The dealer has strict rules which say that they must draw on any number 16 or less and must stand on 17 or more. Drawing a card on 15 or 16 has a greater than 50% chance of going over 21 so that’s when we want to be around. If the dealer is showing a 5 or a 6 it is a weak hand and we should play cautiously. If you have 12 and draw a ten that’s just bad luck but if you have 15 or 16 with the dealer showing a 5 or a 6 think carefully. Remember they have to draw on 15 or 16, you don’t. Of course luck still plays an enormous part in the game; a dealer showing a 6 can always draw a 5 and end up with 11 but if you consider the chances of something happening, in the long run you will do better than blindly drawing to 16 like the dealer has to. Try it out at any of our online casinos and see what happens.

Look carefully at advertised joining bonuses

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:39:07 +0000

One of the most popular ways of attracting new customers to online casinos or online bookmakers is to publicize huge bonuses for signing up, usually in the form of an initial matching bonus but also sometimes for second or third deposits but even though we all like to get something for nothing it can sometimes be difficult to get your bonus. We recently saw a casino (not one that we recommend so it shall remain nameless) that had a headline joining bonus of up to €7200 so we investigated only to find that joining bonuses were up to €600 and to talk about the €7200 bonus you had to phone them. We didn’t do that as we can do without the sales pitch but the point is to investigate fully what is being offered and the terms and conditions attached to the offers. It is not uncommon for bonuses to be credited only after your deposit has been played through a number of times and even then you may find that not all games contribute to the play through in equal ways. It is very usual for games such as roulette or blackjack to count for only 50% or 25% or sometimes not at all. Generally speaking the higher the advertised bonus the more difficult it will be to get your hands on it; we came across another one the other day which said in the small print that the bonus would only be paid when your account was empty which means to us that you have lost your initial deposit. The best joining bonuses are the simple ones but always read the terms and conditions and never select your casino based purely on the joining bonus. Remember the bonus is a one off but a good casino can be good for a lifetime.

Roulette is a fascinating and popular game

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:13:22 +0000

Roulette is one of the most fascinating and popular games in the casino and for a good reasons; it requires no special skills to play and it is a game that gives you one of the best chances of winning in the whole casino. You can of course not influence where the ball will drop but there are a couple of things you can do to increase your enjoyment. The first thing to do is take your time. In an actual casino the screams of delight as someone hits a big win on a single number can add to the atmosphere but at the same time it is often a mad scramble to place bets with folk leaning over the table, knocking over piles of chips and preventing you from getting your bets on before the dreaded shout of “no more bets”. In an online casino this does not happen so use the fact and take your time. As with any casino game you are there to enjoy it so make it last. This brings us on to the next point and that is to spread your bets around. As nice as it is to get a big win by playing all your money on a single number, the chances of getting that win are small so you are going to get a lot of losing spins; much better then to back several numbers and get more frequent wins even if they are not so much.

Along the same lines, adjust your bet size according to your budget for the session; you are there for the enjoyment so make it last and if you don’t get a winner in the first ten spins you still have money to continue until your luck changes. We know some who will put their whole budget on black or red on the first spin; if they lose they go do something else and if they win they play on with the profits but that takes a special mentality. If you are not sure how to play the game go to our roulette page where the game is explained in detail and then log on to one of our recommended sites and play for free until you know what is going on.