Roulette Rules

Roulette Rules

Roulette is a game of European origin that still remains largely popular in Europe. Internationally speaking, it is one of the most popular gambling games in the casino. And although the game does not afford one of the lowest House Edges for its best bet, it nonetheless remains the game of choice for many players. In actuality, the lowest House Edge for initial bets at the roulette table is approximately 2.6%, which is not that bad at all, especially when compared to other bets in the casino. There is also a situation at some roulette tables (called en prison) that will return a House Edge of approximately 1.35%. Be advised that the Single Zero European version of the game gives the lowest casino advantage, as opposed to the American version, which offers a 5.3% House Edge. That being said, even though there is no strategy that will lower the House Edge at roulette, the game still affords good chances at winning bets and having a good time. Perhaps it is the activity of the game that draws players. The action around the table itself is quite laid back, and the speed of play is rather slow. And although the online casino experience is sped up a bit - thanks to a faster and shorter spinning wheel programmed into the software - it is exciting to wait for the winning number. Again, aside from ill-founded rumors regarding fixed wheels, perhaps it is the inherent trust the game gives players, owing to its mass appeal. Everything happens directly in view of the player at the roulette table, as opposed to a deck of unexposed cards, which will always inherently never reveal everything that is taking place.

The way the game operates is rather simple - Bets are placed and a ball is dispersed into a spinning wheel. Depending on what number the ball rests, bets are won or lost accordingly. Therefore, the two factors a player needs to be familiar with are the layout of the table itself and the different kinds of bets that can me made. Beginning with the table, three columns intersecting with three rows take up the bulk of the playing space. The resultant boxes are numbered 1 through 36, each box alternately colored red and black. (Incidentally, these numbers correspond to the amount of numbered slots in the roulette wheel as well) Within these boxes and on the lines separating them are where inside bets (straight up, street, corner, split, five-number and line) are placed. All other areas on the table are commonly referred to as outside bets. Flanking the left side of the numbered columns will be either one or two boxes with a 0 and/or 00, depending on whether the table is a European or American version. Flanking the right side of the numbered columns are three boxes (one for each column) labeled "2 to 1". This is where column bets are placed, which as the boxes imply, pay 2 to 1 odds on winners. Flanking the first column of numbers nearest the player are three adjacent boxes labeled "1st 12", "2nd 12" and "3rd 12". These boxes are where the wagers called dozens are made. The remaining column of six boxes at the immediate front of the table correspond in pairs. The two most outside boxes labeled "1 to 18" and "19 to 36" are referred to as Low or High Bets. Immediately to the inside of these boxes are two boxes labeled "Even" and "Odd". As the names imply, this is where even bets and odd bets are made. The two centermost boxes are marked with the words "Red" and "Black" with their corresponding color. This is where chips for the Red or Black Bets are placed.

00	3	6	9	12	15	18	21	24	27	30	33	36	2 to 1
	2	5	8	11	14	17	20	23	26	29	32	35	2 to 1
0	1	4	7	10	13	16	19	22	25	28	31	34	2 to 1
	1st Twelve				2nd Twelve				3rd Twelve
	1 to 18		EVEN		RED		BLACK		ODD		19 to 36

Such is the format of the roulette table. In the table above, all boxes are printed horizontally so they can be easily read. (The boxes in a true table will be printed horizontally and vertically). However, the shape of the table does not change.

The potential roulette bets are as follows:

INSIDE BETS

Straight-up
This bet is akin to lottery or keno. The wager is made by placing chips on any one of the thirty-five numbered boxes, zero or double-zero. If the rolling ball lands on the corresponding number of the wheel, the bet wins. Straight-up bet payout odds are 35:1.

Split
The split wager is made by mouse-clicking a chip on the line separating any two numbers. It is predicting that one of the two adjacent numbers will be landed by the ball in the wheel. Split bet payout odds are 17:1.

Street
This bet covers one of the twelve columns, also called streets, composed of three numbers in numeric order. It is predicting that one of the three numbers in the chosen 'street' will be hit be landed by the rolling ball. The bet is made by placing chips on the horizontal line separating the outside bet boxes from the first column of numbers, centered with the first number of the desired row or street. Street bet payout odds are 11:1.

Corner
This bet covers four numbers at one time. The bet is made by mouse-clicking a chip(s) on the common corner of four boxes, which is the centermost point between all four boxes. The bet wins if the ball settles in any one of the four numbered slots corresponding to the box values. Corner bet payout odds are 8:1.

Line

The line bet covers six consecutively adjacent boxes in numeric order. It predicts that any one of the six chosen numbered boxes will by landed by the ball in the wheel. To place the bet, chips are set on the line dividing the first column of outside bet boxes from the first column of numbered boxes starting with 1 and ending with 34. On this line, the chip is placed where a single line dividing two numbered rows intersects with it. For instance, the numbers 7 through 12 are bet by placing a chip on the bottommost common point between the number 7 and 10 and the line of the "1st Twelve" box. Line bet payout odds are 5:1.

Five-Number
As the name says, this is a bet covering five numbers - the 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. It is made by placing a chip(s) on the outside left corner point of the line separating the 0 and the 1. This bet is also called the House Special, which is ironic, considering it has a very high House Edge.

OUTSIDE BETS

Red & Black
This is a bet placed on either a red or black number. It is predicting that either a black or red number will come up. Obviously, this bet is quite simple and has a 50/50 chance of winning, since there are an equal amount of black and red numbers. To make the bet, a player will place chips in either the box marked "Red" or "Black".

Odd & Even
Similar to the red and black bet, this bet is on one of two outcomes - Whether the roulette ball settles in an even-numbered slot or in an odd-numbered slot on the wheel. The bet is placed with chips in either the "Odd" or "Even" outside bet box. Odd or Even bet payout odds are 1:1.

Low & High
Another 50/50 wager, the Low wager predicts the ball will fall on a number from 1 to 18 (the low half) while the high wager predicts the ball will land on any number from 19 to 36 (the high half). It too is made by placing chips in the corresponding box marked either "High" or "Low". Low and High bet payout odds are 1:1.

Columns
Taking note of the roulette table layout, there are three boxes on the bottom end of the three columns of numbers labeled 2 to 1. Each column corresponds to the column box adjacent to it. Paying 2 to 1, the bet predicts that any number in the selected column will be landed by the ball in the wheel. Bets are made by simply mouse-clicking chips in the "2 to 1" box adjacent to the desired column. Column bet payout odds are 2:1.

Dozens
Paying the same odds as the column wager, the dozens wager is structured the same way as the High/Low bet, except that it divides the playing numbers into three groups instead of two. The three boxes nearest the first column of numbers is where chips are placed depending on the desired number coverage. The box labeled '1st Twelve' covers numbers 1 through 12, the box labeled '2nd Twelve' covers numbers 13 through 24, and the bottommost box called '3rd Twelve' covers the numbers 25 through 36. Dozen bet payout odds are 2:1.

En Prison
This rule, or condition, applies on a casino to casino basis, and only on the even money wagers (Red&Black, Odd&Even, Low&High). The way it works is that if the ball rests on the zero. all even money bets do not lose, but rather, are entitled to either stay on the board or be taken back by the player. Since 0 is neither red nor black, odd nor even, nor low nor high, some casinos will permit players this gesture which lowers the House Edge.

La Partage
This condition is the same as En Prison with one exception. It does not permit even money wagers to be returned or to stay on the board after a 0 is landed, but rather, returns half of the players original bet.

Learn these bets and their corresponding odds, and you will be well armed at the roulette table, even if you are after a social experience and more of an entertaining time than anything else. Remember, online roulette is a different experience altogether, even though it still rightly offers the anticipation a land-based casino can. The play is much faster online, so sometimes it is wise to write down every wager you make...at least until you see the software's player history log is doing its job. To read up on the odds of the various roulette bets, see the roulette strategy tips section on this site.

Poker Rules

Poker Rules

Poker is without question, the most popular card game in the world. On the internet, poker accounts for nearly half of the annual revenue brought in from online gambling sites, sportsbooks and casinos. Although there are several versions of the game, all of the poker varieties generally operate under similar conditions. The game itself consists of several betting rounds and card substitution rounds, after which, the best ranked hand wins the pot. It is this component of poker (betting rounds and card substitutions) which differs amongst the poker game varieties. The structure of the game, in turn, is affected by the number of betting rounds. Poker games with less than five betting rounds, like Texas Holdem fare will with several structures, such as a no limit pot. Games with more than four betting rounds, like seven-card stud, operate more smoothly with fixed pot limits. Some things do not change from game to game. One is the lingo; The other is the hand rankings.Before going over the different poker game varieties, including the most played online poker games, I shall go over the commonalities from game to game. Here are a few action terms all poker players should know:

Ante - Also called a blind bet, an ante is a small wager made by all players before seeing their cards.
Pot - This is where all wagers are collected; That which the winner takes.
Call - When a player matches another players bet.
Check - When a player declines to put a bet down, thereby passing the action to another player.
Raise - One step up from a call, a raise occurs when a player makes a bet exceeding the amount of another players bet.

Here are some other terms players will surely hear:

Small Blind - A wager used to initiate betting in a pot. Players are selected in rotation to make this wager usually in the amount of half the minimum betting limit before a game begins.
Big Blind - A wager used to initiate betting in a pot before a game begins. A player will make this wager immediately after the small blind. It is usually in the amount of the minimum betting limit.
Dealer Button - A small disk that sits in front of a player, designating them as the dealer. Although this is just a title, and does not entail any duties, it plays a large factor in the game. Therefore, it is rotated in a clockwise fashion to a new player each game.
Community Cards - Upturned cards resting in the center of the poker table. These cards do not go directly to any one player, but rather serve can be used at a players discretion.
Flop - Refers to the first round of dealing cards after the initial hand.
Turn - Refers to the second round of dealing cards.
River - Refers to the last and final round of dealing cards.
Street - Many times a betting round will be referred to as a Street designated by a number, such as Fifth Street. Each numbered street refers to how many cards a player has to potentially form their hand at any given betting round.

As for the names of the betting rounds, these are explained in the individual game rules. The other important factor common to all poker games, however, are the hands themselves. The following lists the standard poker hands ranked from lowest to highest.

High Card - In the case in which no player has a legitimate poker hand, the hand with the highest ranking card wins. (In all tie hands, the one with the high card wins)

One Pair - Two matching cards of rank.

Two Pair - Two sets of matching ranked cards. In a five-card poker hand this might be two seven's, two Queens, and an Ace.

Three of a Kind - Three matching cards of rank.

Straight - Five cards in consecutive order of rank. The suits of each card can be dissimilar, and the hand can not go "around the corner", such as a Queen, King, Ace, 2, 3.

Flush - Five cards of the same suit, in no particular order.

Full House - Three matching cards of rank in conjunction with two matching cards of rank.

Four of a Kind - Four matching cards of rank.

Straight Flush - Five cards of the same suit in consecutive order of rank.

Royal Flush - The five highest ranked cards - Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace - all of the same suit.

As I said, there are numerous versions of online poker. The most ubiquitous on the internet, however, is Texas Holdem, Omaha (Hi/Lo) and Seven Card Strud (Hi/Lo). The largest online poker rooms usually stick to these varieties, with Texas Holdem unquestionably being the most popular. The game rules and strategies for these versions are explained on separate pages, while the less common forms are briefly explained here. Let it Ride Poker, Pai Gow and Caribbean Stud are the most popular of the rest of the lot, and are available at most of the larger online casinos.

Click below for Complete Rules of these Popular Poker Games:

• Texas Hold'em Rules
• Omaha Hi/Lo Rules
• Seven Card Stud Rules
• Three Card Poker
• Four Card Poker

Let it Ride Poker is quite simple, and can payout some very large jackpots. The format of the game is slightly different than other poker games in that the game is started with each player putting down three bets of equal size (depending on the stake of the game). Each player is dealt three cards, with two face-down community cards in the center of the table (A community card is one which stays on the table and which all players can use to form their individual hand). If a player is happy with their three cards, and thinks it could be the start of a good hand, they will signal the dealer to "Let it Ride" in regards to the first of three bets. If not, the player can take the first bet back. When all players have gone through this motion, the dealer will reveal one of the community cards. The players will then go through the same process as the first round, but with the second wager in question. Again, after all players are done, the dealer will reveal the second and last community card. At this point, all players are in the game with at least one bet, and hands are revealed to determine winners. Any hand greater than a pair of 10's is a winner, and is paid according to a payout scale taking into consideration the exact hand ranking and how many of the three bets were left on the table.

Caribbean Stud Poker is another simple game of poker that doesn't pose elaborate betting rounds like some other games. In some ways it resembles blackjack - And with a large progressive jackpot attached to the regular pot, players have the option of putting down an additional wager to vie for it. Games begin with the players putting in a predetermined ante, after which, both the dealer and players are dealt five cards. The dealer will then reveal one card and the player must decide whether to fold their hand and forfeit the ante, or stay in the game by placing a call bet the same size as the ante. If such is the case, the dealer and player will reveal their hands. If the dealer does not have at least an Ace and King, they do not qualify, and all players who called bets win the amount of their ante back. If the dealer does qualify with an Ace and King, the two hands are weighed in accordance to standard poker hand rankings. If the players hand is higher, it will win the amounts of both the ante and the call bet. If the dealer's hand is higher, the player loses all bets. In order to play for the progressive jackpot, the player must bet an additional fee at the start of the game. Whether the dealer qualifies or not, does not affect the player's claim at the jackpot. If the player's hand is a Flush, Full House, Four of a Kind, Straight Flush or Royal Flush, the hand will win a portion or all (Royal Flush) of the progressive jackpot.

Pai Gow Poker is an interesting combination between the Chinese game of dominoes and Seven Card Stud Poker. With only one betting round, the game begins with initial bets followed by dealing of the hands. After the player is dealt seven cards from the start, he or she must split their hand into one five-card hand and one two-card hand. If each hand outranks each of the banks split hands respectively, the player wins. If both hands are beat by the banks, the player loses. If one hand wins and the other loses, the game is considered a push. All ties go to the bank - and there is a 5% commission on winning hands.

The other less common forms of poker that are playable online are Five Card Draw, Crazy Pineapple, Big 2 Poker, Guts, and Triple Draw Poker (and many other varieties of stud poker). Although you will not find these poker varieties in large poker rooms, they are still available at smaller sites - and fun to play too.

Keno Rules

Keno Rules

With its origin in China several centuries ago, keno is one of the few "risky" gambling games that has somehow survived the tests of time. Keno found its way to the U.S. in the middle of the nineteenth century, thereafter finding a home in the casinos of Las Vegas, where keno has a large following to this day. Much like the lottery, keno is a game that involves picking numbers. It has a high degree of chance, or more aptly put, an inherently high House Edge. Averaging around 30%, this is the highest edge in the casino. Yet, the draw for keno remains popular, primarily due to the large payouts the game can award. And still there are many players who opt to play the game for its long-term advantage of making small bets - sometimes as low as ten cents.

The rules of keno are straightforward, although online casino is even more so. For all purposes here, I will cite when a rule or situation applies to either or both brick 'n mortar keno gambling and online keno. As I said, the structure of the game is much like lottery. Players pick from two to ten (usually up to fifteen) numbers on a board of eighty numbers (1 through 80). Each selection is called a spot, meaning if the player chooses five numbers, they have five spots. The amount of the wager itself does not change with more or less picks - just the odds do. The wager covers the entire ticket no matter the amount of selections. After all selections have been made, a bin of eighty numbered balls are randomly circulated, from which twenty of the balls are drawn. Depending on how many spots the player has chosen in conjunction with how many of the twenty drawn balls are matching winners, the player will be paid according to a predetermined payout table. All casinos payout tables and wager restrictions are relatively the same in regards to online casinos. Land based casinos vary somewhat more, due to promotions and general House Rules. Generally, in a Las Vegas casino keno lounges will pay up to $50,000 and will allow wagers as low as five cents. In the online casino, however, players can expect to be allowed wagers in stakes of $0.25, 0.50. 1.00, 5.00, 10.00, 20.00, 50.00 or 100.00 per ticket, and receive payouts up to $10,000 (large casinos payout more). If you desire to play keno online, be sure to inquire each casino about their keno rules, for they will differ.

One thing remains the same - In an online casino, a player will be confronted with a board of 80 boxed numbers. On the screen will be a betting stake selector which only needs to be clicked in order to increase or decrease the wager stake. Once the stake has been chosen, the player will begin to select numbers on the board by simply clicking the mouse directly over the number. When the minimum amount of numbers has been selected (usually two) the payout odds will be displayed in an adjacent screen. And just as the stake amount affects the payout scale, as the amount of number selections change, so too will the payout scale. For instance, if a player chooses to pick five numbers, on the payout scale they will see the payouts begin to register for each selection as they are being made. The first selection (meaning one match) may say it will pay half of the original wager, while the fifth selection (meaning five matches) will say that it will pay 25 times the wager. What it is essentially saying is that if one of the five numbers is drawn, the player will lose half of their wager, whereas since the odds are more unlikely for all five numbers to come up, that will pay 25 times the wager. The more selections a player makes, the more stretched will be the payout scale. In other words, the payout for a selection of five will pay more on three winning numbers than on a selection of ten with three winning numbers (Please see the below tables for more clarification). Now, once all selections have been made, the player will click on a "Play" button to commence the drawing of the balls. After twenty balls have been drawn, winnings or losses will be displayed, and the player will have the option of either playing again with the same selections, or, clearing the board and making new selections.

The following is a payout table from a typical keno game (This covers the bare minimum, for keno players will find many casinos that payout for fewer matching bets and that allow larger bet sizes - sometimes up to $100) Also, note that $1 minimums are usually found at online keno games.

$0.25 Stake per game			$0.50 Stake per game			$1.00 Stake per game
Selections	Matching Bets	$ Payout	Selections	Matching Bets	$ Payout	Selections	Matching Bets	$ Payout
2	2	.25	2	2	.50	2	2	1
2	2	1.25	2	2	2.50	2	2	5
3	2	.75	3	2	1.50	3	2	3
3	3	6.25	3	3	12.50	3	3	25
4	2	.25	4	2	.50	4	2	1
4	3	1.25	4	3	2.50	4	3	5
4	4	20	4	4	40	4	4	80
5	3	.50	5	3	1	5	3	2
5	4	2.50	5	4	5	5	4	10
5	5	150	5	5	300	5	5	600
6	3	.25	6	3	.50	6	3	1
6	4	2	6	4	4	6	4	8
6	5	12.50	6	5	25	6	5	50
6	6	375	6	6	750	6	6	1,500
7	4	1.25	7	4	2.50	7	4	5
7	5	3.75	7	5	7.50	7	5	15
7	6	62.50	7	6	125	7	6	250
7	7	1,250	7	7	2,500	7	7	5,000
8	4	1	8	4	2	8	4	4
8	5	2	8	5	4	8	5	8
8	6	10	8	6	20	8	6	40
8	7	100	8	7	200	8	7	400
8	8	2,500	8	8	5,000	8	8	10,000
9	4	.50	9	4	1	9	4	2
9	5	1.25	9	5	2.50	9	5	5
9	6	5	9	6	10	9	6	20
9	7	20	9	7	40	9	7	80
9	8	750	9	8	1,500	9	8	3,000
9	9	3,000	9	9	5,000	9	9	10,000
10	5	.50	10	5	1	10	5	2
10	6	7.50	10	6	15	10	6	30
10	7	25	10	7	50	10	7	100
10	8	125	10	8	250	10	8	500
10	9	750	10	9	1,500	10	9	3,000
10	10	4,000	10	10	5,000	10	10	10,000

Although online keno is commonly done on a standard, or straight keno ticket, if you will, keno at land-based casinos can be played in multiple manners. There are essentially six different tickets a player can choose from. They are straight tickets (like the online version), split tickets, combination, king, way and special tickets. Straight tickets are played as described above. Players are allowed up to fifteen picks per ticket, which can be staked usually from $1 through $100 in major online casinos. Split tickets are simply more than one straight ticket on a single keno card, which is filled by circling or separating two sets of numbers representing different tickets on one paper. Each number can only be used once, (not shared between multiple tickets) which makes this type of play undesirable to some players. Combination tickets are similar to split tickets in that they permit groups of straight wagers to be combined in variant proportions - with each combination individually staked (which should be marked on the right-hand side of the card). The king ticket is a variation on the split, way and combination tickets except that one number is picked in combination with multiple number groupings. It is marked like the split ticket in that each combination and stake amount is listed on the right-hand side of the ticket. Way tickets are simply a way to consolidate multiple tickets onto a single one. They are for convenience sake and have the potential of becoming quite confusing if the player is not familiar with their format. Way tickets allow for wagers smaller than $1 and thus produce fractional rates. like other consolidated tickets, they are marked on the right-hand side of the numbers margin. Special tickets vary from casino to casino for the reason of being promotional offers that casinos run to entice players. They commonly have higher payout schedules, which will likely be printed on an accompanying ticket.