Poker Winner Blog

The object of baccara is to use a minimum of two and a maximum of three cards to try to make a score as close as possible to nine. The highest score is nine and the lowest is zero. Players aim to win the money in the bank by beating the banker’s hand.

After the dealer has shuffled the cards, a player is invited to cut them by placing a blank card into the pack. A second blank card is inserted about 15 cards from the end before the cards are placed in the shoe (sabot) and passed to the player acting as the banker, who deals. When the blank card is reached the shoe is returned to the dealer for the cards to be reshuffled. Read the rest of this entry »

These are played on smaller tables and are dealt at a faster speed than baccara. Minimum stakes are around US$5, which is considerably less than the high stakes normally played for at traditional baccara tables.

Baccarat and punto banco differ from baccara in that the casino acts as the banker, paying out winnings and collecting losing bets. In American casinos, baccarat players take turns to act as the dealer, but in punto banco that role is fulfilled by the casino. Read the rest of this entry »

The rowdiest game in the casino is dice, also called craps, a fast and exciting game with a language of its own. Players shout, cheer, scream, curse and gesticulate. The shooters elaborately shake the dice, blow on them for luck and yell for them to fall on the desired score, while the stickman commentates incessantly. For novices, dice appears complicated due to the arrangement of the layout and the terminology used, but it is actually quite simple once the basic aim of the game is understood. Craps is extremely popular everywhere, not only because it is fun to play, but also because it is the best value game in the casino. The house advantage on some bets is less than one per cent. Read the rest of this entry »

A wide choice of bets can be played on craps, some of which are better value for the player than others. Before betting it is best to compare the difference in house advantage (the profit made by the casino) for each bet. The best-value bets are the pass/don’t pass and come/don’t come bets. These allow the player to make an additional bet called odds. By playing the odds bets, the house advantage is reduced to less than one per cent. Read the rest of this entry »

LUXOR

A vast 30-storey pyramid encloses the world’s largest atrium, measuring 820,000m³ (29 million cu ft). From its summit, the world’s brightest beam of light reaches 16km (10 miles) into space. Attractions include the Ra nightclub; Lasting Impressions - a show starring Bill Acosta; a replica of Tutankhamen’s tomb, discovered by Howard Carter in 1922; Luxor Live, a simulated talk show with hologram characters; and an Imax cinema. Read the rest of this entry »

Baccara

Baccara, the forerunner of baccarat and punto banco, is played mostly in European casinos. It is particularly popular in both France and Germany. High minimum stakes are the norm in baccara and it is not unusual to find games with a minimum stake of US$100. Some games even start as high as US$1000 minimum. Read the rest of this entry »

Poker conjures up images of saloons in the old West where hustlers and gun fighters did battle. It seems that no Hollywood Western is complete without a gunfight over a poker game, but this way of life was often the reality for professional gamblers in the Wild West. In 1876 one of the west’s most famous lawmen, James Butler ‘Wild Bill’ Hickok, lost his life in a poker game in Deadwood, South Dakota. To this day his last hand — a pair of aces over eights — is known as the ‘dead man’s hand‘. Read the rest of this entry »

Slot machines are always popular because they pay out potentially huge jackpots for small stakes. A Las Vegas woman won the world’s biggest slot machine jackpot in January 2000 at the Desert Inn on The Strip. After staking just US$27, she won nearly $35 million on the Nevada Megabucks slot machine. The jackpot is paid out to winners over a 25-year period and shortly after winning she received her first instalment Read the rest of this entry »

BALLY World Famous Casino

Hollywood movie stars Cary Grant and Raquel Welch performed the opening ceremony when Ballys was built in 1973, at a cost of $100 million.

In 1981 a second tower was added and the hotel was expanded to over 2800 rooms. Now owned and operated by Park Place Entertainment, the Art Deco interior recently had a $72 million restoration. The complex includes restaurants and a shopping arcade. Read the rest of this entry »

Each player receives five cards face down. When all the cards have been dealt, the players look at their own cards. After an initial round of betting they have the opportunity to exchange any cards in their hand for new cards from the deck. Cards that are being discarded are returned to the dealer before the new cards are drawn.

As a general rule, if you get nothing from the initial deal you should fold (that is, if you are unable to make a ranking of at least a high pair). Only a hand with a pair of at least six or more is worth playing. Read the rest of this entry »

Each player receives two cards face down. Five cards are placed face up in the centre of the table. These cards are called community cards and are used by all the players. Each player uses a combination of the two cards in his or her hand and the five community cards to make the best possible five-card hand. Read the rest of this entry »

These are played on smaller tables and are dealt at a faster speed than baccara. Minimum stakes are around US$5, which is considerably less than the high stakes normally played for at traditional baccara tables.

Baccarat and punto banco differ from baccara in that the casino acts as the banker, paying out winnings and collecting losing bets. In American casinos, baccarat players take turns to act as the dealer, but in punto banco that role is fulfilled by the casino. Read the rest of this entry »

BINION‘S HORSESHOE

Situated in the Horseshoe Hotel on Fremont Street in downtown Vegas, Binion’s gives a taste of how gambling used to be in the Old West. Opened in 1951 by Benny Binion, a former Texas bootlegger and gambler, the casino evokes the atmosphere of a traditional gambling hall — no shows, no music, just gambling. Minimum stakes are $2 on blackjack and $1 on craps. The poker tables are not for beginners though, as many professional players make their living here. Read the rest of this entry »

Many casinos form part of hotel and leisure complexes located in tourist destinations, such as Sun City in South Africa and Atlantis in the Bahamas. However there is nowhere else that embraces the gambling culture quite like Las Vegas. Over the years, it has grown from a desert oasis into an international resort and holiday destination, offering round-the-clock gaming and top-quality entertainment in outstanding, Read the rest of this entry »