‘Golf,’ said Mark Twain, ‘is a terrible way to ruin a good walk,’ and many still agree. Whether you enjoy getting into your tweeds and hobnobbing with the local Johns and Marys at the ball washing machine, or you just fly off the handle when your ball goes into the lake (again), there’s nothing stopping you from sitting down and enjoying the action from your own home. Now that sports betting has gone cyber, golf is as prominent in the world of online betting as any of its rivals. Don’t be fooled by the slow moving nature of this game, it’s one of the most competitive and dynamic sports around, it just doesn’t want to let everyone know. With an ever more youthful and varied rote of professionals, and a broader ranger of the populous taking up the club, the days of stuffy exclusivity are well and truly over.
The gadgetry and club technology that has risen around golf in recent decades has rendered the links more like a subtle, green machine rather than a glorified piece of mowed lawn. However, with over thirty two thousand of such ‘machines’ worldwide, and a rapidly rising figure at that, golf has never been more popular. The famous PGA Tour features forty-nine events every year, offering some the world’s best golfers a first prize of eight hundred thousand dollars. Only second in prestige comes its sister organisation, the PGA European tour, itself offering fifty annual tournaments. Other events of note are The (US) Masters and the US PGA championship, both in August; the US Open and British Open in June and July respectively, and of course the bicentennial Ryder Cup which will be held in September this year. With such a rich and varied calander, we simply can’t afford to let this game ruin a good walk; even if you think it still might, get a buggy...
Ah, bingo. The uncontested featherweight champion of the gambling world: easy on the wallet and as straightforward as falling off a log; it’s also remarkably compelling. From the moment the caller intones the command “eyes down!” you’re hooked – hunched over your card with dabber in hand ready to lunge, as yours ears strain to hear those infamous, absurd numbers: “Two fat ladies, 88!”; “A duck and a flea, 23!”; “Gandhi’s breakfast: 80!” etc.
Of course, until recently, participating in a round of bingo meant making a trip to your local bingo hall – a place not dissimilar to a condensed retirement home; brimming over, as they invariably are, with blue-rinses and the cloying scent of lavender. Despite being so simple, addictive and satisfying, bingo has always suffered from a bit of an image crisis, tending to attract the more mature gambler than your average casino. James Bond never pitted his wits against his nemesis over a shandy and a fag in a bingo hall. Still, it is its social aspect that’s always been the games real lure, with players often arriving hours before the actual game to enjoy a bit of a meal and a catch-up with friends. Bingo halls epitomise a particular and slightly nostalgic sense of community, fulfilling a role akin to that of a pub: what you do there is beside the point – it’s a vital context for maintaining friendships, not for competition or financial gain. In this sense, bingo will never garner the serious attention that horse racing or poker does – it’s just too inclusive and too much fun.
However, the times they are a-changing, and to many younger, professional types, the prospect of traipsing down to their local Gala or Mecca is pretty hellish. So, following on from other forms of gambling, bingo has taken to the internet, with a plethora of sites mushrooming up over night. The major bingo companies each have at least one internet bingo site, containing every possible variation on the old favourite ‘housie’, and you can play til your heart’s content without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Just remember to shout out some ridiculous rhyming nicknames for the numbers: “Kelly’s eye: number one!”
Blackjack is an easy to learn, fast paced and extremely exciting game. You play against a dealer, trying to beat the numerical value of his or her cards without going higher than twenty-one. Each player is dealt two open cards and the dealer one open card and one hidden card (hole card). The players then have a number of options, to either stick, hit, double or split. You can only split if you are dealt a pair. All picture cards are valued at ten and ace is either one or eleven.
Before you play blackjack whether in a real casino or
online backjack at sites like Riverbelle you’d be wise to familiarize yourself with some of the common terms used in the game. This will keep the game flowing and ensure that you maximise your enjoyment.
Here is a list of common blackjack terms N-Z:
Natural Blackjack – If the player’s opening two cards total is 21 points, then it is a natural blackjack. For example, if the opening two cards are an Ace and any Ten value card. Natural Blackjack is also known as Natural 21.
Online casinos – websites that offer a range of online gaming options usually include
Blackjack games.
Round – A complete series of play in which each player has acted on their dealt hand and the winner has been decided.
Pat hand – Is a hard hand of 17 points or more. Basic strategy for blackjack is to never take a hit to a pat hand. This is considered a reasonable hand with a reasonable chance of winning.
Pat up cards - 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A
Push – A hand tied with the dealer. A tie. A push wins your original bet back, and you don't win or lose any money.
Shoe – A box holding decks of cards that enable them to be dealt one at a time. In order to discourage card counting to discourage card counting four or more decks of cards are shuffled together and used as one.
Shuffle - Mixing up the cards before dealing them.
Soft Hand – contains an ace giving you a choice of how to play it. You can declare you ace to be either a value of one or eleven which ever may you consider strategically best.
Split – The option to split identically valued cards to play each card as a separate hand. The player must make a second bet equal in value to the first.
Stand / Stand Pat – the decision to not to take another card from the deck and stay with your current hand. Also known as ‘Hold’.
Stiff Up Cards - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 – Cards likely to lead to a ‘stiff hand’ 12-16
Strategy – search online for strategy guides such as blackjacktactics.com. These can be a valuable asset to your game.
Surrender – the player gives up the first two cards in his hand and loses half of the initial bet. Either early surrender - where you have the option of 'surrendering' before the dealer checks for their 21 or Late surrender - Here the player has the option to surrender AFTER the dealer checks for a Blackjack. The dealer will remove the player’s cards from the table and 50% of the player’s bet is forfeited
Ten-Value Card - Any card worth 10 points, such as a ten, Jack, Queen, or King.
Up Card - The dealer’s face up card.
Wikipedia – offers interesting historical and game playing information on blackjack.
Blackjack (also known as Twenty-one, Vingt-et-un - French for Twenty-one - or Pontoon) is one of the most popular casino card games in the world. Much of blackjack's popularity is due to the mix of chance with elements of skill, and the publicity that surrounds card counting (keeping track of which cards have been played since the last shuffle).
Before you play blackjack whether in a bricks and mortar casino or online at site such as Riverbelle
Online Casino or blackjackinfo.com you’d be wise to familiarize yourself with the common terms used in the game. This will keep the game flowing and ensure that you follow what is going on and what is expected of you.
Here is a list of common blackjack terms A-M:
Anchorman – Plays last in each round. In a group of players, the anchorman is the player positioned to the dealer's far right.
Blackjack - This is a when your initial dealt hand totals 21. A blackjack comprises a 10 or a face card together with an ace, and is also known as a "natural". A blackjack hand usually pays back at better than even odds. A player with a natural is usually paid 3:2 on his bet. Some casinos pay only 6:5 on blackjacks; although this reduced payout has generally been restricted to single-deck games
Bust - A hand value that totals more than 21. This is a losing hand.
Card Counting – A method of keeping track of which cards have been played in order to estimate the value of the cards that remain to be dealt. While not illegal, some casinos ban players they think are employing an effective card counting system. The book Bringing Down The House and the new film "
21" are fact-based stories about six MIT students who were trained to become card counters and subsequently took Las Vegas casinos for millions of dollars in winnings.
Double Down - Doubling your bet with only one card to come. When you think that with just one more card you will be able to beat the dealer, you are allowed to double your original bet and draw one and only one card.
Early Surrender – The option to surrender half your bet while the dealer checks if he/she has blackjack.
Face Cards - The King, Queen or Jack of each suite.
First Baseman - The player on the dealer's far left in the first seat of the table – the first to act.
Hand - The cards dealt to each player.
Hard hand - A hard hand is a hand without an ace or a hand that contains an ace that must be played as a 1 in order to avoid going bust.
Head-to-Head - Playing the dealer one-on-one with no other players at the table.
Hit - Drawing an extra card from the pack to add to the initial hand.
Hole Card - The dealer's unseen card.
Insurance – An optional bet that can be made when the dealer is showing an ace. Insurance is taken against the dealer having blackjack.
Mecca – many leading
bingo operators are now offering online casino games as an incentive to sign up new members
Multiple-Deck - A game consisting of more than one deck of cards in a shoe. Most casinos use more than one deck of cards in blackjack games.
Online bingo is a rapidly growing industry where thousands of people play internationally every day. Most people have immense fun and never encounter problems with fraud, but there are those out there who are taking advantage of newer players and disappearing with money that players will never see again.
New sites are being launched all the time so we have compiled a guide to making sure the site you sign up with is kosher and your money is safe. Imagine being in the position of being told you're a big winner and never being able to contact the company in question. It doesn't bear thinking about but it does happen.
The only way to play is safe
If you are looking around at a new site and like the look of it, before you even think about registering, Google the name and see what comes up. Don't be swayed by the look of a site: scam sites look every bit as convincing as the real thing. Never give out your details to a site without verifying that it's a reputable site.
Whether it's a UK online bingo site or an international one you should find some reference to it under any of the larger search engines. Reviews and comments around the site can be found easily here and you'll be able to weigh up the positive and possible negative articles attached to that site easily if you research a little first.
Off shore means outside of UK law
Be aware that sites operating outside of the UK do not have to comply with UK law. Many of the scam sites around are situated outside of the UK so if you notice your potential site is also based outside of the UK do not sign up to it unless it's a big, recognisable name in
online bingo such as Mecca, without looking around review sites or on search engines first.
Scam sites based outside the UK have often had problems paying players cash prizes and some even disappear over night never to be seen again.
Make contact
As a final way to make sure your money's safe there will be a contact address available on any viable bingo site. Scam sites feature these also but if you're even slightly unsure, email the given address and wait to see if there's any response before you register. Scam sites will not respond; the email address may not even exist and you'll find your email returned to you before long.
Safe sites are keen to keep members and answer their questions promptly so as to encourage trust in the site. Potential members are treated in the same way, so if you don't receive a reply within 24 hours alarm bells should start to ring.
If you suspect a site of being a scam site you can contact
gambleaware.co.uk and inform them of your suspicions. This site is the UK's largest regulator of online bingo and will be glad of your assistance.
There are plus points to playing the game of bingo live in a hall or online at your leisure. Here we have compiled a list of comparisons so you can see which is the game for you easier.
Of course if you're a UK player you're probably already aware that the bigger names in the world of
bingo, such as Mecca, offer both types. Larger companies such as this are fortunate enough to offer both alternatives and so you can stay under the one umbrella company while playing no matter which form of play you choose.
The arrival of online bingo has revolutionised bingo forever. If you're a fan of live play, Internet bingo isn't the only change brought about recently that will have changed your game. The recent smoking ban has changed the face of the bingo hall forever and most people seem to agree that this is for the best with more people visiting the halls now they are smoke free.
Further changes in how live bingo is played have been coming to the fore since nationwide link-up games were introduced. This increased the bingo halls popularity tenfold and, with huge jackpots to be played for on a regular basis, a younger audience started to join in.
Of course since the launch of UK online bingo, sites have caught on to the fact that this is the type of play that attracts the biggest numbers of players and so now offer huge jackpots and even progressive jackpots (PJPs) on a regular basis to keep players coming back. Online bingo jackpots are often a guaranteed amount (unlike in live play) and PJP's can even run overnight to keep night owls in play. Live bingo halls may have the advantage of playing face-to-face with your friends but online bingo never sleeps: it doesn't have opening hours and does not limit play by having big games only on the weekends.
Online bingo is all about chat. Getting to know the people you're playing with is a different world in the land of online bingo. Live bingo frowns on chatting as it distracts players from their game, whereas online bingo is centred on it. Played within the comfort of your own home Internet bingo is a brilliant way to join in with your favourite game and meet others with the same passion for the game as you. Depending on which site you play with there are many approaches to the game of online bingo and many variations on the game itself, but all are 24/7 fun without the hassle of finding a taxi home. Portal sites such as Bingo Hideout provide a good overview of all the sites available online – and there are literally dozens to choose from.
With cheaper and more frequent games online, you can pick up a game on your tea break or between your favourite programmes in an evening rather than wait for a session to begin. You'll never sit in the wrong seat in your own home or get in the way of the board for someone else. Whichever way you choose to play each has its advantages and disadvantages, just make sure you play sensibly and most of all have fun.