What was the Epic Poker League?

May 11th, 2012

The Epic Poker League was one of those things that probably sounded like a good idea at the time. In practice things did not work out that way as the company that founded it has gone bankrupt. There is a chance that they may be back but the odds are not good. As long as poker remains popular however you can be sure that somebody will try something similar in the future.

The Epic Poker League was intended to be a way to bring the best poker players in the world together to play in a series of tournaments. Unlike other events entry was not available to anybody who wanted to play in the events. Rather you had to earn a membership in the league by having high enough career earnings. All players had to have career earnings of more than a million dollars in tournaments as well as a certain number of finals tables appearances at major events. League membership was for two to five years depending on how much players had won during their careers.

Once players had their membership they would be able to play at all of the league events that were to be held. All of the events were going to be played at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. There were a couple of reasons for this, the main one being that the best poker players all live in Las Vegas so it allowed them to play without travelling. It was also because the owners of the Palms were involved financially in the Epic Poker League. Since the tournaments were primarily made for television events and only league members were allowed to play anyway there was little need for events to be held in different locations.

While the intention of the Epic Poker League was to bring the top poker players in the world together and limit membership to those players it was possible for other players to get into events. Smaller satellite tournaments were held at the Palms that allowed players to win their way into events. The league said that this was so that participation could be expanded and more people could play in the league the real reason was that it was hoped that it would increase the number of people playing poker at the Palms.

While the Epic Poker League may sound like a good idea it never got off the ground. The company that started it filed for bankruptcy before any events were actually held. They maintain that they are reorganizing their finances and that events will be held this remains to be seen. For now all that can be said is that at some point in the future we may see the Epic Poker League start to hold events or we may not. As it stands right now things do not look good.

Can I Win at Slots in the Long Run?

April 8th, 2011

The short answer to the above question is no.  Though it should come as no surprise that a casino game isn’t beatable, it would be more satisfying to know the reasoning behind this, rather than simply stating it.  After all, slots are an immensely popular game, not to mention that we have all heard stories about someone hitting it big on a slot machine.  Frankly, these accounts are a godsend to the casino, as they serve to attract more players, who will then slowly bleed away their money on the slot machines.

Las vegas Slot MachinesNow for the longer answer: slots aren’t beatable in the long run because the machines are programmed to only pay back a percentage of the money played in them.  Penny slots usually have the worst return percentages while higher increment machines will have better returns.  Though they can be much lower, common paybacks are between 94% and 97%.  If you play a machine with a payback of 95%, you can expect to lose $5 for every $100 you play.  Of course, this assumes a relatively large sample size (we’re talking in the millions), so individual winning and losing will vary depending on how often the machine is hitting.  This depends on random number generator that slot machines use to determine which images will show up on the pay line, with the more valuable payout combinations being generated less frequently.  This generator is programmed for the long haul, though, so it is entirely possible that you could win two jackpots within a few spins while someone could feed the machine thousands of quarters and get next to nothing back.  All that matters to the casino is that the machine makes a profit over the course of millions upon millions of spins.

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The History of Slot Machines

October 26th, 2010

Slot machines – the main gambling draw in any casino – have been through significant changes since their inception in the late 19th century.  The earliest ‘one-armed bandit’, invented in New York City, displayed poker hands and didn’t have a direct payout mechanism; nowadays, machines frequently employ video screen displays with multiple pay lines, and many have even lost their namesake arm.

slot machines

slot machines

Though no one has been deemed “The Father of Slots”, the title should probably belong to Charles Fey, inventor of the original Liberty Bell machine.  His design had three reels with two sets of five different symbols on each; the low number of possible combinations allowed for a simple automatic payback mechanism, with three liberty bells having the highest payout of fifty cents.

The early machine was very successful, but it would not have reached its potential had Fey not worked with the Mills Novelty Company in 1910 to mass produce a newer version, known as the ‘Operators Bell.’  When this was introduced, it increased the total number of symbols on the reels from ten to twenty and also replaced the earlier images of horseshoes and card suits to pictures of fruit.  Over the next 25 years, slot machines gradually became more lightweight, more striking visually, and less noisy.  Their popularity skyrocketed after Bugsy Siegel installed them in the Flamingo casino in Las Vegas.

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Poker Math: What are the odds that you’ll be getting the flush when you are on a draw

July 1st, 2010

p34 diamondFlushOne very important skill to winning more chips in poker is knowing your math for the game. You need to know when to play or when not to play your cards, recognize patterns, and be able to read your opponents. Although these maybe vital, you cannot forget the math that needs to be done so you can make the right calls. When you get flush draw, it doesn’t always mean that you should be going all out trying to hit the flush.

Let us say you get two diamonds (pay attention here, this isn’t online bingo). The dealer gives you a flop with 2 diamonds and without any pairs forming on the table. Now, in order for you to hit the flush, you need the turn or river to be another diamond. You might get it on the turn, or on the river or on both.

You have two cards plus the 3 cards upon flop. Now that gives you 47 remaining cards from the deck of 52. Nine of the remaining cards will be diamond so your chance will be 9/47 to hit the flush on the turn. Here comes the turn card which now gives you an 8/46 chances when the river is revealed.

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Playing Stop and Go in Poker

April 2nd, 2010

King Five Suited  (diamonds)Stop and go play refers to a situation when you want to go all-in for a hand but you opt to call a pre-flop bet of an opponent instead but still having the intention of pushing on the flop.

When you are short stacked it might be a reasonable move to go all in when an opponent raises in front of you. Of course you need to consider that you have a decent hand.

If you are really short stacked and all your chips will not be enough to for another full size bet in case your opponent raises, then most likely they will have the odds to call and see the cards so they can make the best hand. In this scenario what you can employ is the stop and go play cause most probably you do not have enough chips to convince them to fold their hand when you re-raise.

It will always be more difficult for your opponent to calling what you do on the flop rather than what you do before the flop. This reduces the odds for your opponent and so they will need to think hard if they want to more cards to give them a better hand. Most likely they will not.

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KingHuman, Give Me Money!

March 10th, 2010
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I WANT IT NOW!

Online Gambling Scams – KingHuman, I want your love!

February 28th, 2010
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Beautiful. I too am a big fan of real life casino’s – where I can see the Casino Chips – and see what’s going on…

At an online casino, the amount of time which is spent on travelling isn’t considerable at all, so you can get right to playing poker. This is because online casino games such as the ones in http://www.luckynuggetcasino.com can be enjoyed at any computer or laptop which has an internet connection. With many mobile phones able to surf the internet, online casinos can also be appreciated wherever a person is able to connect to the web, home or away.

The Worst bet to make on a Craps Table

January 4th, 2010

Don’t play the hardways, don’t play the Big 6/Big 8 – don’t play the propositions. Don’t play the Big Red.

But the funny thing is, the video maker shifts to superstition as soon as the hardways come in. HE’S SEEN THEM PAY OFF WELL ON A HIT TABLE.

In poker, this is when we say LOL DONKAMENTS.

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How to Rake in More Money Playing Backgammon

October 28th, 2009

Backgammon is one of the most interesting casino games. It is not very difficult to win in this game, for someone who knows about all the rules and strategies of this game. Backgammon SetThose people, who become experienced in this game, become able to make a lot of money by playing this game. Following are some tips which will help you to win this game.

In the game of backgammon, one should know the exact time when he should capture. You should capture when you get the right opportunity. If you choose to capture even after knowing that you have unprotected men in capture zone, then you may fall in trouble. Play this game with your own planning. It is always predictable to move by lines or as a mass in this game. Try to use such a game plan which is dissimilar to previously used game plans.

In the end of this game, it becomes really important to spread out. It is not a bad deal to pass an opportunity for getting a piece off the board. Apart from all this, it is also very important to notice the actions of your opponents. Don’t fall in to a lot of mathematical calculations while playing this game. It is always important to remember that you are playing against human beings. If you will keep on observing your opponents, you will get some clues which will help you in winning over them.

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Vanessa Rousso talks Game Theory

September 13th, 2009

If she wasn’t hot nobody would care about what Vanessa Rousso would say. Not kidding!

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