Now 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.

Does this mean that you should only play at machines with high paybacks?  In general, you should avoid the ones with very low paybacks, but as long as you are in the mid-90s, there will not be a noticeable difference to the casual gambler.  Frequent players would do best to play at the highest limit they can afford, as this will allow them to lose less over the long run.  Unfortunately, as in other casino games, the only way to avoid these losses is to get lucky on your first try and never come back.

Macau is very similar to Hong Kong which is just 35 miles away. Both places have adapted capitalism and western ways of living. The islands are fortresses near the vast China.

Tourists adore the place for its cleanliness. While an online casino is useful for its immediacy, a trip to Macau will show you why the casinos are the known all over for their world class designs and caliber of play. The rest of the city also serves as proof that order is a very important trait for Macau.

There are ancient churches and villas in Macau which serve as testament that it was once conquered by Europeans. It was only in 1999 that Portuguese returned Macau to its rightful owners.

The life of Macau is in its central district. You can find about 26 casinos spread across this area. The place is like Las Vegas when you look at the Venetian Hotel, Sands, and the Lisboa. The air in Macau smells of money, gambling, and opportunity.

Aside from the casinos, there are several Macau tours that you can engage with. You can visit the St. Paul Church, Church of St. Domingo, Guia Fort, Monte Fort, and the Loyal Senate. You will be able to appreciate these old Portuguese structures blended with the modern buildings and facades.

There is also the Museum of Art and the wine museum which can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Texas Hold’em Poker: +$4,800
Punto Banco / Baccarat: +$5,900
Blackjack: -$1,100
Pot Limit Omaha Poker: +4,900
Roulette: -$2,100
Craps: +$300
Stud Poker (against the house): -$600
Slots: -$100
Casino Hold’em: +$2000 (got extremely lucky and quit ahead hehe)

I’m happy.

Wish me luck — I’m off to the Baccarat (punto banco here!) table!

Here are my most favorite ways of seeing people lose with their Weapons Of Mass Destruction:

1. Slowplaying Aces pre-flop.
   Don’t make a habit of slowplaying Aces. As Dan Harrington said: just call only a marginal percentage of the time, and when you do — try to do it with aggressive players behind you. You don’t want 5 people limping in to a pot. You want one, maximum two players in the hand. This is VITAL for the strength of your aces after the flop!
   
   
2. Not keeping your head straight.
   Yes, your aces are strong — but you can’t stop paying attention. Keep studying the board and the players around you — trying to stay on top of the game. Think about what kind of hands beat you, and if they’re likely to have called your raise pre-flop. Keep in mind that against aces, looser opponents are more dangerous than people playing only premium starting hands. With a J94 flop, the solid player made AJ tops (or a set). The loose player may have flopped J9 — and your aces might be in serious trouble.
3. Checking after the flop.
   With aces; BET. Make a continuation bet if nobody has bet the flop, and raise if someone else has bet into what seems to be a safe flop. Define your hand. Checking is giving free cards, and it’s stupid. Not raising is stupid to, unless against a very aggressive opponent, who might keep bluffing at a pot when he thinks you’re weak. Keep in mind though — he’s getting free cards too, so you’re taking a risk.
4. Putting someone else on a set.
   Yes, someone may have flopped a monster — but it’s unlikely. Decide on the flop whether or not you put someone on a set — it’s the right time. If he bets out, you raise, and he comes over the top. Make your decision based on his image and your instinct. Same when you get check-raised. Don’t second-guess, it’s the wrong play. Once you feel he hasn’t flopped a set, stick to it.
   
   
5. When it’s obvious your aces are beat — lay them down!
   4-card flushes and straights on the board are typical situation you don’t want to see. Let your hand go if you are facing a big bet in these situations. Yes — the other guy might be bluffing, but he’s probably not.

Aces are great — don’t spoil the fun yourself!

I’m usually quite the disciplined player, but for some reason I failed yesterday. Feels so stupid once you walk out of the casino. DAMN.

Yesterday, that wasn’t necessary. The poker game was so über-live that I decided to play lock down poker, only get involved with wired pairs and AQ+ — and it worked out. Pushed every TT+ from any position strongly with pre-flop raises of 5BB (getting multiple callers each time) – and pretty much moving in on any flop that hit. The best pot of the night saw me holding AQ of spades, the flop coming AJ4 with two spades – me checking, one guy moving all in, other guy calling – me thinking it over and moving in over the top. Second caller calls my hand and shows…. A pair of jacks. The first shover showed a lower flush draw – which was a sick play at the table….

Anyway, ended up close to tripling up in that hand, beating two hands that were in a pot they probably never should have entered.

Final result: buy-in * 7. Good night, but… not good for the heart.

The dealer will then deal you an additional card to each hand, and you will play each hand individually. It is important to know the different splitting pair types when you play blackjack. Not every pair should be spilt.

You should ALWAYS split a pair of Aces. Just over 30% of the cards in a single deck have a value of 10, so you have a good chance of hitting two more 10 cards and to improve both your hands into a blackjack. (Although the house may not pay out 3:2 on Blackjacks that come from split Aces).

Don’t split 10s you numpty. 20 is a winning hand. If you split 10s the dealer is morally obliged to slap you with a wet fish.

You should always split 8s. A total of 16 is not good enough to stand but you are likely to bust almost two thirds of the time if you hit. With a large proportion of the pack being 10s you have a good chance of ending up with two hands with a total of 18.

For other hands the decision should be made based on the dealer’s upcard.

	Dealer’s Up Card
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	T	A
Pairs
2 2	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
3 3	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
4 4	H	H	H	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
5 5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
6 6	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
7 7	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
8 8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
9 9	P	P	P	P	P	S	P	P	S	S
10′s	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A’s	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

Action: H = Hit S = Stand D = Double P = Split

I would stress that like doubling up; splitting pairs can also affect the effectiveness of your betting strategy. This is especially true if you are using the Paroli or Martingale system. You should make the decisions about when you are going to split pairs and the effect it might have on your betting system and stick to them.

Avoid Distractions
Don’t drink while playing. We all know alcohol makes you do silly things. Some casinos will offer winning players drinks. This is not to be nice. The naughty casino people know if you drink you start to make mistakes. If you are playing online don’t sit and watch TV or the children whilst playing. You should be concentrating on what you are doing. If you are tired stop playing. You will only start making mistakes. Get some sleep, some exercise or some food or all three.

Use the Basic Strategy
Always use the basic strategy. Always. It is maths and you can’t argue with it. (Well you can but the maths will win) Even those times that you are dealt a bad hand, for example you have a 16 and want to stand when the dealer is showing a ten. By not using the strategy you increase the houses edge and we don’t want that!

In the end playing Blackjack is like anything else. Be disciplined and it will pay off.

Records you should be keeping include the following as a minimum;

Where: the site or casino. I would also think about adding days and dates. Knowing where you play best is important. Some sites will have players that you can crush easily. Other sites will have players that can crush you.

Type of game: This is important as not every type of game will suit you. Are you better at cash games or tournaments?

The profit: Not how much you won but the real profit. Winning $100 in a tournament sounds good but if you paid $99 to enter in reality it isn’t that good.

Time played: It is easy to while away the hours. If you made $50 dollars yesterday that is good but less impressive if it took you 16 hours to do it. Honestly you are better off working in Mc Donalds

You can record all your games/sessions/tournaments in a simple spreadsheet or you can a program like Poker Tracker or Hold’em Manager to help you.