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Signs of a Gambling Addiction

April 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment
MS Queen Victoria Gambling

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It can be hard sometimes to decide, if someone has a gambling problem. Many people do not know the signs of a gambling addiction. An out of control habit can create family and work problems. The sections below will identify the symptoms to look for in a gambling addiction.

Hiding Activities

One of the most significant indications of an addiction is that the person conceals actions related to the problem. The potential addict may hide or downplay the amount of time spent performing their habit. A person may be in denial about their status and believe others will not understand.

Control Problems

People with a compulsion problem have a hard time stopping gambling. Circumstances such as losing money or respect from friends and family members do not deter betting behavior. The person may have several failed attempts at trying to stop.

No Money but Behavior Continues

An addict that spends all of their leisure money, may then use funds designated for essentials like rent, utilities etc. A gambler may borrow money, sell items and steal to find money to finance their habit.

Accumulates More Debt

Someone that is addicted to gambling will continue to place bets although they are losing. This person will continue to wager more money producing more debt. They believe the only way to earn lost money back is to wager higher bets.

Constant Fixation

People with an addiction problem are often preoccupied with events related to gambling. They may talk about past and future betting excursions or trips. Every aspect of their life eventually revolves around gambling.

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Evening the Odds of Online Casino Games

April 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One of the biggest concerns online casino players have is the fairness of the games they are playing. Unlike playing in a brick-and-mortar casino where you can see the dealer and the cards, online casino players must trust that the various software programs the sites use are programmed to be fair and not programmed to be in favor of the house.

If you are considering playing online casino games, here are some ways you can make sure you are betting on a safe and fair site.

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Read Third Party Audits

Almost every legitimate and fair online casino will offer players the results of an independent software audit. This audit is conducted by a third party company and will rate the accuracy and fairness of the software the casino uses. This audit is offered as a way to reassure players about the fairness of the software.

Research the Payouts for the Previous Month

Fair and legitimate online casinos will display a place where they list their reported payouts for the previous month. Most online casinos use eCOGRA, a popular third party audit company. Look for an eCOGRA logo which will take you to the payouts list. Payouts include all online casino bonuses and winnings that players walked away with in the previous month. This information will help online casino players determine the odds of winning and see what other players have experienced.

Researching this information before placing your bets with an online casino will help protect you from playing on a site where the odds are stacked against you.

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Get an Edge in Black Jack

April 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Everybody likes to gamble or compete in one way or another. We’re taught to compete with our peers at a young age, to score better grades, to be more successful at sports, and so on and so forth. Yet, in doing so, we often get so lost in the actual act of gambling or competing that we forget to do everything within our power to grasp the edge over our opponents.

Take Black Jack for instance. The majority of players at a casino are illiterate as to how they can take the edge in Black Jack games. They’ll enter the casino with a set budget of how much they’re willing to lose but without any decent prospects of winning. If they are successful, they’ll ascribe it to good luck, and failure to bad luck.

Blackjack is part of the casino games. 

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Black Jack is one of the few casino games, however, where the player, and not the house, can take the advantage. The first step is to learn “Basic Strategy.” Devised on principles derived from statistical analysis of potential hands, using Basic Strategy is bound to help you. It won’t give you an edge over the house but it’ll improve your games. The average player needn’t dabble with the statistics behind it – all you have to do is learn the rules that the Casino plays by and adopt the appropriate “Basic Strategy” to give yourself an edge.

Once you have that down, you can learn to count cards to further improve your odds. There are many different methods so find the most appropriate one and go make some money!

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Top Three Casino Locations in the United States

March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Las Vegas is the King of Casinos for tourism and gamblers. Not only can you gamble, but you can hike, ride crazy rides, see animals, and view some of the world’s best live entertainment. While your kid is riding the roller coaster, you can play a couple rounds of black jack. No amusement park affords that kind of opportunity like Las Vegas. Like some of the crazy rides they offer, the ambiance of Vegas creates a thrill seeking gambling environment as well where day is night and night is day, summer is winter, and winter is spring.

If Las Vegas is too far a drive, the next best casinos people are finding in the United States are at home, behind their computer. The internet has offered a plethora of online casino’s where you, like in Vegas, can gamble in your pajamas. Instead of throwing down a hand of blackjack while your kid rides a roller coaster, online, you can do so while your kids are taking a bath. Of course, these casinos do not offer complimentary drinks, or any drinks at all, but they are much more productive and require less work when it comes to casino hopping as you can leave one casino and enter a new one in some cases, as few as one click.

Atlantic City is another great location for casinos, and it offers one thing Vegas cannot, beaches. In addition, Atlantic City offers many of the things you could find in Las Vegas such as spas, entertainment, and fun attractions, but also they offer oceanic getaways such as a boardwalk, fishing, windsurfing, and small cruises.

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Las Vegas for Non-Gamblers

March 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Las Vegas Sign.

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If you have family who doesn’t like gambling, or do not fit the age requirements for casinos, no fear, Vegas has something for everyone.

For those who like Hiking, Lake Mead is a man-made lake where you can hike, swim, and boat. Hiking at Red Rock Canyon is located about 15 miles west of Las Vegas. Mount Charleston is 35 miles north offering hiking in cooler temperatures passed waterfalls and wildflowers. They also have smaller 2 mile hikes for those who have kids, and one includes a cave.  You can also fish and picnic at Floyd Lamb Park.

Rides are a pretty big attraction such as those found at Circus Circus, Buffalo Bill’s, and the Stratosphere in addition to The Roller Coaster at New York-New York and motion rides at the Excalibur. Boulder City offers a train ride at Nevada State Railroad Museum.

Wildlife attractions can be found at the Aquarium at Silverton, the Lion Habitat at MGM Grand, Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, and Zoological Botanical Park.

For children, Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix, Dinosaur exhibit at Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Lied Discovery Children’s Museum, The Community College of Southern Nevada’s Planetarium, Springs Preserve, and Sky Zone are tailor made to amuse children.  Video Gamers can enjoy video games galore at Gameworks.

CSI The Experience at MGM Grand simulates a crime scene for you to use your investigative skills to help solve a murder. You can also sample chocolate and wonder through a maze of cactus at Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Gardens. You can also enjoy shopping and dining via Venetian’s Gondola Ride.

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The Poker Face

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
2006 WSOP Main Event Table

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In playing table poker, especially out of someone’s living room, it’s as important to work on your poker face as it is for a parent to master the art of the serious face. The purpose of the infamous poker face is to be unpredictable, so here’s some tips on making yourself less predictable in a game of poker.

Lack of eye contact is one way to make people not trust you, and that is because they can’t see what you are thinking. Animals and babies usually find little to no eye contact to be less intimidating, and while it makes it harder for people to trust you, you do kind of remove the intimidation factor when you make less eye contact. If you must look their direction, look at their nose, mouth, or above their head; otherwise, direct eye contact is a form of communication.

Normal face expressions do not really matter in poker unless there is a routine with it. People playing poker expect a smile or an eyebrow raise to be a method of bluffing. Unless you are habitually raising your eye brows every time you get a good hand for people to make that connection, you are generally safe to use some normal facial expressions. It does help if you can emotionally detach yourself from the game.

The key to being unpredictable is being random. Anytime you turn yourself into a routine, then you probably need to play against random people. This goes beyond body language into behavior as well. If you always bet big with a great hand, people are going to know. If you always bluff a bad hand sometime after your third beer, people are going to know.

Keep in mind that making yourself less predictable does not replace strategy.

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Three Games that are Gambling, but not Really

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When many people say gambling, the first thing that comes to mind is Poker, Casinos, and Horse Races… But, here are some concepts that really are gambling even though technically, they aren’t.

Bingo

Okay some people will say Bingo is gambling up front, but many others don’t usually make the connection, maybe because at the county fair, the kids are allowed to play bingo. Very rarely do you see a non-profit hosting a horse racing event to raise money for a cause; however, you can play bingo for autism and win a nice basket or a Coach Hand bag.

Stock Market

If you put money into stocks and bonds, you are not a gambler or gamer. You are an investor. The money you place is generally based on knowledge of the company and annual reports, in theory anyway; however, most people allow their financial advisors to decide where to invest the money, sort of like allowing the machine to pick your lottery numbers for you. But, our recent economic situation has put many investors in positions where they are chasing their losses through other investments.

Lottery

In reality, most state lotteries are a fundraiser. If you look at the back of the scratch-off tickets, they usually tell you what program or group of people will receive your money from the sale of that ticket. Ironically, the Bingo ones usually go to the senior citizens. But, considering most people have no idea where that money is going, nor do they choose their lottery method based on where the money is going, and since you can’t write that off on your taxes as a donation, it’s pretty safe to say the Lottery is a form of gambling, even if technically, it’s a fund-raiser.

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Recovering from a Gambling Addiction

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you believe you have a gambling addiction or someone you love might have one, here are some options to consider for treatment. Keep in mind every individual is different, and like a diet, the most effective treatment is a plan tailor-fit for the individual.

Take Control

Many people prevent turning a slight addiction into a serious problem by taking steps to gain control before they get out of control. Decreasing the frequency and time spent gambling is usually the first step. When they do find themselves gambling, they give themselves a strict budget to stick to, and work really hard at sticking to it. They also try to find better habits to replace gambling such as exercise.

Give Control

Many people who are already out of control often find themselves recovering by temporarily giving control of their finances to someone they trust. You have to have money to bet, and if you remove your control to spend your money on gambling long enough, you may walk away from the situation long enough to re-gain control of yourself.

Therapy

Therapists are not there just for the mentally disturbed. Most of their clients are normal people. Everybody has problems, and therapy is often a solution to a normal, everyday problem. Even if you feel like your gambling is not quite a problem, therapists still may offer different techniques to make sure it never does become one.

Therapy is often a great option because you have someone who has studied the situation in depth, often has other clients with similar problems, and is working with you on an individual level to customize plans and therapy to fit your specific needs. In addition, most gambling addictions are not a result of gambling, otherwise everyone whose ever gambled would have an addiction. Most people who suffer from a gambling addiction do so for other reasons, often psychological. Seeking therapy might offer more consideration into the root of the problem as opposed to treating only the symptoms.

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Signs of a Gambling Problem

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The main way to tell if gambling is a problem is simply if it is causing problems in your life. Gambling can hit many facets of your life in a negative way such as finances and relationships. Many people with a gambling problem enjoy gambling, but the subject of THEIR gambling often makes them uneasy and irritable. In addition, the notion of treatment that involves stop gambling all together scares them, hence denial. Here are some common “symptoms” of a gambling addiction.

Sneaking

If gambling is your mistress, your cause to lie about where you are going and how much you are gambling, then you may have a gambling problem.

Binge Gambling

Have you ever met someone who rarely drinks, but when they do, they drink until a point of drunkenness to where they can barely lift their own head up and speak anything coherent? Many people with gambling problems feel that way about gambling, that once they start, they have a hard time stopping, many times until they have spent their last dollar they have on them. Many also find themselves irritable when they do stop.

Gotta Have That High

Gambling gives many people a high, thus the entertainment; however, some find themselves craving that high and building a tolerance to it (the more they gamble, the more money they must wager to experience that high).

Gamble Beyond Broke

Many compulsive gamblers find themselves gambling even after they are already broke spending money that is designated for the bills or the kids, borrowing money, bumming money, and even robbing places for money. Many also “chase” that money by trying to win back losses.

Concerned Loved Ones

Many people who have a gambling problem who don’t want to admit it often find themselves hassled and bothered by loved ones nagging about their concern for their behavior. If you find yourself in this situation, listen to their concerns and take a good, honest look at your gambling behaviors. Be honest with yourself because you deserve honesty.

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Odds Are…

February 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Win or lose, gambling is a fun escape for many people. Still, armed with knowledge of the odds, you can easily increase your chances of winning. Smart players know the strategies and statistics of the games to increase the possibility of taking home some money. The key is learning to choose your game wisely. In today’s casinos, modern games give the house the edge—but the range for this advantage is great. Some games allow skilled players to almost go even with the house. Here’s a rundown of the games with the best and worst odds at your favorite casinos.

Best and Worst:

The top three games to play, if you want statistics in your favor, are craps, blackjack, and baccarat. These three have some of the best odds for players, giving the house a smaller advantage. So, you’re more likely to take home your reward in money. Of course, your advantage will vary depending on the style game you choose. At its best, a conservative game of craps will get you nearly even odds with the house. When playing blackjack, your best bet is going for single deck blackjack. On the other end of the spectrum is keno.  Keno has the worst odds as it has the highest house advantage attached to it. This game gives the house an advantage in the range of 25%.

Though gambling’s not always necessarily about winning, no one could fault a player for putting the odds in their favor. Playing the right games, with the lowest house advantages, will increase your winnings. Choose wisely, and the rewards will be yours.

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