Knowing the rank of hands in poker is a must for any live or online gambling enthusiast. Not only is correct knowledge of hand ranking required to play traditional poker, you’ll also need to know how the hands are against each other and what the odds are when drawing to, say, a flush in Texas Holdem. Study the hand ranking and try a online free texas hold em calculator to obtain a deeper knowledge of the math behind poker.
Hand Rankings in Poker
Royal Flush: The royal flush is the best poker hand you can have. It consists of five cards of the same suit running consecutively from ten to ace, for example the ten, jack, queen, king and ace of hearts. This hand, regardless of suit, beats any other poker hand.
Straight Flush: The next strongest hand is a straight flush, which is any five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as five, six, seven, eight, nine of clubs.
Four of a Kind: Four of a kind, also called quads, is next. This means you have all the cards of a given rank, for example, all the fives, all the eights, all the kings. The fifth card in your hand does not matter.
Full House: A full house is three of one rank and two of another, such as three eights and two fours.
Flush: Just below a full house is a flush, any five cards of a given suit.
Straight: Losing to a flush but beating weaker hands is a straight, any five cards in consecutive order. An ace can be high or low but cannot wrap around, so ace, two, three, four, five is a straight. However, queen, king, ace, two, three is not.
Three of a Kind: Also called trips or in some cases a set, this is three cards of the same rank with two unpaired cards, like three nines, a king and a jack.
A Pair: Two matching cards with three unmatching cards, like two fives, a six, a three and a nine.
High Card: Simply the highest card in your hand if none of them match and they are not suited or consecutive. If you hold ace, nine, two, three, six you have an ace high hand.
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The largest and longest running gaming conference of its kind, the Asian i-Gaming Congress and Expo is ready to open its doors for the seventh time in the casino gambling capital of the Far East - Macau. Scheduled right around the corner for February 24-26, 2009 (at the Venetian, Macau casino resort) there is nothing left for the AiG’s organizers, Clarion Gaming, to do but sit back and wait for the 500 or so expected guests to start showing up.
Those in attendance will have a packed schedule of events, largely consisting of panel discussions, to choose from. One of the most anticipated will be the mobile gaming conference scheduled to last the entire first day of the congress. This isn’t too surprising considering the great potential that online mobile gaming has in the Asian market.
Going all out to make the mobile conference as comprehensive and informative as possible, Clarion has amassed an impressive team of speakers, including the CEO of Microgaming partner company and leading mobile casino solutions developer, Spin3 Technologies. Case studies on the various sectors within the mobile industry, including mobile casino game wagering, sports betting and lotteries will be discussed, not to mention market research analysis in Asia.
Attracting the gambling industry’s best and brightest from around the world, the Asian i-Gaming Conference has become an ever-growing valuable avenue for making the most of the opportunities presented in Asia for Web entrepreneurs and online gaming operators. Increasingly liberalized on both the land-based and online fronts, Macau and the Asian betting sector are fast becoming the gambling capital of the world. Yes, that means I’m talking about you Las Vegas.
For more information on the Asian i-Gaming Congress and Expo, including instructions for registering, please visit aigcongress.com.
There’s more good news from the fronts of the online gambling industry’s regulatory landscape. Another licensing jurisdiction has set up shop - and this time it’s surprisingly not in the Caribbean (or in Costa Rica for that matter). Located approximately one thousand miles off the coast of Kenya in the Indian Ocean (Northeast Madagascar), the Seychelles island chain is the home of this brand new online casino licensor.
Under the Republic of Seychelles’ newly enacted Interactive Gambling Act, online casinos and betting sites can apply for licenses to legally operate real money betting services under the supervision of a Seychelles regulatory authority. While any company can apply for a license, an agent residing in Seychelles must be appointed on behalf of the licensee. Online gaming licenses are granted upon a strict screening and background investigation of all individuals connected with the gaming operation, as well as approval of the software platform.
Ongoing compliance with regulatory laws will require each licensee to undergo annual audits, while the regulatory authority itself will have the power to undertake investigations and enforce compliance with operators. In other words, what a gaming regulator should be doing to begin with. For anyone familiar with the key points of Seychelles regulatory guidelines, it should be obvious to see the protocols are derived directly from Australia’s gaming legislation.
So, what about this chain of coral islands called The Seychelles? Well, besides the fact that they truly beckon images of “paradise” with their tropical climate, blue waters and undeveloped, white beaches, the Seychelles is its own country with its own currency. In fact, Seychelles is the smallest nation in the world with its own currency. The only downer is that Seychelles is actually the most highly indebted country in the world. Per capita, the GDP sits at about 123%. I suppose you could say that makes the tiny self-sufficient islands even more deserving to tax and regulate online gambling. At least that helps explain the sudden move to begin regulating.
The good news is that the telecommunications industry in Seychelles is being liberalized in conjunction with online gaming regulatory efforts. The idea is to not only attract licensors, it’s to get some of the online casino operators to set up shop in Seychelles and create jobs and additional revenue for the economy. Hey, if it worked for Antigua & Barbuda, then why not, right?
Leading UK/Euro online casino, Virgin Casino, has announced their latest promotional giveaway (for the month of February), and let’s just say that if Tina Turner could get in on this promotion, she wouldn’t be asking, “What’s love got to do with it?”. Called “Valentopia Online”, Virgin Casino’s latest giveaway is all going down in the name of love.
For all you sweepstakes hunters out there, listen up, ’cause this one isn’t just about free bonus cash. Over the course of ten days in February, Virgin will be giving away Ј2,000 in Amazon.com cash vouchers. Beginning today, all players who wager Ј250 or more in a day will be entered into a draw for one of four Ј50 vouchers. Pretty simple, right? Especially if you were planning to do some gambling at the casino anyways.
Some things to keep in mind, ie., terms and conditions, is that certain games are exempt from meeting the Ј250 play-through requirement. These include all forms of Blackjack and Roulette, Craps, Baccarat and Multiplier. Furthermore, players are only allowed one entry per day, and these can not be carried over to future draws. In other words, if you don’t win a voucher one day, you will have to wager another Ј250 on the day of the next draw if you want to be entered again.
If you want my advice, brush up on your video poker strategy and hit up the online video poker machines. This will give you the lowest House Edge of any other casino game considering the exemptions placed on others.
Other February promotions at Virgin Casino include a 50% reload bonus up to Ј75 free at the top of the month, 10-20% cash back on losses and multiple match bonuses on deposits made on specific days of the month.
From the looks of it, players are definitely getting a good run for their money. The Recent Winners page on Virgin Casino’s website shows a steady stream of Ј7,000+ winners on games like Multi-Hand Blackjack, Three Card Poker and popular slots like Cleopatra II and Pyramid.
And if you do decide to sign up at Virgin Casino, don’t forget to rack up your V-Points, which can be redeemed for some very cool Virgin merchandise, like electronics, music and frequent flyer miles.
Read our Virgin Casino Review for more information…
Live dealer online gambling is thriving these days as more traditional online gaming providers expand their operations and services. Until now, a small handful of software developers and online casino providers, namely those under the Playtech brand, have offered a limited number of live dealer games. But as an increasing number of players begin to get wind of this innovative form of online gambling, more companies are beginning to offer live dealer solutions to their players.
No stranger to live dealer online gambling, MediaLive Casino has recently announced an apparent “first” in the live gaming sector. The Malta-based company says they are now hosting live Texas Hold’em Poker, and broadcasting the table action via webcams from its Malta gaming studio. On show at the recent International Gaming Expo (IGE) in London, MediaLive also announced they are working on developing more live dealer online casino games, including Chemin de Fer and Baccarat.
Also at IGE was the London-based Lucky 8 Ltd., which has apparently secured the first and only license (thus far) from the UK Gambling Commission to offer live dealer games via its website. Broadcasting live video feeds from its Birmingham card room, Lucky8 currently offers Baccarat, Blackjack and Roulette, which just so happen to be the three casino games most commonly offered by live dealer online casinos.
Playtech Software, for example, offers live dealer Baccarat, Blackjack and Roulette (as well as Sic Bo). Their selection of Baccarat games is especially impressive. In fact, Playtech was the first to offer VIP Baccarat via advanced video streaming technology. Complete with Baccarat score cards, real time game history feeds (on demand video playback and up to 3 shoe histories), Playtech allows Baccarat high rollers to tip the dealer, interact in live chat and “squeeze the cards” as they say. Equally impressive is Playtech’s selection of Baccarat variations, including 7 Seat Baccarat, Mini Baccarat, Progressive and Japanese Baccarat. To see them for yourself, OCS recommends the live dealer casino games at Golden Palace Casino.
I suppose its also worth mentioning that all the dealers are young, exotic, beautiful women. Obviously, the live online casino sector is catering to men, not to mention anybody who just doesn’t trust software platforms or who wants the closest experience possible to the real thing in the casino. And despite the higher operating costs on the operators end, more live dealer online casinos are going to be seeking larger crowds.
When it comes to playing slots on the Web, you would think that an online casino going by the name of VIP Slots would offer something unique in the area of slots action. Me personally, I would think that a large variety of different types of machines would be available, not to mention special slots bonuses and a comprehensive tournament schedule. And not to sound too cheesy and promotional, the bottom line is that VIP Slots Casino delivers on all fronts.
VIP Slots has been an approved online casino here at OCS for some time now. As it is our policy to constantly check up on approved sites and update our reviews with new and pertinent information, we more than did a triple-take when we saw VIP Slots most recent tournament schedule. In addition to their normal lineup of tournaments guaranteeing thousands in winnings every week, VIP Slots is currently hosting daily free roll tournaments (with $2 rebuys) that award the top ten daily finishers a free entry in VIP Slots’ March Madness tournament during the month of, you guessed it - March.
The tournament is actually being sponsored by EH New Ventures, which is the parent company of Vegas Technology Software’s most popular, longstanding online casino network. Consisting of a poker room and six online casinos, including English Harbour, Millionaire and Super Slots casinos (all reviewed and listed here at OCS), EH New Ventures is certainly hoping to draw up lots of traffic at its newest site - the aforementioned VIP Slots Casino.
What makes this tournament newsworthy is the fact that it is giving out an unprecedented $250,000 in guaranteed tournament winnings. The only other slots tournament to dish out more was the $500,000 World Series of Slots tournament hosted by Microgaming’s the Jackpot Factory (five distinct online casinos). The only catch, so to speak, was that since the Jackpot Factory is so popular (they were still open to U.S. players back then), there was a flood of players vying for their share of the tournament winnings.
And not to say that EH Gaming Ventures isn’t popular. In fact they have been one of the most popular online casino networks with U.S. players for some time now. Let’s just say that many players believe that Microgaming has gotten too big in some respects. As for March Madness, it will produce 5,625 different winners over the course of the tournament - one month. First place will take home $100,000; second place with nab $25,000; third place: $15,000, fourth place: $10,000; and so on down the line.
To see a full payout schedule and a listing of daily free roll tournaments taking place right now, Visit VIP Slots Casino.
Thirty computers seized
Police in Malaysia continued their anti-online gambling drive last week with a raid on an Internet Caf? in the Jalan Air Itam area.
A police spokesman said: “We have been conducting anti-gambling operations statewide over the past week. We are going after the syndicates and not those who gambled with friends.”
Thirty computers were confiscated in the raid, although there were no reports of arrests associated with the operation.
The most interesting specialties on the internet are those casino games
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gambling and playing casino games on the internet is so spread all over the world, after a few years the programmers gathered information from players whom are old customers and with their help and suggestions and opinions the sites were developed so much, that it is the same like in the States playing casino games. They grow so amazingly , that there are no complains. From year to year they get more highly rated, so these sites are very funny and they have an entertaining environment. My opinion is that hesitating is not an alternative.
“How did you come up with the name ‘durrrr’?” is almost always the first question asked of 22-year-old poker professional Tom Dwan. He’ll tell you that he wanted to select a screen name that sounded so ridiculous, so inane that it would put players who lost to him on massive tilt. In the end though, Tom Dwan’s phenomenal success in the poker world would have much less to do with his absurd screen name than with his uncanny instinct for detecting weakness in his opponents, whether playing online or live. In only five years, Dwan has gone from a bored high school senior playing in after-school games to succeeding at the highest limits in poker against some of the best players in the world.
Tom
Pacific Poker
Dwan was born in 1986 and grew up in Edison, New Jersey. His first experiences with hold’em came when he and his friends discovered play money sit-’n'-goes on Empire Poker. Dwan instantly took to the game and thought it might be a good way for him to earn extra spending money for college. He deposited $50 on Paradise Poker and began building a bankroll, starting with $6 SNGs. Dwan was instantly successful and quickly moved up in limits. He also started playing no-limit hold’em cash games on Paradise—primarily $1-$2 NL and the occasional $2-$5 game that would come together on that site. Once he conquered those limits, he moved over to PokerStars where he multi-tabled $2-$4 and $3-$6 NLHE. By his 18th birthday he had already made about $15,000 online.
Dwan enrolled at Boston University as an engineering student, but as is the case with many young poker pros, his college experience didn’t last long. Playing anywhere from $5-$10 to $25-$50 NLHE, Dwan’s bankroll grew to the hundreds of thousands while his attendance in class dwindled. Eventually, he dropped out of school to play full-time. He bought a house in Texas and moved in with fellow online player David “Raptor” Benefield. Dwan continued to move up in limits and after playing for only a couple of years, he was sitting with players such as Patrik Antonius, Phil Ivey, and David Benyamine and beating limits as high as $200-$400 no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha.
Due to his age, Dwan was unable to play in live tournaments in the U.S. until his 21st birthday on July 30, 2007. This resulted in him missing out on the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007. Dwan did collect one cash on the European Poker Tour, a 12th-place finish in the 2005 EPT London, preferring to concentrate on the lucrative high-stakes online cash games rather than travel the international circuit. However, once he did blow out those 21 candles, he hit the tournament trail and emerged as a force to be reckoned with, amassing nearly a million dollars in live winnings in less than a year.
At the 2007 WPT World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, Tom Dwan made the televised final table and ultimately finished fourth, earning nearly $325,000. Two months later at the 2008 Aussie Millions, he finished runner-up to Lee Watkinson in the $3,000 pot-limit Omaha event, and cashed in the $10,000 Main Event, earning over $112,000 during his two weeks down under. A few weeks later he was clear across the world in Atlantic City and nearly had his first live tournament win, finishing runner-up to fellow online superstar Mike “SowersUNCC” Sowers at the $5,000 NLHE event at the Borgata Winter Open. He capped off the World Poker Tour Season with a ninth-place finish at the WPT World Championships at Bellagio. The event was especially memorable for Dwan not only because of his deep finish, but for the series of ridiculous hats he had to wear as a result of losing a prop bet to poker pro Alan Sass (one was covered in pink feathers, another looked like it was swiped from the Chiquita Banana lady).
At the 2008 World Series of Poker Tom Dwan was at last of age to play and he wasted no time racking up more deep finishes. The first came in the inaugural $10,000 Mixed Event, featuring an eight-game rotation of poker variants (2-7 triple draw, the five limit H.O.R.S.E. games, no-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha). At a final table that included James “mig.com” Mackey, Eli Elezra, Sam Farha, Jeff Madsen, and eventual winner Anthony Rivera, Dwan finished in eighth place. Five days later, he bubbled off the final table of the $5,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball with Rebuys event in eighth place. Dwan admitted in an interview with PokerNews that prior to that event his total lifetime experience with the game had been about thirty minutes’ worth of hands during a single session in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.
Post-WSOP, Dwan has been back at the cash games in a major way, racking up the hours in the nosebleed-stakes PLO games on Full Tilt as well as in Bobby’s Room. When he’s not traveling the circuit or chasing down high-stakes games in Vegas, Dwan splits his time between residences in Texas and Boston.
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Costa Rica, US Reach WTO-Related Agreement
Costa Rica has reached a settlement with the US regarding Costa Rica’s outstanding claim as an affected party in the WTO judgment received by Antigua and Barbuda against the US. Antigua’s WTO judgment ($21M annually) concerned access to certain online-gambling markets, and Costa Rica was one of several countries that filed as an affected party in that matter. The new settlement, as reported in several Costa Rican outlets and made by Costa Rican Comercio Exterior minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz, maintains the US’s restrictions toward online gambling but opens up other WTO markets and opportunities to Costa Rica. Though of debatable real value, the
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new opportunities for Costa Rica will be in research and development, warehousing, testing and technical analysis and certain postal and courier services.
Continuing IGREA Hearings to be Scheduled for April
A recent release by the Safe and Secure Gambling Initiative states that Congressman Barney Frank (D-CT) will again hold hearings in April, as part of his effort to build support for his proposed Internet Gambling and Regulation Enforcement Act (IGREA). Frank downplayed the importance of the hearings in a comment made for SSGI. Frank noted that the banking industry faces enormous challenges at the moment, such as the housing and mortgage crises, “The banks have a lot of other things to worry about right now,” said Frank. “I do not think poker should be one of them.”
McDermott Formally Introduces IGRTEA
Congressman James McDermott (D-WA) formally introduced his Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2008 (IGRTEA). McDermott’s measure has been viewed as a supporting measure to Frank’s IGREA proposal, and has as of yet garnered less active support in Congress. Among the provisions of McDermott’s proposed bill: A 2% licensing fee on all online gambling companies offering their services to the US market, and a requirement forthese companies to provide annual profit/loss statements to U.S. customers.