Casino Blog

BILOXI — Harold Diddlemeyer, who spent almost 40 years behind bars and proclaiming his innocence in the murder of a Biloxi gambler, has died. He was 64.

Diddlemeyer was convicted in 1969 for murdering Harry Bennett, a man who was well known among gamblers long before legalized gaming brought flashy casinos to the Mississippi coast.

Diddlemeyer had battled emphysema and cancer for the last several years and died Friday. The death brought mixed emotions for family members who claim Diddlemeyer was an innocent man. (more…)

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When the notion of playing online slot machines with a strategy becomes the topic of conversation, many will argue it can’t be done, and that the best a slots player can do, in regards to implementing a playing strategy, is to manage their bankroll responsibly. Others will argue that while this point holds some truth, the entire truth is that a slot player can implement more strategy than simply monitoring one’s winnings and losses. Some players promulgate the theory of “quitting while your ahead” or setting a time limit on one’s gambling round, while others would rather impose a limit on their losses. Some gamblers simply play until getting tired - and if they happen to be ahead - so much the better.

What is it that has molded the slot machine into such a popular pastime? Well, just as there are different ideas on how to play slots, there are just as many different reasons for playing slots. The excitement of the game, spinning reels, flashing lights and vibrant sounds are large factors, but probably not as factoring as the “promise” of winning the ultimate jackpot. The lack of intimidation of the machine - consisting of putting in a coin, pushing a button, pulling down the arm, or in this case, clicking the mouse in a self-explanatory manner - is undoubtedly a major draw for players as well. And whether players are biding their time to win that bountiful jackpot, or managing their money to double a $100 bankroll, the fact remains - Online slots are the largest commodity in a casino. (more…)

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Welcome to the Blackjack Tips Section at Online Casino Conditions. The following information dishes out the most common and accepted blackjack strategy known to professional gamblers (called the basic blackjack strategy). Following this (at the bottom of the page), there are links to individual blackjack tips which shed a little more light on the game (tips which only experience and sometimes a little more theorizing can produce). These are a little bit more specialized than our General Gambling Tips Section, which covers a wider range of topics. Before, you break out the basic blackjack strategy chart and start to try and memorize every possible action and card scenario, take to time to digest the strategy in all of its rhyme and reason. By doing so, you will be far better off when the time comes to consult a strategy card:

Regardless of how low a casinos advantage is for a gambling game, the fact remains that all betting games are operated by a degree of chance. What is hopeful is that this degree of chance can be predicted more accurately in some situations and games than others.

Blackjack is one such game that facilitates the use of a strategy that can help players make the best decisions based on odds, or mathematical probability - not on luck or intuition. This is why the following tips are indeed based on mathematical probability determined by computer analysis, and readily compiled into what is known as the Basic Blackjack Strategy. These days, players will often see this strategy printed on a card in the form of a table with numbers and single letters. Although this can be a very helpful tool, I personally find this kind of chart to be too intellectual and heady, making the basic blackjack strategy either too intimidating to learn for players, or simply, too difficult to truly grasp without being a genius. Without saying the following tips are essentially “Blackjack for Dummies”, I will say the following is an organized collection of tips that are based on the basic blackjack strategy, thereby insuring the lowest House Odds possible when playing online blackjack. (more…)

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Perhaps, since many gamblers think baccarat is similar to blackjack - which it is in some respects - it is largely thought that the game can be played with a mathematical strategy, such as the basic blackjack strategy. And although card-counting can be applied to baccarat, the changes in odds are minimal, which also means that the odds of the game advantage to come up in the player’s favor are likewise minimal. The rules of baccarat often do not even enable the player to capitalize on these odds. In contrast to blackjack, the card results are limited, and there are far fewer actions a gambler can take when betting on a hand. In fact, there are none.

To give merit to card counting, a player can use this to gauge when they may possibly have an advantage over the casino (more of one type of card being dealt out of the shoe will slightly increase the chances of either the Player or Banker hand winning). But the truth of the matter is that card counting is nine times less effective at baccarat than it is at blackjack. This is why the majority of professional gamblers and mathematicians will tell players to not bother with a card-counting strategy at baccarat.

Players will also likely hear admonitions to stay away from using the Martingale System. For players who are not familiar with this “system”, it is a mathematically based wagering stratagem designed to cover losses and insure profit. For instance, if a player bets $1 and loses, the next bet will be doubled to $2. If this bet is lost, then it is likewise doubled - to $4…and so on. If the player wins on the $4 bet, they will have a $1 profit from when they started with the $1 bet. This system does work in this regard. However, just like the doubling over savings plan that starts with a penny, amounts can get very large, very fast. There is no way of predicting when a player will go on a losing streak, which can mean devastation to a gambler using the Martingale system. This type of money management can be the downfall of an entire bankroll in the blink of an eye. Additionally, the Martingale system does not work at tables with lower betting limits. The system requires a large bankroll to begin with - and since it also requires flexibility in allowing for losses, sometimes these losses exceed table limits, in which case the system collapses along with the player’s bankroll. (more…)

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April 2007 - Hot Pepper Casino has been blacklisted for ceasing to honor their end of a marketing agreement. Although not as severe as some of the other infringements that other online casinos have been guilty of, the actions of Hot Pepper, nonetheless, give us good cause to question their customer service and player relations. Until they address and fix this situation, they will remain blacklisted.

February 2007 - Following a recent string of player complaints against several Crystal Palace Group online casinos (owned by Crystal Isle Management Ltd.), we have created a separate blacklist page for the Crystal Palace Group. A dishonorable achievement to say the least, Crystal Palace was blacklisted several years ago for similar charges, most of which fall under unprofessional service, questionable customer relations, non-payment of winnings and non-responsiveness in regards to the complaints brought up against them. Read about Crystal Palace Casinos. Read Player Complaints of Golden Nile Casino.

December 2006 - Online Casino Conditions has double-blacklisted Lady Dream Casino for alleged unwarranted seizure of winnings from several players. Lady Dream Casino management has not responded to repeated attempts at contacting them, or made any attempt to address and rectify the situation. As a result, they have been Blacklisted…for the second time. The first time was due to their association with the Wager 21 Group of online casinos… (more…)

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These practices should be the foundation of any bankroll management technique:

Never Play With Scared Money - Surely you have heard this one before. It means do not gamble money you cannot afford to lose, such as your child’s college fund, the rent, your retirement savings or your grocery money. This rule should go without saying. If you do indeed find yourself falling into this type of gambling habit, it does not matter if you win all your money back and then some, it is a very dangerous habit, and is a trait of gambling addiction which should be addressed with a counselor or Gamblers Anonymous.

Never Gamble More Money Than You Were Planning To - This does not necessarily mean to set a limit on your winnings and losses, but it does mean to not exceed your initial bankroll. Otherwise, you will be playing with scared money. Understandably, some players like to take out a few bills to gamble with, in order to see how far it will take them. Sometimes they won’t need to take out more money. Other times they will. The bottom line is to be sure you can afford it. If you lose your entire bankroll at the blackjack table and think that if you withdraw another $50 and play with a more enlightened and reasonable mind that you will be able to build your bankroll back up, is desperate thinking. This could be the start of something really bad. Walk away, and come back to gamble when you are not putting your financial stability at risk. (more…)

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The complete history of gambling would need to be condensed into several books, if we were to examine every aspect of the game, including such elements as gambling legislation and modern day, professional circuit gambling. In short, if we were to examine every bill that was either annexed or approved in every country where gambling is either permitted or banned - which we would need to do in order to offer a complete history of gambling - we would simply reveal a continuation in modern jargon of the endless struggle that gambling has faced since its manifestation in human affairs. Rather, the following historical account details how gambling has fared in the largest and most prosperous civilizations in the world; Even more importantly, it will show where gambling stands in today’s current age, hopefully shedding light on how best to preserve this universal pastime. The history of gambling thus begins during the cradle of civilization itself - Ancient Egypt.

In the Beginning

Some of the earliest writings regarding gambling go back to 1500 B.C., when an engraving found on a tablet in the Pyramid of Cheops was thought to have been made. Likewise, the earliest material, archeological findings were salvaged from Thebes, consisting of what is thought to be a pair of ivory dice. Although there is no extensive evidence further proving the existence of gambling in Ancient Egypt, historical records of Egyptian law clearly indicate that gambling was not tolerated, but was in fact, punishable by sentence to work in the quarries. The Greek historian Herodotus recounted a story told by Egyptian priests about a King who traveled into the infernal depths below and took seat in a gaming party. As recalled by the Greek historian, Plutarch, the story of Queen Parysatis - during the reign of Artaxerxes - relates how gambling existed, even amongst the royalty. The story recounts how the Persian queen desired to inflict revenge on one of the King’s slaves, Mesabetes, who was ordered to kill the Queens son, Cyrus. In an attempt to take possession of Mesabetes, Queen Parysatis played the King in a dice game, consequently winning and thereby putting an end to Mesabete’s life. To this day, gambling is looked upon as a vice in modern Persia, with excesses of gambling strictly prohibited and punishable. (more…)

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The history of online gambling is not a long and mysterious one, although there have been a few scandals in its time. Rather, the history of online gambling is quite short (starting in the 1990’s) and explosive. Internet betting has become a multi-billion dollar industry in a very short time - still continuing to grow in its fiscal rise. Online gambling happened so fast, that as it became a reality, the largest and most successful companies in the industry were just being formed - and scrambling to do so. The catalyst for this scramble happened in 1994, when the government of the Caribbean island, Antigua Barbuda, passed the law that enables online casinos to operate from their homeland to this day - the Free Trade and Processing Zone Act.

With the technological possibility of online gambling already in the air, this new law made it legal to license and operate online casinos from the Antigua Barbuda jurisdiction. Of those who saw this as the lucrative opportunity that it was - two brothers - Andrew and Mark Rivkin - formed the company Cryptologic, and began creating software solutions to safely handle financial transactions with unprecedented encryption designs. At the same time, both Microgaming and Starnet Communications were formed - all in the same year Antigua Barbuda passed its groundbreaking law. (more…)

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A successful businessman flew to Vegas for the weekend to gamble. He lost the shirt off his back, and had nothing left but a quarter and the second half of his round-trip ticket.

If he could just get to the airport he could get himself home. So he went out to the front of the casino where there was a cab waiting.

He got in and explained his situation to the cabby. He promised to send the driver money from home, he offered him his credit card numbers, his driver’s license number, his address, etc., but to no avail. The cabby said, “If you don’t have fifteen dollars, get the hell out of my cab!”

So the businessman was forced to hitchhike to the airport and was barely in time to catch his flight.

One year later the businessman, having worked long and hard to regain his financial success, returned to Vegas, and this time he won big. Feeling pretty good about himself, he went out to the front of the casino to get a cab ride back to the airport.

Well, who should he see out there, at the very end of a long line of cabs, but his old buddy who had refused to give him a ride when he was down on his luck. The businessman thought for a moment about how he could make the guy pay for his lack of charity, and he hit on a plan.

The businessman got in the first cab in the line, “How much for a ride to the airport,” he asked? “Fifteen bucks,” came the reply. “And how much for you to give me sexual favors on the way?” “What?! Get the hell out of my cab!”

The businessman got into the back of each cab in the long line and asked the same questions, with the same result. When he got to his old friend at the back of the long line, he got in and asked, “How much for a ride to the airport?” The cabby replied, “Fifteen bucks.” The businessman said, “Okay” and off they went. As they slowly drove past the long line of cabs, the business man gave a big smile and thumbs up sign to each driver.

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1. Never wink at the dealer especially if he’s the same sex.

2. Don’t bring your silver dollar yo-yo near the slot machines.

3. Don’t drink and gamble at the same time. Put the drink down first.

4. Know when it’s time to go home - when you’ve won too much.

5. Don’t call for a ball measurement after losing a roulette spin.

6. Don’t stack your slots coin tubs on top of the machine just to show off. (more…)

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