The Untapped Benefits of Gambling

Some people cringe at the thought of being labeled as a gambler since the stigma would forever hound them. People have different reasons as to why they gamble. Some gamble to forget their problems, others for fun, or to while away the time, those who play seriously and those who are addicted to it. But all is not negative when it comes to gambling as there are untapped benefits of gambling which cannot be seen within the walls of the casino, or the race track, or in the bingo social hall. Employment In Las Vegas, a whopping 60 percent of the employment ratio is attributed to the presence of casinos. Imagine what would happen to Las Vegas if all the casinos suddenly stopped operating. Entertainment Self-discipline is the key. Gambling is for entertainment, as it was intended to be. Others just couldn't handle a loss and always kept right on thinking that the next card would be the one to salvage all that has been lost. But it never does. And these types of gamblers only comprise one-fourth of the gambling population who cannot gamble responsibly. Imagine the other 75 percent who responsibly gamble. These are the people who find the entertainment value of gambling and they are never blinded by the illusion that hitting it big time just once is the key to financial freedom. It is sad that only a small percentage of the gambling population gets the bad rap of how gambling can be so destructive. Families, friends, properties, jobs, crimes and deception permeate the destruction brought about by gambling but it is still a small portion of the gambling population. Charity Work Winnings from gambling activities have contributed in providing the needed financial support of worthy causes. They use gambling activities such as bingos or lotteries with a percentage of the jackpot winnings tied with charity institutions. Some celebrities even show their prowess in card games like poker to provide entertainment for the viewers and winnings for the charity institution they represent. Health benefit Studies have been found that retirees 65 years old and above who gamble have less health issues such as depression, alcoholism and bankruptcy as they find gambling to be therapeutic as it exercises their mind and keep them alert. The study was not conclusive, however, because retiree gamblers are the recreational gamblers who find the entertainment value of gambling. They are healthier because they are healthy to begin with and not because they gamble. In the end, it is not the gambling act itself that makes it beneficial or harmful to the individual. It is the decision of the individual if gambling would rule him or he would rule his gambling habit. posted by King @ 09:31 0 Comments Monday, 24 December 2007 Tips on Beating the Odds! There seems to be a thousand ways to gamble just as are there are a thousand ways and chances to lose. But let's face it, for most betters gambling is not about living the "bet-and-leave-if-you-lose" attitude. They play to win! In any endeavor, it's essential to know the rules of the game in order to play it better and stay on the winning edge. Keeping simple advice in mind and mastering several gaming strategies before jumping into any gambling activity will help you increase your chances of beating the bookies and eventually overpower them. While it's true that this article aims to develop your winning potential, one mustn't forget that gambling is not all about winning. We gamble for fun while keeping a system which helps us defeat the percentage of losing. Here are a few tips which you can apply when engaging in any gambling activity. It is also important to keep in mind that these systems are not perfect but following them offers you a great deal of certainty in winning. • Keep It Small - Going small time won't hurt and is good to your pocket. Big time betting is perfect if you are sure that your chance of winning is always 100%. You may lose your money in the end but you may have enjoyed the activity for a long time. • Bet With Lucky Pals - There are hands and there are hands for gambling. Bet with lucky gamblers of the day. No matter how you master the system operating on every game, if the day does not favor your side then live with it. Joseph Conrad once said that, "It is the mark of an inexperienced man not to believe in luck." • Eye on the Pattern - Go with the flow. Bet on the numbers/players which gets the most wins. Predict its chances by keeping history of their wins and loses. This helps you formulate a decision when risking your stake for them. • Avoid the favorites! - Good betting is impeded by unhealthy judgment about favorite players, numbers, etc. Improve your judgment by weighing the odds while looking at other prospects that get the possibility of winning. • Unleash Your Psychic powers - Confucius implied that the first thing that comes in your mind is usually the best answer to a question. Playing on your inner psychic power pays! • Stop Ahead - Be in control of your winnings. Take over gambling more than it takes over you. • Gamble for fun - While it’s true that some people gamble to win, we must also consider that it was originally created to provide fun and entertainment. Investing in gambling is a bad idea! The Truth About Winning Blackjack Today, more and more people are getting hooked on playing blackjack. In fact, it is considered to be one of the most prevalent and well-liked games in the casino. This is because it is relatively easy to play the game and with the correct strategy, a player can lessen the dealer’s edge and at the same time get an advantage in winning the game. In order to win blackjack, players must get cards that have a total of 21 or closer to it. If the player gets a card over 21, they will end up losing the game. In winning a game in blackjack, there is only one concept that players must bear in mind. They should always remember to utilize the right strategy. In order to win a blackjack game, the player must know the basic strategies. This is because these strategies are considered as the vital element in winning blackjack. The player's capability to use a line of attack and manipulate the game is the basic skills that a player must learn in order to win. So, for people who want to win a game in blackjack, here are some ways how to do it. These things may not guarantee the players to win the game but using them will give them a good chance. 1. Players should know when to hit or stand. Statistics show that 3 out of the 10 people who play blackjack make hits or stands without even knowing when to do it. Most of them merely rely on their instincts. Instincts can be a pretty factor in winning the game but it is not always like that. So, it is a must that a player should know when to hit or stand just by looking at the cards already dealt and the cards of the dealer. The idea of when to stand or hit is directly dependent on the dealer’s card. 2. Players should always assume that the dealer’s down card is 10. This is based on the theory that if the dealer’s down card is a 10 and he gets a 6, chances are he will get the card. If he gets 7, chances are he would either be busted or the player’s probability of getting close to 21 is higher. In this manner, depending on what card the dealer gets, the player can decide whether to hit or stand. The players will then have higher chances of winning. Winning blackjack is, indeed, dependent on the dealer’s card. Is Offline gambling A Dinosaur? Over the past twenty plus years internet technology has developed and attracted millions. It has transformed the way people live. The way people consume products or services has changed drastically. People want instant information and service and by extension, people demand instant cash. In cyberspace a gambler can have easy access to online gaming. Online gaming plays like a real casino but instead of interacting with a dealer at a table you use a web-based software instead. What’s missing online? Apparently the lack of atmosphere or ambience when gambling on the Net was cited in a study as one of the most important aspects of offline gambling that is missing online. The online games on the internet try to imitate the real deal by featuring graphics and text animation. Even including verbal interaction. With every mouse click, the program gives a corresponding sound like coins in a slot machine. The software-dealer starts talking if there are no action or commands given. Despite all of this though, the atmosphere of a casino hasn’t been recreated. The adrenalin rush in a real casino cannot be recreated online either. Playing at home, an online gambler is playing alone and no amount of tinkering in the program can create an atmosphere. The lack of atmosphere prevents a person from gambling with friends. The live casino has been associated with a socializing ambience and a lot of gamblers feel an attachment to the environment. Hey Big Brother! The main reason people give for not shopping in the internet is a perceived risk in security. That perception is much higher for online gambling. Although most sites give an information link to the existing security technology, still the perception remains. Most people experience great discomfort in using a credit card on online gambling. Not only the perceived security issues that gamblers feel uncomfortable with, it is also the lack of any kind of control on the outcome. Online people cannot move from one table to another and make crucial decisions. The reality of losing money on the internet is distorted, most people cannot feel that they are losing money. Simply because of the idea that you’re just sitting at home, how can they lose so much money. All the light shows and sound effects an online casino can muster, it cannot substitute for the action happening inside the halls of a casino. People feel more in control when playing inside a casino, whether it’s strategizing or managing his money. The thrill of having a crowd and the joy of companionship is also a very important plus. Dinosaurs? Maybe, but they are still giants and very much alive. posted by King @ 22:05 0 Comments Tips on Beating the Odds! There seems to be a thousand ways to gamble just as are there are a thousand ways and chances to lose. But let's face it, for most betters gambling is not about living the "bet-and-leave-if-you-lose" attitude. They play to win! In any endeavor, it's essential to know the rules of the game in order to play it better and stay on the winning edge. Keeping simple advice in mind and mastering several gaming strategies before jumping into any gambling activity will help you increase your chances of beating the bookies and eventually overpower them. While it's true that this article aims to develop your winning potential, one mustn't forget that gambling is not all about winning. We gamble for fun while keeping a system which helps us defeat the percentage of losing. Here are a few tips which you can apply when engaging in any gambling activity. It is also important to keep in mind that these systems are not perfect but following them offers you a great deal of certainty in winning. • Keep It Small - Going small time won't hurt and is good to your pocket. Big time betting is perfect if you are sure that your chance of winning is always 100%. You may lose your money in the end but you may have enjoyed the activity for a long time. • Bet With Lucky Pals - There are hands and there are hands for gambling. Bet with lucky gamblers of the day. No matter how you master the system operating on every game, if the day does not favor your side then live with it. Joseph Conrad once said that, "It is the mark of an inexperienced man not to believe in luck." • Eye on the Pattern - Go with the flow. Bet on the numbers/players which gets the most wins. Predict its chances by keeping history of their wins and loses. This helps you formulate a decision when risking your stake for them. • Avoid the favorites! - Good betting is impeded by unhealthy judgment about favorite players, numbers, etc. Improve your judgment by weighing the odds while looking at other prospects that get the possibility of winning. • Unleash Your Psychic powers - Confucius implied that the first thing that comes in your mind is usually the best answer to a question. Playing on your inner psychic power pays! • Stop Ahead - Be in control of your winnings. Take over gambling more than it takes over you. • Gamble for fun - While it’s true that some people gamble to win, we must also consider that it was originally created to provide fun and entertainment. Investing in gambling is a bad idea! posted by King @ 22:00 0 Comments Football Master Football betting. It's not rocket science is it? We all know the strengths and weaknesses of the teams involved, there are only three possible outcomes - win, lose or draw - and as we're saturated with TV coverage these days, we can watch whatever we like to get ahead of the game. Even if you want to try something a bit more exotic, it's not exactly going to need a degree in advanced calculus to predict which player is going to score first or who's going to be ahead at half-time, is it? Take Wayne Rooney - you didn’t need to be an expert to see that every time he played for Manchester United in Europe, he seemed to score a goal. So why not back him to score in every match he plays at an odds-against price? Isn't that what's known as value? Reality check Well, no, actually. That's an example of how many footballer bettors gamble - and why so many of us end up out of pocket, season after season. We all love the game, and follow it closely, so we all reckon we're experts - but, in truth, we're not. Football is by far the most popular form of sports gambling online and is driving the betting boom that has engulfed us in recent years, but too many of us are still making the same basic mistakes every time we place a wager. The problem, of course, is that the odds aren't in our favour. Potentially massive margins against us mean that punters always have to outperform the full-time odds compliers employed by the bookmakers to have any chance whatsoever of coming out on top. The odds of the three outcomes in a football match - win, lose or draw - should equal 100%. But the three prices the bookies put up - say, for example, 5/6 home win, 9/4 draw, 7/2 away win - create margins of anything from 107% to a whopping 116% to guarantee the bookies a profit. That's why the bookies are all still driving around in their Rollers while we're standing in the queue for the bus down to our local Ladbrokes. But that doesn't mean we have to wave the white flag. You can still bet smart enough to beat the bookies, even if the odds are stacked against you. Rules of engagement The first rule is: ignore the bookies' traps. When Hills or Ladbrokes or Coral stick those alluring signs in the window saying things like: 'Manchester United to beat Newcastle United and Wayne Rooney to be first scorer: a £10 stake to win £120', ignore it. United are more than capable of winning and Rooney (you may have noticed) knows where the goal is - but the odds on both events occurring in the same game are extremely slim. In other words, it's a no-value bet. Walk into your local bookie on any Saturday lunchtime and you'll be bombarded by dozens of similar bets. The rule is: ignore them. If the bookie wants you to bet on it, then chances are it represents poor value. Instead, the key to being profitable on football is to follow certain rules that consistently increase your chances of winning. Secondly, you have to put out of your mind all the bad betting habits you've learned, forget which teams somebody told you represent best value and stop backing the famous names just because, well, they're famous. To be a successful football bettor, you need to be a lot shrewder than that. Here are my top-six tips for finding value: 1. ALWAYS LOOK TO BET ON ASIAN HANDICAPS This a great value way of betting on football. With Asian handicaps, the market maker gives the team he perceives to be the less likely winner of a given match a head-start, and the team more likely to win a handicap. These are expressed in goals or fractions of goals [you can find our Markets Explained and Masterclass articles on Asian Handicaps on this very site – Ed]. Because those old spoilers - draws - are eliminated in Asian handicap markets, bookmakers have to bet to smaller margins. So, while even the most enterprising firms are asking us to play to 107% in the 'win-draw-lose' markets, the Asian handicap percentages are only around 103-104%. These are the best you will find in the industry by some way. It means that if you bet only on Asian handicap markets this year you will, in theory, be at least 3% more profitable. With even the best professional gamblers hoping for a return of only 10% on turnover, that small margin could be the difference between victory and defeat for some football punters over the course of the season. 2. ALWAYS LOOK TO SELL PLAYERS' GOAL MINUTES ON THE SPREADS Spread betting is often as much about psychology as it is football knowledge. With many spread bets offering punters the daunting prospect of staring down into the financial abyss of an unknown downside, opting for the comfort zone of knowing exactly what the worst possible scenario is going to be is a trap into which many spread bettors often fall. Nowhere can this be seen more than in the player-goal-minute markets offered by the spread firms. This market allows you to place a bet on the total minutes in which a player scores his goals. So if, for example Wayne Rooney scores once in a game, in the 58th minute, his total goals minutes equals 58. If he scores twice, in the 80th and 85th minutes, his total goal minutes are 165, and so on. With the possibility that a striker could find the net any number of times in a match - and as late in the game as the 90th minute - only the very brave ever really consider a sell, especially as the option to buy means you know how much you'll lose if your player fails to score. The spread firms know this and, anticipating that most punters will want to play safe, pitch the markets artificially high. This makes buying a statistically bad bet in virtually every scenario. The shrewd play, of course, is to take advantage and go the other way. It won't make for an enjoyable match with your heart in your mouth every time the player you've sold gets the ball in front of goal, but the upside is that you're very likely to receive far more cheques with Sporting Index (or IG Sport, or Cantor Sports...) written on them during the course of a season. 3. SPECIALISE IN THE LOWER DIVISIONS Premiership teams live life in the constant glare of media scrutiny. Now, 24-hour-a-day news coverage puts them under the microscope to such an extent that almost every minute piece of news about the clubs in the top flight is constantly in the public domain. If a leading player is injured, suspended or even falling out with his manager, the world and his betting slip are more in the news loop than at any time before. But what about Gillingham's match with Brentford in League One? If Gillingham's top striker is ruled out the day before the game, are the bookmakers really going to be able to get wind of it quickly enough to change the odds when they've got dozens of other matches on their coupons to stay on top of? There's no question that the clubs in the lower divisions don't receive anywhere near as much news coverage as the top-flight teams, and those prepared to do a little homework can often get the latest news before the market makers. Local papers, which are now almost all available online, are a goldmine of information about local teams for the shrewd football punter. 4. AVOID MULTIPLE BETS Walk into any bookies for a flutter on the football and what will you see - a dedicated slip for you to place a single on the team you fancy this weekend? Not a hope in hell's chance. Instead, the only thing you are likely to be able to lay your hands on is a multiple bet football coupon inviting you to try a correct-score goliath or a ten-team 'sections list' accumulator. Not for nothing do the bookmakers actively look to market football as a medium for the most speculative of wagers. They love nothing more than to see a coupon filled with optimistic multiple bets hoping to strike it rich. It may look fun - but it's one of the poorest value bets around. Not only do accumulator punters have to get their bet absolutely spot on to land the cash (how many times has just one team let you down!), but they also have to negotiate the bookmakers' margins a number of times. If you're betting to a bookmaker's percentage of 110% for a single, a ten-team multiple accumulator means you're paying that margin ten times over. Don't do it! The bets the bookmakers hate are singles - so much so, it's only in recent years that they have even allowed them on football. So to maximize your profits don't buy into the bookie spin that to win big on football you have to do it in one, life-changing bet. The temptation of accumulators is obvious, but it's really not worth it. Slowly but mercilessly betting on one selection at a time is the only way to make money in the long-term. 5. CONSIDER ASIAN HANDICAPS RATHER THAN A LAY ON THE EXCHANGES TO OPPOSE A HOT FAVOURITE While the exchanges have been a godsend to most punters, laying favoured teams in football matches when you fancy an upset is not always the best way to go, especially when the side you want to bet against is a long odds-on favourite. In that scenario the Asian handicap can often be as much as a whole goal head-start for the underdog. That means that in the event of your prediction nearly being proved right, but the underdogs you fancy ending up losing by just a single goal, your bet will be a tie on the handicap and you'll get your money back. That's the beauty of Asian handicap bets - you have the safety net of getting your money back on certain occasions, because if a goal head-start or a goal deficit is cancelled out and the handicap ends up being equalled, your stake is returned. If, on the other hand, you had simply laid on the exchanges, someone else would be pocketing your money. The exchanges do provide excellent opportunities - but, again, becoming familiar with Asian handicap betting is advisable. 6. ALWAYS LOOK TO SUPPORT UNFASHIONABLE TEAMS PLAYING ABOVE THEMSELVES One of the biggest traps that punters fall into every season is assessing teams based on who they are, rather than how they are playing. While high-profile sides such as Liverpool, Manchester United and Rangers always start at unrealistically short odds no matter what their current form, smaller clubs who are overperforming continually get underestimated by the market. Last season, for example, West Ham and Wigan have shown themselves to be two of the most competitive teams in the Premiership. Yet before the market eventually cottoned on to this fact, punters refused to believe the evidence of their own eyes, and week after week they were sent off at odds which bore no reflection to their current form or league position. The league table seldom lies, and the most profitable football punters always look to bet on results rather than reputation. These are the golden rules to follow - if you back the advice here for the rest of the season, you won't go far wrong. So get out there and start betting like a winner! posted by King