I have to admit I can always stand to improve my blackjack strategy a bit. Blackjack is one of those games that challenges us. There are set strategies for it and you can even take the strategy cards to the table.  You can even sit at the table with the strategy card and consult it for every hand you’re dealt. But do you want to have to do that, unless you’re at a table of beginners all doing the same thing. And even then, well, do you want to have to do that?  Maybe it’s just me, but I like to look like I know what I’m doing at the table. I know that doesn’t change the odds at all, but I feel more confident if I am more confident and while it may seem strange, that can mean I’m more likely to make the right bet on a hand.

Okay, so you may want an explanation for that last remark, but let me give an example that you may have seen at a blackjack table if you play regularly.  Two players have a similar hand, perhaps both soft 16 but it could be a soft and hard 16.  The first player, who has proven to be the more experienced player, hits when he should stand according to strategy.  The second player in a moment of doubt, follows the action of the first player rather than what’s on his strategy card.  Why? Well, simply because he thinks the first player, who is more confident, must know what he’s doing.  At the table, I want to be the confident player, not the follower.

And the best way to become more confident is to practice. And then practice some more.  Not only will you learn to make decisions without referring to the cards, but you’ll be able to see how the strategy plays out over time.  This means you’ll be more likely to make the right decision when playing.  And the best place to practice is at an online casino where you can play free blackjack games.  Right now, I’m devoting a little spare time each day to go in and let the computer deal me some cards.  It’s easier than trying to get to a land based casino after work and I enjoy the game.

I’ve been playing a lot of video poker recently and I do like the game. I also like the odds. But I’ve discovered there is one actual winning draw in video poker that will make me groan. Yes, a bad win. You’ll understand when I explain it.

For those not familiar with video poker, it essentially works like playing five card draw on a machine. The player is dealt five cards and chooses which to hold and which to discard. The new cards are then drawn and the player wins or loses based on the hand they have. Winning hands vary depending on the game variation. For an example, in Jacks or Better, the lowest winning hand is a single pair of Jacks or Better. Hold on to that thought.  The jackpot hand is the royal flush which is 10, J, Q, K, A all of the same suit.  Now a Jacks or Better win pays one for one, so essentially you don’t go up in money, you just don’t lose the money you bet. But a royal flush can pay anything from 200 to one to 4,000 to one depending on the casino and the player’s bet.  Video poker players are essentially chasing the royal flush.

So, the win that makes me groan? It’s when I’m dealt a hand that’s four cards to a royal flush. Something like J, Q, K, A all of the same suit and then another card, say a 6 of an off-suit.  So, I discard the six. It’s the only smart thing to do. I need the 10. And I draw a K (or J, Q, A).  I didn’t hit the royal and I was so close. But I’ve still “won” because I do have a Jacks or Better hand. It’s just that I’ve won a “stay even” hand instead of a jackpot. I hate that.

I’m here to tell you — we don’t know what the heck is going to happen.  Really, we don’t. To celebrate the end of 2011, the Department of Justice blew the online gambling rules out of the water.  Online gambling opponents are probably still reeling from the change. Those of us who actually like to gamble and are adult enough to handle our own money without the moral oversight of others, are excited about the prospects for the new year.

So, what happened?  Okay, let’s talk history for a bit. We’re going back to 1961. Please remain seated and keep your hands and arms inside my time machine at all times. Welcome to 1961. Please show me an online casino. What, you can’t find one? Yep, online casinos have yet to be invented. While we’re in this year, we’ll just have to go to Vegas and play with the Rat Pack.  So, what does 1961 have to do with 2011? Well, see 1961 was the year they passed the Wire Act of 1961, an act designed to prevent nefarious activities in sports betting. The act says you can’t place distance bets on a sporting event or contest. That law was interpreted to mean – you can’t place online bets or play at an online casino. But it all depends on how you read the act.

Some important people at the Department of Justice got together to read the Wire Act and discuss how the Wire Act should be read and they decided — the wording only applies to sports betting. Sporting events or sporting contests.  It wasn’t meant to apply to online casinos or online poker or other forms of gambling (remember our trip to 1961 – no online casinos).

So now the US faces a new year without a federal law specifically forbidding online gambling. Oh, we still have the UIGEA or Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which says that where online gambling is illegal, the law has to be enforced. It’s a weird law that’s now been done in by its own vagueness.

The news about bwin.party entering the US gambling market has been floating around for months now. Take this article on the company preparing their US partners for legalized gambling in the states: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110831-704007.html.

Sounds good, right? But what if I told you Bwin.Party has pulled a fast one on all of us. Didn’t think they would, did you. See, while we’ve all be waiting for them to enter the market as a legal and real money online gambling site, they’ve gone a made a deal with Google to offer fun play poker.  Yep, Aces Hangout is going to be a new Google+ and Bwin.Party effort. But this effort isn’t going after PokerStars. Nope, this is Google’s effort to go after Facebook and the popular Zynga poker site. Now if you have a Facebook account, you can play Zynga poker – but not for real money. You can also play Farmville and grow crops that you can’t eat. It’s a Facebook thing.  But when Google rolled out Google+, they didn’t include the games that Facebook has.  The result is that Google+ is some sort of vast waste land where people seldom post. So, Google decided to do something about this. Well, something besides occasionally sending me emails reminding me that Google+ exists.

They’ve decided to try to bring in users with a game strategy. Now as big as Zynga is and as undefeatable as Farmville might seem, they really aren’t a force in the real world poker landscape. So Google is betting that by teaming up with Bwin.Party and Party Poker’s reputation for, well, Poker, they can beat Zynga.

You know, I wouldn’t mind playing poker on Google+. It’s not like I’m using it for anything else.

Shakespeare may have thought that “by any other name a rose would still smell as sweet” but Shakespeare knew nothing about marketing. Or come to think of it copyright law and trademark infringement.  (Shakespeare found his inspiration in many existing stories, proving that timing is everything.)

So, what does all this have to do with casinos and online gambling?  Well, what do you think of when you hear the names Bellagio, CircusCircus, Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM, Aria.  Are you thinking Las Vegas casinos?  Because, the MGM Resorts International has done a lot of work to make sure you associate those names with their hotels and casinos.  So, if you saw Bellagioonlinepoker.com or MGMPoker.com or any of the other names as online domain names, you’d probably think they were associated with the big reputable casinos, right?  Certainly the MGM Resorts International group owns MGMPoker.com.  Except they don’t. Or any of the other online poker rooms associated with the names listed above.

What’s in a name? How about a lawsuit. The MGM as filed suits against the owners of each of the domain names that they say infringes on one of their existing trademarks.  Now trademark infringement cases can sometimes seem silly – McDonalds the hamburger chain once sued the small Scottish tea room over the use of the name McDonald. The owner was given permission from the Earl of McDonald to use the name and his claim to the name apparently goes back slightly longer than the hamburger chain.  These are the types of stories that make it to Yahoo!.  But in the cases that the MGM is suing over, it’s easy to see the damage that can be done by the misuse of the MGM brands.  After all, a poker player might be hesitant about playing on a poker site owned by a man in Zimbabwe, but that’s exactly what the player would be doing on Ariapoker.com.

So, what’s in a name? Reputation.

The news that Barney Frank isn’t running for reelection is out. Just check news.google.com because everyone has a story on it. But they all say the same thing in the end – Democrat Barney Frank won’t run for reelection in 2012. Now, onlinecasinodaddy is sad to hear this because Barney Frank has been the Big Daddy of online gambling and the Poker Players Alliance for years now. Yes, it’s been a special relationship.

So, what’s going down? Expect to the see the PPA (Poker Players Alliance) stepping up their game to try to get legislation through Congress while Big Daddy is still in town. Expect Frank to get behind any pet projects he wants to support because you know what, the last year of a Congressman’s career is the year he can tell everyone to go do themselves and do whatever he wants.  And Barney Frank isn’t one of this shy, quiet politicians. (Are there shy, quiet politicians?)

Barney Frank was an openly gay politician who was once reprimanded by Congress for his involvement with male prostitutes, thereby annoying the hell out of the closeted gay Republicans who couldn’t surf through a career crisis like that.  I can just imagine Frank responding to the issue with “Dude, of course they were male prostitutes. I’m gay. You were expecting women?”   No, he didn’t say that. He did tell one woman who was screaming at him about Obama’s health plan that he’d rather argue with a dining room table than talk with her.  A response that makes onlinecasinodaddy applaud and say “Go Big Daddy.”

The casino industry will miss you. Can you please fix Congress before you leave?

e casino? Well, probably not much, except maybe costing more to set up.

Visit any online casino in the industry and the first thing you’ll usually notice is a flashy focus on a sign up bonus. Now, many wise consumers know the saying “you don’t get anything for free” but the whole point of gambling is actually to try to get more money out of a system than you put into it. Now, this philosophy shows up on both sides of the casino. The player wants to play and win and the casinos want lots of players to play and, well, lose.  So, what’s up with casinos giving players money to play on? Why would they do that and should players take advantage of it.

First the reasons an online casino gives a signup bonus are fairly easy to understand. They want you to decide to register for an account at their casino, and they’re willing to put up some money to convince you to do that. The amount of the bonus is tied to the amount that you deposit, which is a way to convince you to deposit more.  And, they’re going to get most of that money back. They make sure of that.

See, when a player takes advantage of a bonus offer, they agree to the casinos terms and conditions. These usually restrict the games the money can be played on. Slots are a popular choice for the casino because they can control the odds on slot games.  But they also require the money to be played through a certain number of times before any winning really belong to the player. So any quick wins have to be reinvested and usually in the long term the player loses all the money. Also, the casino may set a limit on the amount a player can withdraw and restrict progressive and other wins. So, if you think “well, I could turn that $100 bonus into a million dollars on the progessive” the answer is – no, you can’t.

So, should you take that bonus offer?  Well, if you’ve never played at an online casino before and really want to try the slot games, a small bonus will give you a little more playing time. But if you really want to be serious about online gambling and winning, you’re going to have to play with your own money.

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