It is very unusual to find an online gambling site or product which is dedicated to only one game, with the exception perhaps being poker. Standalone blackjack, roulette or baccarat sites would probably not cut the mustard with fans of online Casino Bet games. They enjoy having a variety to choose from, so, perhaps one of the very few exclusions is also the Asian game – mahjong. Mahjong Logic is the software company which seems to have the monopoly on this game online. This development company partners with names such as Cozy Gaming which is actually an online bingo offering, but in the majority they stick to purely Mahjong websites. This network brings together fans of the game – literally from all over the world.

They offer versatile and innovative software development which gives us access to state-of-the-art versions of this timeless Eastern gaming classic. Some people even call the game ‘Asian poker’. Mahjong Logic is based in Stockholm, Sweden and the Isle of Man, and they recently co-sponsored a huge live Mahjong event in London. This took place on the 2^nd and 3^rd of September, in Hanover Park, and ran in conjunction with Poker in the Park.

The game enjoys a massive terrestrial popularity in the gambling and gaming market, but is also becoming more popular as an online gambling game. As well as being widely played in all Chinese communities, its popularity has spread all over the world to both North America and Europe. Translating commercially into the Internet space has yet to come, but we are pretty certain that the more people who learn about this fabulous game, the sooner it will receive commercial success. It is basically an ‘emerging’ online game.

The Hanover Park event – called – The Mahjong Festival, was also perfectly timed to coincide with the launch of a new site. The new site is based on the ‘festival’ theme and is called mahjongfestival.com. They partnered with Plus Five Gaming, where the live event made it free to play for over 18′s. It involved the local communities from nearby London’s Chinatown, but was also ideally placed for many people to gather and learn to play. The aim of the game by hosting the festival at the same time as Poker in the Park, was also to allow die-hard poker players, easy access to this game. It is after-all as we said – often referred to as Asian Poker.

Mahjong Logic really believes in this game and their product; they believe the day will come, when many more players indulge in the game. It has some exciting prospects; is a game of skill which has translated into the online space beautifully, and one of the most popularly played skill games enjoyed Globally. The company is also seeing positive trends in terms of setting records for more licensees, as mahjong becomes more mainstream, both online and off. They believe Plus Five gaming is also the perfect partner for monetizing these games. Plus Five in turn says that the timing is perfect as more and more customers are requesting the game.

In the wake of what we are all referring to as Black Friday, we have seen shares in European online poker companies actually rise. If you are not familiar with Black Friday yet – no there was not another slaughter of innocents by Tamil rebels: Poker Stars, Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet and Full Tilt Poker had their domains confiscated by the US Department of Justice. In response to this action, share prices at William Hill, Ladbrokes, Bwin.Party,888.com and Wynn all went up.

We said we weren’t sure how long this would last and we see today that PokerStars is up and active again. However, both Poker Stars and Full Tilt have been allowed access to their sites in order to offer members the opportunity to get their funds out. This in itself is strange considering the terms of the indictments, but despite the fact that Federal Prosecutors filed restraining orders against 76 bank accounts, we believe members are able to withdraw their funds. Apparently players are not allowed to deposit any funds and an independent monitor is verifying compliance.

When I visited Poker Stars a moment ago it looked to me like it was business as usual, there were 98 795 players online and 2305 tournaments in progress. There seems to be no message up at the site to members and it is almost impossible to say from the look of the site that anything was ever wrong. I also don’t know what is happening at Full Tilt, but it also looks like business as usual. The other websites still have the seizure notices posted and charges splurged all over the internet – these sites were offered the option to enter the same agreement.

Poker Stars has made it a top priority to return funds to their members and fortunately licensing laws in the Isle of Man where the company is based, requires funds for members to be segregated from the company assets, so the feds can’t touch this money. Now isn’t that nice? The site absolutely denies the charges of money laundering and other fraudulent activities brought about in the indictments and are taking all the steps necessary to defend themselves “robustly”. This is going to be so interesting. Full Tilt Poker has declined to comment as yet.

Harold Lovell, the Minister for Finance and Economy of Antigua has said his two cents worth regarding the seizure of the sites and subsequent indictments. He knows only too well what a furore like this can mean. When leading US-facing online poker sites bearing Antigua licensing were closed following the promulgation of UIGEA, the financial impact to his country was lamentable. Despite a World Trade Organisation ruling for compensation for Antigua in 2007 on this matter, the US has still not coughed up the money it supposedly owes this government. Lovell called the Black Friday seizure a “violation of international law”.

While the recent indictments of US Poker sites may offer European operators a brief life-line, there is no doubt that these poker giants will find a way to stay open and even if players from the US migrate to European facing sites, they are certainly going to keep playing.

Playing poker or gambling in general is a somewhat exciting yet daunting prospect for most people; they tend to be excited at the fact of potentially winning a lot of money but at the same time dubious as to whether they can afford to lose any money. So when it comes to playing casino games online there are a lot of factors to take into account as to whether it will be more beneficial or detrimental to your finances.

The first important thing is to find or research a game that you are familiar with in the real world. There is no use in playing online games that you have no idea about as you will never be able to make a profit from doing so. Make sure that you find Super casino that has a large selection of games that you are familiar with and make sure you know how to profit from them before parting with any money.

It is also important to research the reputation and location of the online casino that you are considering playing at. It is vital you check the location of the casino and of where you are planning on gambling from as in some US States such as Washington State it is actually illegal to gamble in offline and online casinos. It is also important that you check what software the casino is using to make sure you are gambling on a fair and tested system that is not prone to errors.

Your next step should be to make sure if anything goes wrong, that you have a customer helpline number to call that is efficient and responds in a timely fashion. It is also well worth researching your chosen casino on gaming forums where you can find information on how reliable their services are.

You will also want to find a casino that offers a lot of bonuses and perks to its players. Most online casinos offer a monetary bonus to new players that is added to your account once you sign up and have made a deposit. These bonuses can sometimes be a lot more than what you have invested and are well worth seeking out even to the point where you play at multiple online casinos just to be able to take advantage of the joining bonuses that they offer you.

Once you have chosen one or several online casinos where you are comfortable playing at your final task should be to check if there is a limit on how much cash you can withdraw from your account at any one time. If there is a disclaimer warning you that you may only withdraw a fixed sum then stay away from that particular casino as any serious and trustworthy casino will give you a no limit withdrawal option.

Phil Hellmuth is one of the world’s most famous poker players, he plays both online and off, like all good players should. Although he recently departed the Unibet online poker fold and we are not quite sure where he is heading; he was seen wearing the Unibet logo and hosting a charity event on December 18^th. This holder of a record eleven WSOP bracelets is well know for his philanthropic nature and the latest great cause he promoted with poker was “Hellmuth’s Hold’em with HospiceCare.”

He is from Madison Wisconsin and this is also where he does most of his charity work – this particular event, he got Unibet and Baker Tilly to sponsor. HospiceCare provides specialised end-of-life care to patients and their families. They have done this much needed and well appreciated work since 1978. They serve over 650 patients a day and pride them selves in providing “exceptional” care throughout south central Wisconsin. The fund raising event was to expand and enhance the reach and quality of their services.

The event was brilliantly organised as usual, featuring good poker tables, a buffet, two bars, silent auction, VIP area, and far more than one well known pro poker player in attendance for this very good cause. Sports, radio, news anchors ands other national and local celebrities were present; even the former Mayor of Madison, Paul Soglin and Phil Hellmuth Snr. played poker.

It has been much publicised in the press, that both Phil Helmuth and Annie Duke are leaving their Unibet sponsorships. What these colleagues have more in common than only poker, is their tireless work for charitable causes. Annie partners with Actor Don Cheadle to put together the annual “Ante Up for Africa” charity event which is regularly attended by both poker pros and big Hollywood names such as Matt Damon and his cousin Ben Afleck amongst others.

Mr. Hellmuth Sr. made it all the way to the final table out of a field of 240 players; Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon went on to win which is quite unusual in a field of amateur players who don’t generally know good from bad poker, and often catch pros with bad beats. Raffle prizes included a custom-made autographed poker table (very nice), heads-up matches against Hellmuth (nerve wrecking but even nicer for fans), a two-year lease on a Zimbrick Honda Accord LX, as well as a seat at the Main Event for the 2011 World Series of Poker. But let’s get down to brass tacks – how much money did they make?!

Phil Hellmuth’s Hold’em with HospiceCare raised almost $140,000 and not only that this type of event is fantastic exposure for poker the game, and the “good” work that it does. Poker is every mans game, and it is big name players like Phil Helmuth who work without reward to give back to what poker has given to them. They keep a good name for the game, as well as help the less fortunate at the same time.

A bankroll is something that is vitally important for a poker player to acknowledge. With a bankroll you are a poker player, without a bankroll you are just another gambler.

Online poker is so popular that the big sites see thousands of players across their networks at peak times. You can get all the poker action you are looking for right online, you don’t need to plan a trip to the casino, the stakes are often higher and the buy-ins cheaper and the point of playing is to leave the game with more than you started. This means building a bankroll and managing it. 

There are plenty of learned poker players out there who are just waiting to relieve you of your money, so the sooner you learn this the better. The true poker “wannabees” are far more sensible – more cautious and they know that to be taken seriously they need a bankroll. These players are not necessarily more strapped for cash, or maybe they are, but what they definitely are, is more cautious.  
 
You don’t need a ton of cash to get a poker bankroll started, Chris Moneymaker did it with nothing essentially. He had $39 and turned it into $2.59 million by the time he had finished at the final table on the WSOP tour – he started playing on Poker Stars.  
It is not quick and it may not be easy, but building a bankroll is attainable and if you want to be taken seriously as a poker player, you need a bankroll. You will also find this makes you take yourself a lot more seriously. 

An online poker bankroll is the amount of money you have in your cashier account. These funds are supposed to stay in that account and you are expected to grow them so that you have access to higher and higher stakes games. This means not withdrawing from that account, and it means not taking out your credit card to buy casino chips every time you think you need them. Poker playing bankrolls and personal money should always be kept separate. 

Of course once you become a poker star and you have earned a couple of hundred thousand in your bankroll, why not go ahead and award yourself a salary for a job well done! 

The basics of building a poker bankroll from an online purists point of view, is by visiting a good poker site and taking advantage of free chips, even if this is only $10. You then familiarise yourself with the free play tables and play on micro limit tables. These have tiny limits 2c and so on. A $10 bankroll is fine for this!  

Play some micro limit freerolls, and win, play till your bankroll gets to about $50 while improving your poker skill, then hit some of the bigger prize freerolls. Keep building your bankroll in this way and move up the limits. Then open an online e-wallet such as Neteller or something more suitable for the US Player and you may even be able to take your bankroll in to games at other sites. Just remember the bankroll has to keep growing and this is your guiding principle. GL and have fun!    

2-7 means deuces to 7 and this is where the game 27 Triple Card Draw tells you what the game is about. Triple Card Draw, means three drawing rounds, which means four betting rounds and the 2-7 indicates this game means a low poker (lowball) hand wins. 
 
In this “draw game” players are dealt five cards and are able to discard from zero (stand pat) to all five cards on the draw and receive the same amount of replacement cards. On any of the draws you may change your cards or stand pat and the aim of the game is to get the best low hand possible. The best hand possible is 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and this is the “nuts”, just remember in this game Aces are high.  

You are able to play with a hand from J, 7, 4, 3, 2 of all the same suit or a flush, however this hand rarely wins.8, 7, 6, 5, 4 is a straight and it is slightly better. 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 is a lower straight, and things are starting to look up, while 5, 5, 5, 6, 3, looks even better. 

As you can see this is not the poker we have all grown up with and are used to playing, where A, K, Q, J, 10 rules and in lowball poker games, you just have to switch the game around. Playing Hi-Lo poker, players do get some practice, because if they don’t have the possibility of making a high hand, they can play for the lowest; the prize pot is split. 

All draw poker games are played with blinds in the same way as flop (community cards) games, and after the big blind the first player has an option to fold, call or raise. Once the first betting round is complete a draw takes place and any unwanted cards may be discarded. To the left of the button another round of betting takes place after the draw, so there are three draws in total and four rounds of betting in 27 Triple Card Draw. 

After the fourth betting round a showdown takes place if this is necessary and more cards may be needed for the third draw, in which case a new deck is reshuffled and used. The showdown will finally determine the winner and the best five card 2-7 hand wins. If two or even more hands are equal, the prize pot is shared between these players and no rank of suit is used to determine a winner.  

The way in which 27 Triple Draw Poker differentiates itself from other forms of Hi-lo poker is in the Ace. In all other variations of the game the Ace can be high or low, in this game it is always a high card as we have already mentioned.  

There are plenty of online poker sites where this and many other games of poker may be played for free to sharpen your skills, and this is only one of the many blessings of playing online poker. Poker schools are another feature and if you fancy a lesson from a pro, you have to play online it is rarely going to happen any other way.

Because Omaha Poker is the second most frequently played poker game, it is important to practice your game, be completely familiar with rules and basic strategy and learn how to become a winning player. Poker is THE thinking mans game so study is necessary for all levels of play.

Omaha Hi-Lo, bet limit games are in a category of their own and understanding the basics of how the game works, first, before you play is definitely to your advantage. At some stage you will find yourself playing competitively because this is what playing poker is all about.

Different levels of play involve different player tactics and what may work for beginner level Omaha Poker Hi-Lo, will not apply in an intermediate or expert level game. However the basic strategy of any game of poker always remains the same and strategy is always derived from the rules of the game.

One of the best places to learn the rules of poker is in an actual game, but not if you are betting money on it. Free games are available online, and this is probably the best place to play.

Bet Limit Omaha High Low Poker has two to ten players per game and the winners split the prize pot; the highest winning hand, with the lowest qualifying hand. In each hand any two hole cards need to be combined with three community (or board) cards to make a hand. To qualify for the low hand, cards need to be 8,7,6,5,4 or lower and the Ace acts in both high and low capacities. High hands are obviously above the “8″ card!

The players are dealt 4 face-down cards each and 5 community cards are dealt into the centre of the table, face-up thus; 3-1-1 in three betting segments. Once this is done the player have to combine their hole card with the community cards to make a hand. They may use any hole cards with any three community cards.

The betting procedure is thus: a forced “Small Blind” is called before dealing the four face-down cards. This is required to be at least half the minimum bet. One player makes the “Big Blind”, also forced, which is the minimum bet. This player is determined by the set of the “Button” in relationship to the dealer. After this the 4 cards are dealt to each player.

The player on the left of the Big Blind, bets, raises, or folds and in a clockwise direction, so do the other players. The small blind may fold and still only lose half the minimum bet, but the Big Blind must act last, then the 3 community cards are turned up. More betting continues, but no more bets are forced, and at each turn another community card is revealed until the final, the “River” card is revealed. This is the signal for the last betting round to take place, and the players reveal their hole cards, and their hand. Winners with both low and high hands split the prize, bet there isn’t always a low hand winner. These hands have to be of five denominations that are no higher than 8′s and it is for this reason that the game is often also called Omaha 8!