Thursday, February 23, 2012

The anatomy of the online casino

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The rise of online casino sites like Casino770 has brought casino action to a wider audience than ever before. Just like the traditional physical casino, there is a mix of games offered in the average online casino, which vary quite widely but can nonetheless be divided into three main groups. Here we’ll look at the salient features of each broad category of online casino game.

Many online casino games are a virtual equivalent of bricks and mortar casino classics like Roulette and Baccarat. Roulette is classed as a table game, while Baccarat as you are no doubt aware is a card game. The third category of online casino game is the slot machine.

Online slot machines represent the natural evolution of that old pub favourite, the fruit machine. The software based online casino slot has the advantage of offering far larger jackpots than you would ever find down the local, or indeed in many places outside Vegas. However, the card based payment used for slots, and indeed all online casino games requires some degree of responsibility when it comes to the player, as it is easy to stake quite large amounts at the touch of a button. Slot machines represent the obvious gambling option when you are feeling lucky – there is basically no skill required to win a slot machine jackpot. In general, the only way to increase your chances of winning the jackpot is to stake larger amounts on each spin.

Table games like Roulette can be played as software based simulations in the online casino, or alternatively a live feed connection can be made to a physical roulette wheel in a bricks and mortar casino. While some players may feel that the live feed option provided a better chance of winning, as there is no random number generating software at work, the fact is that the roulette wheel is basically the ancestor of the slot machine, a mechanical attempt at producing a random number generator. As such, there is again little skill and lots of luck when it comes to winning roulette.

Card games vary in scope, with success in some – like Baccarat – pretty much down to pure luck. With others, like Blackjack and Poker, the odds of winning games improves when a player has skill and knowledge.

Knowing the odds or probability of certain hands appearing is one of the major skills/ knowledge bases to acquire when it comes to such card games, although as with most of the rest of the online casino, the majority of card games offered are software based simulations. In games where you are pitted against other players, like Texas Hold’Em Poker, the random number generated dealing does not have such an impact. In Blackjack, however, which is played against the house, certain techniques like card counting – which can lower the house edge – become impossible.

Live feed card games are a bit different, in that a physical shoe of cards is used, from which cards are discarded each round, leaving a definite selection left for future rounds. However, perhaps the most important thing to be aware of is that success in all games of chance, in the online casino or physical equivalent, requires a good dose of luck!

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