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PLAYING BACCARAT       top
Baccarat Strategy
Tip #1: The one card placed faceup on the table indicates how many cards the dealer will burn. If the card turned up is a four of clubs, the dealer will burn four cards.
Tip #2: In baccarat, the casino takes a commission whenever a player wins a bet placed on the banker side. This is because betting on the banker has an inherent 1.06 percent advantage. Bets are paid at 0.95-to-1.
Tip #3: Twos through nines are counted at face value; tens and all jacks, queens and kings count as zero; and aces count as one. Suit is irrelevant in baccarat.
Tip #4: First and third cards are dealt to the player. Second and fourth cards are dealt to the banker.
Tip #5: For any total over nine, only the last digit is taken - for example, a total composed of a six of clubs and a six of diamonds is two. If either the player or the banker has a total of eight or nine, it's called a "natural" and automatically wins - unless the other hand also has a natural, in which case the two hands tie.
Tip #6: If the player holds a total of less than six or seven, the player draws.
Tip #7: With a total from zero to two the bank always draws; with a total of seven the bank always stands; with a total of three the bank draws, unless the player drew and its third card was an eight; with a total of four the bank draws, unless the player drew and its third card was an eight, nine or ace; with a five the bank draws, unless the player drew a third card outside the range of four through seven; with a six the bank stands, unless the player drew a third card of either a six or a seven.
Baccarat Tips
It is a good idea to avoid tie bets altogether, since they give the house a significant advantage, close to 20%, in fact. By sticking to only the banker and player bets, the house advantage will remain at a minimum, thereby maximizing your chances of winning. Betting on the player gives the house a 1.36% edge Betting on the banker gives the house a 1.17% edge Either way, the house has the edge and should win in the long run. Some baccarat players believe in streaks and will bet on whatever won the last hand. This strategy does not give you better odds though as each hand is like the flip of a coin.

Martingale Betting System
This dangerous sytem can dig you into a deep hole very quickly should you have a long string of losses. It is an easy system to understand. You attempt to win 1 unit (?1, or ?5, or whatever) on every hand. Your first bet is 1 unit on player or banker. If the bet is won, you start again at 1 unit. If the bet is lost, you double the next bet to 2 units. Winning at this stage gives you a win of 1 unit (1 unit lost followed by 2 units won). Should you lose again, then you double your bet again, this time to 4 units. And again, a win at this stage is of 1 unit (1 unit lost, 2 units lost and 3 units won). And so on until you win. Given a 'normal' sequence it should not be too long before you register a win which covers your losses and provides a win of 1 unit.

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PLAYING CARIBBEAN POKER       top
Strategy element is minimal in this game. The player can only decide whether to Call or Fold. But this decision also provides some thinking. The specialists recomend:
1. Play if you have a pair or above
2. Fold if you have less than Ace/King
3 If you have an Ace/King than play in the following situations:
- the Dealer has a card ranging from 2 to Queen
- the Dealer has ace or king while you have Jack or Queen
- You card doesn't correspond to yours, you have Queen and your fourth card is higher than the Dealer's.

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PLAYING LET-IT-RIDE POKER       top
Optimal strategy for Let-It-Ride Poker is one of the easiest to learn and memorize. The following strategy results in a house advantage of approximately 2.8%.
STEP 1
THREE-CARD HAND STRATEGY
LET YOUR FIRST BET RIDE ONLY IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

A. A winning hand,
B. Three consecutive cards to a Straight Flush except A?2?3 or 2?3?4,
C. Three cards to a Straight Flush with one gap and at least one high card, or
D. Three cards to a Straight Flush with two gaps and at least two high cards.

STEP 2
FOUR-CARD HAND STRATEGY
LET YOUR SECOND BET RIDE ONLY IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
A. A winning hand,
B. Any four cards to a Flush, or
C. Four cards to an Outside Straight with at least one high card.

The following four-card hands have no house advantage. Since Let-It-Ride Poker is a negative expectation game, we recommend letting your second bet ride with:

D. Four cards to an Outside Straight with no high cards, or
E. Four non-consecutive high cards.

TIPS FOR LET-IT-RIDE PLAYERS
As with all negative expectation games, play the minimum bet to make your money last longer.

Avoid the side bet. Payouts for this bonus bet vary from casino to casino, but in all cases the house advantage is very high.

Most casinos have a maximum payout per hand. This maximum payout also includes the bonus bet. Never place a bet that has a possible payout that exceeds this maximum payout.

Players can place a bet for the dealer by placing a chip or chips above the left betting circle. If the player's hand wins, the extra bet for the dealer is paid at the same payout schedule.

Be aware that less than one in four hands is a winner. This low win frequency is offset by payoffs for multiple bets and the payout scale for high hands.

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PLAYING RED DOG POKER       top
The strategy for this game is very simple. Only Raise if the Spread is 7 or higher. The table at right displays the chance of winning each spread.
BREAKDOWN BY SPREAD

HOUSE ADVANTAGE: A house advantage of 2% means that, on average, the casino will retain 2% of a player's bet. So, the lower the better. All House Advantages listed on this sited are expressed in terms of average bet amount using the strategy we recommend.

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PLAYING PAI GOW POKER       top
Pai Gow expert Stanford Wong has been quoted as saying that being dealer/banker as often as possible has the most significant impact on a winning strategy. Now this is all very well when you're at your local casino, but not too helpful online, since few internet casinos allow you to be the dealer/banker. But there are still a number of handy tips on hand selection that will help your dollar go a lot further. Set out below are optimum hand selections based on cards dealt. For simplicity's sake, we have called any pair of 2's through 6's a "low pair", 7's through J's a "medium pair", and Q's through A's a "high pair".

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PLAYING BLACK JACK      top
Comparing to other games Black jack demands not only luck but also some skills in making gameplay decisions. You can considerably increase your chances to win by playing the right way.

Basic Strategy
To increase your chances you should follow the basic starategy shown in the foolowing table.

Legend:

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TIPS FOR SLOTS       top
Try to play the highest denomiation slot machine which is within your budget. This is because lower denomination Machines usually have a lower percentage payback. Play at casinos that advertise the best payback percentages. There is much competition between casinos for slots and the casinos are eager for your business are willing to reward you with better payouts. Play the maximum number of coins if it is required for the jackpot. The chances of hitting the jackpot are figured into the payback percentage and no one wants to hit the jackpot and not get paid for it.

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TIPS FOR VIDEO POKER       top
Played optimally on a good paying game, Video Poker is one of the best returning games you can play. Given the enormous number of possible first deal combinations, it is not practical to suggest every optimal hold determination for each first dealt hand. However, the rules below serve as a good general guide to playing Jacks or Better Video Poker.
- Hold any four cards to a straight flush.
- Hold any three cards to a royal flush.
- Hold any four cards to a flush.
- Hold any low pair (tens or lower).
- Hold any four-card consecutive straight.
- Hold any two high cards of the same suit.
- Hold any three cards to a straight flush.
- Hold J, Q, and K of different suites.
- Hold any two high cards of different suites.
- Hold J, Q or K with a Ten of the same suit.
- Hold any single high card.
- If you didn?t get dealt any of the above, draw five new cards.
And remember - you are playing against a machine, so take your time considering which cards you wish to hold before you call the second deal.