November 10th, 2008 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

Microgaming Software Systems Ltd, a leading Internet gambling software supplier to online casinos and poker sites, is apparently due to start blocking all US-based web traffic to its software systems starting today. This appears to be a response to legal action being taken by the state of Kentucky, USA, against many internet gambling sites, that they claim “have cut into their economic well being”. Blocking ISP traffic by State is not easy, so it looks like the sites being investigated may block ALL US traffic as a safeguard.

What does this mean? Simply, players wanting to access any of the Microgaming casinos from anywhere in the United States of America may experience problems from today onwards. In reality, China, Singapore and some Arab countries already block gambling sites, and Australia is looking to adopt similar casino barring policies – so the USA is simply following suit.

Online gambling is still legal in some of the US states – but this exercise will effectively render that irrelevant! Microgaming online casino operators include the Carmen Media Group, Fortune Lounge Group, Ladbrokes, 32Red, Fairground Gaming, Vegas Partner Lounge and Golden Star Lounge. For the record, Beat The Casinos don’t promote ANY of the Microgaming sites, so our blog readers should not be directly affected.

November 10th, 2008 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

Apparently, from several reports I’ve read online, the new US President Barack Obama is a poker player! Wow, I never knew that. The articles I read suggested that he was quite into the game when he was an Illinois Senator, and that he was an above-average poker player who was cautious and only played top hands. Will he still play poker now he’s US President?

Prior to President Obama, the other known poker players to have held American Presidential office are President Nixon (who financed his campaign with $3,000USD he had won in poker games whilst serving in the US Navy), and President Harry S. Truman. Apparently, the latter was so into the game of Poker that he had his own handmade wooden poker table at his vacation retreat, the Little White House in Key West, Florida, where he played regularly with Cabinet secretaries, ambassadors and other political figures.

I wonder if President Obama plays in live games only, or whether we’ll see him playing online soon at the likes of PKR.com, Virgin Poker, Full Tilt Poker, Betfair Poker, Coral Poker, Littlewoods Poker, or Betfred Poker? I hope he joins via our blog, just so that I can have the official honour of giving him an additional 15GBP free during our Free Cash Frenzy promotion this November!

November 9th, 2008 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

Keno is a great game to play occasionally. In Chinese, Keno means “lucky lottery”. It’s a long odds game, so most players only play it from time to time, perhaps when they’re feeling particularly lucky. The top prize can be as high as $500,000 (or pounds, or euros etc) – that’s normally when at least 10 numbers are picked and hit, with 10 credits bet. Who knows, maybe today will be your lucky day!

I enjoy the variety of Keno games offered at Virgin Casino. There’s King Keno, Krazy Keno, and Bingo Keno.

King Keno
This simple lottery-style game is one of the most popular games on the Vegas strip – choose up to 10 numbers from the grid of 1 to 80. 20 numbers are drawn from the drum. The more numbers that match your chosen numbers, the higher your payout! As Keno numbers are randomly drawn from the drum, they are marked on the Keno board. With each matching number, you’ll see your payout level indicated in the pay table on the right-hand side of the screen. The more numbers drawn that match the numbers you have selected, the greater your payout will be! Play King Keno now at Virgin Casino!

Krazy Keno Superball
To start, choose 2 to 10 numbered spots by clicking on them. Then, just click the Bet 1 button, to bet from 1 to 4 credits, and then click the Play button. If you have enough credits, you can click the Bet Max button to bet 4 credits, and automatically start the game. Or, just click the Play button to rebet the same amount you bet last game, and start the game.

Twenty Keno balls will drop from the hopper and land on the number board. Any outcomes that match your selected numbers will be highlighted. If you wager 4 credits, you’ll have a chance at activating the Bonus Ball feature, and possibly doubling your award!

When 4 credits are bet, the next ball in the tube at the top of the screen will be added to the hopper. If that ball is a Bonus Ball (marked with a star), it will be one of the twenty balls launched in that proposition. If you earn an award in the proposition, it will be doubled if your winning numbers include the number hit by the Bonus Ball. Play Krazy Keno Superball now at Virgin Casino!

Bingo Keno
Bingo is a game in which you choose to wager on randomly-configured bingo card of 15 numbers. In Bingo Keno, twenty numbered Bingo balls are presented, and your outcome is based on the number of matches that occur between your randomly-configured bingo card and the presented numbers.

You do not have the control of picking individual numbers, but you can pick an entire card of randomly-generated numbers by clicking the NEW CARD button. You can continue to play the same card over and over, or you can choose to change the card by clicking the NEW CARD button again. This allows you to continue to change the card until you see one that you would like to wager on.

After you have selected your Bingo card and have placed your wager, click the PLAY button to initiate the proposition. The playfield paytable lists the awards, if any, for matches of 1 out of 15, to 15 out of 15, based on the current wager amount. This paytable updates dynamically as you increase or decrease your bet. Play Bingo Keno now at Virgin Casino!

Keno is fun and offers the chance of a high payout for a low relative stake. Note however that this is a game which should be played occasionally – and not all the time. Generally, you’re better off playing a slot machine or table game. Have fun visiting Virgin Casino. And remember that Virgin Casino have a free-play option also, so that you can practice before playing with any real money (available on ALL of their games, except for the progressive slot machines).

November 7th, 2008 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

I’ve received quite a few gambling and casino jokes in my email lately, so I thought I’d share some of them with you. After all, we all need a good giggle from time to time – a sense of humour is a requirement when you’re gambling often. Thanks to the contributors of these jokes – you’ve brought a smile to my face!

High Stakes
A man walks into a butcher’s shop and inquires of the butcher: “Are you a gambling man?” The butcher says “Yes”, so the man said: “I bet you £50 that you can’t reach up and touch that meat hanging on the hooks up there.” The butcher says “I’m not betting on that.” “But I thought you were a gambling man” the man retorts. “Yes I am” says the butcher “but the steaks are too high.”

The Bathroom Stall
Ned was down on his luck in Las Vegas. He had gambled away all his money and had to borrow a dime from another gambler just to use the men’s room. The stall happened to be open, so he used the dime in a slot machine and hit the jackpot. He took his winnings and went to the blackjack table and turned his small winnings into ten million dollars.

Wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, Ned went on the lecture circuit, where he told his incredible story. He told his audiences that he was eternally grateful to his benefactor, and if he ever found the man he would share his fortune with him. After months of lectures, a man in the audience jumped up and said, “I’m that man. I was the one who gave you the dime.”

“You’re not the one I’m looking for. I’m looking for the guy who left the door open!”

Bored Casino Dealers
Two bored casino dealers are waiting at a craps table. A very attractive lady comes in and wants to bet twenty- thousand dollars on a single roll of the dice. She says, “I hope you don’t mind, but I feel much luckier when I’m bottomless.” With that she strips naked from the waist down, and rolls the dice while yelling, “Momma needs a new pair of pants!”. She then begins jumping up and down and hugging each of the dealers. “YES! I WIN! I WIN!”

With that she picks up her money and clothes and quickly leaves. The dealers just stare at each other dumbfounded. Finally one of them asks, “What did she roll anyway?”. The other answers, “I thought YOU were watching!”

Taxing Times
One day, at a casino buffet, a man suddenly called out, “My son’s choking! He swallowed a quarter! Help! Please, anyone! Help!”

A man from a nearby table stood up and announced that he was quite experienced at this sort of thing. He stepped over with almost no look of concern at all, wrapped his hands around the boy’s gonads, and squeezed. Out popped the quarter. The man then went back to his table as though nothing had happened.”

Thank you! Thank you!” the father cried. “Are you a paramedic?” ” No,” replied the man. “I work for the Inland Revenue Service.”

November 5th, 2008 by Beat Casinos, How To Beat The Casinos, www.howtobeatthecasinos.com

Here at Beat the Casinos, we’re all about delivering REAL value to players. After all, I’m a player too – I know what it’s like to be a gambler. I’ve experienced the ups and downs, the good days and bad days, casino heat and casino VIP treatment. It’s all part of the experience that comes with taking chances!

I always try to offer exclusive online casino bonuses and similar promotions to readers of my blog. Our October Free Cash Frenzy promotion was so popular that I’ve now extended it until the end of November 2008. I’ve also increased the offer by a full 50% from 10GBP to 15GBP (or equivalent) from my own pocket for EVERY CASINO / BINGO SITE / POKER SITE you join via our blog links!!! Act now whilst my generosity lasts. This is an EXCLUSIVE offer that you simply won’t find anywhere else. Full details can be found at Free Cash Frenzy. Note that this offer is WORLDWIDE – you don’t have to live just in the UK to take this offer up!

I’ve also extended another offer we had in conjunction with Bidz.com (online jewellery auctions where you can get real jewellery bargains). I’m offering 5% of your net purchase value at Bidz.com as a REBATE to you – again via Paypal or direct to your bank account. Again, this offer is EXCLUSIVE to Beat the Casinos. Full details can be found at Spend Winnings In Style. Again, Bidz.com ship internationally – so this is a WORLDWIDE offer (including USA)!

As usual, if you’re a player with any questions, or if you’d like your very own tailor made casino joining deal, do get in touch with me at davewestlondon@yahoo.co.uk. Alternatively, if you’re visiting as an owner of a similar blog / gambling site, and want to advertise on my blog, also feel free to contact me. I can offer outbound text links to your site, from mine, on a paid or reciprocal basis.

Stay lucky everyone! November is shaping up to be a great month for casino players here at Beat the Casinos. Thank you for your continued readership!