The backgammon game has enjoyed an international following for thousands of years. Children all over the world learn how to play backgammon at an early age, and games of backgammon can be found in schools, clubs and cafes across the globe. We may well wonder how a game that originated an estimated five thousand years ago has become such a world conqueror? Certainly the straightforward nature of the game’s objective – to be the first player in a position to remove (bear off) all their checkers from the board, and the easy to understand nature of the other backgammon rules, have been factors in its appeal since they ensure that players can learn to play backgammon faster than board games. Yet a game that is boring, even if it is easy to learn, is not going to become so popular. Therefore, the excitement backgammon generates and the demands for quick thinking it makes on participants are without doubt much more important factors in explaining its spread.
People brought up in the age of the internet and computers might come to the conclusion that Internet backgammon has been the prime factor in making the game into an international favorite. The fact is that backgammon was being taken from country to country thousand of years before backgammon online was ever dreamed about. The Romans played a significant role in carrying the game from the areas of Iran and Iraq where it originated to the many other lands that formed part of the Roman Empire. It is also interesting to note that backgammon gambling was also a very important feature of the game in this early stage of its history. The Roman version of backgammon was called “Tabula” and it was only played for money, with a number of famous Romans, including Emperor Claudius ranking among the enthusiastic players. It was not exactly the same as the game commonly played today. For example, Roman players needed to enter all their checkers to the board from square 1 and they had to be moved in an anti-clockwise direction. In addition, they threw three, instead of the two dice commonly used today, and up to three checkers could be moved according to the results of this throw.
As backgammon traveled from country to country, additional local variations of the game developed. For instance, Tavla, the Turkish version of backgammon shares much in common with the most commonly played backgammon game, but there is no doubling cube nor cup for throwing the dice – the dice are flicked against the wooden side of the Tavla board.
The unique contribution of online backgammon with its free backgammon software downloads has been to give access to broaden access to the game beyond what was possible in pre-Internet days. Although international backgammon competitions have been in existence for a number of years, the regularity and easy access to the tournaments offered online is a new development. Everyone who has a connection to the Internet can now download backgammon software and take part in international competitions.
It is been a long-standing argument all over the world – Is blackjack really about luck, or about skill? There have been many points and rebuttals thrown around to support or refute either, but the simple answer is that it is not that simple!
Lady Luck
Blackjack is not a straightforward dichotomy of pure luck or pure skill. Both are important factors for any successful player, and relying too heavily on either one will surely lead to losses and consternation. Blackjack and other similar card games have been favorites with professors of probability and statistics for obvious reasons.
With just 52 cards, there are already thousands of possibilities and hands to consider. The sheer immensity of that number, however, could spell bad news for you if you know little about applying the odds to your advantage.
Conversely, it could also spell good news for you. That is the strange thing about luck. You never know when it is going to happen, but you are bound to win sooner or later. You are ensured that you will eventually bring home the pot. Without this there would be little point, or fun in playing!
Relying on luck alone will only get you so far in becoming a winning player. Studying the game and reading books, along with using counting software is a sure fire way to make sure you make the most of your luck when it dose happen. You can find more information and products to help you at our books, Dvd’s, e books and software page.
This is why a big part of the contemporary blackjack strategy includes things like calculating for pot odds and, to some extent, card counting. Contrary to what some believe, practicing those concepts does not necessarily improve the odds for you. They just help you find out when the odds are right to bet, hit, sit, double or split. All things considered, that is a very close second to actually improving your odds.
Strength in Skill
When you say skill in blackjack, it involves a combination of experience, knowledge of the game, and a little bit of high school mathematics thrown in. Now, experience and knowledge might be familiar words to you. And we will discuss both these factors.
Experience helps you react faster because you are used to dealing with many situations and the right responses to them. there are times when playing blackjack, or any other card game for that matter, when experience counts. An example may be playing multiple hands at once. A beginner may freeze at the amount of choices to make, whilst a seasoned player will know what to do by instinct alone.
Knowledge refers to the theoretical component of blackjack which includes concepts like bankroll management. This is broadly discussed under build your blackjack bankroll, and should be applied to any serious player with a long term goal of winning. Theory also applies to how you use the rules and strategy of playing blackjack to your advantage.
As for the part about mathematics, it is basically for the calculations that were referred to above. You should be able to perform the quick calculations that are needed for card counting, an essential blackjack skill. The more complex and multifaceted techniques for card counting, in particular, require you to be able to do such computations along with factoring in other considerations, such as what will the next player do, and why.
As many blackjack tournament promoters would advertise, blackjack also involves skill. However, you should not focus only on skill to bring home the pot of money for you. Luck makes sure that you are bound to win eventually, while skill makes sure that you make the most of it when that time does arrive. Together they are a powerful force.
The experienced blackjack players who make it to the tournaments, win, and then onto fame (or in some cases, infamy) will tell you that it takes both the factor of luck and the advantage of skill to become a consistent winner. This is what separates the good players from the great ones.
Free Tip: Never rely on luck alone, make the time to study the game by reading books, watching Dvd’s and using counting software to gain an edge.
Finding the best online casino to gamble with can be difficult although many casinos are available on Internet. There are a few important factors to be considered before you make a deposit to play with real money. Here are the top 5 factors you should seriously look into before you sign a real player account with an online casino.
Factor #1: The Reputation
The rule of thumb, the best online casino always has a good reputation. The reputation of the casino you want to play with should be the number one factor to be considered because you don’t want to play at a casino that has bad reputation and refuse to pay you when you win. So, before you sign up an account with an online casino, check around on online forums and casino review sites to see the comments of other players who had the playing experience at the casino. If you find negative feedback and bad comments recorded on the casino, then it’s better to find other online casino to play than risking your money on this casino.
Factor #2: Casino Payout Percentage
The casino payout percentage is an important factor to be considered when choosing the best online casino. This percentage indicates the proportion of the total money bet by players is being payout out to the winners. Most casinos publish their payout percentage, but you must ensure the payout percentage of your selected casino has been verified by a trusted third party before you sign up an account. In addition to the casino payout percentage, most online casinos do publish individual payout percentage on individual game. You want to choose online casino with the highest possible for their payout percentage because it shows casino pays more to their players from all the money bet at the games.
Factor #3: Customer Support
The best online casinos care about their players, they will response to your enquiry or question promptly. You don’t want to play at an online casino that does not response to you when you need their help. Therefore, test the customer support first by asking a few questions to the casino’s customer support and see how long they get back to you before you sign up an account.
Factor #4: Banking Methods
Most online casinos accept various deposit and withdrawal methods. The VISA and MASTER credit card are common banking methods. You may want to make sure your preferred online casino does accept the payment methods you like to use to make deposit to your player account and withdraw the winnings.
Factor #5: Bonuses
Although the casino’s bonuses should not be the first priority in your consideration in choosing the best online casino, but signing up a real player account without any bonus is like through money into the trash. Bonuses are casino’s money that is given to you and you can use it to play and make winnings. Therefore, if you manage to find a list of the best online casinos and you want to choose one to gamble at, then sign up with the one that gives the best bonuses can put your money at the lowest risk because you can test play with the money from the bonuses and keep the winnings generate from the casino’s money.
Summary
There are many factors to be considered when choosing the best online casino to play with. You must at least ensure your selected casino meets the above 5 important factors.
In order to get an answer to the question players have to first understand the process behind the rating or ranking of casinos. First of all the directories categorize the features of online gambling that are important to players and that need to be ranked. These include best casino games, best casino bonuses, best casino odds, best casino payouts, best casino promotions and best casino customer support. For each category the directory asks experts to compare the performance of each casino and assign it some sort of marks or grades. The marks or grades are then summed over all categories to arrive at a ranking or rating for the online casino. Some online directories ask players to vote instead of using experts.
When directories are evaluating best casino games they might consider the following factors. One is the range of games offered, particularly establishing if all types of games are covered. Another factor is the total number of games offered. The reputation of the games software provider is an important factor. There are technical issues like speed of games and comfort issues like whether the rules are clearly explained. An issue lately becoming important is the frequency of addition of new games.
A similar exercise is done in evaluating the best casino bonuses. The directories see if the common kinds of bonuses are available such as sign in bonus, refer a friend bonus and loyalty programs. They look at the bonus percentages and limits. They evaluate the wagering requirements that are imposed in order to avail of the bonuses and the time given to do so. Directories also look at the countries or regions where the bonuses are not applicable or are applicable with enhanced wagering requirements.
For customer support the important factors are whether there is an adequate FAQs section. A good FAQs section eliminates or minimizes the need to contact customer support. Three common methods of customer support are telephone, e-mail and live chat. Directories first check if all are available. For telephone support toll free numbers are preferred. Experts actually contact customer support to establish if the responses are quick, courteous and useful.
So how do player know which is the best online casino directory. First the player must check if the directory considers all the above-mentioned factors in making its evaluation. If it does not do so then it is not a good directory. The second test involves browsing through a dozen or so directories. Most good directories show somewhat similar results. If a directory has ranked a casino as #1, whereas most other directories do not give it a place in the top ten casinos players can be rest assured that there is something fishy with the directory. However the best test is the players checking out a few of the top ten casinos mentioned in the directory and ascertaining for themselves how accurate is the reporting.
