COLUMBUS – Gov. Ted Strickland stared down the barrel of even more painful cuts to state programs, and he decided that reversing himself on gambling would be the least painful option at his disposal.

Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold ‘em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Seven-card stud is also played in western American casinos, but Texas hold ‘em is far more popular there. Two to eight players can play.

The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values. They also make no assumptions about what poker betting structure is used. In casino play, it is common to use a small ante and bring-in. In home games, it is typical to use an ante only.

Quick play overview

Play proceeds as follows (“player” refers only to those who have not folded and are still in the game), with betting rounds in-between.

Betting is clockwise, the player with the highest poker hand showing starts (ie 2-2 beats K-Q).

• 2 cards dealt face down to each player, 1 card dealt face up
• upcard to each player
• upcard to each player
• upcard to each player
• downcard to each player
• showdown

Mnemonic: Two down, four up, one down.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Kentucky’s fierce debate over whether to legalize video gambling at horse racing tracks may have fizzled in the Senate earlier this week, but its political fallout will likely radiate into the 2010 legislative elections.

The exact origins of the game are obscure, but it seems to have evolved from “pitch and toss”, a gambling game involving tossing a single coin into the air and wagering on the result of the toss which was popular amongst poorer English and Irish citizens in the 18th century. The predilection of the convicts for this game was noted as early as 1798 by the colony’s first Judge Advocate, as well as the lack of skill and consequent losses at it.

There is evidence to suggest that pitch and toss had evolved into two-up, using two coins by the 1850′s, and the game was played on the goldfields of the eastern states, and spread across the country with subsequent goldrushes elsewhere in Australia. As time passed, increasingly elaborate illegal “two-up schools” grew around Australia, to the consternation of authorities but in fact with the assistance of corrupt police officers.

The game was played extensively by Australia’s soldiers during World War I, and games of two-up at which an even blinder official eye was cast became a regular part of ANZAC Day celebrations for the returned soldiers.

The games continued illegally for most of the 20th century throughout Australia, exclusively involving men and usually only Anglo-Australian men. Two-up was the basis of one of Australia’s first major illegal gaming operations, the legendary Thommo’s Two-up School, which operated at various locations in Sydney (sometimes even on boats and hired ferries) from the early years of the 20th century until well after World War II. Crime writer David Hickie claims that Thommo’s was turning over tens of thousands of pounds annually by the 1920s, and it is generally acknowledged that it flourished for decades thanks to endemic police and official corruption.

Legal two-up arrived in Australia with its introduction as a “table” game at the new casino in Hobart in 1973. Laws were subsequently passed legalising two-up on Anzac Day and also legalising it at several two-up schools in outback towns (mainly as a tourist attraction). Two-up is now played at many of Australia’s casinos, but from the 1960s onwards it began to drop out of the illegal gaming culture. It was at first supplanted by the card game baccarat, which enjoyed a considerable vogue in the 1960s at the numerous illegal gaming houses around Sydney, but ultimately it was overtaken by the mainstream adoption of poker machines (slot machines) in NSW clubs. It is also played at Returned Serviceman’s Leagues (RSLs) on Anzac Day.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Had he been in Frankfort Westwood said he would have opposed the casino gambling bill that was killed by a committee on which he sits.

Authorities say they are investigating five Internet cafes in San Diego and one in Oceanside as possible fronts for illegal gambling.

offsuit

Cards that are not of the same suit. The ace of clubs and the king of spades are called ace-king offsuit

open

To bet first.

open ended, open ended straight draw

An outside straight draw. Also “two-way straight draw”.

openers

The cards held by a player in a game of “jackpots” entitling him to open the pot. “Splitting openers” refers to holding onto one of your openers after discarding it to prove you had the necessary cards to open should you win the pot.

option

1. An optional bet or draw, such as getting an extra card facedown for 50 cents or raising on the big blind when checked all the way around.
2. The right to raise possessed by the big blind if there have been no raises.

out of pocket

A game which gives the players the ability to add more money to their stack in the middle of a hand.

outside straight, outside straight draw

“Two-way straight draw”.

overcall

To call a bet after others have called, esp. big bets. Jim bet, Alice called, then Ted overcalled.

overcard

1. A community card with a higher rank than a player’s pocket pair.
2. A higher card. Ted held two overcards to Jill’s pair with two cards to come.

overpair

In community card games such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, a pocket pair with a higher rank than any community card.

over the top

To reraise. Ted raised $20, then Alice came over the top for $60 more.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

The winner of New Zealand’s largest lottery prize is meeting with the lotteries commission today to claim their winnings, but the massive increase in lotto ticket sales has sparked a warning from the problem gambling foundation.

Many states have set up Lottery games that award a substantial prize, often in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to some lucky winner or group of winners. Such games often go by the name of Lotto or Super Lotto or even Mega Millions. In a typical game, either five or six rubber balls will be randomly selected by a machine from a set of 47, 49, or a similar valued number of balls. The number of balls is chosen so that the chance of a random player matching all of the numbers is anywhere from 1 in about 14 million (for a 6/49) game to something on the order of 1 in one hundred million or greater, for certain Mega games or Powerball games.

In a simple Lotto type game, the order in which the numbers are drawn from the machine does not matter, so if a ticket holder has the numbers 1,2,3,4 and 5, and if the order in which the machine selects these numbers is 5,2,4,3, and 1; then the ticket is still a winner. However in a mega game, in order to win the main prize, the player must match the first five numbers drawn in any order, but then must also match the last number drawn exactly. For the game which is currently offered in California under the name Super Lotto, the first five numbers drawn are from a set of 47 white rubber balls, which are selected by one machine, and the mega number is chosen as just one ball from a set of 27 purple balls, which is selected by a second machine. The Mega Millions game is similar, but it uses a set of 56 balls for the first five drawn, and another set of 46 for the final ball, known as the mega number.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

The Colorado Gaming Association says its member casinos are adding jobs and investing in improvements before new laws allow expanded gambling, beginning July 2.

Note: Individual casinos may pay some of these bets at different odds than those listed below. The payoff odds listed are the most common throughout North American casinos. Actual odds, of course, do not vary.

Proposition bets are generally located in the center of a craps table, and often pay off at high odds but with a significantly higher house advantage.

One roll bets that the shooter will make an 11, or “yo” (pays 15-1, actual odds 17-1); 3, or “ace-deuce” (15-1, actual 17-1); 2, or “snake eyes” (30-1, actual 35-1); and 12, “box cars” or “midnight” (30-1, actual 35-1). A “hi-lo” is a combination bet on 2 or 12, paying 15-1 (actual odds 17-1); the stickman places this bet on the line dividing the 2 and 12 bets.

Bets that a shooter will make a hardway number such as 4-4 (before throwing a 7 or an 8 the easy way such as 6-2 or 5-3). The hard 4 (2-2) and hard 10 (5-5) pay off at 7-1 odds (actual odds 8-1), and the hard 6 (3-3) and hard 8 (4-4) pay off at 9-1 odds (actual odds 10-1).

The Horn is a bet that involves betting on 1 unit each for 2, 3, 11 and 12 at the same time for the next roll. The bet is actually four separate bets, and pays off depending on which number is actually rolled, minus three units for the other three losing bets. Most players do a “Horn High” bet which involves betting an additional $1 on one of the 4 choices, with the most frequent being a $5 “horn high yo” bet (which means $2 on the 11, $1 each on 2, 3 & 12).

A hop bet is a bet on any combination of the dice on the next roll. For example, hard 8 on the hop pays 30-1 (actual odds 35-1) if two fours appear on the dice on the next roll only. “Easy” combinations may also be bet, such as a 3-5 or 4-6, paying off at 15-1 odds (actual odds 17-1). On most craps tables, hop bets do not have a designated space on the layout; instead, they are kept in front of the boxman, often with a “hop” marker placed on top of the chips.

Craps is a bet that the shooter will roll 2, 3 or 12 on the next roll. The true odds are 8-1 and the casino pays 7-1.

C & E is actually two bets. A player is betting one unit on craps and another unit on 11. One of the two bets will always lose, and the other will pay off as above.

Any Seven is a bet that the shooter will roll a seven on the next roll. The true odds are 5-1 and the casino pays 4-1. This bet is also nicknamed “Big Red,” since the “7″ on its betting space on the layout is usually large and red.

A whirl or world bet is a five-unit bet that is a combination of a horn and any-seven bet. The bet is effectively a push if a 7 rolls, since the 4-1 payoff on the any-seven bet is offset by the other four losing bets.

The field bet is a wager that one of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 will appear on the next roll of the dice. This bet pays 2-1 on the 2 or 12 and even money on the others; many casinos will instead pay 3-1 on the 2 or 12. The house advantage is slightly more than 5%, reduced to 2.7% when the 2 or 12 pays 3-1. This bet is located in a box between the don’t pass line and the come box. Unlike the other proposition bets which are handled by the dealers or stickman, the field bet is placed directly by the player.

The Big 6 and Big 8 wagers are considered by craps players as sucker bets because they pay even money while a player can bet on the same proposition (a 6 will be rolled before a 7) by placing the 6 or the 8, which pays 7-6 (true odds are 6-5). Veteran craps players avoid these bets, and some casinos (particularly those in Atlantic City) do not even offer them. These are located in the corners behind the pass line, and bets are placed directly by players.

Most of these bets are very costly and disadvantageous to the player, because the house percentage on these bets can be 11.1% and up. Knowledgeable craps players often restrict their action to either the pass line or don’t pass line with full odds. More aggressive players can also bet on the Come/Don’t Come with full odds which is statistically identical to the pass/don’t pass bet.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

Toledo’s 2009 general fund budget still has a $12.5 million shortfall, and city leaders say that deficit could grow if advocates of a petition drive to ban red-light cameras are successful. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has sought for months to balance the budget with a combination of new revenue such as a higher trash free, along with cuts, including union concessions. The city is gambling, though, …

COLUMBUS – After years of opposition to the expansion of gambling, Gov. Ted Strickland on Friday announced a plan for slot machines at seven horse racing tracks as a way to help balance the state budget.

Though dishonesty for financial gain had existed long before, the specific term “confidence man” was first coined in 1849 by the New York Herald to describe the deceptions of William Thompson. Thompson, dressed in genteel fashion, would approach wealthy New Yorkers and, after brief conversations, ask, “Have you confidence in me to trust me with your watch until tomorrow?” The mark, placing “confidence” in Thompson’s honesty, would lend him his watch, only to have Thompson never return. Thompson’s arrest was a nationwide sensation, and the term “confidence man” passed into widespread use, including the title of Herman Melville’s 1857 novel The Confidence-Man.

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

House lawmakers have approved legislation that would expand gambling opportunities at Kentucky horse tracks.

Don’t bet on a bet on a gambling casino in New Hampshire’s North Country any time soon; budget negotiators rejected a move to expand the state’s gambling laws.

Normal 0 June 10, 2009, was the day when opposing forces clashed over the future of online gambling. First, U.S. authorities froze the online bank accounts belonging to some 27,000 online gamers as part of a general crackdown against illegal gaming and money laundering. Almost at the exact same moment, the European Union accused the U.S. of violating international trade rules by banning online …

Online scratch cards are the online version of lottery scratch cards. Online scratch cards are played by clicking on designated areas to reveal information used in determining the card’s prize value. These online companies provide various cards, and there are a few dedicated companies that provide this activity.

Some online scratch card can offer better odds than the lottery scratch cards, usually purchased at stands. The company is responsible for determining the chance of winning.

Online scratch card types

Online scratch cards can be divided into two groups: web-based scratch cards and download-based scratch cards; some companies offer both.

Web-based online scratch cards

Web based is the most common form of online scratch cards. For the web based online cards, the website users may directly play cards without loading any software to the local computer. Games are presented in the browser plugin Macromedia Flash and require browser support for this plugin.

Download based online scratch cards

On these websites, users must download certain software to play the online cards. After installing the software, it connects the online card service provider and handles contact without browser support.

Games offered

A typical selection of games on offer at an Online Scratch Card might include: Fantazy slot, Bowling, Mega Safe and Slot Super 7.

Bonuses

Many online Scratch card companies offer large bonuses. Often a “100% match up bonus”. For example, common terms and conditions for a bonus may go as follows:

• 100% up to $100
• Must wager 20 times the bonus before withdrawing

For a specific example, this would mean that a player depositing $100 would start with $200 in his/her account. He/She must make $2000 ($100 & times; 20) in wagers before withdrawing. Any card played will count towards the wager requirement.

Player Fraud

Sometimes players are deceitful or irresponsible. In the most common cases of player fraud, the player signs up for multiple accounts on a card site using fake names to repeat the bonus more than once. Online scratch card companies do not tolerate such behavior and will usually lock the account or accounts of the player responsible, and may inform other scratch card sites or the software provider to keep the player out of other scratch card sites.

Links

• Scratch2cash (http://www.Scratch2cash.com)
• Gamblers Anonymous (http://www.gamblersanonymous.org)
• History of Scratch Cards (http://www.borntoloaf.co.uk/jackpotjoy.htm)

This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.

The Utah Transit Authority has recently adopted an ordinance that will fine passengers using its free wireless Internet service who visit pornography, gambling and gaming sites.

MANILA, Philippines – An investigation by the House of Representatives looms over a former Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner’s claims of illegal gambling operations in Camarines Norte province.