As  much as I enjoy my casino gaming and the thrill of trying to beat the house, I would never encourage trying to use ganbling as a means of income.  There are very few people who have managed to beat the system.  The odds are cleverly stacked against you, so much so, that it takes either very good luck or an incredible skill to win.

Everyone of course thinks they have this incredible skill or a system to beat the house… which is their undoing… Some just enjoy the fun and entertainment of trying their luck at the big prize.  Some enjoy the social aspect, I know Bingo UK for instance, has become a very big thing, mainly due to people having a bit of fun, meeting other bingo players and of course wanting to win some money – but the important thing is that it doesn’t take over your life! 

Find other means to earn money to pay the bills and play casino games for entertainment with money that is spare after your general living expenses have been paid.

What are you on about?  Well the first one is obvious, all gamblers should be aware of how to beat the house edge, what casino games have the most favourable house edge and how can I decrease the edge so that I can increase my winnings.

Most casinos will have an edge of around 5%, so for every $100 you spend in the casino, on average expect to give $5 to the casino to pay for your entertainment.  Business is business… If you think about it, thats not a bad fee to have to pay, for the chance of winning a big jackpot.

But what they dont tell you is that the more you grind it out in the casino and keep betting and rebetting, the more your bankroll will be ground down and eroded by the house edge.  This is known as churn and it was makes the casinos earn huge money.  Before you know it you have spent your whole $100 and not just 5% or $5 out of a $100.

Think about it, you go into the casino, spin the wheel and you win a bit, lose a bit – but you always recycle your winnings back into the next game bacause its the lure of winning the big prize that keeps you going.  And the casino smiles because out of each game and every time you play, they take their edge.

It brings a new dimension to playing online blackjack, its more like playing in a tournament, so you will have to adapt your conventional blackjack strategy to a multiplayer blackjack strategy.

Instead of just playing against the dealer you now have the other blackjack players to beat.  So it becomes a bit like playing poker and who knows… multiplayer blackjack may become just as popular as poker.  Just like an online poker tournament you have to figure out what the other player’s blackjack strategy is, mix your own game up a bit so that they don’t figure you out and manage your bankroll.

Keep an eye on everyone’s chip stacks to see how they are doing.  And remember, solid consistent play is the way to go – try it, I’m sure it’ll bring a whole new dimension to your online blackjack game.

Whilst we are on the subject of poker – if you’re familiar with the world of online poker, you’ve probably heard about “poker propping” already.  If you’re not, well here goes – “poker propping” is about signing up to a poker prop deal, which is like a rakeback deal with a few differences.

For starters, poker prop deals are much more generous than square rakeback deals.  If a square rakeback deal offers you a maximum of around 50% rake rebate, a poker prop deal will offer you from 80% to 135% . That’s right, you’ll get over 100% rakeback – that means you’ll actually be paid to play poker!

This brings us to the first frequently asked question about poker propping – how can poker rooms afford to pay players to play poker on their poker site?  The answer is that poker rooms which hire poker props, are usually new, recently started operations that desperately need to secure a critical player liquidity.  They need to have player action at all the limits (maybe not on the extremely high ones) in order to attract and retain traffic to their site.

If there’s no action, a poker room cannot possibly expect to retain players who sign up and come looking for a good poker game.  This is why prop rooms have to pay their players.

Another difference between square rakeback deals and prop deals is that in exchange for being paid to play, you’ll have to give up certain rights as a poker prop.  You will not qualify to receive the regular sign-up bonus that the room advertises for instance.  Also, you’ll probably not be allowed to take part in any of the promotions offered by the room either.

But sometimes, special promotions are held, which allow for poker prop participation too.

As a poker prop you’ll be restricted to playing at certain limits.  The room needs action on some tables more than on others, so they’ll direct you to where you’re most needed.  You will not be allowed to wait in queue at a full table, you’ll have to open your own table instead.

You will generally have to sign in with the shift manager whenever you intend to prop.  He may not acknowledge your messages, but he will see them and he will message you personally if he wants you to play at a certain limit or if he sees you’re breaking the rules.

Being a poker prop is definitely not easy, yet it is one way to keep your bankroll going so that you can play more poker and become a winning player.

All you experienced online poker players that have entered and played in poker tourneys – how do you find out where the online poker tournaments are?  From other online poker players or you go to an online poker site that will provide you with all the latest poker news, poker bonuses and poker tournaments.

Playing in online poker tourneys is a great way to test your level of poker.  Being able to handle the pressure is important but probably the most important thing is to have stamina and to keep focused online for long periods of time.  Many online poker players have used online poker tournaments as a stepping stone to the bigger live poker tournaments for big prizes.

Its a good place to start and improve your poker game, who knows from there you could move through the satellite poker tournaments and gain entrance to the World Series of Poker!

I played a bit of poker this weekend and the guys were on about how you can be a poker prop.

A what?  sounds like you are having to prop something up, and thats exactly what you do, you help prop up an online poker room by boosting the number of players.

Its worth checking out, some people don’t like poker proping deals because they are restrictive and you cant just logon anywhere at a poker room and join any table.  But I figure if you are effectively getting paid to play poker… hmmmm… how bad can that be?????

It is one of the hardest things to do, but probably the best advice that I can give – if you win big, stop playing, take the money and go and enjoy it.  Otherwise the house edge will come into play and slowly erode your winnings.

The thrill is so great when we win… the adrenalin is pumping, that we think we have become invincible and that we can do it again…lets have another spin at the roulette wheel.

It is one of the hardest things to do.  To stop playing after you got lucky, to get up and go.

I had to learn it the hard way a few times and then I met an old gambling guru, who became my gambling guide.  He told me to always cash in and walk away if you win big, because the casino will want some of that money back and they will be only too happy to take it off you.