Category: Questions

In Texas hold’em poker, it is not uncommon for the dealer to accidentally expose, or ‘flash’, one or more cards, such that the rank and suit of the card(s) can be seen by one or more players. If the first or second card dealt is exposed, or more than one card is exposed, the mistake is considered serious enough to warrant a misdeal; in that case, the dealer should collect all the cards, shuffle the deck and start dealing again from scratch.

However, aside from the first or second card dealt, a single exposed card does not warrant a misdeal. In fact, the dealer should complete dealing hole cards to each player before dealing the player with the exposed card a replacement card, face down, and announcing the rank and suit of the exposed card. Play continues as normal, except that, at the end of the first round of betting – when the dealer would normally discard, or ‘burn’, the card at the top of the deck before dealing the flop – the previously exposed card becomes the first ‘burn card’ instead.

If the dealer, by the act of dealing or otherwise, causes a card to fall off the table, the card should be considered exposed, regardless of whether or not it has been seen by any of the players. In the event that one or more burn cards is exposed – at which point there will, by definition, already be bets in the pot – the dealer should return the exposed card(s) to the deck, shuffle, burn another card and continue dealing as normal; no misdeal should be called.

Of course, it is possible to win at roulette, as it is at any other casino game, in the short-term. However, even if you play the European, single-zero version of roulette – which offers a significantly lower house edge than the double-zero, or triple-zero, American versions – the game is designed to give the casino an inherent advantage, so you will always lose in the long-term. Furthermore, the longer you play roulette, the more likely it is that the percentage return for the casino, and hence the percentage loss for you, the player, will approach the house edge. Casinos lack clocks and windows and often ply players with free alcoholic drinks, so that they play, badly, for as long as possible.

Mathematically, it is impossible to win at roulette in the long-term, so the best a player can do is reduce the house edge to a minimum, focus on outside bets, which pay only even money, or 1/1, but offer a near 50% chance of winning and manage their bankroll. A European roulette wheel, with a single green zero pocket, offers a house edge of 2.6%, but an additional green double-zero pocket increases the house edge to 5.2% and an additional green triple-zero increases the house edge to 7.69%, or one of the highest that you are likely to find in the casino, outside of some ‘sucker’ bets on craps or keno. Granted that the payouts for all bets, inside or outside, are identical in single, double and triple-zero roulette, it becomes clear that players of either American version immediately place themselves at a disadvantage when compared with players of the European version.

In Texas hold’em poker, each player is dealt two cards, known as ‘hole’ cards, face down. The player immediately to the left of the dealer, known as the ‘small blind’, and the player to his left, known as the ‘big blind’, are required to make compulsory, albeit small, bets so there is something in the pot for players to win. A round of betting proceeds to the left, during which each player may call, raise or fold.

The dealer discards, or ‘burns’, the uppermost card in the deck and deals the first three ‘community’ cards, collectively known as the ‘flop’. By using the hole cards and the community cards, each player decides on the best actual, or possible, hand he can form and another round of betting follows accordingly.

The dealer burns another card and deals the fourth community card, known as the ‘turn’ card. Another round of betting follows, before the dealer burns another card and deals the fifth, and final, community card, known as the ‘river’ card. After another round of betting, the remaining players, starting with the last player to bet, or raise, reveal their hole cards and the player with the highest five-card combination wins. The highest possible hand is a royal flush or, A, K, Q, J, 10 all of the same suit, followed by a straight flush, or any sequence of five cards all of the same suit, followed by four of a kind, and so on down to a high card, which can still be a winning hand.

Gambling was legalised in Atlantic City, New Jersey following a referendum in 1976 and, two years later, Resorts International, now Resorts Casino Hotel, on the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk became the first legal casino in the United States outside Nevada. Fast forward four decades or so and, according the latest report by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, far and away the most profitable land-based casino in Atlantic City is The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa which, in the year to April, 2019, grossed $53.37 million, or nearly double the revenue of its nearest competitor.

Opened in July, 2003, making it the newest casino in Atlantic City, the Borgata is one of three casinos in the marina district of the city, the others being Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and the Golden Nugget. Harrah’s, which opened in November, 1980, is the oldest of the three and was, in fact, the first casino in Atlantic located away from the boardwalk. At one point in its history, Harrah’s was the highest-grossing casino in Atlantic City but, as of April, 2019, ranked second behind The Borgata, with annual revenue of $27.18 million.

Third on the list comes Tropicana Atlantic City, with annual revenue of $24.02 million. Originally opened, on the Boardwalk, in November, 1981, nearly two years after original owners, Ramada, acquired the Tropicana Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in December, 1979, Tropicana Atlantic City is, nowadays, one of the largest hotels in New Jersey, with 2,400 rooms.

The Main Event of the World Series of Poker, held annually in Las Vegas, is considered the unofficial ‘world championship’ of poker and, since its inception, has produced some of the largest payouts in poker tournament history. However, the distinction of the largest single payout ever belongs to another World Series of Poker event, known as The Big One for One Drop.

Staged in aid of the One Drop Foundation – an international non-profit organisation that provides access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation – The Big One for One Drop is a $1 million buy-in, no limit Texas hold ‘em poker tournament. In 2012, The Big One for One Drop was contested by 48 players, competing for total prize money of $42.67 million. The winner that year was Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari, who took home $18.35 million.

Esfandiari was chip leader, by some way, heading into the final table and confidently predicted that he would win the tournament. His confidence was not displaced, because he quickly dispatched six of the eight finalists and, although he briefly lost the chip lead to British poker professional Sam Trickett during heads-up play, finally triumphed in the eighty-fifth hand of the final table. On the button and holding 7, 5 off suit, Esfandiari made trip fives on the flop and, after a series of raises and re-raises, raised all in against Trickett, who had Q,6 suited in the hole and flopped a flush draw. Trickett called, but failed to fill his flush draw and had to be content with $10.1 million, the biggest consolation prize in poker tournament history.

Nowadays, keno is a popular casino gambling games in which players attempt to ‘spot’ between one and ten numbers, from a pool of 80 numbers, 20 of which are drawn, randomly, at regular intervals. The name ‘keno’ is an Americanism, coined in the early nineteenth century and derived from the French word ‘quine’, meaning ‘five’, and the word ‘lotto’. Nevertheless, keno is of Chinese origin and has a history dating back at least two millennia.

Keno was originally known as ‘baige piao’, which translates into English as ‘white pigeon ticket’, reflecting the use of homing pigeons in the early form of the game.

Baige piao was popular throughout China from the third century BCE onwards; so popular, in fact, that under the auspices of Cheung Leung, ruler of the Han Dynasty, it reputedly financed the construction of a portion of the Great Wall of China.

Baige piao travelled to America with Chinese immigrant workers in the mid-eighteenth century, where it was initially played, illegally, by the Chinese community and hence became known as the ‘Chinese Lottery’. Over time, Keno became more widely accepted and the original ticket, which featured the first 80 Chinese characters in the so-called ‘Book of a Thousand Characters’, was modified to include Arabic numerals instead. Of course, Keno is a game that can be played alone, without interaction with others, and requires no special skills, yet offers the potential of a huge payout for relatively small outlay; these factors have led to the enduring popularity of the game.