The Slot Machine
The very first slot machine (called ‘Liberty Bell’) was created by a man called Charles Fay from his workshop in San Francisco in 1887. Slightly smaller than today’s average slot machines, Liberty Bell contained 3 reels and 20 symbols and operated pretty much in the same way as today’s slot machines. Within a relatively short period of time, Fay’s creation became so popular and successful that he began to work overtime in his workshop to meet the demand for his slot machines. Capitalizing on their success, Fay rented the machines to gambling establishments at a 50% commission rate, refusing to sell the manufacturing and distribution rights of his slot machines to gambling manufacturers. In 1907, Herbert Mills, a Chicago manufacturer created ‘Operator Bell’, a slot machine similar to ‘Liberty Bell’ in design. Produced and distributed at a greater rate than Fay’s ‘Liberty Bell’, the ‘Operator Bell’ slot machines experienced even greater success and by 1910, slot machines were very common in the United States of America. As soon as slot machines had reached a new peak in popularity and became common throughout the USA, new laws were introduced and passed to ban slot machines. In spite of this, slot machines continued to be popular throught America during the 1920s and 1930s. During the late 1940’s, Bugsy, a well known gangster, added slot machines to his Flamingo Hilton hotel in Las Vegas where the profit from slot machines eventually exceeded that of table games. The objective of the slot machine is to try and spin a winning combination of symbols on the payline. There are basically two types of slots. Straight Slots: A Straight slots jackpot will remain at a set amount of money until it is won, after which it resets and starts over again at that same amount. For example, a straight jackpot may be set at $20,000 and will remain at $20,000 until it is won, no matter how many coins are deposited into the slot machine. Progressive Slots: On the other hand, the amount of money that may be won playing progressive slots is determined by the amount of money deposited into the machine. Thus the progressive jackpot continuosly increases with each player until it is won. To play straight or progressive slots, the player deposits a coin or set of coins into the slot machine and selects the number of coins to bet per spin. The player may then either press the ‘Spin’ button or pull the arm of the slot machine to spin the reels. Once the reels stop spinning, the player will either win or lose that spin. Whether the player wins or loses, he may ‘Cash Out’ his share of money from the machine or continue to play. Today, slot machines are amongst the most popular games found in casinos, accounting for over 30% of casino profit. This is due to a number of reasons. (1) Slot machines are very easy to play and require no real test of skill or knowledge. A player simply deposits coins into the machine and presses a button. Once the reels stop spinning, the machine will alert the player if the winning combination is struck or not. (2) There is no pressure to play against or interact with other players as one may do in games such as Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and Poker. (3) There is no risk of someone trying to cheat during the game or of the dealer making an honest mistake during a bet. (4) There is no time frame for one to make the next move. A slot machine may be played at one's own pace without the player feeling the need to hurry because someone else is waiting for his/her turn. (5) The game is played with real money and not casino chips. This makes the game much more exciting in the sense that the player has the opportunity to gamble with real currency. (6) The payout is instant and can sometimes run into the thousands of dollars, especially if one is playing progressive slots. For these set of reasons, the slot machine is currently one of the most popular games found in a casino.
Texas Casinos
Texas, the Lone Star State, is famous for a number of things, all of which are important to the average Texas native. Texas is the home of The Alamo, U.S. President George W. Bush, and cycling champion Lance Armstrong. Texas is the second most populous state in the union, with 22,490,022 inhabiting people its vast, open spaces. The capital of Texas, Austin, has become a cultural Mecca for artists, musicians and more, with infamous South by Southwest Music Festival held in Austin annually. This large state covers at least 268,581 sq. miles. With a state this big, it is believable then, that there are a large number of casinos covering the state. If it is a Texas casino that features horseracing that you are interested in, well, there are a whole lot of them. Choose from Texas casinos available like the Gillespie County Fairgrounds, which features quarter horse racing or the Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, which also boasts quarter horse racing as well as the option of betting on thoroughbreds. Valley Race Park in Harlingen features thoroughbreds, Sam Houston Race Park in Houston features thoroughbreds and quarter horses, Manor Downs in Manor features quarter horses and Retama Park in Selma features thoroughbreds and quarter horses. Each park features dining options as well. The Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, located in Eagle Pass, is one of the larger Texas casinos. It features more than 1,000 slot machines and more than 20 table games. There are dining and entertainment options in this Texas casino and is operated by the Kickapoo Tribe. The Texas Treasure Casino Cruise is another gambling facility located in the Long Star State. Based in Port Aransas, this Texas casino features more than 400 slot machines, more than 20 table games and a host of dining options. Bingo is also a featured game at this Texas casino facility. For those interested in visiting Texas casinos with dog racing, the Corpus Christi dog track, located in the city of Corpus Christi and Gulf Greyhound Park, located in La Marque, are both excellent quality dog-racing tracks. The Corpus Christi dog track features an option for dining and Gulf Greyhound Park features both a concession stand as well as a dine-in option. Texas casinos feature enough variety for everyone to find one to suit their needs. Not sure which one to visit? Try one from each category and see which one gives you the best experience (with the most winnings)!
What Are the Best Variations of Poker?
There are myriad variations of poker out there and players tend to specialize in different games. Which are the best games? That's a subjective question, but there are a few games that have become more popular than others and it will be useful to look at which ones those are and why. Many of the poker games you may have grown up playing have fallen to the wayside to some extent in the wake of the new wave of popularity poker is experiencing. Games you may have enjoyed in the pre-televised poker era include Wild Card games, in which one or more cards may be changed by their holder to represent any card the player wishes, such as Baseball or Follow the Queen and Trump Card Games, where a specific card awards its possessor half, or in extreme cases the whole pot, games such as Chicago or Man with the Ax. The reason these games are no longer so popular is that poker is more and more becoming recognized as a game of skill and these types of games severely reduce the skill element. Also, many players now are getting their poker experience online and online casinos mirror their real life counterparts, which have never dealt any of these types of games. The games that are most commonly played in casinos, both the online and brick and mortar varieties, are Hold`em, Omaha, Omaha Hi Low Split, Seven Card Stud and at some casinos, Pineapple. Here's a brief look at each. 1. Hold`em By far the biggest poker game right now, its popularity can be attributed to its use to determine the World Series of Poker Championship and its compatibility with television. With five community cards, Hold`em has the fewest cards to keep track of and therefore is the easiest for television viewers to follow. In Hold`em, each player gets two cards (called the hole or pocket cards). There is a round of betting followed by a "flop" of three cards in the middle of the table, which all players can use to make their hand. Then a "turn" or "fourth street" card is added, followed by another round of betting and then a "river" or "fifth street" card is put down, followed by a final round of betting. Whoever remains in the hand makes their best five card poker hand using any combination of the two cards in their hand and the five community cards ("the board"). There are generally no Antes in Hold`em, the action is driven by two forced bets, called blinds. The small blind, one to the left of the dealer, puts in half the minimum bet and the player one to his left, the big blind, puts in a full bet. Players who want to stay in the game must at least match the big blind's bet. Both the small and big blinds have the option to raise when the action gets back to them. The dealer rotates clockwise each hand so that no player has any advantage. The player to the left of the dealer (also called "the button") always acts first, so one's position at the table becomes a very important element in Hold`em. 2. Omaha Omaha is a variation of Hold`em in which you start with four cards in your hand instead of three. The twist is that you must use exactly two of the cards in your hand, no more, no less. This can lead to some confusion for new players, as they may think, for example, that they have a flush when their Ah Th 3h 9s sees a board of 8h 2h Qc when in fact they only have four to a flush. In a full ring game in Omaha, 45 of the 52 cards in the deck are in play, so unlike in Hold`em, you very often need the best possible hand to win. For example, if the board pairs (e.g. 8h 8s Kd 2d 6d), you will almost always need a full house to win the pot, whereas in a Hold`em game a flush or even trips is often sufficient. 3. Omaha Hi-Low Omaha Hi Low is a "split" game, meaning half the pot goes to the best hand or "high" hand and the other half goes to the worst, or "low" hand. In most high low games, straights and flushes do not count against your low, so the best low hand is A 2 3 4 5, also called a "wheel." In Omaha Hi-Low, the goal is to "scoop" or win both halves, so hands that play both ways, such as A K 2 3, have great value. 4. Pineapple This variation, played less frequently, is a three card version of Hold`em. Each player is dealt three cards. What distinguishes this game is that players must discard one of the three, either before or after the flop, depending on the variation of Pineapple being played and then play the rest of the game as normal Hold`em. 5. Seven Card Stud This is one of the oldest forms of poker. Players are dealt two cards down (the "hole" cards) and one card up. There is a round of betting and then players are dealt three more up cards, one at a time, with a round of betting after each and finally one last down card, after which there is a final round of betting and players make their best five card poker hand out of the seven available to them. There are no blinds in this game, the action is driven by Antes, a prescribed amount that each player puts into the pot before the deal, as well as a "bring-in," a percentage of the minimum bet that the lowest up card showing must put in after the initial deal of three cards. Players who wish to remain in the hand must either match the bring-in, or "complete" it to the minimum bet. Who acts first is determined (after the initial betting round when the "bring-in" acts first) by who has the highest hand showing, so position at the table is not an issue. Which of these is best? It really all depends on you and your preferences. It's said that Omaha is more popular in Europe, Hold`em on the West Coast of the United States and Seven Stud on the East Coast. With the explosion in online poker however, there are plenty of opportunities for you to try whichever one suits your fancy (except Pineapple, which is usually only found in select live casinos). Good luck in whichever games you try.
