Best Online Casinos for US players

When searching for a new online casino one of the criteria used by players is to search for the most popular online casinos. We all know that word of mouth spreads fast – the good as well as the bad, so if you are looking for an overall positive casino experience searching for the most popular casino is a good strategy.

When dealing with establishments that are going to be in possession of some of our personal information we all want to be sure that we are dealing with the a secure organization that would not misuse our information and keep it in a safe place. When it comes to online casinos, which naturally move around a lot of funds in and out we want to be extremely sure that we are dealing with a safe casino.

The internet in filled with hundreds of online casinos. While they all defer in their looks and perhaps in the list of promotions such as bonuses that they offer, the core service, that of casino games like blackjack and roulette, is the same. However, some casinos are more popular than others. In our mostly capitalist world we can be sure that if a business is popular than it must be doing something right. The same goes for online casinos. Throughout the years some casino have made a name for themselves as secure and fun casinos for online players to play at. As word of mouth moves along those casinos have become very popular and can guarantee a new player a great experience.

All the casinos that we recommend on the site are popular and well established casinos. We generally don’t recommend new casinos since we like to wait at least several months in order to let word of mouth from other players reach us so can be sure that a casino stands by our rigorous guidelines.

The only case where we might recommend a new online casino is when its management group is a one that has already demonstrated its quality by running other casinos in the past. In that case it means that the casino offers the same service quality as other casinos belonging to the group but with a different theme or target audience.

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Mummy’s Gold Casino, a Microgaming powered online casino owned by the Palace Group has come out with a new and exciting promotion. New players are now being offered $500 and 1 hour to play with it. Any winnings above the $500 will be transferred to the player account. For example: you sign up at Mummys Gold Casino, they put $500 in your account. You play for 1 hour and increase your bankroll to $650. $150 will now be transferred to your real money account.

To enjoy the benefits of this wonderful no deposit bonus simply sign up at Mummys Gold Online Casino

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In blackjack, the person holding the hand with the highest total that does not exceed 21 is the winner. A hand with a total that exceeds 21 is called a bust. Face or picture cards (jack, queen, king) are worth ten points and cards two through ten are counted at face value. An ace is worth 11 points unless this amount would cause the player holding the ace to go bust. In this case, the ace can be counted as one point. Hands in which the ace is valued as 11 are called soft hands because the player holding that ace cannot go bust when he draws another card.

The objective of each player in blackjack is to have a higher hand than the dealer without going bust. When a player goes bust he loses even if the dealer also goes bust. When both the player and the dealer are holding hands with the same point value it is a tie, also known as a push, and neither the player nor the dealer wins. Since each player plays an independent game with the dealer, it is possible for the dealer to win some players and lose against other players during the same round.

The minimum bet allowed can vary from casino to casino and even from table to table within the same casino. Each table displays the minimum bet allowed and the most common minimum in the U.S. is five dollars. The dealer deals out the cards after the initial bets have been placed. Dealers will either deal from a shoe, which typically holds four or more decks or from one or two hand-held decks, also known as a pitch. The dealer gives two cards to each player and to himself. One of the dealer’s cards is placed face down on the table and one is placed face up so the players can see it. The card placed face down on the table is called the ‘hole-card’. In European blackjack the hole card is not actually dealt until the players have all played their hands. When using a shoe to deal the cards, the dealer will place the players cards face up but they will be dealt face down in a pitch game.

A two-card hand of 21 – an ace plus a ten-value card – is called blackjack and is an automatic winner or a ‘natural’. A player with a ‘natural’ is usually paid 2:3 on his bet but in 2003 some casinos started paying 6:5. Many veteran blackjack players have voiced opposition to this policy.

The play:

• If the dealer has blackjack and the player doesn’t the player automatically loses.
• If the player has blackjack and the dealer doesn’t the dealer automatically loses.
• If both the dealer and the player have blackjack it is a push.
• If neither the dealer nor the player has blackjack, then each player plays out his hand one at a time.
• The dealer plays his hand after all of the players have finished playing out their hands.

The player’s option for playing out his hand:

• Hit: Take another card
• Stand: Don’t take anymore cards
• Double-down: Double the wager, take exactly one more card and then stand.
• Split: An option only available when both cards have the same value, you double the value and have each card be the first card in a new hand.
• Surrender: This option was common during the early and mid-20 th century but most casinos don’t offer it any longer. In surrender, the player forfeits half the bet and gives up his hand.

The player’s turn is over once his hand exceeds a value of 21, or if he has decided to stand, double down, or take a single card. A player loses if he busts even if the dealer goes on to bust as well.

Once all the players have finished making their decisions, the dealer reveals his hidden hole card and plays the hand.

According to house rules, dealers must hit until they have at least 17, regardless of what the players are holding. Most casinos also require that dealers hit when they are holding a soft 17, such as an ace and a six. The lettering on the felt of the table should indicate whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17.

If the dealer busts then all remaining players win. Bets are normally paid out at the odds of 1:1.

Some common variations on the rules are listed below:

• One card split aces: one card is dealt on each ace. Player’s turn is over.
• Early surrender: Allows a player to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• Late surrender: Allows a player to surrender after the dealer has checked for blackjack.
• Double-down restrictions: Doubling down is only permitted on certain combinations.
• Dealer hits a soft seventeen: Where ace-six can play as seven or seventeen.
• European No-hole Card Rule: The dealer deals himself one card, face up and doesn’t receive a second card and, therefore, doesn’t check for blackjack until all of the players have acted. This means that, in addition to losing their original bet when the dealer wins, players also lose any additional money invested from doubling down or splitting.

Every casino has its own odds, rules, strategies and blackjack variations. Players should always check the rules and variations of a table before sitting down to play.

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If you play for long term, consistent profits and make the effort to learn basic blackjack strategy, apply card counting, and play to a predetermined plan, you will gain a distinct advantage when you play.

Below is a list of ten tips that will help you win in blackjack:

1. Learn the Basic Strategy

For each one of the hands a player is dealt, statistically he has one perfect action he can make against the dealer’s up card.  This is known as the basic strategy and is what all other winning blackjack strategies are based upon.

2. Correct Money Management

Managing your bankroll is an important aspect of blackjack strategy since every player will have losing streaks and bad runs.  An effective basic money management rule is to bet with one percent of your bankroll.  For example, if you are holding $2,000, your betting size is one percent or $20.  If you are playing with a 1.5% advantage over the house and you are using a card counting strategy, the chances of you losing your entire bankroll is only five percent.  Since it is mathematically certain that you will eventually hit a losing streak, you must be able to ride out those streaks.

3. Learn to Count Cards Using a Specific System

Most blackjack players usually don’t apply anything beyond basic blackjack strategy, but serious players can actually achieve a positive advantage over the casino by counting cards.  This has been mathematically proven.  When you keep a running count you can work out the probability of the un-dealt cards still to come out of the deck.  There are a number of different card counting techniques and it is important that you find the one most suitable to you.  You can even gain an advantage with the simplest of card counting techniques.

4. Estimate the True Count

You can calculate the true count once you have determined the running count.  The true count is calculated by dividing the running count by the number of decks of un-dealt cards.  The true count gives a better indication of how favorable the remaining cards are than the running count does, and it only needs to be calculated when you want to perform an action such as betting.

5. Learn to Adjust Your Bet Size According to the True Count

Bet size should increase as the true count increases.  Conversely, bet size should decrease as the true count decreases.  You will undoubtedly win fewer hands than you will lose, meaning that you need to up your bet size when the odds are favorable in order to make money over a long period of play.. This tip is the key to winning big in blackjack.

6. Play With Favorable House Rules

Play with favorable house rules.  In order to get a house edge, scout how those tables with favorable house rules.  It is the house rules that dictate how much money you will win over the long run.

7. State of Mind
Stay sharp and focused while you are playing.  If you are playing for money, be sure to stay alert and pay attention – especially if you are playing for money.  It is better not to play after you have had an argument with your spouse or drank too much wine etc.

8. Discipline is the Key to Success
While the final tip may seem obvious, it is important and well-worth repeating.  Once you have formulated a plan, stick to it.  This will help you achieve greater profits.  If you cannot stick to your plan, you might as well not even have a plan.

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Blackjack basic strategy is based on mathematics and computer simulations have been designed to test and refine all possibilities and permutations of the strategy.  It is safe to say that, when applied correctly, basic strategy can be used to effectively reduce the house edge to the minimum, which is usually about 1 ½ percent.  The easiest way to learn basic blackjack strategy is to convert the basic black jack strategy chart into plain and simple English.

How to Learn the Chart

Since basic black jack strategy is not only based on mathematics but has also been tested and refined by computer simulations, it does not vary too much although minor adjustments can be made depending on certain ‘local’ rule variations that casinos choose to use.

In order to become a successful black jack player, you must first possess a thorough understanding of basic black jack strategy.  Players typically gain this knowledge from the basic black jack strategy chart, which shows you how to play your first two cards based on the dealer’s ‘up’ card.  It is a fact that the house gets its edge because the player must make the first move.  Of course, just because the chart only deals with the first two cards, it doesn’t mean you won’t have to learn about what decisions to make after taking a hit.

Translating the Chart to English

When the chart is translated into plain and simple English, it is much easier to follow.  An example of how to play a hand with three or more cards follows:

The chart will tell you to hit if your first two cards are a three and a five and you have a total of eight.  If the extra card is a three, the chart will tell you to double on 11, but you can only double on your first two cards so you must hit.

The word ‘otherwise’ is used when translating the chart to plain English to denote situations that are different because of multiple cards.  For instance, the example described above would be written as: If you have 11, double – otherwise hit.
The multi card decisions are written out for hard hands, soft hands and split pairs. The information is divided into three “How to Play” categories that can be seen below.
This explains in plain English how to apply basic strategy when more than two cards are involved.

Hard Hand: (A starting hand of two cards which does not include an ace).

If you are holding:
Eight or less: Always hit.
Nine: Double if the dealer is holding three or six, otherwise hit.
Ten: Double if the dealer has two through nine, otherwise hit.
Eleven: If the dealer has two through ten, double.
If the dealer is holding an ace, hit.
Twelve: If the dealer has two or three, hit.
If the dealer is holding four through six, stand.  Otherwise hit.
13-16:  If the dealer is holding two through six, stand.  Otherwise hit.
17-21: Always stand.

Soft Hands: (A starting hand of two cards one of which includes an ace).

If you are holding:

Ace 2 or Ace 3: Double if the dealer has five or six.  Otherwise, hit.
Ace 4 or Ace 5: Double if the dealer has four through six. Otherwise, hit.
Ace 6: Double if the dealer has three through six.  Otherwise, hit.
Ace 7: Stand if the dealer has two, seven, or eight.
Double if the dealer has three through six.  Otherwise, hit.
Ace 8 or Ace 9: Always stand.

Playing Pairs:

If you are holding:

A pair of eights or aces always split.
A pair of twos or threes: Split if the dealer is holding two to seven.  Otherwise, hit.
A pair of fours: Split if the dealer has four or five.  Otherwise, hit.
A pair of sixes: Split if the dealer has two through six.  Otherwise, hit.
A pair of sevens: Split if the dealer has two through seven.  Otherwise, hit.
A pair of nines: Split if the dealer has two through six, eight or nine.
Stand if the dealer has seven, ten or ace.
A pair of tens: Always stand.

It is apparent that it is much easier to memorize the basic black jack strategy chart once it has been translated into plain English.  Some people also find it useful to use flash cards to help memorize the different possible card combinations.

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Many people will swear that they have strategies or special tips for playing slot machines guaranteed to improve your odds. After reading just a bit about how slot machines operate you probably understand, however, that it is the computer’s random number generator and nothing more that determines wins and losses.

With this in mind, you should know that there are some tips that may be applied when playing slot machines that can help reduce your chances of losing.

1. Place a limit on how much you are going to spend on the slot machines before you even begin to play and never go beyond that limit. Quit once you reach your self-imposed limit and do NOT continue to play if you are losing.
2. Learn the slot machine’s payout schedule. Two identical slot machines can have different payout schedules. Play the machine with the best payout schedule.
3. Search out slot machines offering 96-98% paybacks. Many casinos contain some banks or carousels with high percentage payback slots.
4. Don’t use a credit card to play at the slots. Use only cash. When you use cash, any winnings you get will increase your credits. This way if you do end up losing all of your money or you decide to leave the casino, you will at least have all of the credits you earned as your winnings. If, on the other hand, you spent all of your money and used up all of your credits as well, you would walk away in the end with nothing.
5. Play the maximum bet when you are playing progressive slot machines. With progressive slot machines, the odds are higher so you want to receive the highest possible payout when you finally do win.
6. Make sure you join the casino player’s club. And be sure to use your player’s card while you are playing at the slot machine. Casinos reward their customers for the money and time spent in the casino. This way, even if you don’t hit the jackpot, at least you will get some attractive casino comps such as hotel room discounts, meals or even tickets that are worth money.
7. Avoid slot machines with four or more reels until you’ve built up your bankroll. The odds are higher on the 4 or more reel machines than on the 3 reel slot machines.
8. Play only at the slot machines that you can afford and spend only the money you can afford to lose. $1 slots can pay out more over time than the 25¢ slots and the $5 slots more than the $1, etc. Casinos generally reward players who spend more money.

Divide up your bankroll into the number of slot sessions you are planning to play. For example, say that you are vacationing at a casino for three days and you have three hundred dollars for gambling. You would then spend $100 a day for the next three days. This will help you enjoy your entire vacation much better and leave you free from the worry of gambling beyond your limits. This approach also ensures that you will have at least some gambling money for each day of your vacation rather than spending it all up front. If you do not do this you may end up maxing out on your credit cards.

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In modern slot machines, the design of the virtual reel determines the chance odds of getting a particular symbol or set of symbols.  Virtual reels have more stops than actual reels do so several of the stops on the virtual wheel are tied to one stop on an actual slot machine reel.  In other words, the odds of landing on a particular symbol on the actual reel are based on how many virtual stops are tied to the actual stop.

In the normal weighted type of slot machine, the most upper jackpot stop (the one with symbol of the highest-paying jackpot) on each reel corresponds to only one virtual stop. Consequently, there is a 1 in 64 chance of getting the jackpot image on one reel. The chances change, however, to 1 in 643 or 22,144 of getting the jackpot image of all the reels if all of the several reels are put together in the same way.  For those machines that have a larger jackpot, there may be many more stops on the virtual reel. As a result, the odds of winning that particular jackpot are notably decreased.

It’s also possible that the losing blank stops seen above and below the jackpot symbols can correspond to more virtual images than other images.  This makes it more likely for a player to get a blank stop that is right next to the winning stop.  This gives the player the impression that she has “just missed” the jackpot, which, in turn, encourages the player to continue gambling, when in fact the proximity of the actual stops has no bearing.
The program on each machine has been carefully designed and tested to realize a particular payback percentage. The payback percentage is based on the percentage of the money that has been placed into the machine and that eventually gets paid out to the player.  For example, a payback percentage of 90, would give 90 percent of all the money placed into the slot away as winnings and 10 percent to the casino. Since all payback percentages are less than 100, in time, the casino wins out.
Most gambling jurisdictions legally require that the payback percentages surpass a certain level (usually around 75 percent).  Most casinos go beyond this minimum and offer a payback between 90 – 97 percent.  They do this because they know that if their slot machines are too tight, customers will take their business to other casinos.  The computer chip inside the slot machine contains the program linking the payout odds to a particular machine.  Unless the chip is replaced, the casino can rarely alter or change the odds on the machine.  Contrary to rumor, there is no readily available method that would allow a casino to instantly ‘tighten up” a machine.
Nor do machines ‘loosen up’ themselves either.  This means that playing longer doesn’t make the machine more likely to pay out.  Your chances of hitting the jackpot are exactly the same every single time you pull the handle, since the computer always draws up new random numbers. At least with the standard system, there is no such thing as a machine just about ‘ready to pay’.

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Most modern slot machines are designed to look and feel like the old mechanical models but they actually operate quite differently from the original models. Instead of the motion of reels used by the mechanical models, a central computer system located inside the machine controls the new models. The computer uses step motors to turn and stop each reel at a predetermined point. Whereas standard electric motors are driven by a fluctuating electrical current, step motors are driven by short digital pulses of electricity that are computer-controlled. The motor gets moved incrementally and very precisely with each pulse. Even though the computer tells the reels when to stop, the games are not preprogrammed to pay out at a certain time. Rather, a random number generator in the computer makes sure that each pull has an equal opportunity at hitting the jackpot.
Whenever the slot machine is running, the random number generator (RNG) sends out whole numbers (usually between one and several billion) hundreds of times each second. The minute a player presses the start button or pulls the arm back, the computer records the next few numbers from the random number generator. Next, it feeds these numbers through a simple program that determines when the reels should stop spinning.

What this means is that the game is essentially over by the time the reels are spinning because the RNG has already selected the stops. Thus, the reels in modern slot machines are displayed for cosmetic purposes only or as a courtesy to the player. There is technically no reason for them any longer. In fact the reels on slot machines have been made obsolete by the computer– a player could just put his money in and the machine could simply tell him whether he won or lost.

Because the reels are weighted differently, some symbols have a greater chance of hitting than others. For example, the slot may pick a random number from 1 to 27, which might correspond to the symbols in the following hypothetical example: