Our Recommended choices for chips casino

I was waiting impatiently for a playable hand in an Omaha-eight game the other day and my mind wandered off without me. I started thinking of the way things have changed over the past decade or so in poker rooms. The best thing I could think of was that many poker rooms are non-smoking now. After spending the previous decade sucking-up second hand smoke and having my eyes continually bloodshot from the perpetual cloud of toxins around the game, my body is much happier now! That's progress.

I'm not sure I like having TV's all over the walls, because I get distracted by them, and I can't figure out why. I mean, how many times can I watch the same highlights on ESPN? Many times, apparently. I am happy the chairs are better now though. Some joints used to have the worst little chairs, no padding, and they didn't roll around or anything. The horror!

Poker terms have changed, but it really doesn't matter whether you spike a set on the turn, or catch trips, it's still three of a kind. And, it's still nice when players exhibit some manners. That's what I thought when my mind returned from wherever it went to. Probably because there was a young lady playing in my Omaha game who smiled, spoke pleasantly, and even showed down some obvious losers when calling.

She didn't fire her cards into the muck with disgust when she lost. She just tabled her hand and congratulated the winner. I got to say, "Thank you," and rake the chips on several occasions myself, and you know, when I got counterfeited on a big hand and she scooped a monster pot, I just showed my hand and smiled. It only hurt a little.

It never hurts to show some poker etiquette, and, players don't mind losing so much when the game is lively and friendly. And, if you spend your life on the green felt playing table coach, knock it off. Nobody on the game cares how much you know. The dealer is likely to be able to handle any situation, give 'em a chance.

Which reminds me, as much as today's new players might think they are different than yesterdays, they really aren't. Why? Because no matter how experienced and well-read (within the realms of poker strategy books) new players are, the percentages haven't changed any since twenty years ago. The hands are still made just as often, the pot odds are calculated the same, and......... somehow there is still the same percentage of good players and bad.

That's right. Amazingly, the game still produces the same number of winners and losers once the year ticks past and New Year's Eve ends. So, as always, you have to put your best game on the table to take down the chips. And, there's nothing wrong with being polite. It only hurts a little.

My What Nice Poker Etiquette You Have originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 at 18:32:25.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Goodbye Amarillo Slim Preston! You will be greatly missed by the poker community.

Amarillo Slim, World famous gambler, 83, died overnight in hospice care in Amarillo. He leaves a legend bigger than Texas when it comes to tall tales and tall mountians of chips he won in poker games, ping pong matches, pool halls and dance halls. The man never met a bet he didn't want to find a way to win. He bet on everything and anything, as told in his memoir, Amarillo Slim In a World of Fat People.

A long-time pool hustler and poker player (who partnered with Sailor Roberts and Doyle Brunson in the 1950's), Slim was well known in the poker world when he won the WSOP Championship in 1972. He wasn't known much beyond the Texas circuit of poker games and Las Vegas, however. But after the championship win, the never-at-a-loss-for-words Preston became a favorite on TV shows after stories of his championship ran in Parade magazine, which was inserted in millions of Sunday newspapers across the country.

Afterwards, Preston was a regular on The Tonight Show and was seen on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, To Tell The Truth and even What's My Line. He was colorful, brash, funny, and a perfect ambassador for the poker world. He will be missed.

This year's WSOP starts on Sunday May 27, 2012 with the $500 entry Casino Employee, No-Limit Hold'em tournament. It's a great kick-off for the summer.

Besides the WSOP, I'll be heading to Lake Tahoe for a few weeks of R&R, and maybe back east for the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival. If you haven't been to Caesars Entertainment's properties during the last week of July to drink down your share of the wine and feast on dozens and dozens of food station goodies, you just don't know what you are missing.

The festival starts July 26.............don't miss out!

Goodbye Amarillo Slim! originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Sunday, April 29th, 2012 at 17:49:45.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Ever go to a bad movie? When I don't like a movie I walk out. Same with the "vibe" in a bad casino - out I go. When I find a place I'm comfortable gambling I'm ready to play plenty of hours. In fact, once during a points/hours poker tournament I played 38 hours straight. Of course by the end of the tournament the dealer had to wake me up between hands.

Now I love playing table games, but I still have one favorite place at every casino: the Casino Cashier. If you haven't gotten friendly with the cage, you simply aren't cashing out often enough. That's a problem. I even heard a floor person answer the question, "Where'e the cage?" with the response, "I'm sorry sir, I don't know. Nobody has ever won here before." Whoops.

Personally, I tend to take trips to the cage in-between sessions. Sure, I color-up my chips to higher denominations, but when I stop playing a video poker game and have a ticket or extra chips in my hand I like to get cash. That allows me to head out the door at any time, but it does something else. It forces me to keep track of where I am for the day with my gambling.

I don't write every play down on paper like I used to (cough - what a geek - cough), but I do make a mental note of how I'm doing. That helps me budget my gambling bankroll and also forces me to slow down and be smart with future decisions. Occasionally I'll find that I've reached a pre-set goal and then I'll go to movie or have a meal. There's nothing more satisfying than finding my wife and saying, "Lets take a break and go to a nice restaurant."

During that timel I'm on an emotional and bankroll high, and even if I take a beating later, that meal or movie is always very nice. You should try it, even if you don't stop at the cashiers cage first! A night at the casino should include more than gambling. Enjoy.

My Favorite Place at the Casino originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 15:05:00.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

A hapless bandit lost his wig, sunglasses and $115,000 worth of casino chips when security wrestled him to the floor during a botched weekend heist at a posh Vegas Strip resort, authorities said Monday.