Military Gold | Poker, Casino & Gambling Lounge

Debbie Fletcher asked:


Poker Chip Sets – The Poker Chip and Challenge to Counterfeiters

Poker is a popular card game across the world with the excitement of gambling and potential for huge payoffs. Almost integral to the poker game are the poker chips, and indeed poker does not feel like poker without poker chip sets.

The chips are small discs of various colors representing different denominations, meant as substitutes for real money, which is instead stored in a more secure place. The use of money substitutes, or token money, can be traced back through the 13th to 17th centuries in Europe. Today poker chips are often made according to themes and formats that unite a particular set of chips. This is useful in avoiding counterfeiters, even for games at home or in private.

Casino chips use many different anti-counterfeiting measures, with the most basic being chip coloration and embossed or molded patterning. Holographic inlays, distinctive colored markings on the edges and ultraviolet markings on the inlays further deter potential counterfeiters. Lastly, Radio Frequency Identification or RFID tags are used by some establishments. The latter method can be quite costly, but the establishments that use them feel the cost is justified. Given the difficulty in counterfeiting chips, poker chip frauds in casinos are rare.

If you plan to play in private though, you should be careful of frauds, especially if you are using mass-produced chips. Another reason for these security measures is to identify which casinos they came from. This is usually not a problem, since casinos usually honor only their own chips and it is more of a matter of branding. In Nevada however, casinos are permitted to honor chips from other casinos, and these identifiers make returning chips to the casinos they belong to easier.

Poker Chip Sets – Composition and Coloration

Authentic casino poker chips are made of clay, though not pure clay which is too soft. Special composite mixtures have been made, using trade-secret techniques, the confidential nature of which is yet another speed bump on the counterfeiter’s path. Sometimes, special edition poker chip sets may be bought from casinos, though generally poker chips stay in the casinos. Poker chips made for home use on the other hand may or may not be of the same quality as their casino counterparts.

For home use poker chips, ceramic and ABS plastic are the most common materials. When ceramic is used, special compositions allow them to approximate the feel of real clay while maintaining a lower price profile. Ceramic chips are also used in some casinos. ABS plastic chips on the other hand may be molded with a metal disk or slug inside, to give them some heft. For those in Europe, poker chips may come in mother of pearl, which gives them an incomparable sheen and luster. Coloration is standard for different denominations in one set, but may differ across sets. For example, in some places there are standard coloration schemes for chips, while in others there are none. Of note is the US State of Nevada, where casinos are given free rein on their chip designs and colors.

Poker Chip Sets – Sets and Themes

Since poker games often involve large amounts of money, a large number of chips are needed. Standard sets have 300 pieces, while others can have 500 pieces, and yet others reaching a stunning 1000 pieces. Some casinos sell poker chips similar to those used on the floor but with a few differences for identification purposes. This is great for those who want to emulate the feel of their favorite places of gambling at home games. Limited edition sets can be highly collectible, and there is a thriving community of poker chip collectors.

Many of the poker chips are traded via eBay, and the most special ones can go for thousands of US dollars, regardless of face value. Whole sets of these special poker chips can cost even more than the individual pieces. What really ties the members of all poker chip sets together is the design of the chips. Poker chips in one set are often of identical sizes, of consistent coloration, and having similar inlays. Colors and inlays vary according to denomination, but the idea is that chips from one set are identifiably from the very same set.

The edges and rims may also be embossed with characteristic patterns and even have colored sections made via special multi stage molding techniques. The designs may be simple and straight forward, just simple chips with numbers. They could just as well be whimsical, like having humorous or otherwise interesting prints on the inlays. A set of poker chips will often be packaged in a poker chip case or some such container such as an acrylic poker chip carrier or humidor style wooden poker chip case, in the tradition followed in casinos worldwide. One would suppose that if you are going for the authentic feel, then there’s no point skimping on the little details.

Poker Chip Sets – Elements of Authenticity

Poker chips are essential to playing poker. One can “play” poker without them, but it will not feel like poker without the chips would it? It is the feel of these poker chips that gives a tactile sense of authenticity. The clink of these poker chips as they hit the table and trade hands adds to the ambiance. The nature of these poker chips ensures that no one can weasel out of the bet that they placed, so it ensures a fair game as far as bets are concerned. Speaking of amounts, the printed or inlaid values may vary depending on where you buy your poker chip sets.

It is even possible to find manufacturers that make poker chips that reflect your country’s currency and useful denominations, though generic chips are also available. With the popularity of televised poker and TV series set in casinos, the mystique of poker chip sets has increased, and many people feel that poker chips are the only way with which to play poker. If you are the kind of person who likes taking souvenirs, then chips from the casinos you have visited make fine reminders of good and bad times alike. Poker chips are definitely the elements of authenticity in poker games.

Matthew Donaldson asked:


Poker sportsbook offers a lot of free Poker games, which are regularly held at different game rooms and have enlisted at least millions of subscribers to play in their site. It also offers free poker tournaments which has no hidden fees and money requirements. In this way, beginners are spared of being exposed to the pressure of playing poker since no money is risked or put in danger.

Many experts who play in poker sportsbook online view this game as a means and livelihood to earn money by tipping the odds to their favor. Most people could label poker only when the person playing is blindly betting his money without considering the consequences of his actions. Winning is not necessarily assured for veteran players but they have the virtue to establish dominance through a simple rule they follow. Patience and timing are the two rules, which champion poker players adhere to whenever they compete. That is why many of the poker players coming from poker sportsbook frequently win other site tournaments.

The beauty of the poker sportsbook website is that it has a chat and messaging system which allows any one to communicate and share their experiences to others. Champion online players usually are the moderators so that they could easily put up quotes and reminders for other players to follow whenever they play.

The poker sportsbook online competition has a lot to offer compared to other gaming sites. This includes a variety of tournament formats to choose from. This includes a table by table elimination format which is the hardest but offers the biggest price possible. The other format is called the Sit and Go, which is easier and has a rapid gaming environment ideal for people who are looking to kill time. Unlike the table for table tournament, which requires at least 24 hours of playing, the Sit and Go can be played minutes at a time. Many players could earn money in a single table and transfer to another table which makes his strategy less obvious and reusable.

The poker gaming rooms in the poker sportsbook online site is a very easy source of money since it contains all the necessary information and guide that allows players to contemplate and reflect on the weaknesses and positive aspects of their strategies. The main teachings of the guide revolve around how to control one’s impulse and turn it into a viable source of motivation. By betting and putting all your resources at the right time, one could easily triple his money. This is what the poker sportsbook champions call as tight betting. “Tight” means holding your cards and money until the best possible moment when you could manipulate other players.

Long term betting is another good way to succeed in the poker sportsbook competitions where in winning at small amounts could accumulate the player thousands of dollars after several rounds. This is possible by playing in a low profile. This would remove suspicion and unwanted attention. When the player has the right cards, he could appear to be harmless which he could use to his advantage.

Mansi Aggarwal asked:


Against the popular belief, gambling did not originate in the US. Most of the popular gambling games played in the American casinos have their origin in various foreign locales.

Heritage of gambling is somehow related to the Chinese culture. Chinese culture has been the home of numerous gambling games. Keno, a popular Chinese game is one of the original forms of the lottery games. Keno has evolved over thousands of years and is now played in played in various diluted versions in hundreds of casinos around the globe.

Another ancient Chinese game to have attained popularity has been Pai Gow. Pai Gow Pokr is the Americanized and hybridized version of the original game, it blends in the game of Pai Gow with certain elements of poker, to produce an interesting and simple game, loved by people around the globe and played in numerous casinos. However many critics, quite do not like the new version and banish it for being a too simplistic take on the otherwise “beautiful and complex” game from ancient Chinese culture.

China is not the only country to have contributed to the world of gambling, a number of European games have also made it to the league of popular games in the world of casinos. Games like Craps, Baccarat, Roulette and Black jack, all have roots in parts of Europe. Craps has its roots in the rich heritage of dice throwing games that have been around for a long time.

The game of blackjack also originated in the lap of Europe in Italy and France. While Baccarat catered mainly to the rich, Blackjack was popular amongst the masses. Till date Baccarat tables are reserved in the high roller areas of casinos, while the common people may get a taste of it at smaller tables called the Mini Baccarat tables.

Besides these games other popular betting sports include the spectator sports like thorough bred horse racing. It was developed into the modern sport in England during the 17oo’s. Later the game traveled to the US, with the early british settlers, however the traditions of the game remained relatively unchanged.

Another, relatively uncommon spectator sport is the game of Jai Alai The game because of its speed and relative brevity has become a unique gambling sport. Florida remains the center of the game.

Amongst the latest addition to the list of gambling concepts is internet gambling. Although the history of internet is not really long but even in the short period the relatively novel concept of online gambling market has served up a challenge to the traditional laws of communication in still unexplored ways.

Offshore online gaming casinos have mushroomed in recent years. Not only can the players play poker, blackjack online but also the game of slots can now be played online, in the line of video arcading.

Unhurried and uninterrupted betting is what gets the gamblers looking for a non threatening and private gaming experience to these sites.

However, offshore gambling has resulted in a maze of suggested legislations and arguments between people for and against gambling online. The major concern is
The lack of regulations for these online gambling sites, which but keep the land based casinos in line with the law.

Terry Ross asked:


Gambling is one of those increasingly common marriage problems that are often over looked despite over 50% of compulsive gamblers having been divorced. As with many bad habits, gambling has a real negative impact on family life with the habit often leading to serious financial problems as well as neglect of partners and children and sometimes proving to be a catalyst for abuse.

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission reported that more than 15 million Americans have a serious gambling problem often generated from boredom, a need for change, the adrenalin rush or as a result of marital or family conflicts. Gambling is becoming an ever increasing marriage problem and it’s a bad habit that has serious consequences with regard to family and personal life.

Very few people have any kind of understanding of the devastating impact that the gambling habit can have. Gambling is one bad habit that if it grabs a hold it takes over your entire life, wrecks you marriage, alienates your family, leaves you in financial ruin and destroys your life. Like alcohol abuse, gambling is often a root cause for domestic violence and child abuse. Gambling starts as just a bad habit, something that you do when you’ve got some spare time but it quickly worms its way into your routine and becomes and all encompassing and hard to break addiction that rules your life.

The escalating habit has been made worse with gambling becoming even more common as a result of the onset of internet gambling. There are now around 1,700 gambling websites all vying for business and just waiting to encourage more and more people into the regular gambling routine. Online gambling is a really bad habit to get into with the 24/7 access from the comfort of your own home, the loss of the sense of reality when gambling away money and the ease at which the gamblers can add more funds.

Research has shown that online gamblers are more likely have the most serious gambling habits / addictions and the families of those addicted suffering a greater intrusion into their everyday lives.

Della Franklin asked:


It is always important to conduct yourself in a professional manner when playing the game of Poker. And to be able to do just this, you have to be familiar with the rules and equally important is that you are familiar with the Poker lingo. Talking the talk will help make you look more like a professional!

Remember that playing Poker is indeed a form of gambling since you are playing for money. When you have “tapped out” or being “tapped out” simply means that you have managed to loose everything after betting all that you have.

The game of poker is usually played with 52 cards where each card belongs to one of four different suits, namely the hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades. Some Poker variations will make use of the Joker as a “wild card.” Wild cards can be played as if they were any of the 52 cards in the standard card deck used for Poker. There is no need to be worried and confused about these house rules since they should all be determined and explained before the actual game begins.

When playing on a Poker table one would think that Poker players have their own set of codes to describe the hand that they are playing. Poker usually involves words used by players to declare betting status and these words are most often used to describe their “hand.” The “hand” pertains to the combination formed by the set of cards that a Poker player holds during game play.

Starting with an Ace, combinations can be called “Ace high” or “Ace low.” Players state this phrase depending on how the Ace will be used in the hand. When you declare an “Ace full”, it means that you have a full house containing Aces. This is one of the better hands that you should expect during game play.

A game is “in action” when the pace is relatively more aggressive than usual where there is a lot of activity on the Poker table. This may include “betting”, “raising” and of course “checking”. When you decide to “check”, it only means that you are betting but you are not increasing the pot amount.

When you say you are “betting everything” it means that you are very comfortable with your hand and you will add it to the pot for a bigger payout. Be careful when you say “bet everything” since meaning what you say is one of the major Poker guidelines.

When you say “up the ante” you are referring to putting additional money to further fill up the winning pot. “Raising” an opponent means that you are responding to a previously declared bet by the particular opponent and that you would like to increase the pot.

A broke player on a poker table is usually called a “broomcorn uncle”. “Broomcorn uncles” happen when a particular player overplays his or her hand.

Playing Poker in casinos usually involves “a buy” which only pertains to the amount of money that you need to carry in order to get into the game. It is up to you to make sure that your betting total does not exceed the amount required in the buy.

Mark R. Holland asked:


The beauty of poker is that it is easy to learn but almost impossible to fully master. A player who has learned the basics of poker strategy including starting hand selection, the various kinds of odds and table position looking at advanced poker strategy tips and information needs to cover many areas. This article suggests 5 advanced poker strategy areas that can improve any player’s poker skills.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #1 – Game Theory

Game theory is actually a branch of mathematics which looks at situations where 2 or more people have conflicting interests. It can be applied to poker in many ways. The most common example is ‘Optimal Bluffing Strategy’ in which you aim to randomize your bluffs in a way that is ‘unexploitable’ by opponents. This advanced poker strategy involves making your bluff frequency exactly the same as the odds your opponent receives to call the final bet.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #2 – The Independent Chip Model (ICM)

ICM is a model which gives a tournament player’s chip stack a dollar value based on prize pool distribution and the stacks of remaining players. It is then used to calculate your true risk – in terms of dollars not chips – when making a decision during play. This advanced poker strategy is commonly used in Sit and Go tournaments but can be equally useful in multi-table poker tournaments.

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #3 – Heads-Up Poker Play

There are actually 2 advanced poker strategies designed for heads-up play. Both are used at the end of tournaments and rely on math to ensure that an opponent has no numerical way to exploit you. The first is known as the SAGE system and the second ‘Nash-Equilibrium’. Becoming an expert in these systems will help you reach that number one spot – where the big payout is!

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #4 – Stack Size Flexibility and Inflection Points

Made famous by Dan Harrington the concept of ‘M’, zones and inflection points is a must for players learning advanced poker strategy for tournaments. You can calculate your ‘M’ score at any point during a tournament by dividing your chips by the blinds and antes. This score is then used to assign a ‘zone’ which dictates your strategy as you travel through inflection points (changes between zones).

Advanced Poker Strategy Area #5 – Rail-Birding The Online Pros

Watching the professional online tournament players at work is a great way to pick up advanced poker strategy tips. Effective rail-birding involves analyzing the hand as a whole rather than just the cards in play. Stack-sizes and reads are just two of the many things to watch out for.

Anne Clarke asked:


Everyone knows that bridge cards are smaller than poker cards. In general, bridge cards are about ¼ inch (or about 5 millimeters) slimmer than poker cards. The question is: why? A person could very easily play a game of poker with bridge cards and vice versa. And other card games like euchre, pitch, hearts, and spades can be played with either size deck (an additional question might be: why is there not a different size deck for each of these card games, as well?)

Clearly, size does not matter!

There are many different theories as to why these playing cards are sized differently.

· One of my favorite theories is a feminist theory – bridge is a game for women and poker is a game for men. Women have delicate, small hands while men have big, burly hands, and this is why bridge cards are smaller than poker cards – how can a wee woman handle such manly cards as poker cards? To break free of this playing-card-oppression, women ought to (1) encourage men to admit their femininity by playing bridge (2) encourage men to renounce their manhood by playing poker with bridge cards (3) start playing more poker, or (4) start playing with jumbo-sized cards to show that women are not just as good as men, but better!

Perhaps the question should not be, “Why are bridge cards so small,” but, rather, “Why are poker cards so darn big?”

· The Texas theory – Texas is a big state, right? And Texas Hold ‘Em, perhaps the premier poker game, is named for this big state, right? Well, it only makes sense that poker cards are as big as Texas!

· The American theory – Americans are generally wider than the rest of the world, it only make sense that their poker cards are, as well! (In many countries, the standard size deck is a bridge size).

· Poker is a gambling game, and there are some people that try to win by cheating. Therefore, to discourage cheating, poker cards are larger, making sleights of hand more difficult (of course, at the same time, it is slightly harder to conceal larger cards).

The most likely reason that bridge cards are narrower than poker cards:

· In bridge, you generally have to hold more cards in your hand – around 13 compared to just 5 for poker. It is easier to hold the smaller cards and to keep them concealed. In poker, on the other hand, it is easier to hold the larger cards, since you have so few to hold onto.

Further information on playing cards:

· Magicians generally prefer bridge cards – because they are smaller, they are easier to manage for many different magic tricks and sleights of hand.

· Most licensed cards, like a deck of Coca Cola playing cards, are poker-sized.

· Jumbo index cards are not cards that are even bigger than poker cards – rather, they have large print in the corners so that the numbers are easier to read.

· In many casino poker games, bridge-sized cards are used!

Matthew Donaldson asked:


Poker Stars is considered the largest online poker room website, having the most traffic and visitors among other online poker sites. With all this traffic, Poker Stars get great advertisements, promotions, different types of poker games and even the prime poker tournaments there are. Literally, there is a poker tournament that starts every single second in the Stars website. You need not wait too long for a new game. The website also hosts the biggest weekly tournament with a $1.5 million pot Sunday Million. This is just one of the many tournaments that the site holds. They also have a massive player base that gets more and more players joining their poker games. If you are one who loves poker and looking for the right online poker room, then Poker Stars should definitely be included in your options.

But if you are one who loves your bonuses, you will be disappointed to know that the Stars site does not offer the largest bonuses unlike others. However, they do provide the longest time period wherein you can earn your bonus and increase it. For those who play during the weekends, this definitely means the difference between earning all of the bonuses and earning 25% of it.

The Poker Stars website is presently offering to its players a 100% deposit bonus that reaches up to $50. This only goes for your first deposit, which means that if you want to big possible bonuses, you would need to enlarge the amount of your first deposit. If your initial deposit is only at $50, you are only eligible to receive $50 bonus. Likewise, if you make an initial deposit of $20, you are only entitled to a $20 bonus.

The Poker Stars website lets their players earn their bonuses for a full six months. This is the longest that any other online poker card room can give. Normally, online poker rooms only give their poker players 3 to 4 months before their unearned bonus becomes forfeited. Poker recognizes that the new players will usually play at small stakes. This is the reason why they give this additional time extension for these players to earn the bonus they provide.

If a player wants to fully earn his bonus, he must earn the size of their bonus times ten in base FPPs. Earning these “base FPPs” can be attained by playing on real money game tables, playing real money in MTTs and playing real money in SNGs. If you want to earn more bonuses, you need to play more.

For you to totally qualify for the bonus, you would have to take a 2-step process. First of all, when you are undergoing the sign-up process, you will need to enter the word POKER-KING when you are asked for the marketing code. Next, when you are going to make a deposit, input the Poker Stars Bonus Code “STARS50″ when asked for the bonus code. This Poker Stars Bonus Code is necessary if you want to get your bonus.

These are the two steps you need to take and you are done. After this process, you may well be on the right track into earning 100% Poker Stars bonuses.