Military Gold | Poker, Casino & Gambling Lounge

Armen Wilson asked:


As you learn to play poker, one of the most important things you will need to learn are the Poker Hands Rankings.

Most rankings list the hands from highest to lowest, but here they are shown from lowest to highest, as this is how you will encounter them most often. It is often noted that Las Vegas poker is played by slightly different rules than casinos in Europe, but all online games have agreed to use the Las Vegas Rules, as do the Texas Hold’Em poker tournaments shown on TV including the World Poker Tour and others. These rules for card games were first written down for live card games by Robert Ciaffone in 1984, and have become the standard for online poker and other games of chance played with cards.

In order to win at poker, you need to know how different hands rank: that is, which ones are assigned a higher value than others, and some idea of the odds of creating any particular hand out of your cards and those on the table.

The three fundamental rules of poker (5 or 7-card Poker, High and High-Low Split) are these:
* The deck is counted from 2 to Ace, so Ace is the highest single card.
* Each player can only use 5 of the cards (yours plus those on the table or those you draw) to make your best hand. Don’ t try to use six or all seven.
* The player with the highest-ranked hand wins.

How can you tell who has the highest-ranked hand: Is it you? Memorize these poker hands rankings and practice, practice, practice!

Here are the most-recognized poker hands rankings around the world for any five-card or seven-card poker game:
from Lowest to Highest Rank:

* High Card- you have five cards of all different values and suits, with one card a higher value than all the others.
Example: 3 of Hearts, 5 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and Jack of Clubs.
ODDS: 1 in 2 that you will get this hand.

* One Pair- you have two cards of equal value in your hand.
Example: 3 of Hearts, 3 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and Jack of Clubs. Jack of Clubs, your highest card, is called the kicker. It will help you hold and win the hand. The value of the other cards
is also considered should another player also have the other pair of 3s (Spades and Clubs).
ODDS: 1 in 2.4 that you will get this hand.

Two Pair- you have two sets of 2 cards of equal value in your hand.
Example 3 of Hearts, 3 of Diamonds, 7 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and 10 of Clubs. The kicker here is
the 7 of Spades. It will help decide if you win the hand, if someone else has two pairs of the same value.
ODDS: 1 in 21 that you will get this hand.

* Three Of A Kind – you have three cards of equal value in your hand.
Example: 3 of Hearts, 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and 10 of Clubs, Jack of Clubs. The kicker here is
the Jack of Clubs. It will help you win the hand.
ODDS: 1 in 47 that you will get this hand.

Straight- you have five cards in sequence by value, in more than one suit, in your hand. Ace can be a high or low
card in a Straight. No kicker in this hand
Example: 7 of Hearts, 8 of Diamonds, 9 of Clubs, 10 of Clubs, Jack of Hearts.
ODDS: 1 in 255 that you will get this hand.

Flush- you have five cards of any value that are all in the same suit. No kicker in this hand.
Example: 3, 4, 7, Queen and King of Diamonds
ODDS: 1 in 509 that you will get this hand.

Full House- you have a pair plus three of a kind in your hand. No kicker in this hand.
Example 3 of Hearts, 3 of Diamonds, 10 of Spades, 10 of Hearts and 10 of Clubs.
ODDS: 1 in 694 that you will get this hand.

* Four Of A Kind- you have all four of the cards of a given value in your hand. Fifth card is the kicker.
Example: 8 of Diamonds, 8 of Hearts, 8 of Spades and 8 of Clubs, and 3 of Diamonds.
ODDS: 1 in 4,164 that you will get this hand.

* Straight Flush – you have five cards in sequence by value, all in the same suit. No kicker in this hand.
Example: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of Spades.
ODDS: 1 in 72,193 that you will get this hand.

* Royal Flush- you have the top five cards in value, all in the same suit. No kicker needed for this hand!
Example: 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of any of the four suits.
ODDS: 1 in 649,740

Remember, the more thoroughly you study the poker hands rankings, and the more you practice at internet and live play, the better you will learn to play poker — and the more you will win!

Howard Keith asked:


Gambling addiction is silent and self destructive until the compulsive gambler wakes up and realizes this is not how they want to live their lives. A change is in order. It’s now time to find a solution in order to stop their addiction.

Over the past year, I have met a lot of people who have been able to face their demons in order to stop their gambling addiction. They range in age from seventeen to seventy two and are from all walks of life. All of these compulsive gamblers expected that they would gamble for the rest of their life. They never really thought they could beat their addiction. The one thing in common was they all had a sincere desire to stop but were unable to. They all tried various programs but nothing seemed to work.

Some of these people tried Gamblers Anonymous. A majority quit this program, but felt they had gained knowledge and a better understanding of their gambling addiction. Gamblers Anonymous helped them to realize they were not alone and they could lead a productive life. Going to a Gamblers Anonymous meeting helped them to realize they were not alone. There they also met for the first time, other people who shared similar thoughts and similar self destructive patterns. This realization put them on their road to recovery. This was definitely a turning point but they still unfortunately quit the program in search of something else. Some people found help through religion and others found self help books and chat rooms.

Beating ones gambling addiction as they emotionally moved forward was an educational process that helped them to finally be a winner. Once a compulsive gambler understands what they are going through, their recovery seems to really accelerate.

The goal of most compulsive gamblers is to stop gambling. The key is to find a program that works.

Gambling addiction is a silent and self destructive illness that sneaks up and takes over your life. As time goes by it takes away your heart and soul. Once you realize you have a problem, you can face this addiction head on.

I have enjoyed helping people to beat their addiction. All people are unique individuals. It’s important to find a stop gambling recovery program that they can relate to. Next they need to realize that they can lead a normal productive life once they stop. Compulsive gamblers have spent a significant amount of mental energy thinking about when they were going to gamble again, the next big win and how did I lose all that money. AS they recover they realize they wasted so much of their time with a negative end result. Once they stopped gambling they became productive individuals. They also became part of society again. All those self destructive behaviors were now behind them. Many of them look back and remember with amazement and shock. They could not believe what they had done to their lives. The key was to finding the right combination that helped them stop their addiction.

There are quite a few stop gambling resources that are available that can help the compulsive gambler. Through all of these new resources family members, friends and the compulsive gamblers can educate themselves in order to have a brighter tomorrow.

Iulia Pascanu asked:


What Las Vegas jargon names “whales” is in fact the creme of the high rollers species. They are a handful of people that in some opinions don’t exceed 500 individuals in the world. Las Vegas hoteliers are nuts about them; some claim four or five of those whales bet much more than the rest of the thousands customers they receive daily. No wonder they are suspected of going as far as selling their first born child to get one of those whales into their gaming area.
Five tips to recognise a whale

* the size of the bet: $50,000 is the low end; Australian tycoon Kerry Packer likes to play seven blackjack hands at one time; his top bet was $375,000;

* the line of credit: 4 to 5 million dollars for one weekend; a fortune for us ordinary earthlings, pocket money for a “whale”;

* the treat: whales get all the freebies from the hotel they play: fine dining, luxury accommodations, private jet transportation, expensive gifts… often the US visa for the Asian high rollers;

* the escort: it usually includes bodyguards, beautiful gals and close friends; Las Vegas history saved for the record a legendary tale in which the Saudi Prince Adnan Khashoggi dropped for a bet at Stardust with an entourage of a dozen people;

* the generosity: whether they win or loose, everybody’s happy as long as they play; “whales” don’t spare tips & gifts.

While the “whales” number just a few hundreds in the world, the amounts they can afford to lose are purely impressive; that is why hoteliers pay specially trained staff for “whales hunting”. The Asians form a big part of this exclusivist market, about 80 %. The bottom line is to keep them coming in, at the same rate, after nine eleven.

Unfortunately, Las Vegas seems to be experiencing a decrease in whale strands these days. One reason, that all hoteliers agree about, is they don’t get as much privacy in Las Vegas casinos as they would normally get in other gaming destinations of the world. While hotel owners in Las Vegas await their VIP saloons approved, the “whales” gamble in Macau, Monaco or Australia.

Dennis B asked:


There are many talented artists that offer a wide variety of poker art work. From originals to limited edition prints, there are poker paintings that depict scenes from old poker movies to abstract works of art that feature modern day poker celebrities.

Darci Faulkner ’s art is widely collected and has been honored with many national awards. Her poker art work is a testament to her talent and commitment to embracing new and challenging subjects. Where many artists embrace one style and adhere to it, Darci is always reaching for something new, challenging herself to learn. Darci’s poker art work that includes a series of celebrity poker paintings combine digital technology and her experience in traditional painting. Reflecting an influence of the genre developed by Andy Warhol and Peter Max, her style, embraces a whole new approach of combining the image of several celebrities to capture a specific moment in time. “I was looking for a way to do something with my art experience and with my knowledge of computer technology and I found it.” Not unlike her poker art work, characteristic of Darci’s divergent styles, her sports paintings have been described as a marriage of the styles of Norman Rockwell and Leroy Neiman.

She is always exploring new techniques and avenues to create new images and works that combine her endless curiosity, knowledge of technology and love of color…lots and lots of color!

Kathy Womack, the artist behind the celebrated Women and Wine series is now adding poker art work to her resume. Her proven success with the Women and Wine series made her the perfect candidate to capture the sport and excitement offered in the medium of poker art work with pokers recent surge in popularity. Kathy got her start as a newspaper fashion illustrator in the early nineties. When the transition to computer generated imaging began, the need for illustrators lessened. Searching for a more creative outlet, Kathy left the paper, picked up her brushes, and began making a name for herself. Only five years later, at age 32, she opened the Kathy Womack Gallery in downtown Austin, Texas. Now with the imminent opening of a Houston location, and her sights on Las Vegas in the near future, she is fast on her way to becoming one of the most successful artists of her time.

LeRoy Neiman is probably the most popular sports artist in the world, followed only by younger artists Stephan Holland and Richard T. Slone. Neiman produces about six different serigraph subjects a year, generally priced from $3,000 to $6,000 each. Gross annual sales of new serigraphs alone top $10 million. In addition to being an internationally renowned sports artist, Neiman has created poker art work inspired from his experience traveling the world visiting the worlds grandest casinos.

Neiman’s poker art work and gaming paintings include;Baccarat, Baden-Baden, Black Break, Casino, Chemin de Fer, Desert Inn Baccarat, Gaming Table International Poker, International Roulette, Pool Room, Roulette, Roulette II, Salle Privee – Monte Carlo, Stud Poker, The Game, The Game of Life, The Green Table, Vegas Blackjack and Vegas Craps.

Neiman produced much of his early work for Playboy Magazine, for which he still illustrates monthly.

Donnie Carter asked:


It only takes a few minutes to pick up the basics of poker and start your career learning the finer elements of the great card game. In this article, I’ll get you started straight away.

Poker is a fascinating game. Did you know that it is the card game where skill plays the greatest part? Even better than Blackjack. Anyway, here are the basics of the game.

The most common type of poker is Texas Holdem. There are other less popular ones like Omaha, but most people when they say “poker” mean Texas Holdem.

The aim of the game is to have the best hand at the end. I’ll come to the types of hands later but you have probably heard of things like “two pairs” or “full house” already.

First, everybody gets two of their own cards. Then the dealer will put five “community” cards in the centre of the table that are shared by everyone. So from a total of seven cards you can make your own hand.

But the best bit about poker is that the community cards are slowly revealed and betting rounds take place. So the longer you want to stay in the game, the more money people will challenge you to put up. If someone raises and places a lot of money down for everyone else to match to stay in – are they holding good cards or just bluffing? This is the beauty of poker!

You don’t win every game of poker. Every time you fold, you lose a little money but at least you live to fight another day and if you play well, then your winning pots should far exceed the small cost of participating and folding.

Michael Russell asked:


Gambling addictions are no longer unheard of – they are believed to be rising now more than ever due to the increasing opportunities to gamble. There are more casinos, sports betting and slot machines than ever before. If you stay away from casinos, there is also telephone betting and even more gambling on the internet. It is truly an addiction that can be difficult to conquer.

Gambling can and does become a serious problem. It often leads to financial and relationship ruin in most, if not all, cases. For some, attempted suicide after losing a bet is not unheard of. Pathological gambling is much more common among men than in women, though the number female gambling addicts are on the rise as well. Gambling addicts are also more likely to smoke cigarettes and abuse alcohol compared to recreational gamblers and this can compound the problem. There are four phases that can help you realize a gambling addiction: the winning phase, the chasing phase, the desperation phase and hopelessness.

1. The Winning Phase – This is a short and sometimes non-existent phase that associates escape from problems with winning several small or large bets. It can give a temporary boost in self-esteem and a sense of empowerment. The excitement and titillation often felt at the casino is used to charge up the lives of those predisposed by some conditions and loneliness.

2. The Chasing Phase – The addiction starts to unravel when a number of losses are attributed to poor luck. Somehow, no win is ever enough. More often, the person prefers to gamble alone. They start to hide their gambling because the losses have put them in a tight financial spot. The addict begins to ignore his or her family and then becomes irritable when not gambling. Slowly, gambling and betting become the sole coping mechanism to the larger issues in life. The addict can gamble until he is insolvent and can become unapproachable about the problem. This phase can last a number of years, with the addict progressively placing larger bets on longer odds. More often than not, the addict starts borrowing money to support the habit and his family life is gone.

3. The Desperation Phase The addict behaves there is little, if no time for anything else and nothing else in life matters except the thrill of betting more. He resorts to lying, manipulation and complete denial of criticism. He usually externalizes the blame and does not hold himself accountable for his desperate state. Sometimes he can exhibit acute anger at others who deny that his gambling is just “normal”. Usually, his finances are a wreck and bills remain unpaid. The family by now knows the addiction but remains suffering and powerless. Sometimes the gambler contemplates suicide and sees death as the only exit strategy. This is the point where most remediation occurs but relapses from initial recovery programs can be frequent. Unfortunately, there are many who undertake the recovery program but keep gambling anyway.

4. The Hopeless Phase This phase goes beyond “bad enough” and usually involves clinical depression, suicide, or criminal actions that often land them in jail.

Robert Grazian asked:


Poker card guards are similar to paperweights in function. Just like a paperweight is placed on a pile of papers to keep the papers together and safe, these card guards can be placed on top of a set of cards to keep the cards together and safe. When playing the game of poker, the cards are frequently placed on the table head down. By placing a card guard on it, a player can ensure that the cards will not be exposed accidentally or by foul play. These can be handled easily and these are heavy enough to keep the cards together.

Card protectors come in various sizes and shapes. A majority of them are either circular or rectangular with curved corners. Actually, card guards are a late entrant into the list of poker accessories. But it quickly became very popular as a collector’s hobby item and a convenient item as a gift. Unlike poker cards and chips, card guards are allowed in casinos. That makes it a must have item for regular poker players. Card guards are not that much expensive. These have an average price of about $20. However, there are expensive card guards with chic designs for the fashion savvy people among the poker players.

Poker card guards are available aplenty in various shops in the United States. The fact that it is used commonly as a gift item explains its immense popularity. It is present even in shops that sell goods that are unrelated to the game of poker. Also, the same fact explains the trend of putting eye-catching designs on the card guards and giving imaginative names to them. One can buy card protectors from the internet also. There are hundreds of websites that line up to sell what they call “the best and most elegant card protectors in the world”. One thing to remember is that there are some genuine websites and there are some websites that sell card guards of very poor quality and substandard finishing. So, one should be careful about making purchasing decisions on the internet. To be on the safer side, always buy the products of genuine and famous companies.

The common aspects to check before buying a poker card guard are the following. One should always check for any finishing defect in a card protector. Such defects include broken edges that are unrecognizable in casual glance, narrow cracks through the body that are very difficult to spot, and spilled paint and other painting problems. When buying from a website, one should always ensure that the company will refund the amount or supply a brand new card guard if the original one is found defective or of poor quality. If you are careful and smart enough to check the above aspects, purchasing from the internet is a highly cost-effective option for buying a card protector.