Well roulette has met the final frontier. No not space, I mean the Internet, the final earthly frontier! Online roulette is pretty much exploding right now, as are most other casino games that have migrated into online casino software over the past five years or so. There are many reasons people try out online gambling, the most obvious one being the fact that not many people can afford to fly to Vegas as often as they might like. Bringing real gambling online has many would be Vegas frequenters saving some money on plane tickets. I've truly come to enjoy playing roulette online. It's virtually the same as playing in a real casino, and if you're a serious player it even holds some advantages. The casinos throw as much distraction as they can at you while you gamble. They feed you free booze, keep lots of mirrors around so you're never really sure where you are, constantly send beautiful girls walking by the table, clang coins and buzzers and bells and whistles all around you, all in a rather effective attempt to take your money in as smooth a way as possible. Playing online eliminates all but a few of these nasty distractions. A great number of people prefer to play in a real casino of course, because all of the distraction is elegantly disguised as entertainment. And of course to many it is, the glitz and glamour of a Vegas casino can hardly be beaten. So you would expect that online roulette is more for those who like the game itself, but I've found many different types of people enjoy it right off the bat. I think the main reason for this is the fact that there is no intimidation factor, no dealers to make you nervous, no high rollers making you feel puny, no cigar smoke, and no worries about embarrassing yourself by making a wrong move. These may not seem like huge reasons, but actually, those are some pretty powerful negatives. Many friends I have hate cigar smoke so much they often find it difficult to find a table to play at in the casino. Countless others have never actually walked up to the roulette table, however much they would have liked to, because they don't know if they may do something wrong. So playing online roulette garners as much benefit to the new and inexperienced player as it does the serious one who is interested in the game more than the casino hoopla. Most people who ask me about online roulette ask the same question. Are the odds the same playing online as playing at the casino? Well, if you've read our roulette odds page, you'll know that American roulette has a rather incontrovertible house edge and that certainly couldn't change. Unless a game has been blatantly fixed, you'll find you have as much success and failure at the online roulette tables as in the casino. The beautiful thing about playing online though, is the abundance of European roulette wheels available. Playing on a European (single zero) roulette table automatically cuts the house edge down to almost half of it's American cousin. This is by far the most convincing reason to play roulette online, unless you're lucky enough to have a European roulette wheel just down the street.

Blackjack Most people assume that playing Blackjack is all about scoring 21. This is not the case when playing in a casino. Your only objective is to beat the dealer, it doesn't matter whether you hand is worth 21 or 12, as long as you win. All wins pay evens except Blackjack, which pays 3/2 (1.5:1) Your main weapon is the fact that, in most casino rules, the dealer must hit on 16 or below and the dealer must stand on 17 or above. Armed with this knowledge it is possible to formulate a strategy based the value of the dealer's open card. Let's use an example: You have been dealt an 8 and a 5. The dealer's open card is a 5. You may think that a hand of 13 is no good to you but you'd be wrong! Don't forget that the dealer must hit on all scores of 16 or less and 16 is now the maximum score the dealer can have. You stand, the dealer turns over his card to reveal a 10. He has a hand worth 15, normally enough to beat you but because of the casino rules, he has to hit. He hits and draws a 10, he busts and you win with a hand worth 13. Played properly, Blackjack can realise very high percentage returns.

Remember, what we said in our introduction to Roulette, there is no beginning or end to a casino game. Casinos want you to play forever because, in the long run, they have the advantage. It is up to you to set up the criteria to make the game a real game with achievable goals and distinct rules on when the game is done. With measurable objectives, you will be able to track your results better and decide whether your strategy is working. With this feedback, you can adjust your strategy to optimize your gain when you are winning. So, here are some guidelines to use in preparing for your next gambling adventure:

• Establish your gambling pool
  Decide how much you are going to take with you. Separate the money you will use to gamble with from the rest of the money you will need for meals, entertainment, gas for returning home, etc.
• Establish how many sessions you will have
  Divide your gambling pool into equal parts for each session. Physically separate the money and only take one part with you to each session.
  
• Establish your bet start amount
  The driving force behind establishing your bet start amount will be the betting system you use. In addition, you should consider how long you want to play and how much risk are you willing to take. Of course, you could buy in at the table and bet the entire session amount on your first spin. If you lose, then you will be spending the rest of the night watching others gamble. A good rule of thumb for your initial bet amount is 1/10 to 1/20 of the session start amount.