Casino

Guess what! A casino is a place where players go to gamble. Gambling by its very nature means that there is a chance of loss and there is a chance of a win. But as everyone (should)  know (and keep in mind), the chances of winning are less than the chances of losing. All casino games have a built-in house advantage. The house advantage is called the house edge (it keep the place in business) and is usually shown as a percentage, sometimes from .5% to 20%. But more importantly for you, the player, is the expected return to play (RTP).

Both factors, for the casino and the player, indicate how the casino game is designed to pay out. That's right, there is no magic involved here. All casino games are programmed, or set up in a way that the casino always has the advantage. However, players can also use certain tools to lower that advantage and increase their winning potential.

But therein lies the major difficulty in online casino game reviews. There are always those charlatans who will profess to their dying day that they have the all-in-one secret to winning all of the games. Beware of any website that says "the only secret to playing a game correctly is the secret that they have developed". Over hundreds of years, thousands of people have developed and promoted their own strategies that are designed to overcome or at least alleviate the casinos house advantage.

 Some of these strategies are in fact proven to be effective. Blackjack card counting, for instance, is a known way to increase your winnings. In fact, many land-based casinos will throw 'card counters' out the door, both literally and virtually. But Blackjack card counting is a very hard skill to master continuously and effectively. Counting  cards in blackjack is more of a job than an enjoyable experience, and it doesn't always work (see below for the solution).

Online

Online, originally meant that people would dial up on their telephone modem to connect to a casino. But that archaic method of connection is so much more advanced at this time. Online casino basically means that it is not a 100% land-based casino operation.

Online can also mean desktops and laptops as well as mobile internet connected devices such as tablets and cell phones.

Another funny thing happened more than 5 years ago.  The availability of Live Dealer casino games became a reality. This further muddies the distinction between online games versus land-based games, because live dealer games are actually land-based games which are streamed online. Most of the live dealer games are actually only online and do not have actual real players in front of them. But with this method, people can get some of the real game experience while playing from the comfort of their home, office or anywhere else that they have an internet connection.

Live dealer games have also spawned a variation of the game of Blackjack which I think is the most revolutionary development since the game was invented. Players don't even have to learn basic strategy or even the game of blackjack itself. When you connect to a live dealer blackjack game with early payout, the online system will automatically tell you which action you should do.

Gone forever are the days that you need to consult a strategy card to decide when to stand or hit. In fact, if you think that you have a better idea than what 'perfect Blackjack strategy' tells you to do, you can go 'against the grain' and take an early payout. And lest you think that the casino is playing a game 'on you', the expected 'return to player' for this game is 99.5%, a perfect score for blackjack (and with no thinking involved). WOW – BOOYAH.

Gaming

When I started this blog more than 20 years ago, the terms casino games and casino gaming were synonymous. While video games have always been a rage, I think it is more than overtaking the online casino games faction. I've always been torn between concentrating on real money casino games versus video casino games.

So generally I have let the visitors to this site determine the concentration of posts. If you are attracted to real money casino games vs video 'play for fun' games, I  post more information on whatever you read.

Summary

In closing, I hope that you enjoy this blog and wonder around checking out all the casino and game reviews. Plus, please remember if you gamble, you should do so responsibly. Good Luck to everyone!