Category: Online Casinos

The Difference Between Online Gambling and Online Gaming

Do you know the difference between online gaming and online gambling? Many people use the two words interchangeably but they really are two completely different things. I’m going to go over some of the specific details that set these two activities apart.

Online Gaming is defined as playing a game online without making a wager. While Online Gambling is defined as playing a game online with wagers, whether it is with real money or funny money. So when you are playing that flash trial version of blackjack online you are actually participating in Online Gambling.

Online Gaming can be mulit-player, single-player or role-playing and involves some sort of internet connection. There are several Online Gaming communities that have grown quite large over the years such as World of War craft and Dungeons and Dragons. These games are fun because people can play with each other from all over the world.

Online Gambling can also be multi-player but you are not necessarily playing against the other players, unless it is Poker that you are playing. For instance, there could be several others at the blackjack table but you are all only competing against the house.

Gaming usually charges a fee to participate in the game while Gambling requires a deposit that you could potentially win more money from.

Online gambling and participating in an online game do have a couple similarities. Both use flash and media to keep the player visually stimulated. The two might even merge in the coming years. Slot machines being developed these days are much more interactive and game-like.

Sin City or Atlantic City?

When deciding where to play blackjack online it is relatively easy to find a site that you like.

I usually go to Online Casino Suite and find the best online casinos. They review all of them and let me know each casino’s payout  percentage as well as the hit frequency. There are a lot of options, but the good thing is you can virtually leap from casino to casino.

But what about when you want to play blackjack at a physical casino? Do you find a local casino or venture to one for the well-known gambling destinations? I was reading an article today at Fox News about how New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been making a push to get players to come to the east coast rather than the west coast. He says that “You’d have to be stupid to go to a dessert in the middle of the summer.”

But would you? Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman has to laugh at this, although she appreciates Christie’s efforts to draw tourism to Atlantic City.

The fact of the matter is Las Vegas will always beat Atlantic City in revenue, in 2010 Vegas nearly doubled AC’s earnings, and so Goodman has nothing to worry about.

So which is it going to be: Sin City or Atlantic City?

It all can be summed up with one quote from an active gambler who has visited both destinations many times: “If you want to experience Jersey, go to Atlantic City. But if you want to experience the world, come to Vegas.”

Mr. Green has a Blackjack Table for Everyone!

Although a relatively new Casino, Mr. Green is definitely making its mark in the online casino world.

It is OCS top-rated UK and Best Euro Casino Online. They are doing something right over there, whether it be the no frills demeanor or by not offering a ton of vague claims and unnecessary downloads. Mr. Green is actually a No Download Euro Casino.

That being said, let’s get to the Blackjack! With over 11 different types, I’m sure you will find a black jack table to strike your fancy. Anything from High Roller, to Pirate 21, or even my personal favorite: Double Exposure.

Once you are in you are going to notice, unlike other casinos, Mr. Green is primarily concerned with the actual playing experience. They aren’t going to try to steer you anywhere but your table.

Although Mr. Green doesn’t do many promotions, they do have one that adds a little something extra to your gaming experience.
It is a weekly lottery style drawing called the Green Elevator. Every time you login into your account you will receive 50 free bonus points, pretty cool right? You don’t even have to wager, but if you do you will receive the points based on the amount you wager, of course. The more points earned, the more lottery tickets earned, which means a greater chance to win the weekly free casino bonus giveaway.

Go to Mr.Green for the Blackjack, stay for the awesome atmosphere and special incentives!

OnlineCasinoSuite.com Online Casino Directory

Online blackjack is one of the most popular online card games out there on the Internet. Granted online slots and online poker are up there in popularity, but they do not have the odds that online blackjack does. I mean you cannot beat a house edge of only 0.5% when using perfect basic strategy.

That being said, players obviously need a place to play online blackjack. And not just any place either. Online blackjack players need a safe, secure and reputable place to play. So I introduce you to OnlineCasinoSuite.com.

OnlineCasinoSuite.com is home on the Internet to some of the most sound online casino reviews that I have read. Their writers do not only say ‘This is a fun place to play.’ Their writers will research online casinos and then bring their readers reviews of the most reputable to make an online casino directory.

These reviews will tell players about where an online casino is licensed and regulated out of and what casino group owns them. They will talk about the software, the games and the graphics. They will also discuss the customer support staff of the online casinos they review. An online casino is only as strong as their support, and that is something OnlineCasinoSuite.com recognizes.

On the fun side of their reviews, their writers will talk about the Welcome Bonuses, other bonuses and player rewards clubs. These are in-depth reviews designed to help players find the best place to play online blackjack. And by best I mean safe, secure and most reputable.

But OnlineCasinoSuite.com does not stop at reviewing and offering an online casino directory. They also offer tips and news related to favorite online casino games. There is a whole section, Online Casino Suite’s blackjack page, which focuses solely on blackjack. It is there that online blackjack players can find quick resources and news about blackjack.

Silver Oak’s Online Blackjack Bonus

Who does not like extra money? I cannot think of a person that does not like extra money, especially when it comes to those who gamble online. Thankfully online casinos offer bonuses to their players to give their bankrolls—and profit chances—an increase. Some online casinos offer special online blackjack bonuses that are only available to, well, their online blackjack players.

Silver Oak is one such online casino. Naturally they would play on the whole blackjack theme with an online blackjack bonus. Players can pick up an extra 21% on their deposit match bonus. But which base bonus they receive is up to them and how much they deposit to their player account.

There are three levels to this bonus:

Players who deposit between $50 and $500 dollars can claim the 100% deposit bonus plus the 21% extra online blackjack bonus for a total bonus of 121%. Coupon code SILVIERBLACK1.

For players who deposit $501 up to $1,000 they can claim a 120% deposit bonus plus the 21% blackjack special bonus for a total bonus of 141%. Coupon code SILVERBLACK2.

And then for the players who deposit more than $1,001 can claim a deposit bonus of 140% plus the 21%. That brings their total online blackjack bonus to 161%. Coupon code SILVERBLACK3.

And that, my dear online blackjack players, is Silver Oak’s Blackjack Special.

Naturally there are terms and conditions for claiming this deposit and withdrawing against it. Players who wish to claim the Blackjack Special must have made at least one deposit prior to the deposit they wish to claim the Blackjack Special on. Players must also meet the 30x wager requirement before making a withdrawal. But the good news is that the Blackjack Special can be claimed year round.

Virgin’s New Blackjack Bonus

While they do not accept players from the United States, Virgin Casino is one of the foremost online casinos operating in Europe. As such they have decided to begin offering a new blackjack bonus in hopes of throwing some favor to the card players.

Virgin has always been generous when it comes to their online slots players. Now it is time that they showed some favor to the blackjack players, well the new ones at any rate.

New players to Virgin will be able to claim a 50% deposit match using the code BLACKJACK50. But there is one slight downside to this blackjack bonus: it is only worth a maximum of £50. For all the Americans that is the same as just over $80.

So according to the bonus, players would have to deposit £100 in order to receive £50. Again, for the Americans, it would be like depositing $160 and only receiving $80.

While that sort of bonus is all well and fine as one of a few weekly bonuses in a player rewards program, it is actually not the greatest blackjack bonus. I offer up in comparison Rushmore’s blackjack bonus which is a 200% deposit match bonus worth up to $1,000. And $1,000 is a heck of a lot more than $80.

While I am glad to see Virgin Casino giving something to their blackjack players, I do feel that they are worth more than £50. On the other hand my mother always said that some is better than none, so I guess new blackjack players to Virgin have that as their option.

What to Look for When Looking for a Place to Play Blackjack

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Yesterday I discussed some misadvice I had stumbled across in regards to what to look for in looking for a place to play online blackjack. So I thought for today I would discuss some things you do want to look for in when looking for a place to play online blackjack.

In yesterday’s post I talked about how the number of blackjack variations being offered was not the best indicator of whether you should play online blackjack at a specific online casino or not. And while this is true, there is one thing in regards to the types of online blackjack offered that you will want to be sure of: that the blackjack game or games that you want to play are offered.

Let’s say for example that you want to be able to play not only standard blackjack, but also want to play Pontoon. Not every online casino offers Pontoon in their blackjack selection. Let’s also say that you are also considering an online casino from yesterday’s list. Now all nine of the online casinos mentioned offer standard blackjack; that is par the course for any online casino. But what about Pontoon?

Online Vegas: no Pontoon
Millionaire: no Pontoon
Rushmore: Pontoon!
English Harbour: no Pontoon
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Cherry Red: Pontoon!
Go Casino: no Pontoon
Silver Oak: Pontoon!
Silver Dollar: no Pontoon

So out of those nine online casinos, only 4 of them offer Pontoon in addition to standard blackjack. This means it would be pointless to research the other five online casinos since you know that they do not offer one of the variations of blackjack that you want to play online. This narrows your search down, in this case, to those four online casinos.

Once you know that the online blackjack variations you want to play are available, you can check out the quality of their customer service, their deposit and withdrawal methods, whether they are regulated and if you like the Welcome Bonus they are offering.

While choosing a place to play blackjack is not based on how many blackjack variations they offer, what they offer is important in so much that you need to find an online casino that offers the blackjack games you want to play.

Mis-advice About Looking for a Place to Play Online Blackjack

I have seen it time and again. Those informational websites that are full of articles on how to do something that the person who wrote said article probably has not done themselves. I take for evidence an article I found on what to look for when looking for a place to play online blackjack which had a piece of advice that was very not correct.

This particular article advised players to not register at an online casino that offered less than 10 variations of blackjack. I had to laugh at this because this does not exist. There is no online casino that has 10 variations of online blackjack available, and the reason is because there are not 10 variations that are all played popularly today. You do not believe me? Here, I will show you:

Online Vegas: 4
Millionaire: 4
Rushmore: 7
English Harbour: 4
Aladdin’s Gold: 6
Cherry Red: 7
Go Casino: 4
Silver Oak: 7
Silver Dollar: 3

As you can see right there half of the online casinos listed have less than half of that particular article’s “required” amount of blackjack variations necessary for it to be a good place to play online blackjack. As for the two online casinos that offer 7 variations of online blackjack, they are the same variations: Blackjack, Face Up 21, Blackjack Perfect Pairs, European Blackjack, Match Play 21, Pontoon and Super 21.

And of those variations most of them are true variations in which the rules have been restricted for doubling down and splitting pairs, along with side bets being added, to increase the house’s edge and win more money off of the players. So why would you want to play them anyway?

The number of variations of online blackjack that are offered by an online casino is not indicative of whether it is a good place to play online blackjack or not. There are other more important factors to consider when looking for a place to play online blackjack and tomorrow I will share them.

New Play for Real Blackjack App

Spin3 has developed yet another blackjack app for the Apple App Store. The app itself is tied to an online casino, in this case 32Red. Because of that tie, this new blackjack play for real mobile app can only be used by iPhone, iPad and iPod users in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Which is kind of a bummer for those of us that are not in the United Kingdom or Ireland.

The app, though tied to 32Red, is found through the Apple App Store. Once the player has downloaded the app, he or she is free to play what essentially amounts to online blackjack from their phone. And this is not just an ordinary app blackjack in which you are playing with pretend money. Because of that tie to a real online casino, players can play for real money on their iPhone or other Apple device.

This is another step forward that further merges online gambling with the world of mobile interaction, which is a combination that IGT has already looked into, what with their merger of their WagerWorks and Million-2-1 subsidiaries.

Honestly it does not surprise me that online casinos are working with mobile app developers to bring their casino platforms to mobile users. As it stands most online gambling takes place in the home. But people are on the go more and more, and with that comes even more reliance on mobile technology. And that is what is causing savvy online casino operators to turn to trying to put their platforms into a mobile format.

Why not playing online blackjack on your iPhone while waiting for your flight to arrive?

Right now this Spin3 created mobile play for real blackjack app is only available to players with 32Red accounts. But there are intentions of spreading the play for real blackjack app to other mobile casinos who are clients of Spin3.

Gambling Addiction Signs

True to what I mentioned this morning, I will talk about gambling addiction.

While I honestly believe that the majority of gambling patrons can handle their money and their gambling responsibly, there are those who cannot, and it is important to be able to recognize if you or someone you know has a problem.

Financial Secrecy
When a person with a person has an addiction to gambling they will often become secretive about their finances. They will often insist on overseeing household finances by themselves, not because they feel that they can manage them better, but because it gives them direct access to money. They might also want to hide just how much money they have gambled.

Compulsive Gambling
Those with an addiction to gambling will often find it had to walk away when they have lost their allotted bankroll. Even though their gambling money is gone, they will often look for other sources of money. These could come in the form of credit cards, using money allotted for something else such as living expenses, or they could even steal it.

This need to find another source of money comes from the drive to win back the money they just lost. Winning back lost money is at the source of compulsive gambling. Addicted gamblers try to find more money to wager with to win back the money they already lost, and in the process lose that next batch of money.

Unnecessary Gambling
This happens when you do not have money to gamble but feel the urge to and do so anyway, finding money in the aforementioned sources. This is when gambling sits in an addicted player’s mind and is their constant companion. It builds into an urge that some addicts will fight while others do not, and it still leads to the casino or online casino.

If you notice these signs about you and your gambling habits, or if someone you know exhibits these signs, it is a good indicator that they have an addiction to gambling.

If you notice these signs about yourself, seek help. If you notice these signs in a friend or loved one, talk to them about their gambling, but be prepared to have your concern met harshly—addicts do not always like to admit that they have a problem.

However hard it is to admit that a person has a gambling addiction, it must be acknowledge so that help can be sought.