Casinos. They’re all the same right? Well, not quite. There are many similarities between land-based and online casinos. Both are super fun establishments, where punters and speculators alike can let their hair down. Both have very similar games, including slots, table games – such as the popular roulette and blackjack – and poker. But there are many differences between the pair. Here are a few of the main ones.
Accessibility
Bricks and mortar casinos are of course accessible, that’s why they’re still operating approximately 5,000 years after the first-ever bet was thought to be struck. But nothing is quite as accessible as something that is at your very fingertips.
These days, online casinos can be accessed anywhere on the planet, providing you have an internet connection. And they can be accessed at the push of a button, from your smartphone, tablet or laptop. They can even be accessed via smartwatches as well. How can anything compete with that?
Atmosphere
One of the main attractions of a land-based casino is the atmosphere. There’s nothing quite like it. It’s something special, playing games which originated hundreds of years ago, with so many like-minded people gathered around. The thrill of seeing the roulette ball bounce around the wheel. To look a competitor in the eyes while you decide whether to fold or bet. That human connection is something that cannot be replicated online. Although, they do try. The popular live casino – which has live dealers and chat boxes, allowing players and dealers to communicate with each other – does go some way toward giving players that special touch.
Budgeting
It can be quite difficult to budget inside a casino. Most casinos have ATMs inside them, meaning that players must ensure that they remain disciplined and not get too carried away.
There are fewer of these questions with online casinos. When playing online, there are a wealth of responsible gaming tools at your disposal to ensure that players are in control at all times. Options such as deposit limits, which allow you to set daily, weekly and monthly limits to ensure you only spend what you can afford. There are also time limits, which can help people not to lose a track of time while playing.
Most land-based casinos will look out for their players and if they can see a punter getting carried away they usually try and help. But with online casinos, players can always remain in control.
Game selection
Land-based casinos do have plenty of options for players. They have a number of different slot machines and table games available to play. But there really is no comparison to their online counterpart.
Some online casinos have tens of thousands of slot games, as well as hundreds of different table games – each one with differing min/max bet amounts – meaning that there truly is something for everyone.
It would be unreasonable to expect a landbased casino to be able to compete on this front. Very few casinos on the planet would have the space available to host such a vast array of machines and tables.
Trust and legitimacy
It can be difficult to have a high degree of faith in betting establishments. Throughout the centuries, honesty and integrity haven’t been words that are synonymous with casinos. Phrases such as “the house always wins” are commonplace in our vocabulary. That lack of faith drops even further when the establishment is faceless and online.
But the fact is, playing – especially online – has never been more transparent. There are dozens of regulators – such as the UKGC and MGA – ensuring that the games offered are fair to players. Information such as the RTP (return to player percentage) is made available in every single game. Also, most casinos offer customer support – some even offer it 24/7 – ensuring that players are comfortable at all times. The truth is, online casinos are just as trustworthy as land-based casinos, if not more so.
Although he has not been in the limelight for a while, there are names that you don’t just forget, and one of them is Johnny Chan. He has been in the gambling field for years, and his achievements are hard to forget. So far, he had won the World Series of Poker bracelets 10 times. As far as live tournaments are concerned, the poker player has pocketed millions of cash prizes and had also been allowed into the Poker Hall of Fame. That said and done, let’s discuss this legend even more.
Biography & Personal Life
This poker player was born in 1957, and his place of birth was Guangzhou, China. At around the age of 5 years, in 1962, he and his family relocated to Hong Kong. That was not the end of their relocation since they also left for Phoenix, Arizona, and Houston, Texas, in 1968 and 1973, respectively. His family has restaurants, and Johnny Chan saw it as an opportunity to venture into the gambling sector. He would play cards with the workers.
In the beginning, Chan may have been tempted to join the footsteps of his family member. That’s probably why he was pursuing hotel and restaurant at the University of Houston. However, his love for gambling overpowered the dream leading to him dropping out of school at the age of 21 to pursue his career as a professional gambler. It is important to note that Johnny once visited Vegas at the age of 16 and went to a casino where he won big.
Eventually, he also gave hospitality a shot, and he runs the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas. He is also married and a mother of 6.
Johnny Chan Gambling Career
Supposedly, as early as 16 years, Chan had made $20,000 from $500 in a casino for a night. Unfortunately, he lost $20,000 the following day. However, that did not stop him from giving poker a shot. Ever since he became a professional poker player, he has earned 10 WSOP bracelets and had also played in the World Poker Tour. Until recently, it has been a win after win for Johnny Chan. However, it seems like he took a break because he hasn’t been in the limelight for a while.
Conclusion
When the names of poker players are mentioned, Johnny Chan is least likely to miss. After all, he has quite a reputation in the area. From becoming popular to amassing a considerable amount of wealth, he has gambling to thank, to a greater extent.
If you are playing casino games online, trust must be one of the foremost considerations when choosing where to play. Not only are you parting with money in exchange for a service provided by an online entity who you’ll never meet face-to-face, but you have to believe that the service is fair and legitimate. And gambling, being a ‘vice’ industry, doesn’t always come with a reputation for honest and integrity. Unfortunately, it’s not just players who perform tricks to manipulate the odds (read about card-counting here). There are a few stories out there about rigged software or casino operators who go bust owing their customer base $100,000s in unpaid winnings or unsettled account balances.
The good news is that the vast majority of online casinos behave honourably. And to help you find those and be sure that you are getting value for money in your wagering, here are a few hints and tips on what to look out for when cruising for a legit gambling site.
Licensing
The number one consideration here is licensing.
Whether it is the UK Gambling Commission, the Malta Gaming Authority, any of the US’ new online regulators, or the recently-formed Ontario iGaming, wherever you are you must only play at casinos that have a license from the appropriate jurisdictions. Strict regulators set the rules on how an online casino must operate and their remit covers all these areas:
- Games must be properly audited by a 3rd party like eCorga to ensure they are fair and all outcomes of ‘events’ like spins and card turns are completely random.
- Players must be protected– they must be given the appropriate tools to set limits on their spend and given advice on how to deal with problem gambling.
- The business must be well run – player balances should be ring-fenced to ensure the are protected in the event that the business goes bust
- Advertising Standards – offers for new and existing customers must be fair and transparent with terms and conditions easily accessible
- Action must be taken to prevent fraud – online casinos are used by criminals to launder cash and regulators enforce Anti Money Laundering strategies through their licensing conditions.
Over the last decade or more online gambling regulation has become stricter to protect consumers and you can see how with all these important issues kept in check by regulators it’s critical that you make sure that licensor information clearly displayed before signing up and spending your money.
Published Payout Rates
Another indication of legitimacy is published payout rates on a site. These show the percentage of money paid out in prizes as a percentage of all the money wagered through games provided by a casino. Typically, the figure is around 95% and good casinos will publish the figure somewhere on there home page. The important element here is that it must be verified by a 3rd party software testing house or accountancy firm. You can also visit pages like this one where you can compare online casino payout rates to find one with the highest return to player.
Random Number Generators
Now, a word on RNG or Random Number Generators.
If you read up on how online casinos work then you may well find this phrase used quite a bit. It refers to the mechanism used to generate the result of a card hand, roulette spin or slot spin. Complex computer algorithms are behind the action and at licensed casinos they will have been verified by 3rd parties once again to ensure they work properly. Essentially a computer is simulating what happens on a live casino floor – that is how these games work and it should put your mind at rest that the action is fair and above board.
Live Dealer Games
If you still don’t trust the algorithms behind RNG casino games then the good news is that you can still play online, but this time interacting via live video stream with a real-life croupier dealing real cards or spinning a real roulette wheel. Just like in real life, the croupier will shuffle cards between hands and bring out new decks on a regular basis. And you can watch as this happens, thereby removing any uncertainty you may have over the honest and integrity of events. Live dealer tables are now found at every online casino offering Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat and many other format and if you have a hard time trusting an online casino they are a good way to go.
The Importance of Reputation
Finally, let’s look at the importance of reputation. Betting with a well-known brand with a global reputation is a good way to feel like we can trust the house. Big names like Bet365, 888 and MGM don’t want scandals on their hands and they have built their reputation up over many years. Some are even listed on the world’s big stock exchanges where they have a duty to their shareholders and rules on business management and practices are very strict. Breaking these rules would have serious consequences for the management teams of these firms and the future of their businesses.
So, if you are worried about legitimacy you may wish to consider restricting yourself only to those big-name operators with that kind of experience and a reputation to uphold.
We hope this short guide will help you to feel at ease placing your bets and give you a good background knowledge to take with you next time you step onto the virtual casino floor.
Have fun!
Daniel Negreanu must be good at what he does to be a person who inspires ever new generations to join the gambling arena. If that thought has ever crossed your mind, you can rest assured that you are not the only one. Daniel is more than good enough to inspire both current generations of poker players and generations to come. He has achieved almost all that’s to be achieved as a poker player. The Canadian poker player has won the World Poker Tour title twice and the World Series of Poker bracelets six times. Let’s learn more.
Biography & Personal Life
Daniel Negreanu was born in 1974 on 26th July in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. However, he now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. That doesn’t come as a surprise since the city is famous for gambling—what a perfect residence for a professional poker player like Daniel. At the age of 4, he had started dreaming of becoming a millionaire. He wanted to gift a house to his mother in California and relocate her one day.
At the age of 15, he started sharpening his skills of becoming a professional snooker player. He would play poker, and by the time he was 16, he had graduated to visiting pool halls, playing cards, sports betting, and hustling. He eventually dropped out of Pineway Public School. He became a rounder and would also participate in illegal games. He was once married to Lori Lin Weber for two years but remarried to Amanda Leatherman 12 years after his first marriage ended.
Daniel Negreanu Gambling Career
Daniel was 22 when he decided to get a taste of Las Vegas. However, he was shocked to know that his bankroll needed a rebuild, and that’s when he decided to return to Toronto. He returned to America later and also gave poker another chance. It paid off since he has now achieved 6 WSOP bracelets including 2 WPT titles. As of 2019, he only fell third after Bryn Kennedy and Justin Bonomo, among the most outstanding live tournament poker players. That’s because, at the time, he had won $42 million in prize money. Other titles include WPT Player of the Year, WSOP winner of the Year twice, and an induction into the PHF.
Conclusion
Chasing one’s dream pays off. You have to work relentlessly until you make it. That’s what Daniel Negreanu teaches us. He wanted to be rich, never gave up, and he is now rich and famous. Even when The Strip was harsh to him, he retreated, rejuvenated himself, and had a comeback.
