Online poker has been incredibly popular in recent years, with online poker rooms making it easier than ever for seasoned players and newbies alike to get their poker fix each day. Thanks to the convenience of enabling players to play on to go with portable devices or even from the comfort of their own home, the numerous bonuses and promotions that online games are able to offer, and sheer variety of poker games available, people have been flocking to online sites like a moth to a flame.
According to statistics from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the four states in the US that have legalised online poker; New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania, have recently reported 90.9% increase in profits year on year. There were also a record amount of new players since March this year. One of these types of poker that is becoming increasingly popular for online players is Pai Gow Poker. Let’s look at what exactly Pai Gow Poker is and how it can be played.
The origins of Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow poker was adapted from a traditional Chinese game that was played with 32 dominoes. In the original game, up to eight players would arrange sets of four tiles into two hands – a back and a front hand. The objective of the game was to beat each of the banker’s hands, in which players could win wagers that were paid out at odds. The game was widely played throughout China and casinos in Macau and is also poplar today throughout casinos in the United States and the UK.
However, owner of the Bell Card Club, Sam Torosian in, invented Pai Gow poker in 1985. The game combines eastern and western elements of gaming, in which its purpose was to encourage more Asian players throughout casinos in the US. Starting in California, the game quickly spread to clubs and casinos in the likes of Las Vegas and beyond and later began to also be offered at online casinos throughout the globe.
Unfortunately for Sam Torosian, the original inventor of Pai Gow Poker, he was ill advised by his lawyers during the process of authenticating the game and did not get a patent. Consequently, Sam Torosian did not get any rights to the game and has not been able to make a profit from it, even though it has today become widespread and incredibly profitable for land-based and online casinos alike.
How is Pai Gow Poker played?
Pai Gow Poker is played with a 52 deck of cards and a joker card. It is different to many variants of poker where players play against each other as in Pai Gow Poker; players will instead play against a banker – who is usually the house dealer. However, occasionally players may seek to bet against other players, and in this case, one player becomes the banker and goes up against the other players.
Unlike the traditional Chinese game where there were eight players, Pai Gow Poker consists of six players and is usually played in the casino pits with similar games such as black-jack and three card poker.
If Pai Gow Poker is played traditionally, the object of the game is to defeat the banker by creating two poker hands. The game begins with each player placing a bet, followed by the distribution of seven cards to each player. After this, players will split their cards into a five card high hand, which is placed in the back, and a two card low hand that is placed in the front. The game states that a player’s high hand must beat the low hand.
The strategy
Having a Pai Gow Poker strategy is vital, whether you’re a seasoned player or a newbie.
For the low hand, which is up front and consists of two cards, players should make pairs. For this, pocket aces are recommended, as the cards in this hand must not beat the five card high hand in the back. If a player’s low hand does end up beating the high hand then that player must forfeit or will have the hand reset by the master dealer of the casino.
One of the key differences of this game when comparing to other poker variants is that once a players hand is set at the beginning of the game, they can no longer change it and have to wait and see how it plays out. The ultimate aim is to carefully select your hands at the beginning so that they will beat the dealer.
Top tips for playing Pai Gow Poker
Pai Gow poker can be a bit tricky in the sense that you need to know what you’re doing and what strategy you have from the very beginning of the game, as you won’t be able to reset your hand once you begin playing. There are no pre-flops or flops to help the player out, simply the two-card hand up front and the five-card hand in the back. One of the best tips is that if you’re lucky enough to be dealt a full house, it will be in your favour to break them up.
Now you’re all set to play Pai Gow poker. Just remember, it’s essential to have a solid strategy in place.
By its nature, one of the key elements of online casino gaming is safety, from protecting our personal data and bank details when making a deposit, to ensuring that the platforms we use are verified and secure.
The way that hackers, phishing agents and scammers work has evolved, with new techniques being utilised to go after innocent gamers. But, with “technology for good” becoming an ever-growing concept, it’s little surprise that the way we protect ourselves has also levelled up.
In this article, we will explore how the way we stay safe while playing our favourite games has evolved.
Anti-virus
Anti-virus has been a big part of computing for more than 20 years, with major brands like Norton and Kaspersky enjoying a major market share around the late 90s and early 00s. In the old days, bulky anti-virus packages were offered as an add-on to customers purchasing PCs, often disrupting the gaming experience.
Today’s casino gamer does not want to be slowed down by bulky software or distracted by pop-ups every couple of minutes, so modern anti-virus packages are increasingly lightweight and tend to operate in the background.
Additionally, anti-virus provision is much more readily available than it once was. Many leading security apps are available for free online, Microsoft offers Windows Defender to users of its operating system, while Chromebooks have anti-virus functionality built-in.
With users connected to the web more consistently through wi-fi, apps are updated more frequently than in previous years, helping protect users from the newest threats and close newly discovered loopholes.
The anti-virus provision has also evolved to protect mobile phone users. With so much of today’s internet traffic being through the small screen, many of the established anti-virus brands have branched out to protect users of Android and iPhone devices.
We recommend checking what anti-virus you have in place before you consider entering your card details or transferring money.
Source: Unsplash
SSL certificates
There have been several innovations delivered as part of the browsing experience that are helping to protect users while they play online casino games. One of the major recent concepts is the SSL Certificate, which quickly tells the user if the platform they are browsing is secure.
Sites with an SSL Certificate display a padlock on the address bar. The certificates work by digitally binding a cryptographic key to permit secure connections, making it much more difficult for hackers to access personal information. Many browsers provide built-in safeguards that will warn a user when they are about to visit a casino platform that doesn’t offer a secure connection.
Of course, the vast majority of leading casino platforms feature SSL security and many of our industry’s aggregators help pull together trustworthy platforms. For example, the platforms featured on this list from WDW Bingo are reviewed against several criteria and are all verified as being secure. That means users can make use of welcome bonuses without added concern.
These kinds of websites offer a great starting point for exploring reputable brands, but if you ever stumble upon somewhere new, be sure to look out for the padlock in the address bar, and be sure to do a little research before making your first deposit.
Source: Unsplash
As the way, we use the internet changes, and with a growing number of gamers now accessing casinos from mobile, anti-virus provision has been forced to evolve to keep up. It’s interesting to reflect on how much things have changed, and fascinating to consider what the future may hold.
It’s no secret that online casinos have become quite a big trend these days. With so many of them seeing an increase in players, the casino scene is becoming a lot more active, and game developers are taking notice. Thanks to this, we’re all treated to exciting new titles, especially when it comes to the endlessly entertaining online slot games. Whether they’re branded as big jackpot slots for high rollers or penny slots for casual gamblers, the one thing we can always rely on is a great theme to spice them up. With that in mind, here are a few go-to slot themes that everyone loves!
Fantasy Slots
We all love a little bit of magic. There’s something about exploring new worlds and testing the limits of the human imagination that never fails to give us a feeling of satisfaction, and it seems that slot developers know that all too well. Whether they’re boasting designs inspired by ancient mythology, forgotten worlds, or sword & sorcery, these slots are always full of action-packed gameplay and mesmerizing visuals. If you’re in the mood to go explore what these slots have to offer, Casimba online casino is always packed with a ton of variety.
Fruit Slots
If there’s one thing that all of us can’t seem to get enough of, it’s nostalgia. The feeling of familiarity and warmth we experience when seeing something nostalgic is irreplaceable, so it makes sense why so many slot enthusiasts are huge fans of the classic fruit-themed slot design. Recently, the fruit theme has received a few updates when it comes to slots. While the main elements that make it a classic are still there, many studios have been experimenting with mixing up the fruit theme with a party theme to give it some more flavor.
Asian Slots
Slots have shown appreciation for Asian culture since their very start. The gorgeous designs, the rich background, and the beauty of the orient are quite common when it comes to slots, whether that be online ones of traditional slot machines. For many, Asian-themed slots are considered just as classics as fruit-themed ones! They’ve been around from the very beginning, and for a majority of players, they’re the first image that comes to mind when slots are mentioned. The most common ones you’ll see are those sporting dragon designs, but the use of Chinese symbols is also a running theme.
Horror Slots
While it might seem a bit unorthodox to add the theme of horror into games like slots, it’s worked incredibly well for the majority of horror-themed slots. The adrenaline rush we often get from spooky visuals and scary sounds seem to only enhance the slot experience and increase the anticipation of what the reels will show tenfold! If horror isn’t your thing, you don’t have to worry too much. While these slots are purposely designed to give us a bit of a scare, they’re not too explicit or nightmare-inducing like some TV & movie horror content.
‘Roulette’ is the diminutive form of the French word ‘rouelle’, meaning wheel and, although based on older games, was first referenced by its modern name in Bordeaux, in southwestern France, in the early eighteenth century. Roulette is played with a convex, solid wooden wheel with 37, 38 or – since the advent of so-called ‘triple zero’ roulette in 2016 – 39 red and black numbered pockets. A croupier spins the wheel in one direction and, while it is revolving, spins a small ball, colloquailly known as the ‘pill’, in the opposite direction around the running rail on the rim of the wheel. The roulette ball must complete at least three full rotations of the wheel.
Players bet on where the ball will come to rest by placing casino chips, or tokens, on a baize or felt-covered betting area, known as the ‘layout’, marked to correspond with the compartments of the wheel. So-called ‘inside’ bets include a ‘straight up’ bet, on a single number, a ‘split’ bet, on two adjacent numbers and a ‘street’ bet, on a row of three adjacent numbers. Alternatively, so-called ‘outside’ bets allow players to bet on the ‘type’ of number on which the ball will come to rest. Red/black and even/odd are the most basic outside bets, but other examples include ‘column’ and ‘dozen’ bets, which both cover twelve numbers apiece, depending on their position on the layout, or numerically.
