The ranking of bragg hands

In this article I describe how the ranking works for different hands in the card game bragg. There are a number of different versions of bragg and I will describe the most popular version here. I will start with the highest rank of hand and will also include the probability of obtaining each hand and the amount of possible combinations for each hand.

A prial

A prial is where you have three cards of the same number or rank.

The highest prial is actually a prial of threes, where most people would presume it would be a prial of aces. The prial of aces is the second highest rank of prial and a prial of twos

is the lowest rank.

There are fifty-two possible combinations of prial and the probability of being dealt this hand is 0.24%.

Running flush

A running flush is where you have three cards of the same suit in a sequence.

Unlike in poker where ace, two, three, four, five would be classed as the lowest rank of running flush, in bragg ace, two, three is the highest. This is followed by ace, king, queen, and four, three, two is the lowest.

There are forty-eight possible combinations of running flush and the probability of being dealt this hand is 0.22%.

These figures of probability and possible combinations are actually quite strange as it shows that it is slightly easier to obtain a prial than a running flush. You would therefore think that the royal flush would be the highest rank of hand in bragg, but of course, as already explained it isn't.

A Run

A run is where you have three cards which are not all of the same suit in a sequence.

As with the royal flush ace, two, three is the highest rank of run, followed by ace, king, queen. Four, three, two is the lowest rank of run.

There are seven hundred and twenty possible combinations of run and the probability of being dealt this hand is 3.26%.

Flush

This is where you have three cards of the same suit which are not in a sequence.

As in poker the highest rank of flush will have an ace in. If two people on the table have an ace flush, it is then decided who wins by the rank of the second highest card. At times people have the same rank of highest and second highest card, at this point the rank of the lowest card comes into play. For example player one has ace of clubs, queen of clubs and five of clubs. Player two has ace of spades, queen of spades and four of spades. In this example player one would win.

There are one thousand and ninety-six possible combinations of flush and the probability of being dealt this hand is 4.96%.

Pair

This is where you have a pair of the same rank with a spare card. Where two people on the table have a pair, it is the player with the highest rank of pair which wins. If both players have the same rank of pair, the one with the highest rank of its spare card wins.

Strangely enough over ninety percent of hands are no higher in rank than a pair.

There are three thousand, seven hundred and forty-four possible combinations of pair and the probability of being dealt this hand is 16.94%.

High card

This is where you have no combinations and basically just have a high card. The highest rank of card in this situation would be the ace and the lowest a two.

There are sixteen thousand, four hundred and forty possible combinations of high card and the probability of being dealt this hand is 74.39%.

As you can see it is not easy to obtain a decent hand in bragg and in fact most hands which are dealt are pretty rubbish. This is why it is such a great game for people who like to bluff.

Bragg is a very popular game in social clubs and card schools up and down the country and is an ancestor to poker.

As well as three card bragg, people also play a seven and nine card version.

A few tips for blackjack

When I first started showing interest a few years back in playing blackjack, a friend of mine gave me a list of tips and unofficial personal rules; where he got them from I have no idea, but I more or less stuck to them and they served me well, so I figured the time has come to share the wisdom a little.

Choose a low minimum bet table: 5% of your bankroll is around the max that you want to be betting per hand, so playing at a table with a minimum that exceeds that percentage is asking for trouble. The danger is that with a high minimum table you run the risk of loosing your bankroll before without opportunities to regain lost revenue.

Never split 10s: it may be tempting to play the two hands, but 20 isn't far off from 21, so be happy with what you have!

5s Never, 8s Always: a pair of 5s should never be split but a pair of 8s should be split in all circumstances except for when the dealer is showing a 10.

Always split Aces: getting a blackjack is, as they say, the name of the game, so splitting aces gives you two chances to do just that.

Stick on 17; no matter what your gut says, just stick with what you have. Bear in mind that the dealer has to stick on 17, plus if you think even for a second about the number of cards in the deck and how much they add up to you will soon realize that the chances of getting a 4 or less are much lower than the chances of getting a 5 or more - just don't do it!

The fewer decks in use the better the odds are for the player; the biggest leap in the house advantage is between one and two decks, but it does rise, all be it less steeply, with every deck added. Therefore, in a choice between a single deck and multi deck game, always go for the single deck; in a choice between a 6 deck game and an 8 deck game, always go for the 6 deck.

Rules vary from table to table, so the more player-friendly rules a table plays by the better it is for you. Specific rules to look out for are, the surrender rule; double down after splitting pairs; multiple pair splitting; and ace re-splits.

Remember that you're only opponent is the dealer, so don't look at anyone else's hand, it's not your business and it will distract you from your game.

The rest of the advice I received was basic common sense and money management; don't bet anything you're not prepared to loose, set limits, don't gamble when drunk, you know the type. Anyway, I hope these tips will be as useful to you as they were to me.

Money management for gamblers

The purpose of this article is to educate and inform gamblers of the aspects of sports wagering. With the hopes of leading to a more profitable wagering experience for you the player. I have had the distinct pleasure of speaking with many gamblers and it seems the one area that most need help with is a money management system to implement into their sports wagering.

Let’s jump right in and begin our focus on money management. First, let us start by saying that the main reason that 99% of sports bettors lose is improper money management from the start. Even if you were to have access to winning picks – without a proper money management system, the picks are useless.

This article is not intended for those of you that are recreational bettors and like to put down a few bucks on the occasion Sunday football game to make it more exciting to watch. On the other hand if you are one of the people that treat sports wagering as an investment, please continue reading, this article was made for you!

First and foremost you need to establish your gambling bankroll. Your gambling bankroll should consist of the money you have set aside to risk on your sports betting. Your bankroll should not include money used to pay your mortgage and bills. Actually, if possible you should have a separate bank account so you can keep your gambling and living monies separate to avoid any confusion or mishaps.

Next is to decide what is your betting size is going to be. You should almost never wager more than 5% of your bankroll on any one game. Simply because in sports wagering there is no “sure thing” or “lock” as some handicappers may have you believe. There are too many variables in any game to be able to control which way the ball will bounce and if the game will end in your favor.

Your daily bets should be in the 2-4% range of your most current bankroll. We say “current bankroll” because every bettor will have some winning streaks and some losing streaks through out the course of the year. It doesn’t matter who you are, you will have some losing streaks through out the year. By keeping your daily bets in the 2-4% range of your current bankroll you will eliminate the chance to lose your entire bankroll on one losing streak.

Lastly and most importantly – for good money management plan to work you must have some self control. It may sound easy but that’s not always the case and it can be the hardest part to being a successful sports bettor. You won’t always win and you have to be able to show control in these situations or you will find yourself digging a whole you may not be able to climb out of.

The problem most gamblers have is they fail to look at sports betting as an investment when in fact it is just that. Remember that old saying “sports wagering is not a sprint, it’s a marathon”. Your results should not be measured daily or monthly. Instead, take your time, stay focused and practice self control. Sports wagering can be one of the most lucrative investments available today if you employ our suggestions outlined above and proceed with caution.

Interested in online poker

And guess what? We’re here to satisfy your curiosity by answering all the questions you could think of about poker!

What’s Poker? – A very basic question but we shall entertain it all the same. Poker is a betting card game that’s very much popular for people of all ages and both genders – although statistically speaking, there are more male poker players than women.

So if you’re a woman and you’re good at poker, chances are, everyone’s been worshipping you already from afar. But going back to our topic, like I said, poker is a card game and is not only limited to casinos but is also played in almost any setting. Poker is not exclusive to adults and it’s actually a good way to make your family bond together.

Will I Enjoy Playing Poker Online? – Definitely! There are so many wonderful things that you can enjoy from playing poker online that it’s hard to enumerate all of them. First, there are the graphics. If you’re a game fanatic then I’m sure you’re able to fully appreciate the hard work that can produce amazing graphics. Most online poker sites make sure that they have great graphics to offer so that no player would get bored while playing.

Is It Easy To Learn Poker? – The rules for poker are generally easy but you do have to familiarize yourself with them. The best way to learn poker is by playing. After all, isn’t experience said to be the best teacher one can have?

The hardest thing to learn when playing poker is, perhaps, the rules for betting. There are what we call small blinds and big blinds and the amount of money that you bet is different from how much you need to put on the table if you want to raise the bet and so on. The first few times you play poker, it may be difficult for you to be able to fully understand what’s happening on the poker table but as time passes, I’m sure you’ll be able to get the hang of it.

Is It Easy To Win In Poker? – Oh yes, definitely, but it takes effort, patience and a little bit of luck, of course. And the chances of winning are even better if you’re playing online poker. When you’re playing live poker, you have to worry about bluffing and keeping from showing your emotions to your opponents. But when you’re playing online poker, all you have to do is play your poker hand well and hope for the best!

Poker online - part i

Poker, in its many variations, is undoubtedly the world’s most popular card game. Face to face poker room games are as popular today as they were when played in turn of the century saloons and riverboats plying the Old Mississippi. World championship poker tournaments and the more recent celebrity poker tournaments are followed internationally and have helped to popularize the game even more.

Online poker is no exception and is played by more gamblers around the world than any other games of chance. Poker online is closer to face to face table games than video poker which is an equally popular game played at land-based casinos. The difference between the two is that in casino video poker, you are playing against the machine’s internal computer which is a so-called “random numbers generator” that, as the name suggests, picks a poker hand randomly.

In online poker, you are playing against opponents around the world. Although you cannot see them, with experience you will learn to recognize other player’s strategies. In fact, many highly-regarded poker players and world poker championship winners, have honed their skills playing poker at online casinos.

Almost everyone knows what an online casino is but how they came into being and what fueled their growth is not general knowledge.

In the United States, as in the rest of the world, literally billions upon billions of dollars are spent on gambling, legally and illegally. You can find legalized gambling of one form or another in almost every state in the US. Land-based casinos, particularly Indian gaming, have proliferated nearly everywhere in recent years as have riverboat gambling casinos. And of course there are the gambling cities of Reno and the inimitable Las Vegas.

But what about the man or woman in Hopscotch, Minnesota who wants to play a few hands of poker but does not have a casino nearby? Even if there was a conveniently-located casino, not everyone enjoys the noise and smoke of a casino poker room. The answer to all of that is the online casino.

Even the people who enjoy the excitement of a live casino, the free drinks and entertainment, know that the convenience of having the availability of an online casino in your living room or bedroom cannot be matched by a brick and mortar establishment.

If you feel like a few hands of poker and want to play online, you do not have to shave, you can play in your pajamas or bathrobe, you can take a break whenever you please and your favorite seat will be waiting for you, you do not have to gas up the car and maybe drive across town. Bad weather? No problem. Turn up the heat or the air conditioning and log on to your favorite online casino.

Penny slot machines

Playing slot machines with only one penny seems awfully cheap. Actually, it is cheap but it is exactly what the casinos want you to think.

Gone are the days of the simple 3 reel slot machine, today’s machines are gigantic multiline slot machines who have been developed to include any money making trick known in the book. In the comfort department, today’s slot machines have improved to accept dollar bills instead of only coins and can give prizes in the form of redeemable tickets, all in order to make the player as comfortable as possible.

The biggest change in modern slot machines is the addition of many more pay lines (a modern slot machine will have at least 20 pay lines and some reach a lot higher) which of course requires many more coins in order to activate all of them. With machine that costs 50c per spin but offers 20 pay lines, the cost per spin can easily reach 10$, and suddenly the old “pay less win more” slot machine has become a financial burden on the average gambler. For those who say “play only the minimum lines”, we will remind that in order to win the biggest prizes (and the jackpot, of course if available) you must play the maximum number of lines or your profits will be very slim.

In order to make the players less aware of the cost of playing these slot machines the casinos have come up with 1 penny slot machines. That’s right, 1c per spin. This has become the hottest trend in the casino’s slot machine floor and the low denomination has attracted numerous gamblers who now think that playing slot machines has become much cheaper. The focus though has turned into the multiple pay lines which require multiple points in order to maximize profits. Machines exist which will require more than 1500 coin per spin! This makes the average spin cost almost the same as the regular 50c machine.

Are Penny slot machines a sucker’s bet? Not necessarily. These machines are perfect for a player who came to the casino with the intention of spending a few hours of fun without committing too much money to the casino. On the other hand, those who like to suck every ounce of edge out of the machine and will never settle for anything than less the maximum payout will find better options elsewhere.

By the way you might have noticed some famous jackpots being offered in the penny slot machines, be assure that all in all playing the jackpot in a 1 penny machine and 1 dollar machine has no difference as the total amount required to gamble to be eligible for the jackpot is the same.

Play black jack the way pros do

Playing Black Jack at a table in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or even at a small rural casino can be an exciting and entertaining experience whether you’ve never played the game before or whether you’re a seasoned pro. However, for the first-timers, a night spent at the black jack table isn’t usually lucrative, and often ends with losing a sizable stack of chips. As they stumble through the basics of the game, their stack of chips gets smaller and smaller until it vanishes.

For the pros, the story is different. These are people who are so good at playing Black Jack that they’re making money much faster than most amateurs lose it. What is an enjoyable but expensive recreation to others is another day at the office for a strategic player. How are they able to make so much money when you are not? The answer is simple: they’ve mastered the simple rules of Black Jack strategy, and you haven’t.

The secret that the casinos don’t want you to know is that it takes only a little bit of time and effort to learn these techniques yourself! With the proper guidance, you can quickly learn all you need to know to turn Black Jack into a money-making operation. That is because, if played well, the odds in Black Jack actually favor the player, not the house. Casinos make money on the game simply because most people don’t know how to play Black Jack well.

First, you’ll have to know when to split, double down, and surrender. Surrendering is not an option at every casino, but it helps to know how to use it in case you find one where it is. If that sounded like Greek to you, don’t worry. It isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Splitting, doubling down, and surrendering are options available to you, the Black Jack player, that are not available to the dealer. That means that you’ve got at least two weapons that he or she doesn’t have! That sounds pretty good, but of course these weapons are only helpful once you know exactly when and how to make use of them.

In order to really win at Black Jack, you’ll also need to learn something about counting cards. This is the part that the casinos really don’t want you to know about, because if too many people figure out how to do it, those people will become such a draw on casino resources that they could change the face of modern gambling houses. In fact, most of today’s casinos are banking on the hope that you won’t count cards at all.

However, since counting cards basically consists of paying attention, it is not cheating, so there’s nothing they can do to stop you. You just need to continually be aware of what cards have already been dealt out. Again, with the right guidance, you can develop a system for keeping this information in your head. Then, using this information, you can make better guesses as to what cards you and the dealer are likely to be dealt, and you can make all your decisions accordingly. That’s really all there is to it. With the right strategy, there’s nothing stopping you from making money hand over fist playing Black Jack!

Derby offers interesting take on pace

This year, strong convictions are starting to mount about who is a logical pick and who might be considered a “Budweiser Longshot.” A few horses to keep an eye onfrom this fan’s point of view are Brother Derek, Lawyer Ron, Barbaro and Sweetnorthersaint.

Let’s start with the probable favorite, but first, let me remind you that the post-time favorite has only cantered into the winner’s circle twice since 1979. Fusaichi Pegasus did it in 2000, and Smarty Jones did it in 2004. So, as probable as some of these horses may sound, it’s a statistic that does merit serious consideration. It makes it even more intriguing with the 20-horse field likely for this year’s running of the roses.

Brother Derek, the Cecil Peacock-owned and Dan Hendricks-trained horse, is a monster. His last outing, a 3 and Ѕ rout in the Santa Anita Derby (G-I), drew rave reviews from sportswriters all over the country. He also leads all of the derby horses in graded stakes earnings at $1,114,980. The real question for him is where is he going to go? He enjoys the front-running style, like in the Santa Anita Derby, but also has sat back in some races, like in the Santa Catalina Stakes (G-II). If he does go for the lead, he’ll be joined by Sinister Minister. As you remember, Sinister Minister put on quite a show as he went gate to wire in the Toyota Blue Grass(G-I). Bob Baffert has said countless times that “he can’t rate.” All he can do is run, and run fast. In the Blue Grass, he set fractions of 45.88 for the half and 1:09.94 for three quarters. If he does that at Churchill Downs as expected, he’ll be all out of gas, because the track at Churchill is far different from the speed-favoring Keeneland track where Sinister Minister put on his show.

We know Brother Derek likes to run, and we know Sinister Minister is going to go to the lead.

Brother Derek isn’t the only horse that loves to be on the front. Barbaro, who was game in his wins in the Florida Derby (G-I) and the Holy Bull Stakes (G-3), also loves to be near the front. In those two contests, he was first or second at every call of the race just like in his three previous lifetime starts. The only question surrounding Barbaro is trainer Michael Matz’s decision to give him a five-week rest between the Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Matz, who you’ll hear much about this next week and a half, survived a plane crash in the ‘80s and has only been training horses for seven years.

Lawyer Ron and Sweetnorthersaint are two prospects who have earned serious consideration for the first Saturday in May. Lawyer Ron, undefeated on dirt, won the Southwest Stakes, the Rebel (G-III) and the Arkansas Derby (G-II). He has tons of tactical speed, but has had a tendency to not like the dirt that is being kicked up in his face, and he loves to be on the front end. A half mile into the Arkansas Derby, he went to the lead in the blink of an eye from his fourth position on the rail, and fought off rivals Private Vow and Steppenwolfer late. Sweetnorthersaint is a horse many people are starting to love after his romp in the Illinois Derby (G-II). His tactical speed, Illinois Derby win and smooth, steady stride remind many fans of War Emblem, who won the Kentucky Derby in 2002.

Those four horses should take a lot of action from the bettors, but who is the horse you need to watch out for as a longshot?

A. P. Warrior is that horse. He failed to menace the proper bid in the Santa Anita Derby, but he’s beaten some good horses while running at Santa Anita in Arcadia, California, including beating Bob and John, winner of the Wood Memorial(G-1), twice, and he also has knocked off Point Determined, a son of Point Given, who was a great horse a few years back. A. P. Warrior loves to sit off the pace. For his win in the San Felipe (G-II) he sat off the pace, then had a strong rally at the top of the stretch to win with a half a length to spare. Look for him to be running late.

There’s no question that everyone has a favorite “Derby analysis,” but keep in mind that the post-time favorite has won only once since ’79. If Brother Derek can sit off the lead, he’ll be in good shape. Be looking for A. P. Warrior and Brother Derek, two West Coast horses, to be near the front as the wire nears in the 132nd Kentucky Derby.

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