Author: Jerome Diggs

toto hk Players Alliance, IGC Applaud Kentucky Court Ruling

Louisville, KY (January 20, 2009) – The Kentucky Court of Appeals today issued a ruling prohibiting the Franklin Circuit Court from enforcing its toto hk order against the 141 domain names in the domain seizure case.  The Court found that Internet domain names do not constitute a gambling device under Kentucky law and that the Franklin County Circuit Court clearly erred in concluding that the domain names can be construed to be gambling devices subject to forfeiture.

The appellate court was provided powerful arguments from a strong coalition of independent voices who opposed the Franklin Circuit Court ruling. Groups like the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the ACLU of Kentucky and the Electronic Frontier Foundation all successfully weighed in with the appellate court from a variety of legal perspectives.

“This is a tremendous victory for Internet freedom and the rights of Kentucky residents who enjoy playing online poker,” said John Pappas, Executive Director of the Poker Players Alliance. “We are pleased that the appeals court has forcefully reversed Judge Wingate’s earlier ruling and confirmed many of the arguments that have been raised in opposition to the seizure effort.  The Court of Appeals has agreed with the PPA’s position that Judge Wingate did not have jurisdiction to issue the order that he entered against these domains and that Secretary Brown has no legitimate right to deprive the citizens of Kentucky of the legal right to play poker online.”

“On behalf of the thousands of PPA members who live in Kentucky, we hope that Governor Beshear and Secretary Brown will abandon this misguided effort and focus new energies into regulation and taxation of Internet poker,” said Rich Muny, Kentucky State Director for the PPA, who resides in Union, KY.  “This common-sense approach would benefit Kentucky’s poker enthusiasts and the revenue will benefit the state as a whole.  Rather than spending hard to find dollars on this case, the Governor could actually turn this into a much needed new revenue stream for the Commonwealth.”

The Interactive Gaming Council (IGC) also expressed its support of the ruling.

“As a result of the appeals process an informed and judicious decision has been made, which confirms our original views on these proceedings. IGC members are pleased and we stand committed to continuing our advocacy of a regulated online gaming industry.  The IGC strongly believes that if policy makers want to protect children, individuals that suffer adverse consequences of excessive gambling and the general public, the true and only response is regulation,” stated John Kennedy FitzGerald, IGC Chief Executive Officer.

FitzGerald went on to say, “The IGC took a leadership role in advancing these proceedings on behalf of internet businesses everywhere and our organization is humbled by this decision and by the overwhelming support received from internet businesses and free speech organizations everywhere and we wish to thank them for their support throughout this process.”

“This is a very important decision for anyone doing business on the internet,” said Jeff Ifrah, counsel for the Interactive Gaming Council (IGC). “We hope this will prevent misguided state officials from considering litigation against on-line industries located outside of its state boundaries. While this proceeding was ill conceived, the judicial process was permitted to properly function for which we are grateful. The Court of Appeals has now corrected a fundamental misunderstanding by the trial judge in this proceeding regarding the nature of the internet and the legality of online gaming in Kentucky,” said Ifrah.

Blackjack Myths

Many good players believe that if a player sitting at their table makes incorrect playing actions, it decreases their advantage. This is not true. There may be times when a player sitting at third base (left-most seat) hits his 16 when the dealer is showing a 5 and this player ends up busting and the dealer ends up with a good hand whereas if this player did not take the hit the dealer would have busted and everyone at the table would have won (the third base position gets a lot of heat from the other players if basic strategy is not followed). People tend to remember these bad incidences but in reality these kinds of actions have just as much chance of helping the other players as hurting them.

If the house rules are the same, games that use the least number of decks are more favorable than the games that use more decks. This is because the players will receive more Blackjacks and win more of their double downs. The casinos know this and they usually have slightly less favorable house rules on their single and double deck games to offset this advantage.

When new cards are introduced into the game the players are at more of a disadvantage than if the cards have been in play for awhile. This is because new decks of cards are in a predefined order that contain 10-valued card clumps which are bad for the players and they are not completely broken up by the casino wash and initial shuffle. So when new cards are introduced into the game it is best not to play until the cards have been in play for awhile and shuffled for the second time. After the second shuffle the cards will be about as random as they will ever get.

Don’t over tip. The best playing strategies only offer the player between a 1% and 2% advantage over the house. If you are tipping the dealer one betting unit every 20 hands you are giving away 5%. It is almost impossible to make money when you give this much away.

For players playing basic strategy, it doesn’t matter which seat you sit at, they will all yield the same advantage for them in the long run. This is also true for Slot Gacor players who alter their bet size based on the true count. For players who alter their playing strategy based on the true count, however, third base will yield the best advantage.

For players who are playing a count strategy, the less number of players playing at the table the better. This is because they will get to play more hands during high counts when their large bets are out. In order to get even more of an advantage during high counts, some players play multiple hands when the count is high and only one when the count is low, thus resulting in a greater number of hands during favorable conditions.

For players who are playing a count strategy, the deeper the dealer places the cut card into the deck(s) to indicate a shuffle the better it is for them. This is because the true count tends to fluctuate more wildly as the number of undealt cards diminishes, thus offering the players more favorable playing opportunities. For players who play strictly basic strategy, the depth of the cut card has no effect on their advantage.

For anyone who is not counting cards, it is never a good idea to make an insurance bet. Many people automatically make an insurance bet if they have a Blackjack or perhaps other very good hands. In reality it makes more sense to make an insurance bet if your hand does not contain a 10-valued card because this would be one more 10-valued card that could be the dealer’s hole card. Basically, you should only make an insurance bet if you know that more than 1/3 of the remaining cards are 10-valued cards. Many counting systems have a specific true count value that would indicate when it is beneficial to make an insurance bet.

There are almost as many betting strategies as there are gamblers. Many people increase their bet when they get on a winning streak (thinking that the winning streak will continue). Many people increase their bet when they get on a losing streak (thinking that they are due for a win, or perhaps trying to recover their losses in a hurry). Many people have complex betting patterns based on the results of their previous hands. Many people base their bet size on hunches (they feel that they are going to win or lose the next hand). All these betting strategies do not work! In order for a betting strategy to be effective, you must know when the cards become favorable for the players. There are numerous counting strategies that can do this.

You get more of a benefit from altering your playing strategy based on the true count for single and double deck games than you would for 4 or more deck games.

It is best not to give advice to other players who you do not know. If they end up losing the hand after taking your advice they probably will hold some animosity towards you and will let you know it.