As mentioned in yesterday’s post, there are a number of game software makers that provide the platform for today’s online casinos. Each maker tends to target somewhat different market segments as well as offering features unique to their own brands. Today we’ll discuss some more of the most extensively used software providers for the online casino industry.

Microgaming is one of the oldest of the software producers having been around since the inception of online gambling back in 1994. There slogan is “we are the game” so it is not surprising that they are so popular with their huge selection of games. All casinos using Microgaming software have access to their network of progressive jackpots, giving out more than $225 million in prizes for the over 20 varieties of progressive games that Microgaming has on tap. The company also operates the world’s biggest online poker network with many rewarding poker tournaments scheduled each year. Their clients include such names as Roxy Palace Casino, Casino Splendido and Spin Palace Casino.

Cryptologic is another of the big names in casino software and the company continues to grow by strategic partnerships with other brands and casinos. Features introduced by Cryptologic through the years include support for 3D graphics, multi-player gaming capabilities and live chat functions. They’ve also been a leader in security by creating the E-Cash system, requiring all players to receive their PIN via regular postal mail before being able to make a withdrawal. Cryptologic was the first publicly listed gaming software maker, making its stock market début on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1998. Their most famous brand is the Intercasino.

Boss Media, a Swedish software company, is also a public traded company. They’ve been listed with the Stockholm Stock Exchange since 1999, two years after inception. They began the company by offering their own online casino but found it was more lucrative to offer their software to other companies instead and so their online casino was discontinued. Their focus now is on software development not only for internet gambling but also for the mobile phone and interactive television formats. You don’t see a lot of news about Boss Media but the company is still going strong behind the scenes of the online casino market.

There is actually quite a wide variety of gambling game software makers but there are a number that stand out above the rest for whatever reason. These companies platforms can be found on many online casino sites. In order to compete in this lucrative but highly competitive market, the companies must be constantly coming out with new games to offer people. While they often have similar formats, the themes and slight play differences for each one make it so that there is a wide enough variety that not even the most jaded player will ever get bored.

Realtime Gaming (RTG) is one massively used game platform with a huge variety of games and they’re always releasing new ones. The company runs one of the biggest progressive slots networks in the industry and have made many new slots games with just about any theme you can think of. The company is based in the Netherland Antilles and some of their clients include such big names as Bodog Casino and Rushmore Casino. They have more than 120 games at this point, including over 70 slots games.

Another huge contender in the game category is Rival Gaming. A much more recently established company, Rival is definitely giving the older companies a run for the money. Their most popular creation has been their “iSlots” line of slots games. They are all multi-line, multi-reel slots but have additional appeal with video clips and mini-games within the games. The iSlots have been called a meld of video game, slots and movie into one exciting whole. Rival also has some big name clients such as Superior Casino and Simon Says Casino.

The third company we will talk about in this post is Playtech. This company has been around since 1999 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. They were the first one to create some of the features we’re all used to now such as VIP ratings, game histories and state-of-the-art fraud prevention technology. The biggest advance that put Playtech on the map in the online gambling industry was the development of a “unified platform” technology. This enabled a player to have one account but be able to access multiple platforms easily. Their clients include some of the most popular online casinos in the world such as Vegas Red, Titan Poker and Casino Tropez.

There are many training programs available these days for those who would like to really improve their poker skills and possibly compete against the big dogs in poker tournaments such as the WSOP. The most common question that people have is if these programs are for real – in other words, could they really help improve your poker playing? If you get into a good training program, you definitely could see your skills grow by leaps and bounds. You just need to look for the right training course.

The first thing to look for is who is doing the training. You want to learn from a real professional poker player if you are really going to learn professional skills. Make sure that the person doing the training has those skills. If they are a good professional poker player, they will have had some tournament wins under their belt at the very least. Do some research if you’re not sure who you’re dealing with.

The training should incorporate several methods of teaching including text, video and hands-on play. The more you can watch the professional poker player and hear what’s going on in his head, the more you will pick up on good poker playing. It would be very good if there will be a component of one-on-one mentoring or coaching, too. Having a professional watch you play and point out what you do both right and wrong can prove to be invaluable.

There are many strategy books and tips around for playing roulette and they often give contradictory advice so it can be hard for a new player to know what’s fact or fiction when it comes to roulette strategy. We’re going to discuss a few of the most prevalent ideas and see if they are based on fact or myth.

Some players swear by the “all over the table” roulette strategy. They say that by placing bets evenly across the high numbers and low numbers that you will at least break even and so minimize your losses. At first glance this may look like a good tip but let’s look a little closer. What actually happens is that when you do lose, you will lose more than you would have by just sticking to the high numbers in the first place. You are risking more money at once by playing all over the table so your losses will almost always be higher than your wins.

Other players will tell you to pay attention to the numbers that come up in the games before your bet. Many of the online casinos will show you these numbers so you don’t even have to keep track. This tip is based on a wrong idea of the law of averages. Proponents say that if a number hasn’t come up for a long time then it’s statistically more likely to come up soon. The problem with that is that each spin is like starting over. In other words, each number is just as likely to come up as it was on the previous spin.

One tip that some players like to make is to bet on the European roulette wheel over the American version because the odds are better thanks to the double zero found on the American style roulette wheel. This tip is actually true – the house odds for a European roulette game are close to half the house odds on the American wheel. Statistically, this doesn’t give the player a huge edge but it does improve the odds a bit. So when you have a choice, the European roulette wheel is slightly more likely to pay off for you.

Casinos have been popping up all over, even in countries where they have been traditionally outlawed for decades. No where is the casino industry growing as fast as online, though. Rarely does a day go by where another online casino is not introduced. There must be reasons that online casinos are growing at such a phenomenal rate but what is it that they have that isn’t available with land casinos?

With the rising costs of gasoline, airfare, hotel accommodations and other travel related expenses, it’s not that surprising to see more and more people turning to online gambling instead. No need to pack or go anywhere at all when you can simply turn on your computer and sign into your favorite online gambling hot spot.

The game variety online is greater than just about any one land casino can offer, as well. All of the same games are available both online and offline. You can play baccarat, craps, roulette, poker, blackjack and all of the rest of your favorite gambling games at land casinos but rarely are you going to find all of your favorites under the same roof. Online, however, many of the online casinos have huge numbers of games available at any given time.

One distinct advantage of an online casino over a land casino is that you won’t find practice games available in the land casinos. Online casinos, on the other hand, usually have an option to play for free so you can get familiar with how a game plays and get some experience in before putting up any real cash. Often the online casinos will even give you some playing cash just for signing up or making your first deposit. This gives you more practice with betting strategies without the risk of actually losing money.

The first thing to remember when you decide to spend your gambling dollars on keno is that there is no element of skill involved – it all boils down to luck and pure chance. For any game that isn’t at least partly skill-based, there is nothing you can do to influence your odds of winning so just sit back and enjoy the game. Never plan on making a profit at keno but think of it as entertainment only. If you get lucky, great but if not, you will have had a good time.

The odds are better for you when you only play a few numbers. This may seem counter-intuitive, but statistically the more numbers you play then the worse the odds get stacked against you. It’s better to bet smaller on fewer numbers, instead. The only time you should bet the max is if you’re in a large and growing progressive jackpot. That will ensure you get the maximum jackpot if you should hit on your bet.

You can give yourself an edge for winning larger amounts when you do get lucky enough to win at keno, though. Look around and compare the payables at the different keno games. Play on the one that pays out the best so that when you do win, it’s worth your time.

There really isn’t much else you can do to improve your odds of winning a keno pot. Remember to play for the thrill of playing and simply enjoy your evening rather than trying to strategizes a game that relies on pure chance.

Playing video poker is a bit different from playing against live opponents. The hand and combination values are the same but you skill will lie strictly in calculating the odds of getting a given combination. Therefore, the main strategy in playing video poker should be to know the odds for each combination in order to determine what you should hold on to in each hand.

If you’re new to poker in general, it could take some time to develop an instinct about the odds. The best things you can do is to read and learn about the actual odds of any given combination and to practice, practice, practice. This doesn’t have to cost you any real money as many online casinos have a free play option where you won’t win any cash but you also don’t lose any. That will give you the opportunity to develop some skill at picking your cards and which combination is best to pursue.

Once you have a good feel for the game and seem to be winning more hands than not, then it’s time to move on to real cash video poker. For making it profitable, focus on games with bonus features and/or progressive jackpots. This way when you do win, you’ve got a much better chance at winning a significant amount of money. To really go for the gusto, bet the maximum whenever possible. That is always going to return the largest prize which would more than make up for the smaller losses it may take to get there.

With face-to-face poker, any good player will tell you that a large part of their strategy is being good at the art of bluffing and learning the other players tells. Many people think that learning tells isn’t possible online because you can’t see the other player but that is not the case. It is more difficult to pick up on tells during an online poker game but there are still a few things that you can learn and watch for to improve your odds of beating your opponent.

One of the most obvious things that you should be watching is the chat box. Have you ever played live poker and you’re all talking away but you notice one guy goes quiet? Usually he’s studying his hand and it generally means he has a strong hand and isn’t sure what his betting strategy should be. The same thing can hold true in online poker only it happens via the chat box. You can also watch for changes in attitude as that can also signal something is up with that player.

Another signal that works the same online as off is the opponent’s record of flops and folds. After playing a few games with someone, you should have a good idea on whether he’s staying in every pot regardless of his hand or if he’s folding far more than he’s staying in. Usually a player who stays in no matter what is not that great a player and you have a good shot at beating him with a good hand.

Watch how fast each player responds. Generally, fast bettors are playing with weaker hands than slow bettors. Those with strong hands have a tendency to put more thought into their betting strategy in order to maximize the pot amount so will take longer to place their bets. This isn’t guaranteed in an online environment due to varying internet connection speeds and the lag you sometimes have to deal with. However, if you play with the same people for multiple games, you should have some idea on their normal response times.

If you see a player whose action comes immediately after the preceding player, that player is using one of the autoplay options available in most online casinos. If the action he takes is a raise, then you can be sure he has a good hand and is ready to bet before seeing what the other players were going to do.

Anyone can tell you that playing poker, whether online or off, is both an art and a science. To win with any kind of consistency, you must know the values of the hands, the pot odds, the deck odds and a host of other details. The true professional poker player will have these things down to instinct because they have practiced so much that their mind will automatically calculate the specifics without them even realizing it.

For those who aren’t as practiced or are perhaps new to online poker, there are a few things that you should keep in mind to improve your odds of making a bit of profit. First of all, look around at several card rooms before deciding on a specific one. Get a feel for the room – test out the atmosphere, see what others might be chatting about and see if you are comfortable there. You will always play better in a room where you can relax and enjoy the ambience of the rooom.

Many new players think that they have a better shot at winning if they play a couple games simultaneously. Their reasoning is that they could double their money or at least break even for every hour of play. Maybe there are a few people who can be successful with this strategy but they are rare so this is not advisable. Better to focus on one hand at a time. This could give you a chance to get an edge by getting to know your opponents, as well.

One feature of many online poker rooms is one that we don’t recommend to most new online poker players. That is the “in-turn” function which allows a player to act on a hand before it’s your turn to a certain degree. If you have some skill and the function is working properly, this can be an effective strategy. Unfortunately, the nature of the internet can be fickle and it only takes a couple seconds of lag to blow what you were trying to do.

In a later post, we will cover actual poker strategies to help you improve your game but these tips will help you when you’re still beginning your online poker career. After all, with poker the only guaranteed way to win is to have the best hand in the end or at least, make your opponent think you do