Online Gambling

Online poker is a fluid, dynamic industry. Just last month, a United States Department of Justice ruling came to light which many feel has paved the way for online poker legalization and regulation in 2012.

It seems that each month — heck, sometimes each week — online poker sites come and go, or change the policy toward accepting US-based real-money players. Complicating things is the fact that there are some online poker networks that have several “skins”, or front-ends, and you’re only allowed to register at one of the skins. So, even though there are more than a dozen US-friendly online poker rooms, you can only open an account at a handful of those sites.

Here is the latest list of US-friendly online poker rooms where you’ll want to have accounts.

As I mentioned in a previous post, BetOnSoft is a new online casino software provider that is currently running five online casinos — my favorite of which is Treasure Mile.

Among the slot machines at BetOnSoft online casinos, there are the typical themes of gladiators, jungle animals, and spin-the-wheel / “Wheel of Fortune”. However, they also have some slot machines with some themes that I’ve not seen at any other online casinos.

	Fight on the side of Captain Shockwave and the Alpha Squad as they take on the Omega Syndicate. It’s all out action, an adventure and clash of two major forces in the ultimate showdown! Get your uniform, grab your battle plan and go, go, go! Win up to 120,000 coins and up to 24 free spins on this 15 coin, 30 line wild video slot!
	It’s time to saddle up and head out west. But you’d better be quick on the spin if you want to get anywhere in this wild west slot! Win up to 60,000 coins! 30 Line. 10 Coins. Up to 20 free spins. 2 expanding wilds!
	Two powerful planets are at war and only you can help decide the outcome of this galactic conflict. Spin the reels and decide the fate of mankind. Win up to 50,000 coins! 15 Lines, 5 coin, up to 10 free spins, feature game, wild, x 2 multiplier.

Here is a complete list of the online video slot machines from BetOnSoft online casinos.

All US players are welcome to play these online slot machines at any of these five online casinos: Treasure Mile, Mandarin Palace, Grand Eagle, WizBet, Lucky Creek.

The Slots³™ online slot machines from BetSoftGaming are arguably the most visually stunning and most interesting of all online slot machines. Recently, they have released three new online slots, available at 7Red Casino.

	Gold Diggers, a five reel, 30 line 3D online slot game, tells the story of intrepid miners Zeke and Jeb during the California Gold Rush of 1849 in their quest to unearth enough gold to satisfy the beautiful Daisy.
House of Fun is the world’s first 3D cinematic online slot machine with an interactive, themed storyline. House of Fun follows the tale of two young adults and their trusty dog as they discover a strange old house full of mysteries, freaks and frights.
	Rock Star is centered around a flashy, hard-rocking band playing high-energy rock music in the background. Experience the thrill of being onstage, performing for thousands of adoring fans. Witness the band play an epic solo in an incredible on-reel bonus feature and experience the infectious energy of a rock concert. Rock out with the band in the bonus round on this online slot machine!

It’s been over a year since US players have had the opportunity to play at an online casino with new online casino software. (The last new online casino software for US players was from Top Game; before that was Rival.) Recently, however, the new BetOnSoft Platform has been released and has opened their virtual doors to players from around the world — including US players.

The BetOnSoft Platform offers 15 Classic Slots, 28 Video Slots, and Keno. Their table games include Blackjack (1, 2, 4, and 8 deck versions), 3 Card Poker, Craps, Baccarat, and both American and European Roulette. To wrap things up, they offer 28 varieties of Video Poker.

I’ve taken an initial look at one of the BetOnSoft online casinos – Treasure Mile. (Since they offer a practice mode, you can check out all the games before making a deposit.) The interface is clean and intuitive — start at the bottom and work your way up from Casino to (for example) Video Poker until a ring of available games is displayed. Pretty cool!

Here is a list of the five BetOnSoft online casinos. Only one offers free chips, while all offer an initial deposit bonus (the minimum deposit is $20).

I’ve been playing poker online for several years now. Based on my experiences, feedback from others, and news reports (both good and bad), here is my list of the 4 best online poker sites for US players.

1. Doyle’s Room – Free and easy credit card and e-wallet deposits, fast and free e-wallet withdrawals (express check withdrawals are $50), and their unique bounty tournaments set this poker room apart from the others. Doyle’s Room operates on the Cake Poker network, the 4th-largest poker network open to US players in terms of number of players. They also have a pretty good casino, too. Accepting players from 47 states (KY, WA, LA are barred), Doyle’s Room is a great choice for playing poker online. Current online poker promotion for new players: Get a 110% bonus up to $550.
2. Full Tilt – There is always a lot of action at Full Tilt, the 2nd-largest poker network in terms of number of players. E-checks are free for depositing and withdrawing, so that’s a real bankroll saver. Also, thinking back to when I first opened an account with Full Tilt, their initial deposit bonus was generous and straightforward to clear. Current online poker promotion for new players: Get a 100% bonus up to $600.
3. PokerStars – The granddaddy of them all, PokerStars is the largest poker room in the world — it’s about twice as big as Full Tilt. The PokerStars lobby is full-featured, yet still easy-to-use; the tabbed interface and filtering options allow you to customize its display of just the cash games, tourneys, and poker variants that you want to see. Freerolls abound at PokerStars. E-checks are free for depositing and withdrawing. Current online poker promotion for new players: Get a 100% bonus up to $600.
4. OddsMaker.com Poker – This is one of 70+ rooms in the growing Merge Network. While I suppose that one room on the network is as good as any other, OddsMaker.com also has a sportsbook, racebook, and casino, which is convenient if you like to bet sports, play table games, and win at some video poker. Their initial signup offer is simpler than it sounds: $10 rake = 800 VIP points = $10 free money released to real money account. Current online poker promotion for new players: Get a 100% bonus up to $1000 + 14 days of entries into a daily $500 freeroll.

Gaming Right Casino Software provides some online casinos with popular table games like blackjack and craps to progressive, bonus round and free spin slots to video poker, keno and pull tabs. This blog will provide a brief review of their software.

The table games are fine. There is nothing good nor bad about the blackjack and craps games. They do offer single-zero roulette, so that’s a plus. In addition, they do have three games that I’ve not seen at any other online casino — Banco 1×2, Hoo Hey How, and Trente Quarente. (I’ll be taking a look at these games in future posts.)

Other software providers offer more varieties of video poker than Gaming Right Casino Software. Their multi-hand versions are 4, 18, or 50 hands — where is the standard 10 handed? They do offer Two Ways Royal, a game not found at most online casinos. Their odds on single hand Jacks or Better are average, with a house edge of 0.89% (the best online Jacks or Better odds has a house edge of 0.46%).

The slots stink. Every one of their games are nearly identical, with only slight variations in rules across their slots. The skins on the slots are less than average — they don’t even look all that good.

Still, if you want to give them a try, you can play for free after registering at WannaBet. WannaBet welcomes players from around the globe.

If you have not yet tried an online casino running Top Game software, you really need to check out US-Blackjack.com. Since Top Game came on the scene a few months ago, I have been downloading and auditing several sites that run this software to try to find the best one.

US-Blackjack.com is the clear winner. Despite its name, this online casino offers more than just blackjack — they have all the casino-style games that you would expect, including slots, video poker, roulette, and more. As usual, what sets this site apart from others is its customer service. Chat, toll-free phone support, and (of course) email support are all available — and the support folks are quick, accurate, and friendly.

I’ve posted an extensive review of this online casino at The Online Casino Gambling Directory. You can try US-Blackjack.com using its free-play mode. And, if you do decide to make a first deposit, they’ll match it up to 100 bucks!

I like to bet on MLB totals — the total number of runs scored in a game by both teams. I have various resources that I use to determine which games to bet, including a custom-made spreadsheet and two web pages (one of which is mine that compiles statistics on MLB umpire’s tendencies when calling balls and strikes). About a week or so ago, I was doing my normal research and decided that I liked the UNDER 10.5 @ -115 in the Angels v Rangers game, and found the best odds for the game were at BetUS Sportsbook, an online sportsbook that accepts real-money wagers from US players.

Take a look at the card below, a screen capture of some of the day’s bets.

Note that the game immediately above the Angles v Rangers game — Indians v Rays — was also UNDER 10.5 @ -115. Well, I mistakenly bet the Indians v Rays game. I noticed immediately after I confirmed the bet by entering my password and clicking the Confirm button on the BetUS website.

I immediately called the BetUS toll-free customer service line ( 1-800-588-5586 ) and was quickly connected to a representative. I explained what I had done and asked to have the bet cancelled. The rep explained that it was against their policy to cancel bets once they were confirmed, but I asked that he take a look at the card and see how such a mistake could have been made. The rep put me on hold, conferred with his supervisor, and allowed me to switch the bet that I had made on the Indians v Rays with my intended bet on the Angels v Rangers.

Now that’s great customer service!

(For those that are curious, both of the games went OVER. )

Intertops is a 5-star rated site at The Online Casino Gambling Directory. Yesterday, I had an experience which confirmed their best-of-the-best 5-star rating.

I’ve been a bit distracted with helping to take care of my mother as she recovers from successful hip replacement surgery. As a result, I only have a few minutes a day to place wagers on the sporting events that I am interested in. Yesterday, I saw a great over on Thursday’s Missouri v Memphis game, and liked it for 2.5 units; however, I inadvertently made the wager for 3 units.

This is no big deal, really — I placed an extra half wager than I intended. But, I thought that I would give Intertops a call and see if they could modify my wager.

I called Intertops on the phone and a customer service rep answered almost immediately. I explained that I wanted to reduce my wager on the Missouri v Memphis game. She explained that it is the policy of Intertops to not modify a wager once it is placed. I understood and expected this response — confirming an online wager is equivalent to walking away from a betting window at the track or a book; all bets are now final.

However, she went on to say that she would check to see if an exception could be made. After a 2 minute hold, she came back on the line and said that they had made an exception and cancelled the wager.

Wow. I was surprised, but I guess not too much. Intertops has long been a 5-star site, and I suppose the fact that I have been a loyal customer of theirs for years and had never made such a request may have been a factor in their granting the exception…. but still, they took care of my exceptional request, and I wanted to let everyone know about it.

Now, I’m not saying to get into the habit of placing and then trying to cancel bets, nor am I saying that Intertops will always honor a bet cancellation request. I’m just saying that with Intertops, if you do make a mistake and want to cancel a wager, they’ll at least consider your request.

Oh. By the way — take the over in the Missouri v Memphis game. Good luck!

(Note: The information present on this blog is intended for entertainment purposes only. Please check your local, state and provincial laws before you gamble online. If your local laws prohibit online gambling then we recommend you consider an alternative form of entertainment.)

I recently upgraded my mobile handset from a Motorola Razor camera phone to a Blackberry Curve personal digital assistant (PDA).

Wow. What a difference.

One of things that I tried was placing a wager at Intertops using their PDA-optimized site.

• Overall, it worked and I was able to place a wager.
• The default value for a wager is 1. The first time that I tried to make a wager, I inadvertently hit the wrong key on my Blackberry, and the bet was submitted and accepted. I expected an intermediate page to review and confirm the bet, as on the main Intertops site.
• OK. So now I had a wager of 1 on the event. To get the wager to the correct amount, I placed an additional wager on the same event. To my pleasant surprise, I was told that I already had a wager on the event, and was asked to confirm the additional wager on the same event. Good design — this should be done on the main Intertops site, too.
• As on the normal browser-based Intertops site, I was able to review my past and pending wagers. However, the formatting on the PDA was nonexistent; the data should be properly formatted.
• Not all bet types are offered; for example, it did not appear that I could tease an NFL game. I would expect to see additional types of wagers available on the PDA over time.

Overall, Intertops has done a decent job with the basics. A little fit-and-finish work, a few more features…. and they’ll have a very good PDA-optimized site.

(Note: The information present on this blog is intended for entertainment purposes only. Please check your local, state and provincial laws before you gamble online. If your local laws prohibit online gambling then we recommend you consider an alternative form of entertainment.)