You might be thinking that since it is hard to make NBA predictions it must also be hard to bet smartly and win money. This is true in a sense but there are two edges on this blade. If predicting the NBA is hard for bettors it is also hard for the handicappers who issue the spreads at online sports books. It’s been a tough season for everyone so far but I think basketball bettors hold the advantage. Many of the previous predictions for this NBA season are already being busted. The lockout resulted in many unsuspected things happening. The NBA lines at the major online bookmakers still seem off. When things like this happen it can be easy to make a lot of money. Amateur and recreational basketball bettors seem to be doing better than the serious bettors. Perhaps they, like the handicappers, are having trouble adapting to the changes and the on-going turmoil in the league.

My NBA Predictions – The Best Bets

I was lucky to make several futures bets earlier in the season. You can still receive amazing odds for NBA futures wagers. One of my NBA predictions seems to be coming true. I had wagered some money on the 76ers and they are having an amazing season. They currently lead the Atlantic Eastern Conference with 16 wins and 6 losses. That puts them tied for 3rd place in the NBA. The futures line offered by online sports books do not really reflect this. Usually a team with this record would pay 10 or 15:1. Vegas Insider is giving 60:1 on the 76ers and there are other bookmakers that have higher odds. Teams like the Lakers are paying 11/2 and their season has been terrible.

They have currently only won 13 games. It seems there is a disconnect between what is happening on the courts and the NBA odds at sports books. There are several other examples of this. The Clippers are tied with the Lakers right now and Vegas Insider is paying 75:1 on futures wagers. How can two teams with the same record have odds this different? There is a massive difference between 11/2 and 75:1. This is why I predict recreational basketball bettors will have such a great season. Experienced bettors would never bet on a 75:1 team but rookies certainly would. My NBA predictions may not be that accurate but I only need to get lucky on one of them to turn this into an extremely profitable season. This is about more than just futures bets.

I see the same thing in my week to week NBA betting. My advice to you is to scout out several different sports books and find the odds that don’t seem to make sense when you compare them with the current NBA rankings. I wouldn’t bet all of my money on the 76ers. It is better to make ten $50 bets than one $500 during times like this when even the most conservative NBA predictions are completely wrong.

Online poker rooms have been developing new types of Sit and Goes. These new formats really take a lot of the luck out of poker. The Sit and Go fanatics today tend to play many games at once and can almost always squeeze a net profit out of it. The strategies needed to win Sit and Go tournaments on a regular basis are pretty straight forward for the most part. The difficulty comes from the situational awareness needed to come out ahead.

Your hands and bets are certainly important but many proven Sit N Go strategies put a lot of emphasis on being aware of your chip stack position and the prize pool. You will base some of your decisions on how close to the money you are. Your overall goal is to turn a profit from playing in multiple Sit and Goes at once.

Most players prefer either turbo or hyper-turbo Sit and Go tournaments. This allows them to play in around twice as many events when compared to regular speed SNGs. Many also play in 6-seat Sit and Goes. These events pay the top 2 players, 65% and 35% of the prize pool respectively.

There are some other types of single table tournaments that are gaining a following in the Sit and Go community. 10-seat Fifty-50 and 9-seat knock-out SNGs at Pokerstars fill up very quickly at all buy-in levels. Fifty-50 SNGs have a unique set of payouts. Here is an example for a $15 buy-in game:

• 1st – 5th: The top five finishers will receive their buy-in back and $.47 per 100 chips they have when the 6th player is knocked out.

These Sit and Goes are pretty cool because they end when 5 players are knocked out and they pay you according to your chip stack. Strategy for Fifty-50 SNGs consists of simply trying to stay in the event longer than 50% of the playing field. If you can manage this 75% of the time you will be making a profit in 75 out of every 100 SNGs you play in per day. Even if your average profit per Sit and Go is only $10 you can make $375/day by playing in 100 events per day.  The 25 losses at this level ($15) would add up to $375 but your $10 profit on the other 75 would be $750, thus the $375 net profit.

There are some other major benefits to playing in Sit and Goes at sites like Pokerstars. SNGs are considered the fastest way to earn Pokerstars VPPs and FPPs. The Pokerstars VIP program allows users to claim tens of thousands of dollars every year. If you play in XX number of Sit and Goes per day you will be earning hundreds of VPPs, which are worth thousands of FPPs.

1. Look for outrageous claims that you know cannot be true.
2. Look for an opinion in the review that is negative towards the poker room.
3. Look for links that do not take you directly to the poker room.

The first tip is probably the easiest and fastest way to spot a bad poker site review. This can also apply to poker rooms in general. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen claims like “The largest poker site online” or “The largest poker bonus in the world”. Spotting an outrageous claim like this is a good indicator that the rest of the review is going to be fluff.

This is very common in poker site reviews and it is usually either highlighted somewhere or in the first few sentences of the review. If the room is a generic skin or only has a few thousand players during peak hours it is safe to assume that they are not even in the top 10 online poker rooms. If their bonus is around $500 you will know that that it is a complete fabrication. Poker web site reviews that start off with a lie or bogus claim are your cue to hit the back button.

The second tip will take a little more time. If you are reading a poker room review and you do not spot a single negative comment about the poker room in question that simply means that the writer purposely left out the bad things and most likely exaggerated the good things. No online poker room even comes close to being perfect. An unbiased poker review should mention the good qualities of course but they should focus on the bad stuff. Poker affiliates have gotten this completely backwards.

The final tip is one that you won’t really have to use very often. Almost ever poker web site review you read will include affiliate links to that room. If you hover over the link and it doesn’t go directly to the poker room you can be sure that the review was written by an affiliate who will receive a commission if you use their link and play real money poker. That doesn’t mean the review is full of lies but it will let you know to double check any findings that you find important.

The guys at RealMoneyPoker.org shed some light on how I could find a way around this problem and gave me a list of Mastercard poker rooms. Since then I have opened a new account at the leading US poker room and I’m only down $30, which is practically winning when you consider my non-existent poker skills. Mastercard poker sites do not directly accept this type of debit and credit card. There are a few solutions for Mastercard holders that wish to make a deposit though. Here are a few of the methods RealMoneyPoker.org suggested when I asked how a person could fund their poker account using a Mastercard or any other debit or credit card in 2012.

Use Credit Cards To Fund A Poker Room Friendly e-Wallet Account

There are several e-wallet solutions for people having trouble with their Mastercard, or any debit/credit card for that matter. You can use your Mastercard to fund your e-wallet account and use your e-wallet account to fund your poker account. This 2 step process takes a little time to setup but once that is done you will be able to fund your poker accounts swiftly with minimal fees.

Use Your Mastercard To Purchase A Pre-paid Visa Card & fund Your Poker Account With It

This is a very innovative solution in my opinion and the boys at RealMoneyPoker.org really deserve some credit. If your debit or credit card is getting rejected at an online poker site you can simply go to a store and buy a pre-paid Visa card. Visa cards have a very high success rate for U.S. poker players in 2012. Funding problems are not restricted to Americans so if you live in a country with similar restrictions this option will work just as well for you.

Use Your Credit Card To Send Money To The Poker Room Via Moneygram Or Western Union

I did not have to try this one since the e-wallet tip worked fine for me but RealMoneyPoker.org says that you can even use your Mastercard to pay for a money transfer service like Moneygram or Western Union. Many online poker rooms, casinos and especially sports books accept both of these deposit options so this is really a perfect solution for those having trouble making deposits. Both of these companies have web sites that enable users to send the money instantly online. RealMoneyPoker.org has stated that in the past these options had high minimum limits due to the fees accessed and the availability of easier deposit options. Many online poker rooms and gambling companies have since lowered the minimum deposit requirements for money transfer services so this solution is now perfect for medium and low stakes players. There is fee for each money transfer but RealMoneyPoker.org also provided a tip to help lower costs. They suggest that players try to make one large deposit instead of several small deposits. This will reduce the fees you must pay and will allow small stakes players to finally claim a big chunk of first deposit and re-load bonus offers at online poker rooms.

For more information about Mastercard poker rooms and real money poker in general please visit www.RealMoneyPoker.org.

Bovada Poker & The Bodog Poker Network

Bovada Poker has only been online for around a month. Their brief history is riddled with misconceptions and inaccurate rumors. Where to even begin? Let’s go back 9 months to 2011. The US government basically hi-jacked the domains for the 4 largest US poker rooms:  Pokerstars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. Once the dust settled Pokerstars was the only US poker room left standing, but they could no longer accept American players. Bodog was the only large US friendly company that wasn’t affected. They did experience a huge growth spurt but they were also put on notice.

They needed to do something soon to protect themselves.  As a multi-million dollar company that operates the largest US bookmaker and a huge casino they didn’t want to jeopardize everything for a medium sized poker room that isn’t even their top revenue generator. They also didn’t want to simply pull-out of the poker industry because regulation and legalization seem imminent. Their solution was Bovada Poker. Bodog Poker has always been a stand-alone poker room and they have done well. Networked poker rooms have largely failed and are prone to scams, cheating and failure.

Bodog basically decided create a new poker room for US players and kept the original room for international players. Since these two rooms share software and traffic they are essentially a network, but they are nothing like the other networks. If they have legal problems regarding Bovada Poker they can simply cut it loose and still offer their international customers a place to play poker.

This separation coincided with a major software upgrade so both Bovada and Bodog are truly new room. New features include reduced rake at heads-up tables, a rabbit cam, anonymous tables, the addition of Blackjack the poker client and an increase in speed. They have also improved security and accessibility.

Bovada Poker Bonus In 2012

Bovada Poker is offering a bonus that is twice as large as the typical $500 bonus commonly found at other poker rooms. They will give you a 100% match bonus up to $1,000. This bonus and the scarcity of US poker rooms have caused significant growth at Bovada and Bodog. They are also running$15,000 monthly freeroll. Bovada Poker’s new player bonus is easier to clear compared to other large bonuses. The increments start off small and increase as you clear them. You do so by playing in real money cash games and/or real money poker tournaments and sitngos.

New Deal Poker

New Deal Poker Bonuses

Most online poker rooms offer a single bonus but New Deal Poker is letting new players choose between four signup bonuses. The largest New Deal Poker bonus is a 100% match bonus up to $1,000. There are smaller bonuses available and they are easier to clear. So it really all comes down to how much you plan on depositing and playing. If you want to play a lot and/or deposit a lot you might be better off selecting one of the larger New Deal Poker bonus offers. If you are a small stakes or recreational player you will be better off choosing a smaller bonus that is much easier to clear. Here is an overview of the deposit bonuses available at this new poker room:

• 100% up to $100 – Requirement: 1,500 points – 15 points/$1 – 30 day time limit
• 100% up to $200 – Requirement: 3,400 points – 17 points/$1 – 45 day time limit
• 100% up to $300 – Requirement: 5,700 points – 19 points/$1- 60 day time limit
• 100% up to $1,000 – Requirement: 30,000 points – 30 points/$1 – 60 day time limit

So if you choose a larger New Deal Poker bonus you will have to earn more points per bonus $1 but you will also receive more time in which to clear the bonus. Each of these bonuses is paid out in 10% intervals so the $100 bonus will be credited in $10 installments (150 points each) and the $1,000 bonus will be paid in $100 installments (3,000 points each).

Once you have finished clearing the bonus or the time has run out you will be eligible for a new bonus. This re-load bonus offer is a 100% match up to $1,000 and has a 30 point/$1 clearance ratio.

New Deal Poker Traffic

New Deal Poker has been averaging around 8,000 players during peak hours thus far in 2012. As far as US poker rooms go this puts them towards the top. Texas Hold’em is the top game at New Deal Poker and they offer regular tables as well as tables with Badbeat protection. This is a new concept in poker and I think it is pretty cool. It basically allows you to protect yourself from losing all-in hands in which you held a big advantage over the other player. Tournament traffic is also relatively high at New Deal Poker. This is somewhat of a paradox though. Many of the tournaments at New Deal Poker come with a very large overlay. This obviously attracts many players but at the same time New Deal Poker increases the guaranteed prize pools so that the overlays do not get smaller.

The Best New Deal Poker Promotion

There are some innovative promotions at New Deal Poker. The one I like best is the “Got What It Takes” promotion. This promo basically gives all players a chance to win a lot of free money and become an online poker pro. Here is an overview of the five steps you must complete to become a sponsored professional poker player at New Deal Poker:

• Step 1 – Write New Deal Poker (promotions@newdealpoker.com) and tell them you want to take part in this challenge. Then you must simply earn 100,000 poker points within 2 months. The reward for completing this step is being staked by New Deal Poker. They will give you at least 100€ to play with and you move on to step 2.
• Step 2 – The amount of stake money you receive will be determined by the number of points you earn in 60 days. To complete step 2 you will need to increase your initial stake 10 times. So if you turn 100€ into 1,000€ you will have completed step 2. If you run out of cash you are allowed to make one deposit and try again. You are given 3 months to complete this step.
• Step 3 – This step has a 6 month time frame and does seem all that hard. You must win 3 MTTs and make the final table in 9 others. You can play in tournaments with as few as 60 players so this probably sounds harder than it is. You must also play 50 HU sitngos and 5,000 hands of HU poker. You can play at any stake you want. The hard part will be winning though. It is not enough to simply play this many hands. You must increase your bankroll to 10,000€ by the end of 6 months to move on to step 4.
• Step 4 – This step is probably the easiest of the bonus. You need to win one of the many satellites to a live poker tournament offered at New Deal Poker. You can complete this step any time after sending support the email requesting to take part of this promotion.
• Step 5 – When you play in the live event you will need to wear New Deal Poker clothing or a hat, I’m not 100% sure. If you finish in the money you will be awarded professional status at New Deal Poker. This status comes with many benefits including 100% rakeback and seat packages to live events.

Lock Poker

The Lock Poker First Deposit Bonus

All users that entered the code mentioned above will receive a 150% match Lock Poker bonus that has a $750 cap. Most online poker rooms offer a generic 100% up to $500 bonus so this special deal is superior in two ways. It not only offers more money but it gives you more bang for your buck. Once again, you can claim this bonus by entering the Lock Poker bonus code PNREPORT.  Here are a couple highlights of this bonus and the clearance requirements:

• This 150% match bonus is one of the best available on the entire network.
• This bonus will be issued in $5 increments.
• You need to earn 375 Lock Poker Points for each $5 increment.

Lock Poker Promotions

Lock Poker has an ever-changing line-up of promotions so this post will likely be out-of-date in a month or two. This is one area where Lock Poker beats the other skins on the Merge network and other US poker rooms. Here are a few of the most popular promotions at Lock Poker going in to 2012:

• Double Trouble – One Thursdays and Fridays all Lock Poker players, regardless of VIP level, will earn 2X the number of points. The Lock Poker VIP program provides a variety of ways in which you can spend these points so this promo is pretty exciting.
• Royal Flush Jackpot – You can win much more than just the pot when you catch a Royal Flush at Lock Poker. If you catch one at real money Texas Hold’em ring table you will win 100X the amount of the big blind. So if you are playing at a $1/$2 table you would win $200 or $1,000 if you are playing at a $5/$10 table.
• Badbeat Jackpot – Lock Poker’s Badbeat Jackpot is currently over $600,000. This unique jackpot can be won by losing a hand with four 7′s of better at one of their special BBJ tables. This may seem like it never happens but this jackpot is hit very often so it definitely adds a little suspense to every hand.

VIP Program At Lock Poker

The Lock Poker VIP program is another promotion that you will find rewarding. This program has four levels and each offers multiple benefits:

• White VIP – New Lock Poker players will need to earn 1,000 VIP points per calendar month. The benefits include 10% cashback*, a $10,000 freeroll entry and the ability to trade in 1,000 points for $10 cash.
• Silver VIP – All of the benefits listed above but you will earn 20% cashback instead of 10%.  5,000 points are required for this tier.
• Black VIP – If you earn 10,000 points per month your cashback will again be increased to 30% and you will receive special Lock Casino bonus offers.
• Black VIP Elite – Earning 50,000 points per month is tough but not impossible. The cashback percentage is 35% and you will receive your own VIP rep, plus all of the benefits listed above.

* Cashback – A daily payment based on the amount of rake you generated during the previous day.

As you can see spread betting is a mix of gambling and investing. The benefits of both can be attributed to spread betting. Here are a few examples:

• Skilled spread bettors have a better chance of profiting just like skilled poker players or Blackjack players do.
• Spread betting companies like Capital Spreads are large international companies that are completely transparent. Many online poker sites and casinos are small time operations and scandals do occur. Spread betting companies are safer and more financially secure than the typical online poker room or casino.
• It is not possible to cheat or be cheated in spread betting.

Online Poker Players Guide To Spread Betting

Some of you have likely never heard of online spread betting so I will explain how it works. Major spread betting companies like Capital Spreads enable you to bet on a wide range of outcomes including single stocks, currencies and indexes. You are essentially betting on if a certain stock or market is going to improve or not.

You can actually use your poker knowledge to help in spread betting because several major UK based online gambling companies are publicly traded. Let’s look at Paradise Poker, which is owned by Sporting Bet (SBT.L). If you know that they will be releasing new software, adding a new VIP program or anything of that nature you can use this info to make a spread bet. If you think that the poker room will become more popular you would want to bet on the stock value rising.

Let’s say that Paradise Poker was going to add anonymous tables like Bodog recently did. A wise spread bettor would bet on the stock losing value because of how badly anonymous tables were received by Bodog’s poker players.

Capital Spreads Vs The Rest

Capital Spreads has achieved dominance in this industry by offering an excellent platform and by working with a large number of markets.  When you log into your account at Capital Spreads you will easily be able to make spread bets using their novice-friendly platform. They even offer a mobile spread betting apps (see right).

This company features easy to understand charts, graphs and guides for beginners. You will have a largest selection of stocks, currencies and markets to choose from and their innovative tools will help you decide where to bet your money. Other spread betting sites offer these tools and guides but Capital Spreads is widely considered to be the best at teaching beginners everything that they need to know about spread betting online.

Where Can Americans Play Poker?

In 2012 (its close enough) only around 1 in 20 online poker sites accept players from the USA. Most of the places that I can play poker at only accept a few instant deposit options that work well for small amounts. There are methods that are guaranteed to work but they require  larger amounts ($100+) and may take 24+ hours. It’s more than just that though. I’m not like most poker players. I don’t simply play Texas Hold’em because everyone else does. I like playing Horse poker and Stud poker. Amount half of the places I can play at do not even offer these card games. As you can see there are a number of things to consider when deciding where you should play poker at online.  You should never settle for a room that doesn’t suit your basic needs.

Where Can Europeans Play Poker?

Most European countries respect personal freedom and do not have laws against online poker. If you are a European and you are looking for places to play poker online you will have many options. The key to finding a great poker room is to think about what type of player you will be. The stakes you play at and the number of hands you play per week are probably the most important things to consider. Some poker rooms reward small stakes and recreational players much more than other rooms. If you only plan on playing a few hours per week you should review the promotions at various poker sites. Look for poker rooms that offer promotions that everyone can participate in.

If you plan on playing very often and/or at the medium to high stakes level you will want to look for a room that really takes care of their rake generators. Here are a few examples of what I mean:

• Rake races – This promotion would be meaningless to a casual or small stakes player but could be very lucrative to a grinder.
• Badbeat Jackpots – This is an equal opportunity promo in most cases. A person playing $.25/.50 will have the same chance of winning as a person playing $10/20.
• VIP programs – There are two types of poker VIP programs: single and multiple tier loyalty programs. Single tier programs are not very friendly towards recreational and low limit players. When a program has several different tiers it provides a much more accurate level of benefits to small stakes and high stakes players alike.

In my opinion the VIP program and traffic for the game you like to play should be the main things to look at when picking a place to play online poker. A small bonus at a room with a great VIP program is infinitely more rewarding than a big bonus at a room with a generic loyalty program.

Android friendly casino apps are already more common than iPhone apps, although not by too much. If you have a mobile device that uses the Android platform your online gambling options are extensive. I do not know of one mobile casino that doesn’t offer apps for this platform.

In years past it was difficult for online casinos to develop mobile gambling applications because there were several major platforms being used. Google bought Android Inc. in 2005 and this platform has steadily grown in popularity. In 2011 the only major players in this industry are Android, Blackberry and Apple. This has enabled online casinos to focus their mobile gambling apps on these three platforms.

Best Blackjack Apps For Android Phones

The All Slots Casino is definitely a favorite among mobile Blackjack players. There are not too many online casinos that offer Android gambling apps for games like Blackjack. Most mobile casinos stick to slots and video poker but Blackjack is a very popular game so All Slots is definitely a leader in the mobile gaming industry. Americans cannot play mobile Blackjack for real money at this casino but players from the UK and the rest of Europe are welcome to play for fun or real money.

All Slots is over a decade old and has a perfect reputation. The process of acquiring their mobile casino apps for Android devices is very simple. They have an entire section of their web site dedicated to mobile gambling. This section is divided into categories based on the type of smartphone or tablet software you are using.  They have a special section exclusively for Android casino apps.

All you need to do to have the app sent to your Android phone is choose the game you want to play, click on the “Get Game” button and fill out the pop-up (see right). You basically just choose your location, supply your phone number and enter a verification code. All Slots will send the casino game app to your Android phone within minutes totally free of charge.

Best Slot Machine Game Apps For Android Phones

Slotland Mobile has one of the best selections of slot machine apps for Android powered devices. They primarily focus on slots but they also offer a video poker app for Android phones. Slotland is one of the most established casinos on the Internet so you can be assured that their mobile gaming apps are both fair and safe. They are also one of the few mobile casinos that accept American gamblers. You can try out any of their mobile games for free so you don’t have to worry about any fees or anything like that.