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Blackjack gambling

Blackjack gambling is one of the most popular casino card games in the world. Much of blackjack's popularity is due to the mix of chance with elements of skill, and the publicity that surrounds card counting (keeping track of which cards have been played since the last shuffle). Blackjack's precursor was vingt-et-un ("twenty-one"), which originated in French casinos around 1700, and did not offer the 3:2 bonus for a two-card 21. Rules Each player is dealt two cards and is then offered the opportunity to take more. The hand with the highest total wins as long as it doesn't exceed 21; a hand with a higher total than 21 is said to bust or have too many. Cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value, and face cards (jack, queen, king) are also worth 10. An ace's value is 11 unless this would cause the player to bust, in which case it is worth 1. A hand in which an ace's value is counted as 11 is called a soft hand, because it cannot be busted if the player draws another card. The goal of each player is to beat the dealer by having the higher, unbusted hand. Note that if the player busts he loses, even if the dealer also busts (therefore Blackjack favors the dealer). If both the player and the dealer have the same point value, it is called a "push", and neither player nor dealer wins the hand. Each player has an independent game with the dealer, so it is possible for the dealer to lose to one player, but still beat the other players in the same round. Example of a Blackjack game. The top half of the picture shows the beginning of the round, with bets placed and an initial two cards for each player. The bottom half shows the end of the round, with the associated losses or payoffs. Example of a Blackjack game. The top half of the picture shows the beginning of the round, with bets placed and an initial two cards for each player. The bottom half shows the end of the round, with the associated losses or payoffs. The minimum bet is printed on a sign on the table and varies from casino to casino and table to table. After initial bets are placed, the dealer deals the cards, either from one or two hand-held decks of cards, known as a "pitch" game, or more commonly from a shoe containing four or more decks. The dealer gives two cards to each player, including himself. One of the dealer's two cards is face-up so all the players can see it, and the other is face down. (The face-down card is known as the "hole card". In European blackjack, the hole card is not actually dealt until the players all play their hands.) The cards are dealt face up from a shoe, or face down if it is a pitch game. In American blackjack, if the dealer's face-up card is an ace or a ten-value, the dealer checks his hole card to see if he has blackjack. This check occurs before any of the players play, but after they have been offered insurance (if the face-up card is an ace). If the dealer has blackjack, all players lose their initial bets, except players who also have blackjack, who push. (In some American casinos, the dealer does not actually check the hole card until after the players have all played. At that time, if the dealer turns out to have blackjack, all players who did not have blackjack lose their bets, and players who increased their bets by doubling or splitting lose only the original bet, and have the additional bets returned to them; thus, the end result is precisely as if the dealer had checked the hole card before playing.) A two-card hand of 21 (an ace plus a ten-value card) is called a "blackjack" or a "natural", and is an automatic winner (unless the dealer has blackjack as well, in which case the hand is a push). A player with a natural is usually paid 3:2 on his bet. Some casinos pay only 6:5 on blackjacks; although this reduced payout has generally been restricted to single-deck games where card counting would otherwise be a viable strategy. The move was decried by longtime blackjack players[1]. The player's options for playing his or her hand are: * Hit: Take another card. * Stand: Take no more cards. * Double down: Double the wager, take exactly one more card, and then stand. * Split: Double the wager and have each card be the first card in a new hand. This option is available only when both cards have the same value. * Surrender: Forfeit half the bet and give up the hand. Surrender was common during the early- and mid-20th century, but is no longer offered at most casinos. The player's turn is over after deciding to stand, doubling down to take a single card, or busting. If the player busts, he or she loses the bet even if the dealer goes on to bust. After all the players have finished making their decisions, the dealer then reveals his or her hidden hole card and plays the hand. House rules say that the dealer must hit until he or she has at least 17, regardless of what the players have. In some casinos a dealer must also hit a soft 17 (a combination of cards adding up to either 7 or 17, such as an ace and a 6). If the dealer busts then all remaining players win. Bets are normally paid out at the odds of 1:1. Players who push (tie) with the dealer receive their original bet back. Some common rules variations include: * Only one card for split Aces: a single new card is added to each Ace and the turn ends. They are thus regarded as 11-point cards. No other denomination is subject to this process. * Multiple splits: If a player splits 2 cards and receives a third card of identical value, the hand can be split again, resulting in 3 hands. However, some casinos only allow a single split of the first 2 cards. * Early surrender: Player has the option to surrender before dealer checks for Blackjack. * Late surrender: Player has the option to surrender after dealer checks for Blackjack. * Double-down restrictions: Double-down may only be allowed on certain combinations of cards (usually totaling 9, 10 or 11). * Double-down after split: Double-down may not be allowed after splitting cards. The split hands are played normally otherwise. * Split any tens: Players may split any 2 cards which are both worth 10 points, such as a Jack and Queen. This rule is rarely used, since 20 is a very strong hand which is unlikely to be split. * European No-Hole-Card Rule: the dealer receives only one card, dealt face-up, and does not receive a second card (and thus does not check for blackjack) until players have acted. This means players lose not only their original bet, but also any additional money invested from splitting and doubling down. A game that has no-hole-card doesn't necessarily mean you will lose additional bets as well as original bets. In Australia for example, a player beaten by a dealer blackjack may keep all split and double bets and lose only the original bet, thus the game plays the same as it would if there were a hole card. Each blackjack variation has its own set of rules, strategies and odds. It is advised to take a look at the rules of the specific variation before playing. Many countries have legal acts and laws, which determine how a casino game of Blackjack must be played. [edit] Insurance If the dealer's upcard is an Ace, the player is offered the option of taking Insurance before the dealer checks his 'hole card'. The player who wishes to take Insurance can bet an amount up to half his original bet. The Insurance bet is placed separately on a special portion of the table, which usually carries the words "Insurance Pays 2:1". The player who is taking Insurance is betting that the dealer was dealt a natural, i.e. a two-card 21 (a blackjack), and this bet by the player pays off 2:1 if it wins. It is called insurance since if the dealer has a blackjack, the bet wins the same amount of the player's Blackjack wager, such that if insurance is taken and the player doesn't have blackjack but dealer does, no money is lost. Of course the dealer can end up not having blackjack and the player can still win or lose the blackjack bet. Insurance is a bad bet for the non-counting player who has no knowledge of the hole card because it has a house edge of 2 to 15%, depending on number of decks used and visible 10-cards [2]. Essentially, taking insurance amounts to betting that the dealer's hole card is a ten or face card. Since in an infinite deck, 4/13 of the cards are tens or face cards, an unbiased insurance wager would actually pay 9:4, or 2.25:1; since the bet only pays 2:1, the house has a strong advantage. However, if the player has been counting cards, he may know that more than a third of the deck is ten-value cards, in which case insurance becomes a good bet. If a player has a natural (an ace and a ten or face-card) and the dealer is showing an ace, the dealer usually asks the player "Even money?" instead of offering insurance. If the player accepts the offer, he is immediately paid 1:1 for his natural, regardless of whether the dealer has blackjack. Thus, accepting "even money" has exactly the same payout as buying insurance: if the dealer does not have blackjack, the player would forfeit the insurance bet and win 3:2 on the natural, thus receiving a net payout equal to the original bet; if the dealer does have blackjack, the player would push on the natural and win 2:1 on the insurance wager, again receiving a net payout equal to the original bet. Since taking "even money" is equivalent to buying insurance, it is likewise a bad choice for the player, unless he has been counting cards and knows the deck has an unusually high proportion of ten-value cards. In casinos where a hole card is dealt, a dealer who is showing a card with a value of Ace or 10 may slide the corner of his or her facedown card over a small mirror or electronic sensor on the tabletop in order to check whether he has a natural. This practice minimizes the risk of inadvertently revealing the hole card, which would give the sharp-eyed player a considerable advantage. [edit] Basic strategy Because blackjack has an element of player choice, players can reduce casino advantage to a small percentage by playing basic strategy. This determines when to hit or to stand, and also determines when to double down or split. Basic strategy is based on the player's point total and the dealer's visible card. There are slight variations depending on the house rules and number of decks. Your hand Dealer's face-up card 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A Hard totals 17-20 S S S S S S S S S S 16 S S S S S H H SU SU SU 15 S S S S S H H H SU H 13-14 S S S S S H H H H H 12 H H S S S H H H H H 11 Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh H 10 Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh H H 9 H Dh Dh Dh Dh H H H H H 5-8 H H H H H H H H H H Soft totals 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A A,8 A,9 S S S S S S S S S S A,7 S Ds Ds Ds Ds S S H H H A,6 H Dh Dh Dh Dh H H H H H A,4 A,5 H H Dh Dh Dh H H H H H A,2 A,3 H H H Dh Dh H H H H H Pairs 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A A,A SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP 10,10 S S S S S S S S S S 9,9 SP SP SP SP SP S SP SP S S 8,8 SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP SP 7,7 SP SP SP SP SP SP H H H H 6,6 SP SP SP SP SP H H H H H 5,5 Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh Dh H H 4,4 H H H SP SP H H H H H 2,2 3,3 SP SP SP SP SP SP H H H H The above is a basic strategy table for 3 or more decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double on any 2 cards, double after split allowed, dealer peeks for blackjack, and blackjack pays 3:2. Key: S = Stand H = Hit Dh = Double (if not allowed then hit) Ds = Double (if not allowed then stand) SP = Split SU = Surrender (if not allowed, then hit) Most Las Vegas strip casinos hit on soft 17. This rule change requires a slightly modified basic strategy table -- double on 11 vs A, double on A/7 vs 2, and double on A/8 vs 6. Most casinos outside of Vegas still stand on soft 17. [edit] Card counting Main article: Card counting Basic strategy provides the player with the optimal play for any blackjack situation, based on millions of hands played in the long run. However in the short run, as the cards are dealt from the deck, the remaining deck is no longer complete. By keeping track of the cards that have already been played, it is possible to know when the cards remaining in the deck are advantageous for the player. Card counting creates two opportunities: * The player can make larger bets when he or she has the advantage. For example, the player can increase the starting bet if there are many aces and tens left in the deck, in the hope of hitting a blackjack. * The player can use information about the remaining cards to improve upon the basic strategy rules for specific hands played. For example, with many tens left in the deck, the player may double down in more situations since there is a better chance of making a strong hand. There are several card counting systems which do not require the player to remember which cards have been played. Rather, a point system is established for the cards, and the player keeps track of a simple point count as the cards are played out from the dealer. Depending on the particular blackjack rules in a given casino, basic strategy reduces the house advantage to near 0 with some single-deck games, and less than one percent in a multi-deck game.[3] Card counting, if done correctly, can give the player an advantage in the other direction, typically ranging from 0 to 2% over the house.[4] To counter card counting, many casinos switched from a single deck to multiple decks, with the cards dealt out of a container known as a "shoe". In most US jurisdictions, card counting is legal and is not considered cheating.[5] However, most casinos have the right to ban players, with or without cause, and card counting is frequently used as a justification to ban a player. Usually, the casino host will simply inform the player that he is no longer welcome to play at that casino. Players must be careful not to signal the fact that they are counting. The use of electronic or other counting devices is usually illegal. Card Strategy 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A KO 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 Hi-Lo 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 Hi-Opt I 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 0 Hi-Opt II 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 -2 -2 -2 -2 0 Zen Count 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 Omega II 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 -1 -2 -2 -2 -2 0 [edit] Composition-dependent strategy Basic strategy is based on a player's point total and the dealer's visible card. A player's ideal decision may depend on the composition of his or her hand, not just the information considered in the basic strategy. For example, a player should ordinarily stand when holding 12 against a dealer 4. However, in a single deck game, the player should hit if his or her 12 consists of a 10 and a 2; this is because the player wants to receive any card other than a 10 if hitting, and the 10 in the player's hand is one less card available to cause a bust for the player or the dealer.[6] However, in situations where basic and composition-dependent strategy lead to different actions, the difference in expected value between the two decisions will be small. Additionally, as the number of decks used in a blackjack game rises, both the number of situations where composition determines the correct strategy and the house edge improvement from using a composition-dependent strategy will fall. Using a composition-dependent strategy only reduces house edge by 0.0031% in a six-deck game, less than one tenth the improvement in a single-deck game (0.0387%).[7] [edit] Shuffle tracking There are well-established techniques other than card counting that can swing the advantage of casino blackjack towards the player. All such techniques are based on the value of the cards to the player and the casino, as originally conceived by Edward O. Thorp. One such technique, mainly applicable in multi-deck games (aka shoes), involves tracking groups of cards (aka slugs, clumps, packs) during the play of the shoe, following them through the shuffle and then playing and betting accordingly when those cards come into play from the new shoe. This technique, which is admittedly much more difficult than straight card counting and requires excellent eyesight and powers of visual estimation, has the additional benefit of fooling the casino people who are monitoring the player's actions and the count, since the shuffle tracker could be, at times, betting and/or playing opposite to how a straightforward card counter would. Arnold Snyder's articles in Blackjack Forum magazine brought shuffle tracking to the general public. His book, The Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook, mathematically analyzed the player edge available from shuffle tracking based on the actual size of the tracked slug. Jerry L. Patterson also developed and published a shuffle-tracking method for tracking favorable clumps of cards and cutting them into play and tracking unfavorable clumps of cards and cutting them out of play. [8] [9] [10] Other legal methods of gaining a player advantage at blackjack include a wide variety of techniques for gaining information about the dealer hole-card or the next card to be dealt. Card tracking is restricted when the casino uses a half-cut, or what is known inside houses as 'The Big C'. This is when the shoe is cut halfway, meaning that only half of the shoe will be played, so on an 8-deck shoe, only 4 decks will be played and thereafter shuffled. As card tracking relies on the principles of elimination, the half-cut makes it virtually impossible to eliminate or predict the remaining cards. Another exception to card tracking is the introduction of automatic shuffler machines, thereby making it impossible to track cards because the shoe is non-stop. [edit] Variants Pontoon is an English variation of Blackjack with large rule and strategy differences. In Australia, however, Pontoon is exactly the same as the American game Spanish 21 but played without a hole card. Spanish 21 provides players with many liberal blackjack rules, such as doubling down any number of cards (with the option to 'rescue', or surrender only one wager to the house), payout bonuses for five or more card 21's, 6-7-8 21's, 7-7-7 21's, late surrender, and player blackjacks always winning and player 21's always winning, at the cost of having no 10 cards in the deck (though there are jacks, queens, and kings). 21st Century Blackjack (also known as "Vegas Style" Blackjack) is commonly found in many California card rooms. In this form of the game, a player bust does not always result in an automatic loss; there are a handful of situations where the player can still push if the dealer busts as well, provided that the dealer busts with a higher total. Certain rules changes are employed to create new variant games. These changes, while attracting the novice player, actually increase the house edge in these games. Double Exposure Blackjack is a variant in which the dealer's cards are both face-up. This game increases house edge by paying even money on blackjacks and players losing ties. Double Attack Blackjack has very liberal blackjack rules and the option of increasing one's wager after seeing the dealer's up card. This game is dealt from a Spanish shoe, and blackjacks only pay even money. The French and German variant "Vingt-et-un" (Twenty-one) and "Siebzehn und Vier" (Seventeen and Four) don't include splitting. An ace can only count as eleven, but two aces count as a Blackjack. This variant is seldom found in casinos, but in private circles and barracks. Chinese Blackjack is played by many in Asia, having no splitting of cards, but with other card combination regulations. Another variant is Blackjack Switch, a version of blackjack in which a player is dealt two hands and is allowed to switch cards. For example, if the player is dealt 10-6 and 10-5, then the player can switch two cards to make hands of 10-10 and 6-5. Natural blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard 3:2, and a dealer 22 is a push. Recently, thanks to the popularity of poker, Elimination Blackjack has begun to gain a following. Elimination Blackjack is a tournament format of blackjack. Many casinos offer optional side bets at standard blackjack tables. For example, one common side-bet is "Royal Match", in which the player is paid if his first two cards are in the same suit, and receives a higher payout if they are a suited queen and king (and a jackpot payout if both the player and the dealer have a suited queen-king hand). These side bets invariably offer worse odds than well-played blackjack. When blackjack was first introduced in the United States it was not very popular, so gambling houses tried offering various bonus payouts to get the players to the tables. One such bonus was a 10-to-1 payout if the player's hand consisted of the ace of spades and a black Jack (either the Jack of clubs or the Jack of spades). This hand was called a "blackjack" and the name stuck to the game even though the bonus payout was soon abolished. As the game is currently played, a "blackjack" may not necessarily contain a jack or any black cards at all.

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Online venues, by contrast, are dramatically cheaper because they have much smaller overhead costs. For example, adding another table does not take up valuable space like it would for a brick and mortar casino. Online poker rooms also allow the players to play for low stakes (as low as 1¢) and often offer poker freerolls (where there is no entry fee), attracting beginners.

Online venues may be more vulnerable to certain types of fraud, especially collusion between players. However, they have collusion detection abilities that do not exist in brick and mortar casinos. For example, online poker room security employees can look at the hand history of the cards previously played by any player on the site, making patterns of behavior easier to detect than in a casino where colluding players can simply fold their hands without anyone ever knowing the strength of their holding. Online poker rooms also check players' IP addresses in order to prevent players at the same household or at known open proxy servers from playing on the same tables.

Free poker online was played as early as the late 1990s in the form of IRC poker. Shortly thereafter Planet Poker was the first online cardroom to offer real money games. Author Mike Caro was one of the founders and the "face" of Planet Poker.

The major online poker sites offer varying features to entice new players. One common feature is to offer tournaments called satellites by which the winners gain entry to real-life poker tournaments. It was through one such tournament on Poker Stars that Chris Moneymaker won his entry to the 2003 World Series of Poker. He went on to win the main event causing shock in the poker world. The 2004 World Series featured three times as many players than in 2003. At least four players in the WSOP final table won their entry through an online cardroom. Like Moneymaker, 2004 winner Greg "Fossilman" Raymer also won his entry at the PokerStars online cardroom.

In October 2004, Sportingbet Plc, at the time the world's largest publicly traded online gaming company (SBT.L), announced the acquisition of ParadisePoker.com, one of the online poker industry's first and largest cardrooms. The $340 million dollar acquisition marked the first time an online cardroom was owned by a public company. Since then, several other cardroom parent companies have gone public.

In June 2005, PartyGaming, the parent company of the then largest online cardroom, PartyPoker, went public on the London Stock Exchange, achieving an initial public offering market value in excess of $8 billion dollars. At the time of the IPO, ninety-two percent of Party Gaming's income came from poker operations.

The market appears to be currently in a consolidation phase. In early 2006, PartyGaming moved to acquire EmpirePoker.com from Empire Online. Later in the year, bwin, an Austrian based online gambling company, acquired PokerRoom.com. Other poker rooms such as PokerStars and Poker.com that were rumored to be exploring initial public offerings[2] have postponed them.

Legality of Online Games Playing

From a legal perspective, online poker may differ in some ways from online casino gambling. However, many of the same issues do apply. For a discussion of the legality of online gambling in general, see online gambling.

Online poker is legal and regulated in many countries including several nations in and around the Caribbean Sea, and most notably the United Kingdom.

In the United States, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill in February 2005 to legalize and regulate online poker and online poker cardroom operators in the state. The legislation required that online poker operations would have to physically locate their entire operations in the state. Testifying before the state Senate Judiciary committee, Nigel Payne, CEO of Sportingbet and owner of Paradise Poker, pledged to relocate to the state if the bill became law.[3]

The measure, however, was defeated by the State Senate in March 2005 after the U. S. Department of Justice sent a letter to North Dakota attorney general Wayne Stenehjem stating that online gaming "may" be illegal, and that the pending legislation "might" violate the federal Wire Act. However, many legal experts dispute the DOJ's claim.

North Dakota Rep. Jim Kasper (R-Fargo), the author of the legalization bill, has vowed to continue his efforts. He states that he is "not putting away the idea of getting into Internet gaming licenses in North Dakota" and that the "revenue we missed is too great to pass up." Kasper has also stated that he will introduce the legislation in the 2007 session of the North Dakota legislature.

In response to this and other claims by the DOJ regarding the legality of online poker, many of the major online poker sites stopped advertising their "dot-com" sites in American media. Instead, they created "dot-net" sites that are virtually identical but offer no real money wagering. The sites advertise as poker schools or ways to learn the game for free, and feature words to the effect of "this is not a gambling website." Televised ads still feature the dot-net conceit but print ads have been trending back toward advertising the dot-coms directly.

In July 2006, United States federal agents, citing the Wire Act, arrested BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers in Dallas, Texas while he was changing planes. He was traveling between Costa Rica and the United Kingdom; in both jurisdictions online gaming and poker are legal and regulated.[4]

Later in the year a similar event happened in France, where Norbert Teufelberger and Manfred Bodner, the CEO's of bwin, [5] were giving a press conference. The arrest was made due to offenses against the French gambling laws.

Since many banks and credit card companies will not allow direct money transfers to online poker sites, electronic money transfer businesses provide online “e-wallets” that players can load from a bank account, then transfer the funds directly to the poker site. The advantage of these services is that it makes it easy for people to transfer money between different poker sites without the money going back to their bank accounts.

On October 13, 2006, President Bush officially signed into law the Safe Port Act, a bill aimed at enhancing security at U.S. ports.[6] Attached to the Safe Port Act was a provision known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). According to the UIGEA, "unlawful internet gambling" means to place, receive, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by means of the internet where such bet is unlawful under any law in the State in which the bet is initiated, received, or otherwise made. Thus, the UIGEA prohibits online gambling sites from performing transactions with American financial institutions. As a result of the bill, several large publicly traded poker gaming sites such as PartyPoker.com, PacificPoker.com and bwin closed down their US facing operations. Some operations have not closed and it is still possible for some American players to play online for real money and even sign up for new accounts. The UIGEA has had a devastating effect on the stock value of these companies.[7]

Following passage of UIGEA, former U.S. Senator Al D'Amato joined the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). Part of the PPA's mission is to protect and to advocate for the right of poker players to play online. Sen. D'Amato's responsibilities include Congressional lobbying. The PPA has over 650,000 members as of August 2007.[8]

On April 26, 2007, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act (IGREA). IGREA would modify the UIGEA by providing a provision for licensing of Internet gambling facilities by the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. On June 8, 2007, the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Frank, held a hearing entitled, "Can Internet Gambling Be Effectively Regulated to Protect Consumers and the Payments System?". Details of the meeting, including the archived webcast, are available on the House Financial Services Committee website [9]. Expert witnesses at the hearing testified that Internet gambling can be effectively regulated for age verification, money laundering issues, facilitation of state and federal tax collection, and for issues relating to compulsive gambling. As of August 2007, IGREA has 35 cosponsors. [10]

On May 3, 2007 Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) introduced HR 2140, the Internet Gambling Study Act. This bill "provide(s) for a study by the National Academy of Sciences to identify the proper response of the United States to the growth of Internet gambling."[11] As of August 26, 2007, IGSA has 64 cosponsors.

On June 7, 2007, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) introduced HR 2610, the Skill Game Protection Act. This act would legalize Internet poker, bridge, chess, and other games of skill. Also on June 7, 2007, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced H.R. 2607, the Internet Gambling Tax Act. The IGTA would legislate Internet gambling tax collection requirements.

How online poker rooms profit

Typically, online poker rooms generate the bulk of their revenue via three methods. First, there is the rake. Rake is collected from most real money ring game pots. The rake is normally calculated as a percentage of the pot based on a sliding scale and capped at some maximum fee. Each online poker room determines its own rake structure.

Second, pre-scheduled multi-table and impromptu sit-and-go tournaments are not raked, but rather an entry fee around ten percent of the tournament entry fee is added to the cost of the tournament.

Third, some online poker sites also offer games like black jack or side bets on poker hands where the player plays against "the house" for real money. The odds are in the house's favor in these games, thus producing a profit for the house.

These are also the three primary methods brick and mortar casinos derive profits from operating poker tables.

Integrity and fairness

As with other forms of online gambling, many critics question whether the operators of such games—especially those located in jurisdictions separate from most of their players—might be engaging in fraud themselves.

Internet discussion forums are rife with allegations of non-random card dealing, possibly to favour house-employed players or "bots" (poker-playing software disguised as a human opponent), or to give multiple players good hands thus increasing the bets and the rake, or simply to prevent new players from losing so quickly that they become discouraged. However, there is little more than anecdotal evidence to support such claims, and others argue that the rake is sufficiently large that such abuses would be unnecessary and foolish. Many claim to see lots of "bad beats" with large hands pitted against others all too often at a rate that seems to be a lot more common than in live games. This might actually be caused by the fact that online cardrooms deal more hands per hour. Since online players get to see more hands, their likelihood of seeing more improbable bad beats or randomly large pots is also increased.

Many online poker sites are certified by bodies such as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and other major auditing firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers to review the fairness of the random number generator[12], shuffle[13], and payouts for some sites.

Differences compared to conventional poker

There are substantial differences between online poker gaming and conventional, in-person gaming.

One obvious difference is that players do not sit right across from each other, removing any ability to observe others' reactions and body language. Instead, online poker players learn to focus more keenly on betting patterns, reaction time, speed of play, use of check boxes/auto plays, opponents' fold/flop percentages, chat box, waiting for the big blind, beginners' tells, and other behavior tells that are not physical in nature. Since poker is a game that requires adaptability, successful online players learn to master the new frontiers of their surroundings.

Another less obvious difference is the rate of play. In brick and mortar casinos the dealer has to collect the cards, shuffle, and deal them after every hand. Due to this and other delays common in offline casinos, the average rate of play is around thirty hands per hour. However, online casinos do not have these delays. The dealing and shuffling are instant, there are no delays relating to counting chips (for a split pot), and on average the play is faster due to "auto-action" buttons (where the player selects his action before his turn). It is not uncommon for an online poker table to average ninety to hundred hands per hour.

This large difference in rate of play has created another effect among online poker players. In the brick and mortar casino, the only real way to increase your earnings is to increase your limit. In the online world players have another option, play more tables. Unlike a physical casino where it would be nearly impossible to play multiple tables at once, most online poker rooms allow this. Depending on the site, a player might play from 4 to 10 tables at the same time, viewing them each in a separate window on the computer display. For example, a winning player may make around $10 per 100 hands at a low-limit game. In a casino, this would earn them under $4 an hour. After dealer tips, the winning player would probably barely break even. In an online poker room, the same player with the same win rate could play four tables at once, which at 60 hands per hour each would result in an earning of $24/hour. Some online players even play eight or more tables at once, in an effort to increase their winnings.

Another important difference results from the fact that some online poker rooms offer online poker schools that teach the basics and significantly speed up the learning curve for novices. Many online poker rooms also provide free money play so that players may practice these skills in various poker games and limits without the risk of losing real money. People who previously had no way to learn and improve because they had no one to play with now have the ability to learn the game much quicker and gain experience from free-money play.

Finally, the limits associated with online poker are much less than the table limits at a traditional casino. On gambling sites, players can find limits as low as $.01/$.02. However, at most brick and mortar establishments the lowest limits are often $1/$2.

Bonuses

While the practice of comping players with free meals, hotel rooms, and merchandise is quite common in B&M casinos, online poker rooms have needed to develop new ways to reward faithful customers. The most common way of doing this is through deposit bonuses, where the player is given a bonus code to enter when placing money into an account. The bonus code adds either a percentage or a set amount of chips to the value of the deposit. One should be aware that these are not up-front payments. The bonus is released in a piecemeal manner in accordance with the number of raked hands played. In addition, several online cardrooms employ VIP Managers to develop VIP programs to reward regular players and additional bonuses exist for players who wish to top-up their accounts. These are known as reload bonuses.

Compatibility

Online poker rooms typically operate through a separate piece of software. This may be cross-platform, for example using a Java Applet, allowing the programme to run equally well on various computer systems such as Windows, Linux and Mac OS. However, many online poker rooms offer downloadable programmes designed only for Microsoft Windows which require a compatibility layer such as Wine to run on Macintosh or Linux computers. Some sites do make available clients that run natively on Mac or Linux.

Some mobile content providers have started offering poker on portable devices (mobile phones, PDAs). The functionality of mobile online poker software is much the same as computer-based clients, albeit adapted to the interface of mobile devices. The player must be able to receive a cell phone signal in order to play.

Online poker portals and forums

Online poker portals are websites offering poker-related content. Examples of such content could be news, tournament results, strategy articles or reviews of online poker cardrooms. Some portals have a considerable amount of content, while others attempt to act as mere conduits to other sites, where actual gambling games are offered. Poker forums exist that discuss poker strategy, cardroom information, gambling news, and other topics.