Years ago it was risky to just play on any casino. It’s been safest to go with the bigger established online casinos, but the new guys offer such big bonuses it’s worth a look. Today the sites are closely reviewed and customer complaints are posted often. Watchdog sites will post every complication that a casino has with their customers, so you can judge for yourself where to play.

http://www.casinomeister.com/ is one of the better watchdog sites. They’ve been a trusted authority on online casinos since 1998, and they have an accurate list of rogue sites. It doesn’t end there. The site has tons of other gaming info.

Another watchdog is  http://www.faircasinos.com/. They have the toughest blacklist in the business, and list any casino found to have been unethical to clients at any point in the site’s history. Many sites are on this list which are not on other lists.

We’ve all been there. You’re about to place a bet when suddenly, alarm bells go ringing in your head. Your Spidey sense starts tingling. So you think about it for a second, rationalize the red flags away, and make the wager with full confidence.

And often that was the right thing to do. But you need to be right 52.4 percent of the time to make a profit on your typical –110 pointspread price. Why risk polluting your bankroll with a pick that you had to convince yourself to make? Your sixth sense, your intuition, is a very important and sophisticated part of your judgment process.

The more artistic your sport is, the more you’re going to need your right brain to kick in some intuition to make a sharp bet. This happens to be the season for creativity: NBA, NHL and especially soccer. Make the appropriate adjustments in your handicapping for maximum profit.

People throughout the ages have always been fascinated by those who are BIG gamblers. Somehow they make us wish that we were able to risk it all and win big too. Here is a list of some people who lived to gamble:

Fyodor Dostoevsky
Dostoevsky was a Russian novelist and a pathological gambler. In 1866 he wrote his famous work “The Gambler” in an attempt to bring him out of financial loss.

John Montague 4th Earl of Sandwich
Montague was a British politician and hardened gambler, and this is where he gained most of his fame. He never liked to leave the gambling table, when he and other gamblers became hungry, he would tell his servants “bring me a slice of meat between two slices of bread”. Thus the birth of the sandwich.

Archie Karas
In a 6 month period, Karas turned and borrowed stake of $10,000 into $17 million. He is an inveterate gambler and loves to be referred to as the undisputed champion of gambling. He Claims “I’ve gambled more money than anyone in the history of this planet.”

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel
He was an American gangster, who was behind the large-scale development of Las Vegas. The novel The Godfather and its film adaptation, the character of Moe Greene is heavily based on Siegel.

Nick “The Greek” Dandelos
He is certainly America’s most famous gambler. In the summer of 1949 Nick the Greet approached Johnny Moss to a high-stakes poker marathon. The marathon lasted 5 months with only breaks for sleep and the 2 men played every from of poker imaginable. Moss ultimately won “the biggest game in town” with an estimated $2 million. When the Greek lost his pot, he arose from his chair, bowed slightly, and uttered the now-famous words, “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.”

Famous Gamblers

The Atlantic Lottery Corp. is a Canadian lottery that is looking to expand online. The successful lottery brings in $100M annually for local governments, and the ALC wants to expand their operation online. ALC recently issued a request for information to “explore and consider a suite of Internet-based lottery products (including) instant win products, casual games as well as other popular games played by consumers on this online medium.” They’re able to see where the future of gaming will be, and they’re making sure they’ll be there.

They’re hoping to develop new products that could be played online. The company’s site currently offers five online games. “This potentially could lead to refreshing the products that exist,” said ALC spokeswoman Paula Dyke. “There might be new and exciting things that could replace what’s there or we could add to it. But at this point we’re looking to see what’s out there.”

If you want to win at poker you have to have the right mind set and the right attitude. If you want to play poker for fun, great, drink a beer, get together with your buddies and loose 50 bucks, hey it’s just for fun. However if you want to play for money and profit then you have to change your thinking. Of course you can still have fun but if your number one goal is to make a profit then you must approach poker from a different stand point.

You can use your home games as your practice field. Use it to try different strategies and to expand you skills.

Start treating poker less as a hobby and more as your second or part time job and you will start to turn more profit. Make sure you get your practice and table time in and you will be a winning poker player before you know it.

The latest player in the China gaming battle is BodogLife. They have launched an aggressive advertising campaign targeting the massive Chinese gaming market. The site has a growing number of Chinese customers, and BodogLife is already offering services in Chinese dialects.

BodogLife wants to be the Macau of the online market. The potential of the market could change the fate of any online company that is embraced by the culture. According to BodogLife boss Calvin Ayre, “Stanley Ho watch out! Bodog wants to be known as the Macau of the online world.

“With the best games, top customer service and the innovation to bring the most exciting entertainment to our Chinese customers, they don’t need to look to Macau or Las Vegas. We bring the excitement to them.”

Evelyn Ng, a Chinese-Canadian professional poker player who is a Team BodogLife Member, will be featured in both the both the print and online media campaigns.