By Jerry Whittaker

Online casinos are like bars and diners. You get good ones where the service is great and the beer is cheap and you get those that should fly a skull and cross-bones pennant outside. Unfortunately the bad ones seldom announce their errant practices and identifying the pirates can be a costly and sometimes painful exercise. Here are a couple of tips on finding an online casino that isn’t run by someone named Silver.

First off do your homework. Doing a quick Google search for “online casino scams” will turn up pages of complaints, warnings and scam forums that are usually an invaluable source of information. Just keep in mind though that no commercial enterprise, particularly those that offer gambling as a product, have no disgruntled customers. Look out for casinos that have many complaints or warnings levelled against them though, lots of smoke equals fire in most cases.

If a casino site seems legitimate look for their policies and disclaimers page. This is always a good indication of which side of the wind the operator is sailing on. Sites that have good, solid privacy and security policies and don’t appear to trying to create loop holes with their disclaimers are usually safe bets.

Next try and contact the site for some general information via their toll free numbers or help desk. The general demeanour and level of interest and service one get there is also a good indicator of a site’s overall character. Numbers that ring without being answered or bored, jaded and disinterested help desk input are a sure sign of a peg leg operation.

Now, you are going to be entrusting the site with some heavy duty loot in your credit card and personal details. These are turbulent waters and the place where many disputes and problems lurk. Again, check the policies for clear and concise privacy protection declarations. Also make sure that the site offers secure, 128 bit encryption of your cash transactions to prevent card fraud.

Gambling is generally one of the most heavily legislated and controlled industries around and there are several recognised watch dog organisations that monitor the business practices of casinos. Check prospective sites for membership of these. If you are unsure of a listed organisation, do a web search for it to double check.

Although not struck in stone, the look of a casino site can often be an indicator of quality. Few snake oil salesmen take the trouble to keep their wagons spruced up. Slick, sophisticated and professional web development costs big and most sites that take the time and spend the money to get the look are in the game for the long run.

The software used by the site as a game platform is also a good pointer to legitimacy. Manufacturers such as Playtech, Microgaming, RTG (Realtime Gaming) and Rival are among the biggest and most trusted names in casino software and serious operators will advertise which software suite they use proudly.

These tips will go a long way to preventing you from being boarded and looted but there is no replacement for good old caution and common sense when looking for an online casino. Good luck Matey!

By Jerry Whittaker

When something is still going strong after a hundred years we tend to think “this good stuff”. Then I guess Poker must be exceptionally good stuff because many historians believe that this evergreen casino favourite has over 1000 years under its belt.

Poker gambling as we know it today is thought to have had its origins in China around 970 AD where a ranked card, bluffing game is reported to have been played by no less than the Emperor himself.

This form of wagering based on a hierarchical card ranking system is known to have been popular as Ganjifa in Egypt and As Nas in Persia as early as the 12th and 13th centuries with wafer thin ivory or hardwood slices used as cards. These “decks” consisted of as many as 96 very elaborately decorated cards in the case of Ganjifa and as few as 25 in As Nas games.

The originator of the poker game as it is played today is believed to have been a Spanish card game named Primero which was popular in the early 1500s. Primero shared many of the characteristics of some modern poker games and saw 3 card hands dealt to players who then bet on similar hand rankings.

Just as is the case today, artful, cool headed deception played an integral role in Primero and is probably why the game has become known as “The Mother of Poker”. Primero was the inspiration for the French game of Poque and a German variety named Pochen. It was the French game that was brought to the United States by the French-Canadian settlers who founded New Orleans.

One of the earliest recorded references to Poker was made by one Jonathan H. Green who mentioned the “Cheating Game” in his 1834 volume “An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling”. The good Mr. Green was captivated by the game and decided to give it a formal title and so Poker was born.

At the time the cardsharps poison of choice was the notoriously crooked 3 Card Monte. Poker was perceived to be more controlled and fair and its popularity grew in leaps and bounds. During the pioneering days of the American West, no self respecting saloon or boarding establishment was without a poker table or two.

It was around the late 1800s that the first recorded use of a joker ended the Poque legacy and the game as remained largely unchanged to this day. Many variations of this hugely popular game have evolved over the last two hundred years and poker is likely to be a casino favourite for at least as long again.

So whether you are playing Texas Hold ‘em, 3 Card Stud or Draw Poker, spare a thought for those intrepid, hardy gamblers that have carried our favourite game to us through the ages!