Author Archives: DaveB

How to Use a Mobile Casino

Most of the best USA internet casinos and slots sites now offer mobile casinos too and this gives casino fans in the US unrivalled convenience, with mobile casinos meaning you can play virtually anywhere at any time. We take a look at how mobile casinos work, how to use them and explain why you’re missing out if you’re yet to play at one.

Mobile casinos have actually been around for a relatively long period of time, although real money internet casinos here in the US have perhaps been a little slower on the uptake than in the UK and Europe.

Mobile casinos allow you to play all your favorite casino games on your cell, from slots to keno, blackjack to roulette and video poker to craps. Essentially a mobile casino is no different from a standard online casino, other than the slightly obvious fact that, rather than playing on your desktop or laptop, you access the internet on your cell phone or tablet.

As long as you have Wi-Fi access or data connectivity, accessing mobile casinos means you can play any time you like and with your cell in your pocket you effectively have a full internet casino just a few seconds away at all times. No more boredom, no more checking your Facebook feed for the 10th time or checking your emails even though you just looked at your inbox three minutes ago – now you can play your favorite casino games and not only have some serious fun, but also win some serious money!

Any modern cell phone will be able to access a mobile casino and you don’t even need to download an app. Whilst some mobile casinos do have dedicated apps, in general we find it easier to just access the casino in our cell’s browser and this automatically takes you to the mobile version of the normal internet casino.

Playing at a mobile casino normally means you have a slightly smaller choice of games than you’d find at the main online version. However, slots fans will be well catered for, whilst most of the other classic casino games should also be available. Game play is the same and thanks to improving connectivity, software and hardware, increasingly the graphics and sound on mobile games are just as good as the desktop versions too.

Mobile casinos are getting bigger, better and more widespread all the time so if you’re yet to try them, what are you waiting for?

Five Great Progressive Slots

Pretty much all US internet casinos offer a range of different slots and here we take a look at five of the biggest and best progressive slots available right now. All five of these slots are produced by Realtime Gaming (RTG), which means most US legal online casinos will offer them. With the RTG progressive network offering almost $7m in total at the time of writing, there is some SERIOUS cash to be won!

Aztec’s Millions

Aztec’s Millions is a follow up to the iconic and hugely popular slot Aztec’s Treasure. The new version of this slot, themed on the ancient Mexican Aztec civilization, added some extra win lines and, of course, a massive progressive jackpot. The jackpot currently stands at more than $1.8m, making this one of the biggest jackpots available at a US internet casino.

Jackpot Pinatas

Jackpot Pinatas is another Mexican themed progressive slot and as well as the main jackpot it can also deliver some massive wins via the very generous bonus round. Of course, it’s the big one that we’re interested in though and at the moment that stands at a very nice and certainly life-changing $1.76m.

Shopping Spree II

Shopping Spree II can’t quite compete with the two slots already discussed when it comes to the progressive jackpot total but this brilliant shopping themed slot from RTG still offers players the chance to win more than $360,000 if they hit the five progressive symbols. The original version of the slot, called simply Shopping Spree, also offers a progressive, this time worth more than $25,000 – still certainly enough for one great trip to the shops, that’s for sure!

Jackpot Cleopatra’s Gold

Jackpot Cleopatra’s Gold is arguably one of the most famous, iconic progressive slots around, being based on the massively popular original, Cleopatra’s Gold. This slot has a very reasonable stake for a progressive and with a jackpot not far short of $370,000, this Egyptian themed slot certainly delivers when it comes to the payout. Progressive aside, the bonus round, with 15 free spins, tripled wins and re-trigger potential, is another great reason to give this slot a try.

Megasaur

Megasaur is soon to become Mega-Million, with a jackpot that currently stands at more than $964,000 and will soon hit seven figures … unless someone wins it first of course! This dinosaur themed progressive slot takes you back in time and who knows, hit the jackpot here and you might even be able to buy a dinosaur – or a time machine!

What is the House Edge?

Whether you play at USA internet casinos, any of the bricks and mortar casinos around the US or at any traditional casino around the world, a basic understanding of the house edge of the various different real money casino games is vital. In a way, playing any casino game without knowing the house edge is a little like walking into a shop and buying something without looking at the price. If you’ve got enough money to do the latter then you probably don’t need to read this house edge feature but if you want value for your casino cash then read on as we take a look at the house edge.

Obviously the first question is, what is the house edge? Probably the simplest way to think of this concept is to view it as the casino’s profit margin on any given game. For example, if the casino offered a game of “heads or tails” (see the great scene in the classic movie National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation) and they paid out at even money, the house edge would be zero.

Theoretically if you played that game forever you would always break even but, naturally enough, because the casino has to pay staff, heat the building and, of course, make a profit, they don’t pay evens. In roulette, for example, a single number “should” pay out at odds of 36/1 (assuming single zero), meaning you could bet $10 on every number and the zero and get a total of $370 back, having bet the same $370.

However, as said, to create a profit margin the casino pays a single number at 35/1, this profit margin creating a house edge on single zero roulette of 2.70%. That means that for every $100 you stake on roulette you could expect to lose $2.70, which, on the face of it, seems more than reasonable.

Of course, the house edge is just a mathematical average and given the house edge for many games is very low, you only need the slightest bit of luck – or of course help from a nice casino bonus – to win and make a profit, despite the theoretical advantage the casino holds over the player.

Anyone who has played in a casino knows that luck goes both ways and, of course, whilst you can “expect” to lose $2.70 for every $100 staked at roulette, you can just as easily lose much more.

In summary, the key things to note are that the house edge is the casino’s profit margin, it varies from game to game and the lower it is, the greater your odds of winning.

Las Vegas USA Casino Bonuses and Promotions

As the name makes patently clear, Las Vegas USA Casino is an online casino that welcomes players from the USA with open arms… and a whole lot of bonuses too! Here we bring you details of the casino bonuses and promotions you will currently find at this excellent internet casino site, and we’ll give details of the kind of games you should expect to find once you visit them too.

Variety is the spice of life and one of the best things about Las Vegas USA Casino is that they veer away from the one-size-fits-all approach and instead they offer a number of different welcome bonuses: you simply pick the one that suits you best. The good news here is that they are all pretty darn good.

If you intend to play slots (or indeed keno or scratchcards) you are in for a monster of a bonus when you join this online casino. They will furnish you with a fantastical 400% bonus of up to $10,000… and there’s no maximum cashout, so you really could make a fortune if Lady Luck is smiling on you.

Note that progressives are not included in the wagering for this bonus, but with a reasonable requirement of 40 times the bonus plus deposit, you should be able to get through the wagering without too much bother.

If you would prefer to try your luck playing table games, you are still in line for a sizeable reward: Las Vegas USA will give you a 150% bonus of up to $3,000. This also has a 40x wagering requirement for most games (but note that blackjack and video poker carry more stringent wagering requirements of 90x the bonus plus deposit).

With a further 200% bonus up to $7,000 and a 150% blackjack bonus also available, you are almost spoiled for choice, but the two bonuses mentioned above offer a little more bang for your buck.

As with many of the best USA-friendly casinos, Las Vegas USA utilizes the excellent software provided by Realtime Gaming (RTG). This means you can expect to find an excellent array of well-developed, nice-looking and reliable slots and table games and that there are also a fair number of progressive jackpot slots which have truly massive amounts of cash up for grabs.

So if you haven’t already taken a visit to Las Vegas USA Casino, why not head over there today? You’re sure to like what you find! See our Las Vegas USA Casino review and use any of our links to visit the casino and claim the best bonus.

The Martingale System

The Martingale System has been around a long time, in fact it dates back to the 18th century, and some people claim it can beat the house and deliver a guaranteed and risk-free profit. It can be used to bet at real money casinos online, or at “real world” casinos and whilst it’s mainly associated with roulette, it can be used to bet on any casino game and even on sports. Here we explain what it is and why, unfortunately, it won’t work.

What is the Martingale System?

The Martingale System is a negative progression staking plan. That means that after a negative result (a losing bet) your stake progresses – gets bigger. Martingale doubles the stake after a losing bet. Because it is used principally for wagers that pay even money, such as the colors in roulette, the theory is that by doing that, whenever you win you will end up one unit in profit, no matter how many losses preceded the win.

Why the Martingale System is Flawed

The Martingale System is flawed theoretically because it does nothing to alter the house edge the casino holds over the player. This is around 2.7% in a single zero roulette and roughly double that if the wheel includes 00. So, no matter what you stake and how often you spin, over an infinite period of time the house will still make, on average, the same profit (at your expense).

In more practical and easy to understand terms, Martingale won’t work because it is based on the premise that you can always double your bet. In the real world at some stage ALL PLAYERS will hit a losing streak that means one of three things happen. Most likely, they will run out of money. If that doesn’t happen, they will reach the casino’s maximum stake and if that doesn’t happen they will simply run out of time.

Martingale will, for most people, lead to several small wins and these are what can lead people to believe it is a clever “trick”. However, probability makes it a certainty that at some stage, what seems like an impossible sequence of spins, will suddenly seem very possible – because it will happen. Be it five reds in a row, 10 blacks in a row or even more, a devastating run of losses will wipe out all profits – and then some.

Blackjack Basic Strategy

Those new to playing online blackjack at USA friendly casinos or new to the game in general may not be aware of what Basic Strategy (BS) is so here we take a closer look at this fundamental knowledge.

Basic Strategy was “created” by a group of US soldiers called “The Four Horseman of Aberdeen”. They realized that given blackjack has defined rules for the dealer and a fixed number of cards, there must be an optimal way of playing. In the pre-computer days of the 1950s they managed to create Basic Strategy using their mathematical know-how and a calculator and whilst there have been some very minor modifications made to their strategy over the years, essentially they nailed it.

Basic Strategy dictates what decision the player should make in any situation they may face at the blackjack table, online or otherwise. It is based on the player’s two cards and the one visible card of the dealer and tells you whether to hit, stay, double, split or indeed anything else.

Blackjack has a very low house edge, theoretically lower than 0.5% on the most favorable rules, but to “obtain” that edge, the player must play to optimal strategy. Any deviation from that, for example not splitting when they should or failing to hit at the right time will increase that house edge, giving the casino a greater advantage than is necessary and ultimately resulting in less money in the player’s pocket and a nicer car – or private jet – for the casino owner!

It is perfectly possible to memorize BS in its entirety but for the average player and certainly the internet blackjack fan, that is unnecessary. There are no end of charts that detail BS, giving you the correct call to make in a particular situation and it’s very easy to refer to these whilst you play. Memorizing BS will speed up your play a little but referring to the chart only takes a second and in the long-term gives you a much better chance of making a profit playing blackjack online. See an example of a basic blackjack strategy chart here and you can even print the chart of easy reference.

Whether you’re playing with friends, working through a casino’s blackjack bonus or simply enjoying a decent session of this great casino favorite, using Basic Strategy will give you the very best chance of having an enjoyable and profitable session so be sure to follow its simple rules at all times. To play online see the best internet casinos for real money we recommend and also claim a great bonus when you sign up.