Texas Hold’em: There are many types and variations of poker, but the game of Texas Hold’em is probably the most popular in the U.S. and possibly the most popular poker game in the world.  The game itself is fairly easy.  It can be played with anywhere from two to ten people.  The game starts with a dealer dealing two face-down cards to each player.  Through the next four rounds, the dealer deals five community cards that each player may play off of.  Each player, depending on the cards they have in their hand and on the table, decide if they want to keep betting if they want quit the hand, known as folding.  At the end of the game the player with the highest hand, the best combination of five cards using both the cards in the player’s hand and the community cards, wins.

Five Card Draw: Five card draw can be played with between two and five players.  It is one of the oldest poker variations.  Each player receives five cards and after the first round each player may discard or replace up to five cards in hopes of achieving the best hand.  At the end of the game the player with the highest hand wins.

Omaha: Omaha Hi is similar to Texas Hold’em.  It can be played with two to ten players as well.  Instead of being dealt two cards, each player receives four cards.  The dealer then deals the five community cards.  The best hand must be comprised of two cards they hold in their hand and three community cards.  Omaha 8 is similar to Omaha Hi, but players may also bet on making the best five-card low hand.

There are other variations as well, but these are typically the top three that are played in the U.S.

Gambling in the US is a billion dollar a year industry.  In 2006, gambling revenue came in at USD $90.96 billion.  Gambling falls under federal jurisdiction, but each state is allowed to ban or regulate gambling as the state so chooses.  Almost every state has some form of lottery so therefore almost every state has some form of gambling.

Nevada is the only U.S. state that allows gambling on a statewide basis.  Other states restrict gambling to certain to certain cities or Native American reservations.  Still other states confine gambling to riverboats.  Online gambling is an exception to most state policies.  Online gambling is difficult to regulate so even if gambling is outlawed in a state, residents of that state can still partake in online gambling. Read more about poker rules, tips and strategies at launchpoker.com.

There are 19 states that allow commercial casinos on non-reservation land.  There are approximately 450 of these casinos.  With the exception of nine states, every other state in the U.S. allows a lottery.  There are different forms of lottery and the forms are based off of the purchase of a ticket for a small amount of money.  The ticket either requires you to choose numbers, pull tabs, or scratch off circles in order to reveal if you are a winner.  In the variation of the lottery where you choose numbers, the winning number combination is later revealed in a random drawing.  The winnings from lotteries vary from a few dollars to millions of dollars.

Reservation-based gambling began in 1979.  Such gambling is controversial, as some Native Americans do not want non-Native Americans on reservation land.  However, the casinos create thousands of jobs and generate revenue in the community.  Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, all revenue must be used for the government or to better the community such as by building schools, houses, roads or funding healthcare.

The world of casinos, gambling and high-stakes appears very glamorous. It really is no wonder that there have been so many movies made about casinos and the fabulous goings-on within. For decades, movies have been themed around or set in casinos. Many of these movies are well-known, household names.
In recent years, movies such as “21” have brought fame to gambling sites. In this movie, university students are taught by a professor how to count cards. The students are then flown out to Las Vegas to win big and split the profits with their instructor. The lavish lifestyle that the students are thrown in to could make gambling appealing to anyone.
‘Ocean’s Eleven’ is a 1960’s remake, released in 2001, about a planned heist involving Las Vegas casinos. In the 1960’s version, the “Rat Pack”, made up of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, planned to rob five casinos. The 2001 version starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts among other big names and was updated to involve robbing the (non-existing in real life) vaults that lie beneath the Bellagio Hotel.
A more comedic casino-themed movie was the 1992 ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’. Nicholas Cage plays a man who takes his girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker) to Vegas in order to get married. James Caan portrays a gambler who spots Parker and wishes to spend the weekend with her, thus ensues attempting to win her away from Cage through poker.
Multiple James Bond movies have been staged in casinos or have the character spending time in a casino. The ambiance of mystery, smoke and glamour that portrays the stereotyped gambling rooms is a perfect backdrop for such an illustrious character. The most recent of these movies is ‘Casino Royale’. The film stars Daniel Craig who many critics have reviewed to be the best James Bond ever, or at least since Sean Connery.

Illegal gambling in the U.S. is a federal offense.  Illegal gambling is identified as gambling practices that take place in an unlicensed establishment and are done for the profit of an individual.  By this definition, friendly neighborhood pick-up poker games are not illegal, as they are not performed as a business.
Illegal gambling can take the shape of dog fighting or racing, placing bets on game outcomes, or established poker games for profit.  While it is considered a federal crime if conducted as a business, each state has rules and regulations defining illegal gambling and what the punishment is for breaking the law.  A person may also be found in violation of illegal gambling regulations if they are under the legal gambling age set by the state of residence.
Due to the unregulated practices of online gambling, there is a movement to make online gambling illegal.  There have also been cries that certain network television game shows partake in illegal gambling.  Such shows that request viewers to send a .99 cent text message with the answer to a question in order to possibly win something have been brought under review.  Some raffles can even be considered illegal gambling and therefore whoever is hosting the raffle must be aware of what the state legislation dictates.
Many people feel that opening more legal casinos and gambling establishments will cut back on illegal gambling.  This has not been the case though, as recent studies have found.  People interested in illegal gambling are either interested in betting on sports or activities that are not allowed by any state (such as dog fighting) or they feel that they can stake less money and win more money by gambling in illegal operations.

Welcome to Coldaces.com, my new poker blog. Am not 100% sure what the content will be about in this blog, but it’s proabably going to be alot of poker strategy talk & online poker.

Hope to see you around!