Let It Ride Poker

Origins of the game

Let it Ride was originally developed by ShuffleMaster Gaming in 1993. In it's short history it has grown from a relatively obscure game, to one of the most popular card games available in any casino.

Game variations

There are lots of Let it Ride game variants available that you can play, for example progressive, multi-player and no download versions. Some casinos also offer tournaments dedicated to this fascinating card game.

Rules

Despite the fact you can choose from so many variations, the basics of Let it Ride poker are still the same for each variant. In Let it Ride there are three main bets that you can place, as well as an optional side bet. The three main bets are placed all at the same time on the table layout, and for the same amount of money. The first and second bet are bets that you can take back later in the game, if you don't like the cards you got. If you do like the cards you got, you let your bets ride.

Strategies & Tips

The decision whether to let your bets ride, or to take them back, is fairly easy to make, and if you know a little something about the best Let it Ride strategies and tips, and their relation to odds and house edge, you can maximize your chances to play winning Let it Ride poker. If you need more information to improve your skill at this game, you might consider reading some books on the subject, or browsing through the various resources listed in our directory.

Headlines

 Pregressive Pai Gow Jackpots Grow

If you love playing Pai Gow, things may be looking up for you as more properties add linked jackpots to their game mix. I've enjoyed playing Pai Gow since Washington State legalized mini-casinos (15 table games max) about a dozen years ago. Each little casino around Seattle had $5 games and seats available during the two years I lived there, ruining my life by becoming a Mariner's baseball fan, but that's just another bad-beat story.

As for Pai Gow, many casinos now offer the game with a $1 bonus bet on a progressive jackpot, and I always get interested in those when the numbers get over $200,000. I figure that's just high enough for me to really scream about my tax bill ( a few years back, a player at Northern California's Thunder Valley Casino hit a 7-card straight flush for over $500,000). Recently the Gila River casinos in Arizona linked their Pai Gow tables (Vee Quiva, Lone Butte, and Wild Horse Pass) and now their jackpot is $252,000. That's worth a shot!

In Las Vegas, Cannery Casino Resort Properties (CCR), including The Rampart Casino, Eastside Cannery Casino & Cannery Casino, has also linked their tables. Last month they had a $262,000 winner! In addition, the CCR (No, not Creedence Clearwater Revival) group offers a new Pai Gow version called EZ Pai Gow .

EZ Pai Gow is a game with no commission. Instead of taking the extra time to collect commission, EZ Pai Gow uses another revenue source to get the same edge in the game. Each time the dealer makes a queen-high Pai Gow, all bets are a push! It's a great idea, and you'll get more hands per hour. It's win-win as far as I'm concerned.

Got a high progressive jackpot at a casino near you? Drop me a line. Pai Gow players have to stick together!

Pregressive Pai Gow Jackpots Grow originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Saturday, May 12th, 2012 at 16:55:27.

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 My What Nice Poker Etiquette You Have

I was waiting impatiently for a playable hand in an Omaha-eight game the other day and my mind wandered off without me. I started thinking of the way things have changed over the past decade or so in poker rooms. The best thing I could think of was that many poker rooms are non-smoking now. After spending the previous decade sucking-up second hand smoke and having my eyes continually bloodshot from the perpetual cloud of toxins around the game, my body is much happier now! That's progress.

I'm not sure I like having TV's all over the walls, because I get distracted by them, and I can't figure out why. I mean, how many times can I watch the same highlights on ESPN? Many times, apparently. I am happy the chairs are better now though. Some joints used to have the worst little chairs, no padding, and they didn't roll around or anything. The horror!

Poker terms have changed, but it really doesn't matter whether you spike a set on the turn, or catch trips, it's still three of a kind. And, it's still nice when players exhibit some manners. That's what I thought when my mind returned from wherever it went to. Probably because there was a young lady playing in my Omaha game who smiled, spoke pleasantly, and even showed down some obvious losers when calling.

She didn't fire her cards into the muck with disgust when she lost. She just tabled her hand and congratulated the winner. I got to say, "Thank you," and rake the chips on several occasions myself, and you know, when I got counterfeited on a big hand and she scooped a monster pot, I just showed my hand and smiled. It only hurt a little.

It never hurts to show some poker etiquette, and, players don't mind losing so much when the game is lively and friendly. And, if you spend your life on the green felt playing table coach, knock it off. Nobody on the game cares how much you know. The dealer is likely to be able to handle any situation, give 'em a chance.

Which reminds me, as much as today's new players might think they are different than yesterdays, they really aren't. Why? Because no matter how experienced and well-read (within the realms of poker strategy books) new players are, the percentages haven't changed any since twenty years ago. The hands are still made just as often, the pot odds are calculated the same, and......... somehow there is still the same percentage of good players and bad.

That's right. Amazingly, the game still produces the same number of winners and losers once the year ticks past and New Year's Eve ends. So, as always, you have to put your best game on the table to take down the chips. And, there's nothing wrong with being polite. It only hurts a little.

My What Nice Poker Etiquette You Have originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 at 18:32:25.

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 Is Anything Simple about Card Counting?

Is anything really simple when it comes to card counting? Sure. It's simple to think you know what you are doing when you don't, and it's simple to lose your money. And that's just the beginning, because beating blackjack at your favorite casino is never a simple task. It is, however, likely to be more fun than you've ever had in a casino!

When I was 17 years old I got a copy of Gambling Times, and decided I should start playing blackjack in casinos. There were all kinds of books offered about how to beat blackjack and I already knew how to play (I thought), so why not. It was a tough road, but by the time I was in college I knew more about blackjack than most casino personnel. The cloak and dagger, hiding from the pit boss, and pulling the wool over the dealers' eyes part was so much fun!

And now, with the internet, you don't need a bunch of books. You can learn how to beat blackjack with a simple plus minus count for free! The count is simple, but your success will hinge on how well you know how to play blackjack.

If you know the game, you know you need to play perfect basic strategy to start with. It's a long learning process, but well worth it. The average player loses about 1.5 percent of their average bet over their lifetime at blackjack. So, depending on the speed of the game, they probably lose $15 an hour. Would you take five hours out of your life to learn basic strategy to get that number down to just $5? It's a skill you'll always have!

Then, the fun part starts. Would you be willing to step up your practice sessions to include a little simple math (can you add, subtract, and divide by six?) and memory skills to turn the tables and actually win $15 an hour playing blackjack? Would you work harder if you knew you could make a even more? I did, I have, and I've never had a losing year at the casinos.

I will admit that the first month I employed my new skills (after many, many hours of practice) I only made $1.98 an hour, but I did win. And, I've never looked back, never had a losing month! And, the casinos give me free rooms, free meals, and even free slot play to reward me for playing at their places. Sweet!

So, learn to play, learn to count, and practice, practice, practice, until you are perfect. Then, you'll have more fun than you ever thought possible in your favorite casinos!

Is Anything Simple about Card Counting? originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 at 15:56:19.

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 Say What? Heard at the Poker Table

A fellow told me a story last night about ordering a drink from the cocktail server at a poker table. She was cute and quick, but she spilled his drink on the way back from the bar, so she said, "Gee, I'm sorry, I spilled half your drink here." She set down his drink and a very wet napkin, smiled, and added, "Now don't you worry, I'll get you another." She then disappeared for ten minutes. When she came back she smiled and said, "You thought I forgot about you, huh? I didn't, here's your clean napkin!"

Now that's funny. But that's not all, because a floor supervisor had heard both discussions and he said, "Hey, let's get this guy a new drink, all right." But the server said, "No, I'm sorry, it's after 2am now and we already had last call, give me your glass." Now that's a bad beat story. And, it's the first bad-bead story I ever heard that was funny, or I was actually interested in.

If you don't know what a bad-beat story is, consider yourself lucky. There are plenty of poker terms that every player should learn, but all those lucky player bad-beat, suckout, and tournament bubble ones should go straight to the trash bin. Sure, I've told them myself, but I'm not sure why. Probably because I like to hear myself talk.

On the other hand, there are plenty of funny things that happen on games that should be repeated. I thought it was funny when a young player begged several times for a pretty woman at the table to show him her hand after she made a large reraise and he pondered and tossed his cards in the muck. She also pondered, then tabled her cards, showing a busted flush. He looked at her with such a hurt look I almost felt sorry for him as he said, "Girls aren't supposed to lie!"

Oh yeah? Welcome to the new world! There are plenty of ladies out there who can knock your socks off with their poker playing. And, most of those ladies have a pretty good sense of humor! Enjoy.

Say What? Heard at the Poker Table originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 18:43:46.

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 Goodbye Amarillo Slim!
Photo Courtesy (Harper Entertainment)

Goodbye Amarillo Slim Preston! You will be greatly missed by the poker community.

Amarillo Slim, World famous gambler, 83, died overnight in hospice care in Amarillo. He leaves a legend bigger than Texas when it comes to tall tales and tall mountians of chips he won in poker games, ping pong matches, pool halls and dance halls. The man never met a bet he didn't want to find a way to win. He bet on everything and anything, as told in his memoir, Amarillo Slim In a World of Fat People.

A long-time pool hustler and poker player (who partnered with Sailor Roberts and Doyle Brunson in the 1950's), Slim was well known in the poker world when he won the WSOP Championship in 1972. He wasn't known much beyond the Texas circuit of poker games and Las Vegas, however. But after the championship win, the never-at-a-loss-for-words Preston became a favorite on TV shows after stories of his championship ran in Parade magazine, which was inserted in millions of Sunday newspapers across the country.

Afterwards, Preston was a regular on The Tonight Show and was seen on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, To Tell The Truth and even What's My Line. He was colorful, brash, funny, and a perfect ambassador for the poker world. He will be missed.

This year's WSOP starts on Sunday May 27, 2012 with the $500 entry Casino Employee, No-Limit Hold'em tournament. It's a great kick-off for the summer.

Besides the WSOP, I'll be heading to Lake Tahoe for a few weeks of R&R, and maybe back east for the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival. If you haven't been to Caesars Entertainment's properties during the last week of July to drink down your share of the wine and feast on dozens and dozens of food station goodies, you just don't know what you are missing.

The festival starts July 26.............don't miss out!

Goodbye Amarillo Slim! originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Sunday, April 29th, 2012 at 17:49:45.

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