Enclosed you will find a simple, easy way to card count which you can learn in 10 minutes and you will soon be playing with a positive edge against the casino and piling up big profits.

It has been proven mathematically that certain cards are favorable to the player and others are favorable to the dealer in the game of blackjack.

Blackjack card counting getting the odds in your favor

By looking at the cards have been played, you know statistically what cards are left are left to be played, and this dictates how the player should play his hand.

For example, if more cards are left in favor of the player it is time to increase bet size while the odds are in your favor to have a chance of winning more.

Of course, if the cards favor the dealer it is time to decrease bet size.

Card counting in blackjack gives the player advantage of playing with a positive edge against the casino and that is why it is so popular.

Card Counting 2 important points

Let’s look at two important facts in relation to card counting that are often misunderstood by novice players

1. Card counters do not memorize every single card that they have seen dealt out of a deck.

2. Card counting also does not allow a player to predict what card will be dealt out the deck next.

It relies probability theory that simply determines the odds of certain cards coming out of the deck. It's in probabilities not certainties.

With the above two points you need to keep in mind that you will need to play for a long time for the odds and probabilities to even themselves out.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there is no evidence that complicated card counting strategies are more effective than simple ones.

Complexity and profit are not linked and many simple methods are far better than complicated ones!

Blackjack card counting made easy

There are many different methods of card counting and here we are going focus on one that makes blackjack card easy and simple. Before you start to do card counting, you need to know blackjack basic strategy.

Basic strategy

All card counting systems are based upon basic strategy so you need to learn it, it's quick and simple to learn and there are plenty of free strategy cards available on the net for easy reference

It provides the best way to play following on from the hands that have already been dealt. For those who don’t want to rely on memory, pre printed charts are available. Basic strategy lets you play at just under even odds with the casino.

Card counting when done correctly allows you to have the odds in your favor

Blackjack card counting an easy and simple method

The method below is easy to learn and puts very little strain on your memory, nor does it require complex mathematical calculations

In blackjack, a deck full of face cards is an advantage to the player and one with few face cards is advantageous to the dealer Watch the cards coming out of the deck.

For example, if you are playing a multiple deck, and after a few hands, you observe that very few face cards or aces were played, then you have a situation where the next hand may be good for you the player, and you should increase your size

Look for Extremes

The absence or predominance of exposed high cards is easily noticeable by any player and you need to look for extremes and use this to increase or decrease your bet size

You will play many hands where the mix of face cards and low value cards are relatively evenly spread.

As soon as you see an absence of exposed high value cards, you should increase bet size.

This is because the odds of a face card being dealt are now also increased which favor of you the player.

The perfect introduction to card counting

Although simple this method can be practiced by anyone quickly and will give you an edge against the casino and the opportunity to make consistent profits.

By all means move on to other more complicated systems if you wish, but this method of blackjack card counting is quick simple and easy to apply.

Games that are played in land-based, conventional casinos are known as ″brick and mortar″ (B&M) casinos games, while those that are played through the Internet casino sites are called "online casino" games. According to the Christiansen Capitol Advisors, there were about 1,400 online casinos in 2000, raking in a revenue of approximately $2.2 billion. By 2004, the number of online gambling sites, including online casinos, was estimated at 53,000.

The most common type of games offered by online casinos normally include blackjack, roulette, baccarat, craps, pai gow poker, video poker, and slot machines. Most websites provide users with options to play for fun or to play for real money. Some sites may or may not require you to sign up for a username before playing online, and most services are free, but you may need to pay if you're playing for real money.

Online casinos are divided on the basis of gaming interface: No download or Web-based and download-based interface. Web-based interface allows you to play directly on the website using consoles such as Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Shockwave, or Java. Download-based interface requires you to download a specific software program, install it on your system, and connect it to the service provider via the Internet. However, some websites may offer both types of interface according to user preference.

Wager Works, Microgaming, Playtech and Cryptologic are the main providers of software for online casinos. Most major online casinos, such as River Belle, Aztec Riches, Crazy Vegas, King Solomon's, etc., purchase their casino game programs from these companies in order to maximize reliability, performance, and functionality.

Ah, yes—the Texas hold 'em explosion. Seven years ago, when I first started playing, the Texas hold 'em community was comprised almost entirely of the collection of retirees who haunted the local 1-4-8-8 games, a sprinkling of mild mannered pros who played for a living, and a healthy percentage of truly degenerate gamblers who would now and then stagger into the card room after a blistering run at the craps table. There were no internet games. There were no Jay-Cee charity tournaments. And there was certainly no poker on television. Although the games were typically full you didn't hear much about poker away from the casino, and whenever you left the card room you got the feeling that you were probably at least a par five away from anyone who knew that 'Big Slick' didn't refer to the Valdez oil spill.

But that was then. As we sit here today, in the Year of our Lord 2004, Texas hold 'em seems to be everywhere. It's on TV, it's in books, and it's being played for nickels and dimes in dorm rooms and basements all across America. I would say that this is a good thing, but that would be a total understatement. For in fact the hold 'em explosion is a great thing, since it's probably the best game ever invented for players looking to make serious money gambling.

Now don't get me wrong—there are plenty of other games in which the player can gain the advantage. You can count cards in blackjack, for example, or play full-pay video poker, or learn how to handicap sports. But all these games have one formidable snag attached to them; i.e., they all come with an enormous variance. To the uninitiated, variance is a term we use to reference the 'swings' associated with gambling. In all the above mentioned games you can unquestionably achieve an edge. Unfortunately, however, it can often take a long time for that edge to manifest itself.

To fully understand any gambling proposition, you need to be acquainted with two terms: variance and expectation. As we explained above, variance refers to the swings. Expectation, on the other hand, refers to your edge. Ideally you'd like to involve yourself with games that have a high expectation and a low variance. Why? Because games with this relationship bring with them a very low risk of ruin. This means you don't need as large of a bankroll to ensure survival, and you won't need to play as much to ensure yourself of a profit.

All gambling games come with variance—that's just the nature of the beast. If it wasn't for variance the losing players would never score the occasional win, which means there would be no games. But you, as an advantage gambler, would like the variance to be relatively low, so as to minimize the risk of long and costly losing streaks. To this end, there is simply no better game out there than Texas hold 'em. Why? Although the dynamics are complicated, it has largely to do with the fact that certain hands have only a very small chance of winning against certain superior hands. Take for example AK vs. AT. For the AT to win, it has to either catch a ten (of which there are only three left in the deck), or some kind of goofy straight or flush. If an ace drops the AT is 'outkicked', since the AK's side card is higher than the AT's side card. Thus, the guy with AK in this spot is an enormous favorite. If you manage to get money in the middle when you have AK and the other guy has AT, and further manage to get out when you have AT and the other guy has AK, you can expect to win a lot of money with very little relative risk.

It goes without saying then that this is precisely what winning players do; they get their money in the middle when they have a hand that 'dominates' their opponents holding, and cut their losses to a minimum when the situation is reversed. Because of this, the down swings that a winning Texas hold 'em player will experience are typically much shorter than those experienced by other advantage gamblers. Are there 'bad runs' in Texas hold 'em? Absolutely. But the length and cost of these runs pale in comparison to what a pro sports bettor, or blackjack player, can expect to suffer.

The fact that Texas hold 'em offers such a favorable relationship between expectation and variance means that a player with a relatively short bankroll can expect to do fairly well. Although most experts disagree on precisely how much money you need to be adequately bankrolled, most estimates come in at around 300 big bets. This means you need around $1800 dollars to virtually ensure that you won't go broke playing $3-$6, or $6000 to insure the same at $10-20 (remember, this estimate only applies to winning players. Losing players can expect to eventually go broke no matter how large their bankroll). If you figure an excellent players win rate at somewhere around one big bet per hour, this means a very good player can reasonably expect to double his bankroll after around 300 hrs. of play.

Sports bettors, even very good ones, are not immune to losing months, or even losing seasons. And every advantage video poker player can spin you a woesome tale about going 100,000 hands or so without hitting a royal flush. But Texas hold 'em players, as a rule, don't hit these kinds of slumps very often. With a fairly high win rate (relative to their bankroll), and an acceptable level of variance, it's no wonder that so many advantage gamblers make Texas hold 'em their game of choice!

It's just pure dumb luck that the game with the most favorable expectation to variance ratio has become the preferred game for card players everywhere. How this happened I don't know, but I for one am not complaining! Simply put, hold 'em is THE GAME for players looking to win money playing cards, and with the huge influx of terrible players entering the fray the games have never been juicier. If you've been thinking about taking up hold 'em for a while, and are just now gearing up for it, let me be the first to say you couldn't have picked a better game, or a better time, at which to make the plunge. See you at the tables!

Online gambling – The incessant gamblers paradise

For all those gamblers who had to make the effort to get up out of their chair and physically go to the casino, here is some good news! Technology has come of age. Now gamblers can sit at home in front of their PCs and play their favorite casino games. And who knows, maybe even win thousands while experiencing a game of poker, blackjack or even poker with 3D annimation and lifelike sounds of an actual casino. The internet has become extremely popular in the past 2 or 3 years as to offer the best gambling facilities online. These online gambling sites have near exact characteristics of the real thing. And the best part is that they are interactive, so you can play and meet with lots of people from around the world. Most of the reputable online casinos offer new features, prizes and bonuses daily so there’s always something new for the online player. Here is what you are likely to find on an online gambling site.

Features of online gambling

The best thing about online gambling is that it has all that a casino offers and more. You can find a variety of casino games like poker, blackjack, craps, baccarat, bingo, lotteries, slots, and more. Not only that but you’ll find many variations of these games as well. Some online casino boast as many as 150 different games and more. There are jackpots and bonuses and some of these sites offer casino credit too.

Some of the other features include tournaments and matches with other players and opponents and exclusive offers like user home pages, e-mail ids and player statistics. The graphics and animation used is superb, and gives the real feel of the casino.

A word of caution though before you gamble at a casino do not be lured in by the biggest bonuses. Always take care while gambling online, and be sure that these sites are registered with the right body and recognized as respected and honest casinos. Especially if you are transferring or betting money online. Also make sure they are virus free and do not cause any irreparable damage to your PC. Have a virus protection program on your pc before downloading any software.

Once you’ve taken these precautions and practised a while you could become the next big jackpot winner!

You might be wondering how virtual casino gambling started and how or why this virtual gambling phenomenon has grown so rapidly.

Take a quick look into history of gambling and you’ll discover why virtual casino gambling was the next logical step and why virtual casino games are set to become even more popular than they already are.

Virtual casino gambling has only existed for a relatively short time, when considering that real casinos have existed for around two thousand years; they have come a long way from ancient Egypt to the glamour of Las Vegas .

Casino gambling has continued to grow and evolve as its popularity increases.

Virtual casino gambling has brought the excitement of real casinos directly into your living room. Virtual gambling offers increased convenience, so now you don’t need to deal with the crowds found in real casinos and your favourite seat will never be taken.

Virtual casino gambling offers better security.

The virtual casino gambling is always available to you, so time is never an issue when you a virtual gambler. The privacy of online gambling offers increased security and peace of mind too.

Virtual casino gambling offers many different types of virtual games which players may not necessarily have seen at a real casino.

The choice of online gambling games available is incredible. Online Poker, blackjack, roulettes or online sports gambling, online casinos offer them all. You can choose your table, the limits you desire and play the optimum game for you.

You could even choose to allow the virtual casino gambling software to play for you while you watch, which means you don’t need to repeatedly press spin or bet.

Virtual casino gambling is an increasing phenomenon.

As the internet continues to become an increasing factor in our daily lives, virtual gambling products and services will also continue to grow. In truth the virtual casino is as real as any you’ll find in the major cities. With virtual casino gambling you’ll have access to every kind of online game available and you get to wager real money, in turn winning real cash…

Read more: Virtual Casino Gambling

A new form of gambling started its success all around the globe in the 1990ies that people are talking about. Online casino gaming, online gambling, internet gambling, or cyberspace gambling. Doesn’t matter how you call it. It’s fun and exciting.

Nowadays gamblers from all around the globe are playing their favourite casino games online. Video poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, slots and many other casino games. Some casinos offer more than 200 different games with their free software download.

Also availabe are no download flash casino games. This games can be played without downloading instantly in your browser. The graphics are also great and so is the sound but a quick internet connection is necessary. People who have a 56k modem should rather download casino games.

There are lots of classic casino games available, as well as video poker, online slot machines and progressive slots.

The jackpots are actually very high. Some people have won more than one million dollars from playing progressive slots. The latest payout was over $2.000.000!

Most woman like to play at bingo online. Cool are the 3D graphics that let your virtual self walk around in the bingo room and sit and play at the table. You also can chat with other players.

Men like live casino dealer games. Female dealers that you can chat with and watch via live web cam play baccarat, sicbo, blackjack and roulette in a multi player chatroom.

What makes online gambling also great is playing at an multi player poker room. Poker players can play against other players from all over the world online. What this makes so exciting is that players can qualify for poker tournaments via the internet.

Online qualifiers already play at championships like the monte carlo millions, the world poker tour and the world series of poker, the WSOP.

Relatively new are mobile casino games. You can play blackjack, poker or slots in your cell phone, pda, palm and many other wireless devices.

Sport book wagering online is possible, too. Bets on football, hockey, baseball, basketball, boxing, tennis and other US and european sports can be placed online. But not only that. The live odds can be watched in real time via an live sport betting line. Always updated.

Besides casinos run internet casino tournaments. Poker and slot players battle for real cash prizes.

Regardless if you are playing for big money at an high roller online casino or not for real money online casino gaming is a lot of fun.

Casinos offer a free casino sign up bonus to all players. Free extra money to play! The amount is depending on how much you deposit in your account by using one of the many online funds transfer services or your credit card. Online sports & race books also offer free cash bonuses as well as online poker rooms.

If you are interested in gambling online, looking for casino news, or the poker TV program please visit our website.

Also available are gambling jokes, a gambling dictionary, good luck sayings and some more usefull stuff.

If you are a blackjack player, you need to know the truth about the game. The pros certainly do, and so will you by reading below.

Don't believe the eight blackjack myths below…and you can start winning money, like the pro’s do

Here are the common eight blackjack myths

Myth #1: The Object of Playing Blackjack in getting as close to 21 as you can

The real aim of playing blackjack is just to beat the dealer. That's it.

So, your best advice here is to stand when you get a good idea of what the dealer has by his open card. The truth is you often lose because you hit and bust when you had to just stand and wait.

Myth # 2: If there is a lousy player in the game, he will makes it easier for you to lose.

Not so! It can be the other way around. He can make it easier for you to win! Lousy playing (like hitting at 20) can certain affect the other players, but you know, it might be for the best.

Concentrate on your hand, and forget about other lousy players.

Myth #3 : Insurance is a something you MUST take.

Don't believe a word of it! Taking insurance unless you know what you are doing is idiotic. It can reduce your winnings (if you hit a blackjack) by 13%!

If you happen to be a blackjack expert, a great card counter, and have a really good idea of what the dealer has in his hand, Insurance is for you. Otherwise, leave it alone.

Myth #4: My Turn to Win is Coming!

Your turn? Nothing could be more untrue.

There is no turn to win in blackjack.

The odds and chances for each deal are unique and winning or losing before is irrelevant. Statistically, if you sat at the table for about 100 straight hours you would win about 48% of your hands if you did not make ANY mistakes.

So forget about your turn, and concentrate of what to do to win.

Myth #5: New Comers in the Game are Bad Luck

Another fairy tale!

So what if someone enters the game while it's been on for a while?

The new player will take cards, and it is no more of an affect that if you others were just hitting. There is no statistics or anything in my experience that says a new player makes the slightest bit of difference.

Myth #6:. The Dealer is Hot Tonight!

Rubbish! A dealer simply follows set rules and makes no choices

All they can do is follow the rules of the game and house. They have no options and no choices. If you are losing, the cards are against you, and if you are winning they are for you. The hot dealer is a myth.

Myth #7: Never split your double 9s against the dealer’s 9

Feel like splitting? We assume you were dealt two 9s against the dealer’s 9. You have 18, right? Well, if the dealer has a face card hidden, and you can assume he does, you lost with your 18.

So split! My experience and math says you will lose less money by splitting than if you don't.

Myth #8: The Dealer's Best Open Card is a 2!

Even experienced players believe this one, as an open 2 is often part of a dealer's way to 21.

Well, if the open card is a 2, and the dealer has a hidden face card, there is only 1 card that can bust him, or a hit of another face card. The truth? You will lose most often if the dealer's open card is a face card, not a 2!

With the truth you can play blackjack without falling for common myths that will make you lose

Remember, all you have to do is beat the dealer, not get as close to 21 as you can and dont believe in luck So good luck and good play.

Online casinos are popular and becoming more so. It is estimated that 160 million people will be playing in online casinos by the year, 2020. According to Will Gatten of www.sportscrew.com, by 2008, online poker revenues – that's just poker, not the other games like blackjack, craps, and roulette - will exceed $275 billion dollars, with not a cent of it in taxes coming into the United States.

Why is that? Because online casinos are offshore operations, located in about 76 different foreign countries (as of October, 2005) to avoid U. S. gambling and tax laws.

Another reason why they are so popular from an industry point of view is that they are cheap. Steve Wynn opened his bricks-and-mortar, Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas in early 2005, at a cost of more than $2 billion dollars. Then he pays an annual fee per slot machine and table, and is taxed on gross revenue.

Still another reason is that they can get into business quickly. If someone wanted a new gambling license in Nevada, it may take one to two years of paperwork and investigations, plus a ton of legal fees. An online casino can be opened in Belize in a little over a week with a capitalization of a little over a million for a fee of about $30,000. Oh, and the tax rate in that country? Zip. Steve Wynn, eat your heart out.

Gambling PhD.com reports that online gambling casino operator, 888 Holdings Plc, is planning to sell approximately $500 million of its stock in an initial public offering. The casino company has appointed HSBC Holdings Plc to operate the sale. 888 is based in Gibraltar and is estimated to be worth around $1.5 billion when it sells its shares in London on the London Stock Exchange in September of 2005. Online, offshore, and big bucks!

Are online casinos good? Bad? Depends who you ask. In the U.S. Congress, efforts continue by Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona and others to enact a law to specifically prohibit internet gaming because it violates federal law. Another concern: for sure, for sure, minors are gambling.

Now ask the millions of players from around the world who are online every day, playing their favorite games. A typical poker table may look like a U. N. meeting. Good? Bad?

The casinos' defense is to be located "offshore," meaning in some foreign country, outside the jurisdiction of U. S. (and other countries which also prohibit gambling) laws. They charter their business in places like Antigua, Costa Rica, Gibraltar, Colombia, and India. The server may be in some other country. Administration may be in a third country, often the United States. See if you can find an online casino that willingly offers this information on its website. Not likely.

Since it will be little hard to arrest millions of American bent over their beloved games on a Saturday evening, the efforts to enact new laws are directed at advertisers, credit card companies, and banks.

Senator Kyl expresses alarm at the proliferation of casinos and estimates that 2,000 of them are in existence today. His legislation is aimed to curb Internet gambling by requiring credit card companies, and banks refuse payments to online gambling sites. So far, nothing has come of any legislation that would seriously threaten the operation of the offshore casinos.

North Dakota State Representative Jim Kasper took a proactive stance when he introduced several bills – the state's constitution would have to be changed - to allow online casinos in North Dakota. The bill called for regulation, taxation under North Dakota and United States laws, and would create hundreds, maybe thousands of jobs, for North Dakotans. However, in a letter from the United States Department of Justice, North Dakota was warned that the bills could – it didn't say they would – violate the federal "Wire Act," which prohibits gambling across state lines. And, of course, if you set up an online casino in Bismarck, North Dakota, how do you keep its activity only within the borders of one state? Representative Jim Kasper intends to push his bills in another session of the legislature.

So, stay tuned. It's unlikely that online and offshore casinos are going to be shut down though some of the ways they receive and return money may be limited if Congress moves on its efforts to limit the activities of U. S. banks and credit card companies.

The coast looks clear. "Shuffle up and deal."

© 2005 Murphy James

Ah, yes—the Texas hold 'em explosion. Seven years ago, when I first started playing, the Texas hold 'em community was comprised almost entirely of the collection of retirees who haunted the local 1-4-8-8 games, a sprinkling of mild mannered pros who played for a living, and a healthy percentage of truly degenerate gamblers who would now and then stagger into the card room after a blistering run at the craps table. There were no internet games. There were no Jay-Cee charity tournaments. And there was certainly no poker on television. Although the games were typically full you didn't hear much about poker away from the casino, and whenever you left the card room you got the feeling that you were probably at least a par five away from anyone who knew that 'Big Slick' didn't refer to the Valdez oil spill.

But that was then. As we sit here today, in the Year of our Lord 2004, Texas hold 'em seems to be everywhere. It's on TV, it's in books, and it's being played for nickels and dimes in dorm rooms and basements all across America. I would say that this is a good thing, but that would be a total understatement. For in fact the hold 'em explosion is a great thing, since it's probably the best game ever invented for players looking to make serious money gambling.

Now don't get me wrong—there are plenty of other games in which the player can gain the advantage. You can count cards in blackjack, for example, or play full-pay video poker, or learn how to handicap sports. But all these games have one formidable snag attached to them; i.e., they all come with an enormous variance. To the uninitiated, variance is a term we use to reference the 'swings' associated with gambling. In all the above mentioned games you can unquestionably achieve an edge. Unfortunately, however, it can often take a long time for that edge to manifest itself.

To fully understand any gambling proposition, you need to be acquainted with two terms: variance and expectation. As we explained above, variance refers to the swings. Expectation, on the other hand, refers to your edge. Ideally you'd like to involve yourself with games that have a high expectation and a low variance. Why? Because games with this relationship bring with them a very low risk of ruin. This means you don't need as large of a bankroll to ensure survival, and you won't need to play as much to ensure yourself of a profit.

All gambling games come with variance—that's just the nature of the beast. If it wasn't for variance the losing players would never score the occasional win, which means there would be no games. But you, as an advantage gambler, would like the variance to be relatively low, so as to minimize the risk of long and costly losing streaks. To this end, there is simply no better game out there than Texas hold 'em. Why? Although the dynamics are complicated, it has largely to do with the fact that certain hands have only a very small chance of winning against certain superior hands. Take for example AK vs. AT. For the AT to win, it has to either catch a ten (of which there are only three left in the deck), or some kind of goofy straight or flush. If an ace drops the AT is 'outkicked', since the AK's side card is higher than the AT's side card. Thus, the guy with AK in this spot is an enormous favorite. If you manage to get money in the middle when you have AK and the other guy has AT, and further manage to get out when you have AT and the other guy has AK, you can expect to win a lot of money with very little relative risk.

It goes without saying then that this is precisely what winning players do; they get their money in the middle when they have a hand that 'dominates' their opponents holding, and cut their losses to a minimum when the situation is reversed. Because of this, the down swings that a winning Texas hold 'em player will experience are typically much shorter than those experienced by other advantage gamblers. Are there 'bad runs' in Texas hold 'em? Absolutely. But the length and cost of these runs pale in comparison to what a pro sports bettor, or blackjack player, can expect to suffer.

The fact that Texas hold 'em offers such a favorable relationship between expectation and variance means that a player with a relatively short bankroll can expect to do fairly well. Although most experts disagree on precisely how much money you need to be adequately bankrolled, most estimates come in at around 300 big bets. This means you need around $1800 dollars to virtually ensure that you won't go broke playing $3-$6, or $6000 to insure the same at $10-20 (remember, this estimate only applies to winning players. Losing players can expect to eventually go broke no matter how large their bankroll). If you figure an excellent players win rate at somewhere around one big bet per hour, this means a very good player can reasonably expect to double his bankroll after around 300 hrs. of play.

Sports bettors, even very good ones, are not immune to losing months, or even losing seasons. And every advantage video poker player can spin you a woesome tale about going 100,000 hands or so without hitting a royal flush. But Texas hold 'em players, as a rule, don't hit these kinds of slumps very often. With a fairly high win rate (relative to their bankroll), and an acceptable level of variance, it's no wonder that so many advantage gamblers make Texas hold 'em their game of choice!

It's just pure dumb luck that the game with the most favorable expectation to variance ratio has become the preferred game for card players everywhere. How this happened I don't know, but I for one am not complaining! Simply put, hold 'em is THE GAME for players looking to win money playing cards, and with the huge influx of terrible players entering the fray the games have never been juicier. If you've been thinking about taking up hold 'em for a while, and are just now gearing up for it, let me be the first to say you couldn't have picked a better game, or a better time, at which to make the plunge. See you at the tables!

Gambling has been with us since ancient times. Gambling online is a relatively new phenomenon and one that seems to be growing in popularity on a daily basis. Take a look at these facts:

* The first online gambling site was launched in August 1995. It is currently estimated that there are well over 2,000 Internet gambling Web sites offering various wagering options, including sports betting, casino games, lotteries and bingo.

* Internet gambling revenue in 2005 was estimated at $11.9 billion and is projected to double by 2010, according to Christiansen Capital Advisors (CCA).

So what is it about the online casino phenomenon that has so enticed gamblers? Perhaps it is the virtue of it simply being online. There are so many attractions to not having to attend a casino to gamble. The most prominent of these is the intimidation. Online gambling opens up a whole host of games to players who previously never had the courage or interest in observing tables in a land based casino.

Then it is the choice of games. The number of games and their varieties online are astounding. Poker, blackjack, roulette or sports gambling, online casinos offer them all. Lets take a look at a few of them:

Online poker has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide. For the year of 2005, revenues from online poker were estimated at US$200 million per month.

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one or Pontoon, is one of the most popular casino card games in the world. Much of blackjack’s popularity is due to the mix of chance with elements of skill, and the publicity that surrounds card counting The slot machine typically pays off based on patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops. Modern computer technology has resulted in many variations on the slot machine concept.

The freedom of time and money are added attractions. The online casinos are relatively inexpensive to operate in terms of staff being paid, so they are able to offer players free games. Entering a blackjack room in an online casino is very different to approaching a blackjack table in a land based casino. The speed and intimidation can be high when playing in a ritzy casino. Crucial decisions are made quickly and on the spot. At home, the player is able to slow down and play only when they are ready.

Sadly, with such a growth in popularity has come many online gambling hoaxes. Illegitimate and cheating websites are present on the net and can be deceiving. The most important things to remember when gambling online are the three elements of consideration, prize and chance. All three should be present.

The problem with online gambling is that it is far harder to control. The industry that has to protect itself from the dangers of compulsive gamblers. In the virtual world, this is hard to enforce. A customer is able to sit in their own living room, in whatever state they choose to be in and at whatever age and gamble as much as they desire.

Caution seems to be the only key. Gambling has always been a controversial subject; gambling on the internet is simply an extension of this controversy.