Having been in the industry since the 1980s and having been a supporter of computer systems since prominent statistician Dr. Mike Orkin wrote his Pointspread Analyzer software, where does Center of the Handicapping Universe stand?

We agree with the theory, but less so the etched-in-stone considerations. First of all, let us give a quick refresher of the difference. A system can be measured objectively because the parameters are concrete. The zigzag is an example. Going with a double digit favorite off a single digit loss would be another hypothetical.

Of course there can be modest variances depending on when and where a database gathers lines, but over any statistically significant period it does not make a huge difference.

A theory is much like a system but does not have objective parameters. Our theory is the better the team is that the zigzag system favors and the bigger the margin the loss was, the more compelling it is to “go with the team off a loss.”

True one could come up with a system to measure our upgrading of the methodology. An example would be going with a team with a winning percentage of .575 or higher off a loss of eight or more. The problem is we believe a mental sliding scale combining and most importantly, weighing the two factors works best. It allows for a mixing and matching of the two parameters.

For example, this year as in most years, it would not apply or would only be weighed slightly if we are talking about the bottom three seeds in each conference off a loss. There is a reason they are called “mismatches”.

No. 4 versus five and the next three rounds of the playoffs (barring huge first round upsets), it is weighed much heavier. Remember we told you the mocker grew conspicuously quieter as the postseason went on. Now you know why.

It’s one of those theories that almost make too much sense. During the regular season of every sport we remind you of the Golden Rule to not merely go with the “team that needs it more” if said team is fighting just to make the playoffs.

We call attention to the fact if a team were proficient at winning “must win” games they would not be playing in must-win games late in the year.

Conversely, a one through five seed, especially as the playoffs go deeper, has shown the ability to rebound from adversity and respond when their backs are to the wall.

To the handicapper there is a titanic difference between desperate elite teams and equally desperate inferior teams playing in a crucial contest. It’s like the difference between seeing Jennifer Lopez and Rosie O’Donnell in a string bikini.

Okay, I don’t follow the analogy myself, but the exemplification of the distinction is infallible. From a handicapping standpoint one can’t measure the success of the zigzag if Phoenix coming off a loss is given the same weight (no pun intended Rosie) as Washington or Golden State following a setback.

Likewise, the margin of the loss is applicable for at least two obvious reasons. As we have said many times, nothing affects public perception more than the last game they have seen. It’s not uncommon for a blowout in the previous game to influence an opening line by 2-3 points and more times than not, the closing line by more.

That said, there are two big differences between online poker and your brick and mortar poker room-and no, it’s not just the cigar smoke and sometimes annoying wait to get into a game. The two main differences are time and tells-the two T’s. Today, I’ll break them down for you.

Time

Online poker is a lightning fast game compared to real world poker. When you watch poker on TV, they actually do a major editing job to make it look more up to speed.

When you play online poker, you’re acting within 20-30 seconds. You either act before your timer goes down or you’re done. There isn’t much think time.

Now, play in the real world and it’s a drastic change. The game moves at a snail’s pace. For some this is good. You can sit there and think about what to do.

However, the slower game means less hands per hour, which in turn can mean lower profit per hour. If you’re a mechanical online poker player that just cranks out the profit per hand, real world play might not be good for you.

Tells

Countless articles and books have been written that deal with tells at the poker table. In fact, talk to any poker pro and he or she will talk about playing the player not the cards.

Good or bad, you can’t do this with online poker. Tells virtually don’t exist. Sure, you can pick up some playing habits if you play with someone long enough, but it’s difficult. There’s no way to study your opponent.

For some, this is a good thing. Your opponents can’t see you doing cartwheels, because you’ve just scored a full house on the river or picked up trips on the flop. But, true pros do their best work when they are sitting across from other players in the real world.

Let’s say you are a gambling beginner and you want to know some basics about baseball betting. What do you need to know? A first step is to understand how to read the money the line as this is the primary wagering option for you. This means betting on the straight–up game outcome with less to no consideration for a point spread. The money line is used for an increased sum risked for baseball betting on the expected winner than on the less appreciated team. The purpose of the oddsmakers is to balance the action for both sides. A critical factor you need to know of when baseball betting is the importance of starting pitching. While smart NFL betting is done considering only the team with most chances of victory, baseball betting offers a double chance by finding a winning edge with either the team or the pitching match-ups. This is why oddsmakers always have the starting pitchers in mind when making the money line. They play an important role in the outcome of the game and, thus, in your winning chances.

After learning how things work with baseball betting, about terms like “vigorish”, “juice” and “dime line”, tips are necessary to keep you on the winning side. A source of information will tell you to consider betting baseball totals. Another one will advise about giving special attention to left handed players – “Whether they are pitchers or hitters, they will be trouble for the opposition and they will bring you luck”. Although, there are many things a winner must pay attention to, baseball betting (as well as NFL betting) creates passions and difficulties can turn into pleasures.

In the case of NFL betting, the gamblers apply the rule “winning with the winners”. It is a simple, yet effective thing to do – identify the winning teams, check their recent playing status (the last 2 or 3 games), avoid traps and study the opposition with their own recent games and traps. NFL betting will be next natural step. It looks simple, but be careful because big games that might come up as well as the teams’ emotional state can turn the situation around giving the NFL gambler the chance to get burned. It is not right to practice NFL betting based only on what you believe to be correct. Just take a look at the line posted by oddsmakers to compare your own for the match-up with theirs. You might say that this method of NFL betting is for the simple minded, but it better to be safe and successful than sorry.

There’s a whole philosophy about baseball betting and NFL betting and everyone has a personal technique. Anyone can read about successful baseball gamblers, their methods of approaching several situations and learn from their mistakes. The Internet is full of proofs about the perseverance of baseball and NFL lovers. You can even say that betting has become an international sport as it is practiced everywhere there’s a game or a competition going on.

Free casino cash or free deposit bonuses are a way of attracting players so that they become real players of the game. Even land-based casinos attract customers by providing its players with free dinners, cash back on casino play, hotel rooms, free shows etc. Similarly online casinos attract players by giving them sign up bonus in the form of free casino cash or by providing them a bonus of free casino cash on their initial deposit.

Free Casino Cash allows you to play limited number of games. There are restrictions, as you cannot play all the games from the casino site. The reason is simple everything cannot be free to start with. Almost all no deposit sites have a wager times required before you can actually withdraw the funds you won.

It would be advisable to play with reputed casino sites that provide a safe and secure casino environment. Apart from the first deposit bonus of 100%, there are many online casinos that also offer 50% on your second deposit and 30% bonus on your third deposit.

Playing poker is a good way to waste time for most players, but there are many people who play to win and this can be addictive. Poker is a good entertainment source as long as it is just time pass, but it is dangerous to get addicted to gambling. Remember this before you decide to jump into the world of playing poker for cash.

Play poker on the internet for free and you can still receive that bonus. How? There are a number of websites, which endorse their gambling site by giving introductory offers such as online poker bonus or sign up bonus so that you can get access to their games and bet with real money, without paying anything. In theory, what they are doing is offering you the chance to play at their site without risking you money up front. Beware, however, that this ploy is very effective in getting you to deposit your own cash eventually.

Today, there are numerous websites promoting these free online poker games—but you will get the online poker bonus only for a limited period after registration, however they offer you lots of excitement while playing these poker games. To increase your fun, as well as their profits, they offer you the online poker bonus starting at around a few hundred dollars.

This is a ploy that is designed to get you to deposit your money into their bank account. If, however, you are comfortable with your poker skills and feel that you are indeed ready to play for money, why not use their bonus to get you started? You never know, the couple of hundred dollars that they give you may be turned into double that for your wallet.

THE PROCEDURE.
Take your online seat.

Wait for large blind(2 players pay large and small blind every hand to start pot) – you will be prompted,just click to pay)

Two cards will be shown to you,and no one else.

A round of betting will now take place by other players round the table.
If there has not been a “raise”(increase in your large blind stake you have already paid) then just “check”(it costs you nothing and you get to see next card for free).

If there has been a “raise”you can either go with them(“call”)and increase your stake or cut your losses and “fold” – We will show wether you should stay in or fold hands later.

Next the “flop” occurs – this is when 3 cards are dealt onto table,which everyone can see.

There is now another round of betting,and apply same procedure as in first round of betting.

Every player will now see another card dealt – the “turn” card.

There is now another round of betting,and apply same procedure as in first round of betting.

Every player will now see another card – the 5th and final card – the “river” card.

There is now another round of betting,and apply same procedure as in first round of betting.

The game is now finished – the player with the best hand wins the pot – less the poker house cut,the “rake”

Another game now begins,this time you will be prompted to pay the “small blind”-click to pay.After this game you will get a respite from paying to play,and will only pay again(unless you have good hand that you do want to play) when big blind rotates the table.

THESE ARE THE BEST HANDS IN RANK ORDER
1. Royal Flush
This is the highest poker hand. It consists of ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all in the same suit. As all suits are equal, all royal flushes are equal.
2. Straight Flush
Five cards of the same suit in sequence – such asJ-10-9-8-7. Between two straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is higher. An ace can be counted as low, so 5-4-3-2-A is a straight flush, but its top card is the five, not the ace, so it is the lowest type of straight flush.
3. Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank – such as four queens. The fifth card can be anything. This combination is sometimes known as “quads”, and in some parts of Europe it is called a “poker”, though this term for it is unknown in English. Between two fours of a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards is higher – so 3-3-3-3-A is beaten by 4-4-4-4-2. It can’t happen in standard poker, but if in some other game you need to compare two fours of a kind where the sets of four cards are of the same rank, then the one with the higher fifth card is better.
4. Full House
This consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank – for example three sevens and two tens (colloquially known as “sevens full” or more specifically “sevens on tens”). When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines which is higher. For example 9-9-9-4-4 beats 8-8-8-A-A. If the threes of a kind were equal, the rank of the pairs would decide.
5. Flush
Five cards of the same suit. When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is higher. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared; if those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on. For example K-J-9-3-2 beats K-J-7-6-5 because the nine beats the seven.
6. Straight
Five cards of mixed suits in sequence – for example Q-J-10-9-8. When comparing two sequences, the one with the higher ranking top card is better. Ace can count high or low in a straight, but not both at once, so A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are valid straights, but 2-A-K-Q-J is not. 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest kind of straight, the top card being the five.
7. Three of a Kind
When comparing two threes of a kind the hand in which the three equal cards are of higher rank is better. So for example 5-5-5-3-2 beats 4-4-4-K-Q. If you have to compare two threes of a kind where the sets of three are of equal rank, then the higher of the two remaining cards in each hand are compared, and if those are equal, the lower odd card is compared.
8. Two Pairs
A pair is two cards of equal rank. In a hand with two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks (otherwise you would have four of a kind), and there is an odd card to make the hand up to five cards. When comparing hands with two pairs, the hand with the highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards – so J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8 because the jacks beat the tens. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are compared, so that for example 8-8-6-6-3 beats 8-8-5-5-K. Finally, if both pairs are the same, the odd cards are compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 beats Q-Q-5-5-4.
9. Pair
A hand with two cards of equal rank and three other cards which do not match these or each other. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair is better – so for example 6-6-4-3-2 beats 5-5-A-K-Q. If the pairs are equal, compare the highest ranking odd cards from each hand; if these are equal compare the second highest odd card, and if these are equal too compare the lowest odd cards. So J-J-A-9-3 beats J-J-A-7-6 because the 9 beats the 7.
10. High Card
Five cards which do not form any of the combinations listed above. When comparing two such hands, the one with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal the second cards are compared; if they are equal too the third cards are compared, and so on. So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-5-4 because the jack beats the ten.

HANDS TO PLAY.
To stress again this is an introduction to limit poker,after time you will not stick to any strict guidlines,you get a feel for the game,there might be an idiot playing who you want to get involved with,it is your lucky day,and also you do not want to become too predictable.

But for now some guidlines may be useful.

Position is often portrayed as very important – it may be in no limit,but in limit not so important,if a hand is worth playing there is no need to be put off by an increase in stakes.If it is not a great hand,and you are early player(in other words you may get raised by later player)then fold,whereas if you are late player(fewer players have opportunity to raise you)then you might run with it.

Also you should always defend your big blind stake to at least one raise.One of the biggest pots i have ever won at limit poker was a situation where i was dragged unwillingly into a raising game holding a 6 – 2 unsuited,and you can’t get much worse than that.The flop threw down 3 sixes !.
Let the small blind go unless you have at least a half decent hand.

These are hands you must play,or raise even if raised previousley.
AA, KK, QQ,
A K, AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ,
A – anything suited

Include these hands to check,and call if raised.
QJ, 10 – 10, J – J
4 – 5 suited, 5 – 6 suited, etc……through to………….10 – J suited.

Include these hands to play and check(discard or play,depending on your,and the games circumstances)
Any pair
4 – 5 unsuited etc……….through to ………………..10 – J.

THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND.

Players bluff a lot.

Players bluff much more than you would imagine – if you hold at least a pair from flop,it may pay to see it through to the end.Particularly if 2 suited cards,or a possible straight was flopped,and now their straight can’t be made,and their flush busted.

Have rough idea of odds involved.

You can exhaust yourself,and make poker pretty hard work if you take the maths to extreme lengths,but a rough idea of the odds to draw is a must.
Just have in front of you the odds involved to make your hand.For these examples the river(last card)is to come,and below are the approximate odds.If,say for example,you have a pair of 3’s and know you need another 3 to win the pot,there are only 2 cards in the pack that can win it for you.The odds are 22/1,if the pot,plus what will be played this round is only paying you 10/1 you have to fold,if the pot has potential for paying 30/1 you have to play.

Odds below are for river card – last card only to come.
It is roughly half the odds given below for turn plus river card – last 2 cards still to come
2 cards wanted is app 22/1
3………………………….14/1
4………………………….11/1
5………………………. … 8/1
6………………………….. 7/1
7………………………….11/2
8………………………….. 5/1
9……………………………4/1
10 cards wanted just play!

Most players are now too aggresive.

Almost everyone has read the poker instruction books,and the recurring theme within those books is be agressive.Don’t be intimidated,when someone raises and reraises,if you have the hand,go with them,let them up the ante,wait and hit them late,particularly if the raiser does it all the time – the table will go with this player,but maybe fold if you raise.This is the reverse of popular tactics,but i have tried both,and at least you have the option of bailing out if it goes wrong,most players having raised agressively early feel they have to stay with it whatever they end up with,and try to bluff their way out of trouble.

Despite our inability to properly assess which poker action to take beforehand on many good or marginal poker hands, even beginner players can recognize some decisions to immediately fold bad cards regardless of the action that has happened before them. An example of this scenario would be getting dealt a hand like 8s-3c in middle position while playing a relatively tough limit Holdem game. Even before the cards are dealt most players will have a certain standard of hand needed to open the pot or be the first to limp in, and this hand usually falls below that standard. If any players are calling or raising in early position, then it becomes even more certain that it would be a mistake to play this hand. It seems that using the ‘check/fold’ button wouldn’t be much of a mistake when dealt some of these rag hands.

It’s interesting to note that making a tiny bet at a pot in online tournaments (normally not strategically correct) has now been turned into a tool to get the players using the ‘auto-fold’ button to toss their hands without possibility of a free miracle card. Players using the auto-check/fold feature consistently are in fact exposing themselves to a uniquely possible online poker tell, albeit a small one.

Many will argue that even if a rare strategic poker betting mistake was made by using these buttons, the higher number of hands dealt per hour more than compensates good players financially and helps all players in way of enjoyment of the game.

But, as time passes and the blinds increase, these smaller chips eventually are more bothersome than helpful. With blinds at $75 and $150, putting up fifteen $10 chips to pay a big blind is not convenient.

So, once a chip value is no longer needed to pay any of the remaining blinds on the schedule, those chips are removed from play. When possible, they are cashed in at face value for a higher denomination chip. But, someone is bound to have the odd chip or two, and that brings us to the question of how to remove those odd chips from play as well.

The first way to deal with this situation is to ignore it. It won’t go away, but those leftover $10 chips will only be put into play when a player is going all-in. At that time you can sort out any situations as they occur. Eventually one player will gather enough of the small chips to cash them in.

Or, you can race off the smallest chips of the smallest value. A chip race begins with the player in the dealer’s position. For each odd chip they have, they receive one card, face up. So, if the dealer has three odd chips, he will receive three cards face up.

This continues around the table until all the players have given their odd chips in exchange for cards.

At that point, the collected chips are totalled and a pile of the same value is made using the next higher chip denomination. So, if $100 worth of $10 was collected, $100 of the next highest chip value (perhaps $25’s) would be set aside to award in the race.

If the numbers do not match, they are rounded up. So, if $120 worth of $10 chips were collected, $125 worth of $25 chips would be awarded in the race.

Now, the awarding of the chips. The player with the highest card receives one chip. Then the player with the second highest card. And so on. Each player may only receive one chip, so once a player is awarded a chip in the race, all of his cards are taken from him.

It is important to note that a chip race cannot eliminate anyone from a tournament. If a player has only one small chip left when the race begins, that chip is traded in for a card as usual. Should he lose in the chip race, and additional chip of the new value is given to him so that he may keep his place in the tournament.

But it was Thorn’s trade that off-season that really turned things around. Thorn traded talented but selfish potential superstar Stephon Marbury for an older Jason Kidd. Kidd instantly energized the franchise, guaranteeing a winning record the year he joined the franchise. Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles, and Keith Van Horn immediately improved their game and Jefferson and Collins’ NBA initiation couldn’t have gone smoother with Jason Kidd leading the charge. The reenergized franchise made it to the NBA Finals in both 2002 and 2003, ultimately losing to more talented Western Conference foes (Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs).

Thorn made a couple of errors along the way in his quest to find a bona fide center. He traded Keith Van Horn for a miscast Dikeme Mutombo, who never fit in with the Nets running style, and then signed Alonzo Mourning to a terrible 4-year, 20-million-dollar contract only to see him miss most of the season due to his kidney ailment. However, the Nets look like they have finally found their center in Nenad Krstic whom they drafted in 2002 and stashed in Europe for a couple of years to develop his game. Krstic has become an offensive force for the current Nets, averaging 13.5 points per game on a better than 50% FG percentage.

At present are found only Tombola bingo games which means that they are not otherwise part.The bingo games can be found but only imitations Raffle.

The raffle around £ 3 million to win every week by players means that there are thousands of winners every day.

Online bingo site has a fantastic game Free which offers a chance to win £ 20,000 every week. But to take part in these games should be free by a sum in the account that you played it.