Jim Wagner

Have you ever asked yourself, how do sportsbooks make money? Legal sports betting in sportsbooks is not even 100 years old. The first Vegas casino to accept bets on pro sports and horse racing only did so in 1949. That’s recent enough that it occurred during my dad’s lifetime. That’s also almost a half-century after gambling came to Nevada. It’s strange to think of it, but I suppose the sportsbook is a modern invention, more contemporary than the slot machine or the roulette wheel. For Read more [...]

If you want to know how to make money sports betting, you start by understanding a couple of things. The first is that betting on sports is not either of the things the average person believes it to be. It isn’t a scam perpetrated by organized crime that rips off customers and influences professional sports. But it’s not an easy way to get rich quick, either. People who make money sports betting do it through a combination of experience, research, line shopping, intuition, and luck. Few Read more [...]

Gambling law in the United States has undergone a transformation in the first two decades of the second millennium. This has a big effect on the answer to the question, is offshore gambling legal. A timeline of American gaming law would be quite crowded starting in the early 90s. The question of legal gambling in America is riddled with difficulties. Not only do bettors have to contend with multiple layers of regulations - federal law, state law, local laws, not to mention several layers of Read more [...]

This post features blackjack games to avoid (and why). Blackjack basic strategy gives players the best chance of beating the house. The average return-to-player, under ideal game conditions, is close to 100%. It’s easy to play at a close-to-break-even point. You could take my grandmother to Vegas, stick a strategy card in her hand, give her $1,000, and she might walk away with a profit. It took casinos approximately fifteen nanoseconds to figure out that they can make tiny changes to games Read more [...]

Video poker is the best casino game. I get some flak from my gambling buddies about my affinity for video poker. That means I spend a decent amount of time defending the game from some pretty serious blackjack and poker players. Is it a little discouraging? I guess so. But it’s also led me to really think about my favorite game as I defended it from guys who regularly played for hundreds of dollars a hand. Over the year, I’ve come up with 7 solid reasons that video poker outclasses Read more [...]

I give a lot of Vegas advice, including advice about progressive bets. I’m the degenerate gambler in the group, the guy with the most casino experience, and I talk about games of chance often enough that when someone plans a weekend getaway to Sin City, I’m the guy they come to. I act like it bothers me a little, but to be honest, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Giving some advice recently, I found myself on a tangent about progressive bets. That got me thinking about how much progressives Read more [...]

The title of this post is test your skills at video poker.  But it would be equally useful to discuss qualities and personality traits. Both are vital to long-term success in video poker. And devoted video poker gamblers should develop or master as many of these as possible. Once you've mastered them, you’ll find the house edge dropping and your overall win rate rising. This test your skills at video poker post has been completely updated for 2021. 1- Memorization of Video Poker Read more [...]

Caribbean Stud is a popular casino table game based on simple poker rules. Learning how to play (and win) Caribbean Stud means learning the rules, the odds, and a few simple strategy tips. What Is Caribbean Stud? Caribbean Stud borrows the rules of five-card stud poker and applies them to a Vegas-style gaming table. In Caribbean Stud, each player at the table competes only against the dealer, like in blackjack. Besides the availability of some unique side bets, Caribbean Stud follows traditional Read more [...]

In today’s post, I’m going to explain everything you need to know about gambling in Cancun, Mexico. In fact: There's a lot to cover when it comes to casino gambling, poker, and sports betting in Cancun. Let's dive right in. Are There Casinos in Cancun? Can You Gamble in Cancun? You CAN gamble in Cancun. There ARE casinos and resorts there, too. In fact, you can get action at 7 different casinos in Cancun: Caliente Sportsbook and Casino Casino Palace Cancun Dubai Palace Read more [...]

I have always enjoyed the camaraderie that comes from playing blackjack at a table full of competent players. Does that mean I enjoy spending time in land-based casinos?   For many years, that was certainly the case. After all, land-based casinos were the only place I could get that kind of action. In recent years, I have been spending more time playing casino games online. I enjoy having the ability to play blackjack or craps for real cash while passing time at home or sitting in my local Read more [...]