World Cup 2010 Betting Tips

July 2, 2010

On the 11th of June the FIFA World Cup 2010 tournament kicked off in our back yard and has been the centre of attention not only for South Africans but for the world of sports. Home grown Bafana Bafana did our country proud despite not advancing to the next stage and there have been many upsets (like England being crushed by Germany 4-1) and in the last weeks now turn our attention to the final games and who will ultimately take home the glory and the cup and many are placing their bets on their favourites.

If you’ve never placed a sports bet before it may seem intimidating due to the sheer number of betting options available but it’s really quite simple. While some people don’t really care about losing their wagers too much and just “Go with their gut” which is great and can be fun, we at Amuse.co.za prefer to take a bit more of a strategic approach and calculated risk mixed in with that “gut feeling”.

Whatever angle you decide to take, our team has put together a few pointers to help you get things right:

  • Set aside a “betting budget” and stick to it… don’t get caught up the dream and keep going when you’ve depleted that fund.
  • Remember history: only 7 countries have ever won the World Cup, only 2 countries have ever retained it: Italy and Brazil and no team has retained it since 1962 and finally, only Brazil has ever won a World Cup outside their own continent. That said a “Dark horse” almost never wins.
  • Do your homework: find out as much as you can about the various teams and their players, make sure you keep track of which players they will be fielding and who is out due to yellow and red cards. Looking at previous games and their scores will help you to determine their chances. The more you know the more objective you can be.
  • Start out slowly: If you’ve never placed a bet before, start with a single bet because a small profit is better than any loss. Treat your first bet as a learning experience, learn how bets and odds work and enjoy it no matter what.
  • The earlier you bet the better odds you get (like betting on the outright winner now). Odds change regularly and the closer one comes to the match the worse the odds get. For example, in the last 48 hours major sportsbooks have clipped Brazil’s odds ahead of their highly anticipated World Cup Quarter Final match up against the Netherlands, making Brazil the firm favourites at 1.9 while the Netherlands odds trade at 4.5.
  • Long shots payout highly for a reason: They are long shots and don’t often win…not to say that they don’t ever win, but more often than not they don’t.
  • You can cover both the favourites Brazil and Spain and minimise your losses when you bet online with the free bet feature offered by some books. This enables you to place an initial bet on Brazil and then a free bet on Spain.
  • Beware of “hot tips”, especially if you have to pay for them. This is a time for fraudsters and cons, so never pay for advice.

Do you feel you know who will lift the trophy next Sunday! Why not place a bet at TitanBet.

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Online Baccarat Course

February 1, 2010

Most casino portals tell you how to play specific casino games, if you’re a beginner. But what if you’re not a novice? Amuse caters to everyone from beginner to intermediate to advanced players. In this section, we will give our sound advice on the best way to play Baccarat to our intermediate Players. If you know the rules but didn’t play the game that often, then these Baccarat tips are a must read.

You should strongly consider these pointers before or during your Baccarat game:

  • Because Baccarat is a high limit game, you should prepare yourself with a bankroll of around $20 to $50.
  • Place single unit bets up to your first 30 hands.
  • If you can avoid it, stay away from Tie Bets at all costs.
  • If the commission is below 5%, bet with the house. However, if it is above 5%, bet on the Player.

Formerly Baccarat was known to be a game for the rich and famous. Now, thanks to software providers like Microgaming, just about anyone can reap the rewards of this exciting game. The object is to draw 2 or 3 cards maximum and try to get a total of 9 or as close to 9 as possible. Cards 2-9 have a total based on their face value. Aces total 1. Face cards have a total of 0. If your total exceeds 10, after you have selected your cards, the 10 is dropped and the remaining value is calculated. For instance, if you drew cards 7 and 9, your total would be 15. But, since you must drop the 10, your total now becomes (15 - 10 = 5) 5.

Practice a few hands of Baccarat and brush up on your Baccarat bets.

There is no bust in the game of Baccarat. Both the Player and the Bank are dealt 2 initial cards. If the Player has a total of 5 or less, he/she must draw another card. If the Player has a total of 6 or 7, he/she must stand. If the Player and the Bank both have 8 or 9, they each stand. If the Bank has 5 or less, he will draw another card, except in instances where the Player drew and his total value was 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, or 0. If the Bank has a total of 0, 1, or 2, he must draw. If the Bank has a total of 3, he must draw another card, unless the Player drew and his/her total value is 8. If the Bank has a total of 4, he must draw again, except in cases where the player drew and the value of the card was an 8, 9, or 10. If the Bank has a total of 6, he will stand, except when the Player draws and the value of the card was a 6 or 7.

There are 3 betting options in Baccarat - betting on the Player, the Banker, or betting on a Tie. The Player bet carries a house edge of 1.24%. The Banker bet carries a house edge of 1.06%. The Tie bet can carry a house edge of 5% all the way up to 14%. As you can see, the Banker bet is definitely the better option for the serious Baccarat player.

Ready to play a real Baccarat game?

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Beware of max. payouts

July 21, 2009

There are a few things that are so attractive as Jackpots and large amounts of even progressive jackpots. We all would like to be on the winning side of this one. Many online casinos have progressive jackpots on various games, and are not only limited to only slots or roulette.

Amounts that are paid out are different from casino to casino. There is in some cases a cap on daily and weekly withdrawals. This is to say, if your winnings are higher than the limit allowed, it will pay out over a few weeks. Most of these regulations apply with Playtech and RTG (Real Time Gaming).  For instance: Joyland Casino has a cap of $9000 per month. Should you win $12 000, you will receive it over a period of 2 months. The same rule does not always apply as in the case of Microgaming software. Ensure you have read the casinos terms and conditions.

And this goes for registration, as well as cash-outs. It will appear in the casino’s term and conditions. Should your winnings fall in line with terms and conditions, you should not encounter a problem.  We normally read the T&C only upon winning, and then are very sad when we can’t cash out all our winnings. It’s important for you, the player, to understand how the casino operates and software in use by a particular casino. Various versions of software are in existence and the operator modifies to fit in with their T&C.

We aim to advise you before registering at a casino to read and familiarise yourself with these T&C, not because we want to prescribed to you, but because we want to illuminate disappointment. And why do you think you neglect to understand this concept? Well, it is that we don’t think that winning the jackpot “will happen to me”.  On the other hand, many reports did come through that winnings are paid out within days of winning the Jackpots with Microgaming. Make sure the casino is legit and the software can allow payouts and fall within the T&C. See here!

Casinos are regulated by licensed agreements.  Make sure the casino is not black listed before you part with your hard earned cash. Don’t be fooled by big payouts and bonuses till you are sure. Here at www.amuse.co.za, we do the research on casinos and software for you to be sure that what we suggest is factual, and casinos you can trust and credible in both the info and referrals. Casinos we have tested are: EuroGrand, 32Vegas Casino, Spin Palace,  Europa Casino and many more.

So, never think it cannot happen to you! It can and will. When it does, be aware off the pitfalls.

We at AMUSE aim to please!

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