A study of the impact the current global economic crisis is having on the gambling industry was recently conducted by the UK office of PricewaterhouseCoopers Int’l Ltd.

While gambling blogosphere junkies expressed shock at the results, what I was more shocked by is the fact that people were shocked.

What were those results? In short, games like bingo, slots and lotteries have been almost unaffected. In fact, there’s been an upturn in the online play of all three. High stakes games, on the other hand, have taken a serious hit. Poker, Craps and Roulette tables are experiencing record low attendance, both online and on land.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

First of all, Bingo is a near sport for some. My Sister-in-Law, for example, plays so many online bingo cards at once she’s developed a condition I like to call Frown Syndrome. Its symptoms are mild and reversible with treatment and/or botox (the latter for the deep vertical grooves that have formed between her eyes on account of squinting 18 hours a day to clearly read the 36 bingo cards spread across her desktop). In any case, the point is that the game is popular and an economic recession won’t change that.

Secondly, Lotteries and Slots are Hope Games, upon which people who are nearly hopeless bestow their remaining shreds of hope. Naturally, in times of crisis, as the number of people losing hope increases, so too does participation in activities whose “hope factor” remains high.

Sure, maybe only 1 in a bazillion people wins that million dollar prize. But it could be you. And that, of course, is way more likely than the when-hell-freezes-over odds on the bank stopping your home’s foreclosure, your boss giving you back your job, and your credit card collections agent calling it even.

And finally, with regard to high stakes poker and table games like Roulette and Craps… Think about it. Who plays those games? I know I’ve never seen a guy with a tool belt escorted to the VIP room, or an off duty parking attendant sitting behind the velvet rope. The “classy” section of the casino is reserved for movie stars, international oil magnates and businessman, and while the movie star might not feel the heat of a global economy in flames, the latter two most definitely do. Hence the drop off in high stake game participation.

All will even out once we’re all back on our feet. Until then, it’s nice to know that the high-rollers have to play with $50,000 versus $5 million dollar chips while the rest of us hang on for our financial lives.

While some gambling industry outsiders believe that casino gambling inevitably leads to bad habits and even an addiction, casino play aficionados would counter such a notion. Indeed, people who happen to enjoy gaming entertainment every once in a while do not automatically become casino addicts. And, unless you have an addictive personality, gambling in casinos might prove as a positive experience of a lifetime!

Today’s casinos, whether online or land-based, sure have a lot to offer their patrons. Apart from an exceptionally rich variety of games, including Roulette, Blackjack and poker, modern gaming establishments also provide incredibly generous promotional offers targeted at new as well as existing casino members. With a little bit of help from Lady Luck people frequently nab highly attractive casino prizes.

Additionally, respected casinos have long since established a highly restrictive policy of conduct when it comes to problem gamblers. For instance, many casinos would deny entrance to people exhibiting addicted behavior at the casino table. Some casinos would also notify organizations, such as Gamblers Anonymous, to let them know that a certain person needs immediate help to control their gambling habits.

All in all, whether you gamble over the Internet or in a nearby B&M casino, you are in for a great adventure! In this day and age of fierce competition for patrons, casinos seek to provide players with highly lucrative perks and incentives. As long as you maintain in control of the funds you spend in a casino, there is nothing to fear!

In my opinion, it is very difficult to successful at the American game of Roulette because of the fact that every bet you make places you at a disadvantage. The advantage is to the house, since there are 37 numbers, while the payoff is only 35:1. Sure, if you scatter the board recklessly with plays on numbers without any rationale for the betting sequence, you’re bound to win on a number or two. However, you’ll be losing each and every hand that you play because of the fact that you’re betting against yourself. If you bet $5 on the #36 and it comes up, you win 5x $35 which equals $175. But, if you scatter bets all over the Roulette board, you need to subtract those losses from your winnings. So, instead of winning at 35-1 odds, you win was only at 17-1 odds at most.

The American version has an extra space on its wheel which further reduces your odds for success. I play and win on the game of American roulette by betting two numbers straight and a column bet on each role. My hunches have been working quite well.

Has your last second betting cost you a nice payday? If you think about it, many of your last second bets are bets against yourself. Think about this. If you are betting $3 on #3, you would expect to get $105 back in return. If your last second bets are placed on eight other numbers at $2 each and scatter other bets on the board, including three, four and five number bets, you are eating into your profits on a nice win. Instead of winning $105, you need to subtract the losses from your last second bets.

Has this ever happened to you? Drop me a line and let me know your thoughts on this matter. Check out www.onlineplayersassociation.co.uk/ for the best in online casino ratings and for the best Roulette sites on the Web.

For example, the posted information might inform you that at a particular table there is a minimum bet on the inside (numbered spaces) of $2, and a $1 minimum on outside bets (colors, even/odd, columns and dozen betting). The new player will sometimes inadvertently click onto a table where the minimum exceeds his budget, but he will play anyway because he feels uneasy admitting that he can’t afford to play at that venue.

It is imperative that the new player acquire some skills at the game before venturing into the play for profit area. I advise you to log onto www.playersassociation.com for information on the best websites in order to learn the game.

The basic rules of the game of Roulette are the same in both the casino parlors on land and sea, as well as the online casino gambling websites on the Internet. There is a dealer in the land casino, and there is a site operator online who likes to be called a dealer. The reason for that is a financial one. The betting public shows it appreciation for dealers through the accepted process known as tipping. In the casinos, the bettors tip the dealers, if warranted, by giving them chips which are the equivalent of cash. In the online casino parlors, the bettors tip by making a deduction from their account for the operator/dealer. While the dealers hope that the casino benefits from the play of the patrons, they are aware that the size of their tip is often determined by the success that the player had at the particular Roulette wheel.

The game consists of a wheel that has 36 numbers labeled in spaces of equal size with an additional space added for good measure. In America, there are two spaces marked zero and double zero; in Europe, there is just one space marked zero. The dealer spins the wheel and rolls a small ball in the direction opposite the rotation of the wheel. When the wheel comes to a stop, the ball also stops in one of the numbered spaces. The winner of the game is the person who bet correctly on the numbered space. Simple? Well, sort of. However, there’s no reason to make the game of Roulette more complicated than it is. Bettors select a numbered space, actually, as many as they wish, and win money in proportion to the bet they placed on the numbered space.

I wholeheartedly encourage all new bettors to go online and take advantage of the casino free games and play Roulette for free before venturing into the real part of town, the online casino gambling parlor.

I can relate to this problem because this used to be an issue for me.  Suppose, for example, that you enter the online casino tonight and click on to one of my favorite stations in the casino, the Roulette wheel.  Suppose that you have a plan before you start to play.  Your plan includes betting on the numbers in the last third of the board.  These numbers range from 25-36.  Your plan is to bet on every third number in that grouping, and then moving up one number on each following bet.  Your first set of bets is on these numbers: 25, 28, 31 and 34.  The bets for your second game are: 26, 29, 32 and 35.  You lose the first two games but you stay with your system.

By the fifth game, your system is costing you money.  What should you do?  Would you stay with your system and ride out the losses, or should you abandon the system before you end up in the poor house?  If I had to do it over, I would stop using my system and get away from the computer for a while.  Perhaps, you could visit another site and play some free games for a while.  What would you do in this situation? Try visiting www.onlineplayersassociation.co.uk/ to get a listing of the best online casinos and their free play offerings.

My advice is that you must give your hunch numbers time enough to materialize at the Roulette wheel.  I can’t begin to tell you how many times I ignored the sign of a significant number during the course of a day, and neglected to play it that evening online in the Roulette room of my favorite casino website.  There are signs, ladies and gentlemen, that we just can’t ignore.

For example, let’s say that an old friend calls you on your phone and says that he’ll be in town on the 26th and wants to have lunch with you.  Well, what would prohibit you from visiting your best online casino that evening and engaging in a game of Roulette by betting on the number 26 for 5 consecutive plays?

This is precisely what I am talking about!  Be true to hunches and your hunches will be true to you!  What do you think?