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The 3 Biggest Poker Tournaments in 2018

During the last decade, there has been a substantial increase in the number of poker tournaments taking place all over the world.  These events provide an amazing chance to travel along with a possibility to compete against some worthy opponents.  All of the poker tournaments provide their own unique experience, but there are few which stand out from the whole list.

Events like World Series of Poker and European Poker Tour have always attracted lots of participants who want to compete against the top notch poker players of the world.  On the other hand online poker tournaments such as Sunday Million, Turbo Championship of Online Poker and World Championship of Online Poker are designed for the people who want to participate in the biggest poker tournaments but from the safety of their own homes.

Even though World Series of Poker is already over, there are still some big tournaments scheduled for the remaining year that can provide you with a chance to win big and enjoy holidays at an exotic location. The three biggest poker tournaments for 2018 include the following.

Eurasian Poker Tour (EAPT) – Altai

Eurasian Poker Tour- Altai had already started on August 24, 2019 and is taking place at Altai Palace, Altai, Russia.  This poker tournament provides the participants with a chance to win 12,000,000 RUB along with enjoying the scenic beauty of the Siberia.  The main event started with Russian Poker Championship with a buy in of 250+25.  The main events will start from August 29, 2018 with Step Main Event to Day 1 A (Re-Entry) with a buy-in of 110+10.  The High Roller, (Re-Entry) Final Day is the last event of this tournament and it is to start from September 2, 2018 with a buy in of 1000+100.

European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona Casino Barcelona, Barcelona, ESP

The EPT Barcelona is scheduled for August 21 to September 2, 2018.  The participants are provided with a chance to win 10 Platinum Pass Packages for No Limit Hold’em championship sponsored by PokerStars.  The main events of this tournament comprises of the following

  • EPT National with a buy in of €1,100
  • Super High Roller of the EPT with a buy in of €100, 000
  • EPT Main Event with a buy in of €5,300
  • High Roller of the EPT with a buy in of €10,300

European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague Hilton Prague Hotel, Prague, CZE

European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague is to start from December 7, 2018 and will end on December 18, 2018.  This tournament provides its participants a chance to win a Platinum Pass worth $30,000 for No Limit Hold’em Championship sponsored by PokerStars.  Apart from providing a chance to compete against top notch poker players, this tournament also provides fun activities, player parties, free merchandise along with free breakfast and a hefty discount of thirty percent on beverages.  The main events of this tournament include the following.

  • EPT National with the buy in of €1,100
  • EPT Super High Roller with the buy in of €50,000
  • EPT Main Event with the buy in of €5,300
  • EPT High Roller with the buy in of €10,300

The exact schedule for this tournament is still awaited.  You can check time to time for any update made on this site.

History of Poker

Before the advent of different types of poker variants which we have today, there was only one classic form of poker.  As far as has the history of Poker is concerned there are many views regarding its origin.  The only thing which seems feasible is that Poker may have evolved in the last ten centuries from different types of card and domino games.  The central motive of these games was to make a bluff or deceive the other participants.  The one thing which is quite sure and relates to the history of poker is the fact that this game came into existence after first deck of card appeared in thirteenth century.

There are recorded historical evidences which clearly indicate that card games existed in the thirteenth century. The most prominent one is the documents from a Swiss monk.  In his memoirs he had mentioned a card game being played by using a deck of fifty two cards.  He even recorded that the value of cards ranged from one to ten.  So going by this substantiation we can say that poker may have evolved in the late thirteenth or in the beginning of the fourteenth century.

Chinese Impact on History of Poker

The proponents of poker being a Chinese game usually believe that this game was first played in year 969 A.D.  According to them this game was first played between a Chinese emperor and his wife on a new year’s eve.  The only thing which does not meet with this theory is the fact that Chinese deck of card at that time did not have fifty two cards.  There is no doubt that Chinese invented playing cards and they were playing card games in the late ninth century but they invented poker seems to be very far fetched.

Egyptian Impact on History of Poker

Egyptian gentry of twelfth and thirteenth century were known to play card games. So does the Persians in the sixteenth century.  Persians used 96 card deck to play what they call “Ganjifa” which was a sort of betting game.  They were also known to play a game called “As Nas” which was played by using 25 cards.  This game like poker also used several rounds of betting and hand rankings.

French and German Connection with History of Poker

French and German people were playing games like Poque and Pochen respectively in seventeenth century.  The most interesting thing is that these two games were derived from a Spanish card game known as “Primero”!  This game involved dealing of three cards to each player and game play consisted of bluffing and betting, the two salient features of modern day poker.  French modernized this game to “Poque” and it became their national card game.  The French pioneers when reached the shores of America they shared this game with the local population thus sowing the seeds of the modern day’s poker variants.

There can be many other claims to the origin of poker and its history but one thing is sure that popularity of this game is touching new heights with each passing year.  With the availability of wealth of information on internet there is now a growing trend of people learning and participating in this game.  With online casinos and poker sites players can now indulge in their favorite poker variant at any time of the day or night without getting out from the safety of their own home.

How to Play 3 Card Poker

The 3 card poker can be classified as casino table game rather than one of the variants of the classic poker.  As compared to the other types of poker games this form of poker is more profitable to the player.  3 card poker was developed by Derek Webb in 1994 in order to amalgamate the excitement related to the poker to speed required for a casino table game.  The rules of this game are quite simple and payouts can be large enough depending upon the betting done by the player himself.   As per the data collected regarding the wins generated by the player in comparison to the casino, this game comes out to be heavily on the side of the player.

Game Play of 3 Card Poker

The main reason behind the rising popularity of 3 card poker can be attributed to the fact that it is not only easy to play but comes with the required fun quotient.  The objective of the game is to generate the best poker hand from only three cards dealt to the player.  The game starts with a player making an ante wager along with/or pair plus wager, betting on the outcome that there will be a hand of at least a pair or better than that.  Three cards are dealt face down for the player and for himself by the dealer.  The player can check his cards but cannot check dealer’s cards.  By taking a look into his cards, the player takes a decision whether to pit his cards against that of the dealer or not.  The outcomes related to the action taken by the player can result in following ways.

  • If the player opts to fold is hand, the ante wager and if there is pair plus wager goes to the dealer.
  • If the player places the play wager, the cards get turned to determine whether the player’s hand is stronger than that of the dealer.
  • If the dealer’s hand is lower than the jack high the player is awarded with the play wager.
  • If the dealer comes with queen high or better which is higher than the player’s hand, the dealer gets paid.
  • If the player’s hand is stronger than that of the dealer, the player wins.
  • If there is a tie, then both ante and play bets gets split.
  • If the player’s hand is straight or better, he or she is rewarded with ante bonus regardless of the quality of the dealer’s hand.

How to Play 3 Card Poker Online

There are many online casino and gaming sites which are currently providing 3 card poker to their clients.  If you want to play this game online then you can get membership of any of these online gambling sites and you are ready to rock and roll.  While opting for any of the online casinos always go for the one which provides the best bonus offers.  There are some casinos which are providing free slot games or hundreds of Pounds as additional bonuses.   Before joining an online casino, you must check whether it is authorised by your local gambling authorities or commissions or not.

Responsible Gambling

All of the gambling site operators, gaming software providers and the associated service providers are required to provide some basic standards which adhere to responsible gambling.  It is a concept which ensures that all the online casinos and gaming sites provide fair gaming experience to their clients.  It also requires protection for vulnerable players.  Responsible gambling also ensures that the gaming site providers make certain that the players are safe from the adverse impacts of online gambling.

Majority of the codes and rules associated with responsible gambling are quite similar for online as well as land based casinos.  These guidelines make sure that all the gambling facilities are provided in a responsible way while covering the following conditions for the players.

  • Protection of vulnerable players.
  • Prevention of underage gambling.
  • Protection against frauds and cyber offenses.
  • Protection of personal data of customers.
  • Prompt and accurate payments.
  • Ethical advertisement and responsible marketing.
  • Clean and fair gaming environment.

Protection of Vulnerable Players

This is probably the most important area in association with responsible gambling.  This deals with protection of vulnerable players from becoming addicted to online gambling.  Making sure that a player is participating in gambling activities for entertainment purposes only also helps in ensuring socioeconomic welfare of that particular person.  The programs sponsored by gambling industry to help such players include

  • Self exclusion programs.
  • Limits on time and money spent on the site.

Prevention of Underage Gambling

This aspect of responsible gambling ensures that only persons of legal age can participate in online gambling.  The legal age for a person varies from country to country.  It is the duty of the online site to make sure that none of the minors can participate in any type of gambling.  Online operators follow certain steps during the registration process to ensure that the applicant is not a minor.

Protection against Frauds and Cyber Offenses

As common with all online sites, online casinos and gaming sites are also vulnerable to cyber attacks.  These attacks takes place for  stealing personal as well as commercial and financial data of the players.  Online hackers organize such attacks by using malicious software which attacks the vulnerable files of the online sites.  In order to protect the personal data of the players and discourage cyber frauds, majority of the online casinos use different types of firewall programs. There are also some software programs in use by such casinos for detecting money laundering activities.

Prompt and Accurate Payments

Online gambling operators must ensure that all the financial transactions to and from their customer’s account take place in orderly and formal  process with proper documentation.  This ensures the accurate and prompt payments to the players.  In order to do so, all of the online casinos keep their customers’ fund segregated from their own. This ensures sufficient liquidity for paying out all the wins and outstanding balances of their clients.

Ethical Advertisement and Responsible Marketing

Online gambling sites should follow advertising regulations and codes of practice as per the law of the host country.  Majority of the countries ensures that the online gaming sites do not target underage or vulnerable players.  It is also expected from online gaming operators that they provide clean and fair gaming environment to their clients.  Responsible marketing also requires that the permission of a client should be taken before making any direct marketing calls. Permission of the clients should  also be sought before using their personal data in any way.

Video Poker Rules and Game Play

Video poker was introduced in the late 70s to provide a new form of gambling opportunity for the poker players.

This game was designed to cater those players who want to play a game that involves skill; has comparatively lower house edge and capacity to provide big wins.

The other thing that video poker provided to its players is the ability to play alone. The same way you sit and play froutakia (this means slots in Greek, I m just showing off the fact that I know how to say a few gambling words in different languages) you can sit down and play video poker online or at a machine at your local casino

This not only provided the desired anonymity to the player but also increased the number of games which can be played in a measured period of time.

Video poker might not be a different type of poker game but its still a popular choice for players.

In contrast to the slot games, video poker provides its players with a chance to make certain choices which can have an impact on the outcome of the game.

This means that players are provided with a control over the hands they like to or desist to play.  There are many variants of video poker currently available in land based as well as online poker/casino sites.   Some of the most popular variants include the following.

  • Jacks or Better
  • Deuces Wild
  • Joker’s Wild

These are three different variants of video poker but follow somewhat same set of principles for their functioning.

Basic Rules for Video Poker Variants

Some of the basic principles or rules which guide majority of the video poker variants include the following.

  • In all these variants standard poker hands are used to determine the win.
  • Five starting cards are dealt to the player.
  • A player can keep or discard any or all of the dealt cards.
  • All discarded cards are replaced with a random draw.
  • If the remaining hand of the player matches any of the qualifying hands, a corresponding winning amount is provided to the player.

Game Play of the Video Poker

Once you have opted for a variant of game you can straight away start playing.  The game play starts with the player being dealt with five cards randomly as provided by the gaming software.   You can opt to keep or discard some or all of these cards by tapping buttons provided on the screen.

After discarding the unwanted cards you can hit the “Draw” button which will provide the replacements for the discarded cards.

Once the final cards are dealt then you can claim a win if they are in the sequence of traditional poker hands such as flush, two pair, straight and so on.  The size of wins depends on the pay table and the amount of bet opted by the player.

Learning How to Play Video Poker

Each of the video poker variant comes with its own pay-table and sets of rules.  For example the strategy of the Deuces Wild will be totally different from Jacks or Better.

Even the same variant on different machines can have different pay-tables and playing strategies, so it depends upon a player what type of game he or she wants to play.  Learning all of these variants can be quite tiresome, so it is recommended that you should start with the game which suits your taste and gaming style.  There are many online sites which provide free video poker games.

You can play these games to hone your skills and once you are quite sure of your gaming potential only then opt to play with the real money.

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