The Team Championship of Poker is due to start on Thursday 20th of August lasting all the way to Sunday 23rd of August taking place at the City West Hotel in Co.Dublin.
Jp McCann who recently spoke to Irish Poker Radio had this to say:
“We’ve had a good uptake on the event in the last week or two. At the moment we have close to 40 teams registered or showing interest in the event, so we’re hoping to get 60 Teams”.
“It’s €250 a man with teams of six, so it’s €1,500 per team and not going to break anyone’s bankroll”.
Ah, Perfect Pairs, Such a great version of BlackJack.
The rules
- Played with 2 regular decks. - Dealer must stand on 17. - No peek. - Double down on hard 9, 10, 11. - Split once to make 2 hands. - Multiple cards to split aces. - A split ace and a 10 counts as 21 and not Blackjack. - Cannot split unlike ten values cards.
Whats a Perfect Pair? (in the none dirty sense)
Perfect pairs is a side bet that you place along with your regular bet. It pays out if you get dealt a pair of the same value cards. Eg, a pair of 7's. How much you get paid depends on what suit, colour or identical pairs that comes out. Ladbrokes.com have a minimum of a 1 euro bet in the perfect pairs box.
How much do I get?
A mixed coloured pair bet pays out 7 to 1. Example, 3 of hearts and 3 of spades. A bet of 5 euro would pay out 35 euro.
A coloured pair pays out 15 to 1. Example, 6 of hearts and 6 of diamonds. A bet of 5 euro would pay out 75 euro.
A perfect pair pays out a whopping 30 to 1. Example, 9 of hearts and 9 of hearts. A 5 euro bet would pay out 150 euro.
Note, In Casinos the odds are varied. Most Casinos here in Ireland offer a maximum of 25-1 on perfect pairs. Each Casino is different of course, but ladbrokes.com offer the best odds.
Is it a good thing?
It depends on how lucky you are. You can go 30 hands of Blackjack and not get any form of Perfect Pairs. Imagine you put down 5 euro each hand? Thats 150 you would of lost.
Strategy!?
In all forms of Blackjack there is strategy and this is the same when playing the Perfect Pairs side game. The odds of getting a perfect pair playing one hand is not that good. It is of course increased when playing 5 hands at once (something that I find the best) Also how much you place on Perfect Pairs each hand has to be reflective to how much you bet on the table. For example, you play one hand and you bet 10 euro in the regular betting box and another 10 euro on Perfect Pairs. The odds of you getting a perfect pairs are slim and even if you are lucky to win your hand. You have only won 20 which is what you put on the table to begin with. You should always be reflective of your actual bet with what you put in the perfect pairs box. For example, if you are betting 10 euro a hand, you should bet no more than 5 euro in the perfect pairs box. Again, this is preference. But this is what I find the best.
Pros
- Perfect Pairs can be a fun version of Blackjack - a nice way to win off getting dealt pairs.
Cons
- Just be wary of how much you put down. it can also be an easy quick way to lose your bankroll.
score: 9/10
click on the youtube link below to see it in action:
Welcome to the first review of Ladbrokes.com online casino section. They have dozens of table games today and first off I shall review their "European Blackjack" more commonly found over here.
Game Rules! - Played with 2 regular decks. - Dealer must stand on all 17 - No peek - Double down on hard 9, 10 and 11. - Split once to make two hands. - Multiple cards to split aces. - A spilt ace and a 10 counts as 21 and not blackjack. - can not spilt unlike 10 value cards. - Blackjack pays 3 to 2. - Insurance plays 2 to 1.
- Maximum bet is 500 euro - Minimum bet is 1 euro
Pros and Cons
Pros
- If you split aces you can get more than one card. Most versions of Blackjack only allow you to take one hit on each ace that you split. I like this option as not always does a ten value card come out.
- you can bet up to five hands at once. Something of standard in most versions of Blackjack but some versions only allow one. So 5 is a nice option if you wish to do so.
- Nice, Smooth graphical layout (as all ladbrokes.com games are) thanks to the guys over at Microgaming.
Cons
- One thing I don't particularly like is you cant "split again" on cards. For example, say the dealer draws a 3 and you get dealt a pair of 6's and decide you want to split, what if another 6 came up? in most versions you can split again to make three hands. In european blackjack that would just be classed as 12.
- No surrender option.
Whats the verdict?
I like European Version of blackjack. Its simple and nice to play with. I'd give it 7/10.
Click play on the youtube video below to see European Blackjack in action
Here is a schedule for The Sporting Emporium's Texas Hold'em Tournament Nights.
Monday 50 euro + 5 euro Double Chance Freezeout. Starting Stack is 3,500 + 3,500. clock is 20/25 minutes.
Tuesday Satellite and Promotions Night. Check the website for details ( www.thesportingemporium.com )
Wednesday 60 euro + 10 euro + 5 euro Scalp Tournament. Starting pack : 7,000. Clock is 20/30 minutes. Players will recieve a 10euro bounty for every opponent they knock out of the Tournament.
Thursday 50 euro + 5 euro Double Chance Freezeout. 1,5000 Guranteed prize pool. Starting pack: 3,000 + 3,000. Clock is 20/25 minutes. Players will recieve half their chips at the start of play and may call for the remaining chips at any time in the first 80 minutes. Note, the 2nd Thursday of the month: 100euro + 10euro Double Chance Freezeout.
Friday 40 euro + 5 euro - 1 x 40 euro rebuy or top-up. Starting stack iss 3,500. Rebuy /Top-up is 4,500 and the clock is 50/25 minutes.
Saturday 70 euro + 5 euro freezeout. Starting stack is 8,000. The clock will increase by 2.5 minutes every level starting with 10 minutes.
Sunday 7.30pm start 50euro + 25 euro freezeout. 1,500 euro guranteed prize pool. Starting stack is 6,000. Clock is 20/25 minutes.
The first Sunday of the month - 4pm start 120 euro + 10 euro Deep Stack Tournament. Starting stack is 10,000 and the clock is 20/30 minutes.
An early bird chip of 1,000 points will be given to every player that is in their seat for the start of play of every tournament
Please note that all Tournaments start at 8.30pm Sharp unless otherwise stated. Any queries you have you can call The Sporting Emporium's Poker Room on 01-7030679 or check the website for details ( www.thesportingemporium.com )
First off, I am very skeptic about gambling machines. I don't trust them, so sue me. I think that no matter how "fair play" they seem to be you know yourself that their is no fair play when it comes to something that can be programmed/altered/tampterded with etc. But in this instance I will say that the blackjack machines I see in Dr Quirkies (O'conell street, Dublin 1) Seem to be as fair as they come/appear to be :) These machines also have roulette but seeing as how there are so many other roulette-only machines there, people only use these for blackjack.
The bets As most machines you can either bet small or bet big. The visual display shows bets as follows: 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1 euro, 5 euro and 10 euro. You can bet up to a maximim of 100 a hand.
How legit is it? Just like any game you have to think "how far is this?" - I think its fair, fair to the extent it does not rip you off but i don't trust machines. However, from my hour using this machine it seems to play it down the middle. I went in and after 10 mins I was up. Call it luck, call it the machine wanted you to get greedy and put in more... its how you look at it. Least it didnt swallow up my money in the first 3 hands. I went even back later that day and the same "double your money" happened.
2 is the magic number? There is one downside to this tho... well two if you count that dr quirkies is a place that you have to watch your pockets in. But apart from that there are two blackjack machines in their "casino" section - (i use casino section in quotations because its more such a dank hole) - One of the blackjack machines screens is busted. you have to tap really hard on the screen and its not fun to play. The other one, is proper as you'd expect it to be.
So whats the review? I like it. However, as its a machine, dont put much faith in it. Its a nice way to go in with 25 euro and bet small or the high-low scheme and have fun. If you're up - you are up. If you are down - you are down. Betting something like 25 euro wont break the bank and if you want to play the win big money well you should be in a casino :)
Here is Casino Shuffle's review about Dublin's very own "The Sporting Emporium" (located on Anne's Lane, Dublin 2 - http://www.sportingemporium.com )
There is a reson why I choose this to be my first review out of a whole line of casino reviews. I've been going to casino's since 2007 and gambling since 2005 and in my opinion The Sporting Emporium is one of the best Casino's in dublin, If not the best.
Location, Location, Location. To start off its location is ideal. Just seconds walk off Grafton Street its easily accessable. Weather you are having an entire night there or just starting/ending the night its as I say, ideal.
The Layout and "when will you kick me out?" The main area of the casino is open from 6pm - 6am 7 days a week. Level 2 has four roulette tables, serveral blackjack tables and usually only one table of Brag open. The good news is its european roulette - so the adds are better than the "American" version. Level 3 has a dedicated Poker area. Often running tournaments weekly. Usually averaging about a 50euro buy in as well as the 250 buy-in for the weekly tournaments. There is also a seated area if you fancy taking a break for a while.
Free booze you say? One of the better aspects I like about this casino is the free alcohol (serverd until 3am) You could go in and have a full nights worth and booze and gamble. The only downside is loosing your bankroll twenty mins in ;) but hey its a casino.
What about the games? Roulette - minimum table is as follows: You can place bet on any single number is 1 euro. Odds/Evens/Red/Black is a minimum of ten euro. Column's are a minimum of 5 euro ... and you get the idea of the rest. They also have tables starting at 2 euro as well.
Blackjack Tables - have a minimum of 5 euro to 100 euro. Depending on the tables. But there are always different minimum tables open.
Brag Tables - Usually only have one table open. Which is a minimum of 5 euro per bet.
Atmosphere The dealers are friendly and will advise you on the best course of action (blackjack etc) Weather you are a small, "conservative gambler" or "hish risks" you will find a table with the maximum limit to suit your needs.
Smoking Area The Smoking Area is located on the first floor directly across from where you sign-in.
Membership As standard you have to be 21 or over and have suitable photo ID when joining (Passport or Driving licence) .. yadda yadda yadda ... and you will recieve 20 euro in chips back when you join to start betting with. Note, you cant just go up stairs with said chips and cash out as these chips are coloured blue ... sneaky.
I'm starving! Currently The Sporting Emporium offers food to be cooked and serverd (to a late time too. 2am usually) good news is they will give you half of the bill back in chips... again those blue chips. Sneaky ;)
What else can be said about The Sporting Emporium? Its a great casino. One of the best in dublin. I'd give it a 9 out of ten.
