Online Poker Games

Many people ask me if there is one or more horse racing handicapping methods that work better than other methods. The short answer is yes, there are systems that show a profit, but on closer examination, the answer is more complicated. The reason is that things keep changing and the method that picks winners consistently today in New York, may not pick winners tomorrow on the West Coast or in Ireland.

One of the most important lessons a horse racing handicapper needs to learn is how to find the right system for the track, season, and races. Almost any system or handicapping method will work some of the time. The problem is that none of them work all the time, none of them. Remember, you’re hearing that from someone who makes his living teaching other people how to handicap races.

So how do you know which horse racing system to use? That takes a lot of practice and trial and error. The most important thing that you can do to help in this process is to keep notes. What you learn about a meet and track may not help you tomorrow, but it may very well benefit you next year. Betting horses is a form of investing and in the world of investing, it is long range planning and investment that pays off.

Let’s say that you are playing races that are run at the New York tracks in the United States, for instance. When they switch from Belmont to Aqueduct you must change your approach and when they go from the main track at Aqueduct to the inner track, it requires another shift in thinking.

The reason that I know this is that I keep notes about my performance and the winners at each of these tracks. It is a lot of work but a labor of love and that is one of the ingredients that you will need to be a successful handicapper. You will really need to love the game and be willing to work at it. You must also be patient and realize that you are making long term investments.

The time you spend studying the track and its peculiarities may not pay off for this meet, but it will certainly put you ahead of the crowd next year when they move from Belmont to Aqueduct. You should have a list of winning trainers and what their moves were and also track models for each distance and condition of race.

I have made money every year from just one angle at Aqueduct. I follow the maidens at Belmont and pay particular attention to maidens that flash early speed in the first quarter but fade and lose. I look for them when they race the first time at Aqueduct and many times, they don’t fade but manage to win because Aqueduct favors their running style and they also have been conditioned by their efforts at Belmont. They often go off at amazing prices. I have a list of trainers that have used this angle in the past and I am ready when they have a horse entered in a race.

The first year I noticed this angle I didn’t make money on it, but I did the next year and ever since. However, when the races move back to Belmont, you can hang that angle up and move on to another angle and method for finding winners. That is how you can always have a winning method, by keeping track of what is happening and using it the next time the situation arises. It isn’t rocket science but it is work and requires patience.

Although gambling is decidedly legal in the United States, not all websites that offer online gambling have legal permits. Besides, gambling especially casinos are strictly regulated in the US, perhaps even more so than in other countries in the world.

The same cannot be said of online gambling. Unlike countries in Europe and in the United Kingdom, online gambling in the United States has not merited any attention yet. In fact, there is no particular law regulating the online gambling process.

This can be quite confusing for online gamblers. While they won’t get into too much trouble because as mentioned, states are just starting to develop regulations for online gambling, gamblers are of course still reluctant to participate if there are potential legal issues.

Potential risks

Basically, only operators of online gambling sites can get into trouble if they don’t have licenses. Players are not actually prohibited to participate in online gambling games although of course there will be risks to their money if they choose to play on sites that don’t have permits.

Another risk that players on online gambling sites that do not have permits is the fact that their personal information will be an open book to the operators of the site. If the site turns out to be bogus, this will pose a great risk on the player… that is if he has not already lost his privacy to online hackers which can easily hack the information.

Only operators

Most states are already quite eager to legalize online gambling. However, the government is very cautious on the subject because online gambling sites can be used by money launderers for their illegal operations.

So far, there is no single law in the Unites States that deems playing in online casinos illegal. However, the Wire Act, which is often used or cited in reference to illegal online gambling has a section which says that people who are engaged in the business of online gambling can be fined or imprisoned but the act of course only covers the individual who presides over the business.

This however was cleared up when the US Supreme Court refused to review the case of Jay Cohen. The Wire Act, it seems, does not prohibit Internet gambling. This decision was upheld by the US Fifth Circuit Federal Appeals Court, which stated that “the Wire Act concerns gambling on sporting events or contests…”

One of the bills that are filed in Iowa by James Leach, inhibits people to gamble online although there is nothing in the bill that criminalizes the act. Several bills have in fact been proposed, targeting online wagers and online gambling. There are however no bills that have so far targeted the players. It seems that although some would like to discourage the proliferation of gambling sites and the participation of people in online gambling, no one wants to make it a criminal act.

For some states, online gambling per se is illegal but the letter of the law does not penalize the players but the perpetrators. A long as players remain only players in the game and do not act as a bookie, an agent, or an owner, then there will be no problem with the existing law. This is of course true with all online games including online poker.