Top Three Ways to Gamble Online, Casino, Sports and Poker

The Market Marauders Approach to Gambling: Online casino games, sports books, or poker? Pick your digital poison.

This may be the digital age—an age where the upcoming generation knows nothing of touch-tone phones, hard-cover dictionaries, or mechanized musical apparatus—but gambling existed long before the internet, or anything close to touch-screen technology. And yet, the forms of gambling enjoyed today are the same types our long-lost ancestors enjoyed centuries ago. We just enjoy them a bit differently, and with much greater ease of access.

Online gambling opened a vast door of opportunities. The three most popular types of online gambling align closely with the most famous gambling amusements of old. Wagering on sporting events, or any competition of athletic prowess, was the first among them. Card games, much like the poker games played today, came after. Then, just a few short centuries ago, gambling was commercialized by way of casinos, with game variety evolving and expanding throughout the decades.

Online Casino Games, Sports Books or Poker? Pick your Digital Poison

The internet made access to these games so invariably convenient. As a result, the number of casual gamblers has exploded. For so many, the idea of whether to place a wager is no longer the question, but rather on what to place a wager?

Online Casino Games

Casino games are perfect for those who have no exceptional passion, particularly for sports or mentally-extraneous poker games. The variety of gaming options is immense. They range from the easiest of games, like slot machines, to more complex titles with a multitude of betting options, such as craps and roulette. Card gaming enthusiasts will find no shortage of table games; things like blackjack, baccarat, pai gow poker, Caribbean stud, let ‘em ride, red dog, war, ultimate Texas holdem, the list goes on and on. And that doesn’t even include the array of single-player video poker variants on the market.

If having a wide selection of entertainment suits your fancy, online casino games are a perfect choice. And another fascinating corollary of the internet is access limitless to tips, tricks and strategies to increase your odds of actually winning these games. You won’t sway the edge into your favor, but there’s nothing wrong with raising the odds.

Online Sports Books

The oldest gambling form in history, betting on sports contests has always been popular. It’s no surprise that more and more people are using their computers and smartphones to place bets than ever before. Where betting on the locally televised events was once fancied, the internet gave us access to wagers on every possible contest played around the globe.

If you enjoy athletics in general, whether it be a particular sport or league, or anything worthy of ESPN coverage, sports books present the perfect opportunity to increase the action. If you happen to closely follow the sports and leagues you wager on, you’re already a step ahead of the game in making the best statistical picks.

Online Poker Rooms

Unlike online casino games and sports betting, the popularity of poker is clearly a product of the world wide web. Before the internet came along, the World Series of Poker—the most prestigious poker event in the world—never once saw 400 players in the field.

Then in 2000, when online poker was in its absolute infancy, interest began to rise, if ever so slightly, attracting a record field of 512. The next year, 613. And in 2003, when the first WSOP satellites were offered online, the crowd rose to 839. That was the same year Chris Moneymaker took a satellite entry all the way to the WSOP Championship bank for $2.5 million. His success encouraged a much larger field of over 2,500 players the following year. Since 2006, entries have fluctuated anywhere from 6,300, up to the current record of 8,773.

But alas, poker is not a game for the faint of heart. One must master the skill of mathematics, or psychological warfare, to have any hope of survival. Those who master both… they are the freakishly successful pros we love (fear) and admire today.

Of course, the choice is yours to make. Online casinos, sports books or poker? Only you can decide which is right for you. The best advice I can offer is to choose your gambling sites wisely, know the games you play, start small, and always be mindful of your budget.