Many of the casinos are switching over to coinless ticket in/ Ticket out system on the newer slot machines. This innovation has been the most quickly accepted change in slot history. Players no longer have to handle dirty coins or wait for a hopper fill if the machine runs out of coins when they cash out. They can start playing immediately by feeding bills into the dollar bill receptor of the machine without having to seek out a change person to purchase coins. These new coinless machines are a great convenience for the players and they have also been quite profitable for the casino because of player’s attitude towards machine credits. more…

Do you feel lucky? Believe it or not, the way that you answer that question is a predictor of your level of success and joy in life. Dr. Richard Wiseman, head of psychology research at the University of Hertfordshire in England and author of the book linked below, was curious about people who are consistently blessed with good fortune. For eight years he studied 400 people who considered themselves either particularly lucky or unlucky. As a result, he has proved scientifically that luck isn’t a coincidence. Lucky people think and act with specific behaviors that open the way for good things to happen.

Lucky people expect success, moving beyond the “glass-half-full” power of positive thinking. They are skilled at noticing and more open to new possibilities. One way Wiseman measured this was by asking all 400 subjects to count the number of photographs in a newspaper. At the third page was a large advertisement that boldly declared, “STOP COUNTING! THERE ARE 43 PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS NEWSPAPER.” Lucky people noticed, laughed and asked if they should keep counting. Yes, they were told, keep counting. Further along there was another advertisement that read “STOP COUNTING! TELL THE EXPERIMENTOR YOU’VE SEEN THIS AND WIN 150 POUNDS (Sterling).” Once again, the people who considered themselves lucky consistently noticed the advertisement. In contrast, the ‘unlucky’ ones flipped right past them. What would you have done?

Of course, the science of luck applies to corporate situations as well as to other parts of our lives. For example, Susan (whose name is respectfully changed) wasn’t feeling lucky. She is a senior vice president of systems operations. Her organization recently settled a class action lawsuit that will require a financial payment to thousands of clients over several years. By the end of the year, Susan and her team must create a cost-effective and equitable way to deliver those payments, working within a complex system, satisfying a diverse and demanding base of stakeholders. Her team was grousing about the constraints outlined by the legal department, limits of MIS, and massive budget constraints. The answers weren’t flowing. Susan was burned out and a lot of martinis were being consumed. Something had to give. That is when she called me for coaching.

One small, but high-impact change - which had to start with Susan - was to start expecting success. After several weeks of working with Susan and spending time with her team, their mantra has become “The answers are out there, and we’re finding them.” She instituted a “pizza fine,” payable on Friday’s - for whoever complained the most that week. It has become a light-hearted way to raise team awareness about how much time and energy they were losing to this powerless activity. Instead of shrinking into the problem, Susan is leading her team to be open to possibilities, wonder about unlikely solutions, to move into a place that is bigger than the complaining. Last week Susan checked in to tell me that the new approach is working. The final outcome will take months to shape and deliver, and the systemic issues remain a challenge. But, the problem shifted as soon as Susan and her team shifted their way of being with it.

Fortune often emerges from the ashes of a problem. During the acceptance speech for his first of thirteen Grammy awards, Duke Ellington said “I merely took the energy it takes to pout, and wrote some blues.” Wiseman’s findings agree. Lucky people have automatic psychological techniques to cope and thrive in unfavorable situations.

Besides an openness to external cues, lucky people listen and act upon their gut instincts. They strengthen their intuition by regularly quieting their minds, using practices like meditation, prayer, and eliminating unnecessary conversations. The August 4th issue of Time calls meditation the “smart person’s bubble bath.” Ten million American adults now practice some form of regular meditation. It feeds a relaxed attitude about life that expands their resilience, and builds momentum for the cycle of good fortune. Good luck!

Realtime Gaming is one of the more commonly used and more widely known online blackjack software packages available online. The RTG casino software runs faster than any other blackjack games online, and the action is clear and easy to follow. The purpose of this page is to provide as complete a guide as possible to Realtime Gaming RTG blackjack online. Since all online casinos using RTG software offer free online blackjack games, this is a great casino option for anyone, no matter where they live. (I don’t know of any jurisdiction where playing blackjack online is illegal, although playing for real money might be problematic depending on where you live. Playing for free isn’t blackjack gambling though; it’s just playing a video blackjack game.)

Play Internet Blackjack at Realtime Gaming Casinos

A few things to consider before you play Internet blackjack at Realtime Gaming casinos include their signup bonus rules and their rules for depositing and withdrawing. I don’t know of any Realtime Gaming casinos who accept blackjack wagering toward their wagering requirements, so even if you’re a devout blackjack player who never plays slots, I’d recommend taking your bonus and playing it through the slots before hitting the Internet blackjack tables. Whatever is left of your bonus can then be applied to your blackjack game. With autoplay features being so easy to use at RTG casinos, you shouldn’t have any problem taking care of your wagering requirements on the slots games quickly and without effort.

Realtime Gaming Blackjack Rules and RTG Blackjack Strategy

How to Play Realtime Gaming Blackjack

Learning how to play Realtime Gaming blackjack games is easy. They follow the same standard blackjack rules as all blackjack games do. I’ve included the specific rules variations commonly found at Realtime Gaming casinos below:

Most Realtime Gaming casinos use 4 decks, but the casino operator can choose how many decks to deal from. The only way to find out specifically how many decks are being used at your specific Realtime Gaming casino is to ask the customer service department. They’ll usually know.

In Realtime Gaming blackjack games, the dealer hits a soft 17. You can double down on any 2 cards. You are also allowed to double down after a split, but you’re only allowed to split twice, for a maximum of 3 hands. Most RTG casinos don’t allow late surrender, although some casinos, like Bodog Casino, do allow it. (Like the number of decks being used, the casino operator gets to decide.)

Realtime Gaming Blackjack Strategy Charts - RTG Blackjack Strategy Card

Blackjack strategies vary slightly based on rules variations and number of decks. For simplicity’s sake, I’ve only included a Realtime Gaming blackjack strategy chart below for the 4-8 decks version of the game. Using that strategy will work fine even on a 2 deck game, because there are minimal differences between the 2 strategies. I’ve organized the strategy section into a chart below, but it’s formatted a little differently from most blackjack strategy charts. A more traditional strategy chart provided by Bodog Casino follows this chart. Use whichever strategy card is easier for you to understand.

Hard hands

Soft hands

Virtually all American casinos use a double-zero roulette wheel which has pockets numbered from 1 to 36, plus 0 and 00 for a total of 38 pockets. This is in contrast to Europe where a single-zero wheel is used and the game has always been the most popular in the casino. more…

Area studies is a great degree program for people who are fascinated by foreign cultures. Graduates of a degree program in area studies can find work in a countless number of different fields, from teaching to consulting to government intelligence. Read about it here. more…

Most people learn basic literacy and related skills from an early age in school programs. Some students, however, have a more difficult time learning these skills for a variety of reasons. A Basic Skills program can be lifesaving for these students. Following completion of a Basic Skills certification program, job options are limited only by the student’s drive and ambition. Possible careers for Basic Skills-certified individuals, following further education, include teaching assistant, AV technician and machinist, among many others. more…

When ocean waves crash onto a beach, they could be doing more than entertaining beach goers. Moving water, moving air and sunlight all cause air molecules to break apart, releasing charged atoms, or ions, into the atmosphere. Some scientists claim that there is an abundance of negatively charged ions in sea air and that they could have health benefits which range from better circulation to improved moods. A lot of people have enough faith in these effects to purchase negative ion generators for their homes. But have these curative claims ever been satisfactorily verified? more…

Card Counting is a skill practiced by a small number of successful gamblers.  Are they just gamblers?  The likelihood is that mentally they could match the finest doctors, lawyers and rocket scientists.  It takes a special kind of mind to memorize the exact sequence in which the cards rotate from the pack to the table and back.  It’s not a skill which can be learned by people whose minds get bored quickly, or for those hot for action.  No deal heat for these guys.  Not only are they are cool, its essential that they’re calculating.  The card counting practitioner needs to couple his mental ability with his statistical skills to determine his probability of success or failure.Memorizing the sequence of up to 312 cards is beyond the mental capabilities of 99.5% of card players, but statistical calculation is not, so don’t despair.  And you’ll be happy to know that statistical calcualtion gets easier with fewer players at the table which leads to more occasions in which one cn grasp and assess the cards being dealt.  In online casino games card counting skills don’t confer any advantage.  It’s just you against the house with the rules on display.  In an online game you are isolated from the actions of other players so the statistical calculations, the ones that anyone can master, become all the more important.  With a little study and practice, you can master the skill that can help you raise your odds enormously.  Additionally, knowledge of odds is transferable between the computer, the card table and the racetrack.  So it doesn’t matter where you use these skills, they can always pay off. more…