Pretty much every gambler I know plays blackjack. Some play it all the time, others only occasionally, but everyone I know, almost without fail, plays blackjack. The only person I know who gambles, but doesn’t play blackjack, is my old neighbour Karen who’s addicted to online slots and literally nothing else, so I think we can all agree that she’s a bit of a weirdo. Anyway, I’m getting off-track! My point was that so many people play blackjack… And yet the amount of people who play it right is actually pretty low. Now, I’m not saying we should all start counting cards like the kids from “21” – in fact, card counting wouldn’t even work if you play in online casino, such as the ones listed at realmoney-blackjack.com. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few things we could be doing better when playing our favourite casino game. That way, we could stop ourselves from making mistakes like…

1. Standing with 16 vs a face card

You have no idea how often I see this mistake, and it’s one of the worst ones! If you have a 2-card 16 and the dealer has a face card, then you should absolutely hit, always! So many people stand, thinking that they’ll inevitably fail if they hit, and ultimately they all end up losing when the dealer gets practically any of the 32 (!) cards which will result in their victory. Now, it’s important to note that if you hit, getting any of those aforementioned 32 cards or a six (bringing it up to a total of 36 cards) means that you’re pretty screwed yourself, but at least you have a fighting chance. Don’t get me wrong, 16 vs face is a pretty dire situation, but the correct outcome is always to hit in order to at least have a small percentage of winning as opposed to almost none. Now, if you have three or more cards as opposed to just two, then you could consider standing, but that’s another story entirely.

2. Following the Dealer’s Strategy

Now, this advice actually sounds very good on paper – dealers always win, so do as the dealer does and you should always win! Hit on 2-16 and stand on anything above it, that ought to do it, right? Well… Not exactly. Don’t forget that you’re playing first, so if you go over 21, the game is over regardless of the dealer’s cards! The dealer can afford to place himself or herself in a situation where he or she may go bust. You can not.

3. Taking the Insurance

As you know, if the dealer gets a blackjack and you don’t have one (even if you’ve got 21), you lose. To prevent this and minimize your losses you can take an insurance when the dealer has a face card or an ace… But honestly, my advice is to simply not do it, especially not when you’ve got a good hand. Don’t forget that the chances of getting a blackjack are low for both you and the dealer, so there’s no point in wasting money on something that has a very low probability of actually happening.

As a casino reviewer and news reporter, I have accounts at many if not most British online casinos, but when I play in my personal time, my place of choice is Leo Vegas. The reason for that is that it features the biggest mobile games selection on the market making it the best possible place for casino players like me that prefer to play on the go. Another reason for me liking them so much is that they constantly add new games and at a much faster rate than other casinos. Last time I entered the site, they had over 50 new titles, but the one that immediately caught my eye was the slot game Genie’s Touch – the latest title in the collection of the famous Microgaming-powered software house Quickspin. With the success of the other orient-themed slots such as Genie’s Jackpots, Millionaire Genie and Arabian Nights, I’m sure that this slot will soon be a hit. I would bet on it! This is why I immediately loaded the game and started playing, first for fun, then for real money. Turned out that my hunch was correct – the game is really engaging and has what seem to be very profitable features. Let me tell you more about it detail in the next few paragraphs.

Genie’s Touch Slot Overview – Symbols, Features and Bonus Round

Genie’s Touch is a 5-reel, 20-line slot game that features 10 general symbols and three special ones – the bonus scatter, the magic lamp and the wild which substitutes for all other symbols except for the special ones. The low-paying general symbols are not playing cards, as in most slot games, but differently coloured diamonds, which is refreshing to see. The four other symbols are represented by four characters resembling the ones in the movie Aladdin. The unique feature of the game, called Genie’s Touch, is triggered when you get three magic lamps anywhere on the reels. Then, the three lamps will choose three other symbols on the reel and will replace them with the same symbol to create a bigger winning.

The bonus symbols, on the other hand, appear only on the second, third and fourth reel, and if you get three of them, you’ll receive 10 free spins. During the free spin feature, you’ll get additional lamp symbols to increase your chances for the Genie’s Touch feature. If you do get it, instead of with generic symbols, the Genie will replace the lamps and the three other symbols with wilds to secure you quite the big winnings. That’s definitely the most exciting part of the game.

Genie’s Touch vs. Other Genie Slots

As I already mentioned, the moment I saw Genie’s Touch slot thumbnail, I immediately thought of the two most popular genie-themed games: Millionaire Genie by Dragonfish and Genie Jackpots by Blueprint Gaming. Though they have quite a lot of similarities, such as free spins, bonus rounds and the autospin setting, it’s pretty obvious that Genie’s Touch has the best graphics out of the three. In fact, lately I’ve been noticing a great advancement in the graphic style of all the new games by Quickspin in general. After seeing also other new titles like Illuminous for example, I think that they are giving NetEnt a real run for their money when it comes to the quality of the games.

Anyway, back to the genie slots. As I already mentioned for the most part they are pretty similar, offering pleasant oriental music, useful playing options, big bet range and free spins. Except for the graphics, Genie’s Touch excels above the other ones with its special homonymous feature which in the combination with the free spins gives quite the juicy payouts. The only thing that the Quickspin game lacks compared to the other two games is the progressive jackpot. Oh, well, you cannot have everything, can you?

In the last few years we’ve seen a sharp increase in gambling addiction rates across the globe. Pretty much everywhere online gambling is legal, we’re bound to see spikes in people who become medically diagnosed as addicted. That includes several states in the US, as well as various European countries, each of which has reported a dramatic spike in people with gambling addiction. Some countries, such as the UK, have even begun prescribing pills to gamblers in an attempt to curb their destructive habit. Addiction rates are getting out of control, and we have absolutely no idea how to stop them. Over the years, we’ve at least somewhat curbed cigarette and alcohol addictions (even if the rates still remain painfully high), but we have yet to come up with a plan to stop gamblers from ruining their lives. The question remains – who is responsible?

The obvious answer would, of course, be “the gamblers themselves”. After all, when someone gets addicted to cigarettes they have only themselves to blame, right? Stopping a cigarette addiction is about as easy as just not buying cigarettes anymore, right? Well, with gambling is a bit more complicated than that. Gambling, unlike most other addictions, runs on the Skinner Box principle. The Skinner Box was an experimental device created by B. F. Skinner, who aimed to study human behavior by using rats as test subjects. Imagine a rat being placed in a box with a light and a lever. Whenever the light came on, the rat would receive a painful electric shock. If the rat pushed the lever, though, the shock wouldn’t be administered, and instead they’d receive some food as reward. The rats soon managed to learn the relation between the lever and the light, and at first began pulling the lever only when the light came on. However, soon enough the desire to get the reward overwhelmed the desire for safety, and the rats began pulling the lever even when the light was not on.

The same principle applies to humans, especially in the context of gambling. We all have our reasons for starting to gamble, whether it’s because we need the money or just for fun. However, soon enough our desire to win overwhelms our initial reasoning, and we continue to “pull the lever” even if we no longer need to. The whole “Just one more spin” mentality when playing slots is directly connected to the Skinner Box model. Just like how the rats eventually got addicted to pulling the lever and receiving the food, even if there was no danger of an electric shock or even of starvation, it’s very easy for people to become addicted to gambling even when playing would inevitably hurt them. It’s in our very psychology to become addicted to things which reward us. And while sometimes this can be used for good (like using positive reinforcement in education to get children addicted to studying), it’s more often than not used as a gimmick to hook people. So don’t get hooked, stop when you can, and most importantly, don’t blame people who got addicted to gambling – they’re just following their brain’s programming.

Playing roulette, or any other casino game for that matter, can be really rewarding and entertaining. But if you want and expect to make money from that, you have two options: know your game and invest some time to find your own winning strategy or simply use one that is proven to work. But when I say strategy, I don’t mean betting strategies like Martingale or Fibonacci. I mean take the time to explore all the betting options of the roulette game that you prefer. Take for example French Roulette, where the La Partage rule raises the RTP to 98.65%, whereas European Roulette has an RTP of 97.30%. This rule ensures that users who place outside bets hold the advantage, by returning half of their bet back, if the winning number is 0. This is just one example of rules and bets that can help you make a nice profit while also diminishing your losses.

Another thing that you have to remember is that, just like working, gambling also requires resources like time, knowledge and preparation, if you want it to be as profitable as it can be, especially in the long run. This is why you should try to spread your gambling experience throughout the day, instead of playing only late at night after work, when you can be tired and easily distracted. I personally found it’s better for me to play while travelling, for example. Mobile roulette can be played on iPhone, iPad, Android Phone or Tablet, so you won’t have a hard time finding a good app for your device. The best part about mobile gambling is that you can use it both for profit and to take your mind off things in-between business meetings.

Also, make sure you know the house edge for the particular game variation that you choose, because some games have appealing at first sight sidebets or jackpots, but which significantly lower the RTP. Such a variation is Marvel Roulette, which features a special Marvel bonus and four progressive jackpots, but a much lower RTP of 95.73%. When compared to the French Roulette RTP – 98.65%, it is obvious that the Marvel game is more meant for fun and variety, then for making a huge profit, especially if you are a high-roller. High stakes players usually look for the most advantageous variation, which can bring them a solid win, especially in the long run. You can read more on the topic here. And whether you play for high stakes or not, playing roulette can indeed be a very profitable experience, as long as you play your cards right, if I can put it this way. Just make sure that you know all the rules and the betting options that can help you save time and add money to your bankroll. A good example is the Autoplay feature, with the help of which you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. Simply choose your betting pattern and set the number of spins you want to play with the same wager. The feature also includes advanced settings, which you can use to stop the Autoplay at any time, if your win is higher than a certain amount or your balance becomes lower than the set value.

These are just a few pointers and tips on how to up your game and ensure yourself a nice profit from this game. Overall, as long as you have a solid game plan and you stick to it, playing roulette will be really rewarding.