We’re all looking for the comfort of the familiar right now. We all want that feeling of settling into a favorite activity, of recreating that feeling of returning to somewhere we know and love, even if we can’t leave the house right now. A huge part of what we love about online gambling is the experience it recreates for us, of stepping onto the casino floor with friends and pitting our wits against the dealers, the odds and that most formidable opponent of all: chance.

There’s a reason why casinos have been around in one form or another for centuries, and even as we move online and away from the red carpeting and blaring noise we find in the old-fashioned buildings, we’re still craving that same experience. As the world has evolved, elements of casinos have changed with it, while others have stayed resolutely the same. Let’s look at how gambling houses have moved with the times over the years.

Way, Way Back

As you’re no doubt aware, gambling has been around for as long as people have. Human beings have always wanted to bet against each other, or on each other for that matter, and games of dice and cards date back to around 2,300 BC. Over the centuries, these games evolved and so did the elements used to play them. Historians have found it hard to pinpoint exactly when the first dice were thrown, for example, but it’s interesting to note that several of the most popular games developed over time as people from different nations travelled and brought their own interpretations of local games home with them.

Poker, for example, has elements of French, Spanish, Italian and British card games but wasn’t played as “poker” until French and American gamblers matched wits in New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase. The point is, there have been gambling dens and card rooms for centuries, but the first real casino came along much later.

Venice Gives It A Home

The first casino was built in Venice in 1638, called Il Ridotto. This translates as the retreat, or the private room, in this context and the reason for that name was clear: because there far too many ridotti in Venice and the government wanted to crack down and bring them under their control. These ridotti were private gambling dens, generally in the luxurious apartments of the wealthy, and the Great Council of Venice decided that this activity had gone on unchecked for long enough. No more ridotti, they declared, just one, with a “The” at the front so you know it’s the only one you’re supposed to go to.

They built it in a wing of the Palazzo Dandolo to coincide with the annual spring carnival in anticipation of an explosion of games of chance, and it ended up staying open much longer than that. In theory, Il Ridotto was open to all members of the public but the high stakes of the games on offer meant that only the wealthy could play. It was still popular enough to be closed in 1774 during a period of extreme panic about the morality of Venetian citizens. However, the first casino had been born and countries across the world had taken note.

The Wild West To The Las Vegas Strip

If you’ve ever watched a Western, or played a Red Dead Redemption game for that matter, you’ll know that saloons were the home of gambling in the American west. Owners of these watering holes were always on the lookout for ways to convince paying customers to spend their money at their establishment, and card and dice games were high on the list of most popular attractions. However, there was always a push against it from religious groups and activists worried about the nation’s moral fiber, and more and more legislation was introduced to crack down on gambling across the country. By about 1910, gambling was illegal in the United States. Of course, it didn’t just go away, and in 1931 the state of Nevada legalized gambling as a way of kickstarting some much needed revenue, and the start of construction work on the Hoover Dam meant that there were a lot of new arrivals looking for entertainment.

The first casino in Las Vegas was built in 1941, named El Rancho Vegas, but the arrival of organized crime figure Bugsy Siegel really got the show on the road when he built his casino The Flamingo in 1946. Money was flooding in and more and more casinos started popping up on the strip.

The Move Online

As the internet became a tool that everybody could use in the early 1990s, of course it was only a matter of time before gambling went online. When the Free Trade and Processing Act was passed by Antigua and Bermuda in 1994, licenses could be granted to online casinos and the gambling company Microgaming, based in the Isle of Man, licensed the first software for online gambling that same year.

Intercasino, based in Antigua, was the first official online casino when they launched in 1996 and a flood of other companies followed suit, but they’ve consistently had to find ways around gambling laws. The American Department of Justice cracked down hard on online gambling in the US in 2011, locking down three of the leading sites, but around the world the virtual equivalent of the casino has continued to flourish.

If you want to see just how broad the range of top online casinos sites, and how they vary from game to game and country to country, you should check out an online casinos review site. Top Dog Casinos breaks down the best online casino reviews from actual players into easy-to-navigate categories and shows just how many different choices there are.

Mobile Gambling

Gone are the days when you’d have to boot up your chunky PC and listen to the dial-up modem connecting before you could log on to a poker game. Now, advancements in technology mean that you can play in HD online casinos from any mobile device wherever you are. Now, the casino is where you are, whether that’s on a train, in a hotel room, or waiting for the oven to heat up so you can make a start on dinner, and it’s only getting more popular. We still want the same classic casino experience, it’s just the packaging that’s changed.

Poker, despite its image as a mere game for gamblers, is actually a game of skill. There’s a reason why there are professional poker players who play the game for a living, and it’s not because of sheer luck. People get to make money out of this game simply because they’re better than who they’re playing against.

It’s not about the cards falling your way all the time. No matter how unlucky you think you may be, you can actually make some decent money out of poker if you put in the work to study the game in order to get ahead.

Whether you want to pursue a career path in professional poker or you just want to crush your friends in your weekly poker nights, here are some tips to keep in mind that will surely help you win more.

Know the Winning Hands

Being familiar with the rules and the winning hands in poker is something that casual players can still miss. It’s not uncommon for someone to think that a straight beats a flush. Of course, you wouldn’t want to have the perfect read that your opponent has three of a kind and go all-in with two pair thinking that you have him dominated.

From worst to best, here are the hand rankings in poker:

• High card
• One Pair
• Two Pairs
• Three of a kind
• Straight
• Flush
• Full House
• Four of a Kind
• Straight Flush
• Royal Flush

Utilize Position Wisely

Position is huge in poker. Every round, there are players who are advantaged and disadvantaged just because of their position.

Those in late position have an advantage over those who have to act early because players who act later have more information. They can see whether the players ahead of them check or bet or re-raise and can therefore assess the strength of their hand in relation to the moves made by other players.

When playing poker, be more careful when playing in early position in order to not set yourself up to getting outplayed by the opposition.

Don’t Play Every Hand

It’s easy to get carried away when playing poker, especially when all the cards are coming your way. What’s better than cracking aces with 6-4, right? However, luck doesn’t last forever and it’s important to stay disciplined, especially preflop.

It’s essential that you’re selective with the hands you play and that you only play cards that have a good chance of making strong hands. Patience is key in poker. While it may seem boring to just keep folding for hours on end, it’s always fun to make money, and playing disciplined is the best way to win consistently on the tables. 

Fold at the Right Spots

Just because you only play the strongest preflop hands doesn’t mean that you automatically win every hand you decide to play. Things can get awry pretty fast once the cards are on the board, and before you know it, your aces have a 0% chance of winning once the fourth card is on the board.

Folding is a skill in and of itself. It doesn’t mean giving up at all, so remember to set your ego aside when playing poker. In fact, folding correctly is actually a way of outplaying your opponent. Whenever you think you have a decent yet beatable hand, and it’s obvious that other players are more interested in winning the pot, don’t be afraid to make the right play by mucking your cards. Money saved is money won. 

Only Bluff When Profitable

Bluffing is one of the most fun aspects of poker. Few things feel better than going all in with air and making your opponent fold in a huge pot. However, bluffing is also one of the easiest ways to empty your bankroll. 

You should only bluff when you have a solid read on your opponent and you’re fairly certain that he will fold. There are players who don’t know how to fold at all and your air can get easily beat by the lowest possible pair despite your tremendous bet size.

Observe Your Opponents

The way other players play should influence the way you’re playing as well. As mentioned earlier, you should only bluff when you have a solid read on your opponent, and you develop these reads by observing the moves that they make on the table.

This is a great way of passing the time when you’re not playing in a hand. Folding doesn’t mean that you should just wait for the next hand. By observing other players, you get to see how others play and you can use this information to your advantage. For example, if you develop a read that someone bluffs too much, you wouldn’t be afraid next time to call with top pair when facing aggression from him.

Start at Low Stakes  

Like any other skill-based endeavor, improvement comes from experience. In poker, it’s essential to play as much as you can while losing the least possible amount. To avoid gigantic losses, play at low stakes first. 

If you take a look around, you will find hundreds of online casinos. Most of them are fantastic and offer thousands of games, and even unique features, such as the demo mode, which will allow you to play for free. 

In addition to the things we’ve mentioned, there are all sorts of impressive casino bonuses that you can use. Even though every betting website has its own unique offers, some promos can be found on almost every operator. Of course, they might have different names, but if you take a look at their Terms and Conditions, you will see that they will provide you with the same things.

So, let’s take a look at a few casino bonuses that every bettor should experience at least once.

Welcome Reload Bonuses

One of the things you can expect to find once you open an account on a given online casino is a welcome bonus. Most betting operators put a lot of emphasis on their bonus for new customers because this is what attracts many new players.

There are different types of welcome offers, but the most common ones are the reloaded bonuses. Usually, you will receive a 100% bonus on your first deposit, which will be capped at a certain amount. However, there are some places where you could get a bonus on your first two, three, or even four deposits.

The most critical condition that you need to check about this bonus is the rollover requirement. In most cases, it should be around 30x, but there are some operators where you might have to wager a specific promo at least 50 or even 60 times.

No deposit bonuses

Once you claim your welcome promo, take a look at the online casino’s bonus section and see whether there is a no deposit offer. The bonuses that do not require a deposit are sought after by every bettor, which is not a surprise considering you will receive something for free.

Typically, those rewards will give you a small amount of money that you can use on a specific casino game. However, some betting operators also have a no deposit bonus in the form of free spins.

Each online casino has different requirements that you need to comply with to receive this reward. In most cases, you will get it once you confirm your registration or phone number.

Free Spins

Last but certainly not least, we have the free spins promo. Pretty much every casino player loves to try out all kinds of slots, which is why every gambling operator has an abundance of options.

Apart from using the demo mode to try out the slots for free, you can also take advantage of different free spins promos. They will also allow you to play for free, but you can win real money, which is impossible in the demo mode.

Most online casinos have at least a few free spins promos, so don’t worry.