For those new to the whole world of internet casino gambling, and who are not competent players, do yourself a favor and begin by playing at a Microgaming casino running on their Viper software platform.
I don’t make this recommendation based on any assessment of the look and feel of the Microgaming offering, or the intuitiveness of its player interface. Not to say that the games are clunky or unrealistic. In fact they are pretty impressive, but so are the games offered by all the majors, notably Wagerlogic, Playtech and Real Time Gaming.
The principle basis for this recommendation is Microgaming Viper’s ‘Expert’ and ‘Autoplay’ modes.
Players can elect which mode, if any at all, to play when playing for real money. If they select Expert mode, the software actually notifies them when they make a bet choice is not consistent with optimal playing strategy, and allows the player to change their bet to the suggested bet choice. This not only teaches players how to best play games like blackjack and baccarat, but also maximizes returns in the long run.
For those not familiar with casino games, and playing strategy, it is important to note that your returns from playing a game like blackjack optimally versus poorly will be substantial. All casino games have an inbuilt mathematical house edge. That is to say, while players can have a win in the short term, probability dictates that if you were to play an infinite number of hands you will loose. But the size of the house edge, is minimized when optimal bet decisions are made. Play perfect blackjack basic strategy and your return to player rate will be over 98%. Combine that with card counting and correct betting to the count and the edge actually swings in the players favor (don’t get too excitedâ
By Milton Shaw
Milton Shaw has written hundreds of online gambling related articles for popular casino and sportsbook portals like Online Casinos and Net Gambling Guide