Who is a very good friend?
A very good friend is one,who gives you a PUSH,when you STOPPED.
A very good friend is one,who gives you a TOUCH,when you LOST.
A very good friend is one,who gives you a WORD when you QUIET.
A very good friend is one,who gives you a SMILE when you SAD.
A very good friend is one,who gives you a SHOULDER when you CRY.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A biograpy of a cancer patient
She is so born and brought up in Calcutta that when she is really angry she lapses into the vernacular. At such times her family prefers to leave her alone. That is Shobha Bhuwalka for you, at times animated, at other times dead sober, but overall a warm and likeable person. Both she and her husband come from a conservative Marwari family and they lived the early years of their life in Calcutta. Then in 1992 they decided to shift to Pune, a move they now realize was a prudent one. Their children (two boys and a girl) grew up in the then clean, green city, and Shobha is still amazed at the fact that she could stand in her balcony and breathe clean air and see green hills all along the horizon.
Today of course the skyline of Pune has altered to make way for high rise buildings and crushingly crowded roads. However she still dearly loves the city. Her boys spent life both in hostels and with the family because Shobha and her husband believed that grooming in the formative years of school is as important as forging relationships with the family. The children received a judicious mix of both. She was to realize later how beneficial this bonding actually was!
Shobha’s life has always revolved round her children and her family and though she worked a bit, she was self-confessedly more a nest keeper than a lunch chaser. If her family needed her, she dropped her work. If her parents called for help she rushed over. Finally, challenged by her husband’s appraisal, and determined to do something consistently, she signed up for a University course in social work. Everybody was busy, and between college, family and internships her day was full. That she chose social work, and that too pediatric cancer wards as her subject, was a prophetic fact whose impact she was to realize only later. However she never quite sailed through her post graduation if you please. She had several gaps but her professors never stopped encouraging her, and today she feels that, that part of her life gave her a perspective and a rare maturity that is hard put to come by.
If it seems like I am searching for important milestones in Shobha’s life then maybe I am. It could be my own efforts to offer cause and effect to her story or to put what she is facing today in its slotted perspective, and keep away the disquiet. Because today Shobha has been diagnosed with Cancer. Harsh as it may sound to the ears and difficult as it may be to accept it, there is no going away from the fact. But who wants to go away? Me?
Because Shobha has taken it squarely on the chin. It all started with a small lump in the breast. (It usually does) She put off examination till her husband came back from a trip abroad. When she eventually did go to the doctors, they removed it surgically but what she and even they thought was just a lump, turned out to be the tip of an iceberg and she had a rare form of cancer that moved very fast. Then came the major decision of having to remove her breast or treat it with radiation. She took an almost instantaneous decision to have it removed. Her family was aghast. The psychological impact of the disease on the family was traumatic and they had to deal with it each in their own way. Here Shobha is quick to add that the doctor treating her was a genuine human being. He counseled the family, counseled her and offered no false hopes. When she was working in the pediatric cancer ward of the hospital she never imagined she’d ever be on the other side of the spectrum. But her training in that department stood her in good stead and she was better able to deal with all the unasked questions. Now of course her treatment is on and she has to go through the cycles of chemotherapy. On days when her body resistance is low she has to be extra careful. ‘Is she mentally on top of the disease?’ I asked her and almost bit my tongue. Can you ever be…? ‘Well....’ she said, ‘If I had an injury or a protrusion on my body or a physical pain it would have been more real and I would have dealt with it. But this covert disease that has crept upon me has taken me by surprise. One day I was a strong and fit person and suddenly here I am, falling prey to the slightest infection. It’s demeaning.’ It has helped Shobha greatly to have her husband stand by her stolidly. He was initially confused by her mood swings and her exuberances, till she told him it was okay and he had to just be there for her. Her family has come round and each of her sons has reorganized their careers to be with her. She is undoubtedly scared, but support, she says, comes from unexpected sources. Her friends who, when they heard that she was diagnosed with cancer, rushed to be with her. Some who did not know how to deal with it stayed away, and she had to tell them that it was alright to meet. Since she is upfront about it, all awkwardness melts away. She wants to put this one point across very strongly that cancer is not the end of the world. ‘I had issues at first’ she says, ‘but if you take it in your stride, you can deal with it. Nothing should stop you from fighting it.’
Today of course the skyline of Pune has altered to make way for high rise buildings and crushingly crowded roads. However she still dearly loves the city. Her boys spent life both in hostels and with the family because Shobha and her husband believed that grooming in the formative years of school is as important as forging relationships with the family. The children received a judicious mix of both. She was to realize later how beneficial this bonding actually was!
Shobha’s life has always revolved round her children and her family and though she worked a bit, she was self-confessedly more a nest keeper than a lunch chaser. If her family needed her, she dropped her work. If her parents called for help she rushed over. Finally, challenged by her husband’s appraisal, and determined to do something consistently, she signed up for a University course in social work. Everybody was busy, and between college, family and internships her day was full. That she chose social work, and that too pediatric cancer wards as her subject, was a prophetic fact whose impact she was to realize only later. However she never quite sailed through her post graduation if you please. She had several gaps but her professors never stopped encouraging her, and today she feels that, that part of her life gave her a perspective and a rare maturity that is hard put to come by.
If it seems like I am searching for important milestones in Shobha’s life then maybe I am. It could be my own efforts to offer cause and effect to her story or to put what she is facing today in its slotted perspective, and keep away the disquiet. Because today Shobha has been diagnosed with Cancer. Harsh as it may sound to the ears and difficult as it may be to accept it, there is no going away from the fact. But who wants to go away? Me?
Because Shobha has taken it squarely on the chin. It all started with a small lump in the breast. (It usually does) She put off examination till her husband came back from a trip abroad. When she eventually did go to the doctors, they removed it surgically but what she and even they thought was just a lump, turned out to be the tip of an iceberg and she had a rare form of cancer that moved very fast. Then came the major decision of having to remove her breast or treat it with radiation. She took an almost instantaneous decision to have it removed. Her family was aghast. The psychological impact of the disease on the family was traumatic and they had to deal with it each in their own way. Here Shobha is quick to add that the doctor treating her was a genuine human being. He counseled the family, counseled her and offered no false hopes. When she was working in the pediatric cancer ward of the hospital she never imagined she’d ever be on the other side of the spectrum. But her training in that department stood her in good stead and she was better able to deal with all the unasked questions. Now of course her treatment is on and she has to go through the cycles of chemotherapy. On days when her body resistance is low she has to be extra careful. ‘Is she mentally on top of the disease?’ I asked her and almost bit my tongue. Can you ever be…? ‘Well....’ she said, ‘If I had an injury or a protrusion on my body or a physical pain it would have been more real and I would have dealt with it. But this covert disease that has crept upon me has taken me by surprise. One day I was a strong and fit person and suddenly here I am, falling prey to the slightest infection. It’s demeaning.’ It has helped Shobha greatly to have her husband stand by her stolidly. He was initially confused by her mood swings and her exuberances, till she told him it was okay and he had to just be there for her. Her family has come round and each of her sons has reorganized their careers to be with her. She is undoubtedly scared, but support, she says, comes from unexpected sources. Her friends who, when they heard that she was diagnosed with cancer, rushed to be with her. Some who did not know how to deal with it stayed away, and she had to tell them that it was alright to meet. Since she is upfront about it, all awkwardness melts away. She wants to put this one point across very strongly that cancer is not the end of the world. ‘I had issues at first’ she says, ‘but if you take it in your stride, you can deal with it. Nothing should stop you from fighting it.’
My Motorcycle Won't Start!! What Now?
Maintain your Battery and check your charging system!
9 times out of 10 the reason why your bike won't start is usually because of the battery condition or loose connections. A charging system failure is less likely but is still possible.
I will talk about both of them here.
First look at your battery connections. Check for obvious and easiest to fix problems first. A loose connection, poor ground etc. will likely cause intermittent operation of the starting and charging systems. If you find a loose connection and/or corrosion, clean the connections with a wire brush.
Before re-attaching apply a little grease to the contact points. The grease helps to prevent any of the white corrosion residues building up around the battery terminals.
Try and start her up now. You still have a problem? Go down to the mall and buy yourself a small electronic multimeter. (Make sure it has both AC and DC volt functions, as well as a continuity (or OHMS)function. Pull out the battery and set it on a counter. Set your multimeter to DC volts. Measure the Battery voltage by placing the red lead on the positive and the Black on the negative.
The voltage read should be around 12.5 volts (higher is OK) If the voltage is less than this it may indicate a poor battery. Notice I say, "may" here because the bike's charging system might be at fault. In this case the battery will most likely be OK.
Confirm that the electrolyte level in each cell of the battery is good. Add distilled water only to cell's with a low level. (Obviously you cannot add water to a maintenance free battery) Charge the battery overnight with a slow charger only. Motorcycle batteries cannot handle a fast charge. Make sure the charger only charges at a rate of 2 amps or less.
Install the battery and try and start her again. If she still won't go buy a new battery and your problem will likely be fixed. If she starts and runs like a charm, then you have to find out why the battery went dead. You need to check the charging system.
With the engine running, place the multimeter leads on the battery. Rev the engine a little. The system voltage should rise with engine RPM. A voltage of around 13.5 to about 14.5 should be displayed. If the voltage stays constant and/or is slowly decreasing, or if the voltage rises above 14.7 volts the charging system is not functioning.
What do you do now? You have to check two things. The Stator and the Regulator. The stator creates an AC voltage. The regulator changes the AC to DC voltage and also maintains that voltage at the proper level.
The Stator can be checked with the Ohms function on your meter. Locate and remove the plug for the stator on the front of the engine block. You will see two or three pins inside.
Set the meter for low Ohms, and measure the continuity between these pins. 5 Ohms or less is what you are looking for here. Set the meter to the highest setting. With 1 lead attached to a metal part of bike check for continuity to each pin. You meter should read infinite, or no continuity. If these tests check out then your stator is fine. If there is a fault in any of these tests, then see your dealer
The regulator is the easiest of all to check. The regulator is made of solid state electronics and can't be opened. Replace the regulator if everything else on the charging system checks out or if there is an overcharging situation.
On most Harley's you will not know if the charging system is beginning to fail. The evidence shows up when you have dim lights or she just won't start. There are aftermarket accessories that you can install on your bike that will tell you the current state of the charging system.
Save yourself some bucks here!! With a simple multimeter available from any Electronics parts store you can troubleshoot your charging system and check your battery and most likely repair any problems yourself.
About the Author: Keith Nivon is an avid Harley Davidson Motorcycle Enthusiast! His website contains information on all things Harley Davidson. http://www.everything-harley-davidson.com is a great resource for anyone who shares a passion for Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Have a look at http://www.everything-harley-davidson.com for more information.
9 times out of 10 the reason why your bike won't start is usually because of the battery condition or loose connections. A charging system failure is less likely but is still possible.
I will talk about both of them here.
First look at your battery connections. Check for obvious and easiest to fix problems first. A loose connection, poor ground etc. will likely cause intermittent operation of the starting and charging systems. If you find a loose connection and/or corrosion, clean the connections with a wire brush.
Before re-attaching apply a little grease to the contact points. The grease helps to prevent any of the white corrosion residues building up around the battery terminals.
Try and start her up now. You still have a problem? Go down to the mall and buy yourself a small electronic multimeter. (Make sure it has both AC and DC volt functions, as well as a continuity (or OHMS)function. Pull out the battery and set it on a counter. Set your multimeter to DC volts. Measure the Battery voltage by placing the red lead on the positive and the Black on the negative.
The voltage read should be around 12.5 volts (higher is OK) If the voltage is less than this it may indicate a poor battery. Notice I say, "may" here because the bike's charging system might be at fault. In this case the battery will most likely be OK.
Confirm that the electrolyte level in each cell of the battery is good. Add distilled water only to cell's with a low level. (Obviously you cannot add water to a maintenance free battery) Charge the battery overnight with a slow charger only. Motorcycle batteries cannot handle a fast charge. Make sure the charger only charges at a rate of 2 amps or less.
Install the battery and try and start her again. If she still won't go buy a new battery and your problem will likely be fixed. If she starts and runs like a charm, then you have to find out why the battery went dead. You need to check the charging system.
With the engine running, place the multimeter leads on the battery. Rev the engine a little. The system voltage should rise with engine RPM. A voltage of around 13.5 to about 14.5 should be displayed. If the voltage stays constant and/or is slowly decreasing, or if the voltage rises above 14.7 volts the charging system is not functioning.
What do you do now? You have to check two things. The Stator and the Regulator. The stator creates an AC voltage. The regulator changes the AC to DC voltage and also maintains that voltage at the proper level.
The Stator can be checked with the Ohms function on your meter. Locate and remove the plug for the stator on the front of the engine block. You will see two or three pins inside.
Set the meter for low Ohms, and measure the continuity between these pins. 5 Ohms or less is what you are looking for here. Set the meter to the highest setting. With 1 lead attached to a metal part of bike check for continuity to each pin. You meter should read infinite, or no continuity. If these tests check out then your stator is fine. If there is a fault in any of these tests, then see your dealer
The regulator is the easiest of all to check. The regulator is made of solid state electronics and can't be opened. Replace the regulator if everything else on the charging system checks out or if there is an overcharging situation.
On most Harley's you will not know if the charging system is beginning to fail. The evidence shows up when you have dim lights or she just won't start. There are aftermarket accessories that you can install on your bike that will tell you the current state of the charging system.
Save yourself some bucks here!! With a simple multimeter available from any Electronics parts store you can troubleshoot your charging system and check your battery and most likely repair any problems yourself.
About the Author: Keith Nivon is an avid Harley Davidson Motorcycle Enthusiast! His website contains information on all things Harley Davidson. http://www.everything-harley-davidson.com is a great resource for anyone who shares a passion for Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Have a look at http://www.everything-harley-davidson.com for more information.
Casino, Sports Betting, And Lottery - A Comparison Of The House Edge
The house edge, which is the commission that a gambling agent such as a casino, a sportsbook (bookmaker), or a lottery administrator charges, is a yardstick that measures how a specific gambling game is fair and reasonable. It is one of the most important factors that every player should consider whenever he/she is engaged in any type of gambling, inasmuch as it indicates how much of the money wagered goes to the gambling agent's pocket and how much is redistributed to the winners.
Indeed, a house edge cannot be zero since casinos, sportsbooks, and lottery administrators have to make some money in order to cover their expenses, and to make some profit as well. Yet, a high house edge simply means that the players are unecessarily being ripped-off, and as a result, any gambling game with a high house edge should certainly be avoided by a knowledgeable gambler.
In this article, we shall compare, in the simplest way possible, the house edges of a roulette, an evens-odd betting, and a Cash 3 lottery game as representatives of the three major gambling categories.
The Equation
The easiest way to compute a house edge is to compare the actual winnings that are paid by the respective agents to the winnings that would be paid in a fair game or bet. A fair game or a fair bet is one in which no commission is involved; an obvious model is a game between friends. Therefore, in percentage form, the house edge is obtained by subtracting an actual game winning from a fair game winning and dividing the result by the fair game winning, finally multiplying by 100. Thus,
House Edge = [ (fair game winning - actual game winning) / fair game winning ] * 100
Roulette
Because of its simplicity and popularity, we shall consider the roulette as a representative casino game. A European roulette wheel has grooves marked by the numbers 0 to 36; the American wheel (also called Las Vegas wheel) has an additional groove marked as '00'. So, the European wheel has a total of 37 numbers, while the American wheel has 38. Internet casinos usually make available the option to select the type of wheel the customer prefers, but the brick and mortar casinos normally offer only one type. The winning number in a roulette game is the number corresponding to the groove where a spinning ball lands.
Now, consider a fair game in which 38 friends are playing the roulette at home, and each one selects a number and places a $1 bet on the number (no two or more players wagering on the same number). When the ball is spun and lands in a groove, the number marking that groove will be the winning number. The person who has selected this winning number collects all the money on the table thus making him win $37. On the other hand, if the game were conducted in a casino, the winner would be paid only $35. The difference between the two winnings applied in the above equation gives us the house edge of a roulette game as
( 37 - 35 ) / 37 * 100 = 2 / 37 * 100 = 5.4%
This means that every time you spend a $100 on an offline or online casino roulette, $5.40 goes to the casino and the rest is redistributed to the winners. Evidently, there are quite a number of casino games and the house edge varies from game to game, many of them having a house edge less than that of the roulette. For obvious reasons, a good gambler always prefers games that have low house edges, while the casino itself loves those games with high house edges. For example, the house edge of craps is 1.4% which makes it one of the most preferred casino games by the players.
Even-odds Sports Betting
Again, because of its simplicity, we shall consider an even-odds betting as a representative of this category of gambling. By even-odds we mean that the event (usually a sports game) has equal chances of going either way. An example is a tennis match between two competitive players each of which has an equal chance of winning the match.
A fair bet, in this case, is just a simple bet between two friends who just pick one of the tennis player as winner. If these two friends wager $1 each, the winner will collect $2, thus winning $1. If instead the bets are placed through a sportsbook, the winner will collect only $1.91, since the odds of an evens game at most bookies and online sportsbooks is 1.91. If you are not familiar with the decimal representation of odds, 1.91 is the same as 10/11 in UK notation and -110 in US odds notation. Odds of 10/11 mean that you'll win $10 when you wager $11; and odds of -110 mean that you have to wager $110 in order to win $100. Anyway, since the winnings paid by a sportsbook is only $0.91, the house edge of an even-odds betting will therefore be
( 1 - 0.91 ) / 1 * 100 = 0.09 * 100 = 9%
So, this is how sportsbooks make a living. Since several internet sportsbooks offer odds higher than 1.91 in order to lure bettors, the house edge could be smaller than 9%, which is one of the things that the bettor should be looking for when searching for a sportsbook. On the other hand, if the bettor is wagering on parlays the house edge would be significantly higher than 9%; for big parlays, it could go as high as 40%.
It should be apparent by now that the gambler is better off with casino games than sports betting. It should also be noted that while the house edge could be a major factor to consider while selecting a gambling game, it is by no means the only one. For instance, one should consider the fact that casino games are mostly games of chance, while sports betting also involves a learned decision in selecting a pick, consequently leading to a higher probability of winning a bet.
Cash 3
Depending on the state you are in, this lottery game may be known by a different name such as Pick 3, Play 3, Daily 3, etc. In this game, the player selects a three-digit number from 000 to 999, and plays the number as a straight or as a box. A straight play is a prediction that the number will come exactly as selected while a box is a prediction for the number to come in any order. For instance, if a player selects the number 672 and plays it straight, he/she will win if the number drawn is exactly 672. Instead, if the player plays 672 as a box, he/she will win as long as the drawn number contains a 6, a 7 and a 2, in any order (276, for example). Obviously, a straight game pays much more than a box game for the same amount wagered.
Now consider 1000 friends (maybe in a club) selecting a number as a straight, each for $1, so that all the 1000 possible numbers are covered. When the winning number is drawn, the person who has selected that lucky number will be deemed a winner and will cash in all the $1000 collected, so making him win $999. This is a fair game. In the case of state lotteries, however, the winner will be paid only $500 in most states. Some states may pay a little bit less, others may pay a little bit more, but $500 is more or less the standard. The winner therefore wins $499. The house edge for a Cash 3 game will therefore be
( 999 - 499 ) / 999 * 100 = 500 / 999 * 100 = 50%
This house edge applies not only to the Cash 3 game but also to all state lottery games such as Play 4, Cash 5, Mega, Fantasy 5, Lotto, Power Ball, etc. So, whenever you are playing the state lottery, remember that you are wagering only half of your money on the actual lottery; the other half, you are just giving it away. Where this other half goes is not the gambler's concern, since his/her main objective is to win some money in order to pay the ever present bills, or to get out of a miserable life, or to change his/her 20-year-old car. As regards contributing to education and other noble causes, there are other means of collecting money called taxes and charities.
Unfortunately, many states do not allow casino games, and furthermore, sports betting is illegal in the United States. The player is therefore left with no choice but to cross state borders in search of a casino, or more recently, to engage in online sports betting through the several offshore internet sportsbooks. Nowadays, there is a plethora of trustworthy online casinos and sportsbooks operating from Canada, the UK, Antigua, Costa Rica, and so on.
The Conclusion
As far as the house edge is concerned, it has been shown that casino games are the best choice for the gambler. On the other end, any state lottery is a pretty miserable game to play. Nevertheless, besides the house edge, there is also the possibility of winning to consider.
Casino games, like lotteries are mostly games of chance; the player just selects a number or numbers and waits to see what luck brings him/her. There is absolutely no basis to prefer one number to others. Some people try to analyze previously drawn numbers in order to see the trend and predict the next numbers. This strategy may work a few times, but not always. Keep in mind that it is the players, and not the machines, who remember the previous numbers. In short, the possibility of winning a roulette or the lottery entirely depends on luck.
While there is little or nothing that a roulette or a lotto player can do to initially select a possible winning number, the situation could be quite different in the case of betting. With a lot of information and some assistance from sports handicappers, it is possible to predict the outcome of a sports event with more certainty than predicting a Cash 3 number.
About the Author: The author's web site at http://www.sports-betting.webconveniencestore.com?s=is1 presents strategies, with fully corroborative evidence, on "How to Win in Sports Betting Using Parlays".
Indeed, a house edge cannot be zero since casinos, sportsbooks, and lottery administrators have to make some money in order to cover their expenses, and to make some profit as well. Yet, a high house edge simply means that the players are unecessarily being ripped-off, and as a result, any gambling game with a high house edge should certainly be avoided by a knowledgeable gambler.
In this article, we shall compare, in the simplest way possible, the house edges of a roulette, an evens-odd betting, and a Cash 3 lottery game as representatives of the three major gambling categories.
The Equation
The easiest way to compute a house edge is to compare the actual winnings that are paid by the respective agents to the winnings that would be paid in a fair game or bet. A fair game or a fair bet is one in which no commission is involved; an obvious model is a game between friends. Therefore, in percentage form, the house edge is obtained by subtracting an actual game winning from a fair game winning and dividing the result by the fair game winning, finally multiplying by 100. Thus,
House Edge = [ (fair game winning - actual game winning) / fair game winning ] * 100
Roulette
Because of its simplicity and popularity, we shall consider the roulette as a representative casino game. A European roulette wheel has grooves marked by the numbers 0 to 36; the American wheel (also called Las Vegas wheel) has an additional groove marked as '00'. So, the European wheel has a total of 37 numbers, while the American wheel has 38. Internet casinos usually make available the option to select the type of wheel the customer prefers, but the brick and mortar casinos normally offer only one type. The winning number in a roulette game is the number corresponding to the groove where a spinning ball lands.
Now, consider a fair game in which 38 friends are playing the roulette at home, and each one selects a number and places a $1 bet on the number (no two or more players wagering on the same number). When the ball is spun and lands in a groove, the number marking that groove will be the winning number. The person who has selected this winning number collects all the money on the table thus making him win $37. On the other hand, if the game were conducted in a casino, the winner would be paid only $35. The difference between the two winnings applied in the above equation gives us the house edge of a roulette game as
( 37 - 35 ) / 37 * 100 = 2 / 37 * 100 = 5.4%
This means that every time you spend a $100 on an offline or online casino roulette, $5.40 goes to the casino and the rest is redistributed to the winners. Evidently, there are quite a number of casino games and the house edge varies from game to game, many of them having a house edge less than that of the roulette. For obvious reasons, a good gambler always prefers games that have low house edges, while the casino itself loves those games with high house edges. For example, the house edge of craps is 1.4% which makes it one of the most preferred casino games by the players.
Even-odds Sports Betting
Again, because of its simplicity, we shall consider an even-odds betting as a representative of this category of gambling. By even-odds we mean that the event (usually a sports game) has equal chances of going either way. An example is a tennis match between two competitive players each of which has an equal chance of winning the match.
A fair bet, in this case, is just a simple bet between two friends who just pick one of the tennis player as winner. If these two friends wager $1 each, the winner will collect $2, thus winning $1. If instead the bets are placed through a sportsbook, the winner will collect only $1.91, since the odds of an evens game at most bookies and online sportsbooks is 1.91. If you are not familiar with the decimal representation of odds, 1.91 is the same as 10/11 in UK notation and -110 in US odds notation. Odds of 10/11 mean that you'll win $10 when you wager $11; and odds of -110 mean that you have to wager $110 in order to win $100. Anyway, since the winnings paid by a sportsbook is only $0.91, the house edge of an even-odds betting will therefore be
( 1 - 0.91 ) / 1 * 100 = 0.09 * 100 = 9%
So, this is how sportsbooks make a living. Since several internet sportsbooks offer odds higher than 1.91 in order to lure bettors, the house edge could be smaller than 9%, which is one of the things that the bettor should be looking for when searching for a sportsbook. On the other hand, if the bettor is wagering on parlays the house edge would be significantly higher than 9%; for big parlays, it could go as high as 40%.
It should be apparent by now that the gambler is better off with casino games than sports betting. It should also be noted that while the house edge could be a major factor to consider while selecting a gambling game, it is by no means the only one. For instance, one should consider the fact that casino games are mostly games of chance, while sports betting also involves a learned decision in selecting a pick, consequently leading to a higher probability of winning a bet.
Cash 3
Depending on the state you are in, this lottery game may be known by a different name such as Pick 3, Play 3, Daily 3, etc. In this game, the player selects a three-digit number from 000 to 999, and plays the number as a straight or as a box. A straight play is a prediction that the number will come exactly as selected while a box is a prediction for the number to come in any order. For instance, if a player selects the number 672 and plays it straight, he/she will win if the number drawn is exactly 672. Instead, if the player plays 672 as a box, he/she will win as long as the drawn number contains a 6, a 7 and a 2, in any order (276, for example). Obviously, a straight game pays much more than a box game for the same amount wagered.
Now consider 1000 friends (maybe in a club) selecting a number as a straight, each for $1, so that all the 1000 possible numbers are covered. When the winning number is drawn, the person who has selected that lucky number will be deemed a winner and will cash in all the $1000 collected, so making him win $999. This is a fair game. In the case of state lotteries, however, the winner will be paid only $500 in most states. Some states may pay a little bit less, others may pay a little bit more, but $500 is more or less the standard. The winner therefore wins $499. The house edge for a Cash 3 game will therefore be
( 999 - 499 ) / 999 * 100 = 500 / 999 * 100 = 50%
This house edge applies not only to the Cash 3 game but also to all state lottery games such as Play 4, Cash 5, Mega, Fantasy 5, Lotto, Power Ball, etc. So, whenever you are playing the state lottery, remember that you are wagering only half of your money on the actual lottery; the other half, you are just giving it away. Where this other half goes is not the gambler's concern, since his/her main objective is to win some money in order to pay the ever present bills, or to get out of a miserable life, or to change his/her 20-year-old car. As regards contributing to education and other noble causes, there are other means of collecting money called taxes and charities.
Unfortunately, many states do not allow casino games, and furthermore, sports betting is illegal in the United States. The player is therefore left with no choice but to cross state borders in search of a casino, or more recently, to engage in online sports betting through the several offshore internet sportsbooks. Nowadays, there is a plethora of trustworthy online casinos and sportsbooks operating from Canada, the UK, Antigua, Costa Rica, and so on.
The Conclusion
As far as the house edge is concerned, it has been shown that casino games are the best choice for the gambler. On the other end, any state lottery is a pretty miserable game to play. Nevertheless, besides the house edge, there is also the possibility of winning to consider.
Casino games, like lotteries are mostly games of chance; the player just selects a number or numbers and waits to see what luck brings him/her. There is absolutely no basis to prefer one number to others. Some people try to analyze previously drawn numbers in order to see the trend and predict the next numbers. This strategy may work a few times, but not always. Keep in mind that it is the players, and not the machines, who remember the previous numbers. In short, the possibility of winning a roulette or the lottery entirely depends on luck.
While there is little or nothing that a roulette or a lotto player can do to initially select a possible winning number, the situation could be quite different in the case of betting. With a lot of information and some assistance from sports handicappers, it is possible to predict the outcome of a sports event with more certainty than predicting a Cash 3 number.
About the Author: The author's web site at http://www.sports-betting.webconveniencestore.com?s=is1 presents strategies, with fully corroborative evidence, on "How to Win in Sports Betting Using Parlays".
Internet Marketing: Exploring Dimensions
Internet Marketing exists as a competitive yet ambiguous genre` of the World Wide Web. The scores of website that float online today are exactly the statistics of competition in this field. However there are no foolproof, completely safe strategies that one can implement while indulging in this cutthroat arena.
With speculations and calculations in abundance to come to a conclusion can be fairly tough. But statistics and trends have indicated that the triumph of successful Internet Marketing Campaign lies is ‘Maximising the effectiveness of each element that makes a website’.
Not only does that result in desirable output but justify the purpose, intent and reason for launching a website. Websites provide a platform to address the audiences at a global level and reach out to a thousand users at a given point of time.
Owing to the feasibility, economics and dynamics of launching a website, this medium has become excessively popular all over the world. From a small entrepreneurs, students, small time shop keepers to brands and big businesses every one has a website floating online today.
In a situation as stressed as this it is, but obvious that the pressures of out doing one another, a pressure to perform is immense. http://www.epurplemedia.co.uk/" target="new">Internet marketing or online promotion (as they call it) has become a fairly popular arena for marketers to experiment and establish rules for sure-short web marketing techniques.
Developing the available resources and working on all the aspects of a website- its elements like the look-n-feel, content, navigation, quality of information and services, search engine friendliness, a comprehensive approach to the off-page marketing campaign – all of this put together in the right proportion leads to a successful marketing campaign for a website.
Web marketing can be carried out on several different levels and stages. If it is essentially about building a brand out of nothing or simply popularising a website, what goes behind the scene of successful ebrands as web promotion strategies are:
• Search engine marketing
• Affiliate Internet Marketing
• Viral Marketing
• Gorilla Marketing
• Search engine optimisation
• On page optimisation
• Off page optimisation
• Paid – search engine marketing (PPC)
• Email marketing
• Blog optimisation
• Forum postings
• Classifieds and directory listing
• Press Releases
• Newsletters
• Tutorials.
• eBooks
• Link Exchange.
Hence under estimating the power of the World Wide Web can certainly be a dangerous attempt and to revive a businesses – a mammoths tasks. Internet Marketing is an elaborate task that involves – if not all, then most of the above mentioned marketing practices to launch a long lasting and successful e-marketing campaign.
Author Resource:We offer a variety of Internet Marketing Services, that will help your websites rank at an enviable position & will enable you to fight online competition successfully. Hire our services i.e.
With speculations and calculations in abundance to come to a conclusion can be fairly tough. But statistics and trends have indicated that the triumph of successful Internet Marketing Campaign lies is ‘Maximising the effectiveness of each element that makes a website’.
Not only does that result in desirable output but justify the purpose, intent and reason for launching a website. Websites provide a platform to address the audiences at a global level and reach out to a thousand users at a given point of time.
Owing to the feasibility, economics and dynamics of launching a website, this medium has become excessively popular all over the world. From a small entrepreneurs, students, small time shop keepers to brands and big businesses every one has a website floating online today.
In a situation as stressed as this it is, but obvious that the pressures of out doing one another, a pressure to perform is immense. http://www.epurplemedia.co.uk/" target="new">Internet marketing or online promotion (as they call it) has become a fairly popular arena for marketers to experiment and establish rules for sure-short web marketing techniques.
Developing the available resources and working on all the aspects of a website- its elements like the look-n-feel, content, navigation, quality of information and services, search engine friendliness, a comprehensive approach to the off-page marketing campaign – all of this put together in the right proportion leads to a successful marketing campaign for a website.
Web marketing can be carried out on several different levels and stages. If it is essentially about building a brand out of nothing or simply popularising a website, what goes behind the scene of successful ebrands as web promotion strategies are:
• Search engine marketing
• Affiliate Internet Marketing
• Viral Marketing
• Gorilla Marketing
• Search engine optimisation
• On page optimisation
• Off page optimisation
• Paid – search engine marketing (PPC)
• Email marketing
• Blog optimisation
• Forum postings
• Classifieds and directory listing
• Press Releases
• Newsletters
• Tutorials.
• eBooks
• Link Exchange.
Hence under estimating the power of the World Wide Web can certainly be a dangerous attempt and to revive a businesses – a mammoths tasks. Internet Marketing is an elaborate task that involves – if not all, then most of the above mentioned marketing practices to launch a long lasting and successful e-marketing campaign.
Author Resource:We offer a variety of Internet Marketing Services, that will help your websites rank at an enviable position & will enable you to fight online competition successfully. Hire our services i.e.
Information About Countries Of The World
To know the unknown and see the unseen has had been an eternal urge of man since the beginning of history and it is probably this desire that has led to the discovery of new lands and the development of new countries. Each country in this world is unique with its history, its culture and traditions and its people. Allwonderscountries provides you with the best opportunity to gather comprehensive information on the various countries in the different continents of the world. From information about the currencies, the capitals, the major spots of tourists' attractions, and shopping or the major places of stay, you will get to know it all from this site. Just browse through the different links on this site for knowing more about the specific countries.
Whether you want to know about the different countries in Asia or Africa or you are in the look out for the best tourists' spots in the counties in North America and Europe, Allwonderscountries is the ultimate site for you to know all that you need to about the different Countries of the world.
Whether you want to know about the different countries in Asia or Africa or you are in the look out for the best tourists' spots in the counties in North America and Europe, Allwonderscountries is the ultimate site for you to know all that you need to about the different Countries of the world.
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