Chateau De La Mer is a part of the five acres Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center compound in Amoingon, Boac,Marinduque, Philippines. Visit Related Website: engrvv.wix.com/chateau-du-mmer
Some photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on infringing in your copyrights. Cheers!
David B. Katague is an online memoirist and cultural essayist whose writing has appeared on HubPages
If you have been following my blogs, you probably know that I have been ordering gourmet ready to eat meals from Munchery.com Today, I ordered six meals for $36 (a promotional price) with this food delivery company( Freshly) that I saw in Facebook. The regular price for this 6 meal plan is $59 from the company website, https://www.freshly.com
My first shipment will be next week and every Friday. The promotional price included free delivery to my front door. The meals are packed in dry ice. Just heat the meals for 1.5 to 2 minutes in the microwave and you have your dinner, lunch or breakfast. I am lazy to cook, so ordering good quality meals with out driving to a restaurant is a must for our lifestyle. The following videos (6) summarizes what Freshly is all about.
Two days ago, I took a 4-hour break from my primary care duties. If you have been reading my blogs, you probably already know that I am the primary care giver to my wife of 59 years who had been diagnosed with Parkinson Disease in 2013.
Due to the kindness of my son, David III, he suggested I took the afternoon off and go to the Casino by myself and play video poker or Pai Gow Poker. My son knows that I have been practicing both poker games in my computer. My wife did not complain that I am leaving her since she was not feeling well today. I think my wife is under the weather as it rained a little bit here last night and also this morning. Speaking of rain, this was our first rain this year since last February.
At first, I felt ill at ease and weird driving alone to the Casino. My wife and I (sometimes with our neighbor) have always been going to the Casino together for the past 4 years. But after a while I felt like a bird that has been freed from his cage. There were no hustles prior to my departure. I did not have to bring a walker, a small luggage, drinking water and pills for this Casino escapade. All I have was $250 for Casino gambling at my own pace. I planned on using $100 for video poker and the rest for the standard slot machines. Once this is gone, I go home.
Prior to my departure I called Thunder Valley and ask for the location of their video poker machines. So when I arrived at the Casino I immediately was able to inspect the pay out schedule and percentage of the machines. Thunder Valley have more than a dozen video poker machines but only 2 have payouts of 10/8 for the Full House/Flush hands for the Jack or better game which would guarantee close to 99% pay off( http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2016/10/video-poker-machines-versus-slots.html). I was looking for a 9/7 machine but there was none. I played video poker for almost two hours before my $100 disappeared.
By this time, I was getting bored and my back and neck was starting to ache. I shifted to the regular old slots betting on the Quarters and Dollar machines. In another hour my $100 was gone. I decided to play my last $50 on the penny newer slots machines. I was entertained and I played for another hour when only $20 was left of my $50 capital. I decided to cash in and buy my favorite Chinese Take out dish-Shrimps and Angus Beef for our dinner. I was home by 5 PM, tired but happy. I really enjoyed this much needed break. Thank you my beloved son for taking care of your Mom while I was away at the Casino.
Last week, I started playing video poker* instead of the standard slots to improve my chance of winning in our local Casino. The reasons why one should play video poker instead of the regular slots is to minimize your losses and improve your chance of winning because of the casino term, pay out percentage discuss in the following article. The following is an article from www.pokertao.com for your information.
Again, May I remind you to go to the Casino for fun and do not expect to become rich or win a lot of money. The odds of winning big is against you! Also remember that most Casinos earned 70% of their income from the slots machines. Your winning big has the same odds as winning in the lottery. However you can minimize your losses if you are a smart player.
Slot machines and video poker machines have a lot in common, but they have notable differences as well. The following are the details as to what makes them unique and what their differences are.
Similarities
So what makes video poker and slot machines the same? First, they both look the same. Both machines are coin operated. The player sits in front of them and pushes buttons or pulls a lever to operate them. Both machines have a hopper for the player's winnings in coins or in a form of tickets for the new versions. So the machines basically look the same and serve the same purpose, which is to let the gamblers play without any interaction from another player or a dealer.
Both video poker and slot machines run on random numbers generated by a chip aptly called as random number generator or RNG. The machines still gets a series of random numbers even though nobody is playing them. This series of randomly generated numbers is like a wheel of fortune that stops spinning as soon as a player places a bet.
Differences
What makes the video poker and the slot machine differ from each other is the random numbers generated within them. The program for the RNG of the slot machine is designed so that the machine pays out a percentage of the amount of money that runs through it at a certain percentage which is usually about 83% to 97%. The amount of money is known as the payback percentage determined solely by the program of the random number generator. It is impossible to determine the payout percentage of a slot machine by merely looking at it. It would probably take hundreds of thousands of trial and error to figure it out.
The random number generator on a video poker machine is another story. It replicates a deck of 52 or, in some other poker variation, of 53 playing cards. The video poker machine has the same odds of getting the same card as an actual dealer dealing from an actual deck of cards. Because a player can mathematically figure out the odds of getting each hand and because the payouts are determined by the hand the player receives, a player can somewhat estimate the payback percentage of a video poker machine quite easily.
It is also because of the difference in which the random number generator produces the outcome of the player that we can tell the other differences of the slot and video poker machines.
◾The casino can change the payout schedule of a video poker machine to change its payout percentage. On a slot machine, its RNG has to completely reprogrammed.
◾ A video poker machine with the right payout schedule generally receives a positive expectation as compared to the slot machine that always receives negative expectation.
◾ With the right strategy and a good play, a video poker machine can have a payout percentage from 97% upwards. A slot machine can have a payout schedule beginning from 80% upwards but never higher than the optimum play video poker machine .
◾ There are no skills needed on a slot machine. A player needs to be skilled in playing a video poker machine. However, video poker can become boring after two to three hours continuous play compared to the new standard slots with high-tech graphics and sounds.
The best video poker machine is the full pay or optimum pay video poker machine that pays 6 and 9 for flush and full house hands respectively for the Jack or better game. The pay out percentage for these machines is closed to 99.95% percentage payback. If you know the right strategy and skill for good play, your chance in winning in a video poker machine is highly improved compared to the standard slots. Learn the basic skills and strategy for playing video poker to minimize your losses during your visit to a Casino near you or in Las Vegas!
However, if you get bored playing video poker, try to follow this strategy of this player in the following video.
* I played video poker for almost two hours and did not win or lose any money. I finally got bored and went back playing the new slots! The new slots have high-tech graphics and sounds that I love and is not boring and very entertaining! By the way, according to the VPfree2.com website Thunder Valley has 6 different types of video poker machines whereas Red Hawk has none.
The Proposed Indian Casino of the Wilton Rancheria Tribe in Elk Grove, California
We have two Indian Casinos within 20 to 30 minutes driving time from our residence that we currently patronized. The first one is Thunder Valley(TV) in Lincoln and the second one is Red Hawk (RH) in Shingle Springs. In both Casinos we not only play but also dine in the several restaurants that offers food to fit everyone taste and budget. A third one may be coming in the near future as published in the Elk Grove News the other day as follows:
ELK GROVE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES AGREEMENT WITH WILTON RANCHERIA TRIBE ON PROPOSED CASINO(Elk Grove Laguna News)
In a lengthy meeting, in front of a packed city council chamber, the Elk Grove City Council approved an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Wilton Rancheria Tribe on the proposed casino to be located in Elk Grove near the still unfinished outlet mall. The vote was 5-0. A majority of the speakers were in favor of the MOU and the casino. There were 45 people who signed up to speak.
The tribal leader, Raymond “Chuckie” Hitchcock made a brief presentation of the benefits of the casino and working with the community. Then the community had a chance to speak and by our count there were 39 speakers, with 28 in favor of the MOU.
During the city council debate, City Councilman Pat Hume gave a heartfelt, emotional commentary on why approving the MOU was the right thing to do for the city and for the tribe.
The complete video of the presentation is on the Elk Grove Laguna Forums Facebook page. The video was broadcast live to give more people a chance to see the meeting that may not ordinarily attend a council meeting.
https://www.facebook.com/401962360349/videos/10154514370405350/
If this proposed Indian Casino is built, it will be also only about a 30 minute drive from our residence. I am looking forward for the completion of this project, because if there is competition, the percentage pay out of the slot machines may be improved in all of the three casinos, so customers and patrons of the Casinos will have higher chances of winning playing the slot machines.
Construction will start in 2019 if everything is approved and construction completion time is expected to take from 18 to 24 months. I hope I will still be alive and kicking when this Casino is ready for operation.
Last week Macrine and I won $200, got a free dinner and a nice gift playing slots in our local Casino. Macrine won $45 and I took home $155 following the tips that I have written in my last posting (http://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2016/09/we-go-to-casino-for-free-dinners-and.html )as well as the following tips from Las Vegas Slots on line website posted in this article.
I played on the older 25c machines at 3X, making 75c per bet. I also waited until one player lost about $100. When she left the machine, I took over. Based on the our last four escapades, it appeared that the old machines are giving higher percentage pay offs compared to the new slots with sophisticated sounds and graphics. Macrine just played the minimum from 30C to 60c per bet. I played from 75c to S2.00 per bet depending on my mood or if the stats(for certain slots) are in my favor.
Please watch the video at the end of this post and you will improve your chance of winning the slots or at least minimize your losses. Have FUN and ENJOY the Casinos!
Try the following when you play the slots in Las Vegas or in your local Indian Casinos.
Tip #1 – Play for fun. The house has a mathematical edge, and you can’t beat it. So you should go into your gambling sessions expecting to lose, but hoping for the occasional win. Your goal should be to have some fun while you’re at it.
Tip #2 – Join the slots club. Almost all casinos have loyalty bonuses, rebates, and rewards for players who patronize their establishments. They provide you with a card to insert into the machine so that they can track how much action you’ve bought to the casino. They then return a tiny percentage (something like 0.1% or 0.2%) to you in the form of rebates, food, travel benefits, and entertainment.
One slot machine myth you should ignore is that slots pay out less when you’re playing with your slot card inserted. That’s just nonsense. We discussed how the random number generator works earlier.
Tip #3 – Skip the progressives, unless you’re determined to win a life-changing amount. Since the potential rewards on progressive slot machines are so high, the machines pay out less often. They have to in order to afford the rare huge jackpot. For the casual gambler, playing a machine with lower jackpots provides more opportunities to win, even though the winnings are smaller.
On the other hand, if you’re determined to win a million dollars, stick with the progressives. Just understand that you’re still unlikely to change your life with a huge slot machine jackpot. The odds are similar to those of winning the lottery.
Tip #4 – Don’t play with the rent money. This should be common sense, but if you’re gambling with money you can’t afford to lose, then you have a problem and should seek professional help of some kind. You cannot play slots professionally.
Tip #5 – Try video poker. These games are similar to slot machine games, but they provide better payout percentages and an opportunity to use strategy to improve your chances. Video poker isn’t for everybody, but I know lots of slots players who’ve made the switch once they tried it.
Tip #6 – Slow down. Some slot machine players make 600 spins per hour or more. Keep this in mind though. The more action you bring to the casino, the more opportunities the house edge has to whittle away at your bankroll. So slow down. Talk to the gamblers next to you. Sip your drink between spins. Anything you can do to reduce the amount of money you’re putting into action each hour is going to make your bankroll last longer.
Tip #7 – Don’t play the slots at the airport. These are the worst games in town in any gambling destination. Wait until you get to the casino to play the slots, and your money will last longer, and you’ll improve your chances of winning.
Reference: vegasslotsonline.com
Personal Note: Watch out for my blog on improving your chance to win playing video poker in stead of the regular slots.
