Pai Gow
I'll admit it. I like playing Pai Gow, but it can be lonely. Walk through just about any Vegas casino and you'll do some work to spot the Pai Gow table(s). This "Americanized" version of an ancient Chinese game isn't as popular as it should be.
Pai Gow is growing among gamblers, but in the real world of limited floor space, it still takes a backseat to Craps, Blackjack, Roulette, and even Three-Card Poker. I think many players stay away, because the name of the game confuses them. Pai Gow just sounds intimidating, but it isn't.
I'll submit to you that learning to play Pai Gow is fairly straightforward and simple. If you learn to play, I'll bet that you'll be having a lot of fun with the game right out of the gate.
The Pai Gow Table
Pai Gow is played on a table that's similar to Blackjack. So, if you play Blackjack, this should make it more comfortable for you to start. The game has six seats for six players and the dealer spot, which is at the top of the table just like Blackjack.
Each player's spot has three game areas, which are vertically one after the other. The first game area is where you put your wagers and this spot is on the top. Next, you have two areas for your cards. You see, once you get your cards, you'll split them into two hands-this is where the magic happens.
The two card areas in Pai Gow are for your highest hand-bottom game area-and the 2nd highest. These are two hands that you'll create. This is where strategy plays in and we'll go over all of this in other Pai Gow articles on this site. Right now, let's just concentrate on some simple basics and build a good foundation for enjoying this fun game.
Quick Play Information
I'm not going to run down play in detail here, but I will in other articles on this site. Let's go over the general play flow of Pai Gow.
Pai Gow is played with a regular 52-card deck, like Blackjack can be, but there's one change. Pai Gow uses one joker card. If you've played poker or video poker, you're already set, because the winning hands work pretty much the same way-we'll go over this and the couple of differences in another article.
Even though there are other players in the game (possibly), everyone is playing against the dealer-just like in Blackjack. You're betting that your hands will beat the banker's hands.
Ah, now here's where we need to pause. I said the banker's hand. Unlike Blackjack, players can get the opportunity to be the banker. As a player, you can accept or decline when it's your turn to be the bank. But, again, I'll go over this in more detail in another article.
Get Excited
I hope you're curiosity is up just a little. Pai Gow is an exciting game to play and I'll be teaching all the ins and outs on this site.
Will Win is a professional gambler, ex casino dealer and author. For the best Online Casino Visit www.casino-magic.org
NJ Fitness Expert Reveals 10 Secrets to Portion Control
Many people that have been successful in the weight loss world will tell you about the importance of portion control. Here are 10 ways to control your portions whether eating at home or dining out.
1. Bigger isn’t Always Better
We all have seen the commercials and ads for the fast food places that are making their portions bigger and bigger for just a few more cents. Restaurants are serving giant portions sometimes large enough for four people. This is not right. Keep in mind that this is a bad thing. When eating at a fast food place, order a kids meal. You will get a small proper sized portion and you will not be able to over eat. When dining in a restaurant, ask to have your meal brought to you half on the plate and half in a take-home box. That will take away some of the temptation of eating the entire meal and regretting it later.
2. Divvy up Your Snacks
Instead of buying greasy potato chips, try buying mini rice cakes or low fat popcorn. Buy them in small single serve packages and limit yourself to just one bag. If individual bags aren’t available in the snack you like, buy the regular sized bag but right when you get home, separate the bag into about 12 mini bags, limiting yourself to one bag per serving.
3. Separate Your Leftovers
Just like the number 2 tip, the same goes for leftovers. Directly after a meal, separate your leftovers into a few small containers so you are not tempted to eat the entire leftover container full of food.
4. Say “No” To Seconds
Even is you still feel hungry, don’t let yourself go for a second serving. Know that you have already had the proper amount of food, and anything more would be adding more calories which is what you want to avoid. To make it easier on yourself, when dining at home, don’t let the pots or pans holding the extra food be in your view while you eat. This will have you constantly thinking about wanting more food. Instead, after eating one portion, be proud of yourself for not letting yourself go for seconds.
5. Mini Meals
I’m sure you have heard this one before, but it’s a fact. Eating smaller multiple healthy meals throughout the day will leave you more satisfied than eating three large meals everyday. By keeping these meals small, healthy and frequent, you will actually consume less calories than you do with three larger meals.
6. Eat Your Salad
Eating salad before a meal will make you partially satisfied making you not eat as much when the meal comes to the table. To make the salad more satisfying, add some raw vegetables to it making it extra healthy. Or add some chunks of meat like lean turkey cubes. Eating all of this together can be considered a full meal, so you may not even want to eat the meal that was supposed to follow.
7. Recognize Size
This one is important, because when dining out, you can’t really know how much you’re eating without knowing proper portion sizes. You can learn this by simply comparing ounces of meat to an object such as, 1oz of meat is about the size of a matchbook. One cup of potatoes or pasta is equal to the size of a tennis ball. Keep this portion sizes in mind the next time you have a big meal in front of you.
8. It’s Okay To Indulge
Everyone should be entitled to treat themselves to a “forbidden” food once in a while. This is fine as long as you pay attention to the four words, “once in a while.” Telling yourself that you can never enjoy a forbidden food ever again will leave you feeing deprived. Deprivation leads to overeating. So allow yourself to have a small treat once a week. You will always have something to look forward to. Just be sure to limit your consumption.
9. Stay Away From Buffets
As tempting and appetizing as a buffet might seem to you, they are a big no no for someone trying to loose some pounds. They cause over eating in just about everyone. With all that tasty high fat food nearby, it’s super easy to fill up your plate more than 3 or 4 times! This makes it impossible to control your portions. Instead of thinking of portion control you are thinking about what food you can try next. People tend to over eat so much at these “all you can eat” joints that they leave feeling sick. If you have experienced this feeling, remember this the next time you find yourself at a buffet. Personally though if you are dieting and or watching what you eat, then steer clear of all you can eat restaurants altogether.
10. Stick to Serving Sizes
Before eating anything that should be eaten in moderation, check the back of the package for the label indicating how much a serving size is. Most likely you will be very surprised and realize that you have been overeating without knowing it. Serving sizes are actually pretty small. When scooping ice cream into a bowl do you know that an ice cream serving size is only ½ a cup? Think back when was the last time you had just a ½ cup of ice cream? Without knowing this information, people are eating anywhere from 2-5 servings at a time. So get reading!
Arnel Ricafranca is a six pack abs expert, fitness boot camp coach, author, and a motivational speaker. He has authored and co-authored several books including The Ultimate Weight Loss Success Strategies For Busy Men and Women Over 40 available online at www.elitefitnessexperts.com. Mr. Ricafranca has been featured as the fitness expert on numerous media such as Jersey 101.5 FM, and Morris Health and Life Magazine, and numerous websites such as NBC WALB 10 News, NBC KPLC 7 News, and KTRE ABC 9 news. Mr. Ricafranca can be reached via email at fitnessvip@gmail.com
Arnel Ricafranca’s websites
http://www.iwantsixpackabs.com
http://www.womensworkoutguide.com
http://www.mensworkoutguide.com
http://www.workoutseries.com
http://www.introtobodybuilding.com
http://www.howtogetbigger.com
Arnel Ricafranca is a six pack abs expert, fitness boot camp coach, author, and a motivational speaker. He has been featured as the fitness expert on numerous media such as Jersey 101.5 FM, and Morris Health and Life Magazine, and numerous sites.
Arnel’s websites
http://www.iwantsixpackabs.com
http://www.womensworkoutguide.com
http://www.mensworkoutguide.com
NEW SUMMER CARP BAITS – Hot Weather Opportunities and Risks
How can you really get the best carp fishing results when things really hot up? How many anglers have not yet savoured the joy of summer carp fishing and all the great opportunities and experiences of great catches, that summer brings?
Surface fishing is possibly your favourite method of all. Actually watching the movements of the fish you are about to hook is so exciting! The subject of surface bait silhouettes, shading and colours are interesting, as is the ability of your bait to move in as natural a way as possible and obscuring of the hook too.
Plastic baits are available flavoured now and some can be made to glow in the dark too. It’s not really surprising that baits such as ‘glowing’ artificial corn can be as effective in day time as in the dark. When used in conjunction with other baits like pellets, boilies, particles etc to enhance the carp’s attentions they do demonstrate a proven edge. Plastic baits are great for simultaneously offsetting the weight of your hook, and changing the behaviour of your rig too.
Floating corn is fairly new to the scene in the UK as is giant corn. Pink and white marshmallows are a good sweet alternatives. The variety of multicoloured floating candies that can be exploited is amazing. For those of you more natural bait oriented air injected worms of different types, dipped in additives can really work well, although the ethics may need considering here...
Using large quantities of floating maggots and casters on the surface as chum can be devastating and on waters where this has already been done, the additive and flavoured oversprays can be a great edge too.
Floating fish pellets of many types from pond sticks and pellets to floating salmon pellets etc, have always worked well. Using tiny floating pellets soaked in additives is another edge where standard sized dog biscuits have been over-used in the past. Just as with bottom baits, it pays to mix different sizes, colours, flavours, oil contents, weights etc together, to confuse your carp. Even spotting your own hook bait can be impossible when using this approach!
In very hot weather, adding cork or foam etc to float any sinking type bait, including any boilie is good, especially if that boilie used is the dominant catching one that water at the time. Making a homemade buoyant base mix and simply rolling it flat and chopping into small pieces, then air-drying these pieces is a great alternative. You can pack them full of your chosen attractors and go fishing extremely confident indeed!
Feeding lots of these tiny bait pieces in your swim over a reasonable period of hours can make carp go crazy for sure, even better than using dog mixers on pressured waters... A competitively feeding big carp is easier to catch, but achieving multiple competitively feeding big carp in your swim is far better!
In extremely hot summer conditions, do bear in mind conditions. Cover-up against the sun. Sun block is not enough, heat induced headaches and sun stroke and even dehydration are not pleasant while fishing! So if you’re new to hot weather carp fishing, be prepared to take plenty of water and equipment to make your own shade if needed. A ‘bivvy’ can turn from shade into a baking oven, leaving you nicely roasted and feeling quite ill in very hot conditions. Even that cool box of beer may not save you!
Please remember though, if you’re hot, then any fish you land certainly will be also. De-oxygenated water, contact with a hot carp mat (even when watered down) and simple stress from handling, can easily induce shock in more weakened fish. These may be spawn bound, or in post spawning recovery. Many spawn bound fish are likely to be very big, and very vulnerable and perhaps some of the biggest residents of your water.
Especially at times directly after or between spawning, many big fish are very susceptible to being caught, being ravenous and energy depleted. But they are most at risk of suffering from shock when caught and in the case of high density stocked very small waters with little shade, this can be lethal. Please be prepared not to fish if this could be a risk! (If the forecast is 90 degrees perhaps it’s best to head for the beach and not that small commercial lake!)
Just as a side note, especially in the UK, if you fish a small commercial lake with a high fish stocking with no oxygenating weed or pump and fish behaviour and catches indicate that severe de-oxygenation of the water is taking place, take action. Insist that a pump is installed and turned on. I fished one water where the pumps were not in use which led to an easily avoidable big fish death. (It’s no good having ‘emergency pumps’ if they’re not in use when obviously needed; it takes time to re-oxygenate a water!) So please make management responsible especially if the water has a record of fish wipe-outs due to de-oxygenation!
The author has many more fishing and bait ‘edges’ up his sleeve. Every single one can have a huge impact on catches. (Warning: This article is protected by copyright.)
By Tim Richardson.
For the unique and acclaimed new massive expert bait making ‘bible’ ebook / book:
“BIG CARP BAIT SECRETS!” SEE:
http://www.baitbigfish.com
