Cheap Gambling Systems

(CBS/AP) BALTIMORE - The gambling website Bodog.com was shut down, and its founder Calvin Ayre was indicted, for illegal gambling that generated more than $100 million in winnings, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

The website's domain name was seized Monday and the indictments of four people, all Canadians, were unveiled Tuesday in Baltimore.

Gamblers in Maryland and elsewhere were sent at least $100 million by wire and check from 2005 to 2012, the U.S. Attorney's office said, adding that Bodog conducted a $42 million advertising campaign between 2005 and 2008 to attract gamblers to the website.

The operation allegedly moved funds from Bodog's accounts located in Switzerland, England, Malta, Canada and elsewhere to pay winnings to gamblers. The accused each face up to five years in prison for conducting an illegal gambling business and 20 years for money laundering. Bodog.com faces a fine of up to $500,000 for gambling and money laundering.

The indictments follow federal prosecutions last year of three of the biggest websites involved in online poker. More than 75 company bank accounts in 14 countries have been frozen, and authorities are seeking $3 billion in fines and restitution, in that investigation.

More popular than any other type of card game, poker offers players plenty of fun and excitement – not to mention the potential for financial reward – but how exactly is the game played and what do beginners need to know? Provided below is a guide to how to get started.

Texas Hold'em is especially popular and no guide to the game would be complete without explaining how the variant is played. Texas Hold'em poker is typically played with specific pot limits or no limit at all. The most popular subcategory of the game is undoubtedly Texas Hold'em No Limit poker, which is played online and in casinos throughout the world every day. No Limit Texas Hold'em is more or less the same as pot limit poker, with the exception that players are permitted to bet however much they want (a minimum applies) in each game.

Because Texas Hold'em is a community card variant, some cards will be visible to all players after the first round of betting. The game involves each player being dealt two hole cards (not visible to other players) at the start of the hand. Whoever is sitting to the left of the dealer chip, which passes from one player to the next after each game, pays the small blind, which is half the amount required to play in that game. The player to the left of the small blind pays the big blind, which represents the full amount of money or chips needed to play.