Rubies

The ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum. The red color caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum called sapphires. The ruby considered one of the four precious stones, together with the sapphire, the emerald, and the diamond. All natural rubies have imperfections in them, including color impurities and inclusions of rutile needles known as silk. Gemologists use these needle inclusions found in natural rubies to distinguish them from synthetics, simulants, or substitutes. Usually the rough stone heated before cutting. Almost all rubies today treated in some form, with heat treatment being the most common practice. However, rubies that are completely untreated but still of excellent quality command a large premium. The Price of rubies primarily is by color. The brightest and most valuable red called pigeon blood red, commands a huge premium over other rubies of similar quality. After color follows clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without any needle-like rutile inclusions may indicate that the stone been treated. Cut and carat also determine the price. In the evaluation of colored gemstones, color is the single most important factor. Color divides into three components, hue, saturation and tone. Hue refers to color as we normally use the term. Transparent gemstones occur in the following hues: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, purple and pink are the spectral hues. The first six are spectral hues; the last two are modified spectral hues. Purple is a hue that falls halfway between red and blue. Pink is a paler shade of red. In nature there are rarely pure hues so when speaking of the hue of a gemstone we speak of primary and secondary and sometimes tertiary hues. In ruby the primary hue must be red. All other hues of the gem species corundum called sapphire. Ruby may exhibit a range of secondary hues. Orange, purple, violet and pink are possible.

Online bingo is the game of bingo played on the Internet.

Unlike balls used in regular bingo halls, online bingo sites use a random number generator. Most bingo halls also offer links to online poker and casino offerings as the patrons are often in the target market. One notable feature of online bingo is the chat functionality. Bingo sites strive to foster a sense of community and interaction between players as this helps customer retention.

Playing bingo online, players can make use of optional features, which make playing the game easier, such as auto-daub. Auto-daub automatically marks off the numbers on cards as they are called, so players don't have to. Most software providers support other gaming features as Best Card Sorting and Best Card Highlighting where players cards are sorted and highlighted by closest to bingo. Some of these features are designed to free players to enjoy the communal pleasantries of the chat features.

There is variety among the different kinds of bingo games that can be played. For example, some inexpensive game rooms appeal to the player who may want to play for just a 10 cents or 10 pence; some bingo games only allow players to purchase the same amount of cards so they are not competing against the high rollers out there who buy many cards for the same game.

Poker Omaha Hi-Low Split

Omaha Hi-Low Split

Omaha Hi-Low Split (8 or Better)

Omaha Hi-Low Split is a community card poker game that is played with a standard 52-card deck. In order for a hand to qualify for the low hand, it must contain an 8 or Better (lower) at showdown. The game starts to the left of the dealer button. The blind bets are made from the positions left of the dealer button and are forced bets which must be made before the cards are dealt.

Each player is dealt four cards, one at a time, in turn and face down (hole cards) as their initial hand. A round of betting occurs for players who are continuing to contend for the pot. Three board cards are turned face up (flop) in the middle of the table (community cards). The community cards are available for all players to use. The second round of betting occurs. The fourth community card is turned face up (the turn), followed by a third round of betting. A final community card (the river) is turned up and a fourth and final round of betting occurs. After the final round of betting has been completed, each player may use any two hole cards with three community cards to make the highest five-card poker hand, and any two hole cards with three community cards to make the lowest qualifying five-card poker hand. The lowest qualifying five-card poker hand is Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5. Players must qualify for the low hand with a hand containing an 8 or better (lower). The pot is split equally between the players with the highest ranking hand and lowest qualifying hand. If no player has a low qualifying hand, the player with the highest ranking five-card poker hand wins the entire pot. In the event of a tie, the pot, or portion of the pot, if the tie is for high or low hand only, is split equally.

History of Poker

The history of poker is a matter of some debate. The name of the game likely descended from the French poque, which descended from the German pochen ('to knock'), but it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It closely resembles the Persian game of as nas, and may have been taught to French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero and the French brelan. The English game brag (earlier bragg) clearly descended from brelan and incorporated bluffing (though the concept was known in other games by that time). It is quite possible that all of these earlier games influenced the development of poker as it exists now.

English actor Joseph Crowell reported that the game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards, four players betting on which player's hand was the most valuable. Jonathan H. Green's book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843), described the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country by Mississippi riverboats, on which gambling was a common pastime.

Harry Truman's poker chips Soon after this spread, the full 52-card English deck was used, and the flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, many additions were made, including draw poker, stud poker (the five-card variant), and the straight. Further American developments followed, such as the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker (around 1900), and community card poker games (around 1925). Spread of the game to other countries, particularly in Asia, is often attributed to the U.S. military.

The game and jargon of poker have become important parts of American culture and English culture. Such phrases as ace in the hole, ace up one's sleeve, beats me, blue chip, call one's bluff, cash in, high roller, pass the buck, poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the chips are down, wild card, and others are used in everyday conversation even by those unaware of their origins at the poker table.

Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began in 1970. It was also during that decade that the first serious strategy books appeared, notably The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky, Super System by Doyle Brunson (ISBN 0931444014), and The Book of Tells by Mike Caro .

Poker’s popularity has experienced an unprecedented spike in recent years, largely due to the introduction of online poker and the invention of the hole-card camera which finally turned the game into a spectator sport. Viewers can now follow the action and drama of the game, and broadcasts of poker tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour have brought in huge audiences for cable and satellite TV distributors.

Poker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker