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That's interesting. I wonder how comparable a ban on smoking in casinos is to the smoking ban that a lot of bars experienced a few years ago?

I think the hard core smokers and gamblers will probably still get both of their "fixes."

Ashley Mitchell, the 29 year old Briton who had earlier this year hacked into Zynga and had stolen $12 million worth of virtual chips was sentenced by the Exeter Crown Court this week. He was facing four charges of converting criminal property as well as consequences for violating the Computer Misuse Act. Mitchell received a prison term of two years for this offence. In an unrelated hacking incident carried out by Mitchell in 2008 involving a local government network, he had received a 40 week suspended sentence. Now, because of the Zynga hacking Mitchell has breached the terms of the suspended sentence and was therefore ordered to an additional 30 weeks of imprisonment.

Mitchell hacked into Zynga's servers and stole 400 billion virtual poker chips. If Zynga had sold these chips to its players it would have earned $12 million. These virtual chips cannot be converted to cash. The only way Mitchell could get value for his effort was to sell these chips to other Zynga players on the black market. He tried to do this at a price well below the face value of the chips. He was able to get rid of only $86,000 worth of his loot when he got caught. Had he been able to sell everything at these rates he would have made $300,000. This is nothing compared to the face value of the chips but is a lot of money all the same.

Judge Philip Wassal, who was hearing the case, told Mitchell, "You used a considerable amount of expertise, through software you bought, to hack into their computer system. The means by which you gained access through their security showed elaborate research and a lot of persistence. The time you must have spent doing this must have been considerable." The judge said in his order, "People rely on computer systems. Anyone who has managed to get into these systems for their own ends should expect a stiff sentence."

During the hearing, Prosecutor Gareth Evans had pointed out that Zynga's currency is in-game and exists online only. The theft therefore did not directly affect the company's revenue as most customer thefts do. Zynga could always recreate the "money" Mitchell stole. However, the theft could result in a loss of clientele for Zynga, because users who fear falling prey to hackers may leave the site. Mitchell, who had pleaded guilty, is said to be struggling with a gambling addiction. His lawyer, Ben Darby admitted that his client was spending £1,000 a day on online casinos and poker rooms.

Part of basic strategy in online blackjack is knowing when to split your cards and as a seasoned player, you probably already know the ins and outs of this move but for those that don’t, here’s a quick rundown.

Splitting your cards gives you the opportunity to create multiple hands anytime you are dealt pairs as well as an opportunity to double your original . It’s not advised to split every time you’re dealt a pair and it’s wise to check the basic strategy guide so you know the right timing of the splitting strategy.

So the dealer gives you a pair of eights, so now you have the option to create two hands but you must place an additional bet equal to your original bet in order to follow through. Now, you have two hands in play and the opportunity to win twice as much as you had originally intended.

Here is a quick guide as to when you should split your cards when dealt the following:

2-2 and 3-3– Split when the dealer is showing cards 2-7
4-4 – Split when the dealer is showing a 5-6
6-6 – Split when the dealer is showing 2-6
7-7 – Split when the dealer is showing 2-7
8-8 – Split anytime apart from when the dealer is showing an ace.
9-9 – Split anytime the dealer is showing 2-6 and 8,9.
A-A – Split anytime – Any hands totaling 21 after being split will not count as Blackjack but 21.

It’s not a complicated strategy to follow and the more hands of blackjack you play you’ll quickly find out that using basic strategy will produce the best results. To learn more about playing blackjack, access Bodog’s Casino School or start using your basic blackjack strategy guide the next time you play at our tables.

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