New Technologies, Tools Make Online Gaming Easier

Last month, the popular gambling site Online-Casinos.com, after five years of development,  launched the “Blackjack Basic Strategy Calculator, available at http://www.online-casinos.com 

Called the 'Monster Blackjack Tool' by site producer Jan Balsley, this cool new technology enables players to create perfect strategy cards based on any combination of playing rules and decks.

"When Online-Casinos.com first launched in late 2003, it was designed to operate under a simple premise - to educate and entertain online players and to help them maximize their bankrolls,” said Balsley. “This Blackjack Calculator is simply a further addition to the site to help realize this vision."

Expensive Investment

The sophisticated, online tool itself cost over $25,000 to develop, Balsley said. But, Balsley reckons this is a great investment for his site's visitors – and others who choose to use the tool. "As a player myself, I know how important good play is in reducing the house edge to a minimum,” said Balsley. “If the Calculator creates a new generation of perfect Blackjack players, then that's great!"

Online casinos are continually innovating.  In recent months, Balsley’s site caused hubub in the online casino world with the debut of its interactive Keno odds generator. That online tool first allowed players to interactively calculate the exact odds of any keno bet they make.

Another site, PartyGaming Plc, recently announced the launch of its new backgammon product, PartyGammon.com, which also features cool technology. Known as "the game of kings" and requiring skills of timing and calculation, backgammon is one of the world's most popular games and one of its oldest, with variants dating back to more than 5,000 years.

"The launch of backgammon, a truly international game of skill, is a natural evolutionary step in our strategy to become the global gaming portal of choice," said Mitch Garber, chief executive officer of PartyGaming.

PartyGammon.com offers games to play for free or for cash for a variety of gammon versions, including “Hypergammon and Nackgammon,”he said.

Backgammon is a board game for two players. Each player has fifteen pieces – i.e. checkers -- which move between twenty-four triangles – points -- according to the roll of two dice. The objective of the game is to be first to bear off, that is, to move all fifteen checkers off the board. The oldest recorded game in history, backgammon traces its roots to the ancient Mesopotamian game tabula, which appears in an epigram of Byzantine Emperor Zeno (476–481 A.D.). Other archaeological excavations have placed the possible date of origin of backgammon to 3000 B.C.

New Technology, Ancient History

As with chess, backgammon has been significantly interfaced with computer technology. By 1979, Hans Berliner\'s BKG 9.8 program had defeated a world champion backgammon player, and since then neural network and other approaches have improved the playing quality of the virtual backgammon opponent.

Speaking of these innovations, Balsley said, "I just hope it brings some player's luck!" Although a couple of months ago one visitor won $39,000 at an Online-Casinos.com, so perhaps our visitors already have all the luck they need!"