During the last week of July the SirCam virus went on a rampage all over the internet by using peoples e-mail programs to propegate itself. It takes a file from your My Programs area of your PC and disguises the virus using that name, uses your address book to send it off to people that usually trust your e-mails, and infect their computers. I got hit by an online casino contact that is always sending me new banners. Shortly after that I had friends telling me my machine was sending them a virus! While I was online it was sending itself out

The good news is that the virus is easily wiped out. Download this stand alone virus removing file scremove2.zip. Create a c:\scremove directory. Extract the zip file into this directory, double click on remove.bat and let it do it's stuff! Even if you don't have this virus I would download this file to keep on hand. The W32/SirCam@MM has probably hit someone you know and you can rush over to kill the virus for them.

US Credit Card Companies Turn on Online Casinos

Over the last few days (19-21 July) the online casino world has gone into an uproar. My E-mail box has been filled with messages like this one:

Recent legislation in the United States has seen an immediate clampdown on the ability of individuals to use their MasterCard or Visa cards in conjunction with on-line gaming. This will effect the entire online gaming industry.

In an effort to combat this, XXX Casino will be promoting the use of Firepay and PayPal as transactional methods. We will be offering a 20% bonus on EVERY purchase made through PayPal and Firepay.

Oh my! How am I going to deal with this? YAWN. I have been taking advantage of this for months already, mainly against sports books that don't usually give a nice sized bonus to play them. With offers like 15% and 20% bonuses popping up all over the place to use PayPal and Firepay, I just sit back and rub my hands together! Let me fill you in on how this can work for you as well.

Casino X offers us a 20% bonus. We deposit $1000 (I've been doing this for a while, deposit as much as you wish to) into your account with your credit card, then transfer it to the casino, and recieve a $200 bonus. They require three times action to remove the bonus, or $3600 in action. We take a week or so to cover this, enjoying our time playing Blackjack online (very small house edge) and end up with our $1200. Then we pull our money back out to our (PAyPal) account, and move it to Casino B, which in a week or two will be offering (hopefully) a 25% bonus because they have seen their casino action cut in half thanks to the credit card companies denying us to use our free will. When something bad happens, something good is usually also happening. It's a fact of life. My game is to be there on the right side of things, every time. I fire my $1200 into Casino B and get my $300 bonus. Do you get the picture now? Pretty awesome isn't it?

Everyone has heard of compound interest. When you deposit money in the bank and it is compounded monthly, and some places even daily, instead of ending up with $50 at the end of the year in interest, you may end up with $60. Yes, when I am through with you, you will NEVER want to keep your money in the bank. I am using "compounded deposits" to force your bankroll into a gi-normous sized online weapon that can take out an entire block of wall street with one click of your mouse. Sorry, I'm getting carried away again! Not only will you be getting a bonus for your money, but for the last bonus you picked up, and the one before that, and the one before that one, and so on, and so on, and, you get the picture.

What you basically will be doing is putting your bankroll online. You will no longer be playing on credit. If you deposit $1000 using your credit card you will have to pay that when the bill comes. A professional gambler normally has a bankroll that they use to gamble with. This is money set aside from their daily life that they do not need to pay bills with, and is free for use at all times to "play" with. My original roll was around $5000 and has grown off line to a very nice size playing Blackjack at brick and mortar casinos. A part of this has been put online and has been growing as it goes from casino to casino to casino, growing and growing as it moves along. You can also hit the same casinos over and over again if they offer a bonus on every deposit.

Start with a Firepay account unless you have a PayPal account set up already. Firepay is quick to get going while PayPal uses a verifying technique for security. Firepay does not allow you to deposit more to your account than you deposit at the casino, while PayPal does. You will be able to move your money around at least as fast as the casino and credit card company with PayPal. Firepay will have to send you a check for your bonus winnings and you will have to deposit this with your card before or after you get the check. I'm just wondering how long it will be before the credit card companies shut down Firepay and PayPal. Get on it before it's too late.

How long will it take you to double your bankroll playing Blackjack online with all these bonuses for using Firepay/PayPal? A lot quicker than you can do it in a brick and mortar casino. Let's work with an average 15% bonus. 1000 x 1.15 = 1150 x 1.15 = 1322 x 1.15 = 1520 x 1.15 = 1749 x 1.15 = 2011. In five transfers you should be able to double your roll. Or you can toss the money into the bank and collect your interest and your tax slip at the end of the year...NOT!

Online Flash Cards - Hi Low

The most important count is the Hi Low, a simple easy to use count that anyone can learn and use. The 2 3 4 5 6 cards are counted as +1 while the 10 J Q K A are counted as -1. Check out the Hi Low HERE. I have a library of these cards set up at my site. You can view them by clicking HERE. These cards are the indices for multi deck Blackjack but can be used for single and double deck as well. Basic Strategy will be next. They will eventually be catalogued on the existing Flash Library page. Last month I put up the online flash cards for Hi Opt II which is the count I use. Check it out HERE.

US Dollar VISA Cards

Before MasterCard got out of the online casino business, I never noticed any charges on my credit cards for deposits and returns. As I began using my VISA card to play these online casinos I began to notice that things were not coming out even at the end of the month. At this point I realized that VISA was hitting me for about 3.5 cents on the Canadian dollar which added up to a pretty large amount due to the number of casinos I normally play at during a month. While discussing the matter with the bank they offered me a solution. I could get a US dollar VISA card and this will wipe out all tranfer charges for a small fee. Royal Bank offers their card for $65US, which was about what it was costing me for one months worth of online gaming. Then I discovered the same card at the CIBC for $35US. By limiting the charges for online gaming we can make sure the money ends up where it is suposed to, in your pockets!

A Reader Writes:

Every month I get letters from excited players looking for more information on our favorite game. Although I don't have too much time to write back, I try to respond to each letter. Take a look at this one.

I don't know that much. I just learned Basic Stategy and still use my charts to play. I've lost sooo much of my own money that I would be happy to just win some back! Oh, forgot to say, I play online and I NEED TO MAKE MONEY!!! Anyway, I live just outside of xxx, New York and my name is Xxx Xxx! Any help you could give would be awesome!!

Thanks, Xxx

Okay, let's get started. You say you play online. Please tell me which casinos you have joined so far, and tell me what games you are playing. You are learning BS which is a GIANT plus. It cuts the house edge to almost nothing for Blackjack. Now, which chart are you using? There may be some specific changes to certain plays depending on where you are playing. Example would be to hit 8,8 instead of split when dealer has a 10 or A showing if they don't check for Blackjack before you play.

Also, how much are you down? If this is too personal, don't answer this, but do tell me how much you want to make back. I will set up a program with you and guide you thru each casino helping you make your money back. We will be using casino bonuses to do this with, and playing Blackjack only. You will have to be strict with yourself, focusing on making money, not having fun. After you log off, you can think of the money you have made, and this will be the fun part. Like Kenny Roger's says, "There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done."

We can start off with a site that gives you $60 for a $20 deposit and work our way from there, unless you are already comfortable making larger deposits, then we can go after $75 for $75 and $100 for $100. It may take some time, but we can make a lot of money doing this, trust me. Take a look at this page:

http://webhome.idirect.com/~blakjack/winnings.htm

I've played at Turning Stone and at Akwanesake in Hogansburg. I can beat a real game of Blackjack, but find it much easier to sit at home and beat it without the driving with these big bonuses.

Hope to hear from you soon and get you started on your way back UP!

If you are seriously ready to learn to make money both online and off playing Blackjack, get in touch with Rob at blakjack@idirect.com. E-mails that simply state "I want to know more" will get a standard reply. Please tell me how much you know about playing Blackjack, where you live, and if you are interested in making money online or off.

Click to Subscribe to The Blackjack Pro Newsletter!