You’ve probably noticed I don’t talk much about Manufacturer Exacta wagering, which his betting on which type of car (Chevy, Dodge, etc…) will finish first and second in the race. Truth is, I find it a sketchy thing to bet on, and while I know the car has it’s fair share of influence on the outcome of a race, it’s the drivers that shape the personality of the team and the nascar odds race, so they earn my attention and my money. Plus, it just seems more realistic to say I’m betting on Jeff Gordon than to say I’m putting all my eggs in Ford, Chevy. However, that’s not to say you shouldn’t consider it as a bet, and since there are fewer car manufacturers than drivers, it increases the odds that you’ll make the correct call and come out a winner. If anything, it’s not a bad way to hedge your other bets, especially if you’re taking a few risks.

Anyway, back to this weekend’s race. Looking down at the cutoff, Kyle Busch still has a few chances to climb into that playoff cutoff, but he hasn’t shot up the ranks like many had expected after his big win a few weeks ago. Just goes to show how important the type of track can be to a racer’s success. He currently sits with 3040 points, 37 behind the 12 spot. So he’s picked up almost a handful, but certainly not enough by anyone’s standards. He’ll likely sputter a little in this race, and I wouldn’t take him to win, place or even up against another driver in a head-to-head wager.

Stick with your top five nascar betting favorites in this one, especially Jimmie Johnson, who now has three wins on the season to tie Tony Stewart. These guys love New England in the fall. And this is one of New England’s two biggest sporting events of the year.

The track is 1.058 miles long, in the shape of an awkward, intimidating oval, which can make for difficult navigation. Kurt Busch was last year’s champ, so keep an eye on him to be a factor again this time around.

The bet is simply this, your first up-card will be higher or lower than the dealer’s up card. You place your bet and make the call, and if you win the payoff is 1:1. Pretty simple, and the house edge is low enough, especially for a side bet, that it makes it worthwhile if you’re looking for something else to pump your money into.

Here’s the quick house edge rundown per deck. For a one-deck game, the dealer’s edge is only 5.4%. Two decks is 6.27, three decks is 6.54, four decks is 6.69, six decks is 6.83 and eight decks is 6.9. So as you can see, not only is the game winnable, but the increase in the house edge is slight, only 1.5% total difference from both ends of the deck spectrum. It’s not widely available, but if you find it and want to break up the monotony of straight blackjack, give it a try.

One more side bet, this one involving…jacks (how unique!). Called Jack Magic, it’s only been spotted at odd locations such as casinos in Oregon, but it’s another one that requires no strategy, so it’s worth mentioning in the same breath as high-low.

Typically played in a five-deck game, you make your bet and earn your payoff based on the combination of your up-cards and the dealer’s one up-card. Here’s the breakdown.

Three one-eyed jacks is the toughest to pull, as there are only 120 combinations, and it pays 500:1 on your bet – similar to what you might win playing online slots. Of course, the odds are 0.0041% that it’ll hit in the first place. Three jacks of any kind gives you 100:1 odds, with a probability of 0.035%. Two one-eyed jacks drops the payoff to 30:1, with a probability of 0.37%. One one-eyed jack pays 2:1, and one jack of any kind pays off 1:1. In case you were wondering, there’s a 10% chance on any hand that one jack will show up in a five-deck game. Probably worth knowing for regular blackjack play, as well.

For example, an online casino offers new players a 100% sign-up bonus up to $100. This means the casino will match a new players deposit completely up to $100. Stated in dollar amounts, if an online casino player funds his gambling account with $100, the casino matches $100. This money is typically ready for play within the casino games immediately. While the money is available right away, the player may not make a withdrawal of his money until conditions are met. The bonus money must be wagered a certain amount of times before the money is available for cashout from the casino account.

As a rule, the bonus money a casino such as golden casino gives their players must be played a certain amount of times prior to the bonus amount becoming eligible for cashout. Most casinos require wagers amounting to thirty times the bonus amount ($100 x 30 = $3000) before they let a player cash out. This means the player must wager a total of $3K before he can cash out his bonus.

Important to note, not all casino games count completely towards the wagering requirements. Instead, casinos consider certain games to be worth less than other table games towards working through the casino bonus. The amount a game’s wager counts towards working through the bonus is often tied to the edge a casino has in a particular table game. Generally, casinos will count the amount of money wagered on games they possess a huge edge in fully, while discounting those games where the house edge is slight.

For example, typically slots games, keno games, as well as scratch card games – all of which grant the house a substantial edge – allow the full amount wagered to count towards the bonus requirements. Games such as blackjack and video poker games count partially towards the wager requirements for bonus release. Before accepting an online casino bonus, be sure to find out which games count towards the bonus requirement. While the bonus money is great, for players who do not play the games necessary to release the bonus money – the deposit bonus is often not the best available option to casino players.

I’m trying to find the juiciest NL matchup across the league, and it appears Marlins at Cardinals is the best we’re going to get. The Marlins are all but out of the playoff hunt this year (spending their final weeks pickering amongst themselves) but are still probably interested in playing spoiler. The only thing they can spoil for the Cards is home field advantage. St. Louis is playing possessed right now, though, and it’s unlikely the Marlins will be able to put up much resistance. Wainwright goes, and has been lights out for the birds. 2.6 ERA? Ridiculous. Throw in 175 K’s and a 1.21 WHIP and you’ve got a pitcher who’s team has won an astounding nine out of the last 10 times he’s started. He’ll shut the Marlins down – plan on seeing no more than 6 hits. Sean West and his ho-hum numbers go for Florida. He doesn’t K much, and has a high WHIP, so you can bet veterans like Pujols and Holliday are salivating at the opportunity to sink into this guy. And they will. This one won’t be pretty. Cardinals -175, Marlins +160. The thought of an off-day is always there, but St. Louis should destroy these guys at home. Bet the Cardinals.