Gemstone

A gemstone is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks and organic materials are not minerals, but are for jewelry, and are therefore often gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some soft minerals are in jewelry because of their luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. Rarity is another characteristic that lends value to a gemstone. Apart from jewelry, from earliest antiquity until the 19th century engraved gems and hard stone carvings such as cups were major luxury art forms the carvings of Carl Faberge were the last significant works in this tradition. The traditional classification in the West begins with a distinction between precious and semi-precious stones; similar distinctions are in other cultures. In modern usage, the precious stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald, with all other gemstones being semi-precious. Other stones are by their color, translucency and hardness. The traditional distinction does not necessarily reflect modern values, for example, while garnets are relatively inexpensive, a green garnet called Tsavorite, can be far more valuable than a mid-quality emerald. Another term for semi-precious gemstones used in art history and archaeology is hard stone. In modern times gemologists, who describe gems and their characteristics using technical terminology specific to the field of gemology, identify gemstones. The first characteristic a gemologist uses to identify a gemstone is its chemical composition. For example, diamonds are made of carbon and rubies of aluminum oxide. Next, many gems are crystals which are classified by their crystal system such as cubic or trigonal or monoclinic. For example diamonds, which have a cubic crystal system, are often as octahedrons. Gemstones are into different groups, species, and varieties. Ruby is the red variety of the species corundum, while any other color of corundum is sapphire. Emerald (green), aquamarine (blue), red beryl (red), goshenite (colorless), heliodor (yellow), and morganite (pink) are all varieties of the mineral species beryl. Gems are in terms of refractive index, dispersion, specific gravity, hardness, cleavage, fracture, and luster. They may exhibit pleochroism or double refraction. They may have luminescence and a distinctive absorption spectrum. There is no universally accepted grading system for gemstones. Diamonds are using a system developed by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in the early 1950s. Historically, all gemstones were using the naked eye. The GIA system included a major innovation: the introduction of 10-x magnification as the standard for grading clarity. Other gemstones are still using the naked eye. A mnemonic device, the color, cut, clarity and carat, has been to help the consumer understand the factors used to grade a diamond. With modification, these categories can be useful in understanding the grading of all gemstones. The four criteria carry different weight depending upon whether they are to colored gemstones or to colorless diamond. In diamonds, cut is the primary determinant of value, followed by clarity and color. Diamonds are to sparkle, to break down light into its constituent rainbow colors chop it up into bright little pieces and deliver it to the eye (brilliance). In its rough crystalline form, a diamond will do none of these things; it requires proper fashioning cut. In gemstones that have color, including colored diamonds, it is the purity and beauty of that color that is the primary determinant of quality. Physical characteristics that make a colored stone valuable are color, clarity to a lesser extent cut, unusual optical phenomena within the stone such as color zoning, and Astoria (star effects). The Greeks, for example, greatly valued Astoria in gemstones, which were as a powerful love charm, and Helen of Troy was to have worn star-corundum. Aside from the diamond, the ruby, sapphire, emerald, pearl and opal have also been precious. Up to the discoveries of bulk amethyst in Brazil in the 19th century, amethyst was a precious stone as well, going back to ancient Greece. Even in the last century, certain stones such as aquamarine, peridot and cat's eye have been popular as precious. Many gemstones are in even the most expensive jewelry, depending on the brand name of the designer, fashion trends, market supply, treatments etc. Nevertheless, diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds still have a reputation that exceeds those of other gemstones. Rare or unusual gemstones, generally meant to include those gemstones, which occur so infrequently in gem quality that they are scarcely except to connoisseurs, include andalusite, axinite, cassiterite, clinohumite and red beryl. Gem prices can fluctuate heavily. In general, per carat, prices of larger stones are higher than those of smaller stones, but popularity of certain sizes of stone can affect prices.

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.

Bouillotte, a vying 18th century French gambling card game of the Revolution, based on Brelan, very popular during the 19th century in France and again in America for some years from 1830. Bouillotte is regarded as one of the games that influenced the open-card stud variation in poker. A piquet pack is used, from which, in case five play, the sevens are removed. When four the knaves, and when three the queens are omitted. The ace is the highest card in play and in cutting. Counters or chips, as in poker, are used. Before the deal each player antes one counter to the pot, after which each, the age passing, may raise the pot; those not seeing the raise being obliged to drop out. Three cards are dealt to each player, and a thirteenth, called the retourné, when four play, turned up. Each player must then bet, call, raise or drop out. When a call is made the hands are shown and the best hand wins. The hands rank as follows: Simple Brélan, three of a kind, ace being high. Brélan Carré, four of a kind, one being the retourné. Brélan Favori, three of a kind, one being the retourné. If more than one player has a brélan, the best is one that matches the rank of the turn up a brélan carré, or squared-up brelan. If none matches, that of highest rank wins. Any player with a brelan receives a side-payment of one chip, two if it is a carré, from each opponent. If no player holds a brélan, the hand holding the greatest number of pips wins. All hands are turned face up, including those of players who dropped. The face values of all these cards are totalled for each suit, ace counting 11, court cards 10 and numerals their face value. The best suit is the one with the highest visible total, and the player holding the highest card of it wins the pot, provided that he has not previously dropped. If he has, the winner is the player counting the greatest face value of cards in any other suit.

An extensive network of soft drinks manufacturers exists and the term soft drink comes from the phrase soda water. Carbonated soft drinks and their diet counterparts are now some of the most popular manufactured drinks on the market. Drinks Manufacturers Coordinating with a drinks manufacturing plant to process and bottle the product is not an easy task. Whether to choose a contract beverage manufacturer or filler will depend on a host of factors beginning with location. Drinks Manufacturing Make Cans are most often of aluminum. This aluminum is widely available, affordable, lightweight and easy to shape. Since it is far more cost effective to recycle aluminum beverage cans than to extract the raw aluminum from its ores, they are the most recycled of all beverage containers. Make Cans Coordinating with a Manufacturer Drinks plant to process and bottle the product is not an easy task. Whether to choose a contract beverage manufacturer or filler will depend on a host of factors beginning with location. Manufacturer Drinks The best place for beverages resources on the Internet. Facts and opinions on drinks provides by my beverages. My Beverages New Beverage design is the aspect of the development process that most clearly communicates your brands' image to the consumer. It is vital that your product possesses the desired qualities and attributes to achieve a distinctive presence in the marketplace. New Beverages Starting an energy drink company is easier than most people think. Contract manufactures eliminate the need for most equipment. The most important thing to consider when developing an energy drink is creating a brand identity. Own Energy Drinks Creating a soda drink is easier than most people think. Contract manufactures eliminate the need for equipment. Own Soda Coordinating with a Soft Drink Manufacturing plant to process and bottle the product is not an easy task. Whether to choose a contract beverage manufacturer or filler will depend on a host of factors beginning with location. Soft Drink Manufacturing

Duplicate Poker

 

Duplicate poker is a variant of the popular card game poker. Duplicate poker is based on the principles of Duplicate Bridge but also involves some of the rules used for playing pot limit and no limit Texas hold'em.

Duplicate poker is a skill-based game in which there are two or more tables consisting of the same number of players. Each table is dealt with an identically shuffled deck of cards. Every player holds the same hand as the person seated in identical seats at other tables.

All players begin each hand with the ability to bet the same number of playing chips, regardless of prior performance in the previous rounds.

The object of Duplicate poker is to win more chips than your opponents sitting in corresponding seats at other tables. Ultimately, the winner is decided based on the total number of chips accumulated up until the end of the game, as compared with those held by all players in the same seats at the other tables. Conceivably, even a player who loses chips overall can win at the game if that player loses fewer chips than his opponents.

Duplicatepoker.com, the first poker room to use the format, closed down on October 5th 2008, citing the global financial crisis as the reason for the removal of services. It had previously been popular due to the fact that as a skill-based game it was legal in the U.S. While the game is more conducive to an automated online format because of pre-set decks and the need to record accurate scoring, Duplicate poker has also been played in a live format. The first-ever Duplicate poker tournament was held in April 2007 at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.