GAMING GURUS: LATEST FROM OUR STRATEGY EXPERTS

Interview with a Blackjack Bully

I think this column will be a first for any gambling writer. That’s right; I am going to interview a blackjack bully.Blackjack players and other gambling writers have often decried those blackjack bullies who feel free to give other players advice...read more

Top 10 Major League Baseball bets for the 2020 season

Major League Baseball finally begins this week, which means it’s time to lock in bets on what the shortened season will yield. With the season being more of a sprint rather than a marathon, longshot odds aren’t so wild, though an Orioles-Giants World Series is still very unlikely.A little about me: I create player and team projections primarily for fantasy baseball purposes, but it’s easily translated to identifying value on the MLB Futures board...read more

Field versus Placing 5 or 9

QUESTION: Craps question here. I can see that placing 6 and 8 is a better bet than the field. The listed house edge is 1.52 percent on 6 and 8 and 2.78 percent when the field pays 3-1 on 12, 2-1 on 2 and even money on the other numbers.But isn’t the field a better bet than placing 5 or 9? I know guys who place 5 and 9 who wouldn’t even think about the field...read more

Video Poker Payback

While a vast majority of casino players enjoy playing slot machines, most savvy players tend to choose video poker as their casino game.While the vast majority of video poker players know and understand payback – also called return. Although from casual observation, many seem clueless as to what the term means.More accurately, many are not even aware of the return of the game they are playing – or what to look for in order to determine the amount of the game’s return.Simply put, video poker return is just what the word “return” says...read more

Casino City's Friday Five: Crazy blackjack win in Las Vegas edition

On Tuesday, Ukraine Parliament passed a bill that would regulate online and land-based gambling in the country. Other top stories this week include a third career bracelet win at the World Series of Poker, an unlikely and massive blackjack score at The STRAT, a new look for a pool scene in Las Vegas and DraftKings debuting its online casino in two U.S...read more

Bad Table Game Bets

Table games present players with options galore.That doesn’t mean players should take them all. Some, you should avoid entirely.One-roll propositions in craps fall into that category. So do tie bets in baccarat and five-number baskets in roulette...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Royals and high volatility video poker games

Question: Is the potential for a royal flush worse than normal when playing high volatility games such as Triple Double Bonus that I like to usually play? Answer: What's normal? This question gives me the opportunity to be a stickler for details...read more

The Titanic

Manufacturers of slot machines can sometimes go off the deep end. They can be all wet in their approach to what kinds of machines players actually want to play. Some of you might not know this but a slot machine that I have seen in casinos is – now wait for this! – based on the Titanic...read more

Top 10 new online slot games for summer 2020

We are right in the heart of summer here in the U.S. and casinos across the country are still working on reopening their doors and abiding by social distancing guidelines. As land-based casinos attempt to get back on track with some sense of normalcy, online casinos continue to dish out gems of games for players...read more

Video Poker Pairs

QUESTION: In video poker, is one high pair more valuable than another? Are you better of with two Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces? Are two Jacks with 9-5-3 better or worse than two Kings with 9-5-3?What if you have two high pairs, something like King-King, Queen-Queen and a 9? If two pairs just gets me my money back and a high pair also gets me my money back, I’ve been holding just one pair...read more