GAMING GURUS: LATEST FROM OUR STRATEGY EXPERTS

Beating blackjack tournaments

If you are planning to enter your first blackjack tournament, here are some tips to help you win.1. Read the tournament rules.When you arrive at the tournament and get your seat assignment, ask for a copy of the tournament playing rules. Carefully read them before the tournament begins...read more

Casino City's Friday Five: Spring edition

Depending on where in the world you reside, you may have noticed that there's a hint of spring in the air. And what better way to welcome the warm sun and crisp air than with a few upbeat stories in the form of a jackpot winner, a delicious new restaurant and a 40th anniversary?5...read more

Payout differences

QUESTION: You've written a number of times that there are different pay tables on Pair Plus in Three Card Poker, and that the most common one isn't as good as it used to be. Why is that? Why isn't the pay table standard?ANSWER: There are very few games in which payoffs are standard in all casinos...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: How bet size can legally affect chances for a bonus on a slot machine

Question: We've always wondered how it works when a machine says, "Higher Bet Improves Chances for Bonus." For example, Triple Quick Hits has three games going plus the moneybags on the side. Something must change in the programming in order to give you more chances at the bonus...read more

More on comps

Here is the basic formula for comps: average bet times the number of decisions per hour times number of hours you play times house edge equals your theoretical loss times whatever percent of your theoretical loss the casinos will give back, which (finally, thank God!) equals how much the casino will give you in comps.Now most casinos will give back between 30% (the really cheap ones) and 50% – known as the “Jackie Gleasons” because these are the “great ones” for comping – of your theoretical loss.So, let us speculate that your casino gives back 40% of $105, which is $42, in comps...read more

Love me, love my slots

If you are married to, or a friend of, someone who enjoys playing slot machines, you know that such people must tolerate you. If your companion or friend plays other games or they are in fact non-players, they have to show great patience if you enjoy significant time at the machines...read more

Top 10 US states to legalize sports betting

A Las Vegas sports book. (photo by Baishampayan Ghos)It seems that nationwide sports betting in the U.S. may soon have its day.Late last year, New Jersey brought a case to the Supreme Court to banish the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and legalize sports betting...read more

Gavin's story

Anybody who plays casino table games very often sees some odd things happen. I've heard from players who have told me of three of a kind on two and three hands in a row at Three Card Poker, a roulette player who accidentally wandered behind the table and was escorted away, and a blackjack player in a party pit who joined in with an Elvis imitator.Gavin is a craps player who said he'd never seen any of the strange things others talk about...read more

The random number generator

Hi Stickman,I took your slot class a while back. I remember you saying that the number generator in the slot machine is constantly "churning" numbers and that it is possible to hit back-to-back jackpots.My question is if someone walks up to the slot machine and puts in $100 and spins four times and hits the jackpot, would I have hit the same jackpot had I put the same amount into the machine and hit the same sequence of plays? It is not the number of hits but the timing of the spin that activates the number generator.Therefore, I would have had to hit the spin buttons at the exact same times as the other player to win...read more

Casino City's Friday Five: Poker and esports edition

Fancy a little poker? Online or offline? Or how about an esports match? All of the above?This week, we really can have it all, thanks to PokerStars' SCOOP, the impending WSOP Europe event, and a live event studio in Las Vegas. We also have some news on problem gambling awareness tools, for which we give a big hurrah.5...read more