http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com Casino City Times is The Source for the latest gaming news, gaming strategy and gambling tips from the industry's leading experts. en-us Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61956.html In January and February of the year 2000 I wrote a two part article dedicated to calculating the average length of a player’s Craps hand in terms of the number of rolls. The answer turns out to be a figure of about 8.526. Recently a reader by the name of Martin K wrote a letter to me challenging this figure, part of which I’ll quote below."I... Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61956.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61784.html One of my readers (John M.) recently wrote to me and pointed out that a guy who has won several lotteries has decided to write a book giving tips to players and was lucky enough to have landed an interview on Good Morning America. His name is Richard Lustig. John wondered about my reaction to his claims.From my past writing on the subject of... Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61784.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61568.html I recently received the following email from one of my readers named James:I play ten hands and if they are over 50% successful, I increase my single unit to three for the following ten rounds. When the twenty hands are completed I repeat the procedure. Having played 6000 hands, I have a moderate increase amounting to 1.26 units per twenty hands... Sat, 08 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61568.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61195.html I recently received a letter from Peter Chao, one of my readers. Here is part of Peter’s letter: “Instead, could we say [in craps] that there are two separate bets based on an event (setting the point): Pre-Point Bet of $10 and Post-Point of $40-$60 (depending on point)? Both have a Pass Line component, and Post-Point adds the odds. “The... Sat, 22 Sep 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61195.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61151.html I recently received an email from one of my readers, Amy, posing a question about Blackjack. Here is Amy's email: Dear Sir, My name is Amy, and I only ever play blackjack, basic strategy, but not card counting. My question is, regardless how long I have to play … minutes or hours … what are my chances of winning just two hands … not... Sun, 05 Aug 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61151.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61022.html I recently received the following e-mail from one of my readers named Dave Beck. Don, This question concerns the Don't Pass wager. My numbers are rounded from what I remember. A Pass Line bet on the Come Out has a 22% chance of winning and an 11% chance of losing. A Don't Pass bet on the come out must have a 22% chance of losing and... Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/61022.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60888.html Back in December of 1978 I played in the first Blackjack tournament, which was called The World Championship of Blackjack. It was the creation of the Fishman brothers and was held at the old Sarah Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. (See my article entitled "What Goes Around" in the archives on this site.) I played in several more of these... Sun, 03 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60888.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60794.html When playing 9/6 Jacks or better Video Poker it is tempting to hold a three-card Flush. After all there are still ten suited cards in the deck so this seems like a reasonable play. Unless there is a possible Straight Flush draw, however, it is the wrong play. Even some hands that are possible Straight Flushes are not always worth holding;... Sun, 06 May 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60794.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60710.html If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that I occasionally discuss a particular proposition wager, sometimes called a sucker bet. One of the classics is discussed in the archived article called "An Earful of Cider"; you might check it out. The reason I occasionally discuss these wagers is not to teach you to fleece others but... Sun, 08 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60710.html http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60627.html One of the counterintuitive plays in 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker occurs when one is dealt three high cards and one of them is an Ace. The correct play is to just hold the two non-Aces and discard the Ace. When I tell people this they frequently ask me to explain why this makes sense. Of course the real answer is that the expected return to... Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 EST http://catlin.casinocitytimes.com/articles/60627.html