Gaming Gurus: LatestFrom Our Strategy Experts

Ask the Slot Expert: What influences how frequently a bonus round can hit?

Has this ever happened to you? You're playing one of your favorite machines. A stranger (or a friend) sits down and starts playing the identical machine next to you. You haven't hit a bonus round since the last time Halley's comet was in the neighborhood, but the person playing next to you is not only getting their fair share of bonus rounds, they're getting your share too. Has this ever happened to you? (Of course, it has.) The reason your neighbor is getting more bonus rounds than you are is due to the random selection of outcomes on a slot machine...read more

Big Win and Big Loss

She loves playing the slot machines, and she and her girlfriend Wendy would go to the casinos once a month for a weekend stay. They played; they took in the shows and they had delicious meals. What could be better?They are not rich by any stretch of the imagination but now being in their early 40’s both own their own homes and have stable jobs...read more

Top 10 tips for playing at crypto casinos

With the massive popularization of cryptocurrency casinos and poker sites, there’s no shortage of options for those who want to gamble using crypto coins. That said, as this industry is fairly young in online gambling, many players avoid playing in crypto casinos.There are many advantages of playing in a crypto casino, and these sites shouldn’t be avoided because of a lack of understanding...read more

Reduce the House Edge at Roulette

QUESTION: You've written that six-deck blackjack games can be better than one-deck games if there are better rules on the six-deck game.I was wondering if the same might be true in roulette. I know the house edge is higher with two zeroes, but are there circumstances when it's better to play double-zero than single-zero roulette?ANSWER: A rule such as Atlantic City's half back rule would need to be in effect on a double-zero wheel but not on a single-zero wheel for the two-zero version to have a lower house edge.Even then, the house edge would be lower only on bets with even-money payoffs: odd or even, red or black; or 1-18 or 19-36.With the half back rule, the house takes only half your money if the ball lands on one of the zeroes...read more

Do Not Be a Jerk

Going to a casino for some action on the casino floor can be exciting. It can be fun. It can even be relaxing in some cases.However, it can be a totally different experience if there is a casino jerk at the table. You cannot stop someone else from being one, but you can certainly make sure you are not one.Social casino games:Some casino games are social in nature...read more

Casino City’s Friday Five: Casino construction, cruises, and ebbs and flows of US gambling

Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used the words “one if by land, and two if by sea” to describe how Paul Revere arranged to signal if the British were coming into Massachusetts. The top news this week’s is a spin on that as we have two land-based casinos undergoing major renovations, while another casino company is pairing with a cruise line to offer rewards...read more

Abby Bets Even-Money Roulette

CINDY: We are now going to go into our roulette analysis. We have decided to play major time periods at the roulette table to see how prolonged play feels (in we will play other games).ABBY: I’m first up. I will take us through my first prolonged period of play at the table...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Rebutting an article about why slots are not random - Part 4

Just when you thought it was safe to ga back in the water, here's another installment of my rebuttal to an article I found giving one author's opinions about why he thinks slots are not random. The article has the following disclaimer near the top: Please note that the article contains opinions only from what has been experienced from playing slots, both at land-based casinos and several different popular online casinos - all of which shall remain nameless. Let me start with my own disclaimer: Unless I state otherwise, my comments refer to the RNG-based (Class III) slots that you find in Nevada, Atlantic City, Tunica, etc., and some tribal casinos...read more

Massachusetts online sports betting off to a hot start

FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, WynnBET, and Barstool Sportsbook launched online sports betting in Massachusetts. (Photo courtesy of FanDuel.) While there’s still a little over a month until the Boston Marathon, residents of the Bay State are off and running with regulated online sports betting...read more

Proper Craps Betting

Craps is often referred to as the most exciting game in the casino, at least craps players think this is so – and, yes, so do I. When you play the game, it is hard to think of another that surpasses its energy.We players stand about a table that looks close to a sacrificial altar (check the Mayans and Aztecs), offering up our money and our luck to the gods of chance...read more