GAMING GURUS: LATEST FROM OUR STRATEGY EXPERTS

Testing Jacks or Better

QUESTION: Last week, I had a tester of a hand in Jacks or Better.I was dealt 9, 10, Jack and King of clubs and a Jack of hearts.I could hold the pair of Jacks, hold three to a royal with 10 Jack and King of clubs, or also hold the 9 of clubs and have four to a straight flush.I held the four to a straight flush, caught a King, which luckily replaced my high pair and got my money back.My logic was this: If I held the pair I was guaranteed a winner, but my maximum payoff is four Jacks...read more

Take a Rest

Casino gamblers have favorite games. They will play these games for hours, stopping only for a bathroom break, or sadly and far too often – when they run out of money.Smart players pick games where the house edge is low, such as video poker, blackjack, or certain bets in craps (well under one-half percent for pass line with odds).Advantage players also choose low house edge games, but they also work to minimize the house edge – or gain an advantage...read more

Casino City’s Friday Five: Las Vegas casino openings edition

Over the last couple of months we have seen many Las Vegas resorts and casinos reopen to the public after an extended time shut down due to COVID-19. However, as more things reopen their doors, we can’t overlook the grand openings in Las Vegas that have been planned for some time now...read more

Baccarat Rules

I’ve sometime referred to baccarat among the best “no-brainer” bets in casinos. You can get a low 1.06 percent house edge when you bet on the banker hand or 1.24 percent when you bet on player, and you don’t need to know any strategy.Two cards are dealt to the banker hand and two cards to the player hand, and all players may bet on either...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: What can I do to not lose at the slots?

Question: I have been playing for a while. The machine steals my money. What can I do to not lose at the slots? Answer: There's only one system that is guaranteed -- that works 100% of the time -- to keep you from losing at the slots: Don't play them. All slot machines (as opposed to video poker machines) are negative expectation...read more

"I Can’t Get No Satisfaction!"

For crying out loud stop your crying out loud!Don’t you understand that the rest of us are coming to the casino and, whether we win or whether we lose, we are not there to burden the other players with our whines and complaints when bad times hit.I think the Rolling Stones said it best in their song Satisfaction which pounded the nail into the wood when they sang “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Despite the double-negative (“can’t” and “no”) listeners clearly got the negative thrust of the song...read more

Top 10 COVID-19 casino rules and etiquette tips

The casino world got tipped upside down back in March when the COVID-19 outbreak forced most every gaming property to shut its doors. As many began reopening in the early stages of the summer, guest and team member safety were taken into account, which led to new protocols...read more

Same machine, different paybacks

QUESTION: You’ve mentioned that penny slots usually have lower paybacks than quarters, which have lower paybacks than dollars.How do they do that when the game is the same? When they make it for more money, do they code it so the winners come up more? The random number generator has to know when you’re playing for more money, right, so it can give the right number of winners for how much you bet.ANSWER: There are a number of ways to set odds and paybacks so that higher-denomination games have higher payback percentages...read more

Managing Your Money

CINDY: Everyone who plays casino games knows that sooner or later the casino will beat them unless they have extraordinary luck and win a giant jackpot at slots. That is not in the cards for just about all players. So long-term most players will be losers...read more

Casino City’s Friday Five: US sports betting boom edition

The National Football League kicked off last week and with sports back in action over the last couple of months, sportsbooks in the U.S. are seeing some record numbers come across their desks. Before we dive into the figures, we also have a six-figure and seven-figure jackpot won over the last week, major sports betting strides in Virginia, and MGM Resorts reopening its final properties.Let’s begin with some big payouts:5...read more