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Alan Krigman Gaming Guru - Page 10  What Guinness Stout says about how well you play blackjack?13 February 2012
Three pals enjoy playing blackjack together, separately. Don thinks “the book” is blather so he buys insurance, stands on 12 versus two- or three-up, hits pairs of eights against 10s, and ... well, you know; the folks who rate patrons’ action figure he gives them 0.8 percent edge. Ben adheres rigorously to Basic Strategy, holding the house to 0.4 percent edge. ... (read more)
Should you bet on the trend you perceive or did just it occur by chance?6 February 2012
Casino aficionados often envision trends in the outcomes of games. From general phenomena such as machines or tables being hot or cold to specifics like black numbers dominating roulette hits, craps throws landing especially frequently on fives and nines, or video poker hands building toward a jackpot. ... (read more)
What does proficiency at blackjack get you?30 January 2012
You can win or lose in a casino no matter what or how you play. This, because volatility – a measure of actual bankroll swings during the course of the action – swamps the house’s inherent mathematical edge or advantage over the statistically small numbers of coups comprising not only most sessions at tables or machines but also entire casino visits. ... (read more)
What bets offer the most chance to reach win goals before hitting loss limits?23 January 2012
Some solid citizens visit casinos intending to risk modest bankrolls in shots at a day’s pay. They figure their prospects are decent if they set conservative profit targets and quit as soon as they reach or surpass them. This notion is generally correct. But it’s not the whole story.
Ideally, were bets ... (read more)
Should you play the multi-line slots – and if so, how?16 January 2012
It’s easy to follow the action on plain-vanilla single-line three-, four-, or five-reel slot machines. When the reels – physical or virtual – stop, you glance along the horizontal line across the middle of the window looking for winning combinations; these are generally multiple instances of identical symbols, such as three aardvarks, four duck-billed platypi, or five red-breasted nuthatches. ... (read more)
How do betting strategies affect your blackjack performance?9 January 2012
Blackjack card counters can get an advantage over the casino by raising their bets when favorable ranks dominate what remains to be dealt from a deck or shoe. Given the rules dealers must follow and the options available to players, the house has a small edge when ranks are uniformly distributed. If cards ... (read more)
Why don't more craps players make Lay bets? Or, do they?2 January 2012
Lay bets are wagers having greater probability of winning than losing, but payoffs less than the amount at risk. Craps has two major classes of these propositions.
One class, available to players who bet Don’t Pass or Don’t Come, comprises the Odds they can lay after the point is established. The Odds are auxiliary wagers giving neither bettors nor bosses an edge. ... (read more)
How bet size and decision rate affect your gambling prospects26 December 2011
Luck affects the outcome of any gamble. It may favor the well-prepared, but is still what gambling is about. At one extreme, you can count cards at blackjack and have an advantage over the house or flip coins for even money with a 50-50 shot and no edge, and lose your shirt on either. At the other end of ... (read more)
Why you can't judge a slot machine by its belly glass19 December 2011
Gambling at a slot machine is a venture into terra incognita. The only map you have is a list of amounts paid for the various winning combinations, as delineated on what’s traditionally called the belly glass. You get no clues about the associated chances. And, absent this probability information, you can’t ... (read more)
Pinning numbers on the hopes and fears of blackjack12 December 2011
Many casino games are characterized by multiple moments of truth. Craps has one whenever the shooter throws the dice. At blackjack, they occur every time a card is turned over – yours or the dealer’s. When you take whatever action you do, you could bust, losing then and there. If not, you’ll finish with a total between 11 and 21 and nervously await the dealer’s fate. ... (read more)
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