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Alan Krigman Gaming Guru - Page 21  Does too much focus on edge ignore factors you can control?11 January 2010
Many otherwise sophisticated casino gamblers focus on house advantage or edge and overlook the trade-off between the odds associated with various results and the accompanying payoffs. The choices here, which solid citizens can control, may have a greater impact than edge on a person's performance in the ... (read more)
Are you confused by Basic Strategy for Spanish 21?4 January 2010
Author's note: I recently found an unauthorized translation of one of my blackjack articles on a Spanish Internet website. Google offered to show it in Spanish, or to translate the Spanish back to English using an automated program of some sort. I don't know how much of what came through the pipeline resulted from the first or the second translation. ... (read more)
Are taking and laying Odds at craps equivalent bets?28 December 2009
Dice devotees endlessly argue the merits of Pass and Don't Pass or, correspondingly, Come and Don't Come. Ignoring the psychology of betting "right" or "wrong" – "with" or "against" the shooter – these alternatives give the casinos an edge that differs only in the hundredths of a percent. That's a penny in ... (read more)
Do the tortoise and hare teach you how to win at gambling?21 December 2009
Everyone's heard of the tortoise and the hare. The plodder beat the sprinter. Does this apply to casino gambling? Are you apt to fare better wagering at the low end of the volatility scale with steady small returns or the high end with bursts of big payoffs?
There's no universal answer. It depends on your definition of "fare better." You may mean earn any profit at all. ... (read more)
Are casino gamblers anxious about edge too smart by a half?14 December 2009
Edge in the various games tops the list of factors that drive revenue into casino coffers. Conven-tional wisdom says this should be critical to solid citizens as well. But, is it?
The bosses make their money on long-term averages involving tens or hundreds of thousands of patrons and untold millions of bets. ... (read more)
Can you make money converting the 12 at craps into a lay bet?7 December 2009
By the usual standard, house advantage, the 12 at craps is a sucker bet. It's a 35-to-1 shot paying only 30-to-1. The house edge is just under 14 percent. So the bosses figure every dollar dropped on boxcars puts almost $0.14 into their pockets.
Can money be made on the 12 anyway? Can people get rich on the lottery? Big lottery wins are well publicized. ... (read more)
Why playing multiple spots at blackjack differs from playing one30 November 2009
Blackjack buffs who wager on multiple spots experience the game differently from solid citizens who bet on single hands. With the same total exposure, the erosive effect the of edge on each round doesn't change. It's the volatility that varies. Technically, volatility is measured by a statistical quantity ... (read more)
Is jackpot size your criterion for choosing a video poker machine?23 November 2009
Make believe you're at a casino and notice something strange. Five double joker video poker machines in a row. They all look essentially alike but have different jackpots for natural royals.
You figure they're progressive games, where payoffs rise as action proceeds and nobody hits the biggie. But, no, not in this case. ... (read more)
PLAYING IT SMART16 November 2009
You can learn something from prime-time television after all
Deal or No Deal is mindless but fascinating television. The genius is that it's an archetype of Occam's razor: the idea could hardly be simpler. Yet, opportunity is afforded to see the laws of probability, the principle of utility, and the concepts of risk-aversion and tolerance played out together. ... (read more)
How pretty are blackjack players sitting with totals of 20 or 21?9 November 2009
Most blackjack buffs believe they're in the catbird seat with totals of 20 or 21. Yes, these hands can lose to blackjacks. But solid citizens learn this particular bad news before the round starts to be played out. So, if the dealer shows a 10 or ace and the hole card check proves benign, or the upcard is ... (read more)
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