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Alan Krigman Gaming Guru - Page 25  Playing It Smart: Setting rational goals for your next playing session10 February 2009
Casinos are built on the laws of large numbers that validate the veracity of averages. The theoretical models and the associated math are rock-solid. With enough bets over enough time, on propositions whose probabilities are known precisely, the bosses and their bean counters know what fraction of the action they'll keep. ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: Why a $5 bet at one game may not be like a $5 bet at another2 February 2009
Make believe you're used to betting $1 on each of five spots at roulette. You're comfortable the way your bankroll fluctuates during a typical session you know how big a stake gets you through normal downswings, and what comprises an acceptable session profit or loss. But this intuition doesn't serve you ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: Are hedges a sensible form of gambling insurance?17 December 2008
In some casino games, you can hedge bets by wagering on opposite sides of the same proposition. It's like a fee that lowers the net profit of wins, in return for cutting or eliminating costs of losses. Players who like hedges view them as insurance against big setbacks. Most gambling gurus disdain hedges ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: Can you believe 'the book' on how to play proper blackjack?9 December 2008
Even blackjack buffs who know their Basic Strategy inside and out sometimes balk at a few of its dictates. They're aware that "the book" says to hit 16 against a dealer's 10-up and 12 against 2-up. The most astute recognize that these hands are underdogs either way so it's a question of magnitude rather than kind. ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: Casino cribbage5 December 2008
Casinos occasionally introduce new games. They're usually variations of old standbys. Once in a while, though, a new genre appears games using the poker paradigm being prime examples.
Developing new casino games can be lucrative. Whoever owns the rights typically, the patents earns royalties. ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: Is experience the best teacher in the casino?24 November 2008
Conventional wisdom says "experience is the best teacher." The philosopher, Georgio Santayana, was more scholarly: "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Albert Einstein had yet another take, defining insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: How to get an (almost) free shot at a slot jackpot17 November 2008
People go to casinos to make money. Pretenses aside, the idea is not simply to achieve the ecstasy of victory and avoid the agony of defeat while getting a comp for the buffet. If it were, why not stay home, play chess or parcheesi, and raid the ice box?
At the slots, especially, many solid citizens gamble with a "go for broke" philosophy. ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: Do casinos make money from players going broke?10 November 2008
A bigger bankroll gives you a better chance of reaching any given profit point. The money lets you ride through setbacks with the hope of upswings. But do casino earnings depend on solid citizens with modest budgets busting out before hitting their win goals?
Consider a simple coin flip game. One flip has two equally likely results heads (H), win $1; tails (T), lose $1. ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: Don't underestimate the impact of the come-out on pass bets3 November 2008
Pass, Come, Don't Pass, and Don't Come bets are the best wagers at craps in terms of edge or expected value. Pass and Come, for instance, win an average of 49.29 percent of the time. Alone, this success rate would put the house edge at 1.41 percent with an even-money payoff low, compared with most other ... (read more)
Playing It Smart: The elegant side of roulette28 October 2008
Roulette has an underlying elegance few solid citizens (or casino bosses, for that matter) appreciate. Bets on combinations such as corners or columns pay the same as on the total spread uniformly over the identical numbers. It's invariably in whole dollars, and it means that the edge is consistent regardless of what's bet.
... (read more)
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