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Alan Krigman Gaming Guru - Page 30  Playing it smart - Do you play craps by rote or do you understand the bets you make?1 October 2007
In "Diamonds Are Forever, "James Bond makes some dumb craps bets. He shoots and wins (it's a movie, not a casino). Plenty O'Toole purrs, "You handle those cubes like a monkey handles coconuts."
He'd have to, given the wagers in question. But, what if a solid citizen could actually handle those coconuts ... (read more)
Playing it smart - When one plus one doesn't equal two at a casino24 September 2007
It doesn't take a gambling guru to know that raising or lowering your bets will increase or decrease your up-and downswings. You'll win or lose more, and will do it faster.
Here's something relatively few casino aficionados realize. Some vital session statistics stay constant as long as you adjust your bankroll in proportion to bet size. ... (read more)
Playing smart - If you think doubling earns twice as much as hitting, think again17 September 2007
Most blackjack players know that properly doubling down raising an initial wager then taking one and only one new card is an advantage bet. When ordained by Basic Strategy, players not only have an edge, but are projected to earn more, on the average, than by following any of the alternatives. ... (read more)
Playing it smart - Expected utility and the law of diminishing returns10 September 2007
"Expected value" is the textbook measure of the quality of a gamble. For each possible outcome, multiply the probability by what you'd have at the end, and sum the products. The result is the "expected value" of the bet. How far this is above or below the bet tells you whether it's good, bad, or indifferent. ... (read more)
Playing it smart - What "expected value" reveals about the quality of a gamble3 September 2007
"Expected value" is one of the clearest ways to gauge the quality of a monetary gamble. It's a cash equivalent dollars and cents that's widely used as a tool for making decisions in the world of business and investments; it applies to casino and other forms of betting as well. Expected value isn't how much money you actually anticipate having when the dust settles. ... (read more)
The St Petersburg game: you have an advantage at Russian Roulette27 August 2007
The 18th Century mathematician, Nicholas Bernoulli, wondered about guidelines for making risk-reward decisions. His first guess was that a good criterion would involve "expected value," a way of relating odds and payoffs, comparable to using "edge."
To see how this applies, picture a $10 bet with a $30 payoff a chance for a fourfold increase from $10 to $40. ... (read more)
Playing it smart - You can beat the casino20 August 2007
Many gamblers want to believe there are ways to beat the house. Without relying on luck or the occult. With methods that win consistently. If not every game or session, then at least in a manner that ensures more earnings than losses over reasonable time periods. Such a desirable effect is, indeed, possible. ... (read more)
What you can learn from two finger Morra13 August 2007
You're probably familiar with some form of two-finger morra. In one version of the game, you and an opponent each show one or two fingers at the same time. When the total number of fingers is two or four, the person designated as Odd pays the player acting as Even that number of units. Conversely for totals of one or three. ... (read more)
Playing it smart - When will the next streak start?6 August 2007
Gambling is rife with misconceptions and bad advice about streaks. Misconceptions that they're special phenomena ongoing processes somehow sustained by inherent momentum. Bad advice telling players how to exploit the hot ones and blunt the cold.
Big bucks can obviously be made by continuing to press bets when they happen to keep winning. ... (read more)
Playing it smart - Why six decks are better than eight30 July 2007
Most experienced blackjack buffs are aware that the fewer the decks from which cards are drawn, the better the game in theory for players. That is, six decks are preferable to eight, four to six, and so on. All else being equal, of course.
Not many solid citizens know why this is the case. ... (read more)
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