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Alan Krigman Gaming Guru - Page 80  What if They Put Computers in Dice?10 November 1997
They can put powerful computers into anything. Take a $5 wrist watch. It has more capacity, speed, and accuracy than the "giant brain" I first saw in college - around the dawn of prehistory - which occupied a whole building and drew so much electricity that lights dimmed all over Cambridge when anyone asked it a question. ... (read more)
Don't Be a Good Player but a Bad Gambler3 November 1997
Casinos are packed with good players and bad gamblers. They're often the same people. What makes a good player? Mainly, knowing how to optimize the outcome of a bet. The optimization may involve decisions with the greatest expected return or highest probability of winning, in games where choices affect outcomes. ... (read more)
When Insurance Gives Blackjack Players an Edge27 October 1997
Players can "take insurance" at blackjack when the dealer shows an ace. This bet can be anything up to half the original wager. Insurance pays 2-to-1 when the hole card is a 10 and the dealer has blackjack; it loses otherwise. Solid citizens who stick strictly to basic strategy know insurance ... (read more)
How Bankroll Size Affects Your Chances25 October 1997
Among the weakest moves solid citizens make in casinos is playing with too little money. Or, equivalently, wagering too high for their bankrolls. Bettors who thus tempt fate typically believe that gambling is mainly or entirely luck. That it's mostly or all a matter of being in the right place at the right time. ... (read more)
Is It Cheating If They Let You Do It?20 October 1997
You're not supposed to see tablemates' hands at Let It Ride. Some players think the rule silly. After all, the object is to beat the payout scale. Players don't compete with one another. But there's a reason for the rule. And the only silliness is that casinos let you break it. I'll explain. In Let It ... (read more)
Protecting Craps Bets: Expensive, But Sometimes You Get Lucky13 October 1997
My boyhood buddy, Bromley, invited me to dinner a while back. Bromley always has something up his sleeve. Since the restaurant was what passes for gourmet in a casino (cloth napkins), I made two guesses. He had a comp and wanted me to know the bosses considered him a high-roller. He wanted to talk gambling. ... (read more)
Why and When to Surrender in Blackjack6 October 1997
Basic strategy for blackjack is full of fiats providing prudent players cause for pause. Bettors often wonder whether it's really right to split eights against a 10. Or hit 12 against a two. Or double on soft 18 against a four. But, misgivings aside, most blackjack buffs follow these and other enigmatic edicts faithfully because they're what "the book says" to do. ... (read more)
What Slot Machine Payout Schedules Mean to You29 September 1997
Payout schedules - lists of each possible return and its associated probability - are at the crux of all slot machines. These schedules determine the statistical properties of the games, including long-term averages and short-term phenomena, such as: o sizes of various payouts; o how often bettors can ... (read more)
The Quality of a Bet Depends on Your Viewpoint22 September 1997
Some friends have an ongoing argument about craps. Rosencrantz places the four for $5, looking for a $9 payoff. Gildenstern bets $5 in the field - hoping for a $10 payoff on rolls of two or 12, but happy with $5 return on three, four, nine, 10, or 11. Each thinks the other's is a sucker bet. "Which is better?" they asked me the other day. ... (read more)
Gambling Mistakes Come in All Shapes, Sizes, and Aftermaths15 September 1997
Gambling mistakes. Depending on what you consider wrong, they happen often. And they can be costly or annoying, although sometimes they're just the opposite. I was reminded of this by several incidents during a long blackjack session last weekend. For instance, the relief dealer made three errors on my hands alone in two 20-minute stints. ... (read more)
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