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Donald Catlin Gaming Guru - Page 12  Royals and Flushes8 November 2004
In my August article, Grit Your Teeth and Go For It, I considered the 9/6 Jacks or Better Video Poker situation wherein you are dealt a four-card Royal and a pat Flush. Although giving up the sure winner is tough to do, we saw there that the correct play was to break up the pat Flush and hold the four-card Royal. ... (read more)
Zzyzx4 October 2004
Zzyzx? What is that? Some strange mathematical variable? Not even close. It is something that every gambler driving between Los Angeles and Las Vegas encounters and something I've been curious about for years. I thought I'd take a break from the mathematics this month and tell you about it. First a ... (read more)
Playing the Soft Eighteen4 September 2004
One of the frequently misplayed Blackjack hands is the soft eighteen, that is, a hand comprised of an Ace and a count of seven. Clearly if the dealer shows a bust card, that is, a two through six, then the player is in a favorable situation if he just stands with the eighteen. Clear also is the situation wherein the dealer shows a seven or eight. ... (read more)
Grit Your Teeth and Go For It1 August 2004
I was recently in Las Vegas and stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton. The Hilton has some 9/6 Jacks or better machines and, as usual, I was giving one of them a try. Every now and then one is dealt a pat hand, that is, there is already a winner in the hand and I was dealt just such a hand. But what a hand! I was dealt the TC, JC, QC, 3C, AC. ... (read more)
Know When to Fold'em3 July 2004
In my May article on dealer qualification, I indicated that I would address the topic of folding at a later date. Folding can be quite complicated. In regular Poker, for example, your position at the table, the actions of the other players, as well as the strength of your hand all contribute to the decision. ... (read more)
The Five Count6 June 2004
The 5-count is a Craps betting system that was first introduced in 1980 by a gambler identified only as "The Captain." Since then it has been touted by Frank Scoblete and a complete explanation of it can be found in his book Forever Craps, The Five Step Advantage Play Method (Bonus Books, 2000). A couple ... (read more)
Why Dealer Qualification Works2 May 2004
Many of the newer casino games have a feature called dealer qualification. The notion of qualification per se has been around for a long time, for example, Jacks or better in Poker or the dealer in Blackjack requiring a hand of 17 or better. As far as I know, dealer qualification as implemented in the way we describe below, was first seen in Caribbean Stud and Three Card Poker. ... (read more)
Blackjack Speed Count4 April 2004
A new Blackjack counting system called Speed Count has appeared in the past few weeks. It was developed by Dan Pronovost and Henry Tamburin of DeepNet Technologies and is being licensed to Frank Scoblete, Henry Tamburin, and Dom LoRiggio, who will market the product under the name Golden Touch Blackjack (GTB). ... (read more)
Those Frustrating Low Pairs6 March 2004
I don't know about you but whenever I play a version of Jacks or Better Video Poker it seems like those low pair hands show up with an uncanny frequency and with the same uncanny frequency seem to seldom lead to anything fruitful. Yet, when I look at strategy tables they seem to rank right up there with four card straights and three card straight flushes. ... (read more)
Frugal Video Poker2 February 2004
One of the newer gambling products on the market is the computer program Frugal Video Poker developed by Jim Wolf and highly recommended and marketed by Jean Scott. Jean, as many of you know, is the author of the popular books The Frugal Gambler and More Frugal Gambling, both published by Huntington Press of Las Vegas. ... (read more)
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