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John Grochowski Gaming Guru  He's Confused23 January 2022
By John Grochowski In everything we do, there's a first time. For casino players, that includes the first time you play each game. Scott is a Midwestern player who has played craps more than once, but every time seems like the first time. He's done his prep work, reading books, following online tutorials, practicing at home. But when comes time to play for money, the brain freezes. " I'm sure you hear this a lot, but craps doesn't do it for me," he said at the start of a series of emails -- the conversation here has been condensed from several exchanges. "I've never really understood the game and I guess I never will. "On a surface level, I get it. I've read the articles and practiced with friends who are craps players. One dude even has a felt layout to practice on." I told him that's more prep work than most players put in. I highly recommend learning games before you play for money. That's a big part of why I've been writing about casino games since the early 1990s, to help people be prepared for the ins and outs of the games they'll play. Sometimes a new game is going to catch your eye and you're going to wing it and learn as you play. When that happens, keep your wagers low. If you like the game enough to return, look up strategies before your next casino visit. Unfortunately for Scott, the preparation for craps doesn't stick. "I always come away from reading or practice knowing exactly how everything works. I know how the pass line works, I know how don't pass works, I know how to place and buy, I know how to take and lay odds. "Then I get into a casino, and it all leaves me. There's something about the other players, the dealers, all the other things going on around the table and through the aisles that I just totally lose concentration. Maybe even though I know all that stuff, I just haven't internalized it. "Whatever, the moment it's time to bet, it's all gone. Last time I tried, I bought in for $200, put chips in my rack and just totally went blank. Like 'WHAT DO I DO NOW? HOW DO I BET?'" Scott's case is extreme, but many players have had similar experiences. Playing in a casino is different than playing at home, regardless of whether you're dealing cards, rolling dice or practicing online. At home, it's easy to narrow your focus on games bets and strategies. In a casino, there's hustle and bustle, sights and sounds to distract you. Dealers urging you to get bets down, cocktail servers hustling drinks, shrieks from slot jackpot winners and much more command your attention. A craps newbie might find it difficult to fumble through the game. A blackjack player who has learned to count cards at home might find it impossible to keep the numbers in his head in a live casino setting. I asked Scott if he's tried playing at a quieter time. Playing on a weekday morning when only a few players are around might help him keep focus. Then, when he's had one successful session, he might be more confident trying busier times. "I haven't tried that," he replied. "It's easiest for me to go on weekends. I suppose that doesn't help. But I'm giving up. "That doesn't happen to me with any other game. I play quite a lot of blackjack, a little Three Card Poker and am perfectly comfortable at other games. But I've decided it's time to put craps on my permanent do not play list." This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Multi-Pay Machines16 January 2022
QUESTION: When playing slots and you switch from 1-cent denomination to a $1 denomination, does it change the random number generator or does each coin denomination have its own random number generator? ANSWER: That can differ from machine to machine and manufacturer to manufacturer, but games with very different payback percentages can be programmed using the same random number generator. ... (read more)
High Card Flush9 January 2022
Several weeks ago, I answered a reader's question about automatic shufflers. One of the games he mentioned was High Card Flush. In the intervening weeks, several readers emailed me to ask about High Card Flush. They'd never heard of the game and wanted to know if it was something they should look for. ... (read more)
Streaks in Roulette2 January 2022
QUESTION: I have a question about the odds of streaks in roulette. This was brought on by a brother who insists Martingales are good bets. He bets red or black, and if he loses, he doubles his bet, and he keeps doubling until he wins. When he wins, it wipes out the losses and gives him a profit equal to his first bet. ... (read more)
Craps SystemsCraps players love systems, trying to mix and match bets in hopes of finding the magical formula that will beat the casino. Just about any system will work sometimes, and when a player wins with a system, it encourages another try, and another, and another. In the long run, of course, the casino comes out on top. ... (read more)Multi Strike PokerIt was a Friday morning in Joliet, and I'd been playing a little video poker aboard Empress II, waiting for the 11 a.m. opening of Empress I and its video poker room. Soon, if it hasn't already happened by the time you read this, Empress' new barge will open, ending such little scheduling inconveniences, but on this day, I found myself passing time with a little quarter Triple Play Poker. ... (read more)Comps - The BasicsA colleague of mine likes to refer to casino comps as "free stuff." And for those who know their basic strategy in blackjack, optimal strategies for certain video poker games and who know how comping systems work, the "stuff" really is free--the value ... (read more)Basic Strategy for Spanish 21In the last couple of weeks, we've looked at basic strategy in blackjack. Sit down at most blackjack tables in any jurisdiction, play basic strategy and you'll narrow the house edge to a half-percent or so, perhaps a little more or a little less depending on house rules. ... (read more)Single-Deck Basic StrategyThose whose casino memories stretch back far enough may recall a time when the standard "Las Vegas Strip" blackjack game was dealt from a single deck of cards, with the dealer standing on all 17s. That started to change in the 1960s as operators grew ... (read more)John Grochowski |
John Grochowski |
