![]() Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! Related Links
Recent Articles
Best of John Grochowski
|
Gaming Guru
A shuffle through the gaming mailbag26 June 2011
A. You don't necessarily have to wait until someone wants to play the same game as you. The server in casinos with Class II games can link games with different player interfaces — the slot reels and bonus screens. What really matters in determining your outcome is the bingo pattern being built and the numbers are drawn electronically. The same bingo draw can easily be applied to games with different themes and graphics. As for video poker, the Class II version is not a game of strategy, as are video poker games in commercial casinos or Class III video poker games in Indian casinos. You're going to get what the bingo draw says you should get, no matter what strategy you use. If you throw away a full house, you might draw a new full house, or a leprechaun, genie or some other magical character might appear and award you a bonus of the amount you should have won had you held the full house. Similarly, in a pick'em-type bonus event, your award is determined by the bingo draw. In a commercial casino or on a Class III slot game, your choices make a difference. A random number generator sets the possibilities, and which party box or treasure chest or alien artifact you pick determines how large a bonus you get. On a Class II game, you have an illusion of choice, but you're going to get what you're going to get.
A. If you're a basic strategy player, no. It's always best to stand on 20. If you're a Hi-Lo counter, and the true count is plus-4 or higher in a multideck game, then you add to your edge by splitting the 10s. Then there's tournament play. If you're in the late stages in a tournament round and you absolutely have to maximize your wagers, then splitting 10s is one way to do it. But understand that in tournaments, we sometimes have to make all kinds of odd plays that we wouldn't make in a cash game.
A. Back counting, also called "Wonging" in honor of blackjack expert Stanford Wong, is counting cards while standing away from the table. The back counter doesn't enter the game until the count is favorable. In that way, the successful back counter never has to suffer through the periods of the game when the house has an edge. He plays only when there is a high concentration of high cards remaining to be played. That increases the chances of getting a blackjack and also increases the chances of drawing a high card in double down situations — things that turn the edge in the player's favor. I see restricted entry rules most frequently on single-deck and double-deck games, but have seen no mid-shoe entry signs even on six-deck and eight-deck shoe games, usually those with high minimum bets. 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. Related Links
Recent Articles
Best of John Grochowski
John Grochowski |
John Grochowski |