 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! John Grochowski Archives
More Strategy Experts
|
John Grochowski Gaming Guru - Page 152  Gambler's Survival Kit - Part 117 May 2005
In the game of survival, casinos arm themselves well. The mathematical edge that's built into each game is plenty of ammunition to make sure house the bags its share of the wagers.
Players would do well to put together a little survival kit of their own. It can't guarantee you'll be a winner --- only a ... (read more)
How to Double Your Money at the Casino10 May 2005
It was dinner time at Gary's Buffington Harbor casinos, and I was on the down escalator, headed toward Koko Taylor's Blues Café. On the escalator going up was an older man in a jacket and tie --- an unusual sight these days given that he wasn't wearing a casino ID.
From the look in the man's eye, I could ... (read more)
Sometimes Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes3 May 2005
American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling by Andrew Brisman was written and edited by smart people. The fellowship of high-IQ folks that is Mensa wouldn't have it any other way. Still, they fell into a dumb little trap in calculating the house edge on a craps system.
A reader e-mailed me to point out that ... (read more)
Do Casinos Really Make Their Money From The Winners?26 April 2005
Q. Sitting in the buffet, I caught a snippet of conversation that I was wondering if you could explain. (I wasn't listening in, they were so loud I couldn't help hearing.) One guy was saying that the casino really makes its money off the winners, and the other guy said something like, "Oh really? You mean we pay for all this when we win?" That doesn't really make sense to me.
... (read more)
Blackjack Ball Quiz19 April 2005
Each year, Max Rubin hosts a "Blackjack Ball," bringing dozens of card counters to a secret Nevada location. They socialize, induct new members to the Blackjack Hall of Fame --- this year's inductees were Playing Blackjack as a Business author Lawrence Revere and basic strategy/card counting pioneer Julian ... (read more)
Expert Play in Video Poker12 April 2005
Whenever I write about video poker payback percentages, I add the cautionary phrase "with expert play." Jacks or Better with a 9-6 pay table, meaning full houses pay 9-for-1 and flushes 6-for-1, will return an average of 99.5 percent of coins wagered to players, with expert play.
Most players don't play ... (read more)
More on Max Coin: Video Poker5 April 2005
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that while on most reel-spinning slot machines playing maximum coins brings the best payback percentage, it also increases overall losses. It's a bad idea to play progressive slots or buy-a-pays where each coin activates different symbols without betting the max. But on your ... (read more)
A Shuffle through the Blackjack Gaming Mailbag29 March 2005
A shuffle through the Gaming mailbag, with the blackjack brigade checking in this week:
Q. I was playing at Harrah's Joliet with some buddies, and there was a guy who was making mistake after mistake. He was standing on all his 16s, no matter what the dealer showed. I even saw him stand on Ace-5 once, and you can't bust by taking a hit there. ... (read more)
Max Bet Myth Busted22 March 2005
"Hey John! You have to settle something for us."
Anything for a couple of readers, I told the guys who'd called out as I wandered through a bank of reel-spinning slots.
"We were talking about slot myths. You know, the idea that the machine pays less when you use your player rewards card," said an ... (read more)
Playing Multiple Machines at Once15 March 2005
I'm never surprised to see reel-spinning Wheel of Fortune slot machines getting heavy play. They've been a popular favorite ever since IGT introduced them in the late 1990s, longevity that's rare in the fast-changing world of slot machines.
So on a recent casino visit, it wasn't that 10 games in the 12-machine Wheel of Fortune bank were busy as I walked past that caught my eye. ... (read more)
< Previous 10 Articles | Next 10 Articles > John Grochowski |
John Grochowski |
