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John Grochowski Gaming Guru - Page 61  Winning big and paying taxes12 January 2017
QUESTION: A while back you wrote the IRS had proposed requiring tax forms on jackpots of $600 instead of $1,200. Have they made a decision, or is that still up in the air? ANSWER: I’ve received a number of e-mails asking this over the last several months, but I answered the writer directly and held off from bringing the issue here until a decision was reached. ... (read more)
Squeamish blackjack hands8 January 2017
It’s a fact of life for most blackjack players that some hands will leave them feeling a little squeamish. I’ve often heard from players who hate hitting hard 16, even though they know hitting gives them the best chance to win whenever the dealer shows a 7 or higher. Splitophobia runs rampant with a pair of ... (read more)
Royal flush on Facebook Play5 January 2017
QUESTION: I play at home on Facebook apps more than I play in casinos. Some of it is slots, but I play a lot of video poker. It’s pretty close to every day at home, and six or eight times a year in casinos. I seem to get royal flushes a lot at home, but I never get them in casinos. It’s exciting on an app, but all I’m getting is points, not $1,000 like in a casino. ... (read more)
New Year's resolutions for gamblers1 January 2017
For 51 weeks of every year, I write about new games, strategies to get the most out of old favorites and how slot machines work, and I share stories from readers about their casino experiences. One week a year is reserved for my own little tradition for the new year. I like to stop for a moment to remind ... (read more)
Those pesky slot odds29 December 2016
QUESTION: My brother and I have been playing slots for donkey’s years, and we’ve been having the same argument about what “random” means all this time. He says that if you have a reel with nine 7s and one lemon, that means for the game to be truly random a 7 should come up nine times out of 10. I disagree. ... (read more)
Successful slot machines25 December 2016
There are lots of ingredients that go into the success of a slot machine. A great theme to entice players to try a game is a start, and attractive graphics, animation and sound help, too. Ask game manufacturers, and they’ll tell you about the importance of having the right math model. A game where you don’t ... (read more)
About those side bets22 December 2016
QUESTION: I know side bets like Lucky Ladies, 21 + 3, Royal Match and so on have higher house edges than regular blackjack. Still, I can just play regular blackjack at those tables and not make the side bets. They don’t hurt me at all. My question is, why don’t they have side bets at every table? Then the ... (read more)
Let's Applaud Those Good Dealers18 December 2016
If you play much blackjack, you’ve had dealers who make the experience breezy fun. They’re friendly as well as efficient. They move the game along but will take time for inexperienced players. Players and dealers sometimes seem for form a community as the dealer asks players about their interests and gets the . ... (read more)
Using someone else's player's card15 December 2016
QUESTION: It used to be my wife and I shared slot club accounts. Now the casinos want us to have separate accounts. Sometimes, when we want to build up her account, I use one of her cards. Sometimes she uses one of mine. One thing worries me. What if I win a jackpot while using her card? Can they refuse to ... (read more)
Video blackjack11 December 2016
Video blackjack games come in all shapes and sizes. There are single-player games, usually part of the package on multigame machines such as IGT’s Game King. There are multiplier consoles. Some games pay 3-2 on blackjacks, while others pay only even money. Seth, a regular reader who sometimes plays table ... (read more)
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