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Mark Pilarski Gaming Guru - Page 38  Deal Me In: How sweet they are, those 20 minutes of sanity27 March 2009
Dear Mark: I have always been fascinated by the gambling business. What I like most about your column is your insider's view as to what is going on. Take last week's column where you described the position of the "Pencil" and dealers being sent off to battle. I always wondered how the dealer was assigned a table. ... (read more)
Deal Me In: Tutorial on casino management20 March 2009
Dear Mark: A friend at Lake Tahoe is a dual rate dealer. Since he broke his hip skiing, he can't reach the pass line on the craps table. While he recovers, he has been working "the Pencil." He is spontaneous and multi-tasks well. Can you elaborate on this position? Randy S.
Being that once upon a time I ... (read more)
Deal Me In: Casinos try to keep it cloak-and-dagger13 March 2009
Dear Mark: For years I have been a heavy gambler on video poker here in Reno. I used to break close to even on specific machines at a certain casino. I became suspicious when I started losing real bad over several months. I asked a slot manager if they reset the machines and he said yes. He stated all they did was lower the pay table from 97.9% to 95%. ... (read more)
Deal Me In: Pick the odds against you: 5.26% or 2.7%6 March 2009
Dear Mark: My game of choice is roulette. I like to play certain individual numbers straight up in sections, not sections being the first (from 1-12), the second (from 13-24), and third (from 25-36), but sections grouped together on the wheel itself. For example, these are the numbers in sections I typically play; 5-22-34,16-4-23 and 28-9-26-30. ... (read more)
While cards flit hither and yon, the dots on dice stay put27 February 2009
Dear Mark: As to table games, you have mentioned that in roulette and craps, each spin of the wheel and each toss of the dice are based on independent events. Why wouldn't blackjack be in this same category? The cards are randomly shuffled, so wouldn't each individual blackjack hand also be considered independent from another? John C. ... (read more)
Honest answer, yes, but here's the explanation why20 February 2009
Dear Mark: My favorite slot to play is video keno. I've been playing them since their inception. I find I win more than a live keno game, besides, they don't offer a live game anymore where I play. Now, video keno is no longer available. I complained, and I was told they were no longer profitable. How can a ... (read more)
Deal Me In: Any time is the right or wrong time to play30 January 2009
Dear Mark: Is there any good time to play slots. For instance, day versus night, weekday versus weekend? It seems you see more jackpots hit on the weekends. Dusty E.
Your chances of winning, Dusty, have nothing to do as to when you play. Casinos don't tighten or loosen machines at a whim or with moon rise.
... (read more)
Deal Me In: Rigging your payday?23 January 2009
Dear Mark: Do casinos set multi-play video poker machines so that a more powerful hand doesn't appear on the initial deal, so they can avoid a very large payday for the player playing multiple hands? Alex G.
Multi-play video poker games are offered in "Triple Play," "Five Play," "Ten Play," "Fifty Play" ... (read more)
Deal Me In: Happenstance or cheating?16 January 2009
Dear Mark: I was recently in Vegas for New Years. I changed $100 to play blackjack at a $10 table, breaking my bets into five $20 bets. It was just me versus the dealer, pushed a couple of times, and I lost eight straight hands without winning one single hand (the last $20 was broken down into two $10 bets).
... (read more)
Deal Me In: While all liars figure, some figures can lie9 January 2009
Dear Mark: I need to settle this argument. I play pai gow poker, and to me, other than a copy hand, I see it as an even game, since there have been many times where I did not have a copy hand all night, or very, very, few of them. So from a dealt hand, I would say it is a 50/50 proposition on who will win.
... (read more)
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