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Mark Pilarski Gaming Guru - Page 51  The odds may say, "No deal!" and yet . . .7 April 2006
Dear Mark,
There is a new game show called Deal or No Deal. The participant selects a brief
case containing anywhere from 1 cent to 1 million dollars, and there are 26 cases
to choose from. Then, all non-selected cases are slowly revealed until there are
just three left, two on the board and the one the player has selected. ... (read more)
Dropping zeroes drops the house edge31 March 2006
Dear Mark,
For years I’ve been trying to convince my wife that playing on a single-zero
roulette table, which, by the way, our local casino offers, is a much better play
than on a double-zero wheel. She sort of believes me but it’s just that the
00 is her favorite number on the layout. Besides, she believes that splitting
the 0/00 reduces the house edge to that of a single-wheel game. ... (read more)
The wizard arm and bargain blackjack24 March 2006
Dear Mark,
I am writing a screenplay with a character who has the ability to affect the outcome
of dice on a craps game with his throws. I need a term for such a person who has
this skill. Billy F.
I'm guessing here, Billy, but I think you are inquiring about a player so gifted
at throwing dice ... (read more)
Keen eyes and a drop of the weird17 March 2006
Dear Mark,
I was asked to leave a casino because a pit boss believed I was adding more chips
to my bet on a roulette table after the dealer “supposedly” called no
more bets. I told him I didn’t hear the dealer say it, and that I was just
adding chips to my favorite number, which I believe he was upset at because it
just happened to be a winner. ... (read more)
Comp computing made easy10 March 2006
Dear Mark,
I heard you on a radio show talking about getting comps, and one of your suggestions
was to call a casino host and ask what type of action was needed to warrant, as
you said, “getting some goodies.”
So, I called a casino host and asked how much I would need to play in order
to get both a dinner for two in their steak house, and possibly a buffet for
two. ... (read more)
Pooh pooh the hardway3 March 2006
Dear Mark,
In craps, is there a difference between a hopping hardway and a regular hardway?
Is either worth playing? Clint F.
With a hardway, Clint, you are betting that a matching pair of dice will appear
before a 7, or before two dice of the same total value are rolled. When the
face of the ... (read more)
The ups and downs of the suitcase man24 February 2006
Dear Mark,
On one episode of the television show CSI, Grissom talks about a guy who goes
into a Las Vegas casino and bets one million dollars on one roll of the dice and
loses. Is that a true story? Ralph S.
Ground zero for plenty of Las Vegas legendary lore was Binion’s Horseshoe
Casino, a ... (read more)
The sweet sound of the shuffle17 February 2006
Dear Mark,
Could you please explain the physical process of shuffling that casinos use in
blackjack? Also, why when a new deck is brought in, do some casinos place them
face down and swish them around like we did as a kid when playing the game of
Fish? Richard C.
Casinos differ on shuffling procedures used to prepare a deck or decks for
continued play. ... (read more)
Some common blackjack misconceptions that needn't cost you plenty11 February 2006
Dear Mark,
Does it matter much which casino I play in since the game is pretty much the same
from one casino to the next? Barry D.
For starters, the number of decks of cards being used and each casino’s
in-house rules determine how much of an advantage the casino has over its
patrons. ... (read more)
Pai gow payoffs and parlay fever3 February 2006
Dear Mark,
How do I play three pairs in pai gow poker? Should the highest go up front, or
the second highest? Also, how about this for your unusual file? The dealer and
I copied hand four consecutive times. Shawn R.
Pai gow (which rhymes with pie now) poker is played with up to six players
and a banker, each being dealt seven cards. ... (read more)
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