Gaming Gurus: Latest From Our Strategy Experts

Ask the Slot Expert: Lessons for game shows from gambling - part 1

Some of the lessons we learn from gambling can be used for playing game shows. Know the rules The first lesson is to know the rules of the game you're playing backwards and forwards. This is probably most important when playing blackjack because different casinos -- and even different tables within a casino -- can have different rules...read more

Video poker quiz: Low pair or something else

Today’s article is a quiz on proper video poker strategy. The game is full-pay (9/6) jacks or better. The bet is the maximum five credits so that the royal flush pays 800-for-1 rather than 250-for-1.See if you can play the two hands properly.Today’s first hand contains:- Jack of clubs (Jc)- Queen of diamonds (Qd)- 7 of clubs (7c)- King of clubs (Kc)- 7 of spades (7s)The obvious holds for the hand (Jc, Qd, 7c, Kc, 7s) are:- three high cards (Jc, Qd, Kc)- two cards of a royal flush (Jc, Kc)- three cards of a flush (Jc, 7c, Kc)- a low pair (7c, 7s)Which cards would you hold?Here are the returns for some of the top holds for the hand (Jc, Qd, 7c, Kc, 7s):- Three high cards (Jc, Qd, Kc) – return 2.5763 credits for five credits played on average.- Two cards of a royal flush (Jc, Kc) – return 2.8791 credits for five credits played on average.- Three cards of a flush (Jc, 7c, Kc) – return 2.6642 credits on average.- The low pair (7c, 7s) – returns 4.1184 credits on average.For this hand, the three high cards, the two cards of a royal flush, and three cards of a flush all return roughly half of the initial bet.None of these holds comes close to the return from the low pair...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Things get wild with wild cards

I noticed something unexpected when I did the math for last week's column about the EV changing when you redraw a hand that has suited A-K versus suited A-Q versus suited A-J in NSU. Here is the table from that column. HandHold 2-card royalRedraw A♣ K♣ 3♦ 7♥ 9♠ 0.3174840.323339 A♣ Q♣ 3♦ 7♥ 9♠ 0.3174840.321954 A♣ J♣ 3♦ 7♥ 9♠ 0.3174840.320883 A♣ 10♣ 3♦ 7♥ 9♠ 0.3174840.319722 The EV of holding the 2-card royal doesn't change, but the EV of redrawing does...read more

Video poker quiz: Four-card Straight Flush or High Pair

Today’s article is a quiz on proper video poker strategy. The game is full-pay (9/6) jacks or better. The bet is the maximum five credits so that the royal flush pays 800-for-1 rather than 250-for-1.See if you can play the two hands properly.Today’s first hand contains:- 10 of diamonds (Td)- Queen of diamonds (Qd)- 8 of diamonds (8d)- Jack of diamonds (Jd)- Jack of clubs (Jc)The two obvious holds for the hand (Td, Qd, 8d, Jd, Jc) are:- High pair (Jd, Jc)- Three cards of a royal flush (Td, Qd, Jd)- Four-card straight flush (Td, Qd, 8d, Jd)If you hold the high pair it is a winner as is – though it only recoups your original bet...read more

Video poker quiz: Two High Cards or Three-card Straight Flush

Today’s article is a quiz on proper video poker strategy. The game is full-pay (9/6) jacks or better. The bet is the maximum five credits so that the royal flush pays 800-for-1 rather than 250-for-1.See if you can play the two hands properly.Today’s first hand contains:- 3 of clubs (3c)- King of hearts (Kh)- Ace of clubs (Ac)- Jack of hearts (Jh)- 5 of clubs (5c)The two obvious holds for the hand (3c, Kh, Ac, Jh, 5c) are:- Two suited high cards / two cards of a royal flush (Kh, Jh)- Three-card straight flush (3c, Ac, 5c)Full disclosure time: I sometimes miss the fact that there are three cards of a straight flush in hands like this one...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Holding suited ace-10 in NSU

Last week I wrote that you don't hold a suited ace-10 when playing NSU. I use the Wizard of Odds' Intermediate Strategy and it has you always discard the suited ace-10. Maybe another strategy has a situation in which you would hold a suited ace-10. I checked Bob Dancer's Advanced Strategy for NSU...read more

Let's Go to Atlantic City

CINDY: Last week we tackled a tour of Las Vegas, the number one casino city in the world. Today we move across the country to the East coast and check out Atlantic City. Which I guess Is considered second best casino town. Or maybe not.ABBY: Those of us who live on the East coast ever since the 1980s look to Atlantic City as our casino gambling lifeblood.CINDY: Undoubtably.ABBY: Often Atlantic City was referred to as the Las Vegas of the East...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: What does NSU have against aces?

I'm used to not holding suited ace-10 from playing 9/6 Jacks, but the NSU strategy says to not hold any 2-card royal with an ace. What does NSU have against aces? Let's look at a sample hand to see why we're better off throwing away all of the cards instead of holding the 2-card with an ace. Dealt hand: A♣ K♣ 3♦ 7♥ 9♠ Hold: A♣ K♣ Hold: none HandPays WaysTot Pays Prob...read more

Craps Craziness

The shouts and applause can be heard all over the casino when things are going right at the craps table. It’s hard not to get involved when a shooter is hitter than hot.The enjoyment is tangible.Of course, darksiders never get to experience the true highs of the game because when they win, just about everyone else at the table takes a loss.Most darksiders are loners...read more

Relax and Play the Game

Some people are so uptight when they play the games that I sometimes wonder why they play them.The percentages are probably not so high but when you are at a blackjack table and one of the six other players is a nervous wreck, well, you feel their pain...read more