Gaming Gurus: Latest From Our Strategy Experts

Ask the Slot Expert: I see casino equivalents in everyday things

Sometimes I think that maybe I've been writing about gaming for too long. I see parallels between practically anything in real life and the casino. For example, I binged a Brit game show called 007:Road to a Million a few months ago. I mentioned it in some columns...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: How does a casino determine its return to player

Question: I never thought much about Return to Player (RTP) regarding slot machines. Only when seeing stats a while ago about the various percentages in casinos on the strip, downtown, or off strip, did I realize how little I know about it and am curious. For example: How do casinos determine their RTP, does it change, and if so what factors usually impact the RTP? In conjunction with that, does geography or foot traffic in the Las Vegas area or anywhere we have casinos affect setting a casino's RTP? Does a state gaming commission follow casino RTPs or produce annual stats? Is it easy for a player to find out what a particular casino's RTP is, and if so where would they find that information? Would appreciate information on this topic. Thank you for your informative and, lots of times, amusing articles! Answer: Channeling Roseanne Roseannadanna, "You ask a lot of questions for someone from New Jersey." I have no idea where you're from, but that's the quote. I had a fortunate incident concerning your questions today...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Steve Wynn - not the first

One of my favorite programs is Connections, written and presented by science historian James Burke. An underlying theme of this program and his other programs is that the image of the lone inventor, tinkering away in his or her garage, basement or laboratory and single-handedly creating an invention or making a scientific discovery is a myth...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: How do you choose when your choice doesn't matter?

Rarely in life do you have to choose between two options and it doesn't matter which one you pick. Door A or Door B. They're both either a year's supply of tuna fish or new cars. Pick one or the other. It doesn't matter. How do you choose which one to pick? Playing NSU Deuces, you'll find many instances in which the strategy gives you the choice of holding two sets of cards, each with the same Expected Value (EV). Consider this hand: 5♣ 7♦ 8♣ 9♥ J♣ The strategy says you should hold one of the two inside straights...read more

Open and inside straights in Jacks or Better

Open and inside straights and straight flushes were the topics of a recent article, with a following article having a quiz on inside and open straights on a jacks or better game.Now how about looking at some hands on a NSUD game? NSUD stands for Not So Ugly Deuces (or Ducks)...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Stealth-mode video poker

Question: I always turn the sound down (if possible) to its lowest setting on VP machines. If I have a substantial hit like a Royal, I don't want to advertise it to anyone nearby. You never know who it is that may be lurking around you...read more

How do you play these open and inside straight hands?

Open and inside straights and straight flushes were the topics of a recent article.Here are some hands that feature open and inside straights/straight flushes.These hands are played on a full-pay (9-for-1 for a full house and 6-for-1 for a flush) jacks or better game with the max credits of five.The first hand is:2dAd4dAh5dThis hand contains:- a high pair (AdAh)- a four-card inside straight flush (2dAd4d5d).Often, holding a high pair is the preferred play, but in this case, we also have a very powerful straight flush – although it is an inside straight flush, meaning only one card will complete the hand.The returns are:- Holding the high pair returns 7.683 credits.- Holding the four-card inside straight flush returns 11.915 creditsThe four-card inside straight flush returns nearly 50 percent more than the high pair...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Pump up the volume -- and payback?

Last week in a column about whether the volume setting on a slot machine affects its "winnability" (Spoiler Alert: It doesn't.), I used the following excerpt from the page turner entitled Technical Standards for Gaming Devices and Associated Equipment: Standard 1 Integrity of Gaming Devices...read more

Open straights in video poker

Look at the strategy for just about any video poker game and you will find two different types of straight – an open (or more accurately – open-ended) straight and an inside straight. The terms open and inside also apply to straight flushes which are simply straights consisting on one suit.Most players, no matter how casual their play may be, know somewhat instinctively that open straights are good and inside straights are not so good...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: The sound of slot machines

Question: I occasionally watch some YouTube slot channels and often see them turn up the slot machine's sound to the highest level believing it offers a better chance of winning. When I play, I turn the sound down to low as I hate the loud sound. I don't think of myself as gullible...read more