Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 13

Seven Deadly Sins for Video Poker Players: 4. Envy

Preamble: While browsing through the offerings on television the other night I came across Se7en. It is a 1995 movie about detectives hunting a serial killer that uses the seven deadly sins as motivation for killing. While I am not much of a fan of the movie, lessons can be learned from it regarding video poker play and gambling in general.This is the fourth in a series of seven articles that each cover one of the seven deadly sins – fourth article, fourth deadly sin – envy.Envy is defined in Merriam-Webster as “painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.”This is the proverbial “green-eyed monster.”It seems to be more prevalent now than in the past.Thoughts like “I should be able to have a great house like others do,” or “how come they get to have a new car when I cannot?”More closely related to video poker the following thoughts are likely:• “I have been playing this machine for hours yet the guy at the next machine sat down just a few minutes ago and he got a royal flush...read more

Seven Deadly Sins for Video Poker Players: 3. Lust

Preamble: While browsing through the offerings on television the other night I came across Se7en. It is a 1995 movie about detectives hunting a serial killer that uses the seven deadly sins as motivation for killing. While I am not much of a fan of the movie, lessons can be learned from it regarding video poker play and gambling in general.This is the third in a series of seven articles that each cover one of the seven deadly sins – third article, third deadly sin – lust.Lust is defined in Merriam-Webster as “unusually intense or unbridled sexual desire,” or “an intense longing or craving.” The first definition would be a particularly unusual example of lust playing video poker or playing any casino game...read more

Dystopia

CINDY: The world of the casinos is somewhat out of whack. The casino world in such movies as “The Hangover” and “The Hangover Part Two” have little to do with the real world as these movie scripts recommend “letting it all hang out” when you visit casino-land...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: New Year's Eve on the Las Vegas Strip

All the years I lived in New Jersey, I never went to Times Square to watch the ball drop. It wasn't easy to get into the city from where I lived. Despite having a large number of people commuting into New York, my line did not have direct service into the city...read more

Banging Your Head Against a Wall

Casinos have the edge over the players.It is a rare moment in a rare game where the player can actually turn the edge against the casino. Very rare. Extremely rare.Players can have skills at some games, such as blackjack by following basic strategy (the computer derived strategy for the play of every player hand verses the dealer’s up card)...read more

Casinos Are No Longer Fun for Mel B.

From Mel B.Hello Mr. StickmanI know I am late to the subject, but I recently saw your articles asking players about their casino play, which they preferred etc.I have played/witnessed some form of gambling in one form or fashion since I was a child...read more

Seven Deadly Sins for Video Poker Players: Greed

Preamble: While browsing through the offerings on television the other night I came across Se7en. It is a 1995 movie about detectives hunting a serial killer that uses the seven deadly sins as motivation for killing. While I am not much of a fan of the movie, lessons can be learned from it regarding video poker play and gambling in general.This is the second in a series of seven articles that each cover one of the seven deadly sins – second article, second deadly sin – Greed.Greed is a very commonly exhibited human behavior...read more

Going Back to Poker

CINDY: Hold onto your seats. I’m thinking of trying poker again.ABBY: Are you kidding? Your last go at poker, oh so many decades ago, was not too pleasant as I recall.CINDY: It wasn’t the actual game. It was many of the other poker players that did me in...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Revisiting my NSU EV tables

This week I want to republish two EV charts with additional columns. I added two additional columns for each hold option. The extra columns make it easier to see how the different ending hands add up to the EV for the hold option. The two extra columns are the probability of hitting the ending hand and how much the hand contributes to the total EV of the hold option. In this column, I looked at why the strategy charts say to give up a 3-of-a-kind in favor of a 4-card straight flush when your hand has one deuce...read more

Happy New Years

The year is done and a new one begins.I will spend New Years Eve watching my favorite movie of all time.My wife, the Beautiful AP and I have a New Years Eve tradition. We watch “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the Frank Capra movie that stars James Stewart and Donna Reed and a host of some of the great “old-time” actors and actresses.The story is simple really.It is about a man who thinks he’s a failure because he was never able to go places and do things...read more