Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 133

Ask the Slot Expert: Fear of getting sick in Las Vegas

Question: My biggest fear is I go to Las Vegas and then, when I try to fly home, I have a fever and the virus. We need an insurance policy that will cover a forced stay in a city. Until then, I will drive to a city like Biloxi for fun. Answer: I was stuck in Las Vegas many years ago...read more

The Home Run of Slots

I love baseball. I am a New York Yankees fan (do not boo me!) ever since I met Joe DiMaggio in 1953 shortly after he retired. It was my first time at Yankee Stadium. I was six years old and I was with my dad.I know that most of the biographies of Joe D...read more

Good Edge or Not?

QUESTION: Is the field bet a good bet or a bad bet? That 2.78 percent house edge doesn’t look too bad. It’s a lot better than placing 4 or 10 (6.67). It seems viable when you want to cover a lot of numbers.ANSWER: The field is a one-roll bet, which means you have to replenish your wagers a lot more often than on multi-roll bets such as pass or come, don’t pass or don’t come, and the place bets.The effect is that you actually lose more money per rolls on the field than on the worst place bets – 4 or 10.Let’s review the basics of the field...read more

Wear Your Masks

CINDY: We’ve been back to the casinos a few times since they have reopened. It’s still fun but the atmosphere is somewhat different. You have masks and most players try to stay a social distance from one another if that is possible.ABBY: The hustling and jostling is largely over from what we have experienced...read more

Table Game Tales

When I receive reader tales of first casino visits, they nearly always involve slot machines. Slots are the games that attract the most players, and slot jackpots are always memorable.Lately, several readers have emailed first trip reports that involve table games...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Should I come to Las Vegas in late August?

Question: I had to cancel my March LV vacation, casinos closed. I want to plan for a late August trip, but from all your observations, the increasing Covid numbers daily, I worry that LV will AGAIN get shut down, or at least be restricted some more. The bar shutdown thing is a sign that the Governor is thinking of more, tighter rules to keep people from "being sloppy with guidelines" (it happens, I see it everyday here in Chicago). My biggest concern is not getting the experience I normally enjoy: going where I want to game, eating where I like to go, etc...read more

Manners Are Important

In just about all areas of life we are confronted by how to properly handle our relations with other people, our culture, others’ cultures and just the do’s and don’ts of this or that situation.For example, if someone is grasping onto the overhead strap on the subways so he doesn’t fall, it is considered wrong to break the person’s fingers in order to get a good grip on the instrument yourself...read more

Hitting Choices in Blackjack

QUESTION: I’m a stubborn old coot and I refuse to bust with 16, and I don’t really like to hit 15, either. I’ve played blackjack for a long time. I went to Las Vegas for the first time in 1956. I’ve just seen too many busts with 16.I just don’t see that I’m any worse off waiting to see if the dealer will bust...read more

Video Poker Variance

There are four factors to be considered when choosing a video poker game to play – return, variance, playing strategy, and game availability.Probably the least understood is variance.Definition:Simply put, variance (sometimes called volatility) is the measure of the intensity of swings in the player's bankroll while playing the game...read more

The Nature of Paybacks

Given optimal strategy in video poker, you’ll see full houses just about as often as flushes and flushes just about as often as straights.Paybacks differ widely. The goal of designers is a game that’s fun to play, attractive to players and makes a profit for the house...read more