Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 147

$1 8/5 vs. $5 9/6 Jacks or Better

Jerry,I enjoy your columns very much, especially the ones about video poker. Although the conventional wisdom is to always play video poker at full coin to capture the royal bonus, I’m not sure that advice applies to the $1 player whose only choice at that level is an 8/5 game, as is often the case these days...read more

Some interesting slots and some easy games

QUESTION: What do you think of these slots where you can win a different number of free spins depending on numbers on the symbols?You need at least three symbols, and when you get them, you add them up for a number of spins. One that I play has a maximum number of 7...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Borgata reunites player with money left on a machine

Question: I felt sorry for the guy in your 4/17/19 column who left his ticket in a slot machine and didn't get his money because the ticket had been cashed. A few months ago, I left $50 in a slot machine at Borgata in Atlantic City. I went to security and they said they would investigate while I went to dinner. When I got back to the security window about two hours later — much to my surprise, they handed me my $50! YEAH. Security explained to me why I was able to get my money back. Turns out, the ticket was cashed soon after I left the machine...read more

Some player superstitions

Humankind is a superstitious lot. There’s no doubt about that. Throwing salt over our shoulders if some it had spilled on the table or floor; not walking under ladders or stepping on cracks on the sidewalk. Look at the number of religions in the world over time, perhaps tens of thousands, all basically explaining everything but doing it differently...read more

Breaking down the craps place bets

Comparisons in wagering options at casino games usually are made in terms of the house edge. Craps players know the house edge on place bets on 6 or 8 is 1.52%, far better than the 4% on 5 or 9 or the 6.67% on 4 or 10.Sometimes, I get a request to break down what that means in terms of dollars and cents...read more

Bigger payouts

Many of us have heard that dollar slot machines pay out more than the nickel ones. Why do the casinos want to do that?The reason behind that idea is really very simple. Nickel machines require the same amount of floor space, the same amount of maintenance and support people to service them as dollar machines do...read more

Getting the edge on the 12

QUESTION: I was thinking about craps and betting on 12. The true odds are 35:1 and it pays only 30:1, so there’s a big house edge.But what if I’ve been counting and I know there’s been no 12 for 10 rolls, or for 20, or for 30? There has to be a 12 at some point, doesn’t there?How many rolls do I have to see with no 12 before the odds swing in my favor?ANSWER: If you’re betting 12, the odds never swing in your favor...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Pulling your slot club card during a bonus round

Question: In your 10 April Gaming Guru “Ask the Slot Expert” article, a reader questioned why a player would remove their player’s card during a bonus round, thinking it might be related to recording winnings. I’d like to offer a possible reason: On several occasions I’ve had the card holder light change from green "inserted" to red "reinsert" status when the bonus round lasts an extended period of time...read more

The show and then the show

It may be considered a waste of time if you go on a casino-venue vacation such as Las Vegas and not entertain yourself with a great show. In Vegas, you have afternoon shows and free shows and lounge shows and big-name entertainers playing the biggest hotels.Over my casino gaming career I’ve seen some great shows such as Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, James Brown, Danny Gans, Rita Rudner, Penn and Teller, Petula Clark, Siegfried and Roy, David Copperfield, Melinda, Cher, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, Don Rickles, and all the Cirque Du Soleil shows to name the few that just came to the top of my mind.Doesn’t going to a casino town and just gambling seem as if you are missing out on other great things to experience? The sporting events alone are worth the airfare...read more

Tackling reduced-pay video poker

Video poker strategies in print and online nearly always are geared for high-paying games.The problem is, the high-payers are becoming increasingly rare. At a large majority of casinos, reduced pay tables are the only ones available.Getting the most out of reduced pay tables requires adapted strategies, often driven by differences in returns on flushes.Take Bonus Poker Deluxe...read more