Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 152

The reality of the casino

Sometimes the best laid plans of casino players run hard up against reality.Maybe you’ve set limits before a casino trip. Maybe you’ve carefully set aside money to play with separate from money from other expenses.But players often found they’ve lost track during the course of play, leaving them with a bankroll situation that wasn’t exactly what they’d planned.Jo, a penny slot player, and Tom, a video poker player, emailed to tell of trips that went awry...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Problems with a casino drawing and a casino

Question: I am a top-level VIP and was scheduled to receive 8x entries in a $50,000 total drawing over several hours. I was playing 9/6 Jacks or Better averaging $10 a bet. Furthermore, I was earning at $2 per point. And about 98 percent of all remaining video poker machines were at $5 per point...read more

Mini-Baccarat at Maxi-Speed

There are three major differences between mini-baccarat and full-blown baccarat aside from the fact that mini-baccarat is played on a blackjack style of table or a lower mid-sized table:1. Players do not deal the cards; the casino dealer is in charge of that2. The size of the minimum bets can be as low as $10 but tend to be $253. The speed of mini-baccarat is fast, faster and fastestCasino dealers are trained to swiftly move the games along...read more

Same Craps Bets with Different Payouts

QUESTION: A while back, you wrote about one-roll bets in craps and included the qualifier, “with standard U.S. paybacks.” Are payoffs different in other countries? Better or worse?ANSWER: At wizardofodds.com, Michael Shackelford notes that some casinos in Australia and the United Kingdom have more liberal payoffs than those we see in the U.S.On any craps, the standard U.S...read more

Gambling Anniversaries

There is a lot of news lately on TV, newspapers and magazines about the 50th anniversary of the first man to walk on the moon. The whole world watched or read about that special event in July 1969.Well, when it comes to gambling, we also have a lot of anniversaries to celebrate...read more

Players' Opinions

In a recent column, I relayed readers’ views on the biggest changes in casinos in the last 30 years.The immediate response caught me by surprise. More than 20 readers emailed to add their opinions. Many of them paralleled the views already given, but some added new aspects to the discussion.I usually like to let a little more time pass before revisiting a topic, but reader demand can’t be ignored...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Is free play taxable?

Question: I read your story about free play. When you win Free play from a drawing or tournament, does it ever become a taxable event? For example, is winning $1000 taxable? $2000? I understand if I win a jackpot during free play it is taxable, but is the event of winning free play a taxable event? Answer: The relevant threshold in this case is $600, the minimum to trigger a tax form for a lottery, drawing, sweepstakes, etc...read more

The numbers behind Baccarat

Following up on my last article on baccarat, let’s take a look at the rules for how the casino handles the hands. I say casino handling the hands as these hit and stand decisions are set in stone and players have no rights to change how the hands are handled.Rules for Player Hands:If first two cards total: Action1-2-3-4-5-0 Player draws a card6-7 Player stands8-9 Player and Bank must standRules for Bank Hands:If Bank’s first two cards total: Draw when Player’s third card is: Do not draw when Player’s third card is:3 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 84 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 1, 8, 9, 105 4, 5, 6, 7 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 106 6, 7 1,2,3,4,5,8,9,107 stands stands8 Natural stands Natural stands9 Natural stands Natural standsA winning Player hand is paid off at one to one...read more

Online Craps versus Casino Craps

QUESTION: I’ve played Craps at casinos for many years. Recently I’ve seen online craps games being offered by a few of the casinos in Jersey. My question is are there differences in house edge etc between online vs live craps? And are there any advantages with either?ANSWER: The odds in online craps are exactly the same as in live craps, with the same house edge on every bet...read more

Double Double Bonus Poker: Question 2

I regularly receive questions concerning how to play certain video poker hands. A previous article gave some basic information about the game of Double-Double Bonus video poker. If you are not familiar with this game, take a look at it before continuing with this article.The sample hands are all from e-mails that have been received.All the answers in this series are based on the following pay table...read more