Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 159

Ask the Slot Expert: A casino changes a promotion — and makes it better!

Over the past few weeks I've complained about actions that casinos have taken. This week I want to laud a casino for an action it took that actually improved a promotion. It's not a fairy tale. It really happened. For many years, the Suncoast Casino offered a Dinner and a Movie promotion...read more

The internal clock

Bear with me here.My normal day goes something like this: I wake up between four and five o’clock in the morning. After my toiletries I make a half-cup of coffee and then I head for my computer.I answer e-mails for about an hour, occasionally go to Facebook for about 10 minutes, say good morning to my wife, the Beautiful AP, who is busy cleaning the birds’ cages (she is in charge of our two birds, I am in charge of the fish – well, I actually pay someone to be in charge of the fish, as I just enjoy looking at them)...read more

Are table games forever?

Slot machines come and go so rapidly that virtually every player has a list of old favorites that now are absent from casino floors.Table games turnover is much slower. Once a game has established itself as a player favorite, it’s usually in for a good long run...read more

More on come vs. place bets

Jerry,I’ve always played craps betting on the pass line with full odds and three numbers using the come, also taking full odds. On a recent visit to Las Vegas, a stickman suggested I try not playing the come but just placing the same amount of money bet on each of three numbers when they were thrown, as if I had three come bets.He pointed out the payoff on the 5, 6, 8 and 9 would be the same and it would be even better on the 4 and 10...read more

The rude dealer

QUESTION: I had a blackjack dealer rooting against me, which was kind of weird. Actually, she was rooting against the whole table.When she rotated onto our table, she took cards out of the shuffler and said, “Let’s lose some money!” A couple of guys said, “Yeah!” but the rest of us looked at her funny...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Dine-in only dining credits

Every casino promotion and benefit is designed to get you to go to the casino. Some go a step further and are designed to get you to stay in the casino longer, the theory being that the longer you stay in the casino, the more you'll play. I have a small problem with one benefit that is designed to get you to stay in the casino — dine-in only dining credits...read more

When to quit playing

When to quitLast week I showed how the cliché of “quit when you’re ahead” really wasn’t and isn’t the be-all and end-all of knowing when to call it a session or a day or a trip. People who get ahead on the very first decision aren’t going to leave the casino.So when should we quit play? Is there a true and ready formula for doing so? No, not really...read more

The comeback machine

Double Bonus Poker once was one of the games I played most, but I’d fallen out of the habit in recent years because pay table reductions had taken the fun out of the game.In December, when I found a bank of machines with 9/7/5 (9-for-1 on full houses, 7-for-1 on flushes, 5-for-1 on straights) Double Bonus, a 99.11% game with expert play, I just had to give it a go...read more

More casino playing laws

The law of money managementYou need to know how to manage your bankroll if you want to be successful at gambling. First, know what you can afford to wager during your visit to a gambling establishment.Know how important it is to separate your gambling funds from your other expenses like hotel, food, entertainment and transportation...read more

Where's my royal?

QUESTION: I play video poker once a week, a couple of hours at a time. I can be that specific because my wife and I go with friends every Thursday morning. It’s the eight of us, and we never miss a week. We have breakfast, go play, have lunch and come home.Last year was the first in a long time that I didn’t get a single royal flush...read more