Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 161

Ask the Slot Expert: The Tribal Lottery System in Washington State

Question: I live in Washington, where we have the Tribal Lottery System, wherein the casinos use the scratch ticket-like method for their slots. My understanding is that: each game set is premade and divided into subsets, which may or may not be rotating subsets, AND tickets from these subsets are what's being bet on and drawn from each machine. I think the bet amount is its own game set...read more

More on tipping

Dealers should be tipped by putting up a bet for them. There are no rules of thumb that say what dealers’ tips should be, as there are guidelines with waiters and waitresses. A few bucks by a red chip player, a few reds by a green chip player, a few more reds, maybe even a green, for a black and purple chip player, every 20 minutes to 40 minutes would be generous...read more

Slot paybacks

For decades, it’s been common knowledge among slot players that higher-denomination games bring higher payback percentages.Slotmakers and casinos rely on players knowing that because when players bet more, it means more profit for the house...read more

Blackjack professionalism

With a reasonable amount of time and effort you can get to become a skilled card counter at blackjack. However, if you get caught as a counter you will get your picture taken and barred from playing in the casino.At many casinos the dealers are trained to look for card counters...read more

Two hands in Double Double Bonus Poker

QUESTION: What would you hold with these two hands if you were playing Double Double Bonus Poker? :1. Ad, Ah, 7d, 7c, 7h ?2. Ad, As, 4h, 4d, 4c ?ANSWER: The best play in either case is to hold the full house as long as it pays at least 8-for-1...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Buffalo Diamond machine atones for low-paying bonus round

Last week we talked about how frustrating it is to finally get to the bonus round on a game and then win a paltry sum from it. This past weekend I was at the Suncoast to use a coupon for a free entree at its Chinese restaurant and to play the kiosk game...read more

Some tips on tipping

I grew up in Brooklyn, where the size of a man’s tip told you something important about that man. All the big shots tipped like crazy. If you saw the hilarious movie My Cousin Vinny, you know that when in doubt, which was most times, Vinny tipped...read more

Small blackjack strategy effects

Not all basic strategy plays are created equal. Some blackjack hands are such close calls it takes only a slight difference in composition or in the proportion of remaining cards to flip the best play.A few months ago I mentioned hard 16 vs...read more

The patterns of the games

ABBY: Many casino gamblers have not looked at how their games pay out in terms of the patterns of wins and losses compared to other games in the casino. For example, is roulette a game that pays out frequently, or do you have to wait for hits only now and then? If we take a look at roulette you can see that the inside bets, meaning directly on the numbers, only pay out once every 38 spins on average...read more

The issue of luck

QUESTION: Do you believe in luck? When you win, have you been skillful or lucky?ANSWER: All games of chance have elements of luck. If you draw a royal flush at video poker, you’ve been lucky. If you have your chips on the pass line and the craps shooter makes six passes in a row, you’ve been lucky...read more