Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 178

The Royal Flushes, Abby and Cindy Royal

I’ve been asking these two sisters, Abby and Cindy, frequent casino players who have their own philosophies of casino gambling, to start writing occasional articles for this website.They have said “yes” on the condition that I don’t use their photographs...read more

One five-dollar bet

QUESTION: If I had $5 to spend on a spin, would I be better to play one line on a $5 machine or five lines on a dollar machine?ANSWER There is no one certain answer to that question. It depends on several factors. Are you talking video slots or reel slots? Does the casino put higher payback percentages on $5 slots than on dollar games? Is the higher payback on $5 games dependent on the bet size, or does not betting the max drop the return below that on the dollar games? And by “would I be better,” do you mean strictly in terms of payback percentage, or is hit frequency important to you?Usually, $5 games have higher payback percentage than $1 games...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Are bubble craps machines fair?

Question: I was curious if you have considered mailing your VHS copy of Jimmy "The Scot" Jordan’s Video Poker Tape to Redlettermedia.com. They have already reviewed his tape on slot machine and it was great! I think another one of his tapes would be comedic gold! Answer: I had never heard of this site...read more

Radical approaches to the games

I think many players get stuck in a playing mode and they can’t think any other way about their favorite games. For example, there are slot players who must play the machines that offer up to 50 million to one odds in order to win millions of dollars...read more

Ryan's story

When readers relay tales of their gambling exploits, they’re almost always taking a victory lap. Everybody loves to relive their big wins.Of course, we all know the losing times are part of the deal when you play. And every once in a while a reader comes through with a cautionary tale.In the case of Ryan, a New Yorker who finds himself in Las Vegas a couple of times a year on business, the cautionary tale has a happy ending...read more

Best bets at craps

If you expect to beat the house at casino craps, you need to know which are the best bets you can make and which ones to avoid. With over 100 different bets available, you need to have a good knowledge of which are which. Don’t forget craps is a losing game for the player in the long run.However, you can turn the tables by making the right kind of bets and then take your winnings and leave...read more

We make mistakes

QUESTION: This is more a story than a question. I know you shouldn’t stand on soft 17. I know that when the dealer has a six up and I have A-6 I should double down. I always do that, except this one time I didn’t.My only excuse is that my attention was elsewhere...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Losing playing video poker

Question: I'm way behind on hitting high paying hands. I'm going to lose money this year if this keeps up. What can I do? Answer: You have only two choices: stop or continue playing. If you stop playing, that locks in your loss for the year...read more

Sweating the betting

The late Captain of Craps, the legendary Atlantic City player I have written about in many of my books, once explained to me his theory on how much a person should bet at whatever game he wishes to play in order to experience a high degree of thrill with a low chance of having a heart attack and an even lower chance of being totally bored.Casino gambling for the recreational player should be a “manageable thrill.” The Captain stated that a typical casino blackjack player playing for matchsticks or pennies would get bored rather quickly, since no hand really meant that much to him – losing had no sting; winning had no adrenaline jolt...read more

Put bets

The put bet in craps is not exactly one of the topics high on readers’ request list. Nevertheless, in one November week I received three e-mails requesting additional information.Put bets are pass line bets that are made after a point has already been established...read more