Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 188

Pass line wins and soft 18 at blackjack

QUESTION: How often do you actually win on the pass line? You're the underdog no matter what the point is, and when it's 4 or 10, you're a heavy underdog, right? Why does everyone insist it's such a good bet?ANSWER: The house edge on pass is 1.41%...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Getting gonged on Fu Dao Le

Question: One of my favorite slot machines is Fu Dao Le, for which I have several questions: When two of the green gongs appear (on reels 2-4), the next spin most often contains none. Sometimes one, and rarely two, but never three...read more

Gambling and the Law: Brooklyn Law review essay cites I. Nelson Rose

In a newly-published essay “Insiders, Outsiders, & Fair Access: Identifying Culpable Insider Trading” by Jonathan D. Glater, I. Nelson Rose’s seminal work Gambling and the Law is cited. Prof. Rose’s discussion of card-counters and other advantage blackjack players is used to help analyze what constitutes insider information for stock trading From footnote 12:Disagreement over the propriety of card counting is evident in the gambling industry...read more

Moving from slots to table games

FROM JANET: I want to try my hand at the table games but I find I am a little intimidated by them. I heard that blackjack can be a good game and also craps, but I look at these games, and especially craps, and I think that there is no way I can learn how to play these games...read more

Building a better slot machine

Building a successful slot machine involves multiple elements. There needs to be an eye-catching theme and graphics to attract players, intriguing elements such as bonus events and jackpots, and the right math to yield a mix of payout frequency and shot at a big payoff.That all needs a strong platform to showcase the features to their best advantage, lest players choose a competitor's game, instead.Incredible Technologies is showcasing games on its new Infinity V55 cabinet, and one of the hot new games making its way into casinos now is Heat 'Em Up Power Wheel.Let's take the game first.Heat Em Up Power Wheel is a five-reel video slot, each reel three symbols deep...read more

The best and worst buy bets

Craps is a fascinating game. It is the only casino game where you can influence your own fate. The casino allows you to select two dice from an assortment of five, and then you are allowed to throw the dice, determining the outcome.Even more fascinating, however, is the vast assortment of bets that are available for your choosing...read more

One-roll bets at craps

QUESTION: I know the one-roll bets in craps are supposed to be bad news, but what about the field? Both casinos near me pay 3-1 on 12 in the field, and the charts say the house edge is 2.78%. That beats the 4% if you place 5 or 9 or the 6.67% on 4 or 10, so why wouldn't I bet the field instead of those bets?ANSWER: You don't have to make any of those bets...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Four-card royals happen frequently on video poker

One of the differences I've noticed between casual video poker players and more experienced players is that casual players are very interested in seeing what they almost got at the end of a hand. More experienced players just deal another hand after a losing hand, but casual players will say that they almost got four aces or a straight flush...read more

Superstition and intuition

FROM ANTHONY: I had a great feeling about a sporting event. The team I felt would win was a big underdog. So I was walking down the block (I live in a big city) and I said to myself that if I saw a red car by the time I count to ten I will place a bet on the team...read more

Back-to-back jackpots

When I've relayed readers' stories of back-to-back jackpots, they've generally focused on big wins. A thousand dollars for a video poker royal flush qualifies; $2.50 for three bars on a three-reel slot or $1.25 that just covers your bet for a pair of jacks, not so much.Nikki, an East Coast reader, e-mailed to ask if small progressives would do...read more