Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 191

Winning at blackjack

Mathematically, we know casinos should win from 0.5 to 0.8% at the card game of blackjack.However, when reviewing public records for Nevada casinos, we find they are winning 12 to 14% against the average blackjack player. Public records in Atlantic City, New Jersey indicate casinos are winning 14 to 16%...read more

Video poker flushes and keno history

QUESTION: You've fielded questions about video poker strategy when you have both low pairs and high cards. My question is about flushes.Do you always hold four cards to a flush, even if the non-suited card is a high card? What if the card is an ace in Double Double Bonus, where four aces get you 2,000 coins? What about a flush with a low pair?When do you break up four parts of a flush to hold something else?ANSWER: I'll use 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker as an example, since part of your question had to do with aces and DDB.Four cards to a flush ranks high on the strategy table among non-winning hands...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Readers weigh in on Ivey's edge sorting case

Last week I posted an article about how Phil Ivey and his partner used a technique called edge sorting to win about $20 million playing baccarat and Punto Banco, a game similar to baccarat. Ivey lost both of the court cases related to his winnings, one filed in New Jersey and the other in the United Kingdom...read more

Advice needed and given

FROM NOT-KING-COLE: Do you have any wild ideas about gambling? I’m looking for a real escape. I mean it, I don’t mean just following the math of the games as you do but something really weird and wacky that is perfect for a night at the casino...read more

Keeping current on blackjack

In the last few weeks, while I was focused on new slot games, a number of blackjack questions piled up. Let's try to answer a few.What do you think of the side bet that pays 10-1 if you push the dealer? This one pops up from time to time under different names...read more

Be selective in blackjack games

Back in the good ole days, there wasn’t a lot of rule variation from one blackjack table to another. Nowadays that’s changed. Not only will you often find a different mix of blackjack playing rules from one casino to another but quite often in the same casino you’ll find a myriad of different blackjack games.The problem is this: Some blackjack games are very good, while others are terrible...read more

Baccarat card counting and craps 'put' bets

QUESTION: Tell me something about the tie bet in baccarat. It seems to me that there must be some cards that make ties more likely, and that if you count cards there must be situations where the tie becomes a good bet.Do you have any tips on when to play the tie bet?ANSWER: Most casinos pay 8-1 on tie bets when the dealer and banker hands have the same value...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Why do some casinos have both Class II and Class III slot machines?

Question: Why is it that some casinos have both class II and class III slots? Four Winds in Michigan is an example. They seem to have both types of slots. Do they do this because one type of machine has lower payouts? Answer: One class of machines does not necessarily pay back more or less than the other class...read more

Betting a bushel

FROM BARNEY: I have to disagree with you about betting. The more bets a player makes, the better the chance he or she will win one. That counts. If we follow your advice and only make one bet per game like at craps and roulette, what is the point? That makes the game dull...read more

To Egypt and beyond

Anyone who's spent much time playing video slots has encountered ancient Egyptian themes. When it comes to pyramids, the Sphinx, scarabs and asps, there seems to be a strong archeologist strain among slot players.Incredible Technologies is the latest slotmaker to delve into the ancient mysteries with its new game, Rays of Egypt.The sun god Ra comes to the fore in a 40-line video slot in Incredible's GoldLink game family...read more