Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 191

Ask the Slot Expert: Another way to check free play left on a slot machine

Question: I'm tired of all the grief that smokers receive. I smoke and I try to be courteous to others. What is aggravating is when I am already smoking and someone sits down next to me or close and then starts fake coughing and waving their hands or the people that remove all the ashtrays in a smoking area...read more

The one-bet rule at slots

FROM JUNE: I have enjoyed your columns and books but I do have a serious question. You seem to be the only gambling writer who says to make only one credit bets on slot machines; in old terminology, you eschew full coin. All the other writers always say play full coin to be able to get the increased percentage win on the jackpot.Why have you switched your advice and gone against the norm?FRANK RESPONDS: I know my one-bet advice at first seems radical but overall it is the best way to play games where you don’t have an edge...read more

Top 10 tips for playing rebuy and freezeout poker tournaments

Poker chips and royal flush (photo by History Channel)You can find many advanced poker training options online and learn any game that you want. However, very few sites touch on the differences between freezeout and rebuy tournaments, so today I want to concentrate precisely on that.So, no matter if you are playing live poker games or multi-table tournaments (MMTs) online, understanding these differences and adjusting your strategy accordingly will help you reach better results.10...read more

Is Jacks or Better better?

When I walk through video poker areas in casinos, the game I see played most is Double Double Bonus Poker.Typically, there will be a few Deuces Wild players, a few on the extremely volatile Triple Double Bonus Poker and some on Bonus Poker Deluxe or Double Bonus Poker.It's almost become a surprise to find anyone playing Jacks or Better, the game that was a runaway hit in the early 1980s and sparked video poker's popularity...read more

Does true loyalty pay?

Casinos offer players clubs in order to create brand loyalty and keep gamblers coming back to the same casino or casinos within the same network. They create perks and benefits as one ascends through the ranks of their tier-based programs. Many gamblers feel a sense of loyalty because of this treatment or enhanced experience, but it is only one part of the equation.Casino marketing departments use the term “reinvestment” to describe the comps and offers that will be provided to players in order to bring them back after they’ve been away for a certain period...read more

That winning combination

QUESTION: You recently wrote that on lottery scratch-off games, the odds change as tickets are sold. If all the big winners are gone, later players have no chance at the jackpot.You further said that slot machines are different, and that the awarding of a jackpot doesn't eliminate it as a possibility...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Old slot machines never die, they just . . .

Question: Penn National (Hollywood) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has just removed most of the remaining old machines that I have enjoyed playing. Can't help but wonder what happens to the machines and if they can be purchased? Answer: The slot machines go to a farm upstate where they are in a better place playing with all the other slot machines. Actually, what happens to a slot machine when it is taken off the slot floor depends on how the machine was acquired, just like how you acquired a car (buy versus lease) determines how you get rid of it. If the casino purchased the machine, it will probably sell it to a wholesaler who will resell it...read more

Anatomy of a jackpot

Winning the “big one” is probably every slot player’s dream. Those reels spin or those characters hop up and down, the music plays, the money symbols land, land and land, and baskets of fruits or flowers or animated figures pile together. The big money, the huge money, is yours!“I won close to $1 million on a machine, a Wheel of Fortune, and I was like paralyzed for a minute...read more

Stay or stop?

I never volunteer advice on strategy while playing in casinos, but the temptation was strong in early May when I found myself at a Mississippi Stud table where a new player — let's call him Bill — was being coached by a friend.Bill anted $5 and made an equal bet after seeing his two cards...read more

The best craps bets

The game of craps can be very exciting. It can also be very frustrating. One of the great draws of this game is the variety of bets available. One can bet with the shooter – betting that he will make the point number before the 7 shows, or one can bet that the 7 will rear its ugly head before the shooter repeats the point number.Of course, there are dozens of other bets also available: place bets, hard way bets, field bets, horn bets, whirl bets, hop bets, big 6, big 8 and big red...read more