Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 210

Creating the jackpot

QUESTION: My wife has me playing these penny slots with multiple progressives. No matter how much you bet, the jackpots are the same size. Why would anybody bet more than the minimum?ANSWER: There are two methods that casinos and slot manufacturers use to offer jackpots to all players, regardless of how much they bet.One is to make the jackpots a separate wager...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Tax form after winning $2,000 on Double Up

Question: On a slot machine such as Wonder Four, you can play four games on one spin. Does it matter what games you choose? Is it the game you choose or the position a game is in that determines the outcome of that spin? I see people changing one (or all four) to another game in hopes that it will hit. Answer: We'd have to see the PAR sheet for the machine to know for sure, but I suspect that the long-term paybacks of the different games are going to be about the same...read more

Bad advice that sounds good

I am guessing that all casino players have some kind of philosophy of play. If they are blackjack players, they either play basic strategy (the computer-derived play of every player hand against every dealer up card), or a kind of basic strategy which they have mashed together with their own ideas, or some truly inventive, creative but ridiculous strategy that is, well, totally stupid.I know that you will find bad advice on the internet, and even in magazines and books published by real publishers...read more

Getting the edge at craps

Last week, I mentioned that a number of readers had e-mailed recently asking for details on how the house gets its edge on various games. In response, I explored some of the arithmetic behind roulette.This week, let’s focus on craps, which long has been the second-most-popular table game in American casinos, behind only blackjack...read more

Blackjack: True or false?

Which of the following statements about blackjack are true, and which are false?1. Blackjack is more or less the same from one casino to the next.False. The playing rules are often different from one casino to the next, and even within the same casino...read more

What about 5-Card Charlie?

QUESTION: Can I tell a story? I’d learned to play blackjack at home years before I went to a casino, and that was about 10 years ago. The rules differences were a surprise. The first time I tried to claim a five-card Charlie and the dealer not only said no, he called out to the pit, “We have a Charlie player here.” I was embarrassed, but they explained to me that was a home rule that casinos don’t really use.Have you ever seen a casino use that rule? How much difference does it make, really?ANSWER: I have never seen a Charlie rule used in a casino, though you’re not the only newcomer to be surprised by its non-existence...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Slot and video poker tournament advice

Question: When invited to a slot tournament in which you have two to three minutes to rack up as many points as possible, are there any strategies players can use to improve their scores? Answer: Depending on the format of the tournament and how the tournament machines operate, there might be some things you can do to improve your score or your chances of winning something...read more

Nostalgia

I remember those old timers when I was a young timer waxing poetic about their youth, their days during the great Depression, in World War II, and how they raised their families, worked hard and believed in the American dream. Most pursued that dream and were by and large successful.That “greatest generation” is just about gone...read more

Getting the Roulette Edge

Questions readers ask most frequently go in cycles.For the first couple of years I wrote this column, when legalized gaming was new to much of the country, “How do I get a casino job?” was top of the list. Soon that was replaced by “How do I beat slots?” and then by strategy questions on video poker and blackjack.One that’s always been part of the mix has been, “How does the casino get its edge?” That’s the question that’s top of the charts right now...read more

Playing Video Poker Tournaments

Frequently I get questions from readers about the proper strategy for video poker tournaments. In general, tournaments are so short that luck is the major factor in winning one of them. Actually, for the games in which skill is not a factor such as slots, keno or roulette, luck is basically the only factor...read more