Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 217

Real blackjack versus video blackjack

QUESTION: My friend used to insist that he got a better deal on video blackjack than on tables. I showed him where the games he was playing paid even money on blackjacks and was a terrible game. He still insists some of the machines are better than tables...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Holding two pair when it pays the same as a high pair

This week I'd like to discuss some comments I overheard in the casinos. Don't hold two pair when it pays the same as jacks or better. Two people were playing some sort of bonus poker pay table that paid the same for two pair and jacks or better...read more

Slot blasphemy

If I were still in Our Lady of Angels Catholic Grammar School in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and the nuns, led by my nemesis Sister Jerome Drake, would drag us over to the church for a serious bout of Confession, I’d be in great trouble now.I would have to confess my (many) sins to Father Sullivan, a mean little man who enjoyed scolding us and informing us if we kept doing what we were doing we’d go to Hell...read more

Money management and you

Money management is an important concept in gambling. Anything that helps you discipline yourself to keep losses under control while making sure you keep at least part of any winnings is a good thing.However, when Jason, a loyal reader and slot player, e-mailed to ask “What’s the best money management system to beat the slots?” I had to urge him to slow down...read more

Warming up for blackjack

It’s Friday night, and you are planning to head to the casino to play some blackjack. Are you ready? Or are you going into the game cold?Are you sure you have a good recall of all the soft hands for doubling down? Does it take you playing time to get warmed up? Do you have a good handle on splitting against all possible up cards?If any of those things are a problem for you, then consider this...read more

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

Top 10 myths about professional poker players

Poker is probably the most popular card game in the world. As a result, you will often see it in pop culture.There is an array of books and movies where the protagonist is a poker player. Even James Bond had a brief adventure at the tables in Casino Royale...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