Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 229

Monster Mash

I have certain predilections when it comes to playing games in the casinos, and the biggest one has to do with the number of people playing when I want to play.I do not like crowded casinos, crammed with people who are drinking, eating, talking, drinking some more, loudly voicing their joy or misery over what is happening to them as if others of us give two cents that they lost their last dollar.Take craps, a great game, and the one that I would say is the most exciting game in the casino...read more

Slot odds and bonuses

QUESTION: Tell me something about slot machine odds and bonuses.I was playing for a while and it seemed like the bonus wasn’t happening very often. I spotted a guy with name tag that said slot supervisor, and asked him how often bonus was supposed to come up...read more

Why blackjack card counting works

Blackjack is different from other games in the casino.Cards have a “memory.”We know that if all the aces are removed from a single deck we know there can’t be any more blackjacks until the deck is reshuffled. In all other games it doesn’t matter what happened before, it has no bearing on the next play...read more

New blackjack options

Blackjack has reigned as the most popular casino table game for more than 50 years. It has a low house edge and even gives skilled players the chance to grab an advantage.Naturally enough, casinos want to take advantage of that popularity while building in a little more profitability...read more

WSOP Main Event heads-up match delivers giant contrast in styles and plenty of fireworks

LAS VEGAS — It took more than eight excruciating hours of heads-up play, but in the end, Qui Nguyen's aggression and relative inexperience finally outdid Gordon Vayo's patience and more accomplished resume to win the 2016 World Series of Poker Main Event. The mano a mano portion of the 47th edition of poker's most prestigious event will long be remembered for a number of reasons, most notably for the length of time it took to complete; an array of inconceivable hands; and that it pitted against each other two men of completely different looks, personalities and styles...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Dealing with sticky buttons on video poker machines

Question: Can you shed some light on a sticky situation? During the non-winter months, when we go to Arizona and Nevada, if we want to play video poker we are stuck playing at the Potawatomi casinos (Milwaukee and Carter) and Mohican North Star in Wisconsin...read more

The world is not enough

There is a written acknowledgement concerning casino games (you can listen to it in the beginning of the movie Casino) and it is this: The longer you play, the better chance you will be losing. The reason this has been endlessly written is simple: the math of the games favors the casinos...read more

Beatable casino games and comps

QUESTION: Is blackjack the only common game that can be found in casinos that gives an opportunity for a long-term edge over the casino through strategy?ANSWER: I’ll give a qualified yes to that, with your “common” proviso eliminating the highest-paying video poker games and your “through strategy” requirement eliminating dice control at craps.Live poker also is a profit opportunity for good players, but it’s a different animal than games in table games pits because you’re playing against other players and not against the house...read more

Wake up, blackjack players!

It was a busy Saturday night in the casino. As I walked around the casino, I was appalled at what I saw. In one section of the casino, there were half a dozen blackjack tables in a “party pit” jam-packed with players.Most of the players were male, no doubt because most of the blackjack dealers were female wearing skimpy attire (get my drift)...read more

New poker games

Each year at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, new table games cluster around two areas. There are new poker-based games, and new blackjack variants.That’s only normal. Blackjack is the most popular casino table game, and the biggest growth in recent times has been in poker-based games such as Three Card Poker and Mississippi Stud.This year is no exception, and I sat in for a few hands of a number of new games at G2E...read more