Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 241

Ask the Slot Expert: The worst video poker instruction tape

You may have seen the recent announcement that the last company making VHS videocassette recorders discontinued making the units. I discovered the limited availability of new VHS VCRs last year when I needed to buy a new deck for converting old tapes to digital files. I recently started converting some of my gambling tapes and I discovered — re-discovered, actually — the worst video poker instruction tape...read more

Les Miserables

Here she comes! Here she comes! Does she see me? Oh, no, she’s heading right for me. Her bloodshot eyes bead right into my eyes. There is no escaping her now. She is almost on top of me! Oh, please, please someone save me!“Do you know, Frank, do you know, do you know, that I have not won all day? This place is fixed ...read more

I could have had a million!

QUESTION: You don’t seem to write much about Let It Ride, but could you answer a question? Once I look at my first three cards, I can either pull back one bet or let it ride. I was in a situation where I had 2-3-4 of clubs, and I let it ride, but then after the first common card was a 9 of hearts, I pulled back the second bet, and I wound up losing two of the three bets.Should I have let it ride, or should I have pulled back the first bet?ANSWER: The better strategy would have been to pull back the bet.As detailed by Michael Shackleford at wizardofodds.com, basic strategy after three cards calls for you to let you first bet ride only if you have a paying hand of a 10s or better; three parts of a royal flush; three consecutive suited cards if the low card is 3 or higher; three parts of a straight flush with one gap if the the hand includes at least one 10 or higher; or three parts of a straight flush with two gaps if the hand includes two 10s or higher.Note that suited A-2-3 and 2-3-4 are excluded...read more

Your bankroll, your friend

As a typical gambler, you bring a certain amount of money with you on a gambling vacation that is strictly for gambling – right? Money that is expendable. Money that if lost will not mean you will miss making the next mortgage payment or that you cannot pay for that upcoming operation.If you are a smart gambler, you do...read more

Colliding worlds

In this age of multitasking, I will admit to moments of mutli-time wasting, checking out free online slots while watching baseball, football, basketball or hockey.Tens of millions of players flock to sites including Slotomania, Jackpot Party Casino, Heart of Vegas, Caesars, DoubleDown Casino, High 5 Casino and others...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Are slot paybacks higher in Las Vegas' locals casinos?

Question: Do the local casinos' slots in Las Vegas have better payback percentages than those in the casinos on the strip? Answer: Yes. And no. How's that for a definitive answer? According to the slot payback page at the American Casino Guide's website, the payback percentages reported for The Strip area are consistently lower than those reported for the Downtown, Boulder Strip and North Las Vegas areas...read more

Five easy pieces

Many new casino players approach the casino experience with a dash, dab or cartload of anxiety, while brand-new players can be frozen with terror.Newbies have fears: How are these games played? How do I get chips? How do I bet? Will other players yell at me for being unaware of how things go? What to do? What to do? The heck with it, I’ll head over to the slots...read more

Super Times Pay and hitting soft 17 at blackjack

QUESTION: I’ve been playing a lot of Super Times Pay lately, usually for quarters on Five Play. Do you know, is there any change in the odds of drawing a royal flush in regular games, on Super Times hands without the multiplier, and on Super Times with the multiplier?ANSWER: Let’s start with an explanation for those who haven’t played Super Times Pay...read more

Some things you might not know

By definition, gambling is the wagering of money or something of value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Gambling thus requires three elements be present: consideration, chance and prize.The outcome of the wager is often immediate, such as a single roll of dice or a spin of a roulette wheel, but longer time frames are also common, allowing wagers on the outcome of a future sports contest or even an entire sports season.The history of gambling goes back a very long time...read more

The good old days

It’s been 30 years or so since I first set foot in a casino, and that’s meant 30 years of change.There are things I miss about days of yore. I miss better blackjack rules, where nearly all multiple-deck games had the dealer stand on all 17s, one- and two-deck games with decent rules were not difficult to find, and no one had ever heard of 6-5 payoffs on two-card 21s...read more