Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 242

Ask the Slot Expert: The video poker payback inversion

In 1789 in a letter to French scientist Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, Benjamin Franklin wrote, "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Had he lived in the 20th century, Franklin could have added a third certainty: long-term payback rises with denomination. Actually, Franklin didn't coin the phrase and long-term payback doesn't always rise with denomination...read more

More on Lady Luck

FROM JAGGY: I liked your article about luck (“The Lucky One”). Here is my version of this mysterious notion called luck.L-learnU-underC-certainK-knowledge.That is how luck is born. The Captain taught you luck in the game of craps. The 5-Count and dice control...read more

Easy as one, two, three

QUESTION: I’m mainly a blackjack player, but I’ve been fooling around lately with Ultimate Texas Hold’Em. After you look at you first two cards, you can either check, raise three times your ante or raise four times your ante.Is there ever a situation where you should raise three times instead of four? It seems to me that if you have an edge, you should make the maximum raise...read more

Splitting aces and eights

Always split aces and eights. That is one of the golden rules for blackjack players, but not according to a friend of mine. He insists that splitting eights against a dealer up card of 9, 10, or ace is crazy because you are probably going to lose anyway, so why double your loss by splitting?Although my friend's logic appears to make sense, it is flawed...read more

Deal Me In: Did a crappy thing happen at the craps table?

Dear Mark: I will try to keep this as short as possible. Where I play, the craps table offers what is called a "fire" bet. If you make all the point numbers (4-5-6-8-9-10) in any order before 7 rolls, you are paid 1,000 to 1. I made the 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10, and then low and behold, the 9 rolled, which should have paid me $5,000 since I had $5 on the fire bet...read more

Comp composition

There’s something about comps that brings out the curiosity in casino players.Among the most frequent questions I receiver are “Can you get comps without actually risking any money?” and “Can you work it so you get comps that are worth more than your losses?”I’ve tacked the first question a few times, and the answer to is an emphatic “no.” If you’re not betting and not having your play tracked, you don’t get comped...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: A missed big payday on Triple Play Super Pay?

Question: Do slots spin the same no matter how many coins you put in? In other words, if you hit a jackpot on one coin, would that same spin have produced a jackpot if you had played three coins? Answer: The random number generator (RNG) in a modern slot machine runs continuously...read more

Check your inner child at the door

“I am looking to find my inner child,” said my neighbor Gracie. “I want to run in the wind, eat a mountain of candy and do all the things a person my age (38) shouldn’t do. To me being a child is the fun of life. I like to let myself grow!”Gracie goes to the casinos in Atlantic City twice a month...read more

Full houses and flushes

QUESTION: Your article on different Deuces Wild payoffs reminded me of something I’ve wanted to ask. You say that in non-wild-card games, percentages usually are adjusted by changing the pay tables on full houses and flushes. But there are lots of other changes, especially the fours of a kind...read more

The 5-Count versus seven-roll betting

From Franny,I came across an article that states waiting seven rolls before betting is 'similar' to the 5-Count with similar results. Yet it is different. It states you make your bet after the shooter's seventh roll.However, with the 5-Count you make the bet on the first roll after the 5-Count is completed...read more