Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 249

The annoying blackjack player

Some players avoid giving advice at the blackjack table, some give more than anyone cares to hear and some will advise only when asked. From time to time, I’ve shared readers’ experiences of all of those situations.But what do you do when a player asks for advice not just once, not twice, but on every hand?That’s the situation Leo found himself in recently...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Is 88 Fortunes deceptive?

Last week I posted a letter describing how the gold coin pick-em bonus operates on the 88 Fortunes machines in one reader's casino. She said that once the bonus round was triggered, the progressive was reset on the linked machines and she always won the progressive that had been reset. I had played 88 Fortunes but had never noticed when the progressive was reset...read more

The producers

The head executives of the casinos justifiably think of all players as contributors to the casinos’ profits, if not today, tonight or tomorrow, then certainly soon enough to suit the bosses in an individual casino’s hierarchy. That goes for little players looking for the $5 tables and big players looking for comfort, fine drink and high stakes in the high-roller rooms.All casino players are “producers” of the bottom line...read more

What are "stepper slots"?

QUESTION: I’ve noticed that the big-paying symbols are off the line a lot more than they’re on the line. Is that intentional? Are the games programmed to tease players to thinking they’re close to a jackpot?ANSWER: You must be playing three-reel stepper slots...read more

The best Double Double Bonus Poker game

The most popular video poker game in the country is Double Double Bonus Poker.The reason it is so popular with players is that four aces with a 2, 3 or 4 kicker pays 2,000 coins. (A kicker is the fifth card that is present in a hand that contains four-of-a-kind)...read more

Deal Me In: Consistency is the key

Dear Mark: I was sitting on third base on a blackjack game with a wager of $50 and was dealt a 16. The dealer was showing a three, so I followed the rules of basic strategy and stayed. The dealer proceeded to flip over the three and had a two underneath...read more

One coin or maximum coin?

For many years, casinos, marketing departments and gambling analysts were agreed that to get the highest payback percentage, slot players should bet max coins. Trump Casinos even has a long-running character named “Max Coins” to drive home the point.Betting the max has been de-emphasized in recent years because of the rise of video slots...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Outcome of 88 Fortunes bonus predetermined?

Question: Are the Indian casinos as fair as the non-Indian casinos? Answer: A common misconception is that you leave behind state and federal laws and are subject to tribal regulations only once you step onto the reservation. A Native American casino executive once told me that his casino was subject to stricter regulations than the non-Native American casinos near him...read more

Nutty letters

Dear Sirs; or FrankI read the recent colunm about how to play craps using only one bet and that is downright maniac system. How can you win money and brake the bank playing such as that? No bank will be broken like them roulette banks of the I think it was the 1800 or 170 period of times.I say WAKE UP to realty!Players want to go out for after it if they play and they do not want to waste time watching one bet going up and down...read more

Those slot paybacks and percentages

QUESTION: I was wondering if there is a list of which machine has a higher payout. I looked at New York Gaming Commission and couldn't find my answer. I was looking for the percentages or odds of the games at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino.Do they have to post it somewhere? I sent a private Facebook message to the casino and they couldn't help me.I assumed that they don't really have to have this information posted anywhere.ANSWER: Odds or payback percentages of individual slot machines are not published.In most states, the gaming commissions publish a breakdown by coin denomination at commercial casinos, giving you the average payback on penny machines, the average on nickels, and so on, but do not publish the odds for individual machines.Even that doesn't apply to tribal casinos...read more