Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 250

Can I win at craps with a betting system?

Periodically, people ask me about craps betting systems. Almost all of them rely on the premise that certain numbers are due because they haven’t appeared for a while. I normally tell them that in a random game, you cannot beat the math of the game...read more

Deal Me In: One card short of good fortune

Dear Mark: While playing video poker over a period of three hours, I was dealt four of the five cards needed to make a royal flush. As might be expected, I never did catch that final card. I have to ask still: What are the odds of being dealt four cards of a royal? Larry W.Here is the arithmetic, Larry.With four different suits and five ways of catching the missing card, you multiply that by the remaining 47 cards that cannot complete your royal (4 x 5 x 47 = 940)...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Making bonuses more frequent on a slot machine

Question: Quoting from "Strictly Slots," concerning the new Gong Xi Fa Cai IGT slot game, brings up an RNG question that I’ve never seen addressed. The quote is: “The manufacturer says the side bet also causes the bonus features to occur more frequently.” (emphasis added.) Now, if the RNG throws out random numbers, which I would assume correspond to the bonus symbols (or whatever type of bonus triggers there may be), how can the RNG reconfigure the numbers it’s constantly throwing out to make the game’s bonus features occur more frequently? Even if the bonus feature has nothing to do with the RNG, there has to be something in the machine that is being automatically changed to make for more frequent bonuses. Answer: You know what they say about when you assume. The RNG does generate a stream of numbers...read more

The grass is still greener over there

Last week I shared with you the idea that if you are getting bored with the casino games you’ve been playing or becoming satiated by them, then perhaps learning to play other games might be the best medicine for your gambling soul.In other words, for those of you dulled by your regular playing routine, perhaps the grass is indeed greener on the other side of the fence...read more

Righting a small wrong

I do my best to answer questions from readers as they come in, although I will admit some get lost in the shuffle during particularly busy times.Once in a while, the answer I give does not match the question the reader really had in mind.Such was the case a short time ago when a woman drew a royal flush when playing nickel video poker.She wanted to know if she’d still have drawn the royal if she was playing for quarters or dollars.That’s one of the most frequent questions I get, and I try to answer it once or twice a year for readers who are just joining the party...read more

Learning how to count cards

QUESTION: I’ve wanted to have a go at counting cards, but I want to do it without spending any money. I play low limits and I want to give myself a fighting chance, but I’m not going to make a career out of this.Do you have recommendations for how to practice? I’ve found charts online on how much to count each card, but memorizing the chart and actually doing it seem like different things.ANSWER: When I learned to count, I did it by dealing myself hand after hand with a deck of cards.With a Hi-Lo count, each ace, king, queen, jack and 10 is counted as minus-1, each 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 at plus-1, and each 7, 8 or 9 as zero...read more

An important blackjack player option

There are a lot of options for the player when it comes to blackjack. A player can hit, stand, split, double down, take insurance and in some casinos a player can even surrender. However, one of the most powerful player options in the game is knowing when to quit.You can quit playing anytime you wish and for any reason...read more

Deal Me In: Blackjack versus Let It Ride

Dear Mark: I read your column in the Detroit Free Press weekly. My friends and I visit Las Vegas a couple of times a year and frequent the local casinos here in Detroit.I like to stick to playing table games that have a lower house advantage, such as blackjack or craps, but I have some friends that insist on playing Let It Ride, which I can’t stand...read more

Exposing hole cards

Back in February, I relayed a couple of player stories about poker players who were tipping their hole cards.Hole cards aren’t exposed only in poker, though doing so can do you more damage than in games where you’re not playing against other players.Readers have sent me their own tales of exposed cards, in other table games:THAD: Mississippi Stud, it’s not a huge deal, but I can see the cards of the players to my left and right almost every hand I play...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Do casinos cheat on video poker?

Question: In choosing a video poker machine, we are taught to choose a pay table that gives us full pay, such as 9/6 for Double Bonus. A full house has a probability of paying 1 in every 90 hands and quads 1 in every 425 hands, according to studies I have read in magazines and on the Internet. Who is to say that a casino doesn't buy a chip that is programmed to pay out full houses 1 in 200 hands and quads 1 in 700 hands? Even though the pay table is acceptable, the number of times that the winning hands occur is far less frequent. I would appreciate your thoughts on this. Answer: Who's to say that a casino doesn't buy a chip like you described? The local gaming commission...read more