Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 253

The power of the ace

Most blackjack players have a love/hate relationship with the ace. They love it when they get an ace but they hate it when the dealer shows the ace. Overall, the ace is our best friend and it’s important to know why.First, let’s look at why we hate the ace; namely, when the dealer gets it as his upcard...read more

Deal Me In: No bluffing needed with PokerLotto

Dear Mark: The Michigan Lottery offers a game called PokerLotto. It includes a draw poker hand from the machine against a poker pay table. Then, there is a 7:30 p.m. drawing in the evening where if the cards on your ticket match the exact poker hand shown on TV, you win $100,000...read more

Roulette volatility

A reader named Bill contacted me to ask about betting options at roulette.“Everything I read tells me the house has the same edge no matter what bet you make,” he wrote. “So if all bets are created equal, why have all those different bets?”The house edge is the same, 5.26% on all bets but one on a double-zero wheel, with the exception being the five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3.That’s not the same as saying all bets are created equal...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machines with bet buttons labeled good, better and best

Question: I know all about the RNG and slot machines. However, I noticed some machines have good, better and best on the choices. For example, the 30-cent bet will have good on the button. The 90-cent button and above will have better or best on the button...read more

Lights, camera, action!

Let’s go back in time for a brief moment. Recall how the old film crews would have their director shout out, “Lights, camera, action!” and the actors would scurry about their scene and the lighting director would make sure they could be seen and the scene and the seen played themselves out.Jump to our modern-day casinos...read more

The math of the pass line at craps

QUESTION: Can you explain how house edges are derived? Maybe you could walk through the math for the house edge on the pass line as an example of how this is done.ANSWER: I’m going to get more math-y than I usually get in this column, because you’ve picked one of the more involved calculations in craps, because the pass line is a multipart bet...read more

Playing simplified video poker strategy

Many readers are aware of the paybacks of popular video poker games. For example, full-pay Jacks or Better returns 99.54%, full-pay Bonus Poker returns 99.16%, full-pay Double Bonus Poker returns 100.17%, and full-pay Double-Double Bonus Poker returns 98.98%.These returns are calculated based on what is called “perfect play.” Playing “perfectly” means for each hand that is dealt, the mathematically highest paying combination of cards is saved...read more

Casino conversations

The bulk of player interactions in casinos are of the mundane variety – table players talking about where they’re from during a shuffle, or slot players asking if a machine is taken.But with so many players passing through casinos every day, there are bound to be a few conversations that go down a not-so-beaten path...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Do slot machines hit more frequently when I bet more?

Question: Re: the question you discussed about receiving relatively small payouts for a large number of free spins on penny slots. I just returned from a trip to A.C. two days ago and won 80 free spins while playing $1 per spin. My total for the 80 free spins? $36.40...read more

Dinner at eight

Sometime in the mid-1990’s my wife the Beautiful AP and I were in the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. We were walking from the buffet, full and satisfied after a delicious breakfast, when a somewhat wild-eyed, somewhat disheveled woman stopped us.“What’s today’s date?” she asked.“April 2,” said the Beautiful AP.She shook her head...read more