Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 259

Electronic table games

Growing player acceptance has brought a whole new world of opportunity to providers of electronic table games, so much so that Rob Bone, president, North America, for Interblock, personifies the company as a 25-year startup.“Good people, technology and innovation make for a great player experience,” said Bone, who is confident Interblock is poised to rise to the top among electronic gamemakers.For Interblock, North American success has come fastest and biggest on the East Coast, especially in New York where live table games are not permitted...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: A different RNG for bonus rounds on a slot machine?

Question: Love your column. I have learned so much about slot play that has helped my bankroll. Further to your answer regarding bonus rounds in Casino City Times on 2/13/16, is the PRNG that runs all the time when playing normally used for the bonus round? Or is there a different one for bonuses? Answer: Thanks for the kind words about my column. The same PRNG (pseudo-random number generator) function is used whenever the program running the machine needs to determine an outcome...read more

The Terminator

I am quite certain there have been times in your slot-playing career that you were convinced a slot machine had an evil intelligence and was deliberately and delightfully causing your losses. That this machine was looking at you from behind its façade and snickering at your misfortune.In fact, the thought that slot programming is not just normal computer programming but flirts with artificial intelligence has probably crossed many a slot player’s mind...read more

Hitting soft 17 is good for the casino

QUESTION: Why are there differences between when the blackjack dealer must hit on soft 17 versus stay on soft 17? I know you'd have to be more aggressive when it's hit on soft 17, but I'm not sure about the logic for those three plays that are different...read more

Which card counting system is for you?

The easiest blackjack card counting systems are those called “level-one," that is because these counts only assign values of +1 and -1.The “multi-level” systems may assign values of plus or minus 2, 3 or 4 for various cards. Some systems even use “side counts” such as keeping a side count of aces along with the plus and minus count.The main point to remember is there is no memorization required...read more

Deal Me In: Prune the hedges from your craps game

Dear Mark: When playing craps, I am aware that it is best to stay away from any prop box bets. But when playing the don't pass line for a $10 bet with a max lay of $60, if the point is a 4 or 10, is it wise to hedge this bet with a $10 hard 4 or 10? Bill P.In 1933, Wilson Mizner lay dying...read more

Streaks

Streaks are part of life at the gaming table, but there’s no tendency for a hot streak to stay hot.Still, the hot streaks are fun. Here are a few streaks readers have shared in the last few months:Hayden: My wife and I went to a riverboat with about $300 between us...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Do slot machine bonus rounds have to pay something?

Question: If a slot machine has a bonus round, does the bonus round have to pay something? Answer: I wish that were true, but there's no requirement that a bonus round has to pay anything. It's incredibly disappointing to finally get to the rare bonus round on a machine and then not win anything during the round. I occasionally play some Bally machines that have variations of Blazing 7s games as their bonus rounds...read more

The werewolf

I think just about everyone reading this column knows the basic story of the werewolf, the half-man/half-beast monster that terrorizes villages, towns and cities when the full moon rises. A werewolf cannot control this inner beast and when the silvery moon bathes him, well, blood is spilled, flesh is shredded, terror reigns; in short, all hell breaks loose.The werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet, and most werewolves do in fact meet this doom...read more

Stacked symbols and Megabucks

QUESTION: Do stacked symbols, especially the really long stacks, make it easier or harder to win on slot machines?ANSWER: Stacked symbols are a tool used by game designers to create the possibility of large, multiple-payline wins. You might even get stacks of the same symbol on every reel, covering every space on the screen...read more