Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 281

How to find slots statistics

If you play slots, you’ve probably seen statistics comparing slot machine paybacks at different casinos. Many state gaming boards release such statistics to the public each month. For example, New Jersey reports are posted at http://www.nj.gov/lps/ge/mgrtaxreturns.html and Nevada at http://www.nj.gov/lps/ge/mgrtaxreturns.html.Some states release statistics for each casino...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Two people, one slot club account

I occasionally play at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, Florida. Can you tell me what kind of slot machines they have there? Are they Class II or Class III? Also is the video poker a random play or are they Class II? The Seminole tribe has a compact with the state of Florida, so the Seminole Hard Rock can offer Class III machines...read more

Casino maximums and card craps

FROM VINNY: Frank, we had a discussion at the golf course that said all casinos by law must pay out 28 percent of their revenue to players. Is this true and is it slot players or all players?I read in “Casino Player” magazine a while back that the tax rate that a state imposes on casinos affects how tight slot machine payouts are...read more

Slots and video poker payouts

QUESTION: My mom showed me something you wrote that said video poker games that have the same pay tables have the same odds, regardless of whether they’re quarters, dollars or anything else. Does the same go for slot machines? I get that you can’t tell exactly what the payback is, but if you look at how much each winning combination pays, and it’s the same on two machines that take different coin values, are the percentages the same?ANSWER: Not necessarily, no...read more

Casino credit and money management

Casino credit is a good option for most players because it eliminates carrying around cash and you don’t have to pay any interest or fees. However, you will have to give the casino your personal information, including your bank account number.To establish a line of credit with a casino, you must complete a credit application...read more

When to play progressive video poker

One of the decisions video poker players have to confront is when to play a progressive machine. The starting point is doing a quick calculation of expected returns, if you know the games and are up for a little arithmetic.On most video poker games, royals account for about 2 percent of the overall return...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: How video poker machines deal

On the IGT video poker machines I play in Atlantic City, they used to deal you 10 cards, five you could see and five cards behind them (I've heard them called shadow cards). Now they deal you five cards on the initial hand, and the next five are continuously being shuffled by the RNG...read more

Three-card poker questions

FROM BOB: Love your columns. Here’s one for you: My wife was playing $10 three-card poker. The table was full. The woman to the right of my wife went to the bathroom and her husband saved her seat. The very next hand, the player on my wife’s left got a royal flush.All at the table concluded that the royal WOULD HAVE BEEN my wife’s had the player not left for the bathroom...read more

The importance of speed at video poker

QUESTION: Playing video poker the other night, I noticed something. One, the guy on my left was playing VERY fast. It seemed like by the time I made a draw, he was three hands down the road. Is there any advantage to that? How fast can you play?ANSWER: Fast play is to the advantage of whoever has the mathematical edge on the game...read more

Gambling on the high seas

At last count, there were at least 140 cruise ships around the world offering casino gambling. The cruise ship industry uses casino gaming as an added amenity for their customers, but casinos are not designed as the primary reason for a cruise.Although shipboard casinos are similar to land-based ones, there are differences...read more