Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 290

Dice control machines

Here is an interesting concept. Could a machine be built that would allow it to prove either that dice control exists or to disprove the whole notion? The machine would have to set the dice and throw the dice the same way each time to see if it could reduce the appearance of the seven or increase the appearance of certain specific numbers.Those who believe such a machine could be built refer to baseball pitching machines and golf machines that mimic aspects of those particular games.If such a dice-control machine were tested it would have to exhibit an SRR [the SRR is the seven-to-rolls ratio with random being one seven per six rolls on average] that decidedly showed general control in reducing the seven and/or show axis control that indicated the machine could keep the dice on axis in order to give it an edge.Keeping the dice on axis is a simple idea...read more

Shadow of the panther and vouchers

QUESTION: Can you tell me about a slot machine called Shadow of the Panther? I’d never played it before, and I did pretty good. Won about $40, so that’s not too bad for a penny slot. I just wasn’t quite sure how I was doing it. Sometimes I’d get the black panther on the first and second reels, and get a little payback...read more

Casino Customer Service, Referrals Boost Business

There’s a movement afoot to make immunizations as routine a part of health care for adults as it has long been for children. Apparently adults don’t think about inoculations as much as they should. Casinos need a booster shot of something they don’t often consider – referrals.That’s right, referrals...read more

Can you figure the odds at slots?

On just about every casino game, the house gets its edge from paying winners less than true odds. That goes for slot games just as it does on the tables.However, players don’t get enough information to do the math and calculate true odds. That doesn’t stop some players from trying to apply a little tallying and arithmetic of their own.LeAnn: When we were first together my husband was determined to figure out how many symbols and spaces there are on a slot reel...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Video poker paytables go down for many reasons

The video poker paytables at Spirit Mountain, Oregon, were changed over the last few weeks. The 9/6 Jacks or Better Game King Uprights games were changed to 8/5 (98.5 percent return). The older, and better-paying machines, are being replaced with newer lower-paying multi-game machines. Clearly the days of video poker are over not just in Las Vegas, but in the Indian casinos as well...read more

Do you have to play the Pass Line?

FROM BOB F:I used to play craps and was always playing the pass line with every shooter. My question is do players have to play either pass line or don't pass when a new roll starts, or can he or she jump into the game after the roll is starting?If you can do that, have you ever done any kind of study? Since most shooters in craps are bad shooters, if for some reason they get on a run, like let's say they make five points in a row, would it be a good play to play the don't come bet now since most shooters are not controlled shooters?FRANK RESPONDS:You do not have to play either the pass line or the don’t pass bets...read more

Selective memory

QUESTION: THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS! I go to the casino, and play the penny slots. Within the first 10 minutes, I hit something good, maybe two or three bonus rounds real fast, and I find myself ahead $20 or $30.Then I start losing, so I change machines...read more

Saving the 8 Redux

In a recent article (April 5, 2014) I responded to Bob in Boston who wrote:Hi Stickman,With 5 card video draw poker, assume you have the following: 7 of spades,8 of diamonds, 8 of hearts, 9 of spades and 10 of clubs. Obviously you will discardone of the two 8's...read more

Moving from slots to video poker

Karl is a video poker convert, a slot player who decided to give video poker a go when he learned of its higher payback percentages.“I still play some penny slots,” he wrote in an e-mail. “The bonuses are fun.”Mostly, he plays Deuces Wild, but mixes in some other games...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Cold winter means bad video poker in Wisconsin?

It may not have been true in Connecticut that paytables were changed when slot revenue was down, but I can tell you firsthand that this was done here in northern Wisconsin after one of the snowiest and coldest winters on record. In late April I was in our local casino, Potawatomi Carter Casino Hotel, on a Tuesday night and then again on Friday of the same week...read more