Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 316

Three reasons to color up

Dear Mark: Every time I leave a blackjack game, the dealer always asks if I want to “color up.” What is the reasoning behind him or her asking me this? J.T.The casino encourages players to color up when leaving a table game for one of three reasons...read more

Slotomania abounds

One of the biggest shifts in the casino industry has been the development and position of slot machines as games people play because they’re fun, with the added attraction of a shot to win. Everybody wants to win, but there’s a substantial core of players who are happy as long as they get to the bonus rounds often enough to stretch their money and get their entertainment dollar’s worth.Interactive fun -- that’s the key...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: 'Proof' that player's cards affect results on slot machines

Hey John, I, for one, believe it is illegal for the casino to control a machine, but I still believe the tracking cards we play with allow it to control the payouts on machines. It's like logging into your computer. I have held the highest-level card at a casino in my area for the past 10 to 12 years...read more

The "off-on"problem at craps

Dear Frank,I have been playing craps, following and reading about strategies for the past 20 years, initially playing $10 table with a pass line bet and two come bets, all with full odds.Fortunately I have been able to increase my bets over the years and now play $25 pass and come line bets...read more

Spin a little dream with me

QUESTION: I’ve noticed on a lot of video slot games that if I hit the button a second time while the reels are spinning, they stop right away. I was wondering if I could use this to my advantage. If I see the bonus triggers or the jackpot symbols at the top, should I quick, hit the button again and try to stop the reels?ANSWER: This has become one of the slot questions I’m asked most often...read more

Percentages of Various Winning Hands in Blackjack

Hi Stickman,What are the chances of winning non-consecutive hands in blackjack such as 20 blackjack hands ... 15 hands ... 10 hands ... and 5 hands?These are the small questions that I always wonder about when I am not actually playing the game.When I play the game the statistics get thrown out the window and I really don’t follow how many wins or losses I have in how many hands...read more

That good old 22

Dear Mark: I enjoy reading your column every week in the Reno Gazette Journal. Last week, you wrote of your "walking out the door wager" on the roulette wheel. Something about it struck a chord in my memory, but I couldn't figure what it was...read more

Gambling scoreboards

It was a Thursday evening, and I was walking through a casino with my friend Alex while our wives were playing the slots. Alex sticks to table games, mostly blackjack, and we were checking out blackjack house rules, craps odds, table minimums and other playing conditions.As we walked past the roulette tables, Alex pointed to the boards showing the last 18 numbers and said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if they had boards like that in blackjack?”I laughed and nodded.“I mean boards that carried all the information for the hand...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: May I claim my wife's free slot play?

John, All slots work with RNGs to produce the location of any given symbol on the screen. I was curious how this works in conjunction with the required payout. If the machine MUST pay at least 91 percent return, how does the system combine the payout requirement with the random component required? Because of the laws of probability, it could occur that the machine gets really hot or really cold for an extended period of time...read more

The Grand Martingale might not be so grand

Hi Frank,I have a couple of questions. I am not sure if they have been asked before and I missed them but nonetheless, here they are.I was playing a slot machine (Griffin's Gate) and was winning quite often. At times, really big! I was doing so well that I actually made a couple of special trips just to play this machine.Then all of a sudden it stopped, or should I say I stopped winning on it.Figuring it was just the law of averages, I continued to play at different times to see if I would win again (because I just knew I could win.....read more