Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 317

Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts

Recent data from the Nevada Gaming Commission shows how little most casino visitors know about the games they play. For example, if a player just follows blackjack basic strategy alone, the house will have a less than 1 percent advantage over a player.What is really happening, according to the report, is the house is making a little over 12 percent from their blackjack tables...read more

The machine blackjack versus the live blackjack

I’ve been playing blackjack a long time --- 25 years if we’re just talking about the casino game, 40-plus if we include occasional interludes in poker games in my college dorm, and 50 in just-for-fun games. I learned the basics from some second cousins and the annual New Year’s Day extended family gathering at my great-grandfather’s house in Chicago.So I have a lifetime of playing with live dealer’s that shapes my preferences...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Are slot machines 'controlled'?

I just read the letter from Barbara about the "controlled" machines. I am a computer programmer, mathematician and a games player. I have programmed many games of chance and understand probability, statistics and game theory. Now, to Barbara's letter. First, ALL MACHINES ARE CONTROLLED...read more

Those "damn" machines and cruise ships

FROM SKIP: You recently sent me a copy of your book “The Virgin Kiss” and I want to thank you for it. I read it cover to cover though I admit reading the section about the Captain’s Monster Roll several times. What an experience to have been there with the Captain...read more

Hitting soft 17 and video poker shuffles

QUESTION: I was grumbling at a blackjack table about the switch to dealer hits soft 17. The casino closest to me had the dealer stand on all 17s ever since it opened, close to 20 years ago. Last year, they switched.The dealer tried to convince me that it really was better for the player this way...read more

Odds of Winning the Fire Bet

Stickman,What are the odds of making a fire bet? I made the four points and have yet to see a five point hit. The Mohegan Sun plays the fire bet, and most of the time the majority of players do place a dollar or more. Thanks for your info.Alfred M.Hi Alfred,The fire bet has been available in different venues for a few years now...read more

Playing games you like

Casino players do not live by odds and strategies alone. Most play for fun, and what’s fun for one can be a crashing bore for another.That’s why we have the array of tables and electronic games, cards and dice, video and reel-spinning slots...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Advice for playing Class II slot machines

Dear John, I've been reading your column, and some things you say are very interesting, however, there is a huge "Ponzi Scheme" going on at a New York Casino. The machines are definitely being influenced and controlled by someone. There are too many complaints, and it's no joke, people are losing thousands of dollars and maxing out there bank accounts to try and win some of their cash back...read more

Molly throws the bones

FROM MOLLY (First Letter): My husband had been reading your books and had created a practice table. I poo poo'ed this, as so many do. Then we went to Vegas for my 40th birthday, as I'd never been.I kept pushing him to play, and so I bellied up to the table and decided to play with him, even though I hadn't a clue what was going on...read more

Flushes and gambling

QUESTION: Please explain something to me about video poker and straight flushes. My strategy card for 9-6 Double Double Bonus Poker says that if I have a three-card straight flush with no gaps, it’s a better play than holding a suited King-Queen.So far, so good, but it also lists suited 2-3-4 and Ace-2-3 in a different category, and says that suited King-Queen (in a different suit, of course) is the better play than holding that particular three-card straight flush...read more