Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 317

The ultimate blackjack quiz #2

This is the second part of a blackjack quiz prepared by my friend Fred Renzey, a contributing writer to my Blackjack Insider (BJI) e-newsletter and author of "Blackjack Bluebook II." Be forewarned, this is a challenging quiz.1. When you have Ace-7 against a 9, if you stand, you’ll win the hand 8 times out of 20...read more

Those great BIG wins

I’m not a high roller by any means, and there are no $20,000 slot jackpots or $10,000 runs at the craps tables on my resume. Mostly, I stick to $5 and $10 tables, and 25-cent video poker. When my wife and I play together, it’s usually on penny slots.So when people ask about my largest casino win, it’s easy to pick one...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machine hit frequency

What penny slot machines have a high frequency of paying? Is that set by individual casinos or by the machine's manufacturer? I ask because you said that Cashman pays about 50 percent of the time. I would say that every penny slot machine that is a multi-line/multi-coin machine has a high hit frequency (more than 20 percent)...read more

Hedging bets at craps

FROM JOHN: You have a couple come bets with full odds established. Is there a way to protect them from a seven on the next come out roll once the shooter made his point?FRANK RESPONDS: When you start splitting the game into pieces as you have done, it seems as if there are ways to “protect” your bet...read more

Come-out bets versus put bets

QUESTION: I made a mistake at craps table, and now I’m wondering if it really was a mistake. I bought in, and bet on the pass line. The next roll was a 6, and I was getting ready with the odds, when the dealer paid me. It turns out I hadn’t noticed it wasn’t the come-out, that there was already a point, and it was 6.I didn’t know you could bet pass when it wasn’t a come-out...read more

The ultimate blackjack quiz

I have composed and also read many “blackjack quizzes” during my career, but the one that I found to be the most challenging was prepared by my friend Fred Renzey, a contributing writer to my Blackjack Insider (BJI) e-newsletter and author of "Blackjack Bluebook II." Here is his quiz; give it a try, but be forewarned, it isn’t easy.1...read more

Figuring out video poker machines

At most video poker games, it’s a simple task to tell the higher-paying games from the real coin gobblers. The big payers have higher paybacks on full houses and flushes. Barring some rare switch elsewhere on the pay table, a 9-6 Jacks or Better game, where full houses pay 9-for-1 and flushes 6-for-1, pays more than an 8-5 game...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machines tease when you're almost out of credits

My question is in regards to a phenomenon that I see a lot. Recently, I was in AC and played in four casinos where I noticed the following: While playing penny Cashman machines (various different types - Jail Bird, African Dusk, etc.), when I get near the end of whatever dollar amount I put in the machine a few things happen: it starts hitting - even if it never gave a single coin before - in usually very small amounts - 10, 20, 30 cents (when betting 50 cents or $1.25). when I get down to under 50 cents and say have a small amount left in the machine - like 4 cents - invariably it will let me win 4, 7, 9 cents several times and then, of course, it dies. It's extremely noticeable on a machine that never paid a single coin - which is happening more and more frequently lately. I cannot believe any of this is random when I can predict it with next to 100 percent accuracy that when you are down to the wire, all of a sudden the machine will give you very small token amounts before cleaning you out. Can you shed any light on what's happening? Thanks! -Harry Dear Harry, I think I know what's happening, but I don't think you're going to like my explanations. When we're running out of money on the credit meter, we become hypersensitive to whatever happens on the machine, more so than if we had hundreds of credits left...read more

Let's talk

I remember a time when there were no computers and therefore no cell phones, no iPads, no Internet, no e-mail and no message boards. Facebook could just as well been a modeling magazine. If you wanted to talk about gambling you had to meet a friend or go to a casino or call someone on the phone.Certainly there were books to read, many of them quite good, but you can’t talk to a book.Fast forward...read more

The truth about the numbers

QUESTION: I don’t get why you say the pass line is a better bet than placing 6 or 8. If you bet pass, you have to take the times that the point is 4 or 10, where it’s a lot more likely that you lose. I want the best numbers all the time.ANSWER: The main thing you’re missing here is effect of the come out roll...read more