Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 320

Deal Me In: A slippery slope for the weary wallet

Dear Mark: Where I play blackjack, there are only six-deck shoes. They just removed the last single-deck 3-2 games and replaced them with 6-5 games. Do you get more blackjacks on a single-deck game to make up for the reduced blackjack payoff? John P.You're on to something, John, in that blackjacks do occur more frequently on a single-deck than on multi-deck games.On a single-deck game, if your first card is an ace, 16 of the remaining 51 cards, or 31.37 percent, are a face or 10-value card that would complete your blackjack.On a six-deck game, 96 of the remaining 311 cards, or 30.87 percent, would give you your snapper...read more

Continuous shuffle machines and Wheel of Fortune

The effect of the continuous shuffler on the house edge is tiny. On his website, www.wizardofodds.com, Michael Shackleford calculates that in a six-deck game, it decreases the house edge by two one-hundredths of a percent. However, because there is never a stop to shuffle the cards or even to cut the cards, you play many more hands per hour with a continuous shuffler.That gives the house edge more chances to work against you, so your average losses per hour increase despite the very slight reduction in the house edge.You play the fewest hands per hour on a hand-shuffled game, more with an automatic but not continuous shuffler where there is a stop to change decks and cut the cards, and the most with a continuous shuffler...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Should I play Class II video poker with a strategy?

John, I realize that the VLT video poker machines are not really video poker machines as we know them, but even though we don’t have any control over the decision, why wouldn’t we want to play them as though they were Class III just so we keep up on the proper strategy when we DO play the real thing...read more

The strange brew of ploppy philosophers

Where there are people there are ideas. Where there are ideas there are often wrong ideas. Where there are wrong ideas there are often superstitions that grow in, under, around and through these wrong ideas. These superstitions are then supported by a makeshift rationale, a flimsy logic that solidifies them in the minds of their adherents...read more

"Show and tell" at Caribbean Poker and "put" bets in craps

QUESTION: I was playing Caribbean Stud, and people were looking at each other’s hands. The dealer warned everyone to stop. Then the pit boss came over and said that wasn’t allowed, and if he saw it again, he’d void the hand and maybe even ask players to leave the table.Can you tell me why? It’s not like this is draw poker...read more

Casinos around the world

Casinos are everywhere. In fact, today there are a total of 193 countries that belong to the United Nations, and in 2012 there were 164 countries that offer some type of gambling; casinos, horse racing or lotteries.Currently, there are also about 170 cruise ships sailing around the world that have gambling on board...read more

Deal Me In: 'All in' demystified

Dear Mark: At our low-stakes Friday night poker game, we have one player who is adamant that anytime someone has an insufficient amount of chips (money), that person is automatically forced out of the hand. This particular player bullies us with his bankroll, which, from what limited information we know about poker, does not make sense, nor fair to the rest of us...read more

WMS goes for video poker gold

WMS Gaming’s bid to break into the video poker market has gone live. Machines marked “Multi-Game Poker” went onto Las Vegas casino floors at Harrah’s and Caesars Palace in mid-December.I happened to be in Las Vegas at the time, so I went to Harrah’s to check them out...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Would I have won more at a higher denomination?

I love your columns and appreciate the sharing of your knowledge. When the woman [in a recent column] stated that she has better results from "stopping the spin," your answer surprised me. When I see people "stopping the spin," I always think it is more of a superstition than a way to actually control the result...read more

Loose or tight slots: Which makes more for the casino?

You can take a quick look at the slot paybacks in this issue of Strictly Slots to get some idea of which areas of the country have the loosest slots payout percentages and which areas have the tightest payout percentages. You can also go casino by casino in those jurisdictions that report individual percentages.On penny, nickel, quarter, 50-cent, one-dollar and five-dollar machines, the percentages reflect quite a large amount of play...read more