Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 346

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. I read in the news about that roulette wheel that hit number 19 seven times in a row. What are the odds, and how much would you have won if you'd bet it and just let your winnings ride for all seven? A. For those who haven't seen the story, it started when a poker player took a picture of a lighted display that showed the last 16 numbers at a roulette table at the Rio in Las Vegas...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Concerns about pseudo-random number generators

Slot machines really have pseudo-random number generators (pRNG). A pRNG generates a number stream that appears to be random and satisfies many properties of randomness, but is actually generated by a deterministic function and is not truly random...read more

Jackson slot a thriller

The buzz has been building about Bally Technologies' Michael Jackson: King of Pop slot machines ever since it gave the casino industry a preview at Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas last November. Now the game is ready for distribution, as ballyhooed in a concert-tour mimicking poster touting "Worldwide Rollout 2012" on the outer cardboard roll and "Now Playing" on the poster itself. There's also an answer to a question readers often have asked me: What happens when a game designed as a wide-area progressive is placed in a casino that won't or can't use such systems? Wide-area progressives link games at different casinos, with the top jackpot mounting with each wager on any game on the link...read more

The slot player's Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 brave men who were willing to face severe hardship and even death to stand up for their belief in "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." From that moment to this very moment, the greatest country in the history of the world took shape, evolved and now allows us to play slot machines...read more

Why breaking up is hard to do... pairs, in blackjack, especially

Basic Strategy in blackjack is an exercise in optimization. It’s the set of decisions maximizing players’ statistically expected gains on favorable and minimizing expected setbacks on inauspicious hands. “Expected,” not in the sense of a specific amount anyone might gain or drop in a particular coup, but an average computed using probabilities with the laws of large numbers. Once a person is familiar with casino blackjack, much of Basic Strategy coincides with intuition...read more

Laying the Odds - Again

I recently received the following e-mail from one of my readers named Dave Beck. Don, This question concerns the Don't Pass wager. My numbers are rounded from what I remember. A Pass Line bet on the Come Out has a 22% chance of winning and an 11% chance of losing. A Don't Pass bet on the come out must have a 22% chance of losing and barring the twelve around a 9% chance of winning. So I'm thinking approximately 66% of the time my Don't Pass bet would be alive on a number. Since the Don't Pass has a lower house advantage, here is my question. My normal average outlay on Pass Line and Place betting 6 & 8 is $40. If I bet the Dark Side and bet the $40 alone on the Don't Pass instead of $10 Don't and laying free odds, does the 66% of the time I'm on the point number and actually getting even money on my $40 Don't Pass negate the 22% loss on the come out? I know that the numbers say this and that but my personal experience is that the come out sevens and elevens are less than 22%...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Are slot machines random?

Hi John: I love your column! You've been so informative for my slot gaming and I appreciate all the advice you've given along with in-depth explanations and information. I have two questions regarding slots. My first question concerns the RNG...read more

Deal Me In: Never happened

Dear Mark: How about a comment regarding this photo that surfaced on the Internet regarding the number 19 being hit seven times in a row in Las Vegas? Alastair K.What Alastair is referring to was a Las Vegas Sun blog with an accompanying photo that had this headline: "Rio roulette wheel reportedly hits seven straight 19s, and, yes, this is really rare."The photo of the roulette wheel display showing the number 19 hitting seven consecutive spins came via Jeff Romano, a professional poker player, who tweeted it while taking a break during the World Series of Poker.My first impression was the customary, don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see, together with, yes, being in the biz long enough, I realize at any one session at a roulette table, there can, and most certainly will be, many deviations from the norm...read more

Don't believe everything you see on the Internet

Dear Mark: How about a comment regarding this photo that surfaced on the Internet regarding the number 19 being hit seven times in a row in Las Vegas? Alastair K.What Alastair is referring to was a Las Veags Sun blog with an accompanying photo that had this headline; "Rio roulette wheel reportedly hits seven straight 19s, and, yes, this is really rare."The photo of the roulette wheel display showing the number 19 hitting seven consecutive spins came via Jeff Romano, a professional poker player, who tweeted it while taking a break during the World Series of Poker.My first impression was the customary, don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see, together with, yes, being in the biz long enough, I realize at any one session at a roulette table, there can, and most certainly will be, many deviations from the norm...read more

Entering mid-shoe at blackjack

Dear Frank, I am learning to be an advantage player. Often, it is hard to get a seat at a table and the casino I frequent allows mid-shoe entry. My question is about coming into a game mid-shoe, count unknown. Should I just play the shoe out using basic strategy or should I begin the count from that point and play on regardless of the "history" of the cards already dealt? Dave Dear Dave: If the casino just lets you sit without playing, great...read more