Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 348

Bally's roulette slot

Not all slot machines are designed for mass appeal. Niche games targeted at a specific audience have their place, too. In the last several years, one game that has earned its niche is Roulette from Bally. This isn't one of the big multi-station systems such as Shuffle Master's Rapid Roulette...read more

June bugs and slots

In another article, I went through the various casino situations that "bugged" table game players and discussed the type of casino (human) bugs that can be quite irritating, to say the least. At table games, you rub shoulders with myriad people and so many bugs appear that you could probably fill a book with their descriptions and activities. Certainly, slot players do not face as many human pests as do table game players...read more

Advantage Players Need to Train Like Money Mayweather

After World War II, many Americans considered boxing a dying sport. Thanks to legendary greats such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Iron Mike Tyson, boxing has stood the test of time...read more

Chuck-a-luck: An old gambling game

Chuck-A-Luck, also known as Chuck Luck, Chucker Luck and Chuck, was originally called Sweat Cloth in England. In Malaysia and Singapore the game is known as "Mini Dice." This is a banking game related to Grand Hazard. The operator usually rolls the dice in a special chuck cage (an hourglass-shaped wire cage that rotates) and provides a layout with the numbers 1 to 6 on it for players to place their bets...read more

Craps is chock-full of bad bets, so stick to the good ones

Dear Mark: You often suggest making bets on the crap table that have less than a 2 percent house edge, specifically a pass line bet, and placing the 6 and 8. The game offers plenty of other wagers, are they really that bad? Jerry C.Yes, Jerry, I have repeatedly written that the smart craps player puts that hard-earned money to work on just a few outstanding wagers: The Pass line and Come bet with odds is one...read more

Comps 101

What is a comp? A "comp" is an abbreviation for complimentary. They are the free goods and services provided by the casino to its players. Comps can range on the low end to free drinks and free valet parking all the way up to free room, food, beverage and transportation...read more

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