Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 359

Ask the Slot Expert: Stopping the reels on a slot machine

Here is a question for you. On machines that have the bonus triggered by scatter symbols (as compared to bonuses that trigger when you get three on a pay line), an interesting strategy emerges. Just play 1 line, 1 coin. Your bankroll will last a long time and the bonus will trigger anyway...read more

The short run in a long run universe

You hear players at the tables and you read "experts" on the Web and in books and magazines all the time:"I just saw five fives in a row! I'm jumping on that five right now!""The 12 just showed three times; it's hot. I'm jumping on that 12 right now.""My Lord, the 11 just hit six times in a row...read more

Full Pay Jacks or Better Video Poker or Something Else?

Jerry Stickman, I recently went to the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, NY and I was so excited to see a "Full Pay 9/6 Jacks or Better" video poker machine. I hit for a straight flush and that's when I realized this was not a full pay machine. Although it paid 9/6, I only got paid 60 and not 90 for a straight flush...read more

Shuffle through the gambling mailbag

QUESTION. Didn’t there used to be more companies making video poker games? Is IGT’s control of the market the reason pay tables are going down?ANSWER. IGT’s dominance of the video poker market isn’t driving video poker pay tables down at all...read more

John "Skinny's" the Big Enchilada bet at craps

[John "Skinny" is a poster on the Golden Touch private website. This is one of his posts.]In a different post entitled Odds for the Fire Bet, Dice Pilot opined about the fire bet for controlled shooters: "It would be an interesting mathematical problem to find out how the odds and probabilities change with an increase in a shooters' skill level...read more

Having an "act" at blackjack

Playing blackjack is both an accomplished skill as well as an art. Money management, basic strategy, casino and table selection and much more are the skills initially required. Each of these tasks has to be managed smoothly and effortlessly...read more

Deal Me In: Don't buy the points

Dear Mark: With football season upon us, I would like to know when, if ever, it is beneficial to buy the 1/2-point in a game. When the spread is 2.5 or 3.5, should I buy the 1/2-point to make it a field goal, and ditto with a 6.5 or 7.5 spread? Also, I love your columns on blackjack and want to know if I can find previous columns anywhere? John M.Betting against the point spread isn’t for the faint of heart...read more

Changing Denominations Doesn't Matter

Last week I was on a business trip in the South and stopped by one of the casinos on the Mississippi River. I decided to play a little video poker and I sat down at one of the multi-denomination/multi-game machines. The first thing I do when I sit down at one of these machines is check out the denominations of the machine...read more

Parlaying the 12 at craps

Several years ago I was one of about a dozen presenters at a weekend forum on casino games. It was there that I met Paul, who was attending my session on baccarat. He explained that he usually played video poker along with a little blackjack, but was looking for a third game to spice things up.It seems the third game he settled on was craps, as I found out in August when he approached me at a casino coffee shop...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Should I play more lines on a slot machine or more coins per line?

John, Love your column. Always look forward to it, and to your great input. Told my friends about you. My question is: Are the odds better if you play 100 lines (max) x 2 cents (least), 50 lines x 5 cents, or 25 lines x 10 cents, and so on, on any one machine? I would appreciate your feedback as I do your wisdom. Sincerely, Slot Starvin' Marvin Dear Marvin, Thanks for the kind words about my column. Most multi-line/multi-coin (video) slots are straight multipliers (that means there's no bonus for playing more coins), so the number of coins you bet on a line and the number of lines you play do not affect the long-term payback...read more