Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 37

Compensations

CINDY: Our general opinion about comps that the casino gives us is to take what they offer but not to go comp-crazy. Playing for comps is a true waste of your time, your mental time mainly, and your money.ABBY: It is important to understand that the casinos give back a certain amount of a player’s potential losses in the form of what some players think of as “free stuff.” There is nothing or almost nothing free in a casino – maybe the air...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Facial recognition at slot machines

Question: Are there cameras in VLT machines to identify players? Answer: I suppose the theory is that the machine's generosity will be affected by who is playing it. Let's say that the casino can alter a machine for whatever reason...read more

Where Jackpot Originated

To Frank Scoblete:So, we were in the car, on the way home from a trip to our local casino. My Father-in-Law was reminiscing about a good win he had just hours earlier. He referred to his big win as a Pot. "That was a good ‘Pot’ that I hit in the High Limit Slot Section."That led to an intriguing discussion about Jackpots, and where the term Jackpot originated.When we got home, I did a quick Internet search and found a lot of agreement that the term Jackpot originated from a poker game in the late 1800's called Jack-Pots.You had to have "Jacks or Better" to open the bid...read more

Big Wins? Or Little Wins?

I am a conservative player and I have become even more conservative in my goals and betting strategies as I’ve aged (beautifully I might add, aging that is).I do not look to make a killing at any game. I want to be able to play for the number of hours that I wish and win or lose, nothing really touches me on an economic level...read more

My Favorite Games

From Steve,Stickman,I like reading the articles you write. You make some very good points. I notice you write mostly about video poker. I expect you mostly play video poker when you visit casinos. My question to you is what are all of your favorite casino game and how often do you play each of them.Awaiting your answers.SteveHi Steve,Yes, I write a lot about video poker, but I play several games when in a casino – not every game on every visit, however...read more

What Players Should Know

CINDY: Last week we tackled a simple question: What should dealers know in order to do their best job? Essentially it was, dealers have to know how to deal the games and act as if they were personable and liked the players. By the way, they didn’t really have to like the players, or some of the players, they only had to pretend they did.ABBY: Part of dealing with the public, in any profession, is to make the public feel as if you like them...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: A tale of two bankrolls

Two slot players are sitting side by side at identical Double Diamond machines. They each put $100 into their machines and bet the max on each spin. After an hour or so of play and playing the same number of spins, they get up to go get something to eat at the food court, the buffet having been closed four years ago...read more

Ultimate Bet: King Kong or Tom Cruise?

I think this first column for April 2024 should tackle something that has been troubling me for a long, long (add some more “longs” here) time. I hate the new “tallest skyscrapers” in the world. Yes, I do and I do not repent my feelings. Why? Because I am so, so right! Follow me.These monstrosities mostly look yucky (this is an architectural word) and the few that don’t look yucky aren’t all that hot either...read more

Why We Gamble

The basic question I am asked in my talks boils down to this: “Why do people gamble?”Are casino players playing just to win money? After all, every game has a built-in house edge and almost no players are ahead for their lifetimes of play – so why do we do it? We play knowing our expectation, almost always a loss which is ultimately realized, means we head down the drain?Players might say winning money is the reason...read more

Saving Some Losses

From Gladys,Hi Stickman,I just read an article about how much Las Vegas casinos win from players. It listed several different games and had figures for last year. The games were slots at different amounts, baccarat, blackjack, craps, roulette, and Pai Gow Poker...read more