Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 377

It's real money

Gambling gurus -- of which I am one -- could also be labeled gambling "goo-rues" since we tend to delight in using mathematical terms and figures to prove we are right about everything we are trying to prove we are right about. Such proofs tend to stick the average casino gambler into a sticky morass of mind-numbing goo that tends to make them skip whole sections of what we are writing about in our articles and books. We gambling gurus should rue the day we do such awful things to our fellow casino players, as we often put them to sleep just at the most important moment of our explanation of what is and what is not the best way to bet at this or that game and why...read more

It Isn’t Called Player Development for Nothing

What would be a good gift for my casino host? I have seen this questioned posed on travel, casino and gambling-related forums dozens of times over the years. Usually other posters will respond and suggest wine, liquor, neckties, scarves, flowers, candy, sporting event tickets, or gift certificates to local stores...read more

Avoiding Long Shots at the Tables

We all know someone who won big in a casino. It does happen in casinos all around the country. However, when reading reports by various state gaming agencies, we find the casinos are consistently winning more than they lose and doing it by a substantial margin...read more

Deal Me In: Early worm in robin-swallowing spring training

Dear Mark: I have been reading your column for years and very much enjoy your comments and insight. My question is this: Over the long haul, with many players and many cumulative hours played, casinos approach the statistical advantages you so often cite...read more

Numbers don't lie

I believe if you know some of the most important statistics about the game of blackjack, it can help you better understand the fundamentals of winning blackjack strategies. However, I also understand that most folks find statistics boring; therefore, I prepared the following fun quiz, which I hope you will find entertaining as well as informative. 1. Ignoring ties, the percentage of hands that you can expect to win when you play blackjack is about: a...read more

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. You always mention that the payback percentage for dollar slots is better than the 50- or 25-cent slots. How about in a multi-play slot machine where you can choose $1, 50 cents or 25 cents? Does the payback change as you change the denomination, or are you getting a lower payback for dollars because you can play the smaller denominations also? A...read more

Hitting big jackpots makes lasting memories

Big jackpots don't come along every day. They're rare treats, and players remember the tiniest details of how they happened. The largest jackpot I ever won in a casino was a modest $8,000 for a royal flush on a $2 video poker machine. I rarely play the biggest jackpot games, but this was a big enough win to imprint itself on my memory, starting with the head rush that came with the shock of seeing the royal at higher stakes than I usually play...read more

Odd is best: A gambler's "new" math

I have a private, members-only website at www.goldentouchcraps.com with over 5,000 members. Some of these players are terrific gamblers, others are true advantage players at games such as blackjack, craps and even advantage-play slots, and most of the members play more than one game...read more

Tom and Ray's Proposition Bet

If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that I occasionally discuss a particular proposition wager, sometimes called a sucker bet. One of the classics is discussed in the archived article called "An Earful of Cider"; you might check it out...read more

Jest for Fun

A seventh-grade English teacher asks a pupil, "Billy, what is an effigy?" Billy: "I don't know." Teacher: "An effigy is a dummy. Now, Billy, can you use that word in a sentence?" Billy (thinks): "Oh, my father is a blackjack dealer in a casino...read more