Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 387

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. I have a question about the new server-based slots. I get that the games aren't allowed to be changed while you're playing. But what if you're just taking a little break? My husband and I usually play together, right next to each other if we can find seats at games we both like...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Are RNGs truly random?

In your recent article about why the RNG creates large numbers, you reply included this: "First, the larger range means that the RNG can have a larger period -- that is, the number of numbers that can be generated before the RNG repeats itself." If it is truly random the RNG could generate the same number many times before it reached 4 billion...read more

Mississippi Stud strategy

Any card game that requires decisions by players has its dividing lines. When the dealer has a 10 in blackjack, you hit when you have a hard total of 16 or less, but stand on 17 or higher. In Caribbean Stud poker, you stay in the game with a bet of double your ante when you have ace-king with no other face cards if one of your other three cards matches the dealer's face-up card...read more

The 12 superstitions about craps: #6 - The virgin principle

The 12 most popular superstitions at the game of craps are adhered to or believed by most craps players -- so if you want to play the game and not be thought a craps barbarian, you should know them. Keep in mind that individuals add their own superstitions too, so you might hear someone yelling some incoherent thing at the table which, to him, will ward off the coming of the ominous 7 or bring it on if he is a darkside player. A woman who has never shot the dice before will have a good roll the first time she shoots the dice...read more

Casino Credit Q and A

This is a general overview of casino credit. Keep in mind, individual casinos may have different policies. What can I do with casino credit? Casino credit can be used to request chips at the tables. A player can also get funds for slot machine or video poker play, usually at the casino cage...read more

Jest for Fun

A woman sat down to play the slot machine next to me. Turning to me she purred a friendly hello. I didn't recognize her, but her fate was familiar. * * * * * He: "Do you keep half the money you win at slots?" She: "No, I usually don't win that much." * * * * * Man to wife: "The next time our slot host tells us how loose the slots in this casino are, I'm going to hang a mistletoe on my shirt tail." * * * * * Sherlock Holmes in the Monte Carlo casino on the French Riviera: "Ah, Watson, I see that you've been playing roulette and have lost your shirt." Watson: "Marvelous, Holmes, marvelous!...read more

Deal Me In: Husband gripes over wife's generous tip

Dear Mark: Please tell me how this tipping experience should have played out. I was playing roulette and having decent success. While playing, I asked the dealer what his favorite number was (13), a number I never play because I think it is unlucky...read more

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. We're planning a bachelor party, and some guys want to play blackjack, but nobody wants to bet big money. We're narrowed down to two places that will let us play $5 a hand. One will cost us $20 an hour per person for the reservation, then the game is six decks, dealer stands on all 17s, double after split, resplit to four hands...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Why do RNGs generate such large numbers?

Why does the RNG have to pick a number from 0 to 4 billion and then map it to the virtual reel? Couldn't the RNG easily pick a random number between 1 and the number of virtual stops? Does the fact it picks such a large number affect the volatility of the game? Thanks, Jim Dear Jim, I can think of three reasons why the output of an RNG falls into such a large range...read more

Gamblers' New Year's resolutions

Casinos are filled with temptations. They're fantasy zones, where most of the time we don't bet with actual money. We play with chips, or credits on a meter. Those chips and credits are bought with money, and can be exchanged for the real thing, but while we're playing it sometimes doesn't feel like we're spending money...read more