Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 390

Down and Out in Atlantic City

What good are fair-weather friends who are only around when you are on top? Yes, there are some people who seem to always be on top. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. Variance can produce extreme swings and God has a great sense of humor with me...read more

When Is Enough Too Much?

So you're on a roll. No, not a long roll at the table, which is always a welcome event, but a rather longer winning streak at a casino spanning several trips. At what point does one wear out his welcome? When is enough too much? How long will it take until the casino sees its numbers going in the "wrong direction"? When is that friendly boxman or pit boss going to turn hostile? There is no definitive answer or solid timeframe here...read more

Splitting aces and 8s

Always split aces and 8s. That is one of the golden rules for blackjack players but not according to a friend of mine. He insists that splitting 8s against a dealer upcard of 9, 10 or ace is crazy because you are probably going to lose anyway, so why double your loss by splitting? Although my friend's logic appears to make sense, it is flawed...read more

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. Playing video poker, seven to nine times, I had a possible diamond flush, and, seven to nine times, a spade appeared. Where were the diamonds, clubs and hearts? The odds of this happening seem astronomical. Do you still think that poker machines are random, as you once stated? A...read more

Getting another kicker pure chance?

John, Always read your Q/As with interest, but your answer to the fellow who told a story about a guy being dealt four aces and a deuce cannot be correct. In the example, he discarded the 2 and caught a 4, still giving him the bonus...read more

Sometimes there is a free lunch

There's only a handful of casino games in which the player can get an edge. Start with blackjack for card counters, video poker at certain pay, craps for a select few dice controllers. Add in live poker for those more skilled and disciplined than their opponents, and sports and racing betting for serious handicappers...read more

Simple, satisfying, safe slot strategies

There are three major categories of slot articles written for slot players. The first is to discuss particular machines: how they are designed, why they are fun and, perhaps, where they can be found. The second category focuses on the various intricacies of slot machines, such understanding what the RNG (random number generator) is and how it works, how machines arrive at the payback percentages, and comparing hit frequencies with winning hits. The first two categories are certainly interesting and important for slot players to know...read more

Ruin Again: Part 1 - Feedback

In my June 2011 article I addressed a ruin question about Blackjack from one of my readers.  In it I proposed a simple scheme that used a one-dimensional random walk model that had the same expected value as Blackjack.  Well, did I get feedback!    Several readers, including my good friend ...read more

Jest for Fun

A Las Vegas school teacher was taking her class through a local art museum. "With a single stroke of a brush," she said, "Leonardo da Vinci could change a smiling face into a frowning one." "That's nothing," said a little boy. "My father's a blackjack dealer at the Flamingo, and he does it all the time." * * * * * If Charles Dickens lived today, he would never have written his immortal Christmas Carol...read more

Texas Hold'em A to Z: K Is for Kicker

A kicker is a card in an unpaired card in your hand that will determine the winner in the event of a tie. Example: If the winning hand was a pair of Aces and you held A-K and your opponent held A-J, your King would beat his Jack. In this example the King and Jack are the kickers...read more