Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 397

Is the machine that hits a progressive jackpot pre-determined?

I used to gamble at a certain casino where an employee told me that the casino didn't own the machines, but rather the manufacturer. I asked him about the progressive machines, and how to tell when they were going to hit. He told me the owner of the machines predetermine which machine at which casino will hit...read more

There's experience, and then there's experience

There's no substitute for experience, or so says an old adage. And experience does help at the blackjack table. Knowing the game, rules and procedures puts the experienced player a jump ahead of the novice. But there's experience, and then there's experience...read more

The one-bet solution

In the world of detective fiction, it was the venerable Sherlock Holmes who had to be cured of his cocaine addiction in Nicholas Meyer's fun book The Seven Percent Solution. Sigmund Freud gave him a hand too. Not a bad team up. In craps almost all players have their own form of addiction which I call the multiple-bet syndrome or, in pseudo-Freudian-psychological terms, the "I need more action because I can't get enough action so give me the following numbers" syndrome. This syndrome is so widespread in the craps world that almost all players suffer from it but remarkably few of them even know they have the disease...read more

Can you make big bucks at the casinos starting with a small bankroll?

You can make big bucks at the casinos working from small bankrolls. But no matter what strategy you follow attempting to do so, you need a stroke of luck because the more profit you demand, the less you’re apt to succeed. There’s no getting around the laws of the universe. Some folks try betting on low-probability high-payoff longshots at the tables...read more

Ruin Again: Part 3 – Blackjack

In my August article I explained how to take an arbitrary random variable X and approximate it as a random walk.  The two statistical quantities we used were the mean M and the variance.  Using the material in my September article we could then find an approximate solution to the ruin problem....read more

Jest for Fun

Joe and Bill are conventioneers in Las Vegas. Joe: "How's your luck?" Bill: "Well, it's the same old story. One day I win. One day I lose." Joe: Then why don't you just play every other day?" * * * * * A business executive rolls into his office after a big weekend in Atlantic City...read more

Wheeling Island prohibits setting dice

Dear Frank: I was down at Wheeling Island casino in West Virginia over the weekend. They have a "new rule" that you can't arrange the dice or shake the dice. You have to just pick them up and throw them to the other end. I've never heard of such a rule -- have you? Many of the players are leaving. Hopefully this isn't a trend that will catch on...read more

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. A fellow video poker player told me that, by Illinois law, video poker machines cannot have a pay table set to produce a 100% or higher return. I made an attempt to go though the Illinois Gaming Board site but got lost. Thought you might know the answer to that question...read more

Wide-area progressives

Hi John, A three-part question: 1-When there is a progressive slot machine game that is linked to many casinos, are the long-term payout percentages the same across all the casinos or can each casino set their own payout percentage? 2-Over the long-term is it more likely that the progressive indicated in (1) above will be won at casinos that have more play time or is the RNG that selects the winning progressive just as likely to hit at a very small casino as it is in a very large casino, i.e...read more

A visit to WMS

A visit to WMS Gaming's facilities in Chicago always has a touch of the fantastic about it, a little escape from the real world. That's double true as the annual Global Gaming Expo approaches, when the innovative slotmaker is putting the finishing touches on the games it will showcase to casino executives. The expo begins a three-day run at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday, October 4, and WMS invited me to preview some of the new games it'll be showcasing...read more