Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 398

John Robison Presents: Play advantage slot machines in Las Vegas on October 21st by Melissa A. Kaplan

The moment slot players have been looking forward to since they put their first coins or credit slips in the machines -- a chance to play slot machines that actually give the players an edge over the casinos! Frank Scoblete, casino gambling's No...read more

Odds in picking bonus rounds

There are bonus rounds wherein you start picking symbols until a "start" one is chosen. What's frustrating, nay, infuriating, John, is when you activate "start" after only two or even one symbol. Because many other symbols were left unpicked, it seems obvious that the slot machine has good payback reserves left, right? Therefore, there is a greater chance to win so better to continue playing the same game...read more

Double Attack Blackjack

Blackjack players feel pretty good about their hands when the dealer has a 5 or 6 face up. Some even refer to the them as "bust cards," although even with 5 or 6 up, the dealer still makes hands of 17 or better more often than not. What if the dealer got his or her up card first, before dealing to players? Would you be willing to go on the attack, and double your bet without seeing your cards? That's the premise of Double Attack Blackjack, a game I spotted recently...read more

Math is truly annoying

There are essentially four types of casino players and many subdivisions of such. 1. The math aficionados, dubbed by me as the "mathletes," but scornfully labeled as "the math boys" by uninformed ploppy players. The mathlete plays strictly by the math of the games...read more

A Day in the Life of Jumbotron

After being employed by a certain transportation company in New Jersey for the last 10 years, I arrived to work on April, 1st to find the doors chained up. Nice way to start the month. I went back to my old job of driving a taxi for a few weeks to keep the money flowing while I waited for my unemployment to kick in...read more

Las Vegas in Hollywood

A couple years ago, I was called to be an extra on the NBC TV series "Las Vegas" with James Caan and Josh Duhamel. It was a wedding scene and they needed some extra folks to fill in, which is where I usually come in. I found my way onto the lot in Culver City and onto the correct soundstage...read more

Shuffle tracking 101

A reader sent me this question: "I've had a lot of success with card counting and I've heard that card counters can get an even greater edge by shuffle tracking. What's your opinion of shuffle tracking?" Shuffle tracking, also known as "zone tracking," is an extension of card counting...read more

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. I recently came away completely puzzled by an occurrence on a video slot machine. The machine offers exorbitant promises of large bonus jackpots. After about 25 minutes, the bonus feature finally arrived. The award was six free spins, and the net result was an 85-cent payout. I have recently noticed that many of the newer slots offer free spins as the bonus and then proceed to hose you...read more

Should I play dollars or pennies?

I like to play the slots. But for some reason I do better on the penny machines. Some of it may be due to enjoying bonus rounds too. Which would be the best to play to be a winner on? A dollar on the dollar slots or a dollar on the penny machines? I wonder sometimes if I should just take my money and play the dollar slots to receive a better payback. Thanks,Linda Dear Linda, Here are the pros and cons of dollars and pennies: The dollar machines will tend to have higher long-term paybacks than the penny machines...read more

Dealing with Deuces Wild pay tables

It's a basic principle of video poker that changes low on the pay table make a bigger impact than changes on bigger-paying hand. That's because smaller-paying hands come up a LOT more often than the big poppers. That doesn't mean the smart video poker player ignores the payoffs on big hands and focuses on choosing games with the right small pays...read more