Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 435

Dream a little dream with me!

I confess! When the New York State Lottery gets to 60 million dollars I will buy tickets. When the Mega-Millions Lottery gets to 200 million, I will buy tickets. Being a stolid, solid gambler I try to put myself in a good position to overcome the house edge; yes, even on lottery tickets there are better and worse times to make bets. So the lottery amounts above make the game a good bet since they are greater than the odds of hitting them...read more

Players Embrace Heartland Poker Tour

While the national poker spotlight was focused on Las Vegas last month for the World Series of Poker, another tournament of regional interest was taking place at the Majestic Star Casinos. The Heartland Poker Tour's stop at the Gary, Indiana gaming destination proved that the broad appeal of poker goes far beyond the high-profile stars of the game and the big money it takes to be a professional. Average working class people with a passion for the game can be every bit as competitive and entertaining as the biggest names in poker, which is why Todd Anderson and Greg Lang teamed up to form the Heartland Poker Tour in 2005. Their formula for success is exemplified in every stop the tour makes at casinos around the country, particularly so July 10 - 26 at the Majestic Star, where the top five finishers in the Main Event, all from the Chicago area, took a break from the routine to walk on the wild side. The winner was Paul Davis, a waiter who hails from Elgin...read more

Experiences with betting progressions

Every now and again, a column seems to raise as many questions as it answers. That's fine by me. I'll do the best I can with the follow-ups and clarifications. So it went when I wrote about betting progressions a few weeks ago. Several readers contacted me, offering their own experiences with progressions...read more

Is there a way to tell when a slot will hit?

Is there a way to tell when a slot is about to give out the big bucks? Or do you just have to keep playing until you MIGHT get lucky? If only there were some way to tell when a slot was about to hit. We could make minimum bets when the slot was cold, and then step up to a max bet only when the slot was hot...read more

Betting the hard 4

Dear Frank: I like to lay the 4 for $120 and the vig is $3. And $15 on a hard 4. I lose the $15 when a soft 4 is rolled. If I buy the hard 4 and lay the 4 for $120 and put $15 on a hard 4, if the soft 4 is rolled will I lose my lay of the 4 of $120 bet or will it stay on the table? Casey Dear Casey: I am somewhat confused by your letter...read more

$3 Craps versus $5 Craps

Back in mid March I received the following email from Michael M., one of my readers from Laughlin, Nevada: Hi Don, I am an employee in a Laughlin casino. I have both dealt and supervised the craps table over the past 20 years and I am trying to convince my current director the advantages of a $3.00 minimum vs...read more

"See a horn; bet a horn" redondo

To Golden Touch Craps: Your articles stating that craps cannot be beaten by mathematics is incorrect. Craps is the only game where the player/non-shooter can, with specific betting patterns, create as much as a five-to-one edge over the house on any given roll of the dice...read more

Big Changes for 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit Tour

It's not too early for poker players to start thinking about the World Series of Poker Circuit Event, which will be held in The Venue at Horseshoe Casino October 15 through October 27. The event in Hammond will be the third stop of an expanded full-fledged national tour with stops throughout the United States...read more

Video keno is random too

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Electronic games are never "due" to hit, nor are they due to miss. Results are as random as humans can program a computer to be. OK, just about everyone has heard it before. I've written that often in regards to slot machines and video poker, but I don't write as much about video keno...read more

Long-term paybacks on multi-game machines

Hi John, My wife and I have a bet on the following question: We play on IGT's Game King machines that offer Poker Games, Keno and Slots. All games on the same machine. The machine has to return a certain percentage of the wagers to the casino and to the players...read more