Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 440

Why Sports Betting is Profitable

Sports betting appeals to the smart bettor because it is not a game with a fixed house edge where the casinos are raking off a fixed percentage. Sports betting requires more skill than luck, similar to Blackjack and live poker. The skilled handicapper won't win every time, but he has a huge advantage over the recreational bettor...read more

The greatest blackjack game of all time

Do you want to know what constituted the greatest blackjack game of all time? It was a combination of wonderful rules, amazingly deep penetration into the deck, and a highly sophisticated casino attitude on the part of the executives and pit people. I played this perfect blackjack game once, long ago, in Vegas...read more

Race Track Casinos Gain in Popularity Nationwide

Racetrack casinos, a tax revenue generating component in 12 states, out-performed the gaming industry as a whole for the second straight year according to figures in the newly released 2010 State of the States report compiled by the American Gaming Association. While overall revenue from gaming in 2009 declined by 5.5 per cent, consumer spending at racetrack casinos rose five per cent...read more

There are no free comps

It was a busy night in Las Vegas, at the end of a busy day. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, all the restaurants were crowded, and I found myself dining at the counter of a casino coffee shop. From my stool, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation to my left...read more

When did the $1,200 W-2G requirement start?

Hello John, First I want to thank you for the wealth of information you provide to us gamblers. I never miss your column. I have two questions I cannot find the answer to on the Internet, or from casino connections I have gained as a player...read more

Controlled shooting on a bouncy craps table

Hi Frank, I've read your book several times and bought a felt layout with dice and the rubber backwall. I set up a practice rig in my basement and have been practicing for months both counting my rolls and using chips. I figured I was ready for some live shooting. I drove to a local casino...read more

How do you make the oddsman's bet for the dealers?

Dear Frank: Reading about your "oddsman's bet." How would you go about making this bet for the dealers? Thanks, Ron Dear Ron: If you are talking about the Captain's classic oddsman's bet where you place the odds behind someone else's bet because that player is not taking the odds, I wouldn't bother announcing the bet for the dealers...read more

Homework - Part 2

As promised this is the second article addressing the questions sent to me by an anonymous student. Here are the last two questions: An ordinary well shuffled deck is dealt to 4 people (each of the players A, B, C, D receives 13 cards). Find the probability that someone at the table has all 4 Aces. Find the probability that player A is void in at least one suit. Let us look at question (a) first...read more

Are you going overboard?

Drinking, eating, running and gambling all have one thing in common, that is you can get so hooked on them that they become obsessive negative endeavors instead of positively fun endeavors. Obviously, a glass or two of wine at dinner, a cocktail or two at a party are enjoyable but if you become a stumbling drunk it isn't good for you — obviously...read more

Tribal Casinos Have Edge with Wide-Area Progressives

One huge advantage that tribal casinos have over state-regulated casinos in the Chicago-area market is the availability of wide-area progressive slot machines that are capable of awarding jackpots in the hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. When jackpots are funded by banks of machines that are networked in properties state-wide or even around the country, huge progressive awards are made possible by the vast number of people who play the games. One of the most popular genres of these slot games comes from International Game Technology (IGT) in the form of MegaJackpots...read more