Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 459

Reduce the Lines to Increase Your Time

There is no denying that, over the last several years, the new video slots have become much more entertaining than their reel-type predecessors. The graphics for the main games along with the addition of interactive bonus screen have made some of the new slot machines seem more like video games than gambling machines...read more

The ghosts of Atlantic City's Resorts Hotel

There are some psychic researchers who believe that ghosts are house specific as opposed to land specific. They maintain that a stretch of land that houses so many new buildings, a stretch such as the Atlantic City Boardwalk casino area, just doesn't have the necessary ingredients for entertaining ghosts or entertaining ghost tales. Well, behind the exterior walls of some of our beautiful casinos are buildings with real histories - and interesting ghost stories as well...read more

How do I get a win/loss statement?

I need to get a win/loss statement from Bally's Casino and Resort in Robinsonville, Ms. How can I do this? Just call the number on the back of your player's card. Tell the representative that you would like a win/loss statement sent to you...read more

6:5 blackjack

My friend Bob is a blackjack player from way back, one who knows his basic strategy even though he's not up on all the math behind it. "Explain something about 6:5 payoffs on blackjacks," he phoned to ask. "You warn against it all the time, and I know it's not as good as getting the usual 3:2...read more

Should I change my pace when a slot is cold?

First Question: Given the basic tendency of slots when they are hot, is it better to change your average time per spin? Sometimes you can get in patterns hitting spin as rapidly as the slot will allow giving a basic average time you are spending between spins...read more

What is the minimum lay bet?

Dear Frank: On a $5 minimum table in Las Vegas, will the dealers let me LAY a $10 bet on the 4 or 10 or is that too small a bet? I like to start a fresh roll with a lay bet. That way, I win if a 7 rolls out right away, instead of losing on a 7 if I had bet it on the don't. If that is too small, what would the minimum lay bet be? Thanks, Bruce Dear Bruce: I guess the answer to your questions is this: Everything depends on what casino you are playing in. My advice is to simply call the casinos you want to play in and ask to speak to the craps pit...read more

Are the results of bonus rounds predetermined?

My question is about the bonus round on slot machines. For example, on a machine called Cafe Mula, I have to pick drinks. If I get three coffee cups the bonus round ends. Is it really my luck or does the machine predetermine what I will win? Because sometimes I do great and then other times right off the bat the round ends...read more

6:5 single-deck 21

There's an awful single-deck 21 game that is spreading like wildfire in casinos throughout the U.S. It has a reduced payoff for a blackjack -- 6:5 instead of the standard 3:2 -- which results in a house edge that's about eight times greater than on a standard single-deck game...read more

The new hierarchy in gaming

In the good old days of the mid-1950s, craps was the game of choice for almost all of the high rollers. Blackjack had an audience, but it couldn't match the number of craps players and the size of these craps players' bets. Look at those old black-and-white photographs of elegant ladies hanging on to feverish men who were themselves hanging on to some hope for Lady Luck's largesse...read more

Video Slot Bonus Rounds Raise Reader Question

As popular as they are among casino-goers worldwide, slot machines are the least understood of all modes of gambling. That is a curious fact given the billions of dollars that are collectively wagered on them every year, perhaps best explained by the tens of millions of dollars in revenue they generate for casino owners. Casinos aren't going to give out any more information than they have to, which leaves it up to players who wish to be informed to do their own research. Here's a question from a reader that address the popular second screen bonus round component of video slots: Is the outcome of the bonus round set as soon as you hit the play button? With a game like Jackpot Party, has it already been determined that no matter what presents you select you are only going to get a predetermined amount of wins? Does it really matter which presents you pick? Is there any random thing happening on a bonus round? Unlike the base game in which the configuration of the grid of symbols is determined the instant you initiate a play, the touch screen decisions that players make during bonus rounds really do have an impact on the outcome. The Jackpot Party multi-tier progressive from WMS Gaming is a perfect example...read more