Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 474

Black Book, Workbooks packed with betting angles, systems

With pro and college football around the corner, the smartest, most disciplined bettors have begun serious searching for information about teams, patterns, angles. In effect they are arming themselves for a six-month war — their bankroll against that of bet-takers — and a few pieces of betting ammunition are already available. Among the newly arrived books helpful to sharpshooting handicappers are Marc Lawrence's Black Book: A Guide to Picking College and Pro Football Winners (107 pages, 8x11 plastic spiralbound, $29.95); The NFL & NCAA Football Power System Workbook (65 pages, 8x11 paperbound, $24.95); Mike Hillin's Las Vegas Line-Maker Workbook (71 pages, 8x11 plastic spiralbound, $19.95), RME's NFL Workbook (72 pages, 8x11 plastic spiralbound, $16) and NCAA College Workbook (124 pages, 8x11 plastic spiralbound, $20). Lawrence's Black Book is unique among angle books because it offers true believers 100 percent winning and losing plays for both college and pro teams, along with dozens of weekly plays...read more

The worst bets at craps

The Captain of Craps, the legendary Atlantic City player who is the world record holder for the longest roll before a seven out (147 rolls!) calls the worst bets at the craps table the Crazy Crapper bets because you have to be crazy to make them...read more

Penny Slots: Small But Mighty Revenue Generators

The term "penny slots" is a misnomer. The machines should correctly be classified as dollar games that can be played in units of one cent. That's the only conclusion to be drawn, given the fact that the multi-line/multi-coin play action of penny games translates into dollars per spin for a majority of casino goers who have migrated to the games in droves. The popularity of penny games is a phenomenon at casinos nationwide, all the way from the mega-resorts on the Las Vegas Strip to regional gaming jurisdictions, including the Chicago area. Even Horseshoe Casino Hammond, the last bastion of a penny-free casino slot floor, recently made the plunge by introducing 256 of the games to its inventory. There is, however, a huge difference between dedicated dollar games and penny games, which for all practical purposes are played in dollars. The overall payback on true dollar slots generally hovers around the 93 to 95 percent range, meaning that is the amount of total money wagered on the games that is returned to players as a collective group. The same figure for penny games ranges from 84 percent to 89 percent in this particular market, which means players as a whole receive far less return while the casinos generate far greater profits. A graphic example is Ameristar East Chicago, which has embraced penny slots to such an extent that it is the runaway leader in this category of games among all casinos in Illinois and Indiana by a wide margin. At the start of 2008, 659 of the 1,896 slots at Ameristar were penny games...read more

Would that jackpot have been mine?

A number of years ago, I was playing video poker at the Stardust in Las Vegas. A gentleman next to me was having a tough time, going through three $20 bills on a quarter game in nothing flat. He decided to see if he could change his luck, so he moved down one machine to try again...read more

Playing It Smart: Is no-commission baccarat an impetus or an impediment?

Baccarat buffs are generally irked by the commission the house collects from the payoffs when bets on Banker win. They earned it, and should be able to keep it all, not have to give some of it back. Right? Guess what! The casinos dislike the commissions, too...read more

Why is $1,200 the threshold for a W-2G?

Hi, I was wondering how the government came up with $1,200 as the magical amount that can be taxed. I was lucky enough to hit a royal for $1,050 and didn't have to fill out any paperwork. Thanks, Colleen Dear Colleen, Congratulations on your royal! Some players take taxes into account when choosing a machine to play...read more

Betting advice for a lucky roller

Dear Frank: I'm hoping for some direction from you. I'm on the east coast like you and play at Atlantic City. I'm actually a tournament poker player mostly at the Borgata casino. When I'm done with poker I play craps as a way to relax and wind down...read more

Comparing lotteries and slot machines

I really enjoyed your book The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots. The money management helped a lot. Now, for my question. Is there a way to compare the lottery with the slot payback percent, for example, the payback on dollar slots versus the odds of 1 in 350,000 of a lottery win? Enjoy your writings as they help me try to understand the slots and why they do what they do. Thanks for you time, Steve Dear Steve, Thanks for the kind words about my book and columns. We can compare the payback on a lottery with the payback on a slot...read more

Playing Craps With a Limited Bankroll

Hi Stickman, I'm sure you've simulated most every popular system out there. If you had a max bankroll of $2,000, what craps system or strategy would you recommend playing? I've simulated playing a don't pass bet with odds along with a don't come bet, with a positive outcome...read more

College, pro football trend notebooks make handicapping fun

For more than 20 years Bob Frederick has provided football bettors with an easy, fun way to handicap hundreds of games annually. His books are excellent for that occasional "need a winner quick" maven or for those who need guidance and shortcuts to enter a weekly contest. The College Football Trend Notebook (145 pages, 8x11 paperbound, $34.95) contains 303 winning trends hitting at least 70% efficiency and the NFL Football Trend Notebook Sides and Totals (80 pages, 8x11 paperbound, $34.95) has 185 winning trends with a minimum of 70% efficiency). A unique feature of both books is showing you what would be categorized as a "workout" of past seasons simply a guide to indicate if a trend has begun to break down after being hot or has begun to be "choppy" in consistency or maintains a red hot, consistent pattern in recent years. Looking at the college version, the bettor can salivate over the fact that Michigan is 8-0 as a dog against Notre Dame since 1978...read more