Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 477

Balmoral Park Takes Charity Route to Bring in Live Poker

State-regulated casino gaming at Illinois race tracks in the form of racino legislation appears a long shot at the present time, but that didn't stop officials with Balmoral Park Race Track in Crete, Illinois from finding a way around it. The track had a live poker room open the weekend of Aug...read more

Video poker same rank draw experiment

One of the first things I learned about video poker a couple of decades ago is that results are as random as humans can program a computer to be. There is no such thing as perfect randomness, but programmers can get close enough that we might as well say that every card has an equal chance of turning up on every deal and every draw. That's what I've been telling everyone who reads my column or who has heard me speak for going on 16 years now...read more

Where can I buy a used keno machine?

Where can I buy a used multi-card keno machine (IGT)... is someone selling these, or do you have to go through IGT? Used machines are available from many companies. Search for "used slot machines" in your favorite search engine...read more

At Risk or In Play?

I recently received the following e-mail from one of my readers: Hi Don, I've been reading about the "doey-don't" system of placing both a come and don't come (or pass and don't pass) wager. The books claim that this reduces the house edge on the standard line bet...read more

I love roulette

Hi Frank, In regards to my first e-mail which I referred to your book Spin Roulette Gold on pages 204 and 205 on number frequency. Well I play Golden Palace.com for fun money. I spun the wheel 3,800 time to see how many times 00-1-8-10-12-19-25-27-29-31 come up...read more

Blackjack fact or fiction?

Are the following statements about blackjack facts, or are they fiction?Referring to a strategy card when you play blackjack is perfectly legal.A blackjack player who misplays his hand will always cause other players to lose.The third base player can influence a dealer bust by the way he plays his hand.You should always take even money when you have a blackjack and the dealer shows an ace.Splitting a pair of 8s against a dealer 10 and ace is for suckers.A progressive betting system will overcome the house edge.You should always hit 16 against a dealer 10.The increase in the house edge when the casino only pays 6-5 for a blackjack is offset when only a single deck of cards in used.A player who enters a game in the middle of a shoe will alter the flow of the cards and cause the other table players to lose.If you see the dealer's hole card by accident and don't say anything, you are cheating.You need to be a genius in order to be a card counter.It doesn't matter how the casino shuffles the cards.You are cheating if you accept a winning bet that actually lost.If you lose five hands in a row you are due to win the next hand.It doesn't make any difference which seat you take when you play blackjack.Answers.Fact...read more

Voices from the craps tables

Most of the time when you play a casino game you are only interested in yourself — what bets you have made; how much money you have won or lost; whether you should stay or go. Even at a craps table, where cheering with other players is the norm during hot rolls, we really aren't listening to anyone but our own inner self or, perhaps, demons. Listen now, for the voices of craps players are often loud; they can be happy or anxious, miserable or delighted, and what these players have to say is often amusing and informative or crazy...read more

Revised 'Betting Thoroughbreds' better than ever; 'Pick 6' book hot

Steve Davidowitz's classic Betting Thoroughbreds is back in action, this time with an addition to the title -- for the 21st Century. This marvelous book, which was first published in 1977, has undergone a multitude of changes, all for the better, as the betting game has evolved...read more

An Artful Approach to the "Science" of Gambling

I would venture an opinion that a majority of casino goers look upon gaming as more of a recreational activity than an art or a science. There is no arguing the fact that mathematical probability is the constant that governs the strategies behind whatever decision making there is in gambling, which would make it a science. Knowing the math is essential to understanding the concept of gambling, but it isn't necessarily essential to making a bet and being successful. Luck, interpretation, and empirical decision making come into play frequently enough to categorize gambling as an art. There's a school of philosophy known as empiricism; an experimental method in which the search for knowledge is conducted by observation and experiment...read more

Blackjack options

I didn't realize family friend Alex played in casinos. Our conversations tended to be about kids — and in his case, grandkids — sports, music, TV. Just everyday living. So I was slightly surprised when Alex opened a conversation with "I've noticed they change the rules on blackjack sometimes." Yes, they do...read more