Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 489

A shuffle through the gaming mailbag

Q. My brother-in-law says you and Henry Tamburin and Frank Scoblete all say not to take even money at blackjack. Can you tell me why? It makes sense to me to take a sure $10 when I bet $10 than to hold out for an extra $5 and risk not getting anything. A...read more

Patricia Demauro breaks the Captain's world record

On Saturday evening, May 23, at Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, Patricia Demauro played craps for the second time in her life and rolled 154 numbers before sevening out. This epic roll eclipsed the Captain's previous World Record of 147 numbers. Ms...read more

Slot tournament advice

I am planning to be in a $100,000 slot tournament over Memorial Weekend. I have been told the faster you hit the spin button, the better score you will get. Is this true? Are there any pointers you can give me? Thanks, Sharon Dear Sharon, The faster you hit the spin button, the more spins you can complete in the time alloted for your session...read more

The Lucky Ladies blackjack side bet

Frank, I enjoy reading your books and articles. Lots of good information that I take with me each time I visit the casino. I have read Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution! and have been moderately successful in my blackjack play using the speed count...read more

What are the classes of slot machines?

Can you tell me the difference in classes of slot machines? Thanks, T.D. Dear T.D., The two classes of slot machines are a completely arbitrary distinction that arose from the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). IGRA doesn't really define classes of slot machines...read more

Splitting aces and eights

Always split aces and eights. That is one of the golden rules for blackjack players, but not according to a friend of mine. He insists that splitting eights against a dealer upcard of nine, ten, or ace is crazy because you are probably going to lose anyway, so why double your loss by splitting? Although my friend's logic appears to make sense, it is flawed...read more

Many small wins versus a few big wins

I've had the good fortune to do consulting work for some of the biggest slot manufacturers in the country and often this work will come down to the following question: "Should we program our machines so slot players get many small wins but therefore extremely few big wins; or do we program our machines so slot players get very few small wins but many more big wins?" This question is almost unanswerable in the aggregate because what slot player #1 wants is not necessarily what slot player #2 wants...read more

Smoking Ban May Not Be All That Ails Illinois Casinos

Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, points to the public smoking ban that went into effect on January 1, 2008 as the primary reason for the dramatic drop in casino revenue in the state over the past 15 months. Whereas the four Chicago area casino destinations in Illinois have experienced a drop of over 30 percent from February 2007 to February 2009 according to Swoik, properties in Northwest Indiana show only single digit declines in spite of the weakened economy. Are Illinois gaming enthusiasts flocking to casinos in Hammond, East Chicago, Gary and Michigan City primarily because they can smoke, or are there other reasons? According to the opinions expressed by Illinois resident Karen H...read more

Why do casinos give slot players more comps than video poker players?

Carrie has been playing slot machines for longer than she cares to remember. "There was no video then, just the three-reel games," she told me one day when she phoned to talk about slots and comps. "Blazing 7s, that was the one I liked to play...read more

How easy is it for a casino to tighten slots?

Dear John, I'm reading the reply to the question of tightening machines. I thought it took an act of God for a casino to do that. You did not say anything about that. People still think that, in the middle of a Thursday night, casinos tighten machines for the weekend...read more