Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 552

Beginner's Dice: Ten Easy Steps to Learning the Game, Part Two

Step Three: The Odds Bet Playing the Pass Line and Don't Pass are good bets but the player can reduce the house edge even further by taking advantage of a bet called "the Odds." Here's how the Odds option works: The 7 can be made six different ways with two dice...read more

Ameristar Gets Down to Business in East Chicago

Veteran gaming industry executive Timothy D. Wright knows the casino business inside and out. It's one of the reasons the hierarchy of Ameristar appointed him senior vice president and general manager of Resorts East Chicago as the first order of business after officially taking over the property nearly two months ago. The process of change has already begun, but according to Wright it's going to a gradual one to keep in step with the plans Ameristar has mapped out for its highly anticipated entry into this market. "While we're looking within a 12-month window to have the re-branding of the property complete, in the months to come you'll start seeing some significant improvements to the property from an aesthetic standpoint," Wright told me...read more

Chicago-Area Video Poker

Q. I'm about to lose my upper tier status on my player rewards card, and I think it's just because I've been in a losing streak. I go back and forth between quarter and dollar video poker. My budget is the same as it always was, but the money just doesn't seem to go as far...read more

When is a penny machine not a penny machine?

John, Regarding the integrity of the Indian casinos, one thing that eats up the bankroll is the high rate per play, even on nickel machines. Based on my visits at the Hard Rock Seminole Casino and the Coconut Grove Casino in South Florida, I've observed that you can only play popular games for a minimum of 15 or 20 credits, where at other casinos you can play the same machines for as few as one to 15 credits...read more

Advice for a Novice Gambler

Aloha From Hawaii, Frank, I have questions. I am relatively new to gambling. Mostly trying my luck with blackjack, not so much craps. I play the basic strategy and play pass + odds with buying the 6/8. I was wondering where you think the best tables are on the Strip for craps, blackjack, and baccarat...read more

Are the paybacks the same on progressives?

Is the percentage payback on $1 Jeopardy progressive machines the same irrespective of the machines' geographical location, e.g., Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Foxwoods, etc. or location within an area, e.g., different casinos in Atlantic City or location within a given casino? Thanks. According to the par sheets for progressive machines I've seen, I would say that all of the machines in one gaming jurisdiction have the same long-term payback percentage, but machines in a different jurisdiction may have a different long-term payback. So, all the Jeopardy progressives in Atlantic City have the same long-term payback and all the Jeopardy progressives in Nevada have the same long-term payback, but the two paybacks are not necessarily the same. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, John Dear John, I came across your site...read more

Deal Me In: Those teachable electrons

Dear Mark: I played on a video poker game where you were guaranteed at least one deuce. If, as you say, the machine deals each randomly, how can I be guaranteed a deuce? Gary N. The casinos where I live, Gary, don't offer the variation of video poker you write of: Deuce on the Deal from Bally's, where you have the option of playing five extra coins to guarantee you at least one deuce on the opening hand. Without some field testing where I would usually take a whack at this version of video poker, I am guessing with reasonable certainty that the machine still uses a random number generator, but it has been programmed to keep spitting out hands until one of them contains a deuce...read more

Winning at Blackjack Isn't What You Want It to Be

A while back, I was hired to do a four-session blackjack seminar for about 15 people. I knew that, as usual, my first hurdle would be to cure all the players/students of their false beliefs about the game. Maybe twenty minutes into the first night, I was fervently preaching how most players bet their money according to all the wrong criteria...read more

Beginner's Dice: Ten Easy Steps to Learning the Game, Part One

The oldest known form of gambling saw primitive man carving symbols into the ankle bones of various deceased animals, usually sheep, sometimes wild animals that were respected as a source of food or strength, and even into the ankle or knee bones of deceased humans, usually relatives, but sometimes respected warriors from other tribes...read more

More on checking a slot machine's performance

Hi, John, I just read your response regarding the question about the 3% variance checks and I felt that your answer missed the mark. Variance checks are something I also do on a monthly basis at my casino. What the writer is referring to is the NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission) MICS (Minimum Internal Control Standards). The section of the MICS entitled Standards for Evaluating Theoretical and Actual Hold Percentages has a sub-section that reads: "(18.) For those machines that have experienced at least 100,000 wagering transactions, large variances (3%) between theoretical hold and actual hold shall be investigated and resolved by a department independent of the gaming machine department with the findings documented and provided to the Tribal gaming regulatory authority upon request in a timely manner." The department ".....read more