Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 572

Craig's Full Tilt Poker book perfect tutor

Michael Craig (if the name's familiar, he authored the super cash game chronicle titled The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King), has hit another home run, this time with the perfectly-timed The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide (Tournament Edition) ...read more

Sixty-Sixty Over and Out

The measure of greatness for a single craps hand are time, the multitude of numbers hit, and how much money you make. The longer a craps roll lasts, the slower the game goes since more and larger bets have to be paid off. So the hand starts fast and as time progresses tends to go slower with each passing profit...read more

Double-deck blackjack can be a wolf in sheep's clothing

Double-deck blackjack is a novelty in the Chicago area gaming market. When two decks of cards are used in a game instead of the six and eight decks that have become the norm at casinos across the country, serious players will usually take notice. There's an implication of player advantage that surrounds blackjack played with two decks of cards, a throwback to the good old days of the single-deck game...read more

Every World Series of Poker brings its own stories

Every World Series of Poker brings its own stories, adding to the lore that began when Johnny Moss won the first event in 1970, by vote of his fellow players. No chip count, no last man standing. The eight players who gathered at Binion's Horseshoe on Las Vegas' Fremont Street voted on who had played best...read more

How casinos choose payoffs: Ranked hands with elective probabilities

Casinos set returns on bets -- primarily to achieve a desired edge, and secondarily to get payoffs in round numbers for the convenience of all concerned. On wagers with unalterable probabilities, such as those at craps, options are limited...read more

Looking for machines that pay both ways

Hi, Regarding whether or not California Indian Casinos have to report the percentage of payback, I had an issue about this and called the Indian Gaming Commission here in California, and I was told that they do not have to tell us what percentage they pay out...read more

New bet in Detroit

I recently received a letter from Nick in Ann Arbor asking about a new bet at the MGM Grand in Detroit. Here is his letter: First off let me state that I enjoy reading your articles at scoblete.com. Now on to the question. MGM Grand in Detroit has created a new wager to compete with the "fire bet" found at a competing casino. Here is the bet in a nutshell...read more

Am I due to hit a royal?

I like to play the penny slot machines that have bonus rounds. My question is about the icons on the bonus rounds that have amounts underneath or a stopper. Are all the amounts locked in once the pictures appear on the screen, or can the machine change the payoff from an amount to "the stopper" once you've selected an icon? Do the selections go by an RNG, or is the whole screen set and it is just bad luck when you keep selecting the stopper on the first one each time? Thanks for the info. Linda Dear Linda, There are two ways the icons can get be assigned a value...read more

Jest for fun

Joe: "You took your girlfriend to Las Vegas and lost $1500." Bill: "Yeah. That's all she had." * * * * * Blessed is he who expects nothing from the casino for he shall never be disappointed. * * * * * A man entered a restaurant in one of those European-themed casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. When served a dinner, he looked down at the plate and said to the waiter, "My, the portions here seem awfully small." "Oh, that's merely an optical illusion," said the waiter...read more

Two New Mafia-Related Books Make For Interesting Reading

For a while, I thought Mafia-related books, including histories and biographies, were done, as if publishers had their fill and didn't want to produce more. Maybe the fact this is the 60th anniversary of Bugsy Siegel's demise in Beverly Hills (1947) that's brought renewed interest in The Mob...read more