Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 574

Responses to paybacks at Indian casinos

My word. Reading your last e-mail column, I was astounded to read "I don't trust Indian casinos" and other such defamatory nonsense. We have always done much better at these casinos than in the more competitive casinos nearby. On a recent trip to South Dakota, we stopped at a casino on the Pine Ridge Reservation and came out with a lot more than we went in with...read more

Inquiring minds want to know

Dear Mark: In poker, is it taboo to ask opponents how they would play a particular hand? Jim F. Not only is there nothing wrong with asking opponents for their opinions, Jim, I actually encourage it. Nothing gives you more information about how an opponent plays than simply asking...read more

Beating the Blackjack Dealer Is Tougher Than It Looks

I was playing blackjack and the player next to me had a pair of 7s against a dealer's 7 up. He split them, which was the correct play even though he ended up losing both hands. "How do they do it? I'm supposed to get two pushes there", he complained...read more

Point spread playbook arrives

For almost three decades, the first book ready for the pro football season has been Al O'Donnell's Point Spread Playbook (111 pages, 8x11 paperbound, $19.95). It's been a bettor's favorite each year because it's accurate, reasonably priced and not only goes back three years for spreads and totals, but also offers suggested betting angles for the 2007 season...read more

Getting the Edge at Roulette: Part One

Dice is probably the oldest form of gambling. Dice could be made from animal bones decorated with symbols and, yes, that's why we call dice "bones" to this day, even though today's dice are made from Cellulose Acetate. Primitive man used those dice extensively and some of the dicers were even buried with them...read more

"Dice Dominator" on Biography Channel, June 26 and June 27

You have to see this one! The story of Dominator and Frank Scoblete's meeting and the forming of their unbeatable team called "Golden Touch Craps." Frank "You're a dead man!" Scoblete is portrayed as a... well, see for yourself. Frank says, "I have a famous line I would never say!" It's on the BIOGRAPHY Channel...read more

Casino Comps Less Personal but Just as Valuable

Ever since gaming legend Benny Binion began the casino industry tradition of serving complimentary drinks to customers at his downtown Las Vegas casino back in the 50's, "freebies" are something gamblers have come to expect. No one who includes casino gambling as part of their regular entertainment wants to pay for food or beverage, or for that matter hotel rooms and anything else, during their casino visits. The casino gambling industry uses "comps", as they are known in the trade, not only to grow business but to create loyalty among existing customers and keep them on property and away from the competition's doors...read more

How can quarter slots have a higher long-term payback percentage than five-dollar slots?

It's no secret among slot players that higher-denomination machines pay back more than lower-denomination games. Nickel machines have higher paybacks than pennies, quarters higher than nickels, dollars higher than quarters and so on. The high rollers who take a spin on the $25 or $100 slots are getting the highest paybacks at all --- though they're still not getting as good a deal as a blackjack player who learns basic strategy or a craps player who bets pass plus free odds. Nonetheless, not every high-limit game is a high-payer, and not every low-denomination machine is a coin gobbler...read more

Playing it smart - How casinos choose payoffs

Many gambling propositions either win, lose, or push, and have probabilities that can't be adjusted within the constraints of the game. Double-zero roulette offers examples. A wager on a 12-number column has a probability of 12 out of 38, roughly 31.6 percent, because of the design of the wheel...read more

Heard it on the River

There is a big blackjack tournament coming up and you still have time to enter it. THE FITZ is staging its first ULTIMATE BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT, an offspring of the minds of THE MAV and his compatriot, BIG ADOLPH. It has a $500 buy-in that includes two days of play, a comp two-nighter in the newly decorated hotel, a comp breakfast each morn and a tournament gift...read more