Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 591

Are simultaneous jackpot hits on a progressive link possible?

Hi, John, Many casinos now offer their players rows of same game slots that have a common progressive payout. When the jackpots get high, these machines get a lot of play with many players all hitting the spin buttons at what could be the same times. Have you ever heard of two (or more) players hitting a jackpot at precisely the same moment, or is each machine programmed to hit at the expense of another machine not hitting? I enjoy your column and always learn a lot. Thanks, Ron Dear Ron, Thanks for the kind words about my columns. You asked a great question...read more

Switcheroo allowed with this blackjack hybrid

Dear Mark: I just returned from a stay at Harrah's Reno where they were pushing a new game called Blackjack Switch. The player must make two bets of equal size and is dealt two hands. The player then can switch the second card of each hand to improve one or both hands before standing or hitting...read more

Jest for Fun

Gambling may be described as a narcotic that arrests human intelligence long enough to get money from it. * * * * * "You're cheating!" the card dealer said to one of the players. "No, I'm not!" the player said. "You must be," said the dealer. "You're not playing the hand I dealt you." * * * * * "We saw the erupting volcano attraction at the Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas." "What?" "Volcano - you know, one of those things that belches and spits fire." "You mean, you saw my mother-in-law there?" * * * * * During World War II some GIs were playing poker in a British pub with some of the local men...read more

Learn your table-game lessons: Part one, roulette, baccarat and mini-baccarat

The two most popular table games in the casinos are blackjack and craps. About 11 percent of all players play these games. Yet, the total of the entire table game genre is greater than the combined blackjack/craps segment. The "other-games" segment makes up about 15 percent of all casino players...read more

Murray's Betting Baseball a gem -- Must-read for '07

It doesn't even take all the fingers on one hand to count the number of significant books devoted to betting baseball making an appearance in the past 20 years. Two that come to mind are Mike Lee's Betting the Bases and Robert Ross' Betting to Win on Baseball ...read more

Sports betting, poker and other reader questions

Q. What is your view on someone physically in Las Vegas placing bets on behalf of other people? Is this legal? It seems to me that if the bet is being placed where betting on sports is legal, there would be nothing wrong with it. Bob C. A...read more

Holding two pair in bonus poker deluxe

I was sitting at a video poker machine, just minding my own business and waiting for four of a kind to come, when the couple next to me started talking strategy. She was playing Bonus Poker Deluxe and was dealt a pair of Jacks and a pair of 5s, along with a 3...read more

The RNG in a video poker machine

In an article about slots you wrote, "The RNG continuously generates 100 or more numbers each second." Does this also apply to VP machines? In general, how many different "cards" are generated each second by the RNG? The RNG in a video poker machine will also generate 100 or more numbers each second...read more

Having fun playing slots

Ah, slot machines with their lights flashing and melodies playing - row after row of these ubiquitous machines crammed in every imaginable space on the casino floor. They are by far the most popular game in casinos today. And why not? At what other casino game can a gambler simply drop in a few coins and have the possibility of winning thousands - or even millions - of dollars? Today's wide selection of slot machines is a far cry from the machines of a few decades ago...read more

Advanced Blackjack Plays Aggravate Other Players

Once a blackjack player learns most of his correct hand-playing strategy, he can quickly recognize novices by their dumb mistakes. The irony is, sometimes a true blackjack expert will make the same bizarre play as a novice, but for a totally different reason...read more