Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 592

Free money when using match play coupons

Dear Mark: By showing my driver's license at our local casino, I get a casino "fun" book. One of the coupons in it is a match play coupon for $10. What would you recommend as a bet when using it. Danny H. Match play coupons are often found in casino fun books and can often be had by going up to the casino cage and just asking for one...read more

Comments about slots on cruise ships

Here are some of the comments I've received about slots on cruise ships: The slots on a cruise ship have paid me and my friends the same as or better than those in land-based casinos. One fun thing is a slot tournament, where a $20 entry fee can return a $500 first prize...read more

Heard it on the river

GEORGE STADLER is the new GM at SAM'S TOWN taking over for TED BOGICH who was promoted for the good job he did here to BOYD GAMING'S BLUE CHIP casino in Indiana. Stadler comes with local market knowledge from working at CASINO AZTAR in Caruthersville and he also put in a stint in LAUGHLIN, NV...read more

The Greatest Craps Player of All Time

I have written about this man in five books, the latest being The Craps Underground: The Inside Story of How Dice Controllers Are Winning Millions from the Casinos! As I write this, he is a healthy octogenarian who still plays craps once a week...read more

Pitching Aces; track stats series new GBC arrivals

As spring training arrives, so do requests for books on baseball betting, baseball statistics, lifetime records for various players and the other related topics. Too, as the weather improves so does the enthusiasm for thoroughbred racing. With those thoughts in mind, here are some vital resources for the baseball bettor and horseplayer, fresh off the presses and new at Gambler's Book Shop...read more

Expect the Spectacular from the New Horseshoe Casino

The new Horseshoe Casino, which is currently under construction and slated for opening in the summer of 2008, will be in sheer scope and size the closest thing to a Las Vegas-style land-based casino experience Greater Chicago area gamblers have ever seen. The Thrifty Gambler had an opportunity to chat with Rick Mazer, senior vice-president and general manager of the Horseshoe, to get a little insight into what we can expect when the $485-million project is completed about a year and a half from now. The Thrifty Gambler: What impact will the new casino have on the existing market? Rick Mazer: Our example was demonstrated in Atlantic City where there was a lot of similar product over a period of time, with some basic differentiation, until Borgata came along...read more

Why fewer decks at Blackjack are better, and when they're not

Most blackjack buffs have heard that the fewer the decks from which cards are dealt, the better the shot for players. So, all else being equal, single decks offer the best possible games. It's true. Some people think only card counters benefit...read more

Playing a pair of 9s in blackjack

If you're a blackjack player, and have never looked at a basic strategy table, you should. It's a tidy little grid, with possible player hands down the side, and possible dealer face-up cards across the top. Find the rectangle directly across from your hand, and directly down from the dealer's, and the basic strategy table tells you whether to hit, stand, split, double down or even surrender, if the house permits such a thing. Mostly the plays fit into neat little groupings, as you can see if you check out charts such as those on Michael Shackleford's Wizard of Odds site, at http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack...read more

Have slot paybacks gone down?

John, First let me say that I enjoy your comments and your insight to all the questions that have been asked. I understand so much more about slots now than I ever thought I would. My question is this, do you think that the payback percentages of the slot machines are lower today than they were in the past few years? My personal experiences would say yes, but maybe I'm just having a run of bad luck along with everyone else that we play slots with...read more

Heard it on the river

Seems a bit slow around Tunica Towne, but it might be me and the alien thing in my body that won't go away. Not the flu, nor avian virus, but there nevertheless...Maybe I should quit toking on my fine hand-rolled imports from Dominica and elsewhere...read more