Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 644

Last column on Harrah's

The letters about Harrah's continue to pour in. Let me clear my inbox with one last mega-column devoted to Harrah's. I'll save my comments until the end. I just want to comment on Harrah's casinos in Las Vegas. I worked the rewards center at the Flamingo when the takeover took place and I can tell you that Harrah's kept telling us that we should never say we were sorry about anything that happened with a customer complaint, that if we stated this we would be admitting we were wrong and we never wanted to own up to this as it might cost Harrah's money. Needless to say, I am no longer there because great customer service is always saying you are sorry...read more

Legal Technicalities and Creativity in Florida

Silly laws create silly barriers, which call for silly solutions. In 1996, the Florida State Legislature, undoubtedly acting with the best intentions, created a mess when it passed a law allowing pari-mutuel outlets to run commercial poker rooms...read more

Can You "Talk the Talk" at the Poker Table?

You're in a three-way Texas Hold'em hand and you've got "big slick" on the "button". The "flop" comes down Q-10-4 "rainbow" giving you a "gutshot" draw and two "overcards". The "big blind" is a "calling station", but the middleman is a "rock"...read more

The wizard arm and bargain blackjack

Dear Mark, I am writing a screenplay with a character who has the ability to affect the outcome of dice on a craps game with his throws. I need a term for such a person who has this skill. Billy F. I'm guessing here, Billy, but I think you are inquiring about a player so gifted at throwing dice that he can alter the conventional odds of the game, not the cutesy-pie player who merely slides the dice in prohibited fashion across the table. In gamblese, Billy, the player you're envisioning is called 'an arm.' As to whether or not such a golden arm actually exists, who can chuck the die with any accuracy is dicey at best...read more

Heard It On The River

When the sleek PAN AM Clipper Connection Boeing 727 touched down gently on the wind-swept runway at Tunica Airport, it carried not only a load of travel agents and other guests, but also the hopes of the County and its important casino business for increased visitation from gamblers and tourists...read more

An Introduction to Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker

Progressive Gaming announced this past week that their hot new table game Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker (THBP) has been approved in Nevada. The game has already been playing in numerous jurisdictions with much success, and adding the game to the Nevada scene should only give it that much more exposure...read more

Stay Away from Proposition Bets

When we first started talking about craps, I told you that the game is not as complicated as it looks if you break it down into its parts and learn one part at a time. I warned you, though, that if you start to get impatient and want to jump ahead of our lessons, whatever you do, stay away from the bets in the middle of the layout. Remember, I told you those were sucker bets and that I would explain why later? Well, it's now later, and it's time to discuss those bets...read more

Strip Casinos That Take Commissions on Buy Bets Only on a Win

Hi, Mr. Scoblete, Just a quick note to tell you how much I have learned from and enjoyed your books! I mostly want to play craps, but even the stuff you write about games I'll probably never play, like Spanish 21, is great fun and gives insight into the world of the casino...read more

Baseball Prospectus; Krieger's Secrets Hot New Items at GBC

Two hot new items just in at the Gambler's Book Club (Gambler's Book Shop) should appeal to baseball bettors and poker players. The new titles are Baseball Prospectus (554 pages, paperbound, $$18.85) and Lou Krieger's newest work in collaboration with Sheree Bykofsky, titled Secrets the Pros Won't Tell You About Winning Hold'em Poker (262 pages, paperbound, $14.95). Baseball Prospectus is valuable to bettors because it projects how teams should do in 2006 based on trades, free agency, young guns up from the minors, management changes and teams on the mend from previous season's injuries...read more

A Different Class of Gambling

If you ever play slot machines or video poker at a Native American casino, there's an important question you must have answered before you gamble your money: What "class" of electronic gaming devices (EGD) are being used at the property? The question is important because of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) written in 1988 by the federal government to provide the framework for what type of gambling the Native American tribes were going to be able to offer on their reservations. The legislators wound up breaking gambling down into three categories: Class I gambling: Non-commercial, social gambling; Class II gambling: Bingo, lotto, punch boards, pull tabs and card games that aren't house-banked; and Class III gambling: Traditional Las Vegas style, state-regulated gambling including slots, video poker and table games. Native American tribes are permitted to conduct Class III gambling on their reservations only if they negotiate compacts with the governments of the individual states in which they are located...read more