Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 654

Who Owns Tokens Left in Slot Machine Trays? Or How to Turn 5¢ Into A Fortune - By Suing the Casino

Stella Romanski found a nickel token in a slot machine tray and won a jackpot, thanks to a runaway jury and judges who think casinos have too much money. Stella, 72, and her friends, Dorothy Dombrowski and Linda Holman, had paid $9 each for bus rides and a lunch buffet at the MotorCity casino in Detroit...read more

"No Limit" and "Limit" Poker Are Two Different Animals

Each year, I pretty much split my card-playing time between poker and blackjack. You may not think so, but considerable insight for one game can rub off on you while playing the other. As an example, I was playing blackjack the other night and the young male dealer kept staring over my head behind me...read more

Changing slot percentages for the weekender crowd doesn't happen

Dear Mark, Who sets the payout percentages for large progressives like Megabucks? Do they change those percentages on the weekends when it is busier? Douglas D. To eat up your latter question first, “Do casinos take a screwdriver to their slots on the weekends to tighten them up?”, the answer is no...read more

Get Hold of Basics of Texas Hold'em Poker

I haven't been playing fair with you. For the last few weeks, I've been talking about Texas Hold'em Poker but haven't explained how the game is played or defined any terms. When I mention check or raise or even check/raise, someone who has never learned any poker game won't understand. So, what I thought I would do is run through how a hand is played, then explain in more detail each part of the play...read more

"Easel Money" Turns Slot Playing into an Art

In a previous life I was involved with a classic starving (broke) artist. So when I saw IGT's Easel Money video slot on a recent visit to my friendly neighborhood casino, I just laughed out loud. Imagine, the words "easel" and "money" together! Well, easy money was never part of our relationship...read more

How Do Video Poker Paradigms Differ from One Another?

Video poker comes in a flood of flavors. The overwhelming majority of offerings fits one of three basic paradigms: jacks or better, deuces wild, and joker wild. And this is generally a player's primary choice. None of these fundamental options is inherently superior to any other. The usual standard of comparison, "return percentage," depends on payoffs within games as opposed to contrasts among types...read more

Gamblers With Tax Questions Will Find Help In Two Books

Gamblers with tax questions will find help in two particular titles -- one very new, another a respected reference that the pros have been using for years - arriving just in time to help with tax questions. The two books are How To Turn Poker Playing Into a Business (Knowing What to Deduct to Improve Your Odds With the IRS) by Ann-Margaret Johnston (122 pages, paperbound, $19.95) and The Tax Guide for Gamblers by Roger and Yolanda Roche -- Sixth Edition (64 pages, paperbound, $29.95)...read more

Heard it on The River

While thousands of serious poker players continue to crowd through Tunica, especially at GRAND CASINO where the WORLD SERIES of POKER is unfolding and at GOLD STRIKE where the WORLD POKER OPEN rules, there are numerous smaller events that players can enjoy...read more

A Craps Dealer Writes

Dear Frank: Hello, I just read your article about the "Best and Worst Crap Dealers in Vegas" and I have to say thank you for writing it. I'm a baby craps dealer (nine months). I recently got hired at a Strip property for BJ, Roulette, etc...read more

Time Is Money in the Casino - Part 2

If time is money at casino table games --- and we saw last week that it is --- it's doubly so on slot machines and video poker, where we play much faster. How much faster? A blackjack player at a full table plays about 50 hands an hour. On reel slots and video poker, I usually figure 500 hands as an easy steady pace at reel slots and video poker, and video slots with bonus rounds at about 300 spins an hour...read more