Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 691

Do Slot Odds Change Depending on the Number of Coins You Play?

The following e-mail I received from Daniel raises a question about slot machine play that has been asked ever since manufacturers introduced "buy-a-pay" technology that allows players to win more depending on how many coins they play: "I've traveled to Las Vegas once or twice a year for many years and have asked this question of many people but no one seems to know the answer or won't say: 'Do the odds of a slot machine change with the number of coins played?' It seems that if you play one or two coins it pays more often, but when you play max coins it pays more but less often." Answer: Thanks for your question Daniel...read more

Will I Do Better in an Average One-Hour Session in Blackjack or Video Poker?

Q. My wife and I were at Harrah's East Chicago, taking one last look around, and we started talking with one of the slot attendants. She said there were lots of changes coming, and she didn't mean just at Harrah's. Before we could ask what she meant, she was called away...read more

What Is the Dealer's Average Hand in Blackjack?

A few weeks ago, we talked about the fact that overall, 18 is not a good enough hand to win at blackjack. Well then, on average just how good a hand do you need to beat the dealer? Many aspiring students of the game have asked me, "What's the dealer's average hand?" Of the three dozen blackjack books I have on my shelf, none of them contain this specific information per se, and there's a good reason for it...read more

Joe's Yard Games Is the Perfect Summertime Slot

Where I live everybody more or less keeps to themselves. It's peaceful but not exactly neighborly. Occasionally I wish I had a neighbor who likes to fire up the barbecue and invite everyone on the block over for some summertime fun and games...read more

Using The 5-Count in Craps

Dear Frank, First let me start by saying that I love your craps books Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos and Forever Craps. I have a question when using the 5-Count. I was playing in Detroit the other day using the 5-Count on the 6 and the 8...read more

. . . And don't look back!

Dear Mark, I am going out to Las Vegas in a few weeks to do a lot of gambling. I've been working on a method for playing blackjack that I want to try, but I recently read an article online that made me worry my system would not even be playable...read more

A Different Way to Deal Blackjack

Dear Frank, I recently played blackjack in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. In both casinos, the dealer dealt himself (or herself) one card face up. The dealer then did not take a second card until all players had played their hands. Normally I would think that this would not affect Basic Strategy...read more

Harrington on Hold 'em Red Hot; Beyond Tells Takes Mental Approach

World Series of Poker Champion (1995) Dan Harrington has done it again. The classy, consistent tournament player's latest book, Harrington on Hold'em--Volume 2, The Endgame (450 pages, paperbound, $29.95) has arrived at Gambler's Book Shop as has Beyond Tells (Power Poker Psychology) by James McKenna (253 pages, paperbound, $15.95). Harrington's first book, Volume 1 Strategic Play was a huge hit and the second (by a way, a third is planned for next year) became the hottest read for serious players virtually overnight...read more

Comps Part Two: How to Stretch Your Comps

True story time. I played three days at a very nice Las Vegas casino, just a cut below Bellagio, where I was RFB, which meant I was a big shot and got everything "free" - gourmet restaurants, room service, shows, limos, and a big, big-shot suite with two bathrooms, a Jacuzzi, a living room, dining room, four televisions, a huge bedroom, and a stable for my polo ponies...read more

America's Greatest Horse Race Also the Toughest to Handicap

It's rather unfortunate that for a sport desperately seeking to build a new base of fans, the one horse race that everybody pays attention to also happens to be the most difficult of all to predict the winner. That point was driven home again this year at historic Churchill Downs when 50-1 longshot Giacomo stunned 19 opponents and the entire racing world by winning the 131st running of the Kentucky Derby. The frustrations experienced by Derby bettors do not necessarily translate to the day-in, day-out races held at tracks around the country...read more