Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 7

What are the odds of completing a royal flush?

Any video poker player who plays the game regularly has been dealt four cards of a royal flush. When this happens, the player will carefully select each of the four cards to be saved – sometimes even (properly) discarding the fifth card of a flush...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Big, beautiful bill bilks bettors

It was all over the news in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, but it may not have been as big a story on your local news. A provision in the big, beautiful bill (BBB) could cause gamblers to play less in casinos. Obscurely placed in Section 70114, the new law removes the ability for gamblers to deduct 100% of their losses from their winnings from their income taxes...read more

Video poker strategy quirks

Recently I played video poker with an old friend of mine. We sat next to each other playing full-pay jacks or better which combined with five times bonus points made this game a positive expectation game – and, yes, these games are still available, just difficult to find.My friend is a casual player who does not really practice strategy but instead tries to use reason to determine the best plays.As I observed his play, I realized his method worked quite well for him – except for a few select situations.When dealt Ac Kd Jh 5s 3h he held the three high cards where the proper play is to hold just the king and jack...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Notes from my gaming legal pad

The headline caught my attention: "Suit: Wheel of Fortune slot bonus wheel rigged". My first thought: Well, duh! (My first thought, actually, referenced a certain literary detective residing at 221B Baker Street.) Read these quotes from the article in the Las Vegas Review Journal and see if you can find where their case goes off the rails. Four slot-machine players...have filed a class action lawsuit against IGT and five casino companies alleging that the bonus wheel on the popular Wheel of Fortune game is rigged, and that millions of players nationwide are being defrauded. The lawsuit says the bonus wheel’s design is deceptive because even though its segments are of equal size, they don’t have an equal chance of landing on a certain segment because a computer program controls the outcome of the spin. “Before the advent of electronic gaming devices, casinos offered mechanical spinning wheel games of chance to their patrons,” the lawsuit says...read more

How would you play this hand?

The game is full-pay jacks or better. You bet the max of five credits to get the 800-to-1 royal flush pay.You are dealt the following hand:- Ace of spades (As)- Jack of hearts (Jh)- Queen of diamonds (Qd)- 9 of clubs (9c)- 10 of hearts (Th)There are several possible options:- Hold the Ace, Jack, Queen and Ten to go for a high pair, or straight.- Hold the Jack of hearts and Queen of diamonds to go for a high pair, two pairs, three-of-a-kind, straight, full house, or four-of-a-kind.- Hold the Ace, Jack and Queen going for a high pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, or straight.- Hold the Jack, Queen, Nine, and Ten to go for a high pair or straight.- Hold the Jack and Ten of hearts to go for a high pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, or a royal flush.- Hold the lone Ace or Queen to go for a high pair, two pairs, three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush, or royal flush.- Hold the lone Jack of hearts to go for the same as the previous line but without a shot at a straight flush or royal flush, full house, or four-of-a-kind.- Hold the Ace and either the Queen or Jack to go for a high pair, two pairs, three-of-a-kind, straight, full house, or four-of-a-kind.Here is a list of what each hold returns – on average, listed by highest to lowest average return:- Holding the Jack, Queen, Nine and Ten returns 4.0426 credits for five credits bet.- Holding the Ace, Jack, Queen and Ten returns 2.6596 credits.- Holding the Jack and Queen returns 2.4123 credits.- Holding the Jack and Ten returns 2.3867 credits.- Hold the Ace and either the Queen or Jack returns 2.3235 credits.- Hold the lone Ace returns 2.2573 credits.- Hold the lone Queen returns 2.2539 credits.- Hold the lone Jack returns 2.2179 credits.- Holding the Ace, Jack and Queen returns 2.2063 credits.As the list shows, the best return comes from holding the four cards of an open straight...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Increase line bet or denomination?

Question: I enjoyed your article about your Mo' Mummy experience. On all slots, I tend to play the 2@1 option when I can...mainly because when my win shows up, I can multiply it by 2 and feel like I won a lot more. My question is do you think my odds are better playing this way? (I seldom play Mo' Mummy because I resent that little guy giving me false hope.) Answer: Thanks for the kind words. I know what you mean about the mummy being a jackpot tease...read more

Another video poker strategy quiz

Today’s article is a quiz on proper video poker strategy. Rather than the usual one or two hands for a single game, this quiz is for one dealt hand in four different games.See if you can play this hand properly on all four games.Today’s hand contains:- A of clubs (Ac)- A of diamonds (Ah)- A of spades (As)- 2 of diamonds (2d)- 7 of clubs (7c)The contents of this hand generate the same question from many video poker players – that is: “Should I hold the 2 of diamonds kicker along with the three aces?”Obviously, this hand only comes into question when the game being played pays for a four-of-a-kind plus a kicker...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Mo' Mummy, No Problems

I'm a sucker for Egyptian-themed slot machines. A few weeks ago, I wrote about finding a new variation on a mummy-themed slot machine called Mo' Mo' Mo' Mummy. I had played Mo' Mummy in the past. I liked the cute, little mummy character who would show up every once a while...read more

A question about the craps iron cross bet

A question from JohnnyHi Mr. Stickman.I am new to table games in a casino, but craps seems to be a fun game. There seems to be a lot of camaraderie among the players and the excitement seems to run high. It also seems to be a very complex game to play.There are so many different bets that are possible that it is confusing to me...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Scamming a slot club

I finally got around to watching some of the movies I have recorded on my DVR. One of the movies was Hard Eight from 1996. In the first part of the movie, Sydney Brown, an experienced gambler, asks John Finnegan, an inexperienced gambler who has lost all of his money, if he wants to borrow $50 from Sydney and use it to get the casino to give him a room and a meal...read more