Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 705

New Buffalo Casino One Step Closer to Reality

On Thursday March 24th, a federal district court dismissed a four year old case that has prevented the Pokagon Band of Pottowatami Indians from proceeding with the construction of a casino in New Buffalo, Michigan. The lawsuit brought on by the Taxpayers of Michigan Against Casinos ("TOMAC") had enjoined the Bureau of Indian Affairs from placing land into trust for the Four Winds Casino Resort project...read more

Holding Kickers is Never Correct in Video Poker

One of the biggest advantages of gambling with Video Poker is that every bit of statistical data about the game is known in advance. In table poker, only the rudimentary probabilities can be expressed in absolute terms. For example, nobody knows for certain what advantage (or disadvantage) can be associated with holding a kicker, since it depends heavily on the characters of the participants and what cards they are holding. In Video Poker we can assess the average effect of the kicker with great precision...read more

New Book about Texas Hold'em a Hands Down Winner

Barry Shulman, the publisher of the world's most widely read poker magazine, Card Player, The Poker Authority, has seen interest and subscriptions in his publication increase dramatically the last couple of years in the wake of the resurgence of popularity of poker in general and Texas Hold'em in particular. He's clearly passionate about the game, not only from a journalistic standpoint but also a professional and personal one: In addition to being a gifted writer and savvy businessman, he just happens to be a well known world class poker champion with several major tournament victories, including a coveted world championship gold bracelet at the 2001 World Series of Poker. With that all-encompassing poker resume to his credit, there's no wonder a good deal of excitement has been generated among devotees of the game with the release of his new book, 52 Tips for Texas Hold'em Poker, published by Card Player Press of Las Vegas, Nevada...read more

How to Use the Volatility Choices Offered by the New Slot Machines

Everyone knows that casinos have an edge on every bet they book. Yet, this isn't the whole story of gambling. Players can win despite the edge. Or lose but get enough play making bets of moderate size, starting with affordable stakes, to deem their dough well spent...read more

A Shuffle through the Blackjack Gaming Mailbag

A shuffle through the Gaming mailbag, with the blackjack brigade checking in this week: Q. I was playing at Harrah's Joliet with some buddies, and there was a guy who was making mistake after mistake. He was standing on all his 16s, no matter what the dealer showed...read more

Pitching Your Own Slot Machine

I was just wondering if there is any way to know which slot machines at a casino will pay out before playing them? I was also wondering if it's better to play the progressive machines or the regular machines? And which denomination is better to play -- pennies, nickels, quarters, dollars, etc.? I also wanted to know when playing a machine and your money runs out on it...read more

There's No Such Thing as a Bust Card in Blackjack

The little man on my left was having a good run at blackjack. He was an aggressive player by nature -- probably too aggressive. He would double down and split pairs about every chance he had, and he'd won most of them. Now he was dealt 4/3 for a total of 7 against the dealer's 6 up...read more

Playing the Penny Slots

What is a straight multiplier machine? Love the penny slots. Any suggestions on the best way to play them? Straight multipliers are machines on which each coin pays the same amount for each winning combination. The payouts on the second coin are exactly twice those of the first coin; the payouts on the third coin are exactly three times those of the first coin, etc...read more

Casinos offer kitchen table kid's game

Dear Mark, What do you know about a game called Battle Royale? Is it the same game and odds as the game of War that I’ve seen offered in the casino? Kevin T. Yes, Kevin, Battle Royale is a variation of the same game that you played as a youngster at the kitchen table and analogous to the game of War offered in some casinos. With War, you and the dealer receive one card each, and the high card wins...read more

Whee Doggies! It's Beverly Hillbillies Bubblin' Crude!

It wasn't long ago that I was in a casino and every 30 seconds or so I could swear I heard Jed Clampett shout, "Whee doggies!" from the back corner. Finally I had to go investigate. It wasn't old Jed but his TV show's namesake slot machine! I was dying to play it! The only problem was all three machines were occupied and standing behind the players were people lined up waiting for their turns...read more