Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 71

Jacks or Better versus Bonus Poker Part IV

[An article promoting full-pay (8/5) Bonus Poker as a good alternative when full-pay (9/6) Jacks or Better cannot be found was recently posted here. The article stated that in addition to a good return (99.17 versus 99.54 percent) and low variance, playing strategy is also nearly identical.]I thought it might be interesting to explore playing strategy differences and similarities.This is the fourth of several strategy quizzes on the differences (or lack thereof) between the strategy for various hands played on full-pay Jacks or Better and full-pay Bonus Poker...read more

Cheating

CINDY: Casinos don’t cheat.ABBY: Except in some places but I doubt that any of the casinos almost all of us go to cheat. What’s the point since they have the edge on every game and that should be enough to make them money.CINDY: Agreed. Casinos that go bankrupt probably have poor money management or really great competition...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Sky-high minimums at table games

Question: Yes, bubble craps can reroll the same number. I've rolled 6,6 or 8,8, or even 7,7,7. Until recently it was my fav cuz I use a few systems that work most of the time. One time I made 3,500 starting with a bank roll of 200...read more

Blackjack is Semi-Random

Most casino games have as their underpinning randomness.The bets, the flow of the game, how the casino gets an edge, is usually decided by a random distribution of the elements of the game. To secure the money from the players, the casino makes sure it either wins more decisions at the game or it “taxes” the wins of the player by taking a percent of his or her win...read more

Jacks or Better versus Bonus Poker Quiz III

[An article promoting full-pay (8/5) Bonus Poker as a good alternative when full-pay (9/6)Jacks or Better cannot be found was recently posted here. The article stated that inaddition to a good return (99.17 versus 99.54 percent) and low variance, playingstrategy is also nearly identical.]I thought it might be interesting to explore playing strategy differences and similarities.This is the third of several strategy quizzes on the differences (or lack thereof) betweenthe strategy for various hands played on full-pay Jacks or Better and full-pay BonusPoker.All hands assume the maximum five credit bet.Let’s begin quiz number three.You are dealt this hand: As, Kh, Qd, Jd, 5c.This hand has only two reasonable holds: a four-card, ace-high straight (As, Kh, Qd,Jd) and two cards of a royal flush (Qd, Jd).What would you hold playing full-pay Jacks or Better?The holds in order of decreasing return are:? Qd, Jd – returns 3.0019 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.? As, Kh, Qd, Jd – returns 2.9787 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.Holding the two cards of a royal flush is the proper hold for Jacks or Better.Now let’s look at Bonus Poker.The holds in order of decreasing return are:? As, Kh, Qd, Jd – returns 2.9787 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.? Qd, Jd – returns 2.9463 credits, on average, for the five credits bet.Holding the four-card, ace-high straight is the proper hold for Bonus Poker.For this particular hand, the strategy is different between Jacks or Better and BonusPoker.While the difference in return appears to be fairly small, it does add up.Make sure you are comfortable with all the strategy differences before switching to a different game.As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and small.Jerry “Stickman”Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machineplay...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Casinos cash in on couch cushion change

One outcome of the pandemic is that many consumers eschewed cash and switched to contactless payment methods. That and an increase in online sales led to a shortage of coins circulating in the economy. Instead of going into vending machines and cash register drawers, the dimes and quarters you've been collecting in a jar on your dresser stayed in that jar. Casinos dealt with the coin shortage by reprogramming their ticket redemption machines to dispense bills for the dollars on your ticket and print a ticket for the cents instead of dispensing coins...read more

It's in the Dice

QUESTION: Craps uses six-sided dice. So do most board familiar board games like Monopoly and Yahtzee, and some other casino games like sic bo and chuck-a-luck. My grandmother used to play bunco with six-sided dice.But there are dice with different numbers of faces...read more

Fighting Craps

Craps used to be the favorite casino table game until it was surpassed by blackjack in the mid-1960s. When it was the favorite game, it was dominated by men. World War II taught soldiers, sailors and marines how to play the game and they loved it.Craps was considered a “city game” when in fact it originated along the Mississippi River in the South...read more

Mimic the Dealer?

On an early September evening, I'd just settled in to watch a baseball game when I received a text.It was Blackjack Bob: "You won't believe what I saw today."I muted the TV and dialed up Bob. His stories needed voice, not just text."When's the last time you saw a mimic the dealer player?" Bob asked.It had been some time...read more

Jacks or Better versus Bonus Poker II

[Review: An article promoting full-pay (8/5) Bonus Poker as a good alternative when full-pay (9/6) Jacks or Better cannot be found was recently posted on this website. The article stated that in addition to a good return (99.17 versus 99.54 percent) and low variance, playing strategy is also nearly identical.]I thought it might be interesting to explore playing strategy differences and similarities.This is the second of several strategy quizzes on the differences (or lack thereof) between the strategy for various hands played on full-pay Jacks or Better and full-pay Bonus Poker...read more