Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 757

Counting Online?

Can you count cards online? Don't the online casinos shuffle-up after every hand? Well, no actually. Several casinos offer token penetration (penetration is the term card counters use to describe how many cards are dealt out). Cryptolgic casinos deal 2 virtual decks out of 8...read more

Grand Blackjack to Sizzle in July

July is expected to produce very hot temperatures for the South but in Tunica it will be even hotter with Grand Casino's $100,000 Sizzling Hot Blackjack Tournament. The event is another in Grand's successful blackjack tournament series and will be a two-day event on July 9 and 10...read more

The Question of Hosts

The casinos are a land of many jobs. From the moment you drive up to a property to the moment you leave a property, you will run shoulders, talk to, perhaps argue with, and be serviced by a host of people from valet parkers, to bellhops, to cashiers, security guards, maids, dealers, floorpeople, pit bosses, shift managers and on and on the job descriptions go and where they'll stop…is probably at the word "host." One of the most important jobs in the casinos, from a player's point of view, is that of host...read more

Pro and College Stat Pattern Reports by Isoke Show Factors That Affect the Spread

Andy Iskoe, who's been analyzing pro and college football teams for more than 20 years, has his 2004 Pro Football Statistical Pattern Report (19 pages, 8x11 stapled, $10) and companion work. the 2004 College Football Statistical Pattern Report (16 pages, 8x11 stapled, $10) ready with plenty of time for serious or beginning researchers to do their homework before the season begins...read more

Flush Attack

John, Don't know if you remember me, you must get millions of emails, but I'm a long time fan from NH. We've discussed Connecticut Casinos and retiring early in the past. I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know that I'm still following you on RGT...read more

Finally Some Good News for Illinois Casinos

There are some encouraging developments at Chicago-area casinos in Illinois. The beleaguered properties, which have been pressured into competing at a disadvantage against the casinos in Northwest Indiana, are fighting back with new technology that just may be a harbinger of better days ahead. First, and most importantly, the casinos have at long last been given the regulatory nod from the Illinois Gaming Board to activate the "ticket-in/ticket-out" slot machine capabilities that properties in Indiana began using months ago. Casinos in Illinois began equipping their machines with the technology, which is known as "TITO", last year, but they had to wait for the mandatory system-testing processes to be completed and formal approval from the Gaming Board before the convenience could be activated. Argosy's Empress Casino & Hotel in Joliet, along with the Hollywood Casino in Aurora and the Grand Victoria in Elgin, activated TITO on a limited number of machines within the past week...read more

Split pots and other mysteries

Dear Mark, Is there such a thing as a split pot in Texas Hold'em? For example, if the up-cards are 2-3-8 jack and king, I have a king and an ace, with my opponent having the king and queen, do I win the pot with a pair of kings with an ace high? I believe I do but my friends say I don't...read more

Blackjack Basic Strategy - Part 1

Walking past the cashier's cage at Harrah's in Joliet, I was suddenly aware that someone wanted to talk to me. Something important apparently was on his mind, since he left his place in line, still carrying a stack of chips. "You're John, right?" he asked...read more

Silly Suits

Mr. Brownlow: ...the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction. Mr. Bumble: If that's what the law supposes, sir, then the law's an ass! Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Lawyers and the Law often get a bum rap. It's probably unavoidable, given the system of justice we inherited from England. In countries like France, judges take an active role in discovering the facts of a case, going into the field, interviewing witnesses and the like. In the United States, Canada and the other English-speaking countries, judges act mostly as passive referees...read more

The Casinos Don't Offer New Games To Give Patrons a Break

Applying nebulous qualitative reasoning to precise quantitative quandaries sometimes yields correct conclusions. Often, not. The latter is usually the case in gambling. And this can be costly to players who think they don't have to do their homework. An example involves a game generally called "crapless craps." In this dice variation, twos, threes, 11s, and 12s have no special roles during the come-out but become "points" if hit, to win or lose on subsequent throws...read more