Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 766

A Comprehensive Review of Michigan's Tourism Industry

Michigan's casino gaming industry has rapidly become a major component to the state's tourism industry. As the industry expands in Michigan and the acceptance to gaming increases, it is likely that the industry will become even more connected to the state's tourism marketing campaigns...read more

Four Card Poker – Part Two

First of all, I have to say mea culpa. In last week's article describing Four Card Poker, I made a silly error in describing the game. Last week, I stated that the Player gets four cards, and the Dealer gets five cards. In reality, the Player gets Five Cards and the Dealer gets Six Cards! I assure you that all math calculated was calculated using the proper rules of play and it was merely my description that was in error. Last week I analyzed the Basic Strategy provided by Shuffle Master...read more

America's National Game of Chance: VIDEO POKER – Part Two

In our last column we discussed why Video Poker is well qualified to be officially designated America's National Game of Chance. We looked at its popularity, integrity, predictability, skill factors and its learnability. We found the game to be leading in popularity and likely to endure in this important, but not totally sufficient characteristic...read more

Craps Players Hit Jackpot with Promotion

There is news and noteworthy developments from the local casino gambling to report, so let's take a one week hiatus from our analysis of Chicago-area blackjack and concentrate on some headlines you should know about: The Grand Victoria Casino's ongoing "Cash for Craps" bonus has without doubt proved its merit as the most significant table games promotion ever offered in this market...read more

Racing's Con Artists Profiled In Ashforth's Ringers And Rascals

"Racehorses have been drugged to go slower and drugged to go faster. They still are," says David Ashforth in his fascinating new book, Ringers & Rascals (280 pages, paperbound, $16.95). "Sometimes, trainers have simply instructed jockeys not to win; sometimes jockeys have taken the initiative themselves." Ashforth cites the extraordinary record of one of the most crooked jockeys of our time-Australia's Pat Sullivan, who, in the 1950s, confessed he had "pulled, coped, or used batteries or sinkers (lead-lined aluminum horseshoes designed to slow a horse down) on more than 300 of his 1,043 mounts. He was disqualified by the Australian Jockey Club for two years. One of the most audacious fixes occurred in 1898 when "a group of conspirators invented an entire race meeting which bookmakers allowed betting on-the twist was that although the newspapers printed results-no races were ever conducted, although payoffs were listed and bookmakers lost money. The term "ringer" means a horse dishonestly substituted for another (it originated in the United States during and years following the Civil War when many thoroughbreds were "parted from their papers" the authors says)...read more

Penn National's Plans in Rosemont

A shuffle through the Gaming mailbag, which is chock full of questions raised by Penn National's $506 million bid to purchase the Emerald Casino license, build a casino in Rosemont, then turn it back to the state in exchange for a long-term contract to manage the casino. Q...read more

Ask Frank: Poker Tokes

Dear Frank, I like to play poker in the casinos. I find playing in the limit games such as 3-6 to 10-20 that it seems almost impossible to overcome the house cut and the toking of the dealers. I understand that the dealers need some tokes to exist, but I think it gets out of hand...read more

Down under and way up over

Dear Mark, In video poker, which is more valuable, a pair of jacks or a pair of aces? Keith B. It depends, Keith, on the type of video poker machines you are playing. Take for example "Bonus" machines, where four aces pay a lot more than four jacks...read more

If Pavlov Played the Slots, He wouldn't Have Needed a Dog

Conditioning is a central training principle of behavioral psychology. Nearly everybody knows of the experiments by Ivan Pavlov in the early 1900s. Pavlov started by ringing a bell and presenting food simultaneously. When he stopped offering the food, the dogs still salivated at the sound of the bell...read more

Polling the RNG

Hey, John, Great info on slot machines. Let me ask you: On two or three-coin slot machines, is it true that as soon as you drop the first coin you stop the RNG? I know I read it somewhere. Thanks, Joe Dear Joe, Thanks for the kind words about my column. The RNG never really stops running...read more