Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 789

Why They Should Offer Surrender at Blackjack, but Usually Don't

Enlightened casinos let blackjack buffs surrender their hands, forfeiting half the money bet, instead of playing out the round. Most casinos don't offer surrender. Draw your own conclusions. Late surrender ("late" owing to its taking effect only after dealers verify they don't have blackjacks) is an option the bet bookers ought to ponder more pensively than they do...read more

An odds way of looking at things

Dear Mark, Please pardon this simple question, but could you explain what you meant when you stated in a column being paid "less than true odds." Stan B. True odds, Stan, is the ratio of the number of times a favorable event will occur as compared to the number of times an unfavorable event will happen...read more

Beating the Sneaky Bonus II

Some casinos offer a bonus that is not strictly a bonus but a loss rebate. They agree to refund your losses up to a certain level in exchange for a certain amount of action. For example, a casino may offer to refund your losses up to $30 if you purchase $100 and play it through five times (bet $500 in action)...read more

What Horseshoe Sale Means to Gamblers

The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond occupies a unique position in the Chicago area. In spite of operating with no hotel amenities and a space-challenged 3-floor vessel that has been rendered obsolete in a mature gaming market, the property has evolved into one of the most successful riverboat destinations in the country. It opened under the Empress Casino brand in 1996 when riverboat gaming was legalized in the state of Indiana...read more

Reno's Got the Holiday Spirit!

Reno is getting set for the holiday season. And the casinos are full of color, of activity... new slots... some casinos sporting new ticket-in ticket-out technology. You can't beat it... it's pretty... and it is full of fun for all who choose to come and gamble in Reno every fall...read more

Quicktakes - The month's trends in a glance - October 2003

The Dow Jones Industrials is flirting with the magical 10,000, closing the month at 9800 - the highest month-end since May 2002. GDP increased at a dramatic pace and most of the rest of economic benchmarks are looking better; the economy appears to be healthy and growing...read more

Scobe's Quick Tips: #67 and #68 (Max Coin, Slot Returns)

Scobe's Quick Tip #67 There are only two types of slot machines where playing maximum coin is absolutely essential--the giant, linked progressives such as Megabucks, Quartermania, and Wheel of Fortune, and the "buy-a-pay" type machines where extra coins open up more winning combinations...read more

Changing Paybacks, Slot Clubs

Dear John, I have just started reading your articles and I find them very absorbing from my perspective as a computer programmer/analyst (unemployed, however). I read somewhere that the only way a casino can change a payout percentage is to physically change the chip inside a machine...read more

Heller's Go For The Green (Turf Racing Made Easy) One Of The Best Of '03

Bill Heller's Go For The Green (Turf Racing Made Easy) (150 pages, paperbound, $14.95) is designed for knowledgeable, patient horseplayers who prefer to specialize-in this case pointing to the obvious, grass races. Few studies have been conducted on turf racing, while many great books devote but a chapter or section to the subject...read more

Player's Club Strategy for Couples

If you plan casino outings with any degree of regularity, joining the player's club and using your card every time you play the slots or table games is an essential if you wish to derive maximum benefits from the dollars you wager. As this columnist has emphasized in the past, player's clubs exist primarily as essential marketing tools for casinos to collect data bases and guest profiles...read more