Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 82

Paying the Piper

Slot machine and video poker players who have won jackpots of $1,200 or more know the drill.When the winning combo appears, the machine locks up. A slot attendant checks things out, disappears for a few minutes and reappears with an IRS form W2-G for you to sign...read more

Are Video Poker Machines Biased?

I have good friends who firmly believe that casinos rig video poker machines. They feel the casinos cheat by not giving a random game. They cite some of the following observations in support of their beliefs.Have you ever noticed when you are dealt three-of-a-kind that you almost never get the fourth? What about when you are dealt four of a flush? You almost never complete it – do you? How about four of an open straight? You might as well forget about completing it, right?How many times have you saved four cards and redraw only to get the same rank as the card you discarded?You discard the 3 of hearts and get the 3 of diamonds, discard the 8 of clubs and get the 8 of spades, discard a jack, get a jack, etc.Are the video poker machines rigged? Are they not random (or as random as a computer algorithm can make them)? Are the casinos cheating you? Let’s take a more detailed look. You are dealt three-of-a-kind...read more

The Parlay or Paroli Method

CINDY: Would you say that trend betting is the most common method of play for casino players.ABBY: Yes, probably alongside some form of progressive betting where you raise your bet as you win and lower your bet as you lose. Or the opposite, raise your bet after you lose and so forth.CINDY: I have used trend betting at times at some games...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Another good casino change due to Covid

Last week I wrote that I could think of only one good thing in casinos that resulted from the pandemic. I thought of another one. This change doesn’t affect other people, only me. It’s a change in my attitude. I've stopped picking up almost every gift a casino offers...read more

Internet Slots vs. Casino Slots

Many slot players are now playing more often on the Internet than ever before. The (hopefully ending) pandemic caused most casinos to close and those players who love to take their shots at slots against Lady Luck had nowhere to go but to their own computers.The Internet has hundreds of casinos offering hundreds of slot games; some of the same types of games that you find in the real casinos...read more

Pivot Points

QUESTION: At roulette, this guy a couple of spots down from me was making $5 minimum bets on red or black. Then No. 22 came up, and the guy said, "That's my pivot," and he shifted gears. Now he bet his $5 on 22 on every spin.I'd never heard of a pivot in roulette...read more

Video Poker for You?

The very first video poker game was called Draw Poker.It wasn’t very popular, though. The game required a hand with two pairs or better to win anything. There were not enough winning combinations to seduce gamblers into playing the game.Then someone had the brilliant idea of offering an even money payout for a hand containing a pair of jacks or better...read more

Blackjack's Blind Guides

CINDY: Last week we discussed the tremendous rise of blackjack from just another casino table game into the number one table game in the casino. Blackjack removed the previous leader, craps, and if this were actually a race blackjack would not look back because it won hands down.ABBY: I am guessing that of all the table games, playing blackjack properly takes knowledge that most other games do not require...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Cashless gaming - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Not much good came from the Las Vegas locals casinos' response to the coronavirus pandemic. Some discontinued long-running promotions. Some doubled the action required to earn a point on video poker. Some eliminated daily 3x points. Some cut back on the number of point multiplier days...read more

Hello, I'm Your RNG

I am sure as a slot player you have heard of me. Maybe all casino players have heard of me. I am the random-number-generator or RNG that selects which symbols will come up on your machines when you play it.I am about as random as humanly possible...read more