Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 9

A question about the craps iron cross bet

A question from JohnnyHi Mr. Stickman.I am new to table games in a casino, but craps seems to be a fun game. There seems to be a lot of camaraderie among the players and the excitement seems to run high. It also seems to be a very complex game to play.There are so many different bets that are possible that it is confusing to me...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Scamming a slot club

I finally got around to watching some of the movies I have recorded on my DVR. One of the movies was Hard Eight from 1996. In the first part of the movie, Sydney Brown, an experienced gambler, asks John Finnegan, an inexperienced gambler who has lost all of his money, if he wants to borrow $50 from Sydney and use it to get the casino to give him a room and a meal...read more

A question on a craps hop bet

A question from Jill in OregonHi Mr. Stickman.I usually play the slots when in a casino, but recently I am watching players at the craps table. The game is much more exciting because there is so much going on. There are so many different bets that can be made...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machines are cold, I need points, and I'm broke

It's near the end of the first half of the year and time to ensure that I have earned enough points, tier credits -- or whatever the casino calls its metric that determines whether you qualify for an upper level in its slot club -- for those clubs that run on a six-month cycle...read more

Video poker multiple games quiz

Today’s article is a quiz on proper video poker strategy. Rather than the usual one or two hands for a single game, this one is for one dealt hand across six different games.See if you can play this hand properly on all six games.Today’s hand contains:- A of clubs (Ac)- 10 of clubs (Tc)- 2 of spades (2s)- 7 of hearts (7h)- 9 of diamonds (9d)It is readily obvious that the only feasible choices are holding the Ace/10 of clubs or the lone Ace of clubs...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Double-entry accounting helps me find my record-keeping error

Einstein purportedly said that compound interest was one of man's greatest inventions. Or maybe he said that it is the most powerful force in the universe. Or maybe he called it the eighth wonder of the world. There is some controversy about what he said about compound interest -- if anything at all! -- but let's go with greatest invention. I would like to make my own nomination for greatest invention: Double-Entry Accounting. According to the AI Overview that now appears at the top of the results from most of my Google searches: Double-entry accounting is a bookkeeping system where every financial transaction is recorded in at least two accounts, once as a debit and once as a credit...read more

What denomination of slots should I play

Hi Stickman,I really enjoy playing the slot machines. They are not like video poker machines. They are not like table games. They do not take any skill or special knowledge. I do not have to learn any strategies. I know intuitively how to play them...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Another first royal story

Question: I loved your column about first Royals. My story is slightly different (and I actually do not remember the date) but it's kind of funny anyway. It was at the Holy Cow casino (previously Foxy's Firehouse), right across from the Sahara...read more

Is dice control actually possible?

Hi Stickman,I am an avid craps player. I love the action, the variety of bets, and the camaraderie with other players at the table. On occasion other players at my table have a very different style of throwing. Rather than the normal shaking of the dice in the hand and tossing them down the table, they set the dice a certain way, pick them up in a strange fashion and very gently throw them to the back wall...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: My first royal

Question: I don’t have a question. I just want to exercise my bragging rights for a moment. I’ve read your column and those of your contemporaries over the years and one phrase always stuck in my brain. "I remember my first Royal." I have wanted mine for so long that it almost seemed impossible, until April 16, 2025 on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean...read more