Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 901

Readers' blackjack questions

I continue to receive a lot of good questions from readers, so I decided to share with you some of their questions and my answers. "When playing in a six-deck shoe that allows late surrender, it is proper to surrender on 15 vs. a 10. But if the 15 consists of a 7 and 8 we should hit...read more

Ask The Slot Expert

Here's an incident that happened recently at an Atlantic City casino. Two guys were playing a two-coin $5 Pink Panther machine and hit the jackpot. On the glass, it said the jackpot pays $4,000 when you play one coin and 10,000 coins when you play two...read more

Sympathy for the Devils

I believe in free speech. I believe in freedom of the press. I believe in the fundamental principles upon which our country was founded. But I am not gullible. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Free speech is worthless if the speaker is speaking from a deep wealth of ignorance; freedom of the press does not, in and of itself, mean that the press is going to be responsible...read more

Taking Advantage of Casino Opportunity

Not too long ago while playing twenty-five cent Triple Play video poker at Harrah's Joliet Casino, I saw a player learn a hard gambling lesson. A lady sat down at the machine to my left that had just been vacated. After she made her very first play she nudged me and said, "Look at this." On her screen I saw that she had been dealt a jackpot hand: Four four's and the kicker, an ace! It's a Triple Play poker player's dream to be dealt that kind of hand! Just hold all five cards, press deal, and the same jackpot hand will appear two more times...read more

Why the Taliban Hate Us

Why do the Taliban and others of their ilk hate us? Don't listen to all the pundits that give socio-economic-religio-cultural-politico-oily explanations. There is one reason and one reason alone why they, and all others like them, hate Americans...read more

Come On Down! And Play The Price Is Right Slot

What could be more natural than a TV star on a video screen? Alex Trebek, Dick Clark, Regis Philbin, Monty Hall, Barbara Eden--all have been featured on slot machines since gaming has gone video. Now it's Rod Roddy's turn to come on down...read more

Should You Go With or Against a Trend?

I know a kid who has memorized 250 integers of Pi -- the number that never ends. He isn't so great, of course, when you compare him to the Japanese fellow who has memorized 50,000 integers. (Talk about needing to get a life!) So I asked this kid to write out the number of numbers of Pi that he had memorized and he did so...read more

Should You Bet More on One Spot or Less on Two?

Bettors often play multiple hands at table games or commandeer several seats at the slots. What's behind this preference? How does it differ from betting more on one outcome or less for a longer period? Most importantly, which approach is best for you? As usual in gambling, no one collar fits all necks...read more

Finding The Next Big Thing

Are you a blackjack player who is sick of the slow deterioration of games in Vegas? Or a poker player who has wisely decided that the competition is too tough at the level of play your bankroll would justify? Or maybe you are a sports bettor on a negative streak? Where do you go from here? Where is the next opportunity? How do you cash in on your gambling knowledge in some related field? Great innovations are not developed in laboratories at Exxon or Microsoft...read more

Fast Comps for Slow Paces - Part 2

ASK QUESTIONS Before you start playing, go to a casino host and find out what your intended play is worth to them. Ask about the various levels of comps. What level is RFB, RLF, and so forth. Here are other questions you should ask: As a craps player, am I being judged on my spread or just on an individual bet? For example, if I place the six and eight for $30 each, am I considered a $60 player or a $30 player? What if I make a Pass Line bet of $10 with full odds to go along with my $30 six and eight -- am I a $70 player or are the odds also added into my rating? As a blackjack player, if I play two hands of $75 each, am I considered a $150 player or some fraction of the total? For any game I choose, how long do I have to play and at what level to get: a.) casino rate and discounts, or, b.) free room, non-gourmet comps, or, c.) full RFB...read more