Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 97

COVID-19 Effects in Tunica

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the world hard. Virtually no individual or businesshas been immune to its impact. Now that the country is starting to open up a bit, Ithought I would take a tour of some casino destinations and report what Iobserved.Since it is the closest to me, I started by visiting Tunica, MS.In its heyday Tunica boasted 11 operating casinos...read more

Sevens Wild

QUESTION: I found a video poker game online called Sevens Wild. It's the same as Deuces Wild except the wild cards are 7s instead of 2s.I talked about it with a guy at the office who's a big video poker fan. He said I should stick with Deuces and that Sevens Wild had lower returns.I don't understand why that should be...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: The Return of Las Vegas Buffets

City of Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman was on GMA 3 last week to proclaim that Las Vegas is fully open again and it is back. There were plenty of shots of the strip and the Welcome to Las Vegas sign during the segment. Co-host T.J. Holmes said something like "Can't wait to see you in person on the strip" at the end of the segment. One problem...read more

Social Sue's Slot Society

Some people do the casinos in their own way. That is, they enjoy going to the casinos but gambling isn’t their primary concern; socializing is primary for them.Atlantic City has a small club, called Social Sue’s Slot Society, that has a dozen members...read more

Compromise

Life is full of compromises, and sometimes casino players compromise on the games they play.Maybe they compromise because they're with a group and want to be part of the gang. Maybe they compromise because of budgets or bankrolls.I've accumulated a few stories from readers who sometimes played games that weren't their favorites because of outside influences.BRENDA: This all seems so dumb to me now...read more

Lockdown Practice is Important

With the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, you might stuck in the house and feeling bad, watching TV, reading some, clearing the garage, and trying to be busy. How about practicing some blackjack?Instead of counting down a single deck in 30 seconds (that is a must) start doing two decks in 60 seconds, four decks in 1 minute-45 seconds, six decks in 2 minutes-45 seconds and eight decks in 3 minutes-45 seconds.If you can make the above times, you will keep up with any dealer in any casino...read more

Deuces Wild VP and Roulette Advice

QUESTION: One thing I see a lot in Deuces Wild video poker is four of a kind and full houses paying the same amount. If you bet five coins you get 20 back. Sometimes you see full houses pay only 15, and I'm told four of a kind can pay 25, though I've never seen it.I know Deuces Wild odds can be lot different than other games because of the wild cards, but can four of a kind really come up somewhere close to as often as full houses? I don't get how they can pay the same.ANSWER: Four of a kind comes up more often that full houses in Deuces Wild -- a LOT more often.Imagine you start with 2-2-5-5...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: The gongs of Fu Dao Le

Question: I play Fu Dao Le a lot. What does it take for the gongs to come out a lot or the good fortune? Answer: What does it take to get the gongs on a spin? The RNG has to generate a result that stops the reels in places that display the gongs. What does it take to get the "Good Fortune" message? The RNG has to generate numbers that correspond to a reel combination that triggers the message...read more

Proper Blackjack Rules

The game of blackjack is the most popular table game in the casino. Twice as many people play blackjack as play craps or roulette which are generally tied for second place. Except for slots, blackjack is king (or queen).But how many players play blackjack properly? In order to answer that question, you have to know the answer to this question: How many players know the computer derived basic strategy for the play of every player’s hand versus every dealer’s up card?While I can’t answer that question definitively, I can say from my 30 years of play that many players will play a form of basic strategy, leaving out some critical plays because they “feel” or “don’t think” those plays are the proper ones in a given situation...read more

Single-Deck Blackjack

Single-deck blackjack seems almost like a relic from the deep past. It's rare in most of the country, not common even in Nevada, and finding a single-deck game with favorable rules seems an impossible dream.So when someone who called himself "Not Blackjack Bob" emailed me about a single-deck game he found online, I had to do double and triple takes.He wanted to know about basic strategy and doubling down on hard 8, something that's not done with two decks or more...read more