By Travel Tunica on Thursday July 28, 2016

A couple of months ago, I walked through the arithmetic for the house advantage on the pass line in craps.  It’s quite a lengthy calculation with a number of factors, but enough readers followed along that it brought a few questions. Here’s one: “Thank you for your explanation of how to calculate the house edge on pass in craps. Could you do the same in roulette, maybe for red or black?”  Calculations are much simpler in roulette than on the craps pass line. For one thing, there’s no comeout roll and need to repeat numbers as in craps. For red/black,…

A couple of months ago, I walked through the arithmetic for the house advantage on the pass line in craps.  It’s quite a lengthy calculation with a number of factors, but enough readers followed along that it brought a few questions. Here’s one: “Thank you for your explanation of how…

By John Grochowski on Tuesday July 19, 2016

Craps players have dozens of options with all the different combinations to play. On many multi-roll bets, they also have the option of taking the bet down before a decision is reached. If you place the 6 for example, and the shooter rolls neither a winner 6 nor a loser 7, the bet stays in action. But if you need to leave or are just feeling unlucky, you can have the bet taken down. The same goes for other place bets, bets on don’t pass and don’t come or the hard ways. However, if you bet on pass or come…

Craps players have dozens of options with all the different combinations to play. On many multi-roll bets, they also have the option of taking the bet down before a decision is reached. If you place the 6 for example, and the shooter rolls neither a winner 6 nor a loser…

By John Grochowski on Monday July 11, 2016

Back when slot and video poker machines paid in coins, sizable jackpots usually were paid by attendants. You didn’t want to wait for $1,000 worth of quarters to drop into a tray – with time extended by delays for hopper fills – and the casino didn’t want the machine out of action that long. With today’s payoffs by tickets redeemable at kiosks or the cashiers cage, payoffs of less than $1,200 usually are just added to your credit meter, and you can go on playing. When you do win a hand-paid jackpot, many casinos ask you to play once more,…

Back when slot and video poker machines paid in coins, sizable jackpots usually were paid by attendants. You didn’t want to wait for $1,000 worth of quarters to drop into a tray – with time extended by delays for hopper fills – and the casino didn’t want the machine out…

By John Grochowski on Wednesday July 6, 2016

Sometimes, things are so ingrained in experienced casino players that we forget newcomers haven’t yet learned all the ins and outs. Not long ago, I received email from a blackjack player who is working on learning basic strategy. He was using a strategy card. The reader questioned what you do after you hit and have a three-card total instead of your two-card starting total. “Are basic strategy cards just for your first two cards, or do they apply to the totals after more cards?” he wrote. “That is, if I’m supposed to hit 14 when the dealer has a 9,…

Sometimes, things are so ingrained in experienced casino players that we forget newcomers haven’t yet learned all the ins and outs. Not long ago, I received email from a blackjack player who is working on learning basic strategy. He was using a strategy card. The reader questioned what you do…