By John Grochowski on Monday July 30, 2018

About a month ago, I told of being at a table with a blackjack player who insisted on standing on all 16s, including the soft ones, no matter what the dealer had. In a common six-deck game in which the dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy for soft 16 is to double down if the dealer's up card is 4, 5 or 6, and to hit if the dealer has anything else. Never stand on soft 16. My experience drew responses from others who have encountered players who have trouble with soft hands. Let's share a couple of their tales.…

About a month ago, I told of being at a table with a blackjack player who insisted on standing on all 16s, including the soft ones, no matter what the dealer had. In a common six-deck game in which the dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy for soft 16 is…

By John Grochowski on Tuesday July 17, 2018

When video slots started their rise to prominence in the late 1990s, the most popular games were in nickel denominations, there were relatively few paylines -- five, nine, and eventually 15 -- and you could choose the number of paylines and amount per line you wanted to play. If you wanted to play one line for one credit, you could play for a nickel a spin. In today's casinos, the most popular games are pennies, have 30, 40, 50 or more paylines or use the Reel Power 243 ways to win format, and often require a minimum bet to cover…

When video slots started their rise to prominence in the late 1990s, the most popular games were in nickel denominations, there were relatively few paylines -- five, nine, and eventually 15 -- and you could choose the number of paylines and amount per line you wanted to play. If you…

By John Grochowski on Monday July 16, 2018

Incredible Technologies is always trying something new on its slot machines, and right now a lot of the excitement revolves around its Power Wheel games. One of the latest is Heat 'Em Up Power Wheel, involving a big wheel display for bonuses. A five-reel video slot, each reel three symbols deep, Heat Em Up has a classic look with 7s, bars, bells and cherries among the symbols. It's all on the new Infinity V55 cabinet, which features a huge 4K, vertical 55-inch monitor for ultra-high resolution on the largest core-product cabinet in the slot industry. Its towering size makes it…

Incredible Technologies is always trying something new on its slot machines, and right now a lot of the excitement revolves around its Power Wheel games. One of the latest is Heat 'Em Up Power Wheel, involving a big wheel display for bonuses. A five-reel video slot, each reel three symbols…

By John Grochowski on Tuesday July 3, 2018

Among the many video poker games IGT produces that offer bonus multipliers in exchange for an extra bet, the most popular appears to be Ultimate X. That's especially true among low-denomination players, who love the Ultimate X option when playing nickel multiple-hand games. And it seems there's an incentive for playing more hands. In Ultimate X, you wager an extra five credits per hand to activate a multiplier feature. Winning hands bring a multiplier for the following hand. The multiplier depends on the rank of the winning hand. In Triple Play Jacks or Better, for example, if you've activate Ultimate…

Among the many video poker games IGT produces that offer bonus multipliers in exchange for an extra bet, the most popular appears to be Ultimate X. That's especially true among low-denomination players, who love the Ultimate X option when playing nickel multiple-hand games. And it seems there's an incentive for…