Author: 888 Casino

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Are Video Poker Machines Actually Random?

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

Are video poker hands dealt randomly? A debate over this comes up from time to time, due to the true meaning of “random.” The cards video poker players receive are determined by a “random number generator” (RNG), but purists point out that true randomness cannot be created by a computer algorithm. The argument can go on, but the reality is that the video poker machines you play in Nevada, and presumably in any legal and licensed casino in the U.S. (and mostly beyond), are random enough, given the game’s procedural objective. This article correctly makes that point, while also imparting bonus information many players want to know (even though it doesn’t affect their outcomes) about how the cards are dealt on a video poker machine.

This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.

Are Video Poker Machines Actually Random?

I doubt many video poker players even consider this question. They head to the casino (or play online) hoping their luck will bring them riches – or at least buy them some decent time playing their favorite video poker game.

Serious video poker players – those who learn and practice perfect video poker playing strategy for the specific game and pay table they will play are betting on the game being random. Each line of playing strategy assumes that video poker games are random. If the game is not random, the strategy is flawed and perhaps worthless.

So, what is the truth? Are video poker machines actually random? Will playing strategy based on a random game have the desired results? This article addresses these topics.

Continue reading …

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Documenting Video Poker Play

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

The basic advice here is to keep records of your gambling results. This article is about video poker specifically, but the advice applies to all gambling activity. I’ve always advocated record-keeping for two reasons. The first is obvious — if you’re audited for taxes, you need to have a gambling log of some type or your claims can be rejected. The second is even more important. You need to have a true picture of results and this applies to both winning and losing players. If you’re playing for profit, tracking results can confirm that you’re playing with the expected edge or alert you that you’re not making enough to justify the time and effort spent. If you play for entertainment, record-keeping will tell you how much gambling is costing you. It’s not necessary to be anywhere near as detailed as the author suggests; keeping a daily log of wins and losses will usually be sufficient for both purposes I’ve mentioned. However, more information is better, especially when dealing with the IRS. The definitive source of information on tax matters is our book Tax Help for Gamblers, by Jean Scott, Marissa Chien, and Russell Fox. You can also get win/loss statements from the casino players clubs, which doesn’t require any record-keeping on your part and will provide reliable data.

This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.

Documenting Video Poker Play

Most video poker players simply sit down at a machine and play. They do not keep track of which machine is played, amount deposited, amount cashed out, nor anything else.

This may be okay for casual players – those who only play a few hundred to a few thousand hands per year – but are more serious players missing something by not keeping records of their video poker play?

This article offers suggestions on what details to keep and why it is a good idea for serious players to document them.

Continue reading …

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Greats: A Look at Some of Gambling’s Best

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

Here’s an interesting list of “gambling’s best,” though not one on which I concur. I didn’t know these players, so I certainly can’t argue definitively against their skills, but I’ve also never been persuaded to believe in dice control. At least not to the extent that it can be a consistent winning strategy. With that position stated, I’ll say that I like reading about some of the colorful characters of the past. That Maxim blackjack game did indeed deal through the entire deck, and Paul Keen (I believe that’s the correct spelling), would certainly talk to you for as long as you had time to engage during a visit to the awesome Gambler’s Book Club. We all have our opinions. We all have our lists. They’re just made up of different names.

This article was written by Frank Scoblete in association with 888Casino.

The Greats: A Look at Some of Gambling’s Best

People have a tendency to catalog other people, places, and things as greats or not-so greats. This must be a part of our emotional constitution to define everything and everyone. 

Fighting? Muhammad Ali versus Joe Louis? Who would win? Ali versus Marciano? Ali versus any name you want to put here. Ali versus Tyson; the young Tyson? Sometimes these debates can turn, well, brutal. I rarely take part in them. But I am certainly aware of them.

Continue reading …

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ready for Action: Avoiding the Blackjack Fatigue Factor

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

When someone asks what determines how long I play or when I decide to stop, they’re usually expecting a hard-stop time limit or, more likely, a stop-loss or take-profits point. My answer is, I play as long as I have an edge in the game or until I get tired and am no longer playing optimally. This article addresses the latter. Author John Grochowski addresses my point, but also brings up another important consideration: the heightened chance that you’ll make bad decisions with regard to chasing losses, described as “going on tilt.” The advice is valid: Don’t play when tired. Follow it. And be sure to take note of the lesson within the lesson in the article. That is, a bad player at the table doesn’t affect your expected result over time. Bad plays by other players will help you as often as they hurt.

This article was written by John Grochowski in association with 888Casino.

Ready for Action: Avoiding the Blackjack Fatigue Factor

Players know the feeling, regardless of whether they’re playing online blackjack or in live casinos. From the first hand, they’re engaged, interested, thinking strategy on every card. It’s a fun game, especially, when winning streaks are coming often enough to keep bankrolls full.

But when players start to make mistakes, it’s time to watch out. The “Fatigue Factor” can undermine even the best players.

Continue reading …

Posted on by — Leave a comment

WHAT IS RETURN IN VIDEO POKER & HOW CAN IT BE CALCULATED?

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

If you’re interested in figuring out what the return percentage was for a particular playing session or period of time, this article gives you the correct formula to do that. However, I’m not sure what the value is in doing so. Players like to whine about losses, so calculating that you just played for three hours with a return of 68.5% provides good ammunition for the woe-is-me tale, but it doesn’t give you information you can act on to improve future results. In fact, letting a bad session on a good game dissuade you from playing it again is a big mistake. Far more important is knowing going in what the long-term return percentages are for the games you have to choose from, then, in most cases, playing the game with the highest return. 

This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.

WHAT IS RETURN IN VIDEO POKER & HOW CAN IT BE CALCULATED?

Most serious video poker players understand what elements define a good game. These elements include return, variance, and strategy complexity. For most serious players, return is the main element considered when choosing a video poker game to play.

Many video poker players understand what return is. Fewer understand how video poker return varies during play. Fewer still know how to calculate their actual return for a session, day, trip, or year. This article addresses these topics.

Keep reading …

Posted on by — Leave a comment

IS ANY CASINO GAME EVER ‘DUE’ TO PAY OUT?

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

Most have heard the argument that slot machines, as well as numbers on roulette wheels, crap tables, keno games, and the like, don’t become due. Still, many gamblers feel that there is validity in the belief that “being due” is sometimes a factor in gambling games. This article makes the point that “due theories” aren’t valid in games of independent trials, which include those just listed. Interestingly, although not mentioned in the article, in a game like roulette, it’s more likely that a number that has not shown over many spins should be avoided, as its disproportionate number of appearances could be related to a bias in the equipment that’s preventing it from coming up. Essentially, it’s the due theory in reverse. In fact, the converse, which is a number coming up significantly more often than 1-in-38 spins (on a double-zero wheel), is the basis of the winning strategy of playing biased roulette wheels. This idea is touched on in our book Gambling 102—The Best Strategies for All Casino Games and in the chapter on Billy Walters in Gambling Wizards—Conversations with the World’s Greatest Gamblers.

This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.

IS ANY CASINO GAME EVER ‘DUE’ TO PAY OUT?

Serious casino gamblers understand the concept of the return of casino games. Simply put, it is the amount of money bet while playing a casino game that is returned to the player.

Most also understand that the return percentages given are mathematically calculated and are based on an infinite number of bets. They understand the short-term return percentages can vary significantly from the mathematically calculated long-term return percentages.

Few gamblers understand how the transition from short-term to long-term results works. Many gamblers, systems sellers, and pundits also do not understand this phenomenon.

Is any casino game ever due? Read on to find out.

Continue reading …

Posted on by — Leave a comment

THE INNER WORKINGS OF YOUR FAVORITE SLOT MACHINE

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

Are you looking for some tips for beating the slots? You won’t find any here, and that’s a good thing, as winning slot-play strategies mostly don’t exist. However, this is a good micro-chronology of how slot machine technology has advanced through the years. Author Michael Kaplan points out that, like most things in gambling, the original concept remains the underlying component of today’s slots, even as the software and physical presentations become many times more sophisticated. The discussion of the random number generator (RNG) hammers home the fact that slots, in general, are not beatable over time, but serve up intermittent swings of good fortune, which keep the slot players coming back.

This article was written by Michael Kaplan in association with 888Casino.

THE INNER WORKINGS OF YOUR FAVORITE SLOT MACHINE

Walk through a brick-and-mortar casino or log on to 888casino and the slot machines are impossible to miss. Chinese themed Zodiac Lantern Rabbit, the enticing Cash Eruption and jewel-centric Sapphire Spin are all amazingly alluring. They’re the games you want to play for quick spurts of gambling satisfaction and potential cash payouts.

But what is inside these flashy sirens of the gambling world and how do they work?

Continue Reading…

Posted on by — Leave a comment

IMPACT OF ADVANTAGE VIDEO POKER PLAYERS – A COMPLETE REVIEW

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

The play-analysis software discussed in this article has been around for a while; I wrote about it last August in the Las Vegas Advisor. “Is this a doomsday development? Not for 99% of players and maybe not for anyone. There are lots of questions. How many casinos will buy it? How many casinos will use it rigorously and properly? And most importantly, who will it really hurt? It could hurt the hardcore pros who play specifically for profit, but they can move around from place to place. There’s more danger for comp hustlers who’ve built up their comp profiles at a few specific casinos. If their cover is suddenly blown, like the pros, the hustlers will have to move on to other targets. These two groups comprise the highly skilled players, of which there aren’t many. The fact is, most don’t play as well as they think they do, so an analysis won’t affect them.” Most of these views are shared by this article’s writer, and I agree with him that it will take some time to see how this affects the current status quo.

This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.

IMPACT OF ADVANTAGE VIDEO POKER PLAYERS – A COMPLETE REVIEW

Aces Manufacturing based in Las Vegas produces “Video Poker Analyzer” capable of monitoring players expertise in playing correct video poker strategy. In the first quarter of 2024 they published a study that identified profits lost to advantage video poker players.

This article explores that article and make some observations.

Continue reading…

Posted on by — Leave a comment

BAD CASINO GAMBLING ADVICE FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

AC says:

Save for one point, I have no arguments with the advice given here. No betting system will allow you to beat a negative-expectation game. Blackjack basic strategy is the best way to play if you aren’t counting cards or otherwise have information that calls for departures. Most importantly, though, is the emphasis on slowing down play, which usually means playing the games at full tables. When you have an edge, you want speed. When you don’t, then slower is the goal. Bathroom breaks during play, not during the shuffle. Nice. As for the one disagreement mentioned above, I’m not sold on “dice control” as an actionable strategy in the real casino world. But that’s a whole other discussion.

This article was written by Frank Scoblete in association with 888Casino.

BAD CASINO GAMBLING ADVICE FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

Everything in this article is absolutely true (meaning absolutely false) and the words come from the mouths of casino gamblers – adult casino players, not kids. However, the advice and opinions offered go from just bad to just horrendous and everything in between.

Too many casino players just have totally wrong opinions, and yet on some of these opinions those players just can’t let them go. Indeed, all the more horror for them if they cling to such falsehoods because it costs them a lot more in losses than they need to experience. In general, casinos don’t have such real horrors in their thinking for casinos it is just money in and money in.

Continue reading …

Posted on by — Leave a comment

GOING A DIFFERENT DIRECTION: CRAPS ON THE DARKSIDE

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

This article was written by Frank Scoblete in association with 888Casino.

A.C. says:

In craps there’s a do side and a don’t side for betting, designated on the layout as pass/come and don’t pass/don’t come. Despite the fact that the don’t pass bet has a casino edge of 1.36% compared to the pass line’s 1.41%, players overwhelmingly bet pass, because of the social aspects of the game. Accordingly, many describe betting the don’t pass as playing the “dark side.” The reality is, don’t bettors do not affect the results in any way, but since they’re opposite the bets of the majority of players, they’re sometimes viewed as the enemy. In this article, long time crap player Frank Scoblete offers advice for playing the don’t without ruffling too many feathers, along with some general rules of etiquette to follow while playing craps.

GOING A DIFFERENT DIRECTION: CRAPS ON THE DARKSIDE

I have written so many articles and books on craps that I have decided to start this article by looking at the often deliberately-overlooked area of the game. Many gambling writers shy away from the darkside because it is uncomfortable to write about and thus they give short shrift to it and its devoted but usually quiet players.

That’s right. I am going to lead some of you, maybe many of you, into the darkest corner of the most exciting game in the casino…

Continue Reading…