I like slots - it’s THE BEST GAME TO WIN!

The most famous book Stanford Wong wrote is Professional Blackjack. Wong had a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University, hence his pseudonym. This book was the next big advance for card counters. Wong described his playing style, which included table-hopping shoe games to avoid playing at negative counts. As four-deck shoes were the most widely available games in Las Vegas by that time, this original approach was brilliant. It had never occurred to the casinos that a counter might be watching a table from the aisles, waiting for an advantageous count before jumping in to bet.

The counting system Wong published was the Hi-Lo Count, and like Revere’s count, used the easy divide-by-remaining-deck(s) approach to running count adjustments. So, at last, some twelve years after Harvey Dubner had proposed the Hi-Lo count values, his system was available in a format both fully optimized with strategy indices, and presented with a simple methodology of play.

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Blunder: The most common mistake beginners make is to stand too often on their stiff hands (12,13,14,15, and 16). Players are naturally afraid to hit these hands because every one of them could bust (make a total of 22 or more) with a single hit. But when the dealer has a high card (7, 8, 9,10, or ace) showing, your best odds of winning come from hitting and giving yourself a chance of making a better total.

Some beginners think the best way to play is to play the same way the dealer plays: Hit all sixteens and stand on all seventeens. This is not true. The object of the game is not to make a hand as close to 21 as possible, but to beat the dealer. Often the best way to do this is to stand with a low total, sometimes as low as 12.

Hint: Here’s how many players think: If I hit this 14, I risk busting my hand right here and now. But maybe the dealer has a 6 in the hole. If I don’t take a hit, my hand still has a chance. But that 14 you are holding is already in dire jeopardy when the dealer shows a 10 up. Since the dealer must hit his stiff hands, and chance busting even when you are stiff, hitting your weak hands is not advantageous against these weak upcards.

Blunder: Some beginners think the best way to play is to play the same way the dealer plays: Hit all sixteens and stand on all seventeens. This is not true. The object of the game is not to make a hand as close to 21 as possible, but to beat the dealer. Often the best way to do this is to stand with a low total, sometimes as low as 12.

Hint: This is the basic logic of casino blackjack. There are exceptions to these guidelines, as the actual basic strategy decision for any given hand is determined by working out all of the mathematical probabilities. But if you just consider this logic when studying the basic strategy charts, the pattern will become clear to you and it should not be too difficult to memorize.

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I am skeptical of much of what Scarne has written in his book about blackjack, so I’ll quote from Mickey MacDougall’s MacDougall on Dice and Cards (Coward-McCann, 1944, NY), which was published prior to any of Scarne’s books: “Many professionals dress up the game by giving prizes for certain hands. A favorite stunt is to offer ten times the size of the wager to anyone holding a natural twenty-one with a black jack. This adds interest to the game, but it also tempts a player to increase his stakes.”

That’s when Ed Thorp dropped another bombshell. Under the auspices of their Vintage Paperback division, Random House published a revised and expanded edition of Beat the Dealer. And the most important addition was Harvey Dubner’s Hi-Lo counting system, which Thorp called the Complete Point Count, with a computer-optimized strategy devised by Julian Braun. To the casinos’ frustration, this was a system that could more easily be applied to multiple-deck games.

In an honestly dealt single-deck game, this gimmick bonus would give the player a substantial edge over the house, assuming the player knew basic strategy (an unlikely assumption). I would also assume that a gambling house that offered this bonus would be using any number of illegitimate methods to assure the house a healthy edge.

That curious bonus payout that gave blackjack its name, however, has long since disappeared. There may be some casino somewhere that pays a small bonus if a player is dealt a natural 21 which includes a jack of spades or clubs, but that is no longer a normal rule of the game. Today, a blackjack is simply any initial two cards that consist of an ace and any ten-valued card.

Thorp also included a Simple Point Count in this new edition of his book, but at the time that strategy seemed way too simple to most players to gain much of an edge, or to be taken seriously by players who wanted to beat the game. Later, the power of Thorp’s simpler method of adjusting the running count, without keeping a separate count of the exact number of cards played, would be shown. Thorp was keeping the casinos on the run.

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When people join clubs, it is usually for the shared interests, enthusiasm and passion that everyone in the group shares. For the most part, folks join already knowing what their counterparts are like. Book clubs, movie groups, knitting circles online! They all have terms and ideologies about their group’s topics that can be, well, predictable. When you initially sign up with a casino online you find that you may be new to the terms and phrases. Things like “progressive slots” may go right over your head. When this happens, it is usually okay and common to ask questions and even get together with other online slots players.

After you begin to play online slots a few times and you learn more about the lingo that slots players use, you will find that you are not alone. They do this for many reasons; one is of course the ease of online slots. With this, they take to the community of online slots always, forsaking all other games in the casino. There are levels of the slots community. Soon, you can build your way up to the professional level, that’s how easy it is to learn slots and develop a passion for winning money at the game.

In the beginning of the levels of slots online, you will see that there is always a willingness to help from more advance players. When you are playing in a regular online casino, you will see other players look over when they see you struggling. The culture of slots in traditional settings is a pretty uniform in comparison to online slots. While the majority of slots types players in land based casinos are more inclined to drink or smoke given the social circumstances, online casino players will come in various shapes and sizes.

The culture of slots online is a very unique one because it is made up of so many kinds of people. Ask questions, discuss strategies, or just connect with folks who have the same gambling enthusiasm as you. When you are ready to experience the slots community and culture that so many others have already fallen in love with, sign up to play today.

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To the public at large, one of the most incomprehensible things about professional blackjack strategies is hole-card play. Hole-card play is not a single strategy, but a whole range of strategies. The one feature that can be found in all of these strategies is that the player either knows the dealer’s hole card, or has valuable information about that hole card, whether it’s a paint or not. To most casual blackjack players, this seems absolutely incredible and impossible, unless there is some sort of cheating going on. But it’s not impossible, and in fact, most hole-card strategies are perfectly legal.

In the Spring 2003 Blackjack Forum, Richard W. Munchkin, author of Gambling Wizards, interviewed “RC,” one of the most successful hole-carders of modem times. In introducing us to RC, Munchkin writes, “For every one hour spent on the table playing, the hole-card player may spend ten hours scouting… Most players, even if shown a dealer who is flashing, would not be able to spot the hole card anyway. Holecarders spend hundreds of hours training their eyes to see something that flashes by in a fraction of a second, often cast in shadow.”

James Grosjean’s Beyond Counting (now out of print, though a second edition has been announced) is widely regarded as the hole-carder’s bible. A meticulous mathematician, Grosjean was the first person to accurately figure out the hole-carder’s edge at blackjack with perfect reads and perfect play (just over 13 percent), and in addition to his work on blackjack, he provided some of the first detailed hole-card analyses of games like Three-Card Poker, Let It Ride, and Caribbean Stud Poker.

Hole-card players speak their own language and have their own heroes. Most consider card counting too weak to be worth the trouble. Many quickly attain notoriety in the casinos and a degree of fame among other pros that appreciate the rare skills they have developed. But let’s look at some of the forerunners of today’s players, describe some of the most common hole-card strategies, and get a historical overview of this type of legal strategy.

In 1980, Stanford Wong published a book, Winning Without Counting (now out of print), with an initial price tag of $200. To pros, the book was well worth it. Wong discussed many methods of hole-card play for the first time and provided the only detailed description and analysis of “warp” play ever in print.

What is warp play? In the old days, dealers used to manually peek under their tens and aces to see if they had a blackjack before satisfying the players’ hands. This constant bending up of the corners on the tens and aces tended to put a warp into these cards if the casino did not change its decks frequently. An observant player could see the arc in a dealer’s hole card created by hours of bending the corners of the tens and aces. Warp play was simply using this information to make strategy decisions.

Then, Ken Uston’s Million Dollar Blackjack was published by SRS Publishing in 1981. In addition to everything Uston wrote about card counting and team play, Uston went into more detail about two of the hole-card techniques Wong had revealed the year before in Winning lnthout Counting: “spooking” and “front-loading.” Uston, in fact, had become quite adept as a hole-card player after his first book, The Big Player, was published in 1977.

What is front-loading? A front loader is simply a sloppy dealer who flashes his hole card as he is placing it beneath his upcard. It’s actually a pretty descriptive term, since one common way that such a dealer inadvertently flashes the hole card is by tipping the face of the card up toward the “front” of the table as he is “loading” it. A player who sits in a seat that provides him a view of this card is said to be “front-loading.”

Spooking is something else again. It used to be standard procedure for dealers to manually peek under any 10 or ace to see if they had a blackjack, in which case they would immediately turn up the card and collect all bets without playing the hands. Some dealers, in peeking, angled the card in such a way that a person standing behind them, or sitting at another table on the other side of the same pit, could glimpse the card also. It wasn’t long before players started working in teams to take advantage of such dealers. The guy behind the dealer was called the spook. He would signal his buddies playing at the table with whatever information he could get on the hole card. Dealers don’t peek this way anymore, and this is one of the reasons why.

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When you walk up to a slot machine in a casino or log into an online casino and play the slots, it’s a battle between you and the machine to see who comes out the winner. Actually, even if you’re a professional, the machine will almost always come out ahead over the long term. That’s the way casinos make a profit. But for fun, you can sign up for a tournament where you’re playing against the other players. In the real world, one of the current tournaments is running at Cache Creek Casino in Brooks (Yolo County), for the next six weeks (it finishes at midnight on the 19th June).

Like most real-world tournaments, the casino has corralled a number of machines and members of the local slots club are rotated in every fifteen minutes to play for three minutes. The player who racks up the biggest score in those three minutes will be the winner. The total prize money fund is $200,000 with everyone in the top fifty winning at least $1,000.

Online, the same principles apply. Whoever enters the tournament is given a preset number of credits and a fixed time. The winner is the one who has the biggest total at the end of the allocated time. Some tournaments are free or by invitation - they are usually ways in which casinos reward the regulars who have a good spend online. The others have an entry fee. It is customary to return most of the stake money as prizes. This differs from the real world where the players may get other comps like drinks, meals or subsidised rooms in the hotel to offset any reduction in the prize money.

Obviously, if you have never tried a slots tournament, the best way to find out whether you enjoy one is to enter one that is free. The fact that you pay nothing up front and may still win a prize makes this format the most attractive for a beginner. The commercial rationale for the casino is that playing even a free tournament gets you playing in that casino. Once you are logged in, you are likely to play for real on either side of your allotted time, so the casino makes its money out of your other online time.

How do you play in a tournament? You need to be fast (and lucky). Whatever the time allocated, you must make sure you use all the credits you are given. The winner will have used all his or her credits, made the best decisions on holds, and been lucky with the draws. If you cannot get through your credits in the time, you are not going to win unless you are lucky enough to get some good scores. Always check the pay table before you start and make sure you aim for the best paying combinations. That means it’s all down to concentration and fast reflexes. As soon as you see the draw, you must be hitting the holds and draw button. If you slow down, you lose.

This high pressure may not be for you. If you’re playing for fun, this may be taking life too seriously. But if you do want to improve your skills, playing a tournament or two will get the adrenaline running and build up your speed and accuracy.

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There is one thing to remember when playing casino poker. No matter your experience level, everyone needs help sometimes. There are five main rules that can be followed to improve the game of all players, regardless of how well they play.

The first rule when playing casino poker is to have fun. There are many different sites that offer different types of games, and it’s often daunting for a beginner to join an online poker room where everyone seems more experienced.

Showing other players that you are new to the game can sometimes help in giving you a better advantage. If a person sees an inexperienced player, some will tend to be lenient towards you. This is the key to having fun, and of course winning the money.

Even if you do know how to play the game, it might also be beneficial to act as though you don’t so that players will help you where they can, thus enabling you to take control of the situation.

In truth however, most players are only looking at what they are doing, and will tend to ignore any others that are in the room. Therefore, there is no need to concentrate on any other player during a game other than your own hand. This way, the game will run smoothly, and you’ll be guaranteed to have fun.

The second rule to follow when playing Casino poker is to pay attention to the turns in the game. While not specifically concentrating intently on other players, it is wise to take care of how your game is played. Following small rules is beneficial to the playing of the game, as it is often difficult to forget when it is your turn, or when to make a bet, or play the cards. Simply paying attention to the way the other people are playing can help improve your timing immensely. It has been noted that in a group of players, people taking too long to place a bet can irritate some of them.

Similarly, people taking their turn too quickly can also mean that a player cannot be thinking of their game in a way that is fair to all. It is quite common in a game of poker to wait a few seconds, but no more than a minute or two before you place a bet. This is to build up suspense while still maintaining the speed of the game, and also to determine that the game is played correctly. Before you take your turn, think about the players who went before you to ensure that you are playing correctly, and the game should be pleasant, fun and entertaining, as well as highly competitive.

The third rule that is stressed to those playing poker is to gain information about the room you’re entering. So many players sit down to play a game without taking anything in. There are often deals that are offered by the poker room, from point redemption when buying items, to free games being offered as a taster. The staff in the poker room are there to help all players, so if there are any queries you might have, these are the people to help you. They can inform you on the types of games that are offered, the rewards and incentives that come with the games, and they can also tell you other things such as how long the games typically last.

It isn’t a requirement that you enter a poker room and start playing, and it is possible to watch others playing a game to determine the experience level of each player before deciding whether or not to play. There are helpful players out there, and most will happily tell you about the game they play, or the reasons behind going in that particular room. Helpful hints are always good to have when deciding on different rooms of casino poker.

The penultimate rule in playing poker is to limit yourself. If you’re new to the game, then it’s advisable to start small, and work your way up to the extremely fast, highly experienced games. The same rule applies for collecting prizes or cash values. Entering a game with a lower limit will give you a chance to ease into the playing, thus increasing your chances of securing a win. Placing a small bet means that if you do happen to lose, the money lost should be an insignificant value.

It is possible that other players are in the same position, all thinking about their own balance and wagers, and so you won’t be alone in going at a slower pace. Playing poker in this manner will also add to the advantages you can gain at the table. If you play a game with high limits, then there is a chance that other players will assume that you have more money that they can take from you.

Finally, the last rule in casino poker is to take breaks. Play shorter sessions to avoid gaming with time-wasters, or people who wish to eat, drink and converse instead of competing in a fun game of poker. Concentration is a key factor in playing online poker, and it is very common for players to become frustrated with newer ones who play too long and then begin to falter in the speed of their game.

When walking around the poker room, you should notice the dealers first. Watching them will give you an idea of the speed of the game that is being played. It is advisable to start with a slower paced game before you work up to the faster paced ones. This is so that the newer or more inexperienced players can have the opportunity to obtain refreshments as and when needed without disturbing others. Not only that, taking a break will enable you to walk around the room, and obtain any other information about the players that might help you improve your game.

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Red, white, and blue sevens came up and I collected $400 instead of the $1,0001 would have received with two coins in. The win could not have come at a more opportune time. I had been through a series of break-even or losing sessions and was well down at that stage.
Great fun! The Windows of Opportunity had worked for me only because I was not playing maximum coins each spin on the multiplier machines I was working that day.

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Multipliers are the most common but not always the most popular slots in the casino. Two factors attract me: Except for the jackpot and, rarely, the second top line, there is no penalty for playing less than maximum coins—each coin will buy a multiple of each winning payout; and irrespective of how many coins I elect to play, all winning symbols on the header board will pay out. There are no unpleasant surprises.
I know some people have the idea they should always play maximum coins on multipliers rather than take the risk of hitting the jackpot with only one coin in.
I am happy to settle for $400, $1,000, or $2,000 back from one coin, since it is unlikely I will hit a jackpot without any previous win—which could have brought me to the two coin investment level in an aggressive work plan.

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Here’s another: Picture this. You’re cruising just outside of Lovelock, Nevada, in your red T-bird convertible. Being a healthy quaffer of the world’s finest lager, you find your-self in need of a personal pit stop. So you pull into a full-service Exxon for gas. After you TCB, you go into the garage and there, oily and grease-stained, with art deco fins and a grill that screams 1958, is a slot machine with big neon letters on it: C-H-E-V-Y. DO you play? Answer: Walk away quickly. Flee.

One last question: You have a big ol’ sack of laundry so you head to the Laundromat. And there, way in the back, right between the coin-operated soap powder dispenser and the folding counter, is a slot machine with a picture of Marilyn Monroe on it. A subway grate is blowing up her dress, and the arm you pull is Marilyn’s left arm. Do you play? Answer: Nyuhuh!

Oh, all right. Maybe just one coin.

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