Tricks and Tips for those Games of Chance and Rare Skill – Poker, Blackjack, etc.

Ideally when you go into a casino you want 100% depth in the shoe.  Obviously that maximizes your advantage over the house when you count; this is especially true when you are using sidecounts.
But that’s not reality.  At best – at absolute best your depth will be 85% into the shoe.  Most likely you’ll end [...]

Recently, one of my more favorite casinos closed.
It wasn’t a great casino, it was really a piece of crap. What it did have, however, was a 10 minute walk from my house, as well as the cheapest blackjack in the metro area. Combine that with stiff cheap drinks and you, my friend, have [...]

Let’s discuss the realities of expected value, if the lottery really is merely a “tax on the stupid,” and what it really means to gamble.
Most gambling situations have an expected win value. For instance, in a coin toss situation, if I bet $1 on heads to win $1, the expected value of my wager [...]

The Red Seven count is probably the easiest counting system and the most efficient of the low-level counting systems. It works simply:
Ace and 10 are valued at -1
2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are valued at +1
the red 7s are valued at +1
This counting method results in what’s called an unbalanced count – in [...]

Not too long ago I said that the PlayAway system should be shut down according to some regulators, since it uses the Internet. The Mashantucket Pequot tribe is ignoring them and using it at Foxwoods anway.
According to the state of Connecticut, not only does it violate State law, but it violates the Indian Gaming [...]

The Hambletonian goes off in just a matter of minutes as I write this.
Normally I don’t go for harness racing – I don’t understand it the way I understand thoroughbred racing.
What’s particularly interesting this year are the two favorites. The current favorite is a horse named “Classic Photo”, going off at 6-5. The [...]

The gambling regulartors in teh state of Connecticut ordered Foxwoods casino to remove their internet gambling portal “PlayAway.”
Foxwoods says they don’t believe any problems have been caused, as the bet is placed at Foxwoods and the users are allowed to check the results online. Since all gambling is actually done at Foxwoods, the [...]

Most casinos offer texas hold ‘em as poker, and occasionally you’ll see Omaha. There’s a version that’s also popular in many casinos known as Pineapple, which in a way splits the difference.
I have no idea if this has been shown on the poker tour, but here’s how it goes.
You’re dealt three hole cards (instead [...]

We know that Las Vegas aggressively bars card counters. Atlantic City lost a lawsuit to the legendary Ken Uston and is required to not bar someone from counting.
But let’s take a comparison of the two games:
In Las Vegas, you can find pretty much any kind of game you want. Some single deck, 2 [...]

Previously I said that the slot machine “system” I got from Mr. McQueen seems to work.
I’d like to point out the “seems” part – the appearanace of winning. I’ve definitely not put it through enough trials to determine if it’s even worthy of “seems to work” at this point, honestly. I will say [...]