I was asked this past week about the process of analyzing a game. I was caught a little off guard when I was asked in front of a room full of people. My answer was probably a little jumbled. But now, with some time to think about it some more, I think I can explain it better. The real trick is not coming up with the payback of win frequencies. What I'm really in search of is the proper strategy for the Player to play.
Read MoreI'm not sure where the idea came from. But, it would appear that lacking any real knowledge of casino table game strategy, someone came up with the idea of just following what the Dealer does. In some games, it is not a horrible idea, but it is still not ideal. In the game of Pai Gow Poker, playing the House Way will get you very close to the best possible payback. Given what it would take to memorize the few exceptions to the House Way rules would likely cost you more in errors than it would save you in added payback, following the Dealer here is not a bad idea.
Read MoreJust a few months ago, I wrote about how I thought Ultimate Texas Hold'em has the perfect betting structure. This past Saturday night, I had an opportunity to see this in action. My wife and I had the opportunity to see the new variety show at the Wynn called Showstoppers. Good Show. I definitely recommend it, but I would suggest looking for discount tickets! After the show, we stopped to watch an Ultimate Texas Hold'em table game in action. It was a $15 table, which is not for the feint of heart. You have to be ready to wager $75-$100 per hand including the Ante, Blind, Trips and Play wagers.
Read MoreIt is virtually impossible to predict which game will be a success in the casino as it is being invented. As I've written in my column numerous times, predicting which game will fail is much easier. Frequently inventors will look at past games and try to replicate what appears to be a formula for success for that game. But I have longed believed that if you look at successful casino games you will see a progression and not just a replication of success. To put it another way, I think that if Three Card Poker were invented today and put up against the other games that are out there, it would not have done nearly as well as it did. In similar fashion, if Ultimate Texas Hold'em had been created in the mid 1990's, I don't think any of us would have ever heard of it.
Read MoreOne night a few months ago, I received a text message from a friend of mine that said "I'm playing video poker. I could sure use a strategy." Kudos to my friend for recognizing the need for a strategy. Of course, it would have been preferable for him to have one before he started playing it. Further, given that learning video poker strategy is not that easy to learn, it would have been best if he spent some time learning it before he headed out.
Read MoreA few months ago, Nik Walenda walked across a tightrope between two Chicago skyscrapers blindfolded. I'm not all that impressed. I think he should try analyzing casino games for a living. Most days it seems a lot like walking a tightrope blindfolded too. Only, if I mess up, I don't just hurt myself. I might cause a casino to lose a lot of money if I allow a game to hit the floor with a Player advantage. After more than 10 years in the industry, I've never done it, but I have heard cases where it did happen due to a math mistake.
Read MoreMy column a few weeks ago about commission-free Baccarat and commission-free Pai Gow Poker prompted a reader to send me an e-mail asking for advice on how to improve his play at Baccarat. The simple reality is that I could not provide him with any advice. Baccarat has no strategy. Sometimes when I say that, it means that there is sort of no strategy. For example, in Casino War, the only choice the Player can make is whether to go to war when the Player and Dealer card tie. Mathematically, the Player should always go to war, so in essence there is no strategy. The Player IS given a choice of what to do, but the choice is always the same, so is there really any strategy? I'll leave that to the philosophers and people who wonder about trees falling in the forest.
Read MoreLast month night, I went over to the Red Rock to place my bets on the Super Bowl. Apparently me and everybody else in Las Vegas. I figured I would beat the rush by going in on Saturday night. I was wrong. The sportsbook was about as crowded as I had ever seen it (admittedly, I don't watch the game from a sportsbook!). I think I had read that over $100 million dollars was wagered on the game here in town. I think I discovered the secret to why so much is wagered. Apparently, no matter what, you have to put some money down on the game.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I wrote about Mississippi Stud, which is a relatively new game that has been growing quickly in popularity. Mississippi Stud was based on one of the granddaddy games - Let It Ride. I have frequently referred to Mississippi Stud as Let It Ride on Speed. The critical difference between the two games is that in Let It Ride, one wager is mandatory and the other two are optional. Your choice is to let it ride or to pull it back. In Mississippi Stud, your choice is to make a wager or to Fold. The math - and thus the strategy - is vastly different for these two scenarios.
Read MoreTwenty years ago, if you walked into a casino, you had four choice of what to play that covered about 95% of the casino floor - Blackjack, Craps, Roulette and Slot Machines. Flash forward to 2013 and the casino floor is quite a different place. If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say that Blackjack and Slots have given up the most square footage. Slot machines yield space to video poker and Blackjack yielded space to the myriad of new table games that have been invented and successfully invaded the casino. For most of the time, only one blackjack variant managed to make any inroads. This was Spanish 21. While its popularity has diminished a bit, it is still quite a powerhouse in the industry.
Read MoreThe premier consulting firm that has been demystifying casino gaming math for more than two generations.
Engineered with care by @NisFrome
