By John Grochowski on Tuesday October 24, 2017

One of the tools slot machine designers use to keep the games fun and interesting is the stacked reel, where a number of consecutive symbols are the same. Things can really get interesting when the stacked symbols are wild, matching any other symbols to help form winning combinations. A slot-playing reader wrote to say she'd recently had a stack of wilds on the last reel of her penny video slot. "I said to myself more than anyone else, 'I hate when that’s on the last reel,' she wrote. " I guess I was loud enough for others to hear, because…

One of the tools slot machine designers use to keep the games fun and interesting is the stacked reel, where a number of consecutive symbols are the same. Things can really get interesting when the stacked symbols are wild, matching any other symbols to help form winning combinations. A slot-playing…

By John Grochowski on Monday October 16, 2017

Even gaming events that you're unlikely ever to see happen can be fun to talk about, and there are enough "what ifs" that conversation about them can be endless. One that a player brought up recently involves blackjack. There are four Aces in each deck, so in a six-deck game there are 64 Aces. A player thought about the possibilities and emailed me to ask, "Pretend I’m playing blackjack and I have a hand with seven Aces. That’s still a soft 17, right? Are there any dealer up cards where I should just stand? I can’t double down, since I…

Even gaming events that you're unlikely ever to see happen can be fun to talk about, and there are enough "what ifs" that conversation about them can be endless. One that a player brought up recently involves blackjack. There are four Aces in each deck, so in a six-deck game…

By John Grochowski on Tuesday October 10, 2017

When you go on a casino overnight trip, especially one that's going to last two or three days, would you rather get a big win early in the trip or late? Early, and all the pressure's off your budget. You can play to your heart's content. Late, and you're sure of bringing the big bucks home. Of course, winning any time is terrific, but given a choice, here's what some players had to say: Anna: Oooooooh, I get a choice? Then I want the money early, please. That way I have a chance to win more. Do you remember the…

When you go on a casino overnight trip, especially one that's going to last two or three days, would you rather get a big win early in the trip or late? Early, and all the pressure's off your budget. You can play to your heart's content. Late, and you're sure…

By John Grochowski on Thursday October 5, 2017

When I learned blackjack basic strategy about 30 years ago, the plays others made were real eye-openers to me. I don't mean just in a sense of so many people made so many mistakes, but just how bad I had been up to that point. Take any list of mistakes blackjack players make, and I made it, until I finally saw the light. Players today are better than they once were. I don't see anywhere near as many mistakes at the table. But I do still see some doozies. Here are a few I've seen in the last few months,…

When I learned blackjack basic strategy about 30 years ago, the plays others made were real eye-openers to me. I don't mean just in a sense of so many people made so many mistakes, but just how bad I had been up to that point. Take any list of mistakes…