By John Grochowski on Thursday April 20, 2017

There are blackjack decisions that are cut-and-dried, and then there are those that are closer calls. One of the closer calls comes when you have 13 and the dealer’s face up card is a 2. Basic strategy tells us the best play is to stand and not take a chance on busting, but the difference isn’t large. If you start with 10-3 and the dealer shows a 2, your average loss per $1 wagered is 28.9 cents if you stand and 30.8 cents if you hit. A player emailed to ask if there might be a difference in the specific…

There are blackjack decisions that are cut-and-dried, and then there are those that are closer calls. One of the closer calls comes when you have 13 and the dealer’s face up card is a 2. Basic strategy tells us the best play is to stand and not take a chance…

By John Grochowski on Wednesday April 19, 2017

Some of my favorite tales from readers are those of back-to-back jackpots – or at least jackpots within a few plays of each other.  They don’t happen very often. A 1 in 40,000 chance of drawing a royal flush in video poker translates to a 1 in 160 million chance of back-to-back royals. But given enough trials, anything that can happen eventually will, and there are plenty of trials in casinos. One of the latest close encounters of the winning kind that has been relayed to me didn’t involve back-to-back jackpots, but two royals within 10 minutes of each other…

Some of my favorite tales from readers are those of back-to-back jackpots – or at least jackpots within a few plays of each other.  They don’t happen very often. A 1 in 40,000 chance of drawing a royal flush in video poker translates to a 1 in 160 million chance…

By Travel Tunica on Monday April 17, 2017

Angie, my longtime friend, and I were celebrating our recent retirement with a Creedence Clearwater Revisited concert at Gold Strike—one of the eight casinos in Tunica, Mississippi. We may be a pair of little old ladies in training, but we know how to have fun. Starting with the drive. We had the music streaming—loudly—all the way to Tunica, with the pair of us belting out everything from “Under My Thumb” by The Rolling Stones to the Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane.” Along the road I thought of Abraham Lincoln’s quote, which happens to be a bumper sticker on the…

Angie, my longtime friend, and I were celebrating our recent retirement with a Creedence Clearwater Revisited concert at Gold Strike—one of the eight casinos in Tunica, Mississippi. We may be a pair of little old ladies in training, but we know how to have fun. Starting with the drive. We…

By John Grochowski on Wednesday April 12, 2017

Not all slot reels are created equal, regardless of whether you’re playing video slots or games with mechanical reels. Video slots were on the mind of a reader recently who asked if all five reels have to bet the same. “If I know one video reel is 100 symbols long before it comes around again and has one of the highest-paying symbol, does that mean the others have to have one of that symbol too?” she asked. “Can they have two or three or none?” The short answer is that the reels don’t have to be the same. You can…

Not all slot reels are created equal, regardless of whether you’re playing video slots or games with mechanical reels. Video slots were on the mind of a reader recently who asked if all five reels have to bet the same. “If I know one video reel is 100 symbols long…

By John Grochowski on Monday April 10, 2017

When players get serious about craps, they soon learn that the free odds have no house edge. You must make a pass or come bet at the full house edge in order to bet the odds after a point is established, but then the odds bet is paid at true odds. One common format is 3x, 4x, 5x odds, in which your odds bet can be triple your pass bet if the point is 4 or 10, quadruple if 5 or 9 or quintuple if 6 or 8. A few casinos even allow 10x odds or even 100x odds, though…

When players get serious about craps, they soon learn that the free odds have no house edge. You must make a pass or come bet at the full house edge in order to bet the odds after a point is established, but then the odds bet is paid at true…

By Lisa Konupka on Wednesday April 5, 2017

We love seeing everyones photos from their trips to Tunica. Here are our top 10 for the month of March.  1. @rabi432 Breathtaking photo of the Veterans Park Memorial in Downtown Tunica 2. Kenneth Hines @swingintweek The Dropkick Murphys rocked the house at Bluesville 3. @bosslady_schicks Crab legs for days at the Horseshoe Casino seafood buffet 4. GoldStrike Casino @goldstrikemgm Dreaming of what I would spend my $250,000 winnings on 5. Kimberly graves @kgraves12346 Kimberly sure knows how to relax when visiting  6. @tunicams It was a sad month with the passing of the Blues legend James Cotton 7. Katina…

We love seeing everyones photos from their trips to Tunica. Here are our top 10 for the month of March.  1. @rabi432 Breathtaking photo of the Veterans Park Memorial in Downtown Tunica 2. Kenneth Hines @swingintweek The Dropkick Murphys rocked the house at Bluesville 3. @bosslady_schicks Crab legs for days…