Tag: bets

Place Your Bets For The Big Game In Tunica

Super Bowl Sunday is the most anticipated day of the year for NFL fans in the Mid-South. If you don’t have tickets to the big game, we invite you to watch and place your bets in Tunica for the Big Game.

Sports Betting and Parlays

There are times sports bettors think they’ve zeroed in on multiple winners and are tempted to bet parlays — betting multiple teams, with all required to win for the bettor to collect.

The temptation is in the payoffs. Let’s use parlays on point-spread bets as an example.

Sports Betting on Baseball

Sports Betting On Baseball 101 Blog

When sports bettors turn to baseball, point spreads, or a “run line,” are available just as they are in football or basketball. If the Reds are playing the Cardinals in St. Louis, with the Reds listed at +1.5, then Cardinals bettors need them to win by two runs or more, while Reds bettors win if Cincinnati wins the game or loses by only one run.

More commonly, though, baseball bettors focus on the money line. The run line isn’t as popular as point spreads in football and basketball.

Sports Betting and House Edge

Sports Betting And House Edge With Money Blog

In a previous entry discussing the point spread, over/under and money line wagers at sports books, I mentioned that the house typically charges an extra 10 percent on point-spread and over/under bets. To win $10, you must bet $11.

Bettors are sometimes misled into thinking that gives the house a 10 percent edge, which would be very high casino standards.

Actually, the house edge is 4.55 percent. Here’s how it works:

Sports Betting 101

Sports Betting 101 Football Field blog

The legalization of sports betting no doubt will bring throngs of new players who need to know the ropes before they bet.

Old hands who have wagered in Nevada or online already know the basics, but for those finding a new betting experience in Mississippi, here are a few of the basic ways to bet.

 

Stories from the Casino Floor: Soft Hands in Blackjack

About a month ago, I told of being at a table with a blackjack player who insisted on standing on all 16s, including the soft ones, no matter what the dealer had.

In a common six-deck game in which the dealer hits soft 17, basic strategy for soft 16 is to double down if the dealer’s up card is 4, 5 or 6, and to hit if the dealer has anything else. Never stand on soft 16.

My experience drew responses from others who have encountered players who have trouble with soft hands. Let’s share a couple of their tales.

Betting on Multiple Paylines

When video slots started their rise to prominence in the late 1990s, the most popular games were in nickel denominations, there were relatively few paylines — five, nine, and eventually 15 — and you could choose the number of paylines and amount per line you wanted to play.

Are Side Bets Worth It?

Casinos often use side bets on table games — especially blackjack — to spice up the games and draw a little extra action from players.

The house edge on side bets almost always is higher than on the main game. That led a reader to write and ask, “Is there ever a time to make a side bet like 21 + 3 or Lucky Ladies at blackjack, the Dragon Bonus bet at baccarat or the Prime bet in Three Card Poker? [If the house edge is higher], why not just play the regular game and skip the side bet?”

Why Do You Sometimes Win on the Ante and Not the Bet in Poker?

Many modern table games include two stage betting, with an ante and a bet. Players with strong hands then must wait to see if the dealer has a qualifying hand. If the dealer’s hand isn’t good enough, you win only on the ante and the bet is returned to you.

With the Lowest House Edge, is Baccarat all it’s Cracked up to be?

There’s more to choosing a game to play than the house edge alone. For one thing, there’s the fun factor. No matter how well you play any game, there are going to be frequent losing sessions. You might as well choose a game you enjoy playing even in the tough times.

Should You Play Off Your Credits When Lower Than a Max Bet or Cash Out?

Multi-hand video poker games are among my casino favorites, and have been ever since Triple Play Poker was introduced in the late 1990s. With the games, there is a temptation to players. On a quarter Triple Play machine, a maximum-coins wager is $3.75. What happens if your credits dwindle to less than that? Do you make a bet for less than full coins? 

How to Calculate House Edge in Roulette

A couple of months ago, I walked through the arithmetic for the house advantage on the pass line in craps.  It’s quite a lengthy calculation with a number of factors, but enough readers followed along that it brought a few questions. 

When to Take Bets Down in Craps

Craps players have dozens of options with all the different combinations to play. On many multi-roll bets, they also have the option of taking the bet down before a decision is reached.

Max Bets in Video Slots

One of the many differences between video slots and three-reel slots with mechanical reels is that three-reel games almost always have an incentive in the pay table to bet maximum coins. On three-reel games, a max-coins bet brings a disproportionate jump in the top jackpot, so betting the max brings a higher payback percentage than betting less.

Tale At The Table

I’m always looking for tales of unusual things that happen in casinos. One came my way from a reader who wanted to share his experience with a big cash player.

 

Calculating House Edge In Craps

I don’t like to get bogged down in math in this blog. All casino games have roots in math, but you don’t have to be able to do the math yourself to shop for the best bets. House edges are easy to find online or in books about gaming.

Nonetheless, I do get reader requests for explanations about the underlying arithmetic, especially in craps.

Royal Flushes In Video Poker vs. Table Poker

Video poker is a much different game than table poker. In video poker, you’re playing draw poker, is rare to nonexistent on the tables. You’re not playing against other players, you don’t have to try to read anyone else’s hand and you don’t have to evaluate whether to raise, call or fold.

Slots Paying Early vs. Late In The Game

It’s not difficult to see patterns in wins and losses, and it’s all too easy to jump to conclusions based on small samples. Over the years I’ve fielded questions from readers who wondered if they should skip drawing to four-card straights because they missed several times in a row and from others who were convinced 20 was a losing hand in blackjack because they dealer drew a few 21s to beat them one night.

Getting And Giving Advice at the Table

Giving advice at the gaming tables isn’t for everyone. I’ve played with some who love to tell others what to do, whether the advice is welcome or not. Others never give advice, or give it only when asked.

What are Commissions in Craps?

At any game, players come in all levels of experience and knowledge. Some are more familiar than others with game rules, strategies or even the mechanics of how to make a bet.

 

Battle Of The Sexes At The Craps Table

I hear regularly from Maria, a reader who mostly plays craps. She’s often found herself the only woman at the table, but it doesn’t bother her. She does, however, sometimes take some grief about being the only “wrong” bettor – a player who bets against the shooter by wagering on don’t pass and don’t come.

Is It True Casinos Make Their Money From Winners?

It’s sometimes said that casinos make their money from winners. Of course, every time it’s said, there’s somebody who responds, “Then they should let everybody win and make even more money.”

Odds When Playing Roulette vs Slots

Players sometimes have difficulty with the idea that slot machine results can be programmed and random at the same time. So for many years, I’ve used a comparison to roulette, where you don’t know when any given number will turn up, but the odds of the game will lead to a 5.26 percent house edge – the same as a 94.74 percent payback percentage.

Your Top Craps Questions Answered

From beginners to grizzled old veterans, craps players are always thinking about the ins and outs of their game. A couple of questions arrived recently, one from newbie on a basic concept and one from a veteran who was wondering about the possibilities of a different way to play.

New Quad Burst Tiger Strike Slots

The last few weeks I’ve been writing about new games displayed at the annual Global Gaming Expo, with table and slot games we’ll be playing in the coming year. For me, Expo week is almost like a second Christmas as the wraps come off those goodies, so let’s take a look at just a couple of more new slots.

Stop Getting Burned At Blackjack

Some of the most frustrating hands at blackjack come when the dealer starts stringing out low cards. You see the dealer with a 14, and think there’s a good chance he’ll bust. Then comes a 2, and with 16, he just HAS to bust, right? Then, boom! Here’s comes a 5, the dealer has 21 and the whole table loses.

New Trivia Slots

Sometimes, you just can’t keep a good idea down. And blending slot machine excitement with tests of knowledge plays right to my taste.


The IRS And Your Jackpot

The Internal Revenue Service has proposed changes to federal tax requirements on that could triple the amount of paperwork when we win big on slots, video poker and other electronic casino games. In one proposal, you’d still have to sign form W-2G on any jackpot of $1,200 or more, but also would require casinos to use their player tracking systems to trigger tax forms on cumulative winnings of $1,200 or more above losses in one day.

Video Poker Are The Odds Against You

Video poker games are designed to be as random as humans can program a computer to be. The odds of drawing winning hands are the same as cards were dealt from a real deck.

Still, when odd streaks happen, players can’t help but wonder if something more is going on.

Best Ante Bet Strategy In Three Card Poker

Basic strategy for the ante-bet portion of Three Card Poker is to make the bet of equal to your ante any time you’re dealt Queen-6-4 or better, but to fold and forfeit your ante with lower-ranking hands.

That strategy led a reader to email me with two questions:

New Money Rain Slot Machines

The new Money Rain slot machines are proving to be a hit with players. Take a look at their new features. 

Should You Place A Fortune Bet In Pai Gow?

Pai-gow poker is known as an even-keel, extended play kind of game. The Fortune Pai-Gow side bet injects a little excitement for jackpot hunters, including a big payoff of 5,000-1 on a seven-card straight flush that does not include the joker. That’s about a 4.8 million-to-1 shot, but hey, we can dream.

A Betting Mistake Pays Off

We all make mistakes in the casino. Blackjack players stand when they meant to hit, slot players forget to check to see all the paylines are active and players at any game sometimes have a brain cramp and make a bet that’s larger than they’d intended.

Is The House Edge Lower In Baccarat?

On most casino games, the house wins more often than the player, and it’s easy for the casino to get an edge on the game. All it has to do is pay players less than the true odds of winning the bet, and random results will lead to profit for the house.

“Big Bang Theory Slots” Give You More Bang For Your Buck

When video slots first came out, it took only a single bonus event to entrance players. Neighbors would stop their play to watch whenever someone went fishing in Reel ’Em In or chose their Chinese foods from the menu in Fortune Cookie. 

Should You Change Your Betting Strategy in Craps?

Just about every craps player has a favorite way to play. Some play the percentages and make sure they take the free odds offered when you back pass or come bets with additional bets. Some like the place bets on 6 and 8, to make sure they always have the most frequent non-7 numbers working. Some like to take their chances for bigger payoffs on the one-roll props such as yo-leven or any 7, and let the house edge fall where it may.

Recently, I got an email from a reader wondering if he should change his method.

Are Progressive Jackpots A Better Bet in Video Poker?

Video poker players in the know understand that on most games, payback percentages are changed by altering the returns on full houses and flushes. A “9-6” Jacks or Better game, where full houses pay 9-for-1 and flushes 6-for-1, returns 99.5 percent with expert play. If instead you see 8-5 Jacks or Better, meaning full houses pay 8-for-1 and flushes 5-for-1, then the average return is 97.3 percent with expert play.

However, when progressive jackpots are involved, even a game with a lower pay table can have high average returns.

Placing Bets In Roulette

There are so many different wagering options at roulette that it’s only natural that players would try to come up with combinations to try to overcome the house edge.

How To Bet In Craps For Higher Wins

Craps presents so many possibilities that players are continually exploring combinations seeing if they can find a magic formula for profit. One player asked me recently if he could combine place bets with hard ways for some giant-sized wins.

Sons of Anarchy Slot Machines

The video age has enabled game designers to get creative in any number of ways, and that includes the way they use reels and symbols. One of the latest wrinkles is Cluster Power, a new way to play you’ll be seeing in the coming year on Aristocrat Technologies’ Sons of Anarchy slot machine.

 

Hot Streaks, Are They For Real?

Not long ago, I received a note via email from a craps player who was taken aback when a shooter rolled five sevens in a row. “It would seem to me there has to be a makeup time to get the odds to come out right,” he wrote. “What’s the hidden factor that balances those five 7s in a row?”

Casino Strip Presents $100,000 Slot Tournament

Something exciting took place last weekend in Tunica and I’m not just talking about Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  Last week Hollywood Casino, Resorts Casino, and Sam’s Town Tunica Casino hosted the first ever Casino Strip Presents $100,000 slot tournament.  This tournament was the first of it’s kind here in Tunica and let me tell you, it was a lot of fun.

Video Poker: Chance vs. Skill

Video poker is a game that mixes pure chance with a dose of skill. You don’t know which cards are going to dealt, but you need to know which ones to hold to have a fighting chance to win.

Is a Put Bet Plus Odds as Good as Placing a 6 or 8 in Craps?

The two most commonly rolled point numbers in craps are 6 and 8. Of 36 possible two-dice combinations, five add up to 6 and five add up to 8. The only more frequently rolled number is 7, with six combinations, but that’s a losing number to most players.

Watch Out for Roulette Bets That Cancel Each Other Out

Nearly every wager on a double-zero roulette table gives the house a 5.26 percent edge. It makes no difference whether you bet single numbers or 18-number combinations such as red or black, or anything in between. As long as you steer clear of the five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, where the house edge soars to 7.89 percent, the house expects to keep $5.26 per $100 wagered.