Sometimes slot players like to go whole hog. Sometimes they want to see the credits raining cats and dogs down onto their meters. Sometimes an elephant stampede is just the order of the day.

Whatever animal metaphor you’d like, there’s a slot machine out there that will fill the bill. 

Dozens of slots have animal themes. Graphics can be realistic nature scenes and they can be cartoon fun. Gameplay can be straightforward free spins and it can be quirky and filled with surprises.

Game makers are there to cater to all tastes, and that includes animal-themed slots. Let’s check out a half dozen that rank high in the casino animal kingdom.

Raging Rhino, Scientific Games

Africa’s population of incredible large animal life is unlike anything found anywhere else. It provides a striking backdrop for a six-reel, 4,096-ways-to-win slot with a free-spin bonus.

The six reels are each four symbols deep, creating much more territory for combinations – winning or otherwise – than on standard five reels, three-deep slots. There are no traditional paylines. Matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from the left can form winners regardless of reel position.

The setting takes you on safari with rhinos, gorillas, leopards, and crocodiles among the reel symbols, along with the common A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9 symbols. 

There are two special symbols. The African Tree is a wild symbol that can substitute for any symbol except diamonds. Diamonds are the bonus symbol. When two or more diamonds land on the reels, they launch free spins ranging from five spins for two diamonds to 50 spins for six diamonds. 

The African Tree carries a multiplier in the bonus spins. In addition to helping form winning combinations, it can multiply wins by two or three times.

Rhinos are the big-ticket symbols, and you want to see them raging on your screen. Rhinos included in a winning combination change into an animated gallop. When you see the rhinos gallop, you know your credit meter is growing.

Fortune Pig, iSoftBet

An online favorite, Fortune Pig takes advantage of a hot trend in Asian games while a golden pig face serves as the wild symbol. Mythical animals figure in the mix, too, as scattered dragons launch free spin rounds.

One fun animal feature: the pigs always come in stacks. The reels can stop so only the bottom of the stack shows at the top of the reel or the top of the stack at the bottom of the reel, leaving you with only one wild symbol. But the chance is there to land two or three pigs from the stack on a reel.

Fortune Pig has five reels, each three symbols deep, and 25 paylines. In addition to the golden pig and the dragons, symbols include a golden lion, a drum, gold coins on a red string, and a golden tree with coins as leaves, along with A, K, Q and J.

The dragons appear on the first, third and fifth reels. Collect three of them on the same spin and they’ll take you to the Fortune free spins round, with eight spins. 

The Fortune free spins feature synchronized reels that will stop with identical symbols in the three reel positions. If two reels are synchronized, you might see lion, king and drum from top to bottom at each. Then you can hope to match one or more of those symbols on adjacent reels to form winning combinations.

When three or four reels are synchronized, the wins are bigger and more frequent. And when all five reels are in sync, big-paying five of a kinds will boost your credits.

The money bags launch a cash respin bonus. When five or more money bags land on the screen, they’re locked in place and you start three respins. Each bag displays a coin prize, and each time you add a bag to the collection, the respins reset to three. Should a golden pig turn up, he collects all coins and clears bags from the screen. That leaves space for you to collect even more bags and prizes.

Frog Grog, Thunderkick

A croaking golden frog, dropping reels that give you the chance for multiple wins on the same spin and a mystery free-spin bonus give Frog Grog its fun and intrigue.

A five-reel, 23-line game, Frog Grog is set up as a laboratory cabinet divided into cubicles, each holding a reel symbol. Symbols are in beakers, test tubes and phials with colored liquids. Some liquids hold hearts, eyeballs, moths and thistles.

These aren’t static symbols. The liquids bubble away in their containers. And the golden frog certainly isn’t static. When he lands in a cubicle, he lets out a big croak and blows away the other symbols in his row and column. Fresh symbols then drop into the vacated spaces, perhaps to form new winners.

Throughout play, the dropping reels create extra opportunities. Any winning combinations are paid, then those symbols drop out of place and are replaced by new symbols. Winners on the new configuration are paid double and eliminated and replaced. On the third go, winners are paid at 3x, then 5x, then 7x.

If you’ve made it all the way to the 7x cascade your wins can get very large indeed.

There’s little added entertainment in a mystery bonus – you have no clue that it’s coming. It just happens. At random times, all symbols expect frogs, thistles and moths will be removed from the screen, then replaced. 

It’s a fresh chance to add to your credit meter that helps keep you engrossed in this quirky little game.

Wolf Run, International Game Technology

A classic that includes three different wolf symbols, Wolf Run is a long-running favorite both online and offline.

It has five reels, each four symbols deep, and 40 paylines. Symbols include a white wolf, a grey wolf, a night scene of a wolf howling at the moon and wolf tracks on a bonus symbol. There are two different totem symbols as well as A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9.

The howling wolves are wild symbols, substituting for anything but the bonus symbols. Wild symbols sometimes come in stacks, and the really big wins in this game come when you collect wild stacks on multiple reels.

That’s especially true in the free-spins bonus. When those bonus tracks appear on the second, third and fourth reels, they launch five free spins. During the freebies, all wins are doubled. That’s when stacks of wilds can really pay off. 

Five free spins might not sound like much, but they come frequently to both hold your interest and give you a shot at a winning session. That the combination works is proven by Wolf Run’s long-lasting popularity among players.

Pink Elephants, Thunderkick

A quirky, fun take on animal themes, Pink Elephants’ big-paying symbol is just what you’d expect: a big-tusked, animated pink elephant head.

The six-reel, four-deep 4,096 ways to win slot also includes four different animated meerkat symbols, peanuts that crack open and launch bonus spins, “W” symbols that are wild and the lower-paying A, K, Q, J, 10 and 9.

Cracking peanut shells takes you to a free spins bonus where the spins are only half the fun. It takes three or more peanuts to launch the spins, from a minimum of seven spins for three shells to a maximum of 19 for six shells.

In the free spins, the four meerkat symbols are displayed in a stack to the left of the reels. Each meerkat is surrounded by a ring of circles.

On the reels, some pink elephant symbols randomly display glowing orbs. When those appear, the orbs move to light up circles around the meerkats, first to the ring around the bottom meerkat. When that ring is completely lit, the next orbs light up the next meerkat up the ladder, and so on.

As each ring is completed, you’re awarded an extra free spin and the corresponding meerkat is transformed into extra pink elephants on remaining spins.

The more meerkats that are transformed, the bigger your chances of landing a large elephant on screen in big numbers for super-sized wins.

Chicken Fox, Lightning Box

The five-reel, 25-line Chicken Fox is a farmyard frolic with the reel set surrounded by the interior of a big red barn.

In the main reel spins, symbols include four different cartoon chickens, a pig, goat, tractor, a pie-toting farmer’s wife who serves as the wild symbol, and the ubiquitous A-K-Q-J.

Golden eggs are the bonus symbols. Land three golden eggs on the screen and you’ll get eight free spins, and you can get 15 spins for four eggs or 30 for five.

In the free spins, you get a fresh reel set with chickens, eggs, wild foxes – including a 2x multiplier fox – and empty cubicles. The farmer might not like to see a fox in with his chickens, but you will. Land a wild fox with a chicken and you can win up to five more free spins. You can make it up to 10 free spins with a chicken and the 2x wild fox.

If foxes land on the reels with no chickens or eggs, you still can add an extra free spin or two.

It’s a bit of madcap entertainment, a light-hearted counterpart to games such as Wolf Run, with more realistic graphics but frequent bonuses to keep you coming back.

There’s room for both – and much more – in the slot players’ animal kingdom.

When casinos change pay tables on video poker games, they not only change the payback percentage players can get, they change optimal strategy.

If you’re playing Double Double Bonus Poker in an online casino and you see a 9-6 pay table where full houses pay 9 for 1 and flushes 6 for 1, video poker strategy is different than if you see an 8-5 pay table.

The same goes for offline video poker games. The most common changes in pay tables are on full houses and flushes. When they change, players’ approaches to the games must change too.

Flush payoffs drive most video poker strategy shifts. There’s not much you can do to increase the frequency of full houses. If you’re dealt J-J-6-6-9, you’re going to hold both pairs regardless of whether full houses pay 10, 9, 8, 7 or 6 for 1.

But the difference between a 7-for-1, 6-for-1 or 6-for-1 pay on flushes can change optimal play for holding potential flushes and straight flushes.

Here are some sample hands from Jacks or Better, Double Double Bonus Poker and Double Bonus Poker to illustrate.

Jacks or Better

With expert play, 9-6 Jacks or Better returns 99.5% and the 8-5 version gets an average of 97.3%.

Expert play differs on these hands because of the difference between the 6 for 1 and 5 for 1 pays on flushes.

➔    5h, 6h, 7j, Js, Qs: Three-Card Straight Flush vs. Two Parts of a Royal Flush

At the 9-6 pay table, the best play is to hold the three consecutive hearts. We’ll make a two-card draw to a straight flush a lot more often than a three-card draw to a royal. The average return of 3.15 coins per five wagered on the three hearts beats the 3.12 on the two high spades.

When the flush return drops to 5 for 1, so does the value of suited 5-6-7. Strategy shifts, and when flushes pay only 5 for 1, we hold suited Q-J instead with a 3.07-coin average to 2.96 for the three-card straight flush.

➔    Kh, Qc, Js, 8s, 7s: Inside Draw To Three-Card Straight Flush with Two Gaps & High Card vs. Three Unsuited High Cards

In 9-6 Jacks or better, we like the draw to an inside straight flush, suited J-8-7 with an average return of 2.69 coins that beats the 2.58 on unsuited K-Q-J.

Drop the flush payback to 5 for 1, and we turn around and hold K-Q-J instead. The average for the high cards stays at 2.58, but the straight flush draw drops to 2.48.

Ace of diamonds, King of clubs, Queen of clubs, Jack of hearts, 9 of clubs:  three-card  straight flush with two gaps and two high cards vs. four high cards.

We favor three parts of a straight flush and at least as many high cards as gaps in 9-6 Jacks or Better with a 3.11-coin average that beats the 2.98 on holding all four high cards. Reduce the flush payback, and the better play is A-K-Q- at 2.98 vs. 2.91 on the three clubs.

Double Bonus Poker

Way back in the 1990s, it was easy to find a Double Bonus version with a 10-7-5 pay table – 10 for 1 on full houses, 7 for 1 on flushes and 5 for 1 on straights. It paid 100.2% with expert play.

That game is scarce today, but a 9-7-5 version that returns 99.1 percent is around. Let’s compare strategies to 9-6-5 Double Bonus, with a 97.8% average. Some versions pay only 4 for 1 on straights. Avoid them.

Some sample hands:

➔    9h, 6h, 4h, 10s, 3c: Three Parts of a Flush vs. a Complete Redraw

This is a classic example of the complete reversal of strategy changes in flush payback can cause.

In the 9-6-5 Double Bonus and in other video poker games with flush paybacks of 6 for 1 or less, we don’t even bat an eye at three suited cards with no high cards and no straight flush chances. But a 7 for 1 return is worth chasing. In 9-7-5 Double Bonus, average returns are 1.82 coins on the three hearts and 1.64 on  complete redraw.

In 9-6-5 Double Bonus, the redraw is the better play by a 1.63-1.61 margin.

➔    Kd, Jd, 7d, 10c, 2h: Three Card Flush with Two High Cards vs. Two Parts to a Royal Flush

The two-card royal, K-J, is the play on 9-6-5 Double Bonus with a 2.73-coin average return vs. 2.61 on K-J-7. But in 9-7-5 Double Bonus, with an eye on the enhanced flush return, we’d keep all three diamonds with an average return of 2.82 coins vs. 2.77 on K-J.

➔    Ac, Qs, Js, 10d, 8s: Three-Card Straight Flush with Two High Cards and Two Gaps vs. Four-Card Straight With Three High Cards and One Gap

Take your pick: Hold A-Q-J-10 and hope for a King to complete the straight, or hold Q-J-8 and go for the flush with a double-inside shot at a straight flush. In the 9-7-5 game, the flush return would tell us to hold the three spades with a 3.27-coin average return vs. 3.09 on A-Q-J-10. But in a 9-6-5 game, we settle for the inside straight draw by a 3.09-3.05 margin.

Double Double Bonus Poker

The 9-6 version of Double Double Bonus returns 99% with expert play – 98.98% if you want to split hairs. It’s still widely available in online casinos, and offline, too. But in many casinos, you might find yourself playing a 9-5 (97.9%) or 8-5 (96.8%) version.

The drop to 5 for 1 on flushes lead to several changes in expert strategy. Numbers given below are for the 9-6 and 9-5 versions, but 9-5 strategies also apply to 8-5 Double Double Bonus.

Some sample hands:

➔    Kd, Qc, Jh, 8h, 7h: Three High Cards vs. a Three-Card Inside Straight Flush with One High Card and Two Gaps

K-Q-J, or J-8-7? With the reduced flush pay, it’s K-Q-J, with an average return of 2.45 coins vs. 2.36 on the three-card, double-inside straight flush draw.

But when you have the higher flush return in the 9-6 version, it enhances the value of the three-card straight flush. Then the better play is to hold J-8-7 with an average return of 2.56 coins vs. the 2.45 on K-Q-J.

➔    KC, Qc, Jc, Js, 6s: Three-Card Royal K-Q-J Vs. High Pair J-J

That three-card royal is tempting, and with a higher flush payback we’d go for it. But here the average return in 9-5 Double Double Bonus is 7.23 coins on J-J and 7.15 on K-Q-J.  

When you get the bigger 6 for 1 payback on flushes in the 9-6 version, strategies flip. Average returns are 7.34 coins on K-Q-J and 7.23 on J-J.

Not every strategy change at different video poker pay tables is driven by flushes. Big four of a kind payoffs in Double Double Bonus dictate some changes from Jacks or Better, and two-pair returns that are larger on Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker than other games mean some big differences in how we play.

But within each game type, such as different Double Double Bonus versions or different Jacks or Better versions, the common changes are in flushes and full houses. It’s the flushes that matter most in the need to alter strategies.
 

Craps is the only game where the casino gives you the means of winning and the outcome is quite literally in your hands (sort of). The casino gives you two dice and actually allows you to throw them. There is no other casino game where the player has control. He can’t shuffle and deal the cards in blackjack or pai gow poker, nor can he spin the little white ball around the roulette wheel.

Craps is the only casino game where this happens. Craps also has a large array of bets that can be made. For this reason, a big portion of the questions received are about craps. 

Craps Basics

For those who are unfamiliar with craps, here is a very brief description of the game.

The most common bet in craps is the pass line bet. Once a shooter makes a pass line bet, if the first roll is a 7 or 11, the pass line bet is a winner and the bet is paid 1 to 1. If the roll is a 2, 3, or 12, the pass line bet is a loser and the bet is taken by the dealer. If the roll is any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) it becomes the “point number.” The shooter must then roll that number before a 7 to win the bet. If a 7 appears before that number, the bet is lost.

Craps players also have the option of making a don’t pass bet which is essentially the opposite of the pass line bet – a 7 or 11 is a loser, a 2 or 3 is a winner, a 12 is a push (neither a winner nor a loser). Any other number becomes the point number and the shooter must roll a 7 before that number to win the don’t pass bet.

Come and don’t come bets work like pass and don’t pass bets, except they are made when a point is already established.

A free odds bet can be added to a pass or don’t pass as well as a come or don’t come bet. The amount of the odds bet is limited by the casino and varies from casino to casino and usually from table to table in the same casino.

One of the major areas of confusion in the game of craps centers around betting both pass (or come) and don’t pass (or don’t come).

Consider the following situation which a reader sent me. 

The shooter makes a $5 Don’t Pass bet. He rolls a 6. Should he then make a $5 Come bet (since 6 has been established as the point) and back it with $15 in odds, or should he simply just leave his original Don’t Pass bet with no odds?

In order to properly answer the question, some background is in order. As stated previously, for every pass/don’t pass and come/don’t come bet, there are two phases. The roll immediately after the bet is placed and all subsequent rolls (assuming the first roll is not a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12). On the initial roll, a pass line (or come) bettor has eight ways to win.

• Six ways to make a 7 (1-6, 6-1, 2-5, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3)
• Two ways to make an 11 (5-6, 6-5)

There are four ways to lose.

• One way to make a 2, (1-1)
• Two ways to make a 3 (1-2, 2-1)
• One way to make a 12 (6-6)

Eight ways to win versus four ways to lose. That is a 2-to-1 player advantage. 

Once a point is established, however, the pass/come bet advantage swings to the house.

On the initial roll, a don’t pass/don’t come bettor has eight ways to lose.

• Six ways to make a 7
• Two ways to make an 11

He has three ways to win.

• One way to make a 2
• Two ways to make a 3

And, he has one way to push with a 12. 

It is a losing proposition for the don’t pass/don’t come player. Once a point is established, however, the advantage swings to the don’t bettor.

The Situation with 6 and 8

Most craps players know that the odds of rolling a 6 or 8 are the best of all the point numbers. For this reason, some feel they would rather not play a don’t pass or don’t come bet when the point is a 6 or 8. They feel the odds of winning the bet are not high enough, so they try to offset the bet by making a pass or come bet. A short analysis of this logic follows.

Granted, the odds of winning a don’t bet when the point is a 6 or 8 is the lowest of any point number, but the important fact is that the player still has the advantage. There are six ways to throw a 7 and only five ways to throw a 6 (or 8). There is absolutely no reason to make any additional bet. The player already has the advantage!

I have seen players take down don’t come bets when the point is a 6 or 8 – and the casino allows it. Think about this. Would the casino allow the player to take the bets down if it was advantageous to the house? They don’t allow a player to take a pass line bet down strictly because the house has the advantage once a point is established.

So, what should a don’t player do if a 6 or 8 becomes the point?

My advice is to be happy that you have the advantage over the house. Add an odds bet (that you can afford) to the don’t pass bet and ride the hand to its conclusion. 

There is no need to add a hedge bet. In fact, there is a house edge on the additional pass or come bet. Remember, the costly part of a pass or come bet is after the point is established, whereas the costly part of a don’t bet is the initial roll. If you decide to make a don’t pass or don’t come bet, be thankful you made it past the initial roll.

Most craps players have almost no knowledge of house edges. This lack of knowledge can cost them money. If you simply are playing for the excitement of the game and you have the money to lose, then maybe the lack of knowledge is okay. But, if you want to have the best chance of winning, knowledge is power. Learn the game and apply the knowledge.
 

QUESTION: I am brand new to casino playing and the slot machines fascinated me. I wasn’t so much interested in playing them but in watching others play them. I went from small stakes games and I finally went into the high roller slot area where I saw a player betting on $100 machines. Here’s my question: Why did the casino have someone sitting next to him making notes? I didn’t want to barge in there and ask why this guy had, maybe, his secretary present.

ANSWER: I am guessing the person sitting next to him was not his secretary but someone from the casino who was tracking his play. Why? Because for every $10,000 in cash that he put into the machine or received from the machine, the government would want an accounting and perhaps taxes paid on such money.

There is also a sense that anyone who plays for such large stakes could be doing something illegal, like drug trafficking or bank robbery or some such. 

It used to be, long, long ago that gambling was just considered a recreational activity but the politicians decided that wins should be taxed. Then that anyone cashing in for such an amount be recorded as well. In fact, the government will stop people at airports who are carrying more than $10,000 on them. 

That is the cold brutal answer.  Yes, people’s fun is taxed. (Yes, even tips are taxed!)

QUESTION: I know roulette is a very popular game and has been maybe for centuries. (I don’t if that is true, is it?) My question is simple, really simple, and it is this: How can the casino make money on the game? They pay out a lot on a winning number and there doesn’t seem to be any way to make the casino win more money if the game is honest. What gives? Am I missing something?

ANSWER: You are indeed missing something because you reversed the technique that the casino uses to establish its edge. 

First things first; the game of roulette has been a casino staple for about 400 years. It was created by scientist, philosopher Blaise Pascal in the mid-1600s. He had been trying to discover a perpetual motion machine. He failed in that. But he did invent roulette, which means “little wheel.” It has been a kind of perpetual money-motion machine in the casinos ever since that time.

It has been the most popular game for a long time and it is now either number three or four behind slots, blackjack and maybe craps as a money maker for the casino industry.

The game is strictly random and today’s wheels are just about perfect (just about). The American version of the game has 38 pockets for the ball to land in. The pocket that captures the ball is the winning number, color, proposition, etc.

A winning number pays out at 35 to 1. That’s a pretty big payout, right? Yes and no.

You see, with 38 pockets, the odds of hitting one of them is 37 to 1. In a fair game, which means a game where the casino does not have an edge, the payout on a win would be 37 to 1, not 35 to 1. Shorting the player those two units on a win, gives the casino a 5.26% edge over the player. 

In short, the casino doesn’t have to change the odds of the game. It just has to change the payouts for the game and that’s how it gets its edge. 

Please note: There is a second roulette game called the European/French game that is less severe in terms of the house edge. It has 37 pockets and still pays 35 to 1 where a fair payout would be 36 to 1. It only shorts the player one unit. The house edge on this game is 2.7%. You do not find this game too often in American casinos and when you do it usually has higher minimum bets.

QUESTION: Here is my question and I hope you can answer this. Why do players play games they can’t beat? That makes no sense to me. Does it to you?

ANSWER: Yes, it does. Why do people buy television sets, sports, movie and theater tickets, dinners out with friends and loved ones? And so on.

The casino offers games that are exciting to the players. Unless the player has a bad attitude toward his or her play and loses discipline and a sense of propriety, casino playing is a harmless recreational activity. Not much different than going to any other recreational activity for a fun time.

True, the casino has created edges for all its games. Some of these edges are quite high but some are very low. You want a shot to actually win? Then make the best bets at the games you enjoy playing. No one stops a player from doing that. 

I will admit that there are some very bad players out there. That’s not the casino’s fault. The players choose the bets they want to make. The casinos do not force any players to make any bets.

 QUESTION: Do casinos cheat the players? I have heard that some casinos will claim big slot wins are not real and were caused by a faulty machine. Is this true? 

ANSWER: No, there may be a rare casino somewhere out there that is a cheating creature. However, from what I understand there have been a few cases where a casino’s slot machine has gone on the blink (so to speak) and paid out jackpots that were not real. How often has this happened? Not very.

It makes no sense for the casino to cheat when they have the right to set up the games as they wish. They create their own edges and it would seem that cheating would be a waste of time. If a casino was found to be a cheater, I think players would boycott that place.

QUESTION: What is the toughest casino game to play? There must be some sort of hierarchy in this game-playing world. Do you know what it is?

ANSWER: I’ve never gotten this question before. If we are talking about playing against the house as opposed to playing against other players (a game such as real poker is against other players) then a game that has many strategy variations would be a game that could be hard to learn correctly. 

I am thinking that blackjack would be a game that is difficult to learn for many people. There are dozens of different decisions a player has to make given the player’s hand versus the dealer’s up card. Strictly memorization here.

Now, casinos (most casinos) will allow players to bring a strategy card to the table to use to guide their play. Usually, these cards contain the basic strategy that can be used at the game.

The basic strategy is the computer-derived strategy for playing every hand correctly against the dealer’s up card.

Okay, there is a slight wrinkle in my answer here. There are many different types of blackjack games and each one has a separate “perfect” strategy. Are they different? Yes. 

Don’t get nervous. The differences in the games are usually not so great that one strategy is okay to use at many of the games. Your play might not be perfect but it will be close enough. 

Play correctly at blackjack and the house has about a one-half percent edge against the player. That means the player is expected to lose about 50 cents per $100 wagered. That is a close game, a very close game, if played correctly.

Roulette, craps, Pai Gow Poker and other games are nowhere near as complicated as blackjack. And what of the machines? 

Slot machines are not tough to play. They are quite simple. Video poker might be second-place to blackjack in its complicated hand-playing strategies. Yes, with video poker, players do have many different games and many different strategies but again the players can bring a card to help them play the game or games they wish to play.

The casinos want to make money and they don’t want games that scare people off, which leads us to the next question!

QUESTION: I go to the craps tables and guess what? I rarely see women playing the game. Why is that? Usually, the woman at the craps table is the date (or “date”) of the man who is actually playing the game. Why is this? You see plenty of women playing other games, why not craps? One more thing too – where did the name “craps” come from? It seems kind of unsavory.
 
ANSWER: I am going to take your questions inversely. Where did the name of “craps” come from? 

The original American craps game was not called craps; it was called “crabs” and it was a strictly Southern game, heavily played along the Mississippi River. As the game became more popular and started moving up North, the Northerners heard the word “crabs” but thought the game was called “craps” as the Southern accent was not easily translated. So “crabs” became “craps.”

The game became the great city game (the alleyway game). Prior to World War II most young men in America knew about the game or actually played the game. During the war, it became one of the favorite games of the soldiers, sailors and marines.

If you take a look at the population of those armed services, they were overwhelmingly male. Craps became a quintessential game for men. After the war, as former military men went to casinos, both legal and illegal casinos, craps was a favorite table game. A male game!

It has stayed a largely male game to this day. 

You will find some women who play the game now but I have no idea why the game still wards them off. I do know that when I started playing craps in the late 1980s, some of the grumpy World War II guys were a little unpleasant to the ladies who came to the tables to play. The women were not welcomed.

Craps has a few excellent bets and a few good ones. Craps has many bad bets. Craps has some really awful bets. But craps is (in my opinion) the most exciting game in the casinos.

Should women who love casinos learn to play the game? Absolutely. There is little else in the casino as heart-poundingly exciting as taking the dice in your hands and trying to roll winners!

QUESTION: Are comps important? I hear players talk about comps all the time. Am I missing why they are so important? What are they based on?

ANSWER: Comps are complementary, meaning stuff the casinos give you for playing their games. These are not free gifts. They are rewards.

They are based on how much a player is expected to lose playing for the amounts he or she plays on the games and the amount of time such players actually play the games. The casinos’ edges are also included to determine the long-term worth of a given player. 

The actual strategy of a player is also analyzed to get a monetary value for that player’s long-term expectation.

Are comps free stuff? Nope. Players “earn” their comps!

The next question is also a simple one: Should players worry about getting comps? Not at all. If you hand in a player's card when you sit down (or stand up) to play, you will be given comps if you play a decent length of time – maybe an hour or two.

Casinos want to give players comps because they figure those comps are a great advertisement for those players to come back and play.

Do not – let me repeat – DO NOT play for comps. Don’t play longer than you intend. Do not bet more than you can afford in order to acquire comps. They will come. Just play your game correctly.

All the best in and out of the casinos!
 

Imagine you're dealt a stiff hand in blackjack such as 10-5 or 9-7 and the dealer has a 10 or an Ace face up. You'd love to exchange the lower card and take a chance at getting a 10 or Ace instead, wouldn't you? Would you pay for the privilege?

Conversely, would you accept a fee from the house to exchange the higher card instead? Those are the kinds of situations that arise in Blackjack XChange, now carving out a niche at online casinos.

There are many player-attractive features to XChange, but the defining characteristic is the opportunity to exchange cards.

Mind you, paying the price to XChange doesn't give you better odds than basic blackjack. At WizardofOdds.com, Michael Shackelford calculates that it's best to skip the XChange feature and just take advantage of some favorable blackjack rules.

But for those looking for a little intrigue, it's going to be awfully tempting to XChange when holding 10-6 and take a chance on improving on the 16, perhaps turning a stiff into a winner and maybe even creating a blackjack for a 3-2 payoff.

Making an Exchange

How much must you pay to exchange a good card and how much will you get to exchange a bad one? That depends on the cards and the odds of winning the hand. Different offers are made on different hands.

That feature makes XChange best suited for online play where game programming can display prices instantly. In live play, a dealer wouldn't be able to keep the game moving while quoting prices on every card.

In a run through a demo version with a $3 imaginary wager on the line, a player hand was Ace-2 and the dealer showed a 10. The player could just play the hand as dealt with hit, stand or double down options, but also could either buy a replacement for the 2 for $1.64 or sell the Ace for 40 cents and get another card.

In another hand, with King-4 against a King, the player could hit, stand, double, buy a replacement for the 4 for $1.64 or sell the King for 55 cents. 

The exchange options are offered with more than two cards, too. After hitting King-4 against King and drawing a 2, the display said the player could pay 62 cents to exchange the King, 49 cents to exchange the 4 or 23 cents to exchange the 2.

Those prices are deducted from your credit meter and are not added or subtracted from your wager. If you bet $3 and pay $1.64 for a new card, you still have a $3 bet working,
XChange offers end after four player cards. Once you're dealt a fifth card, you may no longer XChange. you also may not XChange after splitting pairs or doubling down. And after you XChange, you may not split or double.

It's all instant and easy online.

Player Favorable Rules

In addition to the XChange, several other rules variations on basic blackjack are in force.

• The dealer stands on all 17s, including soft 17.
• Blackjacks pay 3-2. That payoff applies even after XChanges. If you have King-4 pay to exchange the 4 and draw an Ace, the resulting King-Ace still brings a 3-2 payoff.
• The electronic dealer does check for blackjacks, and blackjacks stop play. No XChange prices are offered if the dealer has blackjack.
• Players may double down on any first two cards, including after splitting pairs.
• Players may split pairs only once for a total of two hands.
• After splitting Aces, players may hit or double down. That's a plus for players compared to most basic blackjack games, where you receive only one more card on each split Ace.
   

Under those rules and an infinite deck that is possible only with electronic play, WizardofOdds.com calculates a house edge of 0.37%. That's a pretty good blackjack game better than most you'll find in live casinos in an  era of six-deck games where the dealer stands on soft 17.

Strategy Considerations

Card counters can do better in live casinos because you can't count an online game where all cards are available on every hand, but for basic strategy players the XChange rules are pretty good.

However, Shackelford calculated the XChanges cost players between 2.5% and 3%. That's higher than the 0.37% on the basic game, so he advises you to decline the XChange options.

Instead, you'll get the lowest house edge by following this version of basic strategy, which accounts for the infinite deck, dealer standing on all 17s, doubling on any two cards, including after splits and splitting only one time.

HARD HANDS:

• Hard 4 through 8: Always hit.
• Hard 9: Double against 3 through 6; otherwise, hit.
• Hard 10: Double against 2 through 9; hit against 10 or Ace.
• Hard 11: Double against 2 through 10; hit against Ace.
• Hard 12: Stand against 4, 5 or 6; otherwise, hit.
• Hard 13 through 16: Stand against 2 through 6; hit against 7 or higher.
• Hard 17 through 21: Always stand.

SOFT HANDS:

• Soft 12 is Ace-Ace. See the pair-splitting section.
• Soft 13: Double down against 6; otherwise, hit.
• Soft 14 and 15: Double against 5 or 6; otherwise, hit.
• Soft 16: Double against 4, 5 or 6; otherwise, hit.
• Soft 17: Double against 3, 4, 5 or 6; otherwise, hit.
• Soft 18: Double against 3, 4, 5 or 6; stand against 2, 7 or 8; hit against 9, 10 or Ace.
• Soft 19 through 21: Always stand.

PAIRS:

• 2, 2 or 3,3: Split against 2 through 7; hit against 8 or higher.
• 4,4: Split against 5 or 6; otherwise, hit.
• 5,5: Never split. Play this as a 10 and double down against 2 through 9 and hit against 10 or Ace.
• 6,6: Split against 2 through 6; hit against 7 or higher.
• 7,7: Split against 2 through 7; hit against 8 or higher.
• 8,8: Always split.
• 9,9: Stand against 7, 10 or Ace; split against all others.
• 10,10: Always stand.
• Ace, Ace: Always split.
   

Ultimately, though, most people who play XChange will use the feature and at least occasionally buy replacements. That's where the novelty of the game lies.

Just understand that you're spotting the house a little increase in its edge when you XChange. The prices on the XChanges are set so you pay more than the true odds of winning.

Also keep in mind that the cards you see on board give you no indication of any change in probabilities on the replacement. With an infinite deck, there is an infinite supply of 6s, for example. If you discard a 6, that does not diminish the chances of drawing another 6. The proportion of 6s remains as 1/13th of the deck.

That has a much smaller effect than the price to XChange. Be aware of that price and even if you want the intrigue of the replacement opportunity, pick your spots. The more you XChange, the more you add to the house edge.
 

Slot machines are extremely popular. They require no particular skill to play – simply make your bet and spin the reels. Huge winnings are possible. Standard slot machines can pay as high as tens of thousands of times the amount bet.

There is a cost for this, however – a high house edge.

When video poker first hit the casinos decades ago, the game appealed to a completely different type of slot machine player.

Video poker machines allow players to participate in the game and influence the results of play. The house edge is usually considerably lower than that for slot machines. In fact, some games have a player edge.

The type of players drawn to video poker were a new and relatively untapped market for casinos. Until the introduction of video poker, players who wanted a chance to use some skill or knowledge in casino games had to choose table games such as blackjack.

The problem for many would-be players was table games require interaction and there was scrutiny from other players at the table. This aspect of table games was daunting for many players. Machine play, however, requires no interaction with other players.

Video poker is made to order for players who like to use their knowledge to improve the outcome of the game without enduring any comments from other players.

Classic video poker games could not compete with slot machines when it came to huge jackpots, however. 

New games that paid higher amounts for certain hands were introduced. This helped attract new video poker players who craved the thrill of bigger jackpots.

Still, from the standpoint of the size of top jackpots, video poker trailed slot machines. Progressive video poker helps fill that void. Patterned after progressive slot machines, the games offer a jackpot (or jackpots) that steadily increase as play continues.

This article explores strategies to have a enjoyable gameplay.

1. Keys strategies to slot machine play

The house edge of each slot machine is a closely guarded secret. Unless the player has inside information, there is no way to determine a slot machine’s house edge. One thing is very certain, however, the house edge favors the casino. 

To be improve your chances playing slot machines, all that is required is a “little” thing called luck. 

• There is no betting scheme that will improve a player’s chance of winning.
• There is no method of play that will improve a player’s chance of winning.
• Winning at a slot machine is all controlled by a random number generator with the results triggered at the instant the reels (physical or video representations) start spinning.

Unfortunately, luck is a fickle thing. Over time, slot machine players will lose closer to the house edge.

There are only a couple of ways to be a successful (meaning winning) slot machine player.

• Get lucky and win early on and then quit playing.
• Somehow find a machine that has a player edge instead of a house edge and play it. Obviously, this is not a viable option.

2. Keys strategies to video poker play

• Find the best game
  
  Because video poker games are based on a random dealing of a standard deck of cards, the house edge (or player edge) can be determined. This is one of the key attractions of video poker.
  
  The pay table has all the information required to calculate the edge (also called the return). Players can search for the game with the highest return and play only those that are acceptable to them.
   
• Know the playing strategy
  
  As many aficionados of video poker are aware, each different pay table of each different game can have a different playing strategy. 
  
  Successful video poker players must know and properly play the strategy for the specific game and pay table of the game they play. Any mistakes in play will cost the player in the long run.
   
• Play the maximum credits
  
  Playing the maximum credits improves the return from video poker. At less than maximum, the royal flush pays 250-for-1. Playing the usual maximum of five credits increases the pay for a royal flush to 4,000-for-5 (800-for-1). This makes a big difference in overall return.
  
  Be aware, however, that some games/pay tables require 10 or more credits in order to get the royal flush bonus.
   
• Have an adequate bankroll for the chosen denomination, game, and pay table
  
  Make sure you have a large enough bankroll for the denomination the game played. Remember that getting the best return means playing the maximum number of credits. A 25-cent game costs $1.25 per hand. A dollar game requires $5 per hand. 
  
  Each video poker game and pay table can have a different variance. The higher the variance, the higher the required bankroll.

3. The eroding return from video poker

Early versions of video poker games had very good returns. Many of the games/pay tables returned 99%or more. Some even returned more than 100%.

Because the games were new, the gaming public was not aware of the proper playing strategy and casinos got a satisfactory return from video poker play.

As more research was done, playing strategies that maximized player returns were developed. At first, only a select few were aware of and practiced these strategies. The casinos still had an adequate return.

As the general video poker playing public became aware of and used the proper playing strategies, casinos saw a drop in video poker profits. To counteract this trend, casinos began changing pay tables to reduce the returns of the games.

A “full-pay” Jacks or Better game paying 9-for-1 for a full house and 6-for-1 for a flush returns 99.54%. By simply reducing these two pays by one unit each (8-for-1 for a full house and 5-for-1 for a flush), the return drops dramatically to 97.29%. This is a two and a quarter-percent drop in return. It amounts to nearly three cents per hand on a 25-cent ($1.25 per hand) game.

Sadly, the video poker landscape in today’s casinos has a dramatically reduced return from those of a few decades ago.

4. Standard video poker games versus progressive video poker games

Yes, the return from today’s standard video poker is lower than it once was.  Is there any way to get the returns of old?

A few casinos still offer good video poker games with returns of 99% or higher, but there are not many.

Most casinos offer “progressive” video poker games. These games increase the amount paid for the royal flush (and sometimes other hands) as they are played. These higher amounts increase the overall return. Of course, once someone hits the jackpot, the amount is reset to the starting value (usually 4,000-for-5 for the royal flush). 

The longer the game goes without someone hitting the jackpot, the higher the return. If the jackpot gets high enough, the return can go positive for the player.

The casinos are not giving these higher returns away. When the jackpots are at the reset value, the returns are normally 1-2% lower than a standard version of the same game.

5. Preparing for progressive video poker play strategy

Being good in any endeavor requires preparation. The same is true with progressive video poker. Here are some things a player must do to prepare for becoming a nice well prepared progressive video poker player.

• Emotionally prepared for progressive video poker play? The draw of progressive video poker is the high jackpots. They can make the game positive for the player. The problem is, the level required to do so is very high. It rarely happens. Are you mentally prepared to wander through the casino looking for a playable game more than 95% of the time? 
  
  You are not the only player looking for a great progressive jackpot. As the jackpot amount increases, so do the players attracted to the game. If the progressive bank is full of players, the likelihood of someone other than you hitting the jackpot also increases. It is likely that once you sit down and start playing, someone else will hit the jackpot shortly thereafter. Sessions are shorter playing progressive video poker.
  
  Not only are the high jackpots rare, cashing out as a winner at progressive video poker is also rarer than on standard games. The return at reset value is usually two to three% lower. Without hitting the jackpot, your return also will suffer the 1-3% reduction.
   
• Research which games are available as progressive games. Not all games are available as progressives. Most video poker players have favorite standard games. Knowing which games are available can help the player decide if progressive play is something they want to do at each casino.
   
• Check the pay tables on the games that look promising. Each pay table is different. Checking the pay table allows the player to determine the return at reset as well as at higher levels. If the return is too low, the game should be ignored.
   
• Calculate the bankroll requirements. Because progressive games are attractive only when the jackpot is high means that the variance of the game will also be high – very high. Bankroll requirements become high as well. As an example, playing when the jackpot is at 6,000 rather than 4,000 increases the total bankroll requirement by 50%.
   
• Determine the playing strategy. As the pay table changes, so does the playing strategy because the royal flush becomes more favored. Assuming you wait until the jackpot is 6,000, use a video poker app capable of generating strategies to produce a strategy chart for a game having a 6,000-credit royal flush. Make additional charts with the royal flush increasing by 1,000 for each additional chart. Play the strategy chart closest to the actual jackpot.
   
• Is “Royals-Only” strategy a good option? Some video poker tournament players use a royals-only strategy. This strategy says to hold only cards that can produce a royal flush. The thought is a royal flush will put the player in the money. While this strategy may or may not work for tournaments, it is not viable for progressive play.
  
  Losing hands in tournament play means nothing because the play costs nothing. In progressive play, a losing hand means a hit to the bankroll. Not many dealt hands have royal flush potential, although they do have potential for a smaller win. The goal of the playing strategy must be to maximize each hand’s return.
   
• Practice the strategy before going to the casino. As with standard video poker play, practicing the playing strategy at home helps prepare for play in the casino. Unlike standard strategies, progressive strategy changes as the jackpot increases. Use the previously produced strategy charts and practice to get a feel for the differences.

6. Executing interesting progressive video poker play

Ironically, the most difficult part of executing progressive video poker play is NOT PLAYING. A vast majority of your time will be spent looking for a playable game. I suggest a jackpot high enough to have a return of 100% or more before jumping in. The reason for not settling for something lower is most of the time your return will be 2-3% lower than a standard game due to the reduced pay table.

It is also difficult to play for just a short time and have someone else hit the jackpot. This means you need to stop playing – usually without satisfying your hunger for playing time.

7. Summary 

Lower average returns for standard video poker games helps progressive video poker take on an important role.

Progressive video poker games can offer great returns and very large jackpots if you use a good strategy. They are not as common as standard video poker games, but are much more common than standard games with a good return.

But, there are many negatives to playing progressive video poker:

• Jackpots are rarely high enough.
• Short play cycle when they are.
• Higher bankroll requirements.
• Changing playing strategies as the jackpot grows.

Success at playing progressive video poker could well mean not playing it. You decide for yourself.
 

You don’t have to make this bet. Not at all. It is merely one crummy bet at a game that has many better bets, even if some of those bets are not great because “okay” is better than bad.  

This new roulette game’s house edge is greater even than the house edge about to come after it but because it is a single bet as opposed to the whole game, I have placed it before what’s coming next – a whole awful game! Gear up.

Prepare for a wager whose nickname is the “monster.” It is also called the “brutal beast” and the “five-eyed fire dragon” and “you’ve got to be kidding me.” This is a bet that can upend any roulette player’s morning, afternoon, or evening. If a player weren’t so tired it could keep him up all night asking him or herself, “Why did I ever make that bet?”

I’ve asked this question many times when I see someone literally throwing his or her money away by placing chips down on this bet. “Excuse me, that bet stinks. Why are you making it?” (Now, I don’t really ask another player this but I think it.)

This bet is found only on the double-zero (0, 00) American roulette wheel and it is a proposition that one of the following numbers will hit: 0, 00, 1, 2 or 3. You only need one chip to place this bet and it will cover all those numbers. A winning hit will pay 6 to 1. 

The house edge on this monstrous beastie scales heights with a (hold your breath folks as if you are at the top of Everest without a Sherpa!) relentless and terrifying 7.89%. Yes, an expected loss of $7.89 per every $100 wagered. Blackjack is only 50 cents per every $100 wagered. The overall edge at American roulette is 5.26%. That’s some difference, isn’t it?

This bet could star in a horror movie and the sad players who make this wager are asking for their hard-earned money to be eaten alive. Move over Jason and Michael Meyers and Godzilla, the true monster has arrived.

The payment on this bet should be more than 6 to 1. It should be somewhere between six and seven. 

Okay, if you were a $50 bettor and wagered on the “monster” and won, you’d get $300. However, if you split up your $50 and put $10 on each number individually, you’d win one and be paid $350. Big difference, yes? That’s $350 versus $300.

Why is this bet so attractive to some players? That Is not hard to fathom. 

When you bet straight-up on one number you only have one chance in 38 to hit that number. This can and will often cause very long losing streaks at times and few players want that. Trust me, I’ve been there. “Can’t I just win one?” So they think, “Five numbers? Not bad for one bet.”

Ignore this bet. Some slot machines have better returns and these might be far cheaper to play.

Now This Is Sinful

Some carping critics of casinos say that they are greedy. I am not so sure that is true, at least not fully true. Every business is in business to make money or the owners of that business would not be in that business. That makes sense to me.

Yes, there are bets from which we should all stay away and some bets and some games that just aren’t good to play. You can see that with the five-number monster bet at American roulette. It is the player’s responsibility to exercise intelligent choice in the matter. If a casino offers a crummy bet then avoid making that bet.

Now, let me lay it all out for you – all the greedy, messy, greedy, stinking, greedy, greed of those greedy few who are now advocating a third greedy form of roulette. 

We have the two original forms (at least original in my lifetime) of the single-zero (0) wheel, known as the European/French roulette game. The house edge on that game (except if they have en prison on the even-money bets) is 2.7%. We also have the American double-zero (0, 00) game with a 5.26% house edge (except if they have surrender on the even-money bets).

These games have millions of players from all over the world, many of whom are true aficionados. Great, fine, enjoy yourselves!  Blaise Pascal would be honored by all your play at the game he invented.

But now, now, no, no, no it can’t be. A third game is slowly entering our cosmic casino consciousness. It is – dare I say this, will saying this make it fully incarnate in the casinos and consume the first two original roulette games? Here it comes: a three-zero game! That’s right, this is what it looks like – 0, 00, 000. Three stinking zeroes.

The House Edge

No one seeing 0, 00, 000 would think this is a good game. Would they? Hmmm. I remember when Bally’s in Las Vegas put in its 6:5 blackjack game. They actually advertised it as a great game. A huge sign right on the strip heralded it. 

Was this a great game? Seriously? But it has caught on with some blackjack players. You can now find it almost everywhere in the country.

All right, let’s figure the house edge on our new roulette game, shall we? 

With 39 possible pockets the player has a one in 39 chance of hitting a winning number. That’s 38 losses to one win. And the payout is? Yes, it is the same payout as on the single-zero and double-zero game at 35 to 1. I am not kidding you.

Okay, let’s divide 39 into 3 and we get (take a deep breath now) 7.69%! That’s right, this game, this whole game, has a slot machine payout level.

Let’s translate this into money. 

Your expectation, if you leap into the deep end of this very shallow pool and do the breaststroke at this triple-zero game, is to lose $7.69 per $100 wagered. Is that a lot of money? Yup! Your expectation on the double-zero wheel is to lose $5.26 per $100 wagered and on the single-zero wheel, the expectation is $2.70 per $100 wagered. 

Where Did It Come From?

What evil, hulking, devouring menace created this gross abomination? This game could be the Armageddon of roulette, a wonderful game to those who love it, a game that is about to end in misery for the innocent players who play it. Why are otherwise happy roulette players being thrown into the fiery pit of Hell when they play this game? Is this fair? Is this right? Is this moral?

What created this?

The church! Yes, my righteous friends, religious institutions all over the country (and maybe the world) enjoy offering Las Vegas nights (I never heard of one offering a gambling night – that might sound a little too close to sin) where parishioners and their friends could gamble against Lady Luck, a non-existent divine being.

Now, we all know that churches need to make money and nothing is simpler at making money than by letting folks gamble their holy hearts out. 

I have no problem with any of this. It’s fun.

Yes, the games are sometimes and most times awful: blackjack where blackjacks pay even money; craps where no place bet pays more than even money (yes, a colleague of mine ran that game for years!); and others. 

People gambling in churches are doing so, knowing that the reason they are there is to raise money for the church, no other reason really. 

I have not written an article about this in the past. Why should I? Charity, which Las Vegas nights unquestionably are, is in the eyes of the institution and the parishioners and other players. Fine. You like to play a crummy game to give your donation, fine by me. Some people will write checks, some people will play games. Their choices.

But not fine now. Why? Because some casinos have started offering the game on their floors. Yes, that’s right; these casinos are stealing something bad to sell to their patrons as if it is a fine deal. Something that was good for the churches and their parishioners is now like the 6:5 blackjack evil for casino goers.. Ah, the irony of it all.

Why Is It Being Used?

I know that Internet casinos are doing decent business and are actually offering good games to their patrons – look around, many are indeed doing just this and their patrons seem content. But are the land and concrete casinos in as good a shape? Do they need to prop up their offerings to make them much worse than ever before in order to make the money they must make to be profitable and satisfy their boards of directors?

I don’t actually know the answer to my questions. Still offering poor games would lead me to conclude something not so hot is going on.

The three-zero game is a rotten game. The house edge on the double-zero wheel should be high enough to satisfy the casinos. Shouldn’t it? If not, maybe they should go into some other business.

From what I can see, here is what is happening in this beginning push on the triple-zero game.

The casino might put the triple-zero games as a low-roller game to eke out more money from the players who can’t afford the higher stakes that will now become the double-zero game. On the double-zero you might have $25 minimums but, on the triple-zero game, you might have $10 minimums and the low rollers might feel compelled to play these.

What would I do? Good question. Short of boycotting roulette, I’d slow my game so I could play the $25 game with the same expectation as a 5.26% game. That just means do not bet more than you normally would in total. Your hit would be the same. 

If I were to bet $400 on a double-zero game when it was $10 then I would bet $400 on the $25 triple-zero game. Don’t give into the lower game, just don’t do it. Your expected loss would be the same but you would have to sit out some decisions. No big deal if you were to ask me.  

Will It Take Over?

Maybe in time it will dominate as too many casino players seem to lack discipline. Too many do not know the house edges of the games they play. They want to play as much as possible too. Waiting? “You’ve got to be kidding me! Haven’t you ever been to a casino, Mr. Scoblete?”

I’ve spent over three decades in the casinos, many times 130 days a year. I write about them and I read about them. I also observe and I know that the casino can bring in this game and players will play it. Unlike the churches offering Las Vegas nights, heaven will not be a reward for playing. Losses will – greater losses – be the reward for the players’ play. 

I am hoping it won’t take over. I don’t know without a doubt how it will go but I have my fears. I want roulette games with surrender and en prison. I don’t think that is asking too much, is it? I want a decent chance to turn the tables on the casinos. My hopes are not wrong, are they?

I think not. I think I am right. Give us good games and we will flock to play them.

The History of Roulette

Blaise Pascal tried to create a perpetual motion machine in the 1600s. He failed at this, as everyone who has tried to accomplish this feat has failed too.

Yet, he created a game that has been in perpetual motion ever since he birthed it. I think this triple-zero roulette could be the game that might make Pascal’s game go down the drain.

Maybe there is no perpetual motion in anything, in anything at all.

All the best in and out of the casinos!
 

Caesars Palace ranks among the great hotel/casinos of Las Vegas. It resonates with a combination of old-school elegance and modern-age conveniences that include a state-of-the-art spa, gorgeous high-roller suites and top dining spots such as the legendary Restaurant Guy Savoy. Bowls of velvety artichoke and black truffle soup rank among the specialties.

Most importantly, Caesars’ gambling is second to none. No less a light than Phil Ivey favors the high-limit room where you can wager $25,000 per hand at baccarat inside a sprawling, chandelier-lit VIP enclave.

The stunning casino dome – complete with a $1 million chandelier of its own – was renovated last year and is impossible to miss as you step onto the 45,000-square-foot gambling floor. Luckily, at the craps table, the first dice toss in the freshly done-up space, courtesy of a Texan gambler named Juan Fresquez, Jr., was a winning seven. The recently installed 15-foot-tall statue of Augustus Caesar greets visitors as they walk in from valet parking.

Superstar chef Guy Fieri, a UNLV alumni, thinks enough of the property that he will be opening his new restaurant there this summer. It will be called Chicken Guy. As he told KTNV in Vegas, “I’m so stoked to be bringing Chicken Guy to Caesars Palace for the best freakin’ chicken tenders, sandwiches and shakes that you’re going to find.”

We’re all in!

Fieri’s joint will have good company with the recently opened Stanton Social Prime (a revival of the old Stanton Social in New York City) and the upcoming Peter Luger Steak House (in my opinion, New York’s top place for prime beef)

And let us not forget the top-notch entertainment. Elton John, Sting, Jerry Seinfeld and Rod Stewart all have deals to perform. 

Caesars Palace history

Alluring as Caesars may be right now – with 185 gaming tables, 1,300 machine games and a sports book with giant-sized screens – when it opened in 1966, the place was one of a kind.

At the time of Caesars’ launch, the major gambling dens in Las Vegas were Sands and Desert Inn. They were the reigning high-roller meccas that would soon be eclipsed by Caesars, which was the brainchild of visionary casino boss Jay Sarno.

The Las Vegas Review Journal credits him with “having invented the fantasy resort.” Early on, he got going by building modest hotels that were financed with loans from the allegedly mobbed-up US Teamsters union. By the time of Caesars, Sarno had made lots of money in the hotel business and lost lots to the casinos of Vegas.

 
Hence, he understood the gambler’s mindset. One important idea he devised with Caesars was that showrooms, pools, restaurants and elevators all radiated off of the casino floor. Only a dyed in the wool gambler would know that guests being forced to walk past gaming tables to get anywhere would not be able to resist making at least a small wager while en route.

“Caesars opened and overnight it stole high-roller thunder from the Sands and the Desert Inn,” I was told by David Schwartz, author of “Grandissimo,” which chronicles the launch of Caesars Palace and conveys the story of Sarno. “The way it was designed, it was the first fantasy architecture in Las Vegas. Everything else in town, at the time, was a little modern and a little tacky. Caesars had fountains, reflecting pools, fantasy, glamor. You drove up the entrance, past the cypress trees, and it felt like you were being transported back in time.”

Sexy waitresses dressed in Roman-style togas; men guarding the entrance had bulging biceps, revealed to great effect from underneath tunics. It was not by accident that Caesars was spelled without an apostrophe. The message conveyed was that we are all Caesars and the Palace belongs to all of us. Cool as it was, Sarno had some ideas that he could not quite pull off.

Most outlandish among them: A giant fish tank, loaded with piranhas, in the center of the Bacchanal dining room. Each night, the unrealized plan went, he would drop a live pig in there for the amusement of his blood-thirsty customers who’d watch the piranhas tear apart the swine.

Sounder minds prevailed on that one, and the pig-eating spectacle never happened. 

But Caesars did have Evel Knievel jumping its iconic fountain (the stuntman cleared the fountain but landed badly and broke 40 bones as he tumbled off his motorcycle). Then there were heavyweight boxing matches (Larry Holmes vs. Muhammed Ali among them) that took place in the casino’s outdoor arena. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Aretha Franklin all performed in the big room known as Circus Maximus.

Caesars at the movies

The place is so emblematic of Las Vegas that two Hollywood blockbusters filmed their casino and gambling scenes there. First was “Rainman” with Dustin Hoffman playing the aavant syndrome-suffering Raymond Babbit, who at the coercing of his hard-hustling brother (portrayed by Tom Cruise), counts cards like a human calculator and takes down the house. 

In exchange for their prodigious gambling, the pair wind up in the so-called Rain Man suite – actually the Emperor’s suites 6415 and 61416, where you can stay. The suite is a luxe duplex with floor-to-ceiling windows and crystal chandeliers.

 
“The Hangover” premiered 21 years after “Rain Man” and was filmed at Caesars. But, alas, the guys’ digs – where Mike Tyson’s tiger was stashed and a piano came with the room – was only modeled off of a couple high-roller suites. What you see in the movie was shot on a Hollywood soundstage. However, in a bit of revisionist logic, there is now a “Hangover” suite based on what was created for the movie. It’s popular, of course, with dudes attending bachelor parties. 

Old Blue Eyes calls the casino home

Caesars was Frank Sinatra’s spot of choice for lodging, performing and gambling. He moved over from the Sands after having an altercation with Carl Cohen, a casino manager at the Sands. It stemmed from Cohen cutting off Sinatra’s casino credit. Enraged, Sinatra tipped a gambling table onto Cohen. Cohen responded by punching Sinatra in the face, bloodying the singer’s nose and knocking out a pair of front teeth. Sinatra went on a weekend-long tirade and decamped to Caesars, which he patronized for decades. 

But even at Caesars, Sinatra didn’t always get his way. He was once displaced from his high roller suite when the drug trafficker Jimmy Chagra, who gambled higher than Sinatra, demanded it. No fisticuffs are said to have ensued.

The casino, known for its sky-high limits has also been favored by advantage players. They include casino-killer Don Johnson and founder of the MIT blackjack team John Chang. Chang convinced the player-development people there that he was the mega-rolling nephew of Chinese computer mogul Dr. An Wang. The player development staff was so impressed by both “Wang’s” lineage and his five-figure bets that they allowed him to win big on 11 occasions before giving him the boot. Though Johnson did not do anything so crafty, he too got 86ed.
But most of us won’t receive such unfriendly treatment. We’ll simply get taken care of like mini Caesars. And that is exactly how Jay Sarno wanted it to be.

*Credits for the cover image belongs to AP Photo/John Locher, File
 

Video poker is a great casino game:

• It offers a good return to the player.
• The machines are readily available.
• There are dozens of different games. 
• The player has a say in the outcome of the game. 
• The games come in many different denominations.
• There are single-play and multiple-play games.

 

This article covers a multiple-play game called Super Triple Play. It is like the standard three-play games but has a twist. 

For an additional one-credit bet, a separate “Super” pay table is activated. This pay table super sizes some of the payouts. Hitting those hands can add to the player’s enjoyment of the game.

The burning question is, however, is it worth the extra one-credit bet?

1. Triple Play video poker defined

Triple Play video poker is just what the name implies – three hands are played at once. There are three rows of cards – one for each of the three hands. The player bets for all three hands. When the Deal button is pressed, the hand is dealt face up in the bottom row.

For each dealt hand, the cards the player selects to hold automatically become cards in the same position of each of the three rows. 

For example, if a flush is dealt in the initial hand and the player makes the proper hold (hold all five cards), each of the three hands is a flush and the player is paid for three flushes.

The pay tables are the same as for a single play game. The strategy for play is also the same as it is for a single play game with the same pay table.

Normally these games are for lower denominations – but not always.

2. Super Triple Play video poker defined

Super Triple Play video poker was developed by IGT, a huge name in slots and video poker machines. It is the same as Triple Play video poker except:

• Unlike Triple Play where you must play three hands. Super Triple Play allows the player to select three, five, or 10 hands to play simultaneously.
• Also, unlike Triple Play video poker, Super Triple Play allows the player to select the number of credits per hand to bet. It can be one to five credits per hand.
• Super Triple Play video poker offers the player a bonus pay table. This pay table becomes active when a sixth credit per hand is bet. That is the “Super” in Super Triple Play video poker.
• Super Triple Play video poker is available in three denominations: 25-cent, 50-cent and $1. 

3. How to play Super Triple Play video poker

Playing Super Triple Play video poker is very similar to playing a multiple-play video poker game.

• Select the game variant such as Jacks or Better.
• Select the denomination – 25-cent, 50-cent, or $1.
• Select the multiple-play number – 3-play, 5-play, or 10-play.
• Bet the number of credits per hand. You can select one to five credits plus a sixth credit to activate the “Super” pay table. When playing this game betting six credits per hand is the way to go.
• Hit the Deal button. The bottom row shows the hand face-up. The other rows are still face-down.
• Select the cards you want to hold (if any). The cards that you select will appear in each of the other rows in the same position.
• Hit the Draw button.

 

This game plays very similarly to every other video poker game. The only difference is betting the six credits per hand.

4. Super Triple Play game variants

When IGT introduced Super Triple Play video poker, the manufacturer included lots of variants to suit every player’s taste. Here is the list:

• Jacks or Better
• Bonus Poker
• Double Bonus
• Double Double Bonus
• Super Double Bonus
• Super Double Double Bonus
• Deuces Wild
• Deuces Wild Bonus
• Double Bonus Deuces Wild
• Double Bonus

 

Due to the large number of games available in Super Triple Play video poker, the scope of this article will be limited to specifics of the Jacks or Better variant of this game.

5. Pay Table changes

For a one- to five-credit bet, the pay tables for all the games included on the machine are the same as they are for the standard version of the games. There are full-pay versions as several short-pay versions.

The differences that make this game so interesting are contained in the pay table that is activated by betting the sixth credit per hand. 

The “Super” pay table for each different game variant is different just like the standard pay table for each is different. The standard and “Super” pay table information for Jacks or Better is shown below.

 

Only three hands have enhanced payouts:

• Straight flush increased by 50 credits.
• Four-of-a-kind increased by 375 credits.
• Full house increased by 10 credits.

6. Strategy and return

Unlike many other video poker games, the Internet does not have a lot of information on strategy and returns for Super Triple Play video poker. Searching the web produces some limited information. In  order to get the best information for a specific game and pay table, a video poker playing strategy app or program needs to be consulted. 

Initially, it may seem that an app that deals specifically with Super Triple Play video poker is necessary. Unfortunately, none are available.

So, what to do?

Calculating return which is by definition based on strategy does not care about how much is bet. It can be one credit, five credits, 10 credits, or even 1,000 credits. That is irrelevant.

What matters is the frequency that paying hands appear and the amount that those hands pay relative to the amount bet.

That simplifies things.

Any video poker strategy-generating program or app can be used – as long as it deals with the paying hands for the game in question. That is, any strategy app that will handle Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus, will work for that variant of Super Triple Play video poker.

If the pay table amounts can be entered, the strategy and return can be calculated. Let’s use the Jacks or Better pay table in the previous section as an example.

For the standard version of Jacks or Better, the payouts for five credits (or the one credit equivalent of the five credit payout) are entered. For Jacks or Better, they are:

• Royal flush – 800 for 1
• Straight flush – 50 for 1
• Four of a kind – 25 for 1
• Full House – 9 for 1
• Flush – 6 for 1
• Straight – 4 for 1
• Three of a kind – 3 for 1
• Two Pairs – 2 for 1
• Pair of jacks or better – 1 for 1

 

The app will then generate the best return of the game as well as the strategy producing the highest return. In most cases the variance of the game/pay table is also calculated.

This game returns 99.54% with perfect play. To see the strategy for this full-pay Jacks or Better game, as well as others, click here. 

Now let’s look at how the Super Triple Play strategy and return is calculated. Using the same app that was used for the standard version of Jacks or Better, the following information is entered:

• Royal flush – 800 for 1
• Straight flush – 60 for 1
• Four of a kind – 100 for 1
• Full House – 11 for 1
• Flush – 6 for 1
• Straight – 4 for 1
• Three of a kind – 3 for 1
• Two Pairs – 2 for 1
• Pair of jacks or better – 1 for 1

 

The payouts that are different are bolded. Here is the strategy generated by the app. It is simplified by combining multiple lines into one when possible.

 

Most of the changes in Jacks or Better Super Triple Play strategy versus the standard game are related to the dramatically increased payout for a four of a kind. This hand pays four times the normal amount. Because of that, high pairs and even low pairs move up the strategy chart.

That is how to generate the strategy. It is actually pretty straightforward. What about the return?

If we use the same pay table numbers, the calculated return is 119.697%. Sounds like a fantastic game. However, no casino would ever put such a game on the floor – at least not for very long. 

The problem is the return is calculated for a bet of five credits. In Super Triple Play we are betting six credits to activate the “super” pay table. How can we allow for that?

The solution is simple. We need to divide the return by six (the number of credits we are betting) and then multiply by five (the number of credits used to calculate the original return). The actual return, corrected for the proper amount bet is 99.7475%. This is almost three-tenths of a percent more than the five-credit return of 99.54%.

Please note that the processes used to generate the return and strategy that were used for Jacks or Better can be used for any Super Triple Play game or pay table.

7. Player be warned

Super Triple Play video poker can be better to play than standard versions. It promises some hefty returns for four of a kind hands – four times the normal amount. Since these hands occur roughly every 420 hands, it provides a nice bankroll boost much more often.

Both the straight flush and full house payouts are also enhanced. All of this comes at a cost, however.

• Cost to play

 

Super Triple Play video poker is expensive to play compared to the standard game. At six credits for each of the three plays, the total bets for the three denominations that are available amount to:

• $4.50 per bet for the 25-cent game.
• $7 per bet for the 50-cent game.
• $18 per bet for the $1 game.

 

This game is not for low rollers. 

• Two pay tables to consider

 

The standard games have only one pay table. The player only needs to check this information once to determine whether it is a good game.

There are two pay tables to consider when playing Super Triple Play. Even though the one to five credit pay table may look good, the “Super” pay table must also be factored into the decision. A downgraded “Super” pay table could actually return less to the player than a non-Super game.

• Not much help on the Internet 

 

Unlike other video poker games, there is not much information available on the Internet about Super Triple Play video poker. Players must go through some extra effort to determine the proper playing strategy and return for the games that are available.

8. Summary 

There is little doubt that Super Triple Play video poker is a fun game to play. However, it does come with several drawbacks. Those include:

• Lack of easy access to information concerning the game
• High cost of play – even at the lowest denomination
• Significant effort required to get the proper playing strategy and game return details.

 

The original question posed in this article – is Super Triple Play video poker worth the extra one-credit bet – is not easily answered. It all depends on the games and information available to the player. In some cases, it could be a worse option. Is the effort and cost worth it? 

Only the player can answer that question.
 

When a dealer shows a 9 upcard in blackjack, she has about a 77% chance of getting to a final hand that totals 17 through 21 and only a 23% chance of busting (depending on the number of decks shuffled).

A 9, therefore, is a strong card for the dealer, which means we have to be more aggressive when we are dealt a stiff hand (hit rather than stand) and less aggressive when we are dealt a two-card soft hand (hit rather than double down).

We also should surrender one hand, even when it means we forfeit half our bet. What follows is the accurate playing strategy for any hand when the dealer shows a 9 upcard. 

 
Fortunately for players, the playing strategy against a dealer’s 9 upcard is nearly the same for any number of decks of cards in blackjack or mix of playing rules, with only one exception discussed below.

Notations used in this article:

S17 = Dealer must stand on soft 17
H17 = Dealer must hit soft 17
DAS = Doubling down after pair splitting is allowed
NDAS = Doubling down after pair splitting is not allowed
H = Hit
S = Stand
P = Split
Dh = Double down if allowed; otherwise, hit
Rh = Surrender if allowed, otherwise hit

Playing a multi-deck game 

Regardless of the playing rules, use the following strategy when facing a dealer’s 9 upcard.

Surrender if allowed, otherwise hit, if holding:

• Hard 16

 

Double down if allowed; otherwise hit, if holding:

• Hard 10 and 11
• Pair of 5s

 

Split if holding:

• Pair of As, 8s, and 9s 

 

Hit if holding:

• Hard 5 through 9
• Hard 12 through 15
• A-2 through A-7
• Pair of 2s, 3s, 4s, 6s, and 7s

 

Stand if holding:

• Hard 17 through 20
• A-8 and A-9 
• Pair of 10s 

 

Below is the corresponding playing strategy arranged into three color-coded tables for Hard Hands, Soft Hands, and Pairs. The first row in each table represents the player’s hand (in the case of hard hands, it represents the total count of the cards), and the second row contains the correct playing strategy against a dealer’s 8 upcard regardless of the mix of rules.

Hard Hands

 

Soft Hands

 

Pairs

What if you are playing a single- or double-deck game?

The playing strategy for a single- or double-deck game is identical to the above multiple-deck game except for one strategy change:

• Do not surrender hard 16; hit instead.

 

Hard Hands

 

Practice Play

To be sure you have the strategy down pat for playing your hand against a dealer’s 9 upcard, determine how you would play each of the 10 hands listed below, jot down your decision on paper, and then check it against the correct play at the end of this article. Your goal is to be able to play every hand accurately, regardless of the number of decks of cards or mix of playing rules.

For more playing strategy tips, consult Chapter 3 in my Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide.

Correct plays for the hands in the table are: