Last week I began a brief history of my experiences at Suncoast. If necessary, I suggest you begin there, available here, and then continue with the story below. I’ll be happy to wait.
Continue reading Booting Players the Suncoast Way — Part 2 of 2
Author: Bob Dancer
Booting Players the Suncoast Way — Part 1 of 2
I haven’t played a lot at Suncoast Casino in the northwest Las Vegas valley — mainly for geographic reasons. While I was with Shirley, we lived near Green Valley Ranch Casino which was perhaps 20-25 miles away from Suncoast. For me to go to Suncoast, I had to pass up dozens of other casinos on my drive there. It was very rare for Suncoast to have such a spectacular offer that I would have driven past all of those other casinos — at least a few of which usually had better offers — spending all of that time and gas to get to Suncoast. Continue reading Booting Players the Suncoast Way — Part 1 of 2
Big Things and Little Things
I’m writing this from somewhere in the middle of the Sargasso Sea. Before today I didn’t even know where the Sargasso Sea was. Although I’m sure many of my readers know well that the Sargasso Sea is an area of the North Atlantic Ocean just to the east of the United States in the mid-Atlantic region, this was one of many geographic facts that I simply didn’t know. So as I write this, I’m cruising aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway headed back to New York City after spending three lovely days in Bermuda. I discovered I’m in the Sargasso Sea by glancing at the televised “Where are we now?” screen in my stateroom. The same information was surely available to me on the southbound leg of the trip, of course, but I didn’t take the time to look at it. Continue reading Big Things and Little Things
I’d Be Ashamed If I Were You!
On most Fridays and Saturdays, there is a drawing at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. Entries in these drawings are based on your play beginning at 8:00 p.m. on the preceding Saturday. I try to compete in the drawings at least one week a month — sometimes two. I often play very little for two or three weeks and then very heavily for one or two weeks. This maximizes my chances to collect something from the drawings while still giving me free time for other activities on some Fridays and Saturdays. Continue reading I’d Be Ashamed If I Were You!
Why Don’t Straight Flushes Pay More?
Straight flushes, which consist of five consecutive cards in the same suit, excluding the ‘AKQJT’ royal flush, are tough to get. In Jacks or Better (also called Draw Poker), straight flushes happen every 9,000 hands or so and are paid 250 coins. Compare that to 4-of-a-kinds, which happen every 430 hands or so and are paid 125 coins. In that game, straight flushes are paid twice as much, but are 22 times as hard to get. Doesn’t seem fair.
Continue reading Why Don’t Straight Flushes Pay More?
Using 9/6 Jacks or Better Strategy to Play 8/5 Bonus Poker
A friend of mine, Terry, usually plays 9/6 Jacks or Better (JoB). There is one casino, however, where 8/5 Bonus Poker (BP) is the best game. He wants to know what changes he should make to his JoB strategy in order to play BP.
First of all, Terry doesn’t HAVE to make any changes. JoB strategy works pretty well on BP. Rounding off to three decimal places, perfect BP returns 99.167% and BP using JoB strategy returns 99.158%. Is that difference big enough to make strategic adjustments? You’ll have to answer that for yourself. Continue reading Using 9/6 Jacks or Better Strategy to Play 8/5 Bonus Poker
Confirmed One More Time
Recently, Bonnie read to me a headline from the Las Vegas Review-Journal that said Las Vegas has some of the worst drivers in the country. According to a study done by Allstate Insurance, Las Vegas ranked 130th out of 195 cities with populations of at least 50,000. Continue reading Confirmed One More Time
A Royal Flush Penalty
I am probably far more aware of (some might say obsessed with) penalty cards than most players. I’ve written about straight penalties, flush penalties, low straight penalties, low straight kicker penalties, straight flush penalties, and high card penalties, as well as specific card penalties such as a ‘9 penalty.’ There are also some situations where two or three penalties must occur at the same time before the strategy is affected. Continue reading A Royal Flush Penalty
My Life with Ameristar
I recently read an article about the late Craig Neilsen who, although losing the use of his arms and legs due to an automobile accident in 1985, ran Ameristar casinos from its inception until his death in 2005.
Ameristar was good to me as a consultant. I earned more from my consulting with that company than I earned from all the other companies combined. Continue reading My Life with Ameristar
It’s the Wrong Way to Look at It
I recently had a surprising conversation at a local Las Vegas casino. I don’t wish to identify the place any further because they already no-mail a high percentage of their “sensible” players. Besides, it’s not the particular casino that I want to talk about today; it’s a particular player. Continue reading It’s the Wrong Way to Look at It