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The Principles are the Same

I periodically attend a dinner hosted by Tommy and Debby Hyland. Tommy has run a large blackjack team for decades and is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame. A number of gamblers of various stripes are invited to these dinners and the conversation is often stimulating. Tommy is also a very good golfer and plays several times a week.

The dinner was winding down when Tommy and a few others excused themselves from the table to catch the end of a Sunday night football game. Tommy likes to bet on football and I suspect he had a wager down on this particular game as well. I was lingering at the dinner table, enjoying the conversation and finishing my coffee. Continue reading The Principles are the Same

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Checking out the Downtown Grand

I don’t read a newspaper. I pay attention to the news, but get it online. Bonnie has subscribed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal for 20 years and reads it daily.

She is not particularly savvy about gambling offers, but she cuts out many of them and places them in my office. Mostly I either already know about the offers and/or am not interested. Occasionally, however, she comes across something I didn’t know about. One of those times was an ad for the Downtown Grand. Continue reading Checking out the Downtown Grand

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My Adventure at the SLS — Part 2 of 2

In last week’s article, available here, I explained how I happened to be playing for large stakes at the newly-opened SLS Casino on its opening weekend. I was down $34,000 after four hours of play. The story continues:

Shortly thereafter I hit $20,000 aces. While I was “in for” $56,000 at this point ($40,000 in markers plus $16,000 of cash I had fed into the machines), I had about $20,000 worth of tickets in my pocket and credits on both machines, so I “bought back” one of the markers. Continue reading My Adventure at the SLS — Part 2 of 2

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My Adventure at the SLS — Part 1 of 2

The SLS Casino opened up at midnight on a Friday the week before Labor Day, 2014. Half a day later, Saturday afternoon, I visited to check it out. I wanted to see if there were any games worth playing.

In the High Limit room I ran into Scott McDermott. Scott had been some sort of slot department manager or shift boss at the Palms for perhaps 10 years. He knew me well. He had seen me hammer $5 Five Play or $25 single line games for hours and he knew I was “Bob Dancer.” I went up to him, shook his hand, and found out that he was in charge of slots at the SLS. Continue reading My Adventure at the SLS — Part 1 of 2

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A Difference in Strategies

In late September, I taught a 9/6 DDB Quick Quads class at the South Point. One of the combinations you hold in that game is KTx — where ‘x’ stands for a suited card too low to be part of a straight flush or a royal flush — namely a suited KT2, KT3, KT4, KT5, KT6, KT7, or KT8. This is standard 9/6 DDB strategy — although if you don’t play this particular game, it might look a little weird. Continue reading A Difference in Strategies

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Comparing the Values of 3-card Straight Flushes Among Games

When Liam W. Daily and I were devising our strategy cards and Winner’s Guides several years ago, we noticed that in many games, the value of certain 3-card straight flushes was similar. In 9/6 Jacks or Better, for example, KQ9 (two high cards and two insides) is worth $3.21, JT8 (one high card and one inside) is worth $3.20, and 345 (no high cards and no insides) is worth $3.18. In all cases, I am assuming a 5-coin dollar player and the last two cards in the hand provide neither flush nor straight interference. Continue reading Comparing the Values of 3-card Straight Flushes Among Games