Gambling Thoughts With Mark

Check out the varying casino gambling questions below. It should be of interest to online slots players and even the person looking to learn how to play roulette.

Dear Mark,

I recently played a game called Super Fun blackjack. There were certain rulechanges from regular 21; particularly only being paid even money for ablackjack. Is it worth giving up the bonus for a blackjack? Greg M.

Super Fun 21, a slight variation on blackjack, is now found in many casinos.Not only is it fun to play, but if you use smart play, you drop the houseedge to less than one percent.Though the cash return is not equivalent to that in straight blackjack,using perfect basic strategy on a single deck game, the liberal rules andenhanced entertainment value offset the slight difference in the casinoadvantage and the miserly even-money blackjack payoff.

The rules, Greg, are roughly the same as with blackjack but with thefollowing modifications:

The game is played with a single deck of cards.
All blackjacks are paid at even money, except a blackjack in diamonds. Theypay 2 to 1.
A blackjack always wins no matter what the dealer has. There are nopushes.
The dealer must hit a soft 17.
You can double after any split.
You can double down on any number of cards. After splitting aces, youcan take as many hits as you want, and even double down thereafter.
You can late surrender on any number of cards.
You can re-split up to four hands, including aces.
Players may surrender half of their total bet after doubling. Exceptafter doubling, a hand totaling 20 or less, and consisting of six cards ormore, automatically wins.
A hand of 21, consisting of five cards or more, except after doubling,instantly pays 2 to 1.

I had not played Super Fun 21 until your inquiry, Greg, making a field testof the game obligatory. Damn, what won’t I do for my readers! Anyhow, I heldthe fort for four hours on a $50 buy-in, and had a “grand” time. “Grand”because that is what I walked away with using perfect basic strategy, and aconservative winning progressive method of betting; $5, $5, $7, $10, $15,$22, etc., and flat bet (table minimum) when losing.Thanks again, Greg, for the question. Have you tried this online casino?

Dear Mark,

In a machine that holds your credits, does pushing the single play button ormax play button give you the same combinations? Tats N.

Gaming regulations of most if not all jurisdictions would never allow theoutcome of a slot return to be affected by the number of coins or creditsplayed. If you were to obtain a super jackpot pushing the single playbutton, the machine would not sneeringly alter what you were to receivebecause of the button you pressed. There is no built-in AIC (artificialintelligence chip) admonishing the payout function of the slot machine thatsuch and such a player is undeserving of a jackpot, because he a) alwaysstiffs the cocktail waitress, b) the casino operator is behind in the lightbill, or c) failed to caress the max play button.

Dear Mark,

Though not a poker player, I was wondering if you could describe what a”flop” is? Andy G.

In poker twaddle, a flop is “not falling on your face.” The archetypicalflop occurs when the three community cards are dealt face up, all at once,in the center of the table in the game of Hold’em. Players then use theirown two cards in conjunction with the communal cards to make the bestpossible poker hand. Have you tried online poker?

Gambling thought of the week:

“Money is not always the sole motivation for card cheating. It may be ego, cynicism, or even neurosis.” Darwin Ortiz, Gambling Scams
Are there online gambling scams as well? So we’ve heard.