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Gaming Guru  Keno and the lottery20 August 2019
By Frank Scoblete Keno is a game where the player gets to pick one to 10, 15 or 20 numbers from a total of 80. Many casinos will limit how many numbers a player may choose and often it peaks at 15. The house then picks 20 numbers. Wins are based on how many of the casino’s numbers the player matches. The casino gives you a small piece of paper with all 80 numbers and you color in which ones you wish to have. Every 15 minutes (or so), the Keno ping-pong balls are put through a randomizing machine for the casino to choose its 20 numbers. This machine is often called a “bubble” because the numbered balls are mixed with strong air currents which will push them into the winning tube. That’s the game, pure and simple. Here is what isn’t pure and simple – the house edges, which range from 20 to 35%. Yikes! However, Keno has a major thing going for it – the slowness of the game. Those 20 to 35% edges can only hit you when those balls are recorded which happens infrequently. [Oh, No: There is a second type of Keno game which is far deadlier than live keno, and that is video keno. This is a slot machine that acts just like a Keno game but is far, far faster. While the edges hover around the 10 percent mark, many more decisions are reached in such short periods of time that video Keno is far more dangerous to your bankroll than is regular keno.] The Lottery There probably isn’t a person in the country who doesn’t know what a state lottery is. You pick numbers; usually five or six out of 49 to 56 and attempt to match the numbers that the state picks. Why, it’s just like keno! The house edges on lottery tickets can run upwards of 50% and there isn’t a single state lottery that is truly worth playing until the jackpots reach enormous heights – usually in the 30 to 300 million-dollar ranges, depending on the game. Indeed, the best and only advice for such games is simple – don’t play them; and secondly, if you must, only bet a dollar. This way you get to dream about a big win until you find out someone else, who didn’t deserve it like you did, won it. Most games also have a special number picked from a different “real-life” random number generator (usually those ping pong balls again) and if you pick the correct numbers on the original game and also the special number, you win the mucho biggo jackpot. But, as always, there is a catch. You have two choices in how you take your winning jackpot. You can take it as 20 equal installments over 20 years or you can take a “cash value” of 50% of the jackpot immediately. The government gets to keep the other 50%. Believe it or not, the cash option seems to be the better choice since you can invest that money and in 20 years it should come out to more than the yearly payments. Scratch-Off Tickets As always the state has a big edge on scratch off tickets – usually well over 25%. Nevertheless, there are two methods of trying to pluck the golden tooth from the dreaded scratch-off dragon. The first is to go to the lottery pages of your state lottery and check the scratch off results. Usually games that are finished, meaning all the top jackpots have been won, will be in red or otherwise noted. Obviously, you don’t buy these tickets if you should see them in the local store as they are being recalled. Your best chance of winning the scratch off lottery tickets is on the very first day these tickets are released to the public. All the jackpot numbers are in play and therefore the odds of winning are at their best for the player. That’s about the best you can do when it comes to the state scratch off tickets. All the best in and out of the casinos! Visit Frank's website at www.frankscoblete.com. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. When to quit13 August 2019
Many gambling writers will say that players should quit a session when they are ahead. On its face, the advice sounds profound, but when looked at logically it makes no sense. If you win your first decision, do you quit right then and there, hop on a plane or get in your car and head home? I doubt many players would do this. ... (read more)
The best of the best casinos6 August 2019
This is not a review of casinos. I am sure that most of you have your favorite casinos at which to play and I am not going to change your minds. No, this is my outline of what is the best of the best in terms of casino offerings for me; these are the important elements I enjoy. Those elements include dealer and player comportment. ... (read more)
Don't go overboard30 July 2019
Drinking, eating, running and gambling all have one thing in common: You can get so hooked on them that they become obsessive negative endeavors instead of positively fun endeavors. Obviously, a glass or two of wine at dinner, a cocktail of two at a party, are enjoyable, but if you become a stumbling drunk it isn’t good for you – obviously. ... (read more)
Ask Frank: Spanish 21 StrategyHello there, Living in Canada, I find that the rules are more liberal here than at other casino locales, such as the dealer standing on all 17s for Spanish Blackjack. In your book, Armada Strategies for Spanish 21, there is only a strategy for when the dealer hits soft 17. I w... (read more)Ask Frank (Playing Winning Craps)Dear Mr. Scoblete: In your book Forever Craps, you recommend to play one Don't Come bet per shooter without odds in order to reduce your exposure to the house. I usually play at casinos that count the spread and odds. If I play one ... (read more)Bad Ways to Play Good Casino GamesYou've met this guy before. He's cantankerous, witless, and loud. He knows everything about everything when it comes to casino games. He's a self-made expert who knows more than all writers and mathematicians combined, and as he doubles on his thirteen against the dealer's ... (read more)The Craps to English DictionaryCraps is another country, a kingdom with its own mores, legends, myths, rites, rituals, superstitions and government. It also has its own language, much of it easily misunderstood as sexual or scatological references. For those of you interested in journeying to this ... (read more)Craps Crap and Craps Gold - Part 1What do the following sayings have in common? "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." "Better late than never." "High fences make good neighbors." "Always play the Pass/Come and take full odds." Answer: The above statements are true. Yes, some people might quibble and say that you can eat as ... (read more)Frank Scoblete |
Frank Scoblete |
