A.P Heat

Flop Poker (FP) is a poker style game that is popular in the Southern states. First introduced in 2003, it is one of the longest surviving novelty games. FP is an example of a game that is both vulnerable to hole-carding and one that APs would not go out of their way to play.

Double Draw Poker (DDP) is a relatively new game that appears to be gaining ground in some markets, both in the US and internationally. The first time I saw DDP was at the Global Gaming Expo in 2013. After learning how DDP was played, I immediately commented to the game developer that DDP appeared to be extraordinarily vulnerable to collusion (information sharing among players).

When the patent on EZ Baccarat and its Dragon 7 side bet expired in September, 2013 (see this post), there was a bit of a land rush.

This post is a question waiting for an answer: "State-by-State, which casino table games are approved for use?" I spent the morning scouring gaming commission websites searching for lists of approved games. I was frustrated by the difficulty in finding this information.

The following spreadsheet extends the previous loss rebate theorem Excel spreadsheet (see this post) to include the risk of ruin (ROR):

I created an Excel spread sheet that computes the optimal stopping point for a loss rebate advantage play opportunity using the Loss Rebate Theorem (LRT). You can download it free of charge (and at your own risk) by clicking here:

In this article, I discussed the “Rabbit” baccarat side bet. It is one of three distinct baccarat side bets that are collected together into a game called ZooBac. This article discusses another one of these baccarat side bets, the “Tiger.” The third wager in the zoo is the “Monkey” side bet.

Just after my book Advanced Advantage Play came out, a highly regarded AP asked me why I didn't include loss rebates against craps in it (I do cover exploiting loss rebates against baccarat, blackjack and roulette). He opined that I was no doubt saving it for myself.

When Don Johnson (DJ) beat several East Coast casinos in late 2011 through early 2012 by exploiting their loss rebate programs, few understood the scope of his triumph.  After his success, there were a number of articles (for example, this article i

Crazy 4 Poker (C4P) has been among the most popular proprietary table games for many years.  The only games that have had more placements in Las Vegas over the last 5 years are Three Card Poker and Let-it-Ride. It follows that advantage players are going to give this game a very close look.

Crazy 4 Poker (C4P) is one of the more popular poker variants. As I discussed in this post, it is extraordinarily tough for a hole-card player to get an edge. That doesn't mean an edge is impossible.

Yesterday I received a request to analyze Ultimate Texas Hold'em (UTH). This isn't the first time I've had this particular request. I wrote the code to analyze UTH a couple of years ago when an online casino company asked me to independently verify the house edge. To say that this is a big game is an understatement. For practical use, running a cycle is only the first step.

Caribbean Stud (CS) is virtually extinct in Nevada. Likewise throughout the U.S. it is rapidly disappearing, giving way to a wealth of alternative poker-style games. The main problems with CS are its very high house edge (5.224% with perfect strategy) and high fold percentage (47.77%).

Without bothering about questions of legality, the world’s greatest baccarat player uses a computer. He dutifully enters cards into the program as they are dealt from the shoe. At the start of each round, the computer determines the exact edge for the Player and Banker bets based on the exact composition of the cards that remain in the shoe.

Promotions are a necessary part of running all casinos. They help bring players into the casino during slow times. Filling seats at the slots and tables is the first step to profitability. However, the mathematics of promotions is not well understood in the industry.