Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Gambling Lessons
It's an odd concept, learning a game from the entity that will, in time, be
your rival. But many of the casinos offer gambling lessons so their clients
are well informed and prepared (and, perhaps, enticed to gamble more?).
The following is a list of some of the lessons offered.
Bally's:
Texas Hold 'em; daily 9:30am.
Circus Circus:
Blackjack, craps and roulette; Mon-Fri 10:30am.
Excalibur:
Roulette, 11:00am; blackjack, 11:30am; craps, noon; Texas
Hold 'em, 2:00pm. All lessons take place Mon-Fri.
Fiesta Henderson
(777 W. Lake Mead Pkwy.;
%
702/558-7000; http://
henderson.fiestacasino.com):
Poker, Tues-Thurs 2pm.
Monte Carlo:
Craps, daily 11am; poker, 2pm daily.
New York-New York:
Craps; daily 11am.
Paris Las Vegas:
Tournament poker, 8:30am; poker lessons throughout the
day, as requested.
Sahara:
Craps, 11:30am; blackjack, noon. All lessons take place Mon-Fri.
Sunset Station
(1301 W. Sunset Rd.;
%
888/786-7389 or 702/547-7777;
www.sunsetstation.com):
Poker, Sun 2pm; Mon 11am.
Texas Station
(2101 Texas Star Lane;
%
702/631-1000; www.texasstation.
com):
Poker, daily 1pm; craps, Fri-Sat 6:30-7:30pm.
comfortable in choosing the “9/6” Jacks or Better machine, which has a payoff of
99.5%. But you'll only see this kind of payback if you play the game perfectly, and
that takes time and skill.
Another informed choice is the “10/7 Double Bonus” machine, meaning if
you put one quarter in and get a full house the machine pays 10 coins and if you
get a flush it pays 7 coins. This game actually pays back 100.7%, meaning that if
you play perfectly, over time you ought to be making money.
Of course, as with the other games, entire books have been written about video
poker and summing up the strategies here is simply impossible. One good book
is Jean Scott's
Frugal Video Poker.
Another good option is a software program, Bob
Dancer's
WinPoker,
which alerts you to mistakes as you play video poker on the
computer. With the combination of the software and Dancer's strategy cards,
which can accompany you into the casino and give advice on myriad hands, you
should be on the path to positive poker. All of these products are available
through Huntington Press and www.lasvegasadvisor.com.
