John Marchel's World of Casino Gambling https://johnmarchelgambling.com/ Sun, 19 Feb 2026 00:33:17 GMT FeedCreator 1.8.0-dev (info@mypapit.net) Expert Gaming Speaker https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/440-expert-gaming-speaker-lecturer.html

Looking for a professional speaker for your next meeting or event? John Marchel, speaker, author, teacher and player might be the one for you!

With over 25 years experience playing in casinos world wide, authoring six books related to gambling, giving speeches and presenting seminars since 1988, John knows how to bring fun, entertainment and education to audiences.

Whether the audiences are casual visitors to casinos or very experienced players, John can show them the best games to play, the strategy for them, plus provide some fun and interesting antidotes about the gaming world.

His talks are not designed to make listeners professional gambler’s, but he will tell them how to do it better, smarter, less costly and have more fun doing it.

If you would like to book this great presentation for your organization call: 916-484-5673 or email: marchel@jme.com

Watch the video to hear what John Marchel can offer your audiences.

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]]> webmaster@johnmarchelgambling.com (Administrator) Fri, 10 Feb 2026 17:21:31 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/440-expert-gaming-speaker-lecturer.html Selecting a counting system for blackjack https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/439-selecting-a-counting-system-for-blackjack.html It’s important to remember that to be a consistent winner at blackjack, you must play mathematically correct (basic strategy), and add card counting to the skill of the player. With that combination, a player can consistently move the house odds to his favor. The question then becomes which counting system should one select. In my book KISS Guide to Gambling I list 55 different counting systems. Some are simple and easy to learn, while others require lots of work memorizing and high concentration while playing.

The easiest counting systems are those called “level-one”. These counts only assign values of +1 and –1 for the various cards in the deck. Multi-level systems, on the other hand, may assign values of plus or minus 2, 3 or 4 for the various cards. Another consideration to bear in mind when choosing a system is speed. You must keep the count accurately, even against a very fast dealer. It’s been found that problems with speed arise when using a multi-level count. We know that a more complex system will result in a more accurate count. However, when using a multi-level count it requires more concentration and opens more of a chance of making mistakes during play.

One simple and easy count and one that is still very powerful is called the Hi-Opt I. That system is a level-one count and can be learned very quickly and is easy to use at the table. Consider it when you go looking for a good counting system that you can handle.

2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	X	A
0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	-1	0
]]> johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Wed, 20 Apr 2025 15:55:29 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/439-selecting-a-counting-system-for-blackjack.html Gaming Tip - Payout Rate https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/438-gaming-tip-payout-rate.html When you see a particular casino advertising a 98 percent payout on their slot machines you should always ask a casino employee where those high payout machines are located. This is a simple technique to do, If you ask, they will tell. If you don’t ask, you will spend a lot of wasted time looking around the casino when you could be playing.

]]> johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Wed, 20 Apr 2025 15:47:57 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/438-gaming-tip-payout-rate.html In the Month of September https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/437-in-the-month-of-september.html
  • Sept. 1, 1956 The first scientific study of the mathematical odds of blackjack is written by Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel, and James McDermott and published in the September issue of the Journal of American Statistical Association.
  • Sept. 2, 1911 born, William (Bill) Fisk Harrah, in South Pasadena, a businessman and the founder of Harrah’s Hotel and Casinos Empire.
  • Sept. 7, 1994 The $70 million Fremont Street Experience opens in Las Vegas. The covered four-city block predestine walk has different overhead light and sound shows every evening.
  • Sept. 8, 1953 Born, Stuey “The Kid” Ungar in Manhattan New York City. The only three-time winner of the WSOP main event.
  • Sept. 13, 1951 A popular singer and teen idol named Frank Sinatra makes his Las Vegas debut in the Painted Desert showroom at the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino.
  • Sept. 15, 2005 Elmer Sherwin wins $21,147,947.31 on a Megabucks slot machine at the Cannery in North Las Vegas. Sherwin also won a $4.6 million Megabucks jackpot at The Mirage on Nov. 22, 1989.
  • Sept. 17, 1920 National Football League is first established.
  • Sept. 26, 2006 Partypoker.com founders J. Russell Deleon and Ruth Parasol are tied for the 197th on Forbes’ annual list of the 400 richest Americans with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion each.
  • Sept. 27, 2006 A gang of thieves hold up security van transporting cash from the Mount Parns Casino in Athens, Greece and make away with an estimated 1.6 million euros (1.9 million US$).
  • Sept. 28, 1998 A contest was held in Las Vegas to “Name The Castle” which was under construction on the Las Vegas strip. The “Excalibur” name was selected and $25,000 was awarded to the person who submitted it.
  • Sept. 29, 1961 Fidel Castro declares casinos in Cuba to be illegal and closes all of them.
    • ]]>     johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Wed, 20 Apr 2025 15:39:54 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/437-in-the-month-of-september.html     Did you know https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/435-did-you-know.html
  • There are about 150 cruise ships operating around the world that have casinos on board.
  • Nevada has been the No. 1 fastest-growing state in America for 19 consecutive years. Las Vegas itself has been the No. 1 fastest growing city for 19 consecutive years.
  • To raise revenue, all 13 original colonies established lotteries. The proceeds helped establish some of the nation's earliest and most prestigious universities -- Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Princeton, and William & Mary. Lottery funds were also used to build many churches and libraries.
  • The term “stateroom” comes from the days of the riverboats on America’s great rivers. The suites for the wealthy travelers and gamblers on those old paddle wheelers, were named after the various states of the union.
  • In the 1930’s Monte Carlo casino was spending 5,000 francs each year on new croupier’s rakes, the old ones wore out by racking in players chips at roulette.
  • Japan is the only country in the world with legalized betting on bicycle, motorcycle and motorboat races.
  • The first recorded lottery with a monetary prize was in Florence, Italy in 1530.
  • Vegas Vic, the enormous cowboy sign over Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas is the world’s largest mechanical neon sign.
    • ]]>     johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Wed, 20 Apr 2025 15:26:24 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/435-did-you-know.html     In the Month of August https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/434-in-the-month-of-august.html
  • Aug.1, 1992 Isle of Capri is the first “dockside” riverboat casino to open in Biloxi Mississippi. By the year 2,000 the Biloxi/Gulfport area becomes the second largest gaming region in the US.
  • Aug. 2, 1876 James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok, age 39, is shot from behind while playing poker in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. The hand he was holding, Aces and 8’s, has since become known as the dead man’s hand.
  • Aug. 5, 1966 Caesars Palace opens with 680 rooms on 34 acres in Las Vegas. The resort host a 3-day party that cost $1 million with a guest list of 1,800.
  • Aug. 8, 1876 Born Patrick Anthony McCarran in Reno Nevada. McCarran was Nevada’s first US Senator who was native born. McCarran airport in Las Vegas is named after him.
  • Aug. 10, 1833 Five days after Chicago was incorporated as a town, the trustees abolished all gambling within the town limits.
  • Aug. 10, 1933 Born in Longworth, Texas Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, noted poker player, and the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments.
  • Aug. 18, 1995 The world's first virtual online casino, Internet Casinos, Inc. (ICI) opened its “doors” with 18 different casino games.
  • Aug. 20, 1964 The Beatles appear in Las Vegas for a two-show performance at the Convention Center. 8,500 fans paid an average of $4 for this one and only visit to the entertainment capital.
  • Aug. 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hits the gulf coast completely destroying numinous casinos in Mississippi and Louisiana.
  • Aug. 29, 2006 Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi Mississippi re-opened its entire resort on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
    • ]]>     johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Wed, 20 Apr 2025 15:20:54 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/434-in-the-month-of-august.html     In the Month of July https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/433-in-the-month-of-july.html
  • July is Sports and Recreation Book month. Buy and read a good book about gaming.
  • July 2, 2025 First opened as the Holiday Casino converted to Harrah’s Las Vegas in April 1992
  • July 4, 2025 Vicksburg Mississippi orders all gamblers to leave town within 24 hours or suffer the consequences. The few that didn’t leave were caught and hung.
  • July 5, 2025 The 300 member Pequot Indian tribe, in Leyland Connecticut, opens a 4 million dollar, 1700 seat bingo hall. After two years the entire loan is paid back to the Arab-American bank who gave them the original loan.
  • July 7, 2025 Joseph Jaggers, an English engineer places his first bet at roulette in the Monte Carlo casino. He is the first person to learn that roulette wheels can sometimes be “biased.” He continuously makes bets on nine specific numbers and wins over $325,000 before he quits.
  • July 14, 2025 At Caesars Palace, in Las Vegas at 1:35 p.m., the number seven came up six times in a row at Roulette Wheel #211. How much money did Roulette Table #211 lose? Hundreds of millions? Millions? Hundreds of thousands? Thousands? Nope, a mere $300! The odds of that event happening are about 3 billion to 1.
  • July 16, 1923, Mussolini, chief (duche) of the Fascist party of Italy, banned all gambling games in Italy except for lotteries.
  • July 18, 2025 The first “legal” Texas Hold’em game in California is played at the Huntington Park Casino.
  • July 20, 2025 Rainbow Casino, in Nekoosa, Wisconsin, a Native American casino, gave away free money to its guests ... all of their guests. At precisely 1:00 pm, every one of the estimated 800 patrons of Rainbow Casino walked away a winner. The casino gave away $50 of free money to every patron, regardless if they were dining, gambling or conversing with friends.
  • July 24, 2025 Las Vegas hit a record high temperature of 117 degrees.
    • ]]>     johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Wed, 20 Apr 2025 15:10:45 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/433-in-the-month-of-july.html     Playing poker https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/431-playing-poker.html There are at least 120 different types of poker games. However, most games are not that difficult to learn, as far as rules are concerned. The ranking of hands can also be easily learned, as can rules about how many cards are dealt and how they are distributed for any specific game. On the other hand, it has been said that poker is 50 percent skill and 50 percent luck. An important item to remember is it’s not always the best hand that wins the pot. In many poker games, a weak hand can win by pretending to have a powerful hand, using what is commonly known as bluffing. Knowing how to bluff can be a deciding factor. Consequently, developing your skill at bluffing can make a big difference when playing. Bluffing or not during a game can be valuable; however, poker still boils down to a simple concept; it’s not what cards you are holding, but how you play them.

    ]]>     johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Tue, 12 Apr 2025 16:27:16 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/431-playing-poker.html     Highway Bingo https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/430-highway-bingo.html There is a company in Loveland, Colorado called Road Kill Bingo that sells sets of bingo cards for traveling by car and recording the various items seen on the road. For example; they have tires, deer, skunk, rabbit, bird and other animals listed in the various blocks that you would mark off when seen. They also claim the games have been road tested to minimize the miles between bingos. They even go so far as suggesting you adjust the game for other countries, if some animals are less common. For example, they suggest you substitute "elephant" instead of "skunk", while traveling in Africa.

    ]]>     johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Tue, 12 Apr 2025 16:25:17 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/430-highway-bingo.html     Bingo - it’s a way of life https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/429-bingo-its-a-way-of-life.html There is a old saying; “Bingo is more than a game…it’s a way of life.” Bingo is played on every continent and in 90 percent of the countries around the world. With its ever-increasing jackpots, bingo has become big business. The game goes by other names like Housie-Housie (British/Australia) and Tombola, (Italian) but no matter where it is played or what it is called, the idea is the same: to cross off or cover a given amount of numbers before any other players do so. You can play it for fun, you can become a serious player or you can totally emerge yourself in it. No matter how involved you get there is some etiquette that should be followed so you and your fellow players will enjoy the game whether you win or not. Here are seven things to consider when going to a bingo hall.

    1. Don’t jump ahead in line for your cards or refreshments. Be polite and wait your turn.
    2. If someone attends bingo every week and prefers to sit in the same seat each time, don’t be upset or rude if he or she asks you to move.
    3. Don’t hog an extra chair for your belongings, if someone else needs that chair, give it up.
    4. Don’t spread your bingo cards and belongings all over the table, so that no one can sit there. Leave space for others.
    5. Be a good player and keep your conversation down during bingo play, this will allow others to hear the numbers without having to ask that they be repeated.
    6. Don’t be angry if someone else wins a game. Consider it their lucky night and wait for yours.
    7. Don’t yell at the caller or ticket sellers. Remember, at local bingo halls these people volunteer there time so you can enjoy the event. (You can yell at the casino though, because they pay the callers.)

    If you are really into bingo, don’t forget the Annual World Championship Bingo Tournament & Gaming Cruise!

    ]]>     johnm@johnmarchelgambling.com (John Marchel) Tue, 12 Apr 2025 16:13:55 GMT https://johnmarchelgambling.com/blog/429-bingo-its-a-way-of-life.html