The Red Piano Review -- December 13, 2004

The Wizard's News
December 13, 2004

From the Wizard..

More pokering around

Happy holidays to all 6,578 subscribers of my newsletter! I apologize for my extended silence since my last update. As you may have forgotten, in the past... my last newsletter I shared detailed accounts of my experiences playing Texas Hold'em. At one point, I found myself spending more time than I could afford at Pacific Poker, so I decided to cash out and take a break for a few weeks.

Eventually, I returned to the scene when BoDog, a valued advertising partner, launched their own poker room. Feeling refreshed, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to explore a new place. The BoDog poker room is fast-paced and straightforward. I've noticed that the competition there is tougher and more focused than what I encountered at Pacific Poker. For those interested in maximizing the number of hands played per hour, BoDog is hard to beat.

We recently welcomed a new advertiser in Poker Source Online . They are offering a fantastic deal – if you play 250 hands at Party Poker, you'll receive a coveted set of 11.5-gram poker chips. I'm committed to supporting my advertisers, and having heard so much about Party Poker, I decided to create an account. This chip set is an added bonus on top of the standard 20% welcome bonus, up to $100. Using Poker Source makes the experience even sweeter. They also provide a similar offer for Pacific Poker, but unfortunately, I had already played there before discovering Poker Source. The poker chip set includes 300 stylish 'dice' or 'suited' chips along with a premium aluminum case. I already own some similar chips, and they have a quality comparable to that found in casinos. Though I still prefer Paulson chips for the best experience, it's unfortunate they don’t sell directly to the public anymore.

In stark contrast to BoDog, Party Poker is much more vibrant with plenty of visual effects and sound enhancements. The players here appear to have a softer level of skill, and the gameplay tends to move at a slower pace.

I came across an article in a poker magazine that suggested some men choose female aliases while playing online. Interestingly, the piece noted that when playing against women, many men either soften their approach or become overly aggressive. To test this theory, I played under the name Lisa235 and found my results to align with this observation. Perhaps it was just the new environment, but a lot of players seemed to go easy on me with their better hands or tried hard to bluff me with weaker hands. Therefore, I encourage all players, regardless of gender, to adopt an obviously feminine username.

What's new on the website

I have added a bunch of Ask the Wizard In my columns since the last newsletter, it's clear that readers continue to come up with an endless array of questions. Not long ago, I responded to someone who inquired, 'Is my boyfriend being unfaithful?' Recently, when Bluejay organized the previous Ask the Wizard columns into categories such as blackjack and craps, he placed that question under a section titled 'boyfriends'. Remarkably, this page has now become the fourth most popular result for a Google search for 'Is my boyfriend cheating on me?' It's likely due to this ranking that I received yet another similar concern from a different anxious girlfriend, which I will address in an upcoming column.

I've been making several minor tweaks and enhancements across the site. One development I'm particularly proud of is the video poker section as I've strived hard to be the first site I know of to provide comprehensive return tables for challenging games, like one-eyed jacks, five aces, and progressive video poker. There’s also a new section focusing on sequential royal flushes in video poker.

I recently added a review of a new software provider, Blue Chip Games, which powers the new casino at Pinnacle . Additionally, I included my assessment of a novel table game named Flop Poker .

On a more thrilling note, our site has recently experienced a surge of excitement with someone finally taking me on in my $20,000 betting system challenge. Since 1999, I have posed a challenge where I wager $20,000 against $2,000, claiming that a betting system relying on a casino game with a house edge would not withstand a billion-hand computer simulation. Daniel Rainsong accepted the challenge and even upped the stakes, which I readily agreed to. So, did I end up losing $40,000, or do the principles of mathematics still hold true? Find out here .

This spring, I will once again be teaching the Casino Math course at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As I prepare the course materials focused on basic probability and its practical applications in casino game analysis, I aim to incorporate that content into the site as well.

SHOW REVIEW: The Red Piano Featuring Elton John

As a devoted Elton John fan who has seen him live three times already, I've been eager to witness his performances in this Las Vegas venue, particularly since he began headlining here regularly in place of Celine Dion. Typically, Elton John's concerts are straightforward affairs that last a minimum of three hours, with Bruce Springsteen being the only artist I’ve seen who performed longer. However, The Red Piano deviates from the conventional concert format, transforming into a full-fledged show.

In contrast to the other concerts I've attended, The Red Piano features three enormous video screens, various neon lights, and a wide array of props reminiscent of items plucked from a 1970s brothel. A significant number of the accompanying visuals were sourced from the seventies, many featuring a much younger version of John either backstage or at various events. The highlight for me was the candid footage of Marilyn Monroe, perfectly paired with the song Candle in the Wind. Another unforgettable moment featured Pamela Anderson in minimal clothing dancing around a stripper pole to, if memory serves, The Bitch is Back. Unlike his standard concerts, John spent more time conversing with the audience, at times voicing his frustrations about lip-syncing and British music critics. Toward the end, a series of massive R-rated inflatable props adorned the stage. Before concluding the show, John surprisingly stated that the theme was love, which caught me off guard. I had assumed the theme centered around sex and the seventies. He wrapped things up with a heartfelt introduction for Your Song, a classic hit that wasn’t particularly my favorite. For me, it felt like a sudden and jarring shift in tone, but that’s simply my perspective. Some of my favorite tracks did make an appearance, including Pinball Wizard, Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting, and Daniel.

Tickets for The Red Piano range from $100 to $250 and the show takes place at Caesar's Palace. The venue's height ensures that even the least desirable seats provide a decent view. I employed my usual strategy by arriving just in time for the show and looking for a seller in distress due to a cancellation. I often propose prices that are one-third or one-half of the original ticket price, and sellers are typically more than happy to accept a reasonable offer. If you don't mind attending shows solo, I highly recommend this approach over dealing with scalpers unless it ends up being your only option. Overall, I would rate the experience an A-.

New Advertiser: Acropolis Casinos

For those unfamiliar with the term, a phantom bonus refers to a bonus that cannot be cashed out and is automatically deducted from your account when you request a withdrawal. A good strategy when working with phantom bonuses is to establish an ambitious winning target, like achieving 5 to 10 times your initial balance, or risk going broke trying.

From Michael Bluejay..

What's new on Wnternetradiomercedes.com

Several months back, I introduced a fantastic new feature that I've kept forgetting to mention, so here it is before it slips my mind again: You can now access the Wizard's game analysis page easily by typing Wnternetradiomercedes.com/gamename into your browser. For instance, simply enter Wnternetradiomercedes.com/blackjack or Wnternetradiomercedes.com/war . Isn’t that fantastic? Don’t respond just yet because if you take action now, you’ll also be able to reach our review of software brands in the same way, such as Wnternetradiomercedes.com/bossmedia and Wnternetradiomercedes.com/microgaming . Now, how much would that be worth? Also, don't bother entering the WWW – it's unnecessary on our site and on about 99% of other websites as well.

And let me point out what’s not new on Wnternetradiomercedes.com: more ads. I proposed to the Wizard that we should add a few more ads throughout the site, but he refused to entertain the idea. It’s really challenging to argue with someone who isn’t driven by financial incentives. 'Come on, wiz,' I pleaded, 'just a tiny ad on some of the internal pages, like a craps site ad on the craps page?' Nope, he wouldn’t budge.

Interestingly, the volume of advertisements is actually set to decrease slightly early next year. The specifics are a bit technical, so I’ll spare you the lengthy explanation.

It’s quite peculiar, because despite the Wizard being one of the least greedy individuals I’ve ever met, he also manages to come off as a real cheapskate. Recently, we were visiting Niagara Falls, and during a moment, I tossed a penny into the waters while making a wish. At that juncture, the Wizard declared he had wished for something as well. I replied, 'But you didn’t throw a penny in.' His response was, 'I placed my wish on your penny.' Can you believe that? I protested, but he insisted, 'I think a penny can handle multiple wishes.' Well, maybe under ordinary conditions, but since we were in Canada, the penny was Canadian, making it worth slightly less than an actual penny (I believe the Wizard calculated it at 0.83 pennies), which means it had to shoulder an even heavier weight by accommodating two wishes. Moreover, my friend Amanda joined us on this trip, and my wish was directed toward her enduring happiness. Now, she’s understandably upset that the Wizard might have jeopardized her shot at eternal joy by burdening my wish penny with an additional wish.

This month's Internet tip from Bluejay" "In our previous segment, I aimed to illustrate how neat tabbed browsing can be. Or at least I attempted to — I didn’t get the image right, so you couldn’t actually see it. Therefore, here’s that tip from last time, presented once again.

Explore the top online casinos available in your nation.

Calculator for estimating lottery jackpot ticket sales.

Exciting slot competitions featuring substantial prize pools.

Warm holiday wishes to all 6,578 subscribers of my newsletter. I apologize for the delay in communication; it has been quite a while since my last update. As you might have forgotten in that time...

I shared in detail about my experiences with Texas Hold'em. At one point, I found myself losing precious time I couldn't spare at Pacific Poker. Consequently, I decided to cash out and take a break for a few weeks.

• The \"www\" is optional
• Later, BoDog, a dedicated advertiser, launched a new poker room. I felt I had taken enough time off and was eager to test out this new location. The BoDog poker room offers rapid gameplay with a straightforward approach. The competition tends to be tougher and more focused compared to what I experienced at Pacific Poker, making it an excellent choice if you want to maximize the number of hands played per hour.

Written by: Michael Shackleford