Bonehead play - Help or
hinderance?
31 August 2007
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: I don't play at the $25 blackjack
tables in Atlantic City where players are apt to
know basic blackjack because I use a progression
and $25 is too high a starting point. At the $10
or $15 tables I find players use hunches and
don't even play identical hands in the same
manner. I know they are not card counters. Do
you feel the caliber of the players at my table
will affect my winning or losing? I have seen
players do stupid things on third base and save
the table. I still run to the dice table because
I don't feel comfortable with players who bring
hundreds to the table and won't buy a $14 book
on blackjack. David S.
Blackjack is a unique casino game because it
allows players to make playing decisions that
will affect the outcome of their bet, but it's
limited, David, to only their own wager. It is a
mistaken belief that incorrect play by someone
at third base, or any position for that matter,
always "takes the dealer's bust card" or "gives
the dealer a card that always seems to beat the
table." As long as the shuffle is randomized,
improper play by others will just as likely help
as hurt. That bonehead splitting 10s has no idea
what the next card is, so bonehead's poor play
will have no consequence on the game in general,
just on the outcome of bonehead's hand. For the
average player, or even someone who benefits
from the use of perfect basic strategy, seat
position or another player's play has little
significance for the player's expected return.
But for the card counter who uses strategy
variations, it is probably best to sit at the
last taken seat to the dealer's right (third
base) in order to see as many cards as possible
before playing the hand.
Dear Mark: I heard that a roll of five in craps
is nicknamed, "Little Phoebe." I have not heard
this before. Do you have any idea of its origin?
Nelson S.
When I was pushing dice, the FIVE calls in my
repertoire were, "after five, the field's
alive," "thirty-two juice roll" (OJ's jersey
number, but I doubt they use that one anymore),
"fiver, fiver, racetrack driver," "we got the
fever." and yes, "Little Phoebe" and even
"Phoebe the Preacher's Daughter." As for "Little
Phoebe's" origin, I did try to rattle the brains
of couple old-timers that have been around since
they were rolling dice for garments, but they
too were stumped. I have seen in gambling
dictionaries "Little Phoebe" as a noun,
described as "the cardinal number that is the
sum of four and one," but it could also be as
simple as Phoebe and five both begin with the
same evocable fricative; or, maybe its
inspiration came from some golden-haired damsel
named Phoebe who tossed the hand of her life in
some sawdust joint ages ago. Intriguing query –
Prize to the most intriguing response – Whence
Phoebe for "five?"
Dear Mark: You recently answered a letter and in
effect said " …that each hand and game outcome
is completely random, and not an exercise in
synchronicity." My question is since the casino
can change the odds on the machine, how does
this effect the random winning/losing? Bernard
M.
What you need to do, Bernard, is separate the
randomness of the cards being dealt and the
payout that you receive. To alter the percentage
return in their favor on any video game, the
casino must, by law, make a hardware change.
They do this by swapping out an internal
component, the ROM (read only memory) portion of
the microprocessor chip. This shouldn't be
confused with the random number generator (RNG),
which deals you your actual cards. The ROM chip
tells the video poker machine to pay 9 coins for
a full house, 6 coins for a flush. By changing
ROM chip and faceplate to an 8/5 machine, the
house automatically changes the odds in their
favor by an additional 3%; yet the chances of
getting a full house or flush still remain
random.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "I know you
probably won't agree with me, but playing your
very best game, not winning the most money, is
what gives the most satisfaction in poker." --VP
Pappy
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