Casino management can't
mandate cheerfulness
4 February 2000
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I have cut and collected every column that you
have written. We really enjoy them here in
Biloxi, Mississippi. My one complaint is that in
a few columns you use the phrase "certified
friendly" when it comes to dealers. To be honest
with you, I've run across some real boorish
ones. What constitutes, in your opinion,
"certified friendly"? Raymond G.
Raymond, it could be something as simple as
management forcing dealers to wear ridiculous "stinkin
badges" that pronounce that they are certified
friendly. Dealers who are subject to such
autocratic casino marketing plans will tell you
that other, more savory adjectives could also be
applied.
A specific example would be at Station Casinos
in Las Vegas where they have a "10-5" rule for
blackjack dealers. Dealers on dead tables are
expected to show their pearly whites to any
prospective player who comes within 10 feet of
their game. Any player who comes within 5 feet
of their tables is to be verbally greeted.
Will any of this make a crabby dealer more like
Snuggles, the Fabric Softener Bear? Hardly.
Casino management can try to legislate
geniality, but being a friendly dealer, of which
there are many, comes from within. You can't
decree friendliness.
Dear Mark,
I visited Las Vegas for the first time in August
and had the time of my life learning to play
craps at the Imperial Palace. They had 50¢
minimum bets and 100X odds. With the fact that I
was winning, and they kept bringing me drinks,
it was a fun and an inexpensive learning
experience. My question is, does the 100X odds
benefit the player by reducing the house
advantage any more than a single or double odds
game? Chris S.
Yes, Chris, considerably. BUT, if your bankroll
is undercapitalized, after a few bad rolls your
typical weekend gambler will be wiped out. Even
on a 50¢ game.
A crap game that offers 100X odds is for players
who typically wager between $25-$50 per hand,
not a 50¢ inexperienced player. It takes nerve,
and capital, to put $50.50 on the line and wait
for a 4 to roll.
Dear Mark,
My brother-in-law thinks he can make a living
counting cards while playing blackjack. He's
been playing on low limit tables because he
doesn't have any money. I have a two-part
question. First, can he really beat the casino
with his small bankroll, and second, if he can
actually beat the casino counting cards, why
does the casino offer a game they can't make any
money at? Robert A.
Because casinos make their money from the
uninformed masses (over 95 percent), and what
the heck, throw in bad card counters as well.
Card counters in general have an inherent
advantage of between .5 and 1.5 percent against
the house. But in your brother-in-law's case,
even if his debatable skills rival the pros,
because his bankroll is limited (e.g., $1000 or
less), his slight edge will produce nothing more
than a $5-an-hour job for him.
Is it worth the constant hassle from pit bosses,
exposure of his bankroll and the possibility of
financial ruin for $5 an hour? I'll pass and let
him decide.
Dear Mark,
I recently came across a game in a casino that
looked very similar to the game of War that we
used to play as kids. Both players received one
card and the high card won. What's the catch?
Ronald B.
Yes, Ronald, called War, this is a variation of
the same senseless game you played as a
youngster on the kitchen table. Both you and the
dealer each receive one card, and the high card
wins. In the event that both cards are equal,
you must double your initial bet, and two more
cards are dealt. Again the high card wins;
however, you win only your original wager. This
is how the casino pickpockets your billfold. The
casino advantage from this one rule change:
7.14%.
Thumbs down for War.
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