Cinco dos, adios
January 22,
2010
Dear Mark:
I've been reading your column recently on
craps betting and I agree with you regarding
keeping the house advantage below two
percent. However, since my recent retirement
I've had the opportunity to play 3-4 times
per week, and what I have noticed is that it
seems like the most consistent winners are
the Don't side players laying odds. Not big
money, but consistent wins. I am currently a
$5 pass line, odds, place 6 and 8 Come
bettor. I'm seriously thinking of going the
Don't side. Your answer would be much
appreciated. John G.
Yes,
John, by all means, if you want to go to the
Don’t side, do it. There is nothing wrong
with being a Wrong bettor.
Once you
join dark side, John, as a Wrong bettor
you’re wagering against the shooter and with
the seven. All your bets become Don't pass
and Don't come wagers. Yet, right or wrong,
and nearly equally, Pass line and Don’t Pass
bettors are making some of the best wagers
the casino offers.
Although I
appreciate your way of thinking regarding
switching, mathematically a “Don’t pass” bet
is only a slightly better wager than a pass
line bet, as the house edge is 1.4 versus
1.41 percent. Subsequently, because the
casino advantage between the two wagers is
so minuscule, this columnist has always
advocated a Pass line bet, mostly because I
enjoy the peer play, where almost all the
bettors battle the casino together, win or
lose. It is this solidarity of most gamblers
on the game rooting for the shooter to make
his or her point that is my favorite part of
craps. By becoming a Don’t Pass, Wrong, or
Back Line bettor, you have your fingers
crossed that the “ugly 7” will show its
face. Most players, myself included, wash
out on a seven out, line away call. Hoping
for five two, you’re “all through” calls is
nothing more than rooting for the house.
Dear Mark: In the answer
to a question by Glen D., you used the term
"selected machines.” I play a lot of video
poker and would like to know what that term
means? Bruce F.
In the
world of slots, “selected machines,” means
one thing for slots, another for video
poker.
With reel slot machines,
some casinos advertise a higher payback
percentage—like a 98.5% return—on “selected
machines.” Typically that means dollar
machines, but the return is usually not
posted on the machines themselves, and
generally will be limited to a single
carousel of machines, or possibly just one
or two slots. It becomes your responsibility
to find them by asking a slot employee or
their direct supervisor.
With
video poker, “selected machines” means pay
tables, and implies also the use of basic
strategy on a decent pay table. With canny
machine selection and some video poker
prowess, you can reduce the house edge to
well under one percent.
That,
Bruce, is the biggest benefit of video
poker, your ability to identify these
“selected machines” by eyeballing the pay
tables. When you add the comps and other
slot club benefits, it’s not hard to break
even or better, which rather neatly elevates
your chances of winning at video poker.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "That's
very clever. But do me a favor and dump it
in the trash. A Bally slot machine can't
be made by amateurs." -- Bill O'Donnell, CEO
of Bally Manufacturing Co., upon being
shown a prototype of the first video poker
machine. From King of the Slots, the
forthcoming biography of William "Si" Redd
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