Like stepping stones across the creek
June
12 2008
Dear Mark: On weekends, the casino where I play
raises the table minimum to $25 on the crap
table. What’s a player to do to get some
crap action on the weekend when you’re only
a $5 player, wanting to make only smart
wagers like a Pass line bet? Neil F.
There is a way, Neil, for us nickel players
to fix things when the casino bumps up the
table minimum on the weekends.
Here’s what I’m asking you to do. Bet the
Pass line and Don't pass at the same time.
Huh? Yep, Ben, being a nickel Pass line
player, I want you to place $30 in lieu of
$5 on the Pass line, and then bet $25 on the
Don't pass simultaneously. Your net bet
becomes only $5.
Do the reverse if you are a Don't player.
Bet six red chips on the Don't pass and five
red chips on the Pass. So once more, though
you’re betting $55, all you are risking is a
grand total of $5.
You didn’t think it was going to be that
easy, did you Neil? You still have one itsy
bitsy problem, and that’s the twelve
wielding its ugly face, on average, once
every 36 rolls, making you lose on the Pass
line, and push on the Don’t.
Consequently, you could bet a buck as
insurance every roll of the dice and get 30
to 1 if and when it appears, or, take a
chance, yes gamble, that it doesn’t roll
during your gambling timeline. Either way,
Neil, at least you’re in action when the
table limits are higher than your budget
allows.
Dear
Mark: Is there a mathematical formula for
blackjack that you can project your losses
in a casino? Ben S.
For the blackjack player, there is an
expected loss formula that the casino uses
(actually they call it a win formula) that
I’ll teach you to use to figure your
projected losses to the house.
Take your average bet, the number of hours
you are possibly going to play, the speed of
the game, and the casino’s advantage over
your play. This, in theory, gives your
"expected" loss.
Say, for instance, you are betting $25 a
hand for four hours (weekends, remember,
higher table limits) averaging 100 hands per
hour. Couple that with the three percent
advantage the casino holds over your
run-of-the-mill play, and you can predict,
just as the casino does, your loss
expectation of $300 ($25 X 4 hrs. X 100
hands X .03 = $300).
I did say predict, Ben, but not guarantee,
simply because you won't automatically lose
that exact amount. But the more you play,
the closer your actual losses will get to
your expected loss.
Dear
Mark: I believed I found a sleeper full pay
machine (9/6) Bonus machine where I play,
but when I told a friend what I found he
thought there was no way our local Indian
casino would allow it on the casino floor.
Could this machine have slipped through a
crack without management not knowing it?
Brad T.
I’d bet dollars to Krispy Kremes against it,
Brad. Without your even telling me the exact
paytable, here’s what I’m betting on.
Your typical full-pay 9/6 Jacks paytable
should look like this: 250 for a royal
flush, 50 for a straight flush, 25 for
four-of-a-kind, nine for a full house, six
for a flush, four for a straight, three for
three-of-a-kind, two for two pair, and one
for jacks or better, with one coin inserted.
Next time, Brad, look closely at all the
payouts for all the hands. Bonus machines,
which give you a bonus for various quads,
typically pay only 1-to-1 on two pair, which
wouldn’t --depending on the paytable--make
it necessarily a bad machine, but it also
wouldn’t necessarily make it a full pay, 9/6
Jacks or better machine.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week:
"Luck is for the whimpering simp at the next
table who plays to break even." --John
Vorhaus, "Killer Poker
