Naming The Puck And A
Keno-Rarity
1 March 2004
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Pardon the simplicity of this question, but how
do they figure who deals, and when, when I am
watching televised poker? Tammy J.
When you watch televised poker, you are watching
Texas Hold'em played with as many as 10 players.
Look closely at the TV image next time, Tammy,
and you'll notice a small disk (brings to mind a
hockey puck but usually white) sitting just in
front of one of the contestants. This disk is
called the "button."
The button shows who would be dealing the cards
if he or she were actually the dealer. Holding
the dealer button is an advantage in Texas
Hold'em because the dealer is the last player to
act. By acting last, that player has valuable
additional information when it's betting time.
This positional advantage remains throughout the
hand, then passes - clockwise - to the next
player for the next hand. Thus, all players in
the game have equal opportunities to hold this
rotating positional advantage.
Dear Mark,
Once a month I go to the casino. I only play
keno, eat at their buffet (they have a great
senior discount for the lunch buffet) and never
stay more than two hours. Last May I hit a solid
six spot for $2,200, and last month I won $280
on a 10-spot ticket. I usually alternate between
a six and 10 spot ticket. What do you think of
my system of play? Marge H.
The Gambling for Experts school answer is "Hey,
Marge, don't you realize you're making one of
the worst bets in the casino, the one with a
minimum house edge of 25%?"
Mathematically, the School is on the ball: the
chances of hitting 10 of 10 are one in 10
million at best. Readers of this column know
that Yours Truly has spelled out those long odds
and pitfalls of keno with anguishing regularity.
B U T, without even counting your winnings,
Marge, I still have the latitude to salute your
play, for a few non-mathematical reasons.
For starters, you are obeying money management
rule #1: Betting money you can afford to lose.
Bravo! Also, if you are not winning, at least
you are losing S L O W L Y. With keno games
played roughly every ten minutes, at a dollar a
pop you won't go bust in a two-hour keno stint.
And finally, it seems to me that you're really
having fun. If it's fun risking $1 to win
$50,000, play. That's what you're there for
Marge, to have fun, right?
Oh yeah, about that cheap buffet at senior
prices. Next time you write me, Marge, don't
forget to include place and price. My readers
would love to know. Heck, I'd like to know.
But, back to business: putting your winnings
into the equation, I figure you to be ahead of
the game for at least the next four years.
So, what's Marge doing wrong? That famous trio -
Nada, Zilch and Nothing!
Gambling quote of the week: "Put not your luck
in Kings and Princes: Three of a kind will take
them both." --Robert C. Schenck, Rules for
Playing Poker (1880)
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