Comp computing made easy
10 March 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I heard you on a radio show talking about
getting comps, and one of your suggestions was
to call a casino host and ask what type of
action was needed to warrant, as you said;
“getting some goodies.”
So, I called a casino host and asked how much I
would need to play in order to get both a dinner
for two in their steak house, and possibly a
buffet for two. She said that I would need to
“put in action” at least $5,000 to warrant the
free meals. I’m not that big of a player. Don’t
you think that betting that amount is a bit
unrealistic when all I’m asking for is a couple
meals? Peter T.
Whoa, Pete, all that the casino you called
wanted was for you to blow into town with some
of your hard-earned money, and not necessarily
five large, and they’d like a crack at it.
What the host meant by “put in action” was NOT
the actual dollar amount of money you were to
bet per hand, nor even the amount you are
supposed to bring to the table with a “Gamble”
ear tag on it.
For instance, suppose that you sat down at a
blackjack table with $500 and proceeded to play
100 hands an hour over, say, three hours,
betting $20 on each hand. Now multiply 100
hands, times three hours, by $20, and it totals
$6,000. This would be the amount of money you
“put in action,” even though your actual
bankroll was just $500.
This is but one criterion a casino would use to
assess your rating and eligibility for comps.
The joints I worked in had sort of the same
formula to figure out what you’re worth. To get
your goodies from us, we also wanted you to bet
a decent chunk of change for a calculated
stretch of time, but we based your RFB’s merit
(Room, food and beverage) on what you were
probably going to lose.
We considered your average bet, how many hours
you were possibly going to play, speed of the
game, and the casino advantage. This, in theory,
computes essentially your expected loss to us
over a certain period.
.
Again, suppose you are betting $20 a hand for
three hours, averaging 100 hands per hour,
coupled with a house advantage of five percent
the casino holds over the average blackjack
player, we could predict in advance that you
should lose $300 ($20 X 3 hrs. X 100 hands X .05
= $300) of the $6,000 wagered, or as she said,
“put in action,” over that time period. That
free trip to the chow line was really going to
cost you $300.
Dear Mark,
On a Field bet on a crap table, some casinos pay
2-1 if a 12 rolls, others pay 3-1. How much of a
difference is there in the house edge between
the two? James D.
A Field bet is a wager that the next roll of the
dice would turn up a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or a
12. This one-roller pays even money for 3, 4, 9,
10, and 11, and usually pays 2:1 for either 2 or
12. Some casinos pay 3:1 for either the 2 or 12,
but not both.
When the casino pays 2-1 on the 12, the house
edge is 5.56 percent. If they pay 3-1, the
casino advantage is reduced to 2.78 percent.
Either way, both advantage levels are far higher
than the 1.41 percent edge on a pass line wager
or 1.4 percent on the Don't pass, so, James, I’m
recommending neither.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Betting is the
only moral thing you can do. It is an
intellectual pursuit, as good as The Times
crossword. For millions, it is the only
uninfluenced democratic decision they take." -
Lord Wyatt
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