The Wizard Arm and
Bargain Blackjack
24 March 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I am writing a screenplay with a character who
has the ability to affect the outcome of dice on
a crap game with his throws. I need a term for
such a person who has this skill. Billy F.
I'm guessing here, Billy, but I think you are
inquiring about a player so gifted at throwing
dice that he can alter the conventional odds of
the game, not the cutesy-pie player who merely
slides the dice in prohibited fashion across the
table.
In gamblese, Billy, the player you're
envisioning is called 'an arm'. As to whether or
not such a golden arm actually exists, who can
chuck the die with any accuracy is dicey at
best. I fly on the side of gaming folklore, and
hold that it ain't so. Others in the betting
house biz disagree. One of my favorite gaming
authors, Frank Scoblete, penned a very enjoyable
read called, Golden Touch, Dice Control
Revolution. We are both on the same page in that
craps is a losing proposition and the game is
structured to mathematically beat all betting
systems. But in his book, Frank feels that you
can control the outcome of a roll and that the
skilled dice controller can change the nature of
the game to favor the player. I’m not saying
phooey aloud here, it’s just that after spending
18 years on the inside, an umpteen years
bellying up to a table that I have to see it to
believe it, and I haven’t seen it yet.
As for a player sliding the dice across the
table to get a specific result, yes, that's a
possibility. I’ve witnessed that, along with
those who have tried it being escorted off the
game. Crap dealers, a box person, the pit boss
or the eye in the sky tend to go berserko if
some dice jockey tries to illegally manipulate
the cubes so that a random outcome doesn’t
occur.
It's your play, of course, and your hotshot is
certainly going to be sharp enough to know all
that, so you might invent a brand new term for
his magic anatomy: Dicerony, Warlock 7, The
Wrist of Doom… Let us know when and where we can
see it.
Dear Mark,
Could you tell me the house edge on Video
Blackjack and how different rules and playing
perfect strategy affect the house edge? I enjoy
playing at my own pace and can wager smaller
than at a table. John S.
You've got the advantages of video blackjack
down cold, John: the low minimum bankroll
required, with some machines taking as little as
5 cents a hand to play. They also spare you the
intimidation factor of a live game, while
delivering excellent practice sessions, where
you can work on perfect basic strategy.
On the downside, it's tough to find a machine
that pays you the true value of a blackjack (3
for 2). Most video blackjack machines pay even
money on natural 21's. Because you can expect a
blackjack every 21 hands on a live game, the
loss of that bonus is going to cost you an
additional 2.3 percent. Considering that
blackjack has a house advantage of less than 0.5
percent over the basic strategy player like
yourself, you are giving away a considerable
amount percentage-wise.
Also note that some machines round down on
blackjack payoffs. If you do happen to find a
machine that pays the bonus for a blackjack but
rounds down, make sure your wagers are in
two-unit increments so that you can get the
maximum value of your every blackjack.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "I vow to never
touch a slot machine again...although I suspect
this resolve has all the firmness of a cream
pie." -- Barry Meadow
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