Guerrilla Gambling 101
12 November 1999
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Casinos must make loads of money off constant
losers like myself. Anything I can do to stop
the flow of money always going in one direction?
Sandra R.
But do you have a smile on your face when you
lose, Sandra? I ask that because Bob Stupak, a
major casino operator in Las Vegas, was quoted
in U.S. News and World Report saying; "It's our
duty to extract as much money from the customer
as we can and send them home with a smile on
their face."
Believe me, Sandra, casinos are a green felt
jungle and you're playing war.
But that doesn't mean the casinos win every
battle. You can fight back by becoming a
Guerrilla Gambler. How? By only making bets that
have a 2% house advantage or less. When you do,
you'll stand a good chance of turning the tables
in your favor, staying in action longer, having
fun and, yes, stopping the flow of your
hard-earned cash going to the opposite forces
(casino corporate headquarters).
Here are some of my favorite guerrilla warfare
wagers. All have less than a 2% house advantage
and can be found in most casinos coast to coast.
Blackjack: A game that many play, but few play
well. Solution: Playing perfect basic strategy.
Perfect basic strategy will bring the house
advantage down to well under 1%.
Craps: Want three outstanding craps wagers? The
pass and come line bets, preceding wagers with
odds, and placing the 6 or 8. All have a house
advantage of 1.5% or lower. Stay away from those
proposition bets (hardways, field bets, one
number rolls, etc.) entirely. Some can have a
house advantage as high as 16%.
Baccarat: Baccarat definitely evokes images of
Monte Carlo and James Bond, but don't let the
mystique of the game intimidate you. It's one of
the easiest casino games to play (you don't even
have to know the rules because correct hitting
is predetermined), and the stakes are relatively
low when you play on a mini-baccarat table. The
house advantage is either 1.17% when betting the
bank hand or 1.36% with a player hand wager.
Skip the tie bet: House advantage 14%.
Video Poker: There is no such thing as a bad
video poker machine, only bad pay tables. Here's
another opportunity where playing perfect basic
strategy on a machine with a decent pay schedule
can reduce the house advantage to well under 1%.
Slots: Yes, you're reading it right, SLOTS. But
only "liberal" slot machines. What I mean by
liberal slots are those in casinos that
advertise a higher payback percentage-like a
98.5% return-on selected machines. Be
forewarned, these high payback slots are usually
only found where casino competition is fierce;
plus when you do find a casino advertising
liberal paybacks, you'll then need to ask
someone in slot personnel which machines those
are. Yes there is some skill involved besides
pulling a handle when playing slots-it's machine
selection.
As you can see, Sandra, all through the casino
you'll find decent wagers. Some, like blackjack
or video poker, involve skill, while with
others, it's placing the correct bet in the
right place on the layout. But identifying the
guerrilla wagers was just step one, Sandra. Next
you must acquire a good solid education for your
favorite game. Then you're truly on your way to
becoming a Guerrilla Gambler.
Now repeat this phrase after me: "The smarter I
play, the luckier I'll be."
Dear Mark,
In past columns you have stated "unequivocally"
to avoid long-shot keno tickets. How about the
simple three-spot ticket? Kay B.
There is only one bigger waste of money than
playing any keno ticket, Kay. That's playing
two!
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