Red to black with a
Player's card
20 September 2004
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I follow your advice religiously and have gone
from being a losing player to a break even one.
I vaguely remember a column of yours in the past
where you gave a tip on getting the best of the
casino even if your casino wagers have a two
percent or less house edge. Please refresh my
memory. Hal S.
Yeah, Hal, I have one to go from breaking even
to adding some booty to your billfold. You can
cut your cost of playing any game that has less
than a two percent casino advantage by using a
casino player's card. The cost of using one is
zip, and as you play a percentage of the total
bets made are returned to you in the form of a
comp, with many casinos actually giving you hard
currency. Ready money can sometimes turn a break
even session into a winning one. One downside,
Hal, is that far too many players bet a king's
ransom for a free trip to the buffet. A free
feeding frenzy at the trough is a weakness even
I have.
Dear Mark,
You recommend betting either the player or bank
hand in baccarat. Seems when betting the bank
hand, they charge a five percent commission.
Since you only recommend wagers with house
advantage of two percent or less, and they are
charging a five percent commission, how does
this wash? Mark H.
Agreed, Mark, they do charge a five percent
commission when you bet the bank hand in
baccarat, but only when you win. Even so, is it
still a sweet deal? Yep, because the rules for
drawing cards for the player hand are different
from those applying to the bank hand. That five
percent commission is just the juice the casino
wants for that rule change. Without their
charging that five percent commission, you would
actually have an advantage over the house. So,
to make the casino's edge roughly the same for
the bank and the player's hands, a five percent
commission is charged on every winning bank
hand. In the future, Mark, do not let that five
percent commission scare you out of making one
of the best wagers in the casino for the player.
Even factoring in the commission, the casino's
edge is a paltry 1.17% on the bank hand and
1.36% on the player hand.
Dear Mark,
What is a more valuable hand in Jacks or better
video poker, an open end straight, or a low
pair? Art T.
As to your first question, Art, you should
always keep a low pair over a four card open
ended straight with this one exception: keep an
open ended straight if it contains two or three
high cards. For example, a ten of hearts, jack
of diamonds, queen of clubs, and king of hearts
is a keeper over a pair of 10s.
Gambling quote of the week: "There are few
things that are so unpardonably neglected in our
country as poker. The upper class knows very
little about it. Now and then you find
ambassadors who have sort of a general knowledge
of the game, but the ignorance of the people is
fearful. Why, I have known clergymen, good men,
kind hearted, liberal, sincere, and all that,
who did not know the meaning of a "flush." It is
enough to make one ashamed of one's species."
Mark Twain
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