Who's watching whom in
the pit?
8 September 2000
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
What is the power structure of the casino pit
and how far did you rise? Also, whose job is it
to observe that no one is cheating? Paul D.
The pecking order is as follows: dealer, boxman,
floorman, pit boss, games shift manager, casino
shift manager and finally casino manager. My
hierarchial assault up the ladder ceased at the
casino shift manager's position-held for such a
brief period you could time it with a
stopwatch-because I incessantly broke rule
number one of casino advancement. NEVER MAKE
SUGGESTIONS! Besides, I spent an inordinate
amount of time in my gaming career on
secret-double probation.
As for cheating, reverse the chain of command.
The casino manager watches the shift manager,
who watches the pit bosses, who watches the
floorman, who watches the dealers-with the eye
in the sky (cameras in the ceiling) watching
everybody.
Dear Mark,
When in Las Vegas, my mother-in-law plays a
certain combination of bets that she believes
are better than other wagers on a roulette
table. You said that all bets on roulette have
the same house advantage with the exception of
one. Who's, and which bet is it? Judith C.
Most players mistakenly believe that certain
wagers on a roulette table are superior to
others. Example: Playing the even money bets
(red/black or odd/even) are always better plays
than wagering a straight-up number. Nothing
could be further from the truth. All bets, with
the exception of one, hold the same house edge
of 5.26%. That one wager is the five-number bet,
0, 00, 1, 2, 3-also called "the beast with five
numbers." Makes sense, as the house advantage on
this sole wager is 7.89%.
It behooves your mother-in-law, Judith, on her
next trip to Las Vegas, to play the more
advantageous European, single zero wheel at the
Monte Carlo, Stratosphere or a few of the grind
joints downtown. The house edge on a single zero
game is reduced to only 2.7%. That's shopping
for value or Deal Me In gambling.
Dear Mark,
What is the worst move a player can make with a
dealt hand in blackjack? Becky L.
Getting ridiculous here, Becky, it's actions
like doubling down on a natural blackjack. I've
seen this happen once with a $200 wager when
alcohol got the best of this party animal. But
for the average player it's standing on a pair
of eights against the dealer's upcard of 7.
Instead, you should split those eights. A player
making this basic strategy error will lose 70
percent of the time.
Dear Mark,
What is the most superstitious bet players make
on a crap game? Bill C.
When the dice fly off the table, superstitious
players call off respectable working wagers and
start betting the next roll will be a seven.
Betting like this is why your simplex gambler
always loses to Joe casino owner. By believing
in superstitions, naive players attempt to
predict the individual and unpredictable roll of
the dice. The casino owner only concerns himself
with the quite predictable return on each and
every wager. In the case of possessed betting
that the seven will appear, the house has a
16.1% edge.
Dear Mark,
For us non-card counting players, why is it more
important to find single deck blackjack games?
Sunny R.
Because blackjacks, which pay 3 for 2, occur
more frequently on a single deck versus
multi-deck games. Example: Let's say, Sunny,
your first card is an Ace. On a single deck
game, 16 of the remaining 51 cards, or 31.37
percent, are the face or 10-value cards that
would complete your blackjack. On an six-deck
game, 96 of the remaining 311 cards, or 30.87
percent, would give you your snapper.
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