Dear Mark,
I take exception to one of your gambling theories:
that the house edge is near nil when playing blackjack
for the basic strategy player. Though I don't use
the strategy, both friends and dealers have called
my play average. My quarrel with your theory is
that when I go to a casino with $100, I come home
empty-handed. Based on what you write, I should
at least have $90 plus. Brad M.
Brad,
without challenging your quality of play, I think you
confirm my theory. You leave the casino financially
exhausted because you don't get up after 20 hands. Casinos
have long realized that there is no torrent like greed
to wash money out of wallets, the basic notion behind
the casino vernacularism, "hold." You, Brad,
are confusing house edge with hold. The "house
edge" is a predetermined percentage of each bet
that the house takes as payment
for letting you play.
Casino operators like to call the house edge their
"entertainment tax" for allowing you to
use their facilities and bathroom.The casino's "hold,"
on the other hand, is the share of the chips the
player bought ($100 in your case), that are won
back by the casino (also $100 in your case). That's
how the house's 5% edge can result in a 100% hold.
Allow me to clarify. If, as you stated, Brad, your
playing ability is average, the casino would have
about a 5% edge on each hand you play. Consequently,
after 20 hands, based on perpetual play, you should
mathematically have $95 remaining. But if crazy
glue or Jack Daniels or just rapacious greed has
you stuck to your stool, the more you play the more
you lose. Without discipline, you are most likely
going to bet the remaining $95, slowly but surely
expanding your losses until your entire $100 bankroll
is depleted, giving the house a highly desired 100%
hold.
The way you combat this empty pocket syndrome is
to improve your blackjack play by learning basic
strategy. You must drop the casino advantage down
to under one percent. Correspondingly, discipline
is not only a significant characteristic of being
a successful gambler, but probably the most important
element of money management. You must set loss limits
and win goals. If you are going to sit there until
your entire $100 is smilingly accepted by your friendly
dealer, expect to go home tapped out.
