per day (at various
denominations of play) for extensive comps and most
players are more than willing to give it to them.
But playing four hours
a day against negative-expectation games [definition:
games where you will ultimately lose] is a dicey
proposition to say the least and rarely are the
comps - those free or discounted meals, rooms and
shows - worth anywhere near what you will lose to
get them.
But there are ways
to get your comps and reduce your risk, too. In
fact, in many cases are there are ways to get more
value in comps than you will lose in play.
How can this be? Just
follow me and I’ll show you.
We have two blackjack players who play perfect basic
strategy, Mr. Ed (not the horse) and Ms. Jones.
Basic strategy, as many readers no doubt know, is
the computer-derived best play for every player
hand against every dealer upcard.
Now, Mr. Ed has a real-world
expectation at blackjack of -$30 per hour. That
means he’ll lose about $30 on average for every
hour he plays. On his trips to his favorite Las
Vegas casino, he plays an average of four hours
a day. That’s an expected loss of $120 per
day.
Ms. Jones also has
a real-world expectation of -$30 per hour. She’ll
also lose $30 for every hour she plays. She too
plays four hours per day at the same casino as Mr.
Ed and she too is expected to lose $120 per day.
At the end of four hours of play, Mr. Ed and Ms.
Jones go to the same host, George Smiley. They both
ask George for a comp to the Italian restaurant.
Mr. Ed is told he can get a comp to the non-gourmet
rooms (“We have an excellent coffee shop here,
sir.”) but not the Italian restaurant. In addition,
his comp can be no more than $30. That’s his
“cap.”
Ms. Jones, on the other
hand, not only gets the Italian restaurant (Mr.
Smiley actually makes the reservations for her)
but she gets the full RFB treatment. That is, her
room is free, her show tickets are free, everything
is free. And there are no caps on her meals.
Poor Mr. Ed has to
pay casino rates for his room, usually $40 to $60
per night, and he has to pay for the shows as well.
And all his meals have caps.
How can this be? How can two players with the exact
same real-world expectation, playing in the same
casino, with the same host, have such radically
different compspectations? In today’s gender
conscious world, we might conclude that George is
giving more to the lady because he is enamored of
her. Or that Mr. Ed might not be the horse but his
personal hygiene is somewhat similar to an equine’s
and Smiley finds nothing compensatory in that.
And you would be wrong.
In point of fact, George
Smiley doesn’t really make any decisions concerning
who gets what comps. George works for a modern,
computerized casino. The computer figures out the
players’ playing records and decides who gets
what. Mr. Smiley just delivers the message. He’s
the mailman from Eprom, so to speak.
Fast Comps
Less Risk Part 2
Good
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