Good
advice can come from anywhere
Dear Mark,
I very much enjoy your helpful hints on casino gambling
in your columns, but I'm curious, what's the best
advice you've ever heard preached? Ned C.
In the casino business,
the best admonition to get ahead is "Never make
suggestions." As for a gambling nugget, the following
voice of reason caught my attention while I was walking
down the Strip in Las Vegas.
A panhandler approached and asked if I had any loose
change so he could buy a hot dog. Unfortunately, spare
change doesn't exist in Las Vegas. Strategically positioned
slot machines allow you to travel light. But I guess
I'm an easy mark for a hot dog story so I gave him
a nickel chip-casino talk for $5-that I had in my
coat pocket.
After his gratitude for my allowing him to bump up
into buffet dining, or whatever, he shared some of
his best gaming wisdom. "Go downtown to Binion's
and make a pass line bet and take those 10 times odds.
It's one of the best bets in the house," he said.
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Guess
what, Ned? He's right on. The house advantage on this
wager is .018%. Those multiple odds he was talking about-
zero casino advantage. It's the line bet where the casino
enjoys its slight edge. And I mean slight. Expected
mathematical loss on a $1 line bet with $10 odds, about
4¢. But we can combat that too, Ned. Throw in a
few free drinks and pry a breakfast out of a floorman,
you're getting to the point where they're paying you
to play.
Yes, advice comes from the funniest places.
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Dear Mark,
Are the dice placed on the crap game ever inspected
for imperfections so the same number won't repeat
itself? Steve B.
Because I can predict
with 100% certainty that every casino has at least
one lazy pit boss-I was one-you can be assured that
the dice placed on the game are near perfect. The
perks for this idle behavior? Going up to the boss's
office and inspecting dice. This meant feet on the
head honcho's desk, Oprah on the tube and talking
on the phone long distance to friends and family because
I knew the secret dial code. Oh, and inspecting dice
with a micrometer to make sure our dice were produced
to a tolerance level of .0005 of an inch.
But we were the second line of defense. Dice makers
who cut this poly-sorbate plastic in lots of five
or six deal in tolerances of .0002, with imperfections
discarded, making the random nature of a dice throw
a certainty.
By the way, Steve, no not you, Steve, my former boss
Steve. You never asked, but those long distance calls
to Michigan were probably mine.
Dear Mark,
On a trip to Las Vegas, I tracked each and every hand
(see enclosed) that I won and lost. As you can see
I lost more hands (160 losses, 142 wins) than I won.
How can you write in your column that when playing
blackjack the house edge is less than 1% when you
lose more often than win? Jon G.
Throw your chart away,
Jon. Blackjack is a horrible game if your foundation
for winning is based on how many hands you actually
win. Excluding ties, a player loses approximately
53% of all hands. However, the casino, bless their
hearts, permits you to double down and split hands
after viewing the dealer up card. This allows the
player to get more money in the circle when conditions
are favorable. In addition, they give you that sweet
3 to 2 payoff for a blackjack.
That is why, Jon, the casino has only a half percent
edge over the disciplined basic strategy player.
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Good
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