TABLE GAMES

FOUR THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CASINOS

Everything Is About Winning

As Arizona casinos continue to expand a liberal game base and attract more visitors, I thought I’d mention a few things you might not know about the Grand Canyon State’s casinos.

Casinos Don’t Beat Everyone

We all want to win when we gamble, and the excitement and anticipation of playing cushions the blow during those times when we take a beating. It’s going to happen. The house has the edge.

However, insider statistics show that casinos lose money on nearly a quarter of all their guests. Some lucky winners are advantage players, finding cracks in the casino’s armor that lead to profits from card counting, shuffle tracking and dealer errors that crop up at busy times on challenging games like World Poker Tour, craps, and even roulette.

Fortunately, if you decide to learn blackjack basic strategy or play craps or baccarat and avoid the prop bets, the very low house edge can make you one of those players the casino can’t beat, even if you don’t always rack up a win. That’s because you aren't contributing to the casinos' bottom line with the heavy investment in infrastructure, employees, and marketing that the casino industry faces.

And with comps you’ll earn along the way, you may find your overall return is more significant than your investment. Yes, you’re in the minority.

Casinos Don’t Mind If You Win

Winners are the lifeblood of casinos. Without winners, players would never return. Casinos don’t mind if you win legally. They want you happy, so you’ll come back. Card counters and advantage players may be stopped from playing; for everyone else, winning is good for business.

Don't be shy if you catch a winning streak or hit a sizable jackpot. If you ask, a friendly Pit Boss will likely hook you up with a complimentary night or two in the hotel with free meals.

The Casino Escalation Factor

There’s a rule in casinos that everything seems to escalate as the night wears on. A losing player tends to reach a pain threshold where risking more money and continuing to lose doesn’t hurt anymore. Don’t let yourself get to that point. Set a limit and stick to it.

On the winning side, the streaking players who tend to win the most keep raising their wagers incrementally as their table bankroll increases, and they just crush it. That’s why their wins keep escalating.

And on the crazy side, some patrons refuse to back down from frustration, cursing, and confrontation. You can keep playing if you get a little out of line, are asked to cool it, and you do. If not, you’ll go from being asked to stop to being asked to leave. If you refuse, security may take you to their offices, where you’ll be asked to stop playing for a specific time. Yes, you can be barred from playing. If you’re belligerent, you may even get arrested.

You Can Get A Check

When the wheels of fate turn in your favor, don’t carry all that cash home with you. You can ask for a check for any substantial win at slots, bingo, keno, or table games. If you want to cash a check, you may have to have already set up those privileges in advance at the cashier’s cage! $

Writer Al Moe has worked in the casino industry for many years. He has lived and worked in Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. He also attended the University of Nevada, Reno. He is an avid writer and blogger. His book, “Vegas and the Mob," is available online at Amazon.com. He is also the proud father of four beautiful girls.

SHOULD YOU PUSH YOUR LUCK?

How This Blackjack Side Bet Affects Your Game

Recently, I had a friend ask me to go out and play some blackjack and coach her on how to play a winning game. We met at the casino and both sat down at the same $10 table. She placed her bet and then placed a bet on the Push Your Luck side bet, asserting that she always wins when playing this way!

Well, she didn't! I tried to explain to her that when you play perfect basic strategy the house has around a 0.57% advantage over the player in a six deck game. When you start playing side bets the house advantage jumps to 25%, almost guaranteeing a loss for the player.

The Way This Side Bet Is Played

When you make your original blackjack wager, you can bet no more than 50% of your original blackjack bet on the push bet. If you split a pair, you can also split the push bet, so if either hand ties the dealer you get paid 10 to 1.

Since I had never analyzed the Push Your Luck side bet, I thought I would take a look and see how bad this bet is for the player. After all, it does pay 10 to 1 when you win this side bet! I was surprised to find that the house edge on this bet is small compared to that of other side bets. If you play the max on your side bet, which is equal to 1/2 of your main bet, the house edge goes from 0.57% to around 0.76% for a six deck game. That's a cost of 0.20%. However, you are getting 10 to 1 odds. The odds of pushing the dealer are about 12 to 1.

Next, I took my analysis a little further. If you are dead set on playing this side bet you actually should discard basic strategy and use a different strategy. You should end up hitting most of your hands under 17 regardless of what the dealer is showing. I am sure you will really make the other players lose their minds when you are hitting 14 against a dealer up card of a six, but that would be the correct play! So, you might want to wait until you are alone with the dealer, or at least ask the other players if they mind if you play crazy! In any event, I’ve listed the correct strategy for Push Your Luck for a six deck game in the next column.

Push Your Luck is a game created by AGS, a casino game manufacturer and supplier. You can play Push Your Luck for free on their website (PlayAGS.com/demos/pushyourluck/)! For more information on all their table games and slots, point your browser to PlayAGS.com. For more insight on gambling at the casino, my book “How to become a Blackjack Jedi” by TJ Jorgensen is available on Amazon. $

Writer TJ Jorgensen has been a professional Blackjack player for over 25 years. He is well known for his tournament play and has beaten some of the top tournament players in the world. He has also won the World Series Of Blackjack. His newest book “How To Become A Blackjack Jedi” is available online at Amazon.com.