FINDING LUCK IN ARIZONA CASINOS

Methodical Moderation Can Attract Luck!

Iconsider myself lucky, and although I’ unlucky to be superstitious, I follow patterns and streaks. That means sometimes I continue making bets that aren my favor, and I ride them as long as they keep coming home a winner.

In high school, there were colleges and casinos close to home. I visited them all, giving each an equal chance. After attending junior college, I got instruction in gaming management at the University of Nevada Reno. And I gambled every day.

Although I ultimately wanted to be a doctor, my classes took time away from studying blackjack and executing many questionable gambling systems. So, I quit my premed lectures and took math and probability classes instead, no doubt saving countless future lives. And, I learned how the odds always worked in favor of the casinos.

College taught me about probability, and gambling taught me that luck is a tender, impressionable being that comes and goes on its own terms. I study, play within my budget, and mostly stick with what works to impress and enhance luck. That’s right; I’m methodical.

Why Luck Fades

In casinos, luck fades because of the house edge in nearly every table game and every slot machine you want to try. Even when I point to low-odds games like baccarat, blackjack, and pass-line craps, there’s that moving element of chance. You know, the one that makes us gamble.

Imagine you want to simulate a baccarat game with a 1% house edge, so you flip a coin. Heads the house wins, tails you win. After ten flips, you are likely to have five wins and five losses. Gambling is cool; have a drink!

Even after fifty flips, you are likely to be close to even, but the house never tires. The casino is a strong mother and offers gambling 24 hours a day. Your stamina is likely to fade, the drinks overpower, and that’s when luck seems to slip away. If luck hasn’t left you entirely, you can give it the brush off by raising your bets and ignoring your internal controls. Especially if you have a bankroll that can’t support higher wagers.

50 chance of winning, there will be times you fall behind several bets. If you were playing a buck a pop, losing a string of eight out of ten bets wouldn t hurt. But if you decide to invest $200 and make $25 bets, your bankroll can vanish quickly.

I often talk about gaming probability and odds because that’s what I was taught in college and the hard knocks of gaming tables. I know penny slots have a higher house edge than quarter and dollar machines. Let it Ride, Three Card Poker and all side bets have worse odds for a gambler than blackjack, but you’ll always have the best odds if you can weather the storm by using a proper bet strategy and having more than 50 units to play, 100 would be better.

In the meantime, your best payout in gambling is the anticipation of going, finding a game you love, and playing within your means to the best of your ability, while enjoying every minute of the roller coaster ride that drives all gamblers. Methodical moderation can attract luck! $

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.

Table Games

By TJ Jorgensen