Dear Mark,
I have cut and collected
every column that you have written. We really enjoy them here in Biloxi,
Mississippi. My one complaint is that in a few columns you use the
phrase "certified friendly" when it comes to dealers. To be honest with
you, I've run across some real boorish ones. What constitutes, in your
opinion, "certified friendly"? Raymond G.
Raymond, it could be something as simple
as management forcing dealers to wear ridiculous "stinkin badges" that
pronounce that they are certified friendly. Dealers who are subject to
such autocratic casino marketing plans will tell you that other, more
savory adjectives could also be applied.
A specific example would be at Station
Casinos in Las Vegas where they have a "10-5" rule for blackjack
dealers. Dealers on dead tables are expected to show their pearly whites
to any prospective player who comes within 10 feet of their game. Any
player who comes within 5 feet of their tables is to be verbally greeted.
Will any of this make a crabby dealer
more like Snuggles, the Fabric Softener Bear? Hardly. Casino management
can try to legislate geniality, but being a friendly dealer, of which
there are many, comes from within. You can't decree friendliness.
Dear Mark,
I visited Las Vegas for
the first time in August and had the time of my life learning to play
craps at the Imperial Palace. They had 50¢ minimum bets and 100X odds.
With the fact that I was winning, and they kept bringing me drinks, it
was a fun and an inexpensive learning experience. My question is, does
the 100X odds benefit the player by reducing the house advantage any
more than a single or double odds game? Chris S.
Yes, Chris, considerably. BUT, if your
bankroll is undercapitalized, after a few bad rolls your typical weekend
gambler will be wiped out. Even on a 50¢ game.
A crap game that offers 100X odds is for
players who typically wager between $25-$50 per hand, not a 50¢
inexperienced player. It takes nerve, and capital, to put $50.50 on the
line and wait for a 4 to roll.
Dear Mark,
My brother-in-law thinks
he can make a living counting cards while playing blackjack. He's been
playing on low limit tables because he doesn't have any money. I have a
two-part question. First, can he really beat the casino with his small
bankroll, and second, if he can actually beat the casino counting cards,
why does the casino offer a game they can't make any money at? Robert A.
Because casinos make their money from the uninformed masses (over 95 percent),
and what the heck, throw in bad card counters as well.
Card counters in general have an inherent
advantage of between .5 and 1.5 percent against the house. But in your
brother-in-law's case, even if his debatable skills rival the pros,
because his bankroll is limited (e.g., $1000 or less), his slight edge
will produce nothing more than a $5-an-hour job for him.
Is it worth the constant hassle from pit
bosses, exposure of his bankroll and the possibility of financial ruin
for $5 an hour? I'll pass and let him decide.
Dear Mark,
I recently came across a
game in a casino that looked very similar to the game of War that we
used to play as kids. Both players received one card and the high card
won. What's the catch? Ronald B.
Yes, Ronald, called War, this is a
variation of the same senseless game you played as a youngster on the
kitchen table. Both you and the dealer each receive one card, and the
high card wins. In the event that both cards are equal, you must double
your initial bet, and two more cards are dealt. Again the high card
wins; however, you win only your original wager. This is how the casino
pickpockets your billfold. The casino advantage from this one rule
change: 7.14%.
Thumbs down for War.
