Dear Mark,
Casinos must make loads
of money off constant losers like myself. Anything I can do to stop the
flow of money always going in one direction? Sandra R.
But do you have a smile on your face when
you lose, Sandra? I ask that because Bob Stupak, a major casino operator
in Las Vegas, was quoted in U.S. News and World Report saying;
"It's our duty to extract as much money from the customer as we can and
send them home with a smile on their face."
Believe me, Sandra,
casinos are a green felt jungle and you're playing war.
But that doesn't mean the casinos win
every battle. You can fight back by becoming a Guerrilla Gambler. How?
By only making bets that have a 2% house advantage or less. When you do,
you'll stand a good chance of turning the tables in your favor, staying
in action longer, having fun and, yes, stopping the flow of your
hard-earned cash going to the opposite forces (casino corporate
headquarters).
Here are some of my favorite guerrilla
warfare wagers. All have less than a 2% house advantage and can be found
in most casinos coast to coast.
Blackjack:
A game that many play, but few play well. Solution: Playing perfect basic
strategy. Perfect basic strategy will bring the house advantage down to
well under 1%.
Craps:
Want three outstanding craps wagers? The pass and come line bets, preceding
wagers with odds, and placing the 6 or 8. All have a house advantage of
1.5% or lower. Stay away from those proposition bets (hardways, field
bets, one number rolls, etc.) entirely. Some can have a house advantage
as high as 16%.
Baccarat:
Baccarat definitely evokes images of Monte Carlo and James Bond, but don't
let the mystique of the game intimidate you. It's one of the easiest
casino games to play (you don't even have to know the rules because
correct hitting is predetermined), and the stakes are relatively low
when you play on a mini-baccarat table. The house advantage is either
1.17% when betting the bank hand or 1.36% with a player hand wager. Skip
the tie bet: House advantage 14%.
Video Poker:
There is no such thing as a bad video poker machine, only bad pay tables.
Here's another opportunity where playing perfect basic strategy on a
machine with a decent pay schedule can reduce the house advantage to
well under 1%.
Slots:
Yes, you're reading it right, SLOTS. But only "liberal" slot machines. What I
mean by liberal slots are those in casinos that advertise a higher
payback percentage-like a 98.5% return-on selected machines. Be
forewarned, these high payback slots are usually only found where casino
competition is fierce; plus when you do find a casino advertising
liberal paybacks, you'll then need to ask someone in slot personnel
which machines those are. Yes there is some skill involved besides
pulling a handle when playing slots-it's machine selection.
As you can see, Sandra, all through the
casino you'll find decent wagers. Some, like blackjack or video poker,
involve skill, while with others, it's placing the correct bet in the
right place on the layout. But identifying the guerrilla wagers was just
step one, Sandra. Next you must acquire a good solid education for your
favorite game. Then you're truly on your way to becoming a Guerrilla
Gambler.
Now repeat this phrase after me: "The smarter I play, the
luckier I'll be."
Dear Mark,
In past columns you have
stated "unequivocally" to avoid long-shot keno tickets. How about the
simple three-spot ticket? Kay B.
There is only one bigger waste of money
than playing any keno ticket, Kay. That's playing two!
