Dear Mark,
Over the past 20 years I
have found great pleasure in making my monthly trip to Atlantic City. My
bankroll is limited to $200 and I generally stick with most of the low
house percentage bets that you recommend in your column. Sometimes I
break even, win every third or fourth time, or lose it all. My question
is, will I ever become a "consistent winner" before I join the Angels in
a crap game? I'm looking for divine intervention. Sandy G.
There is no real easy way to break this
to you so I'll get right to the point: NO!
Though every dog has his day, don't
expect a good week. It's not because you're making the wrong bets, nor
playing smart, not even because you're not a decent, hard-working person
worth more than an occasional bone tossed your way by the casino. You
lack the essential component necessary to whip the casino, and no
celestial spirit can help. And that, my friend, is a big-time bankroll.
Why? Because the casino has a whole lot more cash and staying power than
you do. In the industry we call it "gambler's ruin." In essence, it's
how long will it take you-with your limited bankroll-to lose everything
to a casino, which has a relatively infinite vault of money. You come to
the casino armed with X amount of dollars, and the casino has the
treasures of Rome. It is the ultimate secret weapon the casino
possesses. So even if you do have a short-term winning streak, when the
house has this infinite stake, they can, and will, outlast you.
Test this truism out yourself. Sit at
your kitchen table and play an even-up game like War with an opponent.
You start off with $50 worth of monopoly money, and your adversary-we'll
call him Joe Casino-begins play with $50,000. Now start playing at $5 a
hand and you will immediately note some normal fluctuations inherent to
gambling- like you winning six or seven hands in a row. But without
fail, a losing streak will appear and your bankroll will start to
deteriorate. You'll quickly notice that your modest bankroll cannot
weather the bad streaks that eventually come your way. The casino can,
and will, grind away at your wad of cash because their bankroll is
enormous in comparison to your bets. Before long you're out of cash. A
casino fatality Armageddon style.
So the lesson here is that not even an
archangel will help you become a "consistent winner." Only a Catholic
Church size bankroll can.
Dear Mark,
I was on a crap game
for the first time and asked the dealer what the difference was between
a hard 8 and a regular 8. She politely told me the difference when
another player started yelling at me because I was holding up the game.
Talk about being embarrassed. What did I do wrong? Meg B.
Nothing! There is never a need to be
embarrassed, Meg. You are to be applauded for asking for help. All too
many players try to cover up their shortcomings and waste their
hard-earned money playing casino games they know little about. So no
question regarding gambling is "dumb." Well, that's not quite true. I
was dealing blackjack late one evening in downtown Reno when a man
approached me and asked: "Where are the slot machines for kids?" That
was dumb. No, pathetic.
