Category: English

The most famous game in the casino is poker and it gives skilful players the best chance to make money, but you don’t have to wear a stetson and drink whiskey to learn the ropes.

Of all the casino games, poker is the most familiar. There is some dispute as to the roots of the game, but most agree that it is European. Most game historians say that it comes from an eighteenth-century French game, poque, but others say it derived from a German game called pochspiel. Still others look to the opposite side of the world and attribute the name to a Hindu word, pukka. Whatever the derivation, it’s clear that poker became popular in the US in the 1850s. Poker is today a staple in any gambling hall, legal or illegal.

More Americans have played poker than have played golf, tennis and backgammon combined. And whether they play for big stakes, nickels and dimes, or for matchsticks, the players’ enjoyment of poker is the reason it is undoubtedly the most popular card game.

Even when casino gambling was legal only in Nevada, poker could regularly be found in fire halls, social clubs, church basements, and fraternal organisations. It is now played legally in more than half the US, and semi-legally in all the other states and territories.

As you might suspect, casino poker varies a bit from your kitchen table variety, but the basics are essentially the same. What is most different in the casino is the skill levels of the players. You might be the card shark of your neighbourhood, but when you play poker in a casino, there
are many other factors to consider, other than which player has the best hand.

You’ve seen that there are professional blackjack players who can make a living playing a game in which they can reduce or eliminate the house advantage. And you learned that good sports gamblers can handicap a sporting event through knowledge of specific details unknown to the average bettor.

But since poker is a game that has no house advantage, you must be prepared for a large collection of players who are trying to make a living from the game. There are more professional poker players than any other type of gambler.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that all the “professionals” are playing the high-limit games, and if you play games with £1 minimum and £2 maximum bets, you won’t have to worry about the pros. That’s not true. You’ll meet the professional poker players at every level, whether they are on the way up the ladder, or have been knocked down and are looking to get back up.

Should this deter you from playing the most popular game in a casino? The answer is a qualified “No”.Because poker requires skill, it’s not something where you can hope to stumble across enough good luck to win. While there is some debate on how skill is acquired (are good poker players born or made?), you can read enough about the game to understand its nuances and sit down and enjoy a lively session. Just remember that you never stop learning about poker. After appreciating the basics, your education is just beginning. The various plays, the different combinations, but most of all, the variety of players is what often makes this game the most fascinating of all.

There are many different kinds of poker games. Five-card draw and five-card stud may be popular around the kitchen table, but are now a rarity in the casinos. Forget about the “wild card” games you’ve read about. You won’t see any Deuces wild, one-eyed Jacks, or Jokers added to a poker game in a casino. The two most popular poker games by far in a casino are seven-card stud and Texas hold’em. While there are many other poker permutations that you can find – Omaha hold’em, Omaha Eight-or-better, razz, lowball draw and many more – for purposes of brevity and comprehension, you’ll be wise to concentrate on the two most popular games, which will be covered in this book.

While you take odds on the pass line, you lay odds on the don’t-pass line. It costs more money to win less, however, because, once again the odds are the reverse of the pass line.

Let’s say the point is four. The “right” bettor takes odds of 2-1 since he has six ways of losing, while only three ways of winning. If the single-odds bet is £5, and a four is rolled, the right bettor will win £10. The wrong bettor makes the opposite wager. He must bet £10 to win £5 if the seven appears before the four.

The same is true for the other numbers. For a five or nine, a £5 don’t bet, a player must bet £9 to win £6. For the six or eight, the don’t bettor lays £6 to win £5.

Unlike the pass line, where you place your odds bet behind the pass line, the odds bet is either heeled (offset on top of your original bet) or “bridged” (two chips of equal value with a third, or more chips on top, or bridged across them both). And again, because the house has no advantage on
these odds, they can be removed at any time.

Dealers are human. They have friends and family, and lives outside of the kasino. Not every dealer pays attention to his or her job 100 per cent of the time. Because dealers may be thinking about other things while spinning the ball around the roulette wheel, the observant player may be able to determine whether that dealer is unconsciously (or consciously) giving the players an advantage.

Some experienced roulette players swear that some dealers spin the ball at exactly the same speed each time. By noting where the wheel is at the exact moment the ball takes off, these players believe they can predict, within a few numbers where the ball is going to land. Since you can continue to bet after the spin begins, they say they are able to cover those numbers and, more often than not, they claim to win. Sceptics discount these theories. Even if that were possible, they say, there are “ball stops” scattered around the wheel, little pieces of ornamentation that deflect the ball, making it difficult. if not impossible, to predict the ball’s path.

Whether it works or not is debatable, but it’s worth a look. Notice the speed of the ball as it leaves the dealer’s hand. Count the number of times the ball circumnavigates the wheel. And, of course, note where it lands in comparison to where it was launched.

If you find a “dealer signature”, it may only last for a short time. It could be at the end of the shift, when the dealer is thinking only about going home, or it could be at the beginning of the shift, when the dealer is thinking about the events of the previous evening. Like a human being, a dealer signature is a very fragile thing.

The American Casino Roulette system is different to the European. America first. It is generally operated by two dealers. One takes all the bets, spins the ball, announces the number, takes all the losers and pays the winners. The second dealer, in America, called a “muck er”, re-stacks the chips and pushes the winning bets out to the first dealer who delivers them to the players. Frequently, however, only one dealer handles all the action at the roulette table.

Once you understand how and where to make your bets, you begin by sitting down at the table and buying chips. Please note that roulette is the only game in the casino that uses different, non-value chips. Although they are called non-value, that doesn’t mean they don’t represent money; they do. In this case, non-value means that they are worthless at any other gaming table.

Check the minimums before sitting down. For example, if you’re playing a £2.50 minimum table, you must place at least £2.50 for every bet you make on the outside. For instance, if you are betting red, odd and the high bet (19-36), you must place £2.50 in chips on each bet. On the inside bets, however, your bets must only total £2.50. Whether you bet five numbers straight up, four numbers straight up and one split, or two corners, two split and one straight up, all your bets must total £2.50 or more. Often, the minimum will be higher.

Depending upon the minimum and your buy in, the dealer will ask you what value you want your chips to be. For a £2.50 game, the minimum value for chips is usually £1. For a £1 minimum game, chips will probably be worth 50 pence. It’s generally your choice, and will be determined by how many bets you want to make on each spin.

If you are unsure of the procedures and the minimum bets at any table, simply ask the dealer, and he’ll be glad to explain the casino’s policy.
These procedures vary in the European game. While American dealers sweep the layout with their hands and arms, European croupiers use a long stick, or “rake”, to sweep in all bets. And, in Europe, roulette games do not use non-value chips. All players use the standard casino chips which can cause great confusion when there are a multitude of bets on the layout. If you’re playing in Europe, keep an eye on your bets and be certain how much you’ve bet. Bets are paid from the outside in. The dealer will pay the bets furthest away from him and work in, until he gets to the inside bets, which get paid last.

Europe’s most popular game, roulette, must be played precisely to provide a chance of winning. Despite a hefty house advantage, players can find games that will be more favourable and, by using simple betting systems, can beat the game.

Roulette players are often the most studious of all gamblers. You’ll find them at the oblong roulette table hunched over a pad, carefully distributing their chips in a predetermined pattern only they understand. As the dealer spins the ball around the wheel, they stare at it as if their hopes and dreams can influence where the ball falls. When their bets are swept away, they turn again to the pad that only records where they’ve been, not where they’re going.

FRENCH TWIST
The roots of roulette can be traced back to prehistoric China and the French monks. In the 17th century, a French scientist, Blaise Pascal, who invented the first calculator, introduced a primitive version of roulette.

It wasn’t until 1842 that Francois and Louis Blanc invented the single “0” roulette game. Ironically, the French brothers were forced to offer the game in Hamburg, Germany, since gambling was illegal in France at the time. The new game decimated the competition, which was offering an earlier version that featured higher odds. After Louis died, Francois was invited by the Prince of Monaco, Charles, after whom Monte Carlo is named, to bring his game to the principality in southern France. Francois and his son Camille developed Monte Carlo into the world-famous resort we know today.

When roulette came to the US in the early 1800s, the Blancs’ improvements were removed, and a double “00” returned. For a while, in fact, slick American operators added a triple “000”, tripling the house advantage and virtually ensuring that Americans would never warm to the game. The European game is today played in the great gambling palaces of Europe by tuxedoed men and elegant women in flowing gowns. It is especially popular with female players who enjoy the glamour of the game.
 
 
TODAY’S REVOLUTIONS
Europe’s most popular game neyer really caught on in the US, perhaps because of the changes that the American casinos made to this glamorous game. While no longer having three zeros, with the extra “0”, American roulette carries one of the heaviest casino advantages in the house, thereby discouraging the popularity it enjoys in Europe. With 38 numbers, players haye to overcome a 5.26 per cent house advantage because whenever “0” and “00” are hit, all bets lose. This is over five times worse than playing the most favourable bets on the craps table, or utilizing blackjack basic strategy.

In Europe, roulette uses only 37 numbers – 36 numbers and one “0”. Even-money bets are placed en prison when “0” is hit. This is an option in which the player loses half the bet, or is permitted to let the bet remain in action, with the results to be determined on the next spin. Because the European version utilizes the en prison rule and a single “0”, the house advantage is a comfortable 1.35 per cent. The only American jurisdiction that offers en prison is Atlantic City, but because casinos there use “0” and “00” the house advantage is halved to 2.7 per cent. (En prison, or surrender, means that if the player has bets on the “outside” – odd/even, high/low, black/red, the dozens or the columns bets – he only loses half his bet when “0” or “00” hits.)
Nonetheless, roulette remains an exciting game, mainly because of the variety of bets available. The 38 numbers in the American game are grouped into colours, columns and sections. The layout looks complicated, but is actually rather simple, once a map is provided. 

The other major blackjack strategy in an on line casino is known as card counting. In this system, the player keeps track of how many high cards remain in the deck. The theory is that high cards are good for the player. It’s true that high cards are also good for the house, but through formulas developed by the Fifties mathematicians and computer programs written by today’s experts, it was determined that players who count cards can actually gain a short-term advantage over the casino.

But because those situations don’t occur that often, playing blackjack professionally can be a grind. Card-counting players must wade through hundreds if not thousands of hands before the odds turn in their favour. And then the counter measures employed by casinos may short circuit their chance to make any serious money.

For the recreational player, basic strategy makes much more sense. While the casual player doesn’t play to lose, he also doesn’t want to cram for an exam to enjoy a visit to a casino.

But the key to the basic strategy is to stick to it; avoid a rush of blood to the head. To be successful at basic strategy, you have to play it faithfully and approach the game confident that your basic strategy will be successful.

Misplaying hands will be the downfall of recreational players. Standing on a hard 12 against a dealer’s upcard of Seven to Ace will cost players as much as 25 per cent of the hands. Hitting a hard 15 against a dealer’s Five or Six upcard costs just as much.

Doubling down on a hard eight against a dealer’s Seven to Ace is a common mistake, costing between 25 per cent and
60 per cent of the player’s bets. But a blackjack player who doesn’t double down on a hard ten or 11 costs himself over 30 per cent of his money.

Splitting cards is often an overlooked aspect of basic strategy. Players who neglect splitting can give away between 16 per cent and 50 per cent depending upon the dealer’s upcard. If you’ve ever tried to split Tens at a blackjack table, it won’t be long before you’re playing alone.

Other players instinctively know that it is one of the worst moves. And the facts back them up. Splitting Tens can give away more than 50 per cent of your bets, depending upon the dealer’s upcard. Even against the Five or Six, the worst upcards for the dealer, splitting Tens costs nearly 20 per cent of your bets.

The lesson is that the basic strategy has proven to be the best blackjack strategy for recreational players. It gives you the best chance to beat the casino. When you go with a feeling or decide to take a shot, you’re helping the casino, and it certainly doesn’t need your help.

Understanding and perfecting basic strategy in blackjack at a casino can make the difference between winning and losing at online gambling in the same way as with 80 Ball Bingo. Outside of poker, where the players compete against each other, not the house, blackjack is the only casino table game where the player can affect the outcome by his skillful play.

While card-counting may yield slightly greater results, basic strategy is much easier and can be mastered by learning a few key rules. Luck still plays a major role in the outcome of playing sessions, but over the long term, basic strategy gives a player the best chance of winning.

Playing situations vary widely at casinos in America. For maximum benefit, the basic strategy should be altered for different conditions. Basic-strategy players looking to get the best of the casino should look for situations where they have the best chance before they even sit down to play.

The single most important variable is the number of packs used. Players want games that use as few decks as possible. One pack is ideal but two or four packs can also provide positive situations. Games dealt with six or eight packs are more difficult to beat. Keep in mind that the number of packs can vary not only from casino to casino, but also from table to table within the same casino.

Rules also vary between jurisdiction, and, ideally, basic strategy should also be altered to account for these differences. The most important rule variation is the dealer hitting or standing on soft 17. In Downtown Las Vegas, for instance, dealers hit a soft 17, which adds to the house advantage. On the Las Vegas Strip and in Atlantic City, dealers stand on all 17’s.

Also important are restrictions on doubling down and splitting pairs. In some casinos, players are only permitted to double down on card totals of 10 and 11, another rule adding to the house advantage. On some Caribbean islands, doubling down is only permitted on 11, further reducing a player’s chance of winning. Other casinos restrict the number of times players can split pairs. Since players theoretically only split pairs when they have the advantage to begin with, the casinos that deny additional splits want to limit their exposure. It is for that reason that many casinos also bar players from doubling down after splitting, another option that adds to the players’ advantage.

Whenever possible, players should look for the most liberal rules when scouting out a positive blackjack situation. The following review of basic strategy is applicable for any playing situation, but players who want to obtain the best chance of winning must remember that different rules and conditions may affect the outcome

The second option to increase your original wager in Blackjack is known as “splitting”. When you receive two cards of the same value, you are allowed to match your original bet, and split the two cards into separate hands. You are not required to split; you can play the hand like any other hand, but in some situations, it is advantageous to make two hands out of a pair. It is entirely up to you.

Each card of the pair becomes the first card of a separate, totally independent, hand, and each bet – the original stake and the second stake – applies only to the hand to which it is attached. The dealer gives one additional card on the first hand, and then takes instructions on additional hits. When that hand is completed, the second hand proceeds in the same manner.

Since the two hands are independent, you may win both, lose both or win one and lose one. To split a hand, place an identical bet next to your original bet. The wager must be the exact amount; it cannot be any more or any less.

Depending upon the rules of the individual casino, you may be able to split hands up to four times. For example, if you have two Eights, split them, and receive a third Eight, you may split that hand to make three independent hands. The rules concerning how many times you may split vary from casino to casino.

The only card that has different splitting rules is the Ace. When you receive two Aces and split them, you only receive one card on each Ace. If that card is a ten-value card, it is simply a count of 21, not a blackjack, which must appear in the first two original cards.

In many casinos, you may also double down after splitting. The same rules apply for doubling down on a split hand as would for an original hand.

PEEKING
In most casinos today, if the dealers have an Ace or a Ten-value card up, they play the hand through, and if they have blackjack, all double down, and split bets are returned to the players who only lose their original bets. Since this wastes time and causes some player discontent, some casinos allow dealers to peek at their hole card to determine whether they have a blackjack. If they have blackjack, they immediately turn it over and take all losing bets, which saves time and aggravation.
 
Occasionally, you can find a dealer who “gives away” the value of his hole card (when he doesn’t have a hole card that completes a blackjack). This is called a “dealer tell”. You have to understand body language or psychology, but this has been one of the most consistent winning blackjack secrets down through the years.

Recently, technology has been employed to speed up the game. Several companies have marketed laser devices that will read the value of a card by slipping the edge of the card through a narrow opening. It tells the dealer whether that card is a Ten or an Ace, but not the specific value of the card. This allows him to complete the game without the knowledge of the value of the hole card, once again saving time, but also preventing dealer tells.

Blackjack, the most popular casino game, offers the best chance at winning. Players with varying levels of expertise in card counting can gain an edge over the house, and even casual players can play close to even.

There was a time when craps was the most popular casino game in America. Two world wars and “police action” developed craps players who crowded the tables of Reno and Las Vegas, as well as the many illegal casinos across the country in the middle of the 20th century.

In the mid-Fifties, a group of mathematicians discovered that a basic strategy could be employed to reduce the house advantage at blackjack, or “21”, to virtually nothing. Casinos suddenly realized that the game could be beaten, and have predictably taken various precautions to protect it ever slllce.

The American publication of Beat the Dealer by Ed Thorp, in 1962, began a rush to discover systems and methods that would indeed beat the dealer. Card counting, the method first described by Thorp, has been refined over the years, and today casinos employ various methods from shuffling after every hand to actually barring players accused of card counting from playing in casinos.

The casinos like to call blackjack a game of chance, but it is as much a game of skill as anything. But you won’t hear the casinos denying very strongly that blackjack can be beaten. After all, casinos make most of the money they take at the table games via blackjack. It’s great advertising when someone reports a big win at the blackjack tables. Players have been encouraged for many years to believe that blackjack can be beaten, and the casinos don’t want to do anything to disrupt that message.

But becoming an effective card counter is difficult and time consuming. And unless you’re planning to make blackjack your occupation, it’s unnecessary.

Blackjack can be played successfully by using variations on the basic strategy developed by that group of mathematicians in the Fifties.

Most people carry cash to the casino. Since cash is the fuel of the gambling business, it is the essential tool of the games. But carrying cash can be dangerous, particularly when you’re on holiday.

There are other options to bringing a pocketful of cash with vou to the casino.

Travellers cheques are a good choice. As they are with any other business, travellers cheques are as good as cash in the casino. They offer security and peace of mind to the player, but sometimes are difficult to handle. Exchanging travellers cheques is easy enough. Simply take them to the casino cage and you will receive cash. Losing travellers cheques means you must track down a representative of the company that issued them, but that is generally not very hard in a casino where most companies maintain offices.
 
Another option is to bring your credit or debit card to the casino. You’ll usually be able to find a machine but, eventually, you will still have to walk around with cash, albeit not as much as you would normally bring at one time.

Cash advances from your credit card are very convenient, but not recommended. Most casinos have cash machines on their casino floor. These are very profitable for their owners as well as for the casinos where they are located.
Most serious gamblers and frequent casino guests have established credit with the casino. Casino credit enables them to travel with the minimum amount of cash, and to deal with a casino on the same level as a bank. You make withdrawals and deposits.

Yes, casino credit can be dangerous. Like everything involved with gambling, casino credit requires discipline. But if you plan to frequent a particular casino on a regular basis and want to travel without the fear of losing your cash, it makes the most sense of any of the “cashless” options. Think about it.

Establishing credit is easy. Simply head to the casino cashier and explain that you would like to get credit. They will send you to the appropriate person. You will be asked to complete a form very similar to one you’d use to apply for a credit card. You’ll be asked for bank account numbers, the status of your home ownership, and several credit references – credit cards and so on.

Most casinos use credit agencies. They will examine your finances and then recommend whether to accept or reject your application. If you’re accepted, you will be given a credit limit, similar to the limit issued for a traditional credit card. This is called your “line”.

Once you’re approved, you can draw on that line at any gambling table or slot machine. When you approach a gambling table you tell the dealer you’d like a “marker”. A marker is simply a cheque like you’d find in a bank. You then give the supervisor your name and the amount you’d like to withdraw. He will put it in the system, and within five minutes, the marker will be ready. You sign it, and the dealer counts out chips in the amount of your marker.
Besides not having to carry a large amount of cash, the advantage of using casino credit is that you have a clear record of your gambling funds. That doesn’t help much if you lose it all, but if you employ money management techniques, casino credit can be a valuable tool. You are also automatically rated when you take a marker, so you never have to Worry if a supervisor is watching your action.

The casino wants to encourage you to use casino credit so, in most cases, they don’t charge interest on the money they loan you for at least 30 days. If you are disciplined with the use of casino credit and you payoff the balance quickly upon returning home, casino credit can be a bonus for the knowledgeable player.

But remember, it pays to be sensible. Don’t panic and run up huge debts, always hoping you’ll get that lucky win which will suddenly alleviate all your problems. If you haven’t had any major wins before, why should one happen right now? Life isn’t like that.

And if you do run up massive debts, you’ll be a two-way loser. Not only will you be blackballed by the casino but also, eventually, you will be taken to court.

Gambling is exciting, but don’t let it go to your head.