Casino - How Do You Guys Play?

[HardcoreRobot]

you arent going to win

 

[Kenji4861]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Aren't you the genius who wanted to invest $450K in a one bedroom condo in CA? Stop pretending like you know what to do with money.

I honestly don't know . That's why I come to anandtech.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: Nik
The only true way to win is not to bet any money to begin with.

You can't win if you don't play.

 

[chowderhead]

Originally posted by: DrumminBoy
Coming from a dealer who sees people trying to win 8 hours a day.......don't even try. Beyond basic game strategy, it's all luck. If I had any suggestions, it would be blackjack. If you can master perfect strategy, the house will have a much smaller advantage. Don't play the carnival games (4 card poker, 3 card poker, pai gow, spanish 21) as they have the highest house odds. If you're at a table thats cold, get up and go to another; I see so many players that sit and try to weather the storm but end up going broke. Have fun with it, dont play high limits and try not think about how much money you "could be making" if you bet more; that's where they get you. You'll be much happier going home up $1 than down $500.

why is pai gow a bad bet? It is a slow game with many pushes. I can't imagine the odds are that in favor of the house (unless you play the side bets). Your odds are even better playing banker. I assume it has decent odds for the players otherwise they wouldn't ask for the comission on winnings.

 

[alien42]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
go learn poker.. play the low limit and ur money will last much longer

he speaks the truth. the only game where you arent playing against the casino.

 

[gw186]

http://www.hitorstand.net/game_m.html

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Blastomyces
Ive always wondered how Vegas countered that strategy. Theoretically, by doubling your bet everytime you lose, you would have to win eventually and come out ahead. I suppose there are maximum bets, but if you say started at the $1 table, youd have to lose like 10 hands in a row ($1, $2, $4, $8, $16, $32, $64, $128, $256, $512, $1024) before you maxed out at the high dollar table. And while its possible to lose ten hands in a row, its rather unlikely, you would need to make sure you had enough capital to cover though, in this case ~$2000.

Wow, that's idiotic. Fine, lose 10 bets in a row. Then you're risking $1024 on the next hand to win $1. Yes, a $1024 wager to be up a buck. But what happens if you lose a couple more, it's not unheard of. So then you're wagering $2048 to win your dollar. Lose again you're forced to wager $4096, again, just to recover lost money and win a dollar. If you have nearly $8200 when walking into a casino, why on earth would you be trying to win a buck with it. There's a word for guys who play doubling systems: "BROKE". Eventually, you'll run into a losing streak that you don't have the cash to handle and you'll go bust while chasing a tiny original bet.

If you want to gamble, go ahead. Set a limit of $X and think of that as entertainment money, like paying for dinner and a movie. Just never lose sight of the fact that the casino owns it as soon as you sit down at the table. You're not going to win and you're not going to hit upon a system that tips the odds in your favor unless you can get away with card counting. You're going to lose. If you're going in with the expectation of winning and you're going to keep betting until you recover your losses, do it the easy way. Convert everything you own into cash, send it to the casino and put a bullet in your brain. It'll save you a lot of time.

 

[Pantoot]

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: z0mb13
go learn poker.. play the low limit and ur money will last much longer

he speaks the truth. the only game where you arent playing against the casino.

In Vegas the casinos are permitted to have shills.
So don't be too sure that you still aren't playing against the house. I would imagine the odds that you would see one at a low limit table would be pretty low though.

 

[RadioHead84]

what are shills?

While it is true that I havent gambled yet (Turn 21 june 21st!), my parents took to me vegas last year and they won 600 bucks on slot machines. True that is total luck but still rather nice.

When I do turn 21 I am going to goto AC and try my luck in poker. I agree, this must be the best strat becuase again..you arnt playing against the casino.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: KLin

Originally posted by: Nik
The only true way to win is not to bet any money to begin with.

You can't win if you don't play.

Choosing not to play versus playing against astonishing odds against you and losing is winning. :thumbsup:

 

[Raincity]

Originally posted by: Pantoot

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: z0mb13
go learn poker.. play the low limit and ur money will last much longer

he speaks the truth. the only game where you arent playing against the casino.

In Vegas the casinos are permitted to have shills.
So don't be too sure that you still aren't playing against the house. I would imagine the odds that you would see one at a low limit table would be pretty low though.

No they are not permitted to use schills.

 

[Pantoot]

Originally posted by: Raincity
No they are not permitted to use schills.

In every casino I have played in there was a sign on the wall that informs you that all shills and proposition players have to identify themselves if a customer asks. I took that to mean that they were permitted to employ them.

 

[Kyteland]

Originally posted by: Nik
The only true way to win is not to bet any money to begin with.

Not true. You can win quite a lot of money on any bet you make. In the long run you will lose money, but it is possible to win in the short run.

A weekend in Las Vegas definitely falls in to the short run category.

The best way to "be a winner" at the casino is to make one, and only one, bet. You will either win or lose. The win ratio on most games isn't that bad so you have a good chance of being a winner with this strategy. You just won't win much.

Originally posted by: chowderhead
why is pai gow a bad bet? It is a slow game with many pushes. I can't imagine the odds are that in favor of the house (unless you play the side bets). Your odds are even better playing banker. I assume it has decent odds for the players otherwise they wouldn't ask for the comission on winnings.

Pai Gow isn't the best bet on the floor (and I wouldn't call it a bad bet) but it is a slow game. It is slow enough that you can counter all of your losses with the free drinks you are getting while playing.


Kenji486

I am a mathematician for a slot machine manufacturer, so if you want some advice on "how to win" let me tell you now that there isn't a strategy that will work.

Any game where the CPU determines your outcome (slots, etc) you can't beat. You'll either get lucky or you won't, but nothing you attempt will influence your outcome outside of pure dumb luck. You can't "confuse" the machine by slamming the buttons or touching the screen in the right spot. The RNG (random number generator) just goes on doing its thing, and even button presses milliseconds apart would result in different outcomes.

Any game where the CPU partially determines your outcome (video poker, etc) all you can do is maximize your expected return by learning optimal strategy. Very, very few games have an optimal return that is in the player's advantage, and to consistantly win at these you would need to have a computer along to tell you what to do. I hate to break it to you, but casinos don't allow you to use computers. Most simplified strategies (that you could easily memorize for a weekend) don't go over 100%, so you're still looking at a losing proposition.

Any game where you play against a dealer is a losing bet. Technically by counting cards you can calculate when it is in your favor to play or not play, but you had better be a math whiz dedicated to that game or it won't do you any good. You won't learn to count cards in a weekend, and the casino can usually tell when you are doing it and blacklist you. Again, this isn't a winning proposition.

Your best bet is to just go and have fun. Pick a game to play and go read a book about it on the plane out. That way you can at least be satisfied that you did the best you could with your money.