Casino management can't mandate cheerfulness
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.