May 2010

Some Tips For You by John Grochowski

Sometimes it’s the little things that count. A small strategy adjustment in blackjack. A tiny tip on what to look for in a slot machine. A wee wrinkle in getting the most out of comps.  A couple of years ago, Midwest Gaming & Travel put together 20 tips to help you on your way to making your casino visits more fun. Let’s try that again, with an eye on 20-20 casino vision.
 
BLACKJACK

1. If you play basic strategy at blackjack, you’ll hit 16 if the dealer’s face-up card is 7 or higher. But players often tell me they can’t bring themselves to hit 16 when the dealer shows a 7. As one player put it, “I hit 16 against 10, but when it’s 16 against 7, I figure the dealer has a pretty good chance to bust.” 

Here’s the tip: Starting with 7, the dealer busts only 26 percent of the time. And since the final total is a beatable 17 more often when the dealer starts with 7 instead of 10, the potential gain is greater when hitting 16 against 7 rather than 16 against 10. Hit that 16 WHENEVER the dealer shows a 7 or higher.
 
2. I once received a lecture from a dealer after winning a blackjack hand. Her face up card was a 10. I had an Ace and a 7. I hit, and drew a 3 to complete my 21 and win the hand. “That’s a tough way to go, hitting 18,” the lecture started. “I know it worked this time, but ...” I’d hit that hand EVERY time. Eighteen loses more than it wins against a 10, and this 18 couldn’t be busted with a one-card hit. 

Here’s the tip: Don’t settle for a soft 18, with the Ace counted as 11, if the dealer shows a 9, 10 or Ace. Take a hit, and try to improve the hand.
 
3. A blackjack-playing friend once explained to me why he likes to split 10s when the dealer has a 6. “I figure I’m at an advantage either way, with 20 against 6 or 10 against 6. When I have the edge, I should get more money on the table, so I split, right?” Maximizing your chances to win when you have an edge is important, but 20 is a MUCH stronger starting hand than 10.  

Here’s the tip: Unless you’re a card counter in a very favorable situation, NEVER split 10s. When you split, you win less money, and you do it with greater risk.
 
4. A blackjack player I know told me about a puzzling experience. Sitting at third base, the last position to play before the dealer, he doubled down with Ace-7 — soft 18 — with the dealer showing a 6. A guy at the other end of the table said, ‘You’re not a team player.’ And the woman next to him said, ‘If you’re going to make plays like that, we don’t want to play with you.’ And they picked up their chips and left. They apparently wanted him to stand, thinking he was taking the dealer’s bust card.

Here’s the tip: Unless the other players are funding your bets, there’s no reason for you to make a bad play on the behalf of some mythical team. Make the play that’s best for your hand.
 
CRAPS
 
5. Here’s one from the ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ file. The idea of Crapless Craps, also called Never Ever Craps, sounds appealing. Rolls of 2, 3 or 12, losers on the comeout roll at regular craps, are point numbers here, with a chance to win. On the downside, 11 isn’t a first-roll winner, as on regular tables, it’s a point number, too. And 2, 3, 11 and 12 are all really weak point numbers, difficult to roll again before that loser 7.

Here’s the tip: The Never Ever house edge on the pass line soars to 5.38 percent from the 1.41 percent in regular craps. Crapless Craps not only sounds too good to be true, it IS.
 
6. Place bets on 6 and 8 are among the better bets at the craps table, but Big 6 and Big 8, found near the end of the layout between the field and the pass line, are among the worst. These wagers work the same way. If the shooter rolls a 6 before rolling a 7, either a place bet on 6 or a Big 6 bet wins. If the 7 comes first, either bet loses. However, place bets on 6 or 8 pay 7-6 odds, but Big 6 and Big 8 pay just even money. A $6 place bet on 6 pays $7, but a $6 Big 6 bet pays just $6. 

Here’s the tip: If you want to get 6 and 8 working right away, make the place bets. Steer clear of Big 6 and Big 8.
 
SLOT MACHINES
 
7. Higher denomination slot machines usually return more to the player than lower denomination games. In the Chicago area, where I’m based, nickel slots tend to pay around 88 percent, while dollar games hover around 94 percent. Does that mean everyone should rush to the dollar slots? No. At those percentages, a nickel player loses less than half a cent per coin wagered, while dollar players lose 5 to 6 cents per coin. Five percent of a dollar is more money than 12 percent of a nickel.

Here’s the tip: No matter what the payback percentages on the slot, overbetting your bankroll is a poor percentage play. Stay with the games within your budget for the day’s entertainment.

8. A coin cup left upside down on a slot machine screen or over the slot handle used to be a universal sign: The machine was in use, and the player would be right back. Now both handles and coin cups are disappearing, and players taking a short break are using other signs: it’s common to see a chairback tipped up against a machine.

Here’s the tip: Ask the slot attendant or other players to hold your machine while you take your SHORT break. In a pinch, tip the chair. Do not leave items of value such as keys or a wallet on the machine, and do not leave credits on the screen. Those aren’t a KEEP OFF sign, they’re an invitation for the unscrupulous to help themselves.

9. Here’s a slot machine myth I read in a personal finance newsletter, of all places. It quoted an expert as saying players should look for machines with a cherry on the middle reel sitting on the payline. That cherry supposedly was the tipoff that a bigger payoff was on the way.  Problem is, the random number generator that determines what you see on the reels runs continuously, even when the machine is not in use. Even if a sequence was programmed to follow a cherry with a big win, and there is no such program, who knows how long that cherry sits there before it’s spotted, and how far the RNG has moved on. 

Here’s the tip: There is no way to tell a big payoff is coming by looking at a slot machine. Picking a winner is no bowl of cherries.

10. A video slot player wrote to ask if she would be better off to play 15 coins on one line than one coin on each of 15 lines. She’d have many fewer winning spins, but any win would be multiplied by 15.  Problem: Depending on the game, 1/15th the lines played could mean 1/15th the trips to the bonus round. And when we’re in the bonus rounds, we’re playing without making extra wagers.

Here’s the tip: Cover all the lines, even if betting only one credit per line, when you play video slots. Concentrating play on one line leads to fewer bonus rounds, more wagers and bigger losses per hour.

11. A woman once wrote to me to say, “A slot attendant pointed out a machine to me and said that’s where I should play. She said it had been paying off like crazy. Was she just angling for a big tip if I won?”  The likelihood is that the attendant was just being friendly and trying to point out a hot machine. But attendants don’t have access to the machine’s programming and don’t know whether a machine has a high payback percentage or has just had a hot streak.

Here’s the tip: When a slot attendant tips you off, smile, thank them, then play what you want to play.

VIDEO POKER

12. On many video poker games, Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus Poker, Super Aces and more, most four of a kind hands pay 250 coins for a five-coin bet. A friend was surprised recently when a casino with high paytables overall had games that paid only 239 coins on those quads. Why would that be, he asked. Why cheap out by 11 coins?  The reason was that the machines he saw were in the $5 denomination, and a 250-coin payoff would be $1,250. By paying 239 coins, or $1,195, the casino stayed below the $1,200 threshold at which the IRS requires paperwork before payoff. 

Here’s the tip: On many games, $5 video poker players average an IRS-qualifying jackpot once or more an hour, even when they’re losing overall. Pay attention to those paybacks.

13. My e-mail brought this question from a reader: In Jacks or Better video poker, I get 125 coins for four Aces. In Double Bonus Poker, I get 800 for the same hand. Does Double Bonus give you four Aces less often to make up the difference?
Actually, we hit four Aces MORE often on Double Bonus than on Jacks or Better. That’s because we adjust our drawing strategy to yield more chances at that 800-coin bonanza. 

Here’s the tip: Video poker games need not tinker with frequency of winning hands to change the odds. It’s all done within the paytable.

14. Deuces Wild video poker comes in many versions, and we have to alter our strategy with the paytable. If four of a kind pays 5-for-1 and full houses 3-for-1, you need less respect for two pairs than if both four of a kind and full houses pay 4-for-1.

Here’s the tip: If, in Deuces Wild, you’re dealt two pair, hold both pairs and hope for the full house if four of a kind and full houses both pay 4-for-1. But if the quads pay 5 and the full house only 3, just hold one pair.

OTHER GAMES

15. A friend insisted she had a system for beating roulette. “I only play the even-money bets,” she said. “Red/black, odd/even, 1st 18/last 18. After two wins in a row, I double my bet. After my fourth in a row, I double again.” Five wins in a row gives a $5 base player $50 in wins instead of $25 for a flat $5 a spin. On the downside, two wins followed by a double-up loss leaves you at zero, instead of with a $5 profit. 

Here’s the tip: In the long run, such betting progressions make no difference. They can lead to large winning sessions, but they also yield more frequent losing sessions than just betting the same amount on each spin.

16. Three Card Poker includes a Pair Plus wager in which you’re wagering that your three cards will include a pair or better. The top payoff is 40-1 on a three-card straight flush. A player at my table once was dealt a straight flush, and he took the money and ran. The odds of hitting two in a row have to be astronomical, he said as he left. The odds against two in a row are high, 1 in 22,100, but he already had the first one. 

Here’s the tip: Past results don’t influence future outcomes. On any one hand in Three Card Poker, your chances of hitting a straight flush are 1 in 460, no matter what’s happened on previous hands.

17. When I’m asked the easiest card game to play in a casino, the answer is easy. Remember the child’s game, War? Casino War is played just like it. You get one card, the dealer gets one card. Highest card wins. If the cards tie, you can either forfeit half your bet or go to war, making a second bet and getting one more card. If your second card beats the dealer, you get paid on the second bet and just keep the first, that’s where the house gets its 2.3 percent edge.

Here’s the tip: Should you decide to go to battle in a casino that offers War, always go to war on ties. Surrendering half your bet raises the house edge to 3.7 percent.
 
COMPS, MONEY MANAGEMENT

18. I once left a video poker game and carried my bucket of dollar tokens up to a blackjack table. I plunked five of the tokens along with a coupon, if I won my bet, I’d be paid an extra $2 along with my $5 in winnings. The dealer rolled her eyes. “I Don’t know why they do it, she sneered to the other players. They bet $5 to win $2.” She missed the point. I was betting $5 to win $7, not $2.

Here’s the tip: Coupon play, whether it’s 7-for-5, 10-for-5 or simply an extra buck, turns the mathematical advantage of blackjack and other table games in favor of the player. Once the coupons are gone, the edge reverts back to the house.

19. A player seated next to me asked the pit boss to comp a dinner buffet for two. The pit boss checked the computer, and said the player didn’t yet qualify. When the player asked how much more play it would take, the pit boss said, about an hour. I Don’t know how much the player lost in the next hour, but it was at least $100. But he got the comp, worth about $25 for the two buffets. 

Here’s the tip: Understand that there’s risk involved in playing more than you’d planned, even for an extra hour. Sometimes you’re just better off to pay for your own buffet.

20. A player sat down at the table where I was playing and tried to catch the floor supervisor’s attention to request a meal comp. Hey Floor, he practically screamed. Floor! Over Here! The dealer said quietly, his name’s Rich. The player ignored her, yelled again, Hey! Floor! Rich took his time in turning down the comp. 

Here’s the tip: there’s nothing wrong with asking for a comp, but be polite. Why give the supervisor an excuse to turn down a borderline case? A little courtesy goes a long way.
 
- John Grochowski is the author of The Casino Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book, The Video Poker Answer Book and the Craps Answer Book, available online at: www.casinoanswerman.com.