 
The
Classic Roman Myth Approach to Gambling
Dear
Mark,
I'm about to make my first trip
to Las Vegas. Can you give me your
favorite King Midas tip that will
turn my trip into gold? Jerome S.
Why
King Midas, Jerome? When I think
of King Midas my thoughts turn toward
greed. In Ovid's Greek tale, Midas
was so greedy he wanted everything
he touched to turn to gold. To his
delight, his wish came true, and
he proceeded to gild everything
in sight. But like a rapacious player
who wants to win every hand, his
fate was tragic in the end. He killed
his own beloved daughter with his
magical touch.
But you probably don't give a hoot
about some Roman poet's tale and
only want a hot tip for success,
so here's my favorite: Only make
bets that have less than a two percent
house advantage.
You didn't mention what type of
casino games you prefer, Jerome,
so I'll trumpet my favored plays
below. All represent wagers that
have a house edge of less than two
percent.
Blackjack:
With perfect basic strategy.
Video Poker: Again, using perfect
basic strategy.
Craps: A pass line wager, odds on
that pass line bet and placing the
six or eight.
Baccarat: The bank or player hand.
Slots: Yes, even a cybernetic one-armed
bandit can be a good play if it's
advertised as a 98 plus percent
return machine.
Horace
once said: "Gold can be slave
or master." So can the wrong
casino wager.
Dear
Mark,
Every time I chip away (no pun intended)
at the casino, they return larger
chips than those I'm betting. I
get the feeling they want me to
cash out and keep what I've just
won. Why are they being so polite
to a winner? Randall C.
Quite
the contrary, Randall. The second
you get on a hot streak, casinos
prefer pit employees to "change
color" or upgrade your chips.
No, they're not being courteous,
just trying to induce larger play.
Because most players don't equate
casino chips with real money, it's
easy to get caught up in the game
and forget what you're actually
betting. Treat all chips, won or
lost, like Friday's paycheck-your
hard-earned money.
Dear
Mark,
I have a system in roulette where
I play all the odd black numbers
and if I lose I follow it by playing
all the red even numbers. The dealer
took note of how I was betting so
he knew my style of play. While
betting my odd black numbers, I
placed $2 on 17 black as the ball
was about to drop. Suddenly the
dealer reached for my money and
handed it back to me. As you probably
guessed, it came up 17 black. To
say the very least I was extremely
upset and demanded to be paid. The
dealer said he couldn't pay me because
he had already called "no more
betting" before I put my bet
on 17 black. The pit boss came over
and agreed with the dealer's decision.
Even though the ball did not land
in a slot yet, and the dealer probably
knew my style of play, shouldn't
I still have been paid? Tom D.
Your
question reminds me of the roulette
player who sent home this telegram:
"System working well-send more
money."
As a rule, Tom, the casino wants
the dealer to wait to the final
"reasonable" moment before
he barks "no more bets."
The house wants to get as many wagers
per decision as possible because
they hold a hefty 5.26% advantage
over the player on roulette. The
long and short of it, Tom, is that
every casino has its own set of
guidelines it wants its dealers
to follow. Additionally, every experienced
roulette dealer has his own sense
of timing on when to halt wagering.
In this case, Tom, I side with the
dealer (casino). The simple solution
is to get your bets in early. Better
yet, how about finding a new game
that does not have such a precipitous
house edge? All you need now is
a new system.
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