One of the nicest things about hosting a radio show that finishes at 8 p.m. is that afterwards the guests and hosts can often go out and enjoy a drink or meal together. Almost always our guests have been bright and interesting people who usually specialize in a form of advantage gambling that is different from what I do. I usually learn something and have a good time while doing it.
One of our recent guests brought along a couple of friends who listened in the studio while we completed our program. That evening, five of us, including my co-host Richard Munchkin, went to dinner. One of our dinner companions that evening was a man named “Joe.” Joe hasn’t been a guest on our program and there is no reason to expect that you have ever heard of him. But Joe made some comments that evening that inspired this article.
Joe is an advantage roulette player. You may well be a skeptic about whether there is such a thing as an “advantage roulette player,” but I’m a believer. That said, I have no interest in learning how to beat the casino in this particular way. At the current time I’ve found my own niche that works. Maybe when video poker opportunities dry up . . . .
In roulette, casinos are allowed to use balls of more than one size and to change them at the casino’s discretion. If a player gets good at predicting where one particular ball is going to land (definitely a learnable skill), the casino is allowed to substitute a smaller or larger ball. The second ball will bounce differently and therefore different calculations are necessary to predict where it will land. Similarly, the casino is allowed to spin the wheel and/or the ball with a fast, slow, or medium speed.
Insofar as Joe was concerned, this violated the device law in the Nevada gaming statutes. Players are not allowed touch the ball or the wheel to alter the results of the game, but the casinos can. This struck Joe as unfair.
I responded that this sort of thing didn’t bother me very much. Casinos always find a way to protect the game — and if they can’t do so under existing law they will hire lobbyists to get the law changed in their favor. In Nevada, casinos are the major “industry” in the state and the legislature generally does what it can to help that industry prosper. If anything the casinos were doing was technically illegal, there’s a good chance they could get the law changed so that it would soon become legal.
Using existing laws, the casinos in Nevada could easily kick Joe out if they thought he was winning too much. Surely Joe wouldn’t like that any better. Even if Joe could prove that the casino changing the size of the ball was illegal (very doubtful — and there would be an expensive legal bill just to find out), the casino still retains the legal ability to kick him out. And the casinos absolutely will remove a player one way or another if they can’t “persuade” the player to change his winning ways.
It will ALWAYS be a cat and mouse game between casinos and strong players. If one particular avenue for “advantage play” closes down, the players will work hard to find another one. And when the casinos understand the “new” way players are beating them, the casinos will attempt to close down that avenue as well. Part of the enjoyment of the game for some successful players is the challenge of figuring out new ways to win. There’s a certain satisfaction at beating the other guy when he’s allowed to set all the rules in his favor.
There are many players, however, who aren’t accomplished at figuring out new ways to beat the house. These players can sometimes master techniques that someone else has figured out, but when conditions change, these players are usually out of the game.
If these players HAD a career in advantage play and changes in conditions eliminated their ability to prosper, it’s easy to see why they would be angry and believe the casinos were unfair. Perhaps Joe is in this category of player, although since he’s friends with a couple of guys who are still successful, it seems likely that he’s not out of the game by any means.
Dealing with changes in casino conditions is a part of doing business. As the old Patty Loveless song says, “You can feel bad if it’ll make you feel better.” In reality, it doesn’t matter how you feel about casino changes because you’re going to have to deal with them — either by losing, quitting, or finding a new way to regain your advantage.
The fraternity of gamblers tends to include many complainers — so the fact that Joe was complaining wasn’t particularly newsworthy. But unless you’re a Country Western singer, it is largely a waste of time to bemoan things you don’t like and can’t change. I’m hoping that Joe learns to develop a more accepting attitude toward the things that he can’t change. He’ll be a happier, healthier man should he learn to do so.
Author’s Note: Several months ago I received an email from a man named Dan Sechkar, whom I have still never met. He thought my articles could benefit from some editing and he was the man to do it. His “price?” Sharing my food and room comps with him and his wife next time they come to Vegas and also be available in case he has a gambling question he wants answered privately.
With some misgivings I accepted his offer. Since then he has improved several dozen of my columns and as of yet, hasn’t been to Vegas to collect any of the comps I’ve promised to give him.
I am very grateful to Dan. And my readers are receiving a better product because of Dan.