Category: Advice for Players

A very interesting article (for me anyway), just posted in The Economist on the lengths smart money bettors go to once they’ve been ID’d. Mostly referring to UK betting, there’s plenty of info for U.S. bettors too.

I don’t consider myself “smart.” Possibly enlightened. Maybe swimming with the smarts, happy being a catfish, a scuffler.

When North Carolina opened sports betting, like any half-conscious advantage player, I took every sign up, netting over $1,000 (then used my NFL futures strategy, which I’m told is NOT smart, though I won three out of four seasons, then stopped).

But what really struck me in the article wasn’t just the inventive covers smarts used to avoid detection and get their bets in (like using beards, especially whales), but how thoroughly the books could detect and ID a square or a smart by the first bet, or sooner.

Did you use a debit card (square, good) or e cash? (smart, bad). Male? Or female? (Bad.) Type of bet placed? When was it placed? At posting? Bad. Are your bets smarter than the house’s from day one? (Very bad.)

Though illegal in some states, the smarts’ bets were restricted immediately.

The continuing automation of gaming makes it harder every day to implement advantage plays. It becomes increasingly important not just to play smart, but also coy or with covers. Or both. Using every advantage you can.

A Huntington Press book on blackjack strategy focused on how to effectively throw off the house by making certain bets that LOOKED square, but barely affected the player’s edge. Taking the minimal loss in edge was worth it compared to the reduced house heat.

In sports betting, a simple strategy is to throw in parlays. They’ll leave you alone.

There are areas in electronic game software that appear to deploy additional randomization when the software detects betting patterns particularly in e-roulette.

When e-roulette first came out, many games were deployed without software pattern-detection settings. Certain bias patterns occurred that could be exploited — for almost two years. Eventually, the house turned on the pattern-detection software, probably because the game wasn’t earning “enough.” Then when you played that same machine, as soon as a betting-pattern bias was detected, the ball speed changed. End of pattern.

Reading the manufacturers’ manuals revealed that the software was implementing “cheating-prevention” techniques almost as bad as old-school magnets.

I’m deploying strategy. So are they. Mine’s advantage play. There’s is illegal. Beyond calling Gaming Control, there was little I could do to stop it, except continue my relentless pursuit of advantage play … elsewhere.

They want losers. Period. In reality, I’m neither a square nor a smart. Just a scuffler. My goal? I don’t like to gamble. I like to win money. Play as long as possible, win some and lose as little as possible. The house doesn’t like that either.

Example: Just came back from a week in Vegas. My trip was free. The secret? Stay under the radar.

The adventure continues.

Another mea culpa. In a recent post I said, “Happiness is positive cash flow. Ours not theirs!”

I’m updating that to, “Happiness is positive cash flow. Ours and theirs,” with apologies to all the — well, many — casino operators presently bleeding money like a river.

We need you to be here. We need you to make a profit.

Without you, there are no games, no fabulous meals, no outlandish and unforgettable shows, no wild nights, no parties till dawn. I don’t hate to say it; in fact, I admit it readily: We need you.

So please, for God’s sake, get it together! Bring back the value and not for a week, but ALWAYS.

And then there’s the other underappreciated group, slot players, the backbone where all, or at least the vast majority, of the profits lie.

Every day, you come to Vegas to play, to drink, to forget for as long as the cash holds out (and hopefully you don’t go to the casino ATM and drain that, too, chasing losses) and for that I want to thank you. Also, thanks for being okay that you most often lose. Are you? I like to think that you’re happy with your gaming experience and the comps that go along with it.

So please, keep feeding the Benjamins into the slot maw, because without you, we couldn’t squeeze out the advantages. There’d be no advantages to squeeze. You allow us to do what we do. And thank you. Really. Keep playing Golden Dragons, Buffalos, and Wheel of Fortune Cash Link Big Money Mega Tower Super Spin. Whatever.

I love Vegas. It’s unique. Yes, I have a local casino, but I don’t go there. I feel captive.

I like the depth and breadth of Vegas. The back alleys, the places where the club girls hang out afterwards, Ellis Island at 3 a.m. for steak and eggs under $10. I like searching, experimenting, treasure hunting all kinds of experiences only Vegas can provide, from rubbing shoulders with Bruno Mars to Rainbow’s Triple B Diner in Henderson.

So thank you, slot players; without you, I couldn’t do what I do. And thank you, casinos, for letting us, the weird 2%ers, the advantage players and even the wannabe APs, the scufflers or even just the well-read, give it our best shot at near full pay. Sure, we often lose, too, but at least we have a fighting chance of winning and can still have as good a time as the slot players.

Casino operators, I know you read this. Many of you have told me so. So do the slot players, the APs, the scufflers, and yourselves a big favor and get your friggin’ act together, okay? Bring back the value. Make NRF (no resort fees) and free parking as common next year as free drinks, free spectacles, and free play are this year. And please, dump triple zero.

You’ll still get our dollars if we feel like you’re giving us a shot. If you do, we’ll be back. In droves. Trust me. I’m Bobby Vegas and I approve this message.