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Too Good to be True?

Casinos are in the business to make money. They don’t intentionally make mistakes. Still, sometimes mistakes happen that smart players can exploit. You don’t need to be a pro. You just have to be alert and savvy — and find one of these mistakes. It also helps if you have the requisite knowledge and bankroll — but that’s not necessary. If someone brought the following to me and nobody else knew about it, I might well have paid a $1,000 finder’s fee. Continue reading Too Good to be True?

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Being Good at Everything

I have two good friends, “Thelma” and “Louise,” who are married to each other. I’ve been friends with Thelma for more than a decade, Louise about half that long, and Bonnie and I happily attended their wedding last year.

Thelma is very bright and has been successful at a number of things. She’s also very well-off financially. She’s a pretty strong video poker player, but doesn’t concentrate on learning all of the smallest details. “Why spend hours memorizing rare hands that will save me a tenth of a penny once every two years?” she asks. “I don’t need the money and life’s too short to spend my time on shit like that.” (If you don’t like that language, take it up with Thelma — not me.) Continue reading Being Good at Everything

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Quitting When I’m Ahead

You’ve heard the expression “Quit when you’re ahead,” applied to gambling. You’ve also heard, “When you’re on a hot streak, keep firing away!” These two bromides give opposite advice on what you should do when you actually hit a big jackpot. The first says go home. The second says stay and keep playing. Continue reading Quitting When I’m Ahead